Make time work for you

Time Tango

Are you operating at warp speed, stressing that you won’t get everything done

Slow down a notch. Take a deep breath. Savor the important bits. Look for the little things that give the most pleasure; the smile on a child’s face, the pleasure of a chance meeting, a gorgeous sunset, the wide expanse of the night sky.

Confucius says: “Slowly, slowly catchee monkey”.

If you do the 3 most important things every day, the rest will take care of itself. This pre-supposes that you have done some planning and you know what the 3 most important things are. This also pre-supposes that you haven’t got your ladder against the wrong house, or barking up the wrong tree.

In his book “Games for the Soul,” Drew Leder challenges us to dance through our days with the graceful, slow elegance of a tango dancer.

Leder says: "Do whatever you do in a calm and leisurely fashion. ... As much as possible, don’t be driven by inner fear, external deadlines, or rushed companions to stumble through a speeded-up dance. Act as if you have all the time in the world. Come to think of it, you do: No one else has any more hours."

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare, let the sensation of living be an affirmation of life.

The Greeks have 2 words for time, Chronos and Chyros. Chronos is chronological time, time as in quantity (24 hours per day). Chyros comes from the Greek word "kairos" which means the appointed time, the purpose of God, timing!

When you become a master at martial arts you learn how to go into a time zone where you slow down chronological time so that you have ample time to execute your next move. If you are fulfilling your destiny, or doing the things you love, you also go into this zone of timelessness where chronological time dissolves, where a few minutes feels like a long time, and hours feels like minutes. Just think what you could do and how you would feel if you could access this space more often.

Take control of the time of your life by changing your mind. Understand time from a higher perspective. Do the “Time Tango”!

Sonja's Snippets

Raising your awareness in the NOW helps improve the quality of your life, helps you enjoy life more.

Don't think of work or the disagreement you had with someone when you are eating, rather experience the taste sensation of the food you are eating, the texture, the color, the smell, ... savour it. You will feel satisfied sooner (also helps u slim down if you are overweight and bulk up when you are too thin because it is a nurturing activity and improves digestion).

Go for a walk in nature. Stop the chatter in your head. Notice the breeze, on your skin, touch the bark, leaves, grass or plants, (not poison Ivy), or sand, rocks, water, depending on where you are walking. Smell what there is to smell.

..... Be in your experience, fully.

New face at SACAP

Dr Allister Butler
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Allister Butler as Director of Academic Studies at SACAP. The rationale for this appointment is for Dr Butler to support and promote the academic quality, curriculum, development and strategic planning of SACAP. Dr Butler first joined SACAP in January of 2008 and has played various roles in this time e.g. lecturing on various modules, Chair of the Quality Assurance Committee, module writing (Effective Groupwork Practice, and Exploring Gender and Human Sexuality), and supporting the development of the fieldwork training practicum programme.

Background of Dr Allister’s Butler’s career
Dr Allister Butler brings to SACAP a wealth of international academic experience.

Allister has over 20 years social work experience, as an educator and academic, practitioner, researcher and evaluator, and international speaker. He graduated with a BA in Social Work Hons degree (UPE, 1988), whereafter he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue his Masters degree in Social Work in the USA (University of Iowa). He completed his PhD in Social Work in 2000 (UPE). He has significant international social work experience, having practiced and taught in South Africa, USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Australia and Holland.

More recently he held tenure as Professional Lead, Principal Lecturer and Masters Programme Director at Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK. Dr Allister Butler has provided psychology and social care teaching and training in various settings, namely: Secondary Education (High Schools), Further Education, NGO’s and CBO’s, Higher Education (Universities and Colleges), and the Private and Voluntary sector, amongst others. This has involved developing/writing teaching and training modules and packages, delivering these sessions, as well as assessing and evaluating trainees’ outcomes and overall quality of delivery. Allister will be able to draw on his extensive leadership experience in practice education, and facilitate training intuitions in forging stronger links with placement providers i.e. welfare agencies, government bodies, NGO’s, voluntary and private sector.

Allister’s research has also been widely published in international scholarly journals. This includes various fields of practice, namely: HIV and AIDS, gay and lesbian youth, homophobia and heterosexism, international social work practice, young carers, international workforce development, and adolescent mental health, amongst others.

Dr Butler’s research includes various methodological designs and conducted in a diverse range of national (Cornwall, Sheffield and Canterbury) and international settings (UK, South Africa, USA, Australia, Norway, Sweden and Holland). He has over 15 years experience in the field of social research. He has conducted numerous research studies and programme evaluations during this time. Furthermore, he has been responsible for numerous aspects of the Social Research Methodology training in the Faculty of Health and Social Care at Canterbury Christ Church University, and will be able to bring an extensive background knowledge and experience to SACAP.

Dr Butler’s PhD study was titled “A qualitative study of the coming our process for gay and lesbian youth in post Apartheid South Africa.” Upon completing his Ph.D. in South Africa in 2000, he took up the post as a Research Fellow for the Cornwall and the Isle of Scilly Health Action Zone and supported research and evaluation capacity building with 28 children and young people’s project leads from the various statutory and voluntary sectors.

Dr Butler has been invited as an international Socrates scholar to teach and disseminate his research findings at various higher education institutions in Europe (Sweden, Holland, Denmark and Norway). He has recently presented papers at international conferences in Norway, Australia and South Africa. Furthermore, he was invited to present two papers at the International Child and Youth Care conference in Canada . In 2005 Dr Butler had two articles published in the first International Encyclopaedia of Youth, Education and Sexualities. Allister has been invited to numerous countries to present his research findings pertaining to HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa.

What's on at SACAP

Facilitation 2 : March 17 – 20, 9am – 5pm – location to confirm.

Facilitation 3 : May 26 – 29, 9am – 5pm – location to confirm.

Facilitation 2 and 3 @ R 5 500.00 students, other delegates R 6 500.00 per module

WATCH THIS SPACE for very exciting Art Therapy classes in the new quarter