Steven Colborne's Blog, page 62

Where’s all the Philosophy?

Greetings from London! It’s raining. I have a large coffee, and I’m sitting in a cafe which has been somewhat of a refuge for me over the last couple of weeks. I feel a bit like a broken record sharing with you about my accommodation woes, but at the same time, I would like to share with you what’s going on in my life, so that you understand why my blogging schedule has been disrupted in recent weeks. This is going to be a longer-than-usual post, but I’ll be so grateful if you are patient enough to read to the end (no pressure, but if you have the time).

The mental health and housing system in London aims to support people in a transition from a serious spell of illness (often including a hospital admission) into recovery and ultimately back into work and living independently in the community. What the mental health services tend to do, unfortunately, is group those with mental health issues together in properties, often leading to a hugely uncomfortable experience when one or more people within the property is becoming unwell, or has deeply ingrained psychological issues, for instance.

This kind of ‘stepping stone’ housing is known as ‘supported housing’, because a mental health charity, and a housing association, receive funding which obliges them to provide support to those living in this kind of accommodation.

My first experience of supported housing was after my last hospital admission (in 2013, I believe it was). I moved into a five bedroom house, so that’s five people with mental health issues cooped up together in a property. As you might imagine, chaos ensued. People stopped taking their medication (not me, to be clear!), started experiencing episodes of psychosis, one resident attacked another resident, the police got involved, complaints were made, etc. After about a year in that house, I was very grateful to be offered a self-contained flat (also supported housing within the same area), which is the flat where I have been living for the last 5 years.

In many ways, the flat into which I moved has been more settled and less chaotic than the 5 bedroom house. The property in which the flat is situated is a house divided into three self-contained flats, with some communal areas downstairs with a washer/dryer, a communal lounge, and a communal toilet. The communal lounge has been locked ever since I moved in, which the landlord told me was due to some antisocial behaviour before I moved in, though I was never informed about what specifically happened.

On this blog, I have written several times about the problem I’ve had with the neighbour who lives in Flat C. To name a few things he does: he growls and shouts loudly at his cat pretty much all day, every day. He plays very loud music (so loud it can be heard at the end of the street) most days between about 1pm and 5pm. On occasion he has had a physical fight with his son on the staircase right outside the door to my flat, basically torturing him until I heard him beg for mercy. He also plays a wicked game with his son, where he lets him into the building, but then refuses to open the door to his flat. So his son is left on the staircase, which he deals with by banging on the guys door and rattling it loudly, until he eventually opens the door and a swearing/shouting match ensues. He has also been verbally aggressive to the guy in the downstairs flat. And there are many other troubling things he has been doing.

My first strategy with this guy, was to talk with him. When I would encounter him on the way back from the convenience store, for instance, I would ask him if everything was okay between him and his son. I hoped this would prompt him to think about what was going on, and maybe even encourage him to change. But it didn’t make a difference. On a couple of occasions I suggested he asked the guy on the ground floor flat in a polite and friendly way to remember to clean out the tumble dryer filter, rather than shouting at him. It didn’t make any difference. And of course, I politely asked him to turn his music down, on at least half a dozen occasions. Sometimes he ignored me, sometimes he said he would turn it down, but he never did.

The impression I get with this guy is that he has deep set psychological issues which cause him to employ bullying as a tactic for dealing with daily life. I know very little about his background. He doesn’t seem to be getting support from the mental health services (to clarify — although I mentioned we live in ‘supported housing’, actually in this property support is provided only to me and the guy downstairs, but not the guy upstairs. I’m not entirely sure why this is).

To cut a very long story into just a long one (!), I have found it so oppressive dealing with this guy’s behaviour, that recently I felt that if I put up with it any longer I would be in danger of becoming emotionally unwell. So I took decisive action, packed a rucksack full of all the essentials I would need, and left the property with the intention that I would no longer be living there, whatever happened. Now that may seem like drastic action, but it came after years of attempts to make things better, as I have reported everything to the Mind (charity) manager who supports the property, and he has reported everything to the landlord — a housing association who have been very unresponsive.

