The Quest Institute

Home of Cognitive Hypnotherapy

Our next Diploma Course starts July 2025 Find out more!
Speak to the Quest Institute
0333 6000 350
  • Home
  • Hypnotherapy Courses
  • Products & Downloads
  • About
    • The Team
    • Our Story
    • Cognitive Hypnotherapy
    • Trevor Silvester
    • Quest Reviews
  • Find a Therapist
  • Quest Community
    • Members Home
    • My Account
    • Questie Clubhouse
    • Diploma Resources
    • MasterPrac Resources
    • My Online Courses
    • Questival
    • Logout
  • Contact Us
Home > News & Articles > Articles > Each One Teach One

Each One Teach One

14th November, 2009 by Trevor Silvester

NelsonMandelaCell1I’ve just returned from a holiday to South Africa – so brace yourself, because I saw so much that made me think “ooh, that’s a blog.”

Anyway, one of the defining moments of the holiday was a trip to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held prisoner for 18 years. The tour begins deceptively, taking you on a coach tour of the island, showing you the village where the guards lived, with its school, and church and post office, and the house where Robert Sobukwe, another leader of the anti-Apartheid struggle, was kept. The engaging guide kept up a dialogue that just began to suck you in. She made us aware that nobody on the bus had heard of him, yet he was a pivotal figure, and how he was kept in isolation; the only way he could communicate with fellow prisoners was through gestures and hand signals, including them picking up a handful of dirt to signify they were all part of the same land.

And then we came to the limestone quarry where Mandela and many others toiled. The light reflects so badly in the quarry that most were left with damaged eyes. In the quarry is a cave, which doubled as a toilet, but also secretly as a classroom. Whenever the opportunity arose they would teach each other. They were lawyers, and doctors, and teachers, and farmers. each had something to give. And the phrase they used was the title of this blog; ‘each one teach one’. We were sucked in further.

I thought that a fantastic sentiment. Can you imagine sitting on the floor with a hammer, spending the day making rocks into smaller rocks? Can you imagine spending 18 years of such days? And in the midst of this attempt to destroy their spirit and degrade their humanity their suffering only served to concentrate it.

We were then passed onto a guide who was a prisoner there for 8 years. We sat in his old dormitory as he eloquently told us of the prisoner’s experience. The ‘sucking in’ was complete. All were silent, and many were in tears. He spoke of how black prisoners were given 100 grams less meat than asian or ‘coloured’ prisoners, who also got jam, but how the prisoners shared it equally between them. How they were only called by their number, not their name – Mandela is 46664 – and how they were cut off from contact with the world to make them feel forgotten.

He walked us past Mandela’s 6’x6′ cell – too small for him to lay full length – and the yard where he sat and broke rocks. In the corner of this yard is a vine that Mandela tended. I found it a moving example of how, when other choices and freedoms are taken from you, there are still opportunities to make other choices. I willed for a leaf to fall as a momento, but things that survive Robben Island give nothing up easily.

And at the end our guide told a little of himself, of his torture and suffering, but spoke most about reconciliation and the need for people to come together in unity.

So the experience for me was about the power of sharing; our knowledge, our time, our care and our humanity. And we all have something to give.

Filed Under: Articles

Comments

  1. Gravatar for Daniel MartinezDaniel Martinez says

    17th November, 2009 at 4:30 pm

    Beautiful – thank you.

Books by Trevor Silvester

Cognitive Hypnotherapy: What's that about and how can I use it? - Two simple questions for change
This book defines an exciting new approach to the field of therapy and counselling. Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a model that can be used to create a unique treatment plan for each client, using techniques drawn from any school of thought, integrated into a single model that uses the clients own mind to solve their own problems.


Wordweaving: The Science of Suggestion - A Comprehensive Guide to Creating Hypnotic Language
In this new approach to the use of hypnotic suggestion, we aim to free you from the constraints of scripts and enable you to use your creative skill to weave subtle spells that empower your clients by changing their model of reality.


The Question is the Answer: Focusing on Solutions with Cognitive Hypnotherapy (Wordweaving 2)
This book builds on the model introduced in Wordweaving, and shows you how to ask the questions that will provide you with the information you need to create hypnotic language patterns specifically for each client.


Lovebirds: How to Live with the One You Love
One of the biggest mistakes we make is to treat other people as if they are just like us. I've been helping couples improve their lives together for over 20 years, and one thing is clear to me: most couples don't flounder through lack of love, but through a lack of understanding. Lovebirds will teach you how to live with the one you love.

Categories

  • Articles
  • Featured Articles
  • Featured Media
  • Media
  • News
  • Podcasts
  • Recommended Books

Blog Archives

Tags

bandler language patterns plausible inference polya
National Council for HypnotherapyQCHPA  

Click To See More Of Our Accreditations.

  • Hypnotherapy Courses
  • Find a Therapist
  • Members
  • Contact Us

Company Details

©2006-2018 TQI Ltd, Registered in England and Wales
Company number: 568 2238
Lakeside Offices,
The Old Cattle Market,
Coronation Park,
Helston, Cornwall, TR13 0SR
Tel +44 (0)333 6000 350

Copyright Notice | Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Trevor’s Blog

Looking to start a fulfilling career in hypnotherapy? Look no further than The Quest Institute, where we are now enrolling for … Continue Reading ยป

View more Blog articles »

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkRead more