It fills the cup of Silence.

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Rod's World

My Chinese english student Ginny isn’t coming today, her husband is flying back home so she has to drive him to the airport so I am listening to music and writing todays blog. I thought music would be a great subject to write about. I have 40,000 tunes on my Itunes, I’m a bit addicted, always have been since a young age.

I have been a door-bitch for my musical friends for over 30 years, I love most types of music and support the theory most eras produce some talented people. At the moment Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are playing on my iPhone. I saw him in the Birthday Party many years ago, always worth a listen.

How do you relate to music , does it pump you up, slow you down or both, let’s have a look what they say about it:

1. How did you choose your favourite songs? First Love, divorce, losing your virginity are often memorable times.

2. Thats why we part with our hard earned cash to go and see the greats. They combine words and silence that fills our heart with joy: That’s what I Like.

3. Your music rends to relief the pain, It’s your gateway to your soul.

4. Friedrich Nietsche is considered on of the great philosophers. At the age of 44 he had a complete breakdown and was cared for by his mother and then his sister until his death 11 years later: Without Music.

5. Backstreet Boy member has had an extraordinary life for 20 years thanks to his musical ability. He is very grateful for it.

6. Had to laugh at this one, probably true for me though: Life is like a Song.

7. What is your soul music, Mine is beautiful deep songs by female singer songwriters.

8. Have had many of these outbursts over my 62 years, the last was at a Safer Youssef, a mystical experience: Soupir Eternel.

9. I always thought that I couldn’t sing until I met my friend Kavisha Mazzella, an award winning singer songwriter and beautifully hearted soul and my choir leader, you can listen to her at http://www.kavisha.com.

10. There are so many songs that fill my dreams, what are yours: Dream a little Dream of Me.

11. Love an acronym, this is a powerful one.

12. I have made many a good friend I met at music gigs watching bands we both appreciated: Make you feel my Love.

13. Passion, Joy, Heartbreak, Power. All have their specific songs.

14. The Bard, taught at most western English speaking schools , you either loved or hated him. His words could make the earth shudder, didn’t know he discover earth music though: Earth Song.

15. I went to a funeral of a friends father. He had them play Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette as one of the tunes. He died from lung cancer. I haven’t chosen the music for mine yet, I may not have heard it yet.

Music is a constant part of our lives, some of it we love , other styles we hate. My big secret, I love pop divas, very uncool in the live music scene.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

We are a work in progress!!

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Rod's World

Disruptive Engagement – what does Brene Brown mean by that term: It’s quite long but worthwhile -To reignite creativity, innovation, and learning, leaders must re-humanize education and work. This means understanding how scarcity is affecting the way we lead and work, learning how to engage with vulnerability, and recognizing and combating shame. Make no mistake: honest conversations about vulnerability and shame are disruptive. The reason that we are not having these conversations in our organizations is that they shine the light in dark corners. Once there is language, awareness, and understanding, turning back is almost impossible and carries with it severe consequences. We all want to dare greatly. If you give us a glimpse into that possibility, we’ll hold on to it as our vision.

To me it is engagement through the community, accepting self-love and love of others and giving your identity up. The juice is from service to others. I put in engagement quotes to find pictures and got a whole lot of rings and vows of deep love so I changed it to committed engagement and these are what came up. Let’s journey:

1. Be responsible for your life, it’s your engagement and stand for what it is that creates the story that will be told after you have passed.

2. He really did look like an eccentric 60’s hippie philosopher. Alan Watts is quoted by humanists, community builders, and generally good people: Work and Play.

3. Doing Life – How do you do yours? Is it a joyous journey you wake up every morning screaming Yes!!!!!! Or is it a life of darkness?

4. Being silent is being busy if you planned it. I have many friends who have attended the 10-day Vispanna meditation retreat and said it was the hardest thing they had done and the best thing they had done all in the same breath: The Devil goes Down to Georgia.

5. How could you not choose this imagery and message, that’s why I said you need to give up your identity.

6. Engagement is a day to day adventure, make sure you do not wait to begin it: Alive.

7. Such a beautiful smile from a person who brings so much joy to the world. Can’t help but agree if you are fully engaged in loving your friends and family you are totally engaged in life.

8. Have you found a cause to sacrifice yourself into? They say it is the ultimate experience in your life. Parenthood is said to be this for many: Soul Sacrifice.

9. The Latter-day Saints base their religion on many hands engaged in a good cause> If you have ever been to Salt lake City you will never get lost as the first fifty streets around the temple are named Temple North, South , East and West.

10. I think it’s meant to be an anti-war slogan: The Universal Soldier.

11. Helen Keller definitely has the right to say this, I agree wholeheartedly.

12. Often people go and do self-development programs and get screamed out to go out and Do It Now, one big man being famous for it. Move at your own pace, its the only one you can: Piece of my Heart.

13. 7,000,000,000 unique folk battling a media who are trying to make you conform to fit a corrupted image of what it is to be human. Fight the good fight.

14. perhaps if we did this before doing it with a physical being there would not be so many of these: D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

15. There are heroes, and then there’s us, transforming the world one act at a time.

What you engage in will create your life. Think about that for a moment. Any change you want to make?

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Do You Fit In?

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Rod's World

Desire, often tied to sexual physicality yet it covers all fields in our psyche. It is said if you walk away from them you are not really living a life, just existing. How often as children do we have desires that we fulfill purely with our imaginations. Later on we are taught that this is not a practical way to lead our lives, I think that is a shame because it robs us of our ability to soldier on to fulfill our dreams later in life.

What has society said about desire, there were many takes at it, let’s have a look at a few:

1. Life does not make it easy for you to reach your desires. it has installed that little voice in your heads that challenges you as to whether you deserve it or not.

2. Arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history, Samuel Johnson points out another character we need to make our desires come true: Curiosity: Curiosity Killed The Cat.

3. There is one voice to listen too when considering your desires: Your courageous one.

4. Creativity is a journey of achieving your desires, not a battle to defeat those who may get in your way: Good Life.

5. Here’s a word you will want to drop in casual conversation to impress you friends and family.

6. Are your desires material things? That’s fine but you can’t take them with you. Remember: The Best Things In Life Are Free.

7. Not quite as famous as his son Alan, Lauded for his epic poem Howl, Louis was famous for the comment quoted from his death. Louis Ginsberg published puns in the Newark Star Ledger under the heading “Keep an O’Pun Mind”. He often asked and answered, “Is life worth living? It depends on the liver.” His collection of puns was never published but they can be found in Box 2, Folder 9 in the Louis Ginsberg Papers at Stanford University. Louis Ginsberg, who died of liver and spleen cancer, told his son Allen Ginsberg, “I never thought my pun would come back to bite me.“

8. Which do you choose, I align with the wise: Closer To The Heart.

9. I’m sure Gandhi said lots of prayers to have his desire to free India from England’s grips come true. They seemed to have become tied to religious folk these days, don’t do this, use the power they offer.

10. What if we could read minds, would you be slapped often or thanked for your generosity: Meet Me Halfway.

11. It is wise to remember that postponing your desires just strengthens their grip on you. Don’t put them off!!

12. Such a beautiful name, Spanish poet, playwright and theatre director was also famous for his quote To see you naked is to recall the Earth.: Burned With Desire.

13. Mignon McLaughlin was an American journalist and author. In the 1950s, she began publishing aphorisms that were later collected in three books, entitled, The Neurotic’s Notebook, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook and The Complete Neurotic’s Notebook. I think this testy quote is from one of them.

14. One of my favourite songs about what we desire in life: Wild Horses.

15. Einstein, the master of imagination quotes : Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”

Do your desires fit in to the life you lead today, or do you hide them away in the caverns of what you life would be like if you only ………., fill in the dots.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Lucky Enough to be Different!!

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Rod's World

I read a beautiful piece of prose in Jeff Fosters The Way of the Rest last night. here it is:

You are the one I wake up with every morning. The one I breathe with, The one whose every heartbeat I feel as my own. You are the one I walk with, the one I speak and sing with, the one who stays with me through every waking moment of every sacred day. You are the one I get sick with, the one I cry with, the one whose anger and joy and doubt surge through me like fire. You are the one I will die with, the one whose arms I return to. You are the one I see in every face, shining through every pair of eyes, shimmering through the silences, the trails of dust and the spaces in the canopy.ou are my constant companion, my home, my reason, my joy, my life. we cannot be divided, we cannot be two, and even One is too many for us.

I sing this song to myself, disappearing into the song and I am never alone.

It is called Love Song to Myself, how many of us write love songs to ourselves? I know I haven’t in a long time.

What is this thing called self-love? Let’s go on a journey down its rocky path:

1. Love is a four letter word, so is self. Two four letter worded combined make for an awesome life.

2. Do you do these things daily, if not what is enough for you to Love Yourself: Beautiful.

3. You Look like you are in Love. A statement that you are not yourself, a shame really.

4. I did a role play once with my friend Marija. For 15 minutes we had to say a statement to each other. Mine to her was you are fucking magnificent and hers to me was you are a handsome man. Since then we will always be FM and HM to each other: Who I Am.

5. With the publication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou publicly discussed aspects of her personal life. She was respected as a spokesperson for black people and women, and her works have been considered a defense of black culture. Attempts have been made to ban her books from some U.S. libraries, but her works are widely used in schools and universities worldwide. Angelou’s most celebrated works have been labeled as autobiographical fiction, but many critics consider them to be autobiographies. She made a deliberate attempt to challenge the common structure of the autobiography by critiquing, changing, and expanding the genre. Her books center on themes such as racism, identity, family, and travel.