About two weeks ago, when I walked out of the property, I went to the Mind office and sat down with the manager, explained everything about how I was feeling, and said that I was unwilling to go back to the property. That day was quite stressful, as I was told that Mind didn’t have a budget for emergency accommodation, and the local council had no housing available. My only choice, other than sleeping on the street, was to book myself into temporary accommodation (basically a cheap hotel), and stay there while I tried to work everything out.

I spent the next few days on the phone and writing emails to Mind, the police, the landlord, and legal advisors, hoping that they would take positive action that would improve the circumstances and allow me to return to the property. Mind were very helpful, but the landlord were very unresponsive, and didn’t seem to take the situation particularly seriously. The police said that nothing I had reported about the guy’s behaviour constituted a criminal offence, and the only thing they could do would be to visit him and have a stern word. I felt that this would actually make matters worse, because knowing what the guy is like I believe he would turn very nasty on me once he knew I had reported him (that is, of course, assuming I did decide to return to my flat, which I would only do if I felt safe in the knowledge that decisive action was being taken).

I contacted a solicitor, after carrying out a lot of research, and they said they didn’t have the capacity to take on a situation with this kind of complexity!

If you’re still reading this, thank you! There’s not much left, honestly

Book Release News

Greetings, all! I hope this blog post finds you well. I’m writing this post from my temporary accommodation, where I’ll hopefully only be staying for a short while. I’m hoping to move back to the flat where I’ve been living, as soon as the antisocial behaviour issues have been dealt with. This could take weeks, or even months, so prayers appreciated!

The good news is that in the place I’m staying there is WIFI access, and I have my laptop with me. This has meant, while I’ve been waiting for the housing situation to unfold, God has graciously afforded me the opportunity to crack on with some writing projects. So, without further ado, here’s the news!

An Almighty Predicament book release

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Many of you will know about an essay I wrote (I know some of you had read it) entitled An Almighty Predicament: A Discourse on the Arguments For and Against Christianity. I feel it’s a really important essay which details the struggle I have had with the Christian faith. I’m delighted to announce that the essay is now available in eBook and paperback formats from Amazon and other leading retailers.

Click here for more info

 

The Philosophy of a Mad Man (second edition)

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This book was the first I ever wrote, and it was released through SilverWood Books back in 2012. The book was discontinued for a number of reasons, but for some time now I have wanted to release a revised and updated version with a new cover through my publishing imprint (Tealight Books). The book details my spiritual journey and is a great way to understand how I arrived at the philosophical perspective which now dominates my writing.

Click here for more info

 

If you have any questions about either of these book releases, feel free to drop me an email (my email address is on the contact page). Also, I’ve updated my personal website to incorporate these two new releases, and that’s also the place to find all my current activities and ways of connecting with me on social media:

www.stevencolborne.com

One final bit of news to tell you about. Some of you may know that I used to be in a heavy metal band. I thought you might find it fun to have a listen to some of the songs we recorded, so our album ‘Revolution’ is now available as a SoundCloud stream on the music page. You’ll also find a picture of the band on that page, clad in full theatrical attire! Let me know what you think in the comments

I’m Finally Moving Out

Greetings, friends. The astute and beady-eyed among you may have noticed that there was no Deep Thoughts About God video this week. This is the first time I’ve missed my deadline for posting new videos, and it occurred because big changes have been happening on Planet Steve this week.

I’m writing this blog post from the seventh floor of a Travelodge (that’s a chain of nice but relatively affordable hotels if you didn’t know). I’m staying here because the oppressive behaviour of my neighbour, which I’ve been putting up with for nearly five years, finally got too much and I decided I had no choice but to escape.

I won’t list everything my neighbour has done to upset me (I have done that in other posts), as I’ve been in meetings and on the phone all day doing exactly that to all the various housing and mental health authorities here in London. It’s been really tiring and I’m drained. These people have been incredibly kind and helpful though, and with any luck I will have some new temporary accommodation before long. I say temporary because I’m not looking to move somewhere permanently — I have plans to do some traveling in the not too distant future.

