My Seven Facts - Clare Hogan
Author Clare Hogan
1) I was brought up on a farm and still prefer to live in the country. It was in Dorset and part of a Cistercian Order of nuns. We had a cottage in one of the fields – St. Stephen’s field.
2) I was trained as an opera singer at the RNCM which is how and why I moved to Manchester. It was supposed to be for four years, but I’m still here.
3) I’m a Buddhist and belong to school of Nichiren Shu.
4) I decoupage derelict violins along with other items – furniture, horseshoes, brass instruments – anything. I also create personalised collages for people.
5) I have studied music and psychology and have had 10 years of psychotherapy. I learned far more as a patient than as an enrolled student.
6) I love Viognier. White wine – chilled and from Chile rather than France.
7) I am a member of My Death, My Decision, because it should and must be.
About the Book - Performance & Purpose in Dying & Death
There is no complex theory in this book, and no belief system required before reading. Everything is based on the author's experience - of delivering and facilitating death cafes in the UK and of a lifetime's interest in psychology. Clare Hogan devised and has run the Master's course Psychology of Performance at Salford University for over 20 years.
- Having had her mind changed about the concept and purpose of death, Clare finds that it has also changed about everything else; she now sees the world differently.
- The trajectory of this book starts with basic bodily functions, moves through the senses and onto the mind, then to the spirit and the realisation that what we are afraid of losing never really existed.
- The extraordinary truth emanating from this book is that we can actually practice dying, and thereby find real liberation long before it occurs. And when it does, we don't mind at all!
Performance and Purpose in Death and Dying addresses the dying process and the nature of death itself with the intention that it might help us to accept and embrace both these things as a part of life. Intended to provide a shift in perception, this book aims to alleviate some of the fear, resistance and denial surrounding death.
Much has been written about death by spiritual teachers, psychologists, philosophers and palliative specialists, but this book is an entry into the conversation from a viewpoint that is not medical, religious, nor postulating any form of belief system. It is partly a survey of our attitude and resistance to dying and death, and partly an examination of the options available that could serve as a non-denominational enquiry into this unavoidable eventuality. The principle belief is that the tools required for this shift in perception are to be found within us - we already possess what we need that would allow us to drop the heavy weight of fear and anxiety. This book will help the reader to find these tools, guiding the reader towards their own, most direct route, and focuses on the validity of individual experience.
About the Author
After completing her GMus at the Royal Northern College of Music, Clare went on to do a Masters by Research at Keele University. It was there that she discovered an interest in psychology. Whilst still researching for her MA, Clare started tutoring at Keele and later at Salford University. Clare devised and has run the Master's course 'Psychology of Performance' at Salford for over 20 years.
Clare is an expert in classical and operatic technique and has a keen interest in helping those suffering from anxiety and/or stage-fright. Her latest book, Performance and Purpose in Death and Dying, was written over three years in response to the growing need for a sense of purpose in the wake of so much destruction and devastation, with the aim of communicating the message that there is no death as we commonly perceive it, and there is nothing to fear. It developed and grew from the courses, classes and the Death Cafes that Clare has delivered and facilitated.
The Alchemy of Performance Anxiety: Transformation for Artists was published in 2018, also by Free Association Books.
ESSENTIAL DETAILS
Title: Performance & Purpose in Dying & Death
Author: CK Hogan
Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual Psychology
Publisher: Free Association Books
Publication date: November 30 2022
Availability: Paperback, eBook
ISBN: 9781911383741
Price: Paperback £12.99
Online: www.clarehogan.co.uk
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