Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke American psychologist Martin Seligman and his colleagues discovered what they called ‘learned helplessness’. I shall present the description of this concept as given by Barry Schwartz in his work, The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More (2004). [Seligman and his colleagues] were conducting a series of experiments on basic learning processes in animals. The experiments required animals to jump over small hurdles to escape from or avoid electric shocks to the feet. The animals typically learn this quickly and easily, but a group of animals that were exposed to the task after having experienced a series … Continue reading Learned Helplessness: Part I

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke This story was narrated by a Ghanaian Catholic student-priest of Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), Port-Harcourt. Fr. Thomas narrates that at one time in his local parish in Accra, he had organized a spiritual crusade with his pastoral team towards the end of the year. In a bid to reach out to other Christian communities in the area, the pastoral team had decided to invite an Anglican priest. Now, this was not a problem since the programme was a spiritual crusade and not a Eucharistic celebration. And given the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and … Continue reading Our Mary!

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke They held on to each other Surging forward as if in a flight mode With only a foot per person on the ground The other leg thrown like a propeller And come I to think of their balance Being together gave them harmony Like roses clustered in medieval garden Clinging together gave them beauty The beauty of a conscious unity Alongside and with one another They soar higher and forward in joy. Note: I saw this piece of art while taking a walk in the little village of Hervelee, near a church building. I had to pause, … Continue reading Bonded

  Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke How did things come to fall apart in Umuofia? We thought that Mr. Brown was already learning a lot from Chief Akunna, such that he should have found a way of living peaceably with the people of Umuofia. Well, I think things started falling apart when Umuofia got a replacement for Mr. Brown; a new ‘Pharaoh’, a ‘Reverend’ who saw things differently, and was never prepared to listen to anybody or to learn from anybody. For this new missionary, nothing is to be compromised. It’s either you take it or you leave it! Christianity has to … Continue reading And Things Fell Apart

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke Upon reading the wonderful piece, Theology Brewed in an African Pot, by the Nigerian Jesuit theologian, Orobator Agbonkhianmeghe, I was thrown back to the beautiful classic of Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. I remembered how I had broken my annual ritual of reading Things Fall Apart once every year, because I have not been with my copy since almost 5 years now. The attempt to download a PDF hasn’t been successful. Thank God, I just ordered a new set of the Achebe trilogy. I pray it arrives soon before the summer winds up. Anyway, before we get too … Continue reading Remember the Umuofia debate

Ikenna Paschal Okpaleke “Amaka! Amaka!” It sounded like she was still in a dream. But with the slight pain that came from the slap on her thighs, Amaka knew it was time to finally open her eyes. Her mother has a way of waking her up whenever she oversleeps. Each ‘Amaka!’ came with a slap on the thigh. And so, Amaka has learnt how to keep it to the minimum. Twice is enough! When Amaka finally opened her eyes that Monday morning, her mind immediately went back to the harrowing experience of the other day. During the family morning prayer, Pastor … Continue reading Dosage of Trauma II