Just to be out of that flat is a breath of fresh air. I have a nice view over London from this room which is helping me to relax, and I think I will sleep well tonight. Tomorrow will be another busy day trying to persuade the authorities that it’s a serious situation (which I feel it is), and hoping they can find somewhere suitable. If he knows I’ve reported him, there’s always the danger that my neighbour will try to track me down and harm me (yes, I believe he is that nasty!), but I think all you can do in a situation like this is trust God, count your blessings, and wait for things to settle down.

It’s important to try to be compassionate towards people even when they seem evil, because who knows what they’ve been through and what they are struggling with. I honestly wish the guy well, I kind of like him in a strange way. Living with him, however, is not something I would wish upon anyone!

How are you all doing? I’d love for you to share that with me in the comments. I know I’ve closed comments for a lot of my theology posts recently, because I was struggling with the moderation side of things (I explain that in more detail in this post), but with a post like this I’m sure I’ve got nothing to worry about, so yeah — do say hi!

I love the photo that accompanies this post. I downloaded it from Lightstock (a great resource for my Christian readers — check it out if you haven’t already!) and it felt so appropriate because as I mentioned I have been longing to hit the road and do some traveling recently.

I’m going to unwind now, play a bit of chillhop and enjoy this view!

Till next time…

What is Causing Our Thoughts?

Hello and welcome to the latest instalment in my Deep Thoughts About God series. Today, we’ll be covering the very important (and often overlooked or misunderstood) topic of thought. What is thought? What causes thoughts to arise in our minds? How do our mental experiences relate to God? Answering these questions is the focus of this week’s video.

I hope that you enjoyed the video, and if you did, a ‘Like’ would be appreciated! Also, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel and click or tap the notification bell so that you will be notified of new videos. Comments are open over on YouTube, so feel to share your thoughts and feedback in relation to the video over there.

Remember that every video in this series relates to a different chapter in my latest book, God’s Grand Game, which is available now from all major retailers. Click this link to check out the book.

Next week, we’ll continue looking at the way God relates to the human mind with a new video examining the experience of understanding. Thank you for reading/watching, and I’ll see you again very soon!

Modes of Mind

In this week’s Deep Thoughts About God video I offer some reflections upon the various types of mental experience we have and how they relate to an omnipresent God. When we closely examine what constitutes our ‘character’ or ‘personality’, we can see that they are a combination of different types of mental experience which I refer to in the video as modes of mind.

What did you think of the ideas presented in this week’s video? Comments are open over on YouTube and you’re welcome to head over there and leave your thoughts. Also, if you enjoyed the video, consider subscribing to my channel for a new video in this series every Thursday.

Thank you to everyone who has been following along with this video series! If you’re not able to watch these videos on your device, remember that these videos are all based on chapters from my book God’s Grand Game, so if you’re interested in the topics I discuss, consider picking up a copy of the book (available from all major retailers in a variety of formats).

Wishing everyone a peaceful and blessed remainder of the week, and I’ll see you again very soon.

God’s Control of Mental States

Hi everyone! In this week’s Deep Thoughts About God video I discuss what some of the more unusual experiences I’ve had in my mental health journey have taught me about God’s relationship with the human mind. I also talk a bit about how experimenting with some illicit substances (a long time ago!) made me see the nature of the human mind in a different way.

I hope you enjoyed the video. Have you ever had an experience which made you think differently about the way the human mind works? Comments are open over on YouTube so feel free to share your thoughts, and consider subscribing to my channel for new videos in this series every Thursday.

Next week we’ll continue to explore the relationship between God and the human mind with a video focusing on what I call ‘modes of mind’. In that video we’ll look at the nature of personality and character and how these might be more fluid and less tangible than we sometimes imagine. Thanks so much for reading/watching and I’ll see you again very soon.

Types of Sovereignty

Greetings! In my discussions with fellow philosophers I have often come across people likening the sovereignty of God to earthly sovereignty. They have done this in an attempt to show that God can be sovereign over the universe and still leave us with certain freedoms. I don’t agree that this is possible, and in this video I describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of God’s sovereignty which make Him different from an earthly sovereign such as the Queen of England.