6. Breathing is necessary to stay alive. I agree with Mandy Hale that these should also be part of the menu: F**king Perfect.

7. Shine on, you crazy diamond, you are unique and that is why we love you.

8. There are 7,000,000,000 beautifully unique individuals on the planet. Some have forgotten. Your job is to remember!!: Don’t you know you’re Beautiful.

9. Listen to your heart space, because one day it will stop, that will be the end.

10. Coleman Hawkins, a renowned jazz saxophone player is credited with saying If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying. His playing exemplified that: Cool Jazz.

11. Be careful what you say and think. Remember you are always listening and most of it will come true, even when you don’t want it too.

12. Make sure that you are not that person: Firework.

13. Sing that song to yourself as Jeff reiterates in his prose. It will give you access to others loving you.

14. I am also reading Brene’s Daring Greatly. Self-talk is incredibly powerful. Make the best use of it, you can: Brave.

15. And for the last insight, let’s give us the greatest gift we can, the beautiful gift of self-love.

You are lucky enough to be different from your brothers, sisters and best friends. That is because you are uniquely the beautiful being we know as ………….., insert your name here.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Don’t Squander Joy!!

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Rod's World

I went along to watch a friend do her graduation performance at a transformational program she had been participating in called The Voices Of. In it, Ally embraced the voices of her INNER CHILD, INNER WISDOM, FEAR, SHADOW, DO-ER & DREAMER, she had come to find her TRUE VOICE. It was one of the most joyous evenings I have been to in a long time. Here’s a link to the website for it if you wish to know more: Voices of Movement.

It made me think about what brings you joy in my life. Is it music, sex, food? There are many ways to feel it, let’s have a look at what they say about it:

1. From the author of the iconic novels Treasure island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson points to the fact joy is a feeling, not something that can be truly expressed in words.

2. Joy is a choice we must make daily, I made it last night by attending Ally’s graduation. To experience it today I must continue to choose it: I Choose You.

3. Can’t you feel it bubbling up just wanting to burst through, have a joyous day!!

4. Get out your fishing net of love, there is a soul full of joy waiting for you: Heart Full of Soul.

5. How do you have joy occur in your life, you focus on the things that make you feel that way.

6. What do you hold as holy, what keeps you warm and aglow? For me it’s music and blogging: Eternal Flame.

7. Your life is not somewhere to get to, It is a journey. Finding joy in that will make for a more enjoyable one.

8. It doesn’t change who you are when you get to your goal. If you are not joyful on the way there don’t expect it will change miraculously when you achieve it: Joyful Journey.

9. Until his final years, Wagner’s life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century; his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, the visual arts and theatre.

10. One of my favourite writers Wayne Dyer reminds us that we knew this when we came into the world, so how did it become something that we have to battle for as we get older: Be Natural.

11. If you lead a life of gratitude for the simple things joy will flourish in your life on a daily basis.

12. This is a list of joyful events I attempt to practice daily because it certainly would be a case of Incredible Joy: Singing In The Rain.

13. Joy is not a destination , it’s a state of being. There is a borough named Mount Joy in Pennsylvania though.

14. Thich Nhat Hanh says some mightily obtuse things at times. You will always get a huge amount from them. This song came up next on Youtube, I think it defines joy appropriately: A Spoonful of Sugar.

15. From the world’s most prodigious and famous philosopher, Anon. comes the reminder that when you are giving joy it cannot help but stick to you as well.

So joy is available in your life, if you want it to be, I say don’t squander the opportunities day by day.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

The Best Part of our Hearts!!

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Rod's World

In my community paper the Northcote Leader there was an amazing story of kindness reported the other day. Members of the community donated enough for a family to replace their car to take their daughter to school who has cerebral palsy after they were involved in an accident and their car was written off.

Stories like this remind me of the kindness of strangers and not to give in to the dross that is marketed as mainstream media, that of death, killing, war and anything that seems to bring community spirit down. How do we remember to be kind each day, lets go there:

1. Confucius was born in 551 B.C., I think it is still relevant after all these years. Gratitude is a great gift to receive but is it gratitude if you expect it?

2. Models do not win citizens of the year very often. We do not make these decisions on looks but what difference these people make: Lean on Me.

3. Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin ; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist. She is equally well known for her much publicized romantic affairs with a number of artists, including Polish composer and pianist Frédéric Chopin and the writer Alfred de Musset. Wonder why she used a male pseudonym?

