Appreciating People (AI) OD specialists

12/04/2026

The fee includes resources, certification, and access to the facilitator for three months after the course finishes. Each course has space for up to 6 participants.

18/03/2026

This Appreciative Space hour will offer a taste of how a few well-chosen questions can open a doorway to meaning, blessing, and legacy. After a brief theoretical framing on dignity and appreciative listening, Francesca Oliva will move us into a guided paired practice encouraging participants to choo...

12/01/2026

its this Wednesday (14th Jan)

New Year, New Frame. An Appreciative Space in which to reflect on the year ahead. Wednesday 14th January at 19.30 GMT https://appreciating.church/a-view-into-2026-wednesday-14th-january-19-30-20-30-gmt/ Photo by Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov on Unsplash

09/01/2026

New Year, New Frame. An Appreciative Space in which to reflect on the year ahead. Wednesday 14th January at 19.30 GMT https://appreciating.church/a-view-into-2026-wednesday-14th-january-19-30-20-30-gmt/ Photo by Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov on Unsplash

11/12/2025

In quantum physics, the observer effect shows that the very act of looking can influence what unfolds.

Science shows that our attention alters outcomes — in our minds, in our bodies, and in our relationships.

Our perception impacts our reality long before we speak or act.

When we look with judgment, we find reasons to tense. When we look with love, we find reasons to relax.

With a loving outlook, we bring forward the best in ourselves and others. When we meet others — and ourselves — with love, the world subtly rearranges around that choice.

So today, notice reality with kindness … and watch how life responds. Try it … a softer gaze, a kinder interpretation, a broader smile, an easier breath.

A small shift in how we view things can change the whole day. ✨💛🌿

27/11/2025

such a good example of how our world is socially constructed. Thank you Robin Harford

Once upon a time I watched something peculiar at the garden centre.

A woman bought arrowhead for her pond. *Sagittaria sagittifolia*. Arrow-shaped leaves, white flowers with purple centres. Six quid. "Adds visual interest to water features," the label said.

Earlier in the year I had been at an Asian supermarket. Same plant. Different aisle. Food section. £4.95 per 250g. Labelled 慈姑 in Chinese. OK it's actually a different species but used the same way as our native version.

One marketed for looking at. One marketed for eating. Both accurate descriptions of the same plant.

The garden centre version sits in your pond looking decorative whilst the Asian market version, well, the tubers are fried with soy sauce, aromatics, sugar until they're sweet and nutty. Added to winter soups.

The tubers are starchy, slightly bitter, filling and bland, but they possess a remarkable ability to absorb liquids and fats without disintegrating.

For centuries, arrowhead was food. Evidence goes back to the paleolithic and mesolithic era. Native Americans harvested it. Still cultivated across China, Japan, Korea. The cooked leaves are edible too.

But somewhere between Victorian ornamental gardens and modern landscaping, we forgot. We split plants into two categories. Pretty or useful. Never looked back.

Now we walk past edible plants every single day, seeing only "ornamentals".

Why this matters?

Your perception determines what you see. If you think ponds grow nothing but mosquitoes and algae, you'll never kneel at the water's edge and pull up dinner. If you think ornamental means inedible, you'll pay six quid for a plant you could eat.

The knowledge isn't lost. It's just filed in the wrong category.

Once you know arrowhead is both beautiful and edible, you start seeing other plants differently.

The categories we inherit shape what we notice. Change the category, change what you see.

All plants are equal. Your ancestors didn't separate ornamental from edible. Neither should you.

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* "It is illegal to uproot any wild plant without landowners permission"

14/11/2025

Take a look at our latest newsletter for updates about the incoming in-person Symposium in New York City, USA, the Call for Papers, upcoming free webinars, and more!

https://conta.cc/4i29U0H

08/11/2025

My husband Jon retired about a month ago, and we just got back from a celebration cruise. When we got home, I noticed I was rather grouchy.

I found myself annoyed going through the big pile of mail and laundry, and nitpicking everything Jon did.

While it’s common to feel down after a vacation, I could tell this was different. It was an overall negative attitude.

And then it hit me: I had not done my daily Appreciative Living Practices in over two weeks.

So I got down to business, and literally within one sitting, I felt incredibly better. I’ve been doing this for so long those brain pathways are well oiled and it comes back easily.

Even after all these years I get surprised at how simple exercises can have such a profound effect. And yet I struggle to do them at times.

And if you struggle to do them, consider yourself normal. In fact, your brain is neurologically wired to resist looking at the good.

In his book, Hardwiring Happiness, Rick Hansen coined the term “Negativity Bias” and says your brain is like “Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive.”

Making your brain focus on positive things goes against its wiring and actually takes a lot of energy. There are two ways to help overcome this.

First is to just make yourself do the practices every day for at least 90 days, and then it will be an ingrained habit according to Neuroscientist Dr. Carolyn Leaf, in her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess.

Easy to say, not so easy to do.

In order to help make it easier, you can use habit change best practices. James Clear gives a lot of examples in his book, Atomic Habits. Here is a quick summary of a few.

One is to do your practices at the same time as an existing routine, like drinking your coffee or creating your daily to-do list. You can also change your environment to make it easier by keeping your journal out where you see it, or setting reminders on your electronic devices. Or you can create systems such as not letting yourself leave the bedroom till you do them.

There is now a second way to make it easier by using my new Appreciative Living Rapid Change technique. This will stop the resistance you currently have to doing them in your subconscious brain. Getting rid of the resistance makes it so much easier to just do them.

In January I’ll be doing a free session on using Rapid Change, but for now you can try it out by asking yourself, what do I gain from NOT doing the daily practices? What are all the benefits of NOT doing them?

This will help you see why your Reptile brain is keeping you from taking action. It thinks the benefits of NOT doing them are greater than the benefits of doing them, and you need to resolve this.

In the next post I’ll share the daily Appreciative practices I do and the routine I’ve created for myself. In the meantime, see if you can get some kind of daily practice going with these tips if you aren’t doing one already.

To your joy! Jackie

PS: Visit https://AppreciativeLiving.com to learn Appreciative Practices.

PSS: Visit https://AppreciativeLiving.comalrapidchange to learn about AL Rapid Change.

08/11/2025

09/10/2025

Appreciative Resources Review by Nicole Morris Dr Nicole S. Morris is Associate Professor and LaMarche Endowed Chair at Saint Michael’s College, where she teaches accounting,...