So, the exciting news is that from September, we have taken a lease out on a small, but perfectly formed, room in the centre of the Village (Suite4, The Village Hall!) where we are going to start putting on  talks and seminars and workshops.

The space is limited to an audience of between 18-20 seated, and, to begin with at least, we're going to be adopting a radical 'pay-what-you-want' system (with guides for those who want them.

Barry will be doing the first talk there on September 7th on 'A bloke in pursuit of Happiness' - we've also got talks booked by Winnie D-H on 'Alternatives in Education', Andy Thomas on 'The Crop Circle Mystery' and Shelley Sishton on 'Flower Essences'.

Winnie will be repeating her 10 module course on metaphysics, titled 'The Truth is Out There' - which will run from October until early next year - half the modules before christmas, half after. Barry will also be running a workshop on 'Non-Reactive Communication Strategy' - a system of communication he has developed over his years of coaching in business and with individuals. There will also be workshops on stress reduction/relaxation and quick coaching clinics (1-1) for young people and those on low incomes.

Watch this space for news very soon about some exciting new developments here at The Art of Change...

To give a teeny tiny clue or two -  we're going to be strengthening our social network both here and online...

Well for several months now Barry has been taking himself off into the consulting room at all hours of the day, but particularly early morning, in order to write his first full length novel drawing on, and expanding, some of the magic that he has experienced over the years as a coach.

It has been a huge financial risk and represents a new chapter in Barry's life. He has loved writing and would love to get the opportunity to reach the same market that Paulo Coelho has inspired for so many years.

The first drafts have been worked on, and continued to be worked on - and now the big question is...what next???

Will we be able to locate the right agent or publisher?Will the Universe help doors to open, or shut them firmly in our faces?? Watch this space for updates...

Well, no not exactly. But taking an interest? Yes.

I'm not going to be yet another 'let's have a pop at our politicians' observer - it's been done over and over during these last few weeks. My slant is always on 'what can we learn/create from this?'.

One of the first things we can learn is that our politicians have abdicated responsibility for their actions and  drifted further and further away from reality and from the people they represent. That must be due to the fact that we, as a nation, are abdicating our responsibility in the political system that governs our country. And that abdication of responsibility may partly be due to our voting system (eg "what's the point in voting - the same two parties always win and I don't trust either of them?"). At the last election our percentage of voters was a staggering 30-40% lower than the leading European voting countries. People are bored with politics in this country.

So, I have just had a petition accepted by Downing St calling for a referendum before the next general election that will let the people decide again whether we would like to see a new electoral system in the UK - that of Proportional Representation (PR). This is likely to produce far greater voter interest and responsibility taking

 The link is here: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/PRReferendum/

Please feel free to circulate and sign if you agree with the principle.

I am reminded of the words of Kahlil Gibran.

"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding".

Pain, particularly emotional, is a really scary place to be. We have generally been trained magnificently to avoid feeling it for any length of time, so we sort it. We fix it. A bit like the politicians are trying to do now with national and international economic systems.

But what if Gibran is right? What if pain is merely the shell, that encloses greater wisdom. What if, when we allow the shell to break, and really allow ourselves to experience the pain, our pain can be transformed into something magical?

Would that make it crazy to keep on trying patch up the old shell? Patch it up just so that we can stop feeling the pain of where we are, and the pain that has resulted as a consequence of our past decisions?

Maybe we would all benefit much more by allowing ourselves to experience pain, and through that experience allow our genius to flow?