Nick Kemp Blog

I was thinking about what inspires me and what has inspired me over the years. One of he most obvious inspirations for me is music and even at the age of thirteen I was collecting albums. I recall listening to Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland and the first Doors album many years ago and being amazed by what I heard. In the 1970s similar inspiring albums included Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks and of course Springsteen’s Born to Run. I still listen to these many decades on as well as seminar albums by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Miles Davis, John Martyn and john Cale among others.

I started playing the guitar in the 1970s and had a very basic acoustic. These days I can afford much better instruments and of course instruments made by Stephan Sobell, Santa Cruz and Collings are a joy to play. I started learning guitar from Martin Simpson a few years ago and regularly have lessons which remain one of the most inspirational elements in life today. He is one of the very best singers and songwriters and it’s an honour to spend time with him.

In the world of Changework I have explored meditation since 1979 and although many will know me for my work in NLP, Hypnosis and Provocative Therapy, I was involved in exploring meditative systems way before I ever can across those fields. I still regularly meditate and teach others in the UK. In 2004 I first met Frank Farrelly and he remains a great friend and professional colleague who has taught me an extraordinary amount about working in therapy. I consider myself privileged to be able to regularly have him come to stay in the UK and to discuss client issues as well as our mutual love of films.

Travelling is another inspiration and in recent times I have been fortunate enough to visit the USA and parts of Europe for my work. My favorite city remains New York and I’ll be there again in a few short weeks time. There’s something wonderful about a city waking up and seeing all the sights and sounds that accompany this process. In many ways I know NY better than London and have some great friends there. I was lucky enough to see some wonderful music when I visited including seeing Les Paul, Bill Frissell, Michael Franti among many others.

Inspiration comes in many forms and of course being married to my wife and simple things in life remind me just how amazing life can be. One thing for sure is that there’s never a dull moment and I wouldn’t exchange it for anything!