As individuals we need to be healthy self-realising human beings but the society we have created is failing us. No longer are we allowed to look for the best in people and nurture that nugget of gold. Instead we have cultures within politics and business which command and control in an attempt to make people conform to an artificial way of being.

The concept of trust has all but disappeared from society as more and more controls are put into place to control individuals and even more creative ways of circumventing these controls are then found.

The debates about the fundamentals of human nature will continue for many years. One view is that human nature is naturally evil and so requires authority and control. A more humanistic approach asserts that humanity is inclined towards good and is more than worthy of accepting responsibility for the self and being viewed as trustworthy.

If we choose to adopt the humanistic view we have the potential to dramatically alter our lives through the realisation that there is significance to our being here, that we are worthy and that we add value.

The more cynical view of human behaviour traps us into believing that individuals are more inclined to do wrong; that we need restrictions, controls and punishments to manage effectively. I wonder how we can ever achieve an inclusive, creative and cohesive environment when we feel constantly threatened and mis-guided.

This artificial way of living which is being forced upon us is, I believe, the cause of a number of unwanted effects.

There has been a significant increase in recent years in the incidence of depression, panic attacks, social anxiety, post traumatic stress syndrome, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorders and stress induced anxiety. Pharmaceutical companies grow larger and richer through the development of new ranges of mind altering drugs to control unwanted emotions. We are even medicating children to control unwanted behaviour. Note here that these medications are designed to control and not cure.

Prolonged periods of mental distress make us more vulnerable to mental and physical illness and impair our ability to function in an evermore demanding world. Occupational