A Ship of Thoughts®

A Ship of Thoughts® is a self-awareness framework to help men observe their conditioning, thoughts, and behaviour. It has been created to assist two or more people to discuss a complex subject using a simple framework. It is inspired by the discussions I have had with my two teenage sons about life and relationships. Much of my knowledge comes from my own struggles with depression and anxiety after a separation.

In the last 10 years, I have been working in the mental health industry. Having spoken to over 10,000 people about mental health, I started to observe common patterns of thinking and behaviour from people who suffer with stress, depression, anxiety and addiction. I began to see a link between our conditioning and mental health.

A Ship of Thoughts® is an expression of my collective experience over the last 40 years. I have used my knowledge of information systems, symbology, personal development, psychology and fatherhood to create this unique framework. As Steve Jobs once said “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

I hope, when you look back, you will see A Ship of Thoughts® as a dot on your journey. The courses will help you become more observant of yourself and more understanding of others. Self-awareness can increase peace, gratitude and empathy. It can enriching a person’s journey on The Sea of Life. It may also lift some of the mystery around human stress, depression and anxiety.
—   My story

Paul Francis

I am an IT Systems Engineer by trade. I spent 23 years employed by the British Diplomatic Services supporting and installing secure global telecommunications and IT systems. From the age of 16 years old, I have been trained to represent complex systems using symbols and images i.e. electronic symbols, IT system diagrams etc.

During my time in the Diplomatic Service, I travel to many countries and experienced different beliefs and cultures. I spent many hours on an aeroplane admiring the Earth’s landscape in all its glory. Looking down from my aircraft window, I pondered how humans seamlessly merge into the land mass below, as do insects in a garden lawn. To me, it was apparent that we are all connected yet separated by what we have been conditioned to believe i.e. our culture, politics and religion.
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