What did you think of the video? Do you agree with the distinction I drew between the different types of sovereignty? Comments are open over on YouTube, and you’re welcome to leave your thoughts on the video over there. Also, consider subscribing to my channel if you’d like to follow along with this series and be notified as soon as new videos are released, every Thursday.

In next week’s video I’ll be moving on from talking about God’s attributes to a discussion of how God relates to the human mind. Thank you for watching and I’ll see you again very soon.

The Aseity of God

Hi everyone! It’s great to be back with the latest instalment in my Deep Thoughts About God video series. We’re now on the eighth video in the series, would you believe. I hope you’ve been enjoying these videos.

Today, we’re looking at the concept of aseity. If you’re not familiar with the term, don’t worry, it’s explained in the video. Some of you may have already read the article I wrote on this blog about aseity a few months ago, which actually served as the basis for this video.

I hope that you enjoyed the video. If you’d like to leave a comment, you can do so over on YouTube. If you’d like to support my work you can subscribe to my YouTube channel, or consider purchasing a copy of the book mentioned at the end of the video. Also, a ‘Like’ here on WordPress is always very much appreciated!

I’m planning to get up early tomorrow morning to do some more filming for this series. It takes quite a lot of time and effort to make these videos, even though they are very simple in presentation. I have to turn my living room into something of a film studio, with tripod, lighting, backdrop, etc. I sometimes share some ‘behind the scenes’ photos on Instagram, so connect with me there (@stevencolborne) if you’re interested.

Thank you for reading/watching, and I’ll see you very soon!

The Creativity of God

If God is omnipresent and sovereign over all events, what does this say about His creativity? That’s the question I answered in my latest Deep Thoughts About God video. Click below to watch the video, and you’re welcome to leave a comment with your thoughts over on YouTube.

Every Thursday I release a new video in this series, and each video corresponds closely to a chapter in my latest book, entitled God’s Grand Game. For more info about the book, and my other book releases, please visit the Books page.

If you enjoyed this week’s video and would like to see new videos in the series as soon as they are released, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Also, a simple but very helpful way you can support my work is by hitting the ‘Like’ button below this blog post. Every ‘Like’ makes a difference and is appreciated.

Wishing you all the very best, and thank you for reading/viewing!

Massive 3000 follower giveaway

Friends, your interest in my writing means the world to me. My motivation to write is not financial — I’m content with very little when it comes to finances and material things. Actually, if truth be told, I think I’m more content to live with a little than I would be to live with a lot. Frugal living is something that I relish — I don’t subscribe to the capitalist notion that wealth equals happiness.

I write because I feel I have been gifted with some unusual but important insights into the big questions of philosophy and theology, and I am driven by a desire to share those insights with others. When people read my work, I consider that a privilege and a gift, and the thought that readers might understand and relate to my philosophical perspective is what makes me excited about writing.

With the above considerations in mind, I’d like to present an idea I had concerning how I might celebrate a milestone on this blog — the milestone being that I now have an audience of over 3000 subscribers (thank you!).

What I’d like to do is send every reader who’s interested a copy of my latest book, free of charge. I will then ask — only if you enjoyed the book and can afford to do so —that you would consider making a small donation to help cover the cost of postage and my book production expenses. No obligation whatsoever. How does that sound?

I will run this giveaway for only one week, and you have to be subscribed to this blog in order to participate. There’s no limit to how many books I will send out, and this giveaway is open to people anywhere in the world. The giveaway will end on Sunday, 23rd June at midnight (a week today).

To get your free copy of God’s Grand Game, simply email your full postal address to steven@perfectchaos.org. If, once you’ve read the book, you feel you’d like to make a donation, you can do so via the ‘Reader Support’ box on the right hand side of the Perfect Chaos homepage (it’s very easy to do and you can donate as little or as much as you like).

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If you have any questions about this giveaway, drop me a line via the email address given above. Oh, and feel free to reblog or share this post if you feel that any of your readers might like to receive a free copy of God’s Grand Game as well. Thank you for reading!