4. One of the main benefits of Kindness, we rise together: Rise.

5. Watching small children meet each other without judgement to me is the best example of this on the planet.

6. Did you know there is a good news network : http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org – perhaps we can sack CNN: Good Times.

7. I think I’ll hop on Raymond, my pet unicorn and spread lots of this today.

8. How many strength building exercises do you do a day, get your kindness muscle out and play: Be Strong.

9. What would they write on the grave of the person who did this – I’m sure it would include a life well lived.

10. I gave up organised religion a long time ago, perhaps I could take on this one: Lady Gaga and Dalai Lama on Kindness.

11. Your new daily practice.

12. A man who inspires me as much as his holiness, Lao Tzu, I recommend you read his books: How to write a Love Song.

13. Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. (born Jesse Louis Burns; October 8, 1941) is an American civil rights activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. Senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He is the founder of the organizations that merged to form Rainbow/PUSH. Former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. is his eldest son. Jackson was also the host of Both Sides with Jesse Jackson on CNN from 1992 to 2000.

14. Let’s do this: One Tribe.

15. Renewing humanity, the ultimate task for people today.

So lets shout out that kindness is one of the factors that makes up the best of our heart, A Ho!!!

Namaste until next time we meet, my dear friends.

I like walking in the Rain!!

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Rod's World

What is your favorite fresh thing, one of mine is walking in the rain!! Being washed clean by Gaia, given a new start!! As we have more and more fresh things taken away from us and given processed experiences how do we claim back our fresh moments?

It is probably in our childhood years we experience freshness on a day to day basis. Running from one adventure to another, being excited moment to moment. What does the world have to say about being fresh in our lives, let’s have a look:

1. To experience all that occurs in your life allows each moment to have a freshness to it, a sense of adventure.

2. Ready, Steady, Go. It’s time to begin today’s new adventure: Tomorrow.

3. Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf of stopping and starting over again. Remember that he is not real, only made up in your thoughts.

4. There is that saying if you have never failed at something you have never really lived. Life is not meant to be easy at all times: Better.

5. Laura Ingalls Wilder February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer known for the Little House on the Prairie series of children’s books released from 1932 to 1943 which were based on her childhood in a settler and pioneer family. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the television series Little House on the Prairie was loosely based on the Little House books and starred Melissa Gilbert as Laura Ingalls and Michael Landon as her father, Charles Ingalls.

6. They call them cubby holes because if you stay in them you never grow up to have fresh starts: Try.

7. Fill in the Blanks, how you do this is your choice, A fresh start or the same old drudgery.

8. I listened to a great podcast this morning about not planning to begin a new venture three months in the future because it will not happen, get started and begin it now was the message from the podcast: Lay me Down.

9. We have an opportunity to change the ending of the story of our life moment to moment: go left instead of right, catch the no 96 tram instead of the 86.

10. Do you rise up in the morning or get up with no purpose for the day? Each day has a brand new bright opportunity if you allow it to Rise.

11. I love Lao Tzu, he can write ten words and you can ponder them for the next month.

12. My beautiful sisters, Ruth and Jann can probably relate to the freshness of their friendship over the years, they may have even been to Spain: Never shout Never.

13. Henry S. Haskins (1875–1957) was a stockbroker and man of letters. His aphorisms were edited and published anonymously with an introduction by Albert Jay Nock in 1940.

14. I spent the weekend next to the Yarra river in my home city of Melbourne, Australia at a retreat centre. Being near the water, the trees, the birdlife and in the fresh air invigorated my soul: Aloha Ke Akua.

15. Whose life are you living, the life your parents told you to live and you got trapped by the money. Listen to your soul, it’s time for a fresh start.

Fresh has so many interpretations in our world. If it has numbers next to it it is not fresh. Think that if you know the person who made it or grew it then it probably is.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

After the Hard Climb!!

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Rod's World

What is the best view you have seen? I couldn’t think of a word or distinction for today so I just typed in inspirational quotes in google images and was amazed by what came up. I suppose I would count the Grand Canyon as the greatest I have seen. To see best views you have to put in an effort to get there, so let’s have a look at what quotes have inspired people in getting to their best views of life:

1. They say the reaction time of elite athletes is phenomenal compared to that of the average punter on the street due to their reaction time. The average punter would not have moved by the time the target had arrived that the elite athlete manipulates so easily.

2. They say that when people pass a majority of them talk about the things they regret they did not do. That says something to me about taking as many chances as you can in your life: No Regrets.

3. Often we make our lives a misery by thinking more about what we want than what we have. raise the gratitude level daily and your happiness level will increase.

4. Set your controls for the heart of the sun, or the controls will set them for you and you have no idea where you may end up: Set Your Controls.

5. George Bernard Shaw, known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist whose influence on Western theater, culture, and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman, Pygmalion, and Saint Joan. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.