Greg Pickering

11/10/2024

Does anyone know of a computer tech who specializes in Apple computers in Edmonton?

04/30/2024

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Sue Johnson on April 23, 2024. Dr. Johnson was a beloved teacher, therapist, author, and the pioneering innovator of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT). Her remarkable contributions have left an indelible mark on the field of therapy and the lives of countless individuals, couples, and families worldwide. She was also a cherished friend whose warmth and wisdom profoundly touched all who knew her.

Read Obituary and watch tribute video: https://loom.ly/DwYr16c

04/02/2023

04/01/2023

I cannot resist sharing this short story that I heard from someone close to me. I think it says a lot about our world and its knotty problems. It is funny, but also not.

A close friend, seeking companionship plus relaxation from the stress of the world of work, joined a knitting group made up of middle-class white women. The expectation was that they would share tips about kinds of yarn and ways to knit well.

But the first session dissolved into tension because one of the members, who wore a mask, objected to others not joining her in wearing one too, and spent time voicing many complaints about the morality and impact of this fact.

Still, my friend thought that all would be well.

In the next session, another different member voiced a very clear objection to someone else including a very common pattern into the sweater she was knitting because it originally came from a particular indigenous tribe here on the West Coast of Canada. This member stated that this was a “clear misappropriation of indigenous culture.”

My friend decided that to be in this group, she would have to be guarded and very careful about what she said and shared.

As a therapist I heard something I see so often, in all of us but especially in my distressed clients. In our effort to address problems or hurts in our world, we adopt positions and actions that are all about self-protection or self-promotion. Unfortunately they simply add to disconnection from others and an obsession with threat and righteousness. Safe connection – the key way to collaborative and effective problem solving - is lost. At least that is what my intellect, my prefrontal cortex, said.

My emotional brain shrieked, "This was just about how to knit a silly sweater! We are so lost."

Social connection, our main and often only way to stay sane and survive, is now mostly about judgment, who gets to judge, and who is right or wrong. Those who do not want to get caught in this drama simply withdraw and hide out. Open conversation is over. Every topic is flammable material.

Seems to me that THIS is more toxic than any pandemic or environmental catastrophe.

I never did like knitting anyway.

12/23/2022

12/23/2022

We know that trauma changes the brain.

How do we choose brain-savvy interventions that help patients feel safe when processing traumatic memory?

In this short course, Bessel van der Kolk, MD shares his best strategies for working with the traumatized brain.

➡️ https://www.nicabm.com/program/trauma-vdk-18/?del=12.19.22FBPost2

12/23/2022

I flew to Albuquerque to spend the day with Father Richard Rohr. We laughed, I cried a little, we laughed some more, and I told him why his work pi**es me off sometimes. He thoroughly delighted in that last part.

We talked about my favorite quotes from two of his books that have been an important part of my recovery: “Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps” and “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life.”

This quote from “Breathing Under Water” is so simple yet so hard: “All mature spirituality, in one sense or another, is about letting go and unlearning.”

I also love what he writes about religion: “When religion does not move people to the mystical or non-dual level of consciousness it is more a part of the problem than any solution whatsoever. It solidifies angers, creates enemies, and is almost always exclusionary of the most recent definition of ‘sinner.’ At this level, it is largely incapable of its supreme tasks of healing, reconciling, forgiving, and peacemaking. When religion does not give people an inner life or a real prayer life, it is missing its primary vocation.”

I’m grateful to share this with you. I’m grateful for my time with Father Richard and the loving staff of the Center for Action and Contemplation. Listen at the link below.

Peace be with you.

https://bit.ly/3Pp5RgK

04/08/2021

CLOVERDALE OFFICE CONDO SPACES FOR RENT –FULL TIME AND PART TIME
Available September 1, 2021

Centrally Located
In Edmonton’s Beautiful River Valley and Community of Cloverdale
Plenty Of Free On-Street Parking
Tastefully Furnished (part time) Or Unfurnished (full time) Offices Available
Modern Design
Well Organized and Efficient Reception Services Included
Located In An Established And Successful Professional Group
Daytime, Evening and Weekend Times Are All Available
Office Includes Reception Area, Public Washroom, Staff Kitchen, Staff Washroom
Wireless Internet and Fax
Individual Phone Lines Are Negotiable
Wheel Chair Accessible
Excellent Bus Access and LRT stop 3 Blocks Away - Fall 2021
Monthly Lunch and Learn (after Covid)

INQUIRIES AND MORE INFORMATION: Dr. Greg Pickering 780 945 7290 (cell)