What is the conscious mind?

“The conscious mind is a spin doctor, not the commander in chief. It is the great rationalizer, spouting off convincing (and false) reasons for why we do what we do."
(Pinker)

I write a blog on schizophrenia and one on religion. This quotation appears on both.

Tom

Dear Tom,

You might like to leave a comment occasionally to make it look like someone actually reads this rubbish.

J

The benefits of exercise

David went on a kiteboarding course on Thursday and Friday. He got himself up by 6:30 am and drove 30 miles to the venue. There was very little wind so little was accomplished and he missed his usual session at the pool and gym. Yesterday he told us that his voices were back and were causing him to worry. At our suggestion he did a two hour session at the gym until about 9pm. This morning he rung to tell us the voices had gone and that he felt a lot better. We have noticed before that he tends to regress slightly if he is prevented from following his exercise regime.

He has gone onto Denzapine. It is cheaper and the blood tests can be done locally. However, there is a marked increase in the frequency of his dyskenesia. His mouth is twitching more often and now his right eye is affected. I shall get a message to his consultant on Monday.

Are English Churches onto a nice little earner at the taxpayers expense?

I have just seen the breakdown of expenses paid by the taxpayer for David's room. The item for rent is £61 (sterling) per week. There is an extra for £30 service charges giving £91 per week altogether. There are three occupants giving £183 per week rent or £732 per month. As I peruse my local paper I see that this is very close to the commercial rate in this vicinity. David's property is owned by English Churches, listed as the landlord. Presumably as a religious charity this organisation benefits from generous tax concessions. House prices have risen sharply in this area so the house has been a very lucrative investment in other ways.

From these figures it seems that English Churches is onto a nice little earner at the taxpayers expense. I think its charitable status should be in question.