The Bearable Lightness of Being

Mindfulness Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, me?  Well oddly enough, yes.  I signed up for the course only because I like and admire Steve Wasserman who takes it. (Try anything once

except folk dancing and incest, I agree with Woody Allen.)  Steve is the author of the comic strip Prozacville here which is wickedly funny, neurotic, obscene and brilliant.  All the things I love.  Disappointingly, but understandably, he has a much gentler persona as a therapist. Who could fault him for that?  Anyway he's still clever, amusing and articulate.

I'm afraid I told him I could think of nothing more ghastly than achieving serenity in a group but they turned out to be a very agreeable bunch and I'm now majoring on the serenity in my daily homework - or 'practice' as I think it should be called. It involves listening to another gentle chap giving instructions through my computer.  So this is what happened on my first attempt.  I tried to  imagine breathing out through the top of my head amongst other things and when I woke up I felt refreshed and determined to be 'mindful'.

Next day, the bell went ding and my computer launched into 'Sit Down, Sit Down, Sit Down,

Sit down! Sit down you're rocking the boat!'   I suddenly thought 'But I WANT  to rock the boat!'  Clearly it's all doing me a lot of good.

Find out more about London-based Steve Wasserman and MCBT here

A Remarkable Relationship in Paint

I have joined a lively group in London called Ladeez Do Comics to discuss the art of the graphic novel. Despite the name, the gender split is about 50/50 but it was ladies who started this, two formidable artists Nicola Streeten and Sarah Lightman. They nominate a book for reading and invite practitioners and publishers to talk to us each month - all very relaxed, friendly and stimulating. However, we shall soon be mumbling through woollen scarves as there's no heating as yet in our space off Brick Lane.

At our last meeting, we were hoping to meet an interesting Belgian artist, Dominique Goblet,but something prevented it at the last minute which was so maddening. But I've been alerted to a stunning project she pursued over 10 years with her daughter. Every week they drew each other until Nikita was 17 and needed her own space.

You really must look at some of the remarkable results here.