Does it Violate the Golden Rule?

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Rod's World

The Golden Rule is to do unto others as you would want done unto you. Rules that elevate some while devaluing others are suspect as bullshit rules – such as rules that grant or restrict opportunities based on skin colour, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, whether a person has a penis or a vagina, or any other arbitary or subjective criteria

A passage taken from Vishen Lakhiani’s excellent book The Code of the Extraordinary Mind that I am re reading at the moment. Vishen sets the premise there are two sets of truths, the physical world of absolute truths and the cultural world of truths based on Belief, he calls the second brules, aka bullshit rules that we adopt to simplify our understanding of the world.

He lists four major ones, 1. The college brule – we must go to college to succeed in life, 2. We must be loyal to our culture Brule – Our nationality is better than the others, 3. The religion brule – My God is better than your God, and 4 The Hard Work Brule – If you are not working hard all the time, you are lazy.

So lets see what sort of life we could set up with the Golden Rule:

1. Why talk and say the unsaid words in haste when silence can speak the unspoken words?

2. Ready, Steady, Go: Ready, Steady, Go!!

3. George Bernard Shaw , known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic and polemicist whose influence on Western theatre, 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 (1903), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation. He was the first person to be awarded both a Nobel Prize and an Academy Award, receiving the 1925 Nobel Prize in Literature and sharing the 1938 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film version of Pygmalion.

4. Self Love , one of the major golden rules. Have this and you will know how to deal with others: Born This Way.

5. Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

6. The only time you should put others totally before yourself, if you wish them to spend their money: Keep the Customer Satisfied.

7. Instant Karma – It’s going to get You – John Lennon.

8. Actions not Words, my friends: Shake your Sillies out.

9. Are you willing to grant your golden rules to others?

10. If all these religions followed these rules the world would be a different place, we could Lose ourselves to dance!!

11. I find this quotes extremely powerful, especially the what you see in others – exists in you.

12. Do you catch yourself saying those things to your children you promised yourself you would never ever say. Stop It: See You Again.

13. Three Super Golden Rules.

14. From Texas, The state where everything is bigger that everywhere else. The request is don’t get dirty: Dirt off your Shoulders.

15. Can your Golden Rules be heard over the screaming your actions create?

I recommend you buy and read his book Link to freight free site. It just may allow you to see where you have followed your brules in life and give you another chance.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Strength lies in Differences!!

Posted on April 24, 2017 by Rod's World

Here in Australia our Prime Minister has announced changes to the Citizenship test, that applicants must meet Australian Values. When asked what he meant he could not explain. I live in a council area that has 153 cultures residing in it, which of these meets Australian values?

There were six new requirements introduced.

All applicants are required to pass a stand-alone English test, involving reading, writing, listening and speaking;
Applicants are required to have lived in Australia as a permanent resident for at least four years (instead of one year at present);
Citizenship test will be strengthened with new and more meaningful questions that assess an applicant’s understanding of – and commitment to – shared values and responsibilities;
Applicants will be required to show the steps they have taken to integrate into and contribute to the Australian community. Examples would include evidence of employment, membership of community organisations and school enrolment for all eligible children.
An applicant can fail the citizenship test only three (at present there is no limit to the number of times an applicant can fail the test);
An automatic fail for applicants will be introduced who cheat during the citizenship test.

So how do we devalue others, One way I suggest is saying our values are more important than theirs. Lets go on a values journey:

1. These new rules seem to be saying that speaking one language places you higher on the pecking order than another.

2. Each person is of value, don’t debase them by saying they don’t fit in: How Could Anyone.

3. Surround yourself with kindred souls, those that decrease it need to go.

4. When you see that you being of value is what people remember about you when you pass, not your houses and cars. They also don’t remember your nationality: I lived.

5. What have you sacrificed in your life for others? Would you give your all?

6. How amazing would life be if we lived it like this: I’m Going to You.

7. Our PM is trying to revert our country back to the 1950’s when our country existed under the archaic White Australia policy when the indigenous people were not even recognised.

8. Arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history. Samuel Johnson points to the value of showing gratitude by praising others for their actions: Love Divine

9. I find it hard to believe that your values are based on the language you speak, and the job you do. Life is not that simple.

10. In that five minutes it takes to destroy your good name, were you following your values: Family Portrait.

11. Our government has definitely forgotten this with their new changes.

12. Have we forgotten the value of the other 152 cultures I share the land I live on with: Run and Hide.

13. All the beautiful , wonderful diverse ways we inhabit the planet can not be bombed away, destroyed by war because they are the planets heart and soul.

14. Why are education systems going down the road of producing clones when our world need more and more creatives with the every changing technologies? Maya Angelou puts it well: Express Yourself.

15. Our new citizenship test does obviously not follow this formulae.

I teach English to three Chinese mothers and work at the Darebin Intercultural Centre, our motto is Where Cultures Meet, Explore, Grow and Celebrate. So I ask our prime minister to take this on as Australian Values, not English tests and proof of employment.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

A Gold Coin to a Cat!!

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Rod's World

Luma Mufleh (born March 1, 1975) is founder and director of Fugees Family, Inc., (“The Fugees”) a non-profit organization devoted to working with child survivors of war. Mufleh founded Fugees Family in 2006 and is currently head coach of the Fugees soccer teams.

In the book Mistakes I made at Work Luma makes the statement – I’m always pushing our teachers: How can we create an environment where everyone feels capable? This is totally against the base of the education system of my country, Australia. It is purely rote learning to get a score to get into uni. The great teachers battle against this, trying to have kids see that education is about feeding their passion and going out and fulfilling them.

So how has capability shown up over the centuries? Lets travel down that well worn path:

1. Napoleon Hill (born Oliver Napoleon Hill; October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is well known for his book Think and Grow Rich (1937) which is among the top 10 best selling self-help books of all time. Hill’s works insisted that fervid expectations are essential to improving one’s life. Most of his books were promoted as expounding principles to achieve “success”.

2. What were you going to be when you grew up? Are you doing it. As children, we believed in our capabilities. What is our society doing that we belittle them through our education system: Astounded.

3. I hope they mean everybody’s god, here are some facts regarding gods

Using the ratio of current population to the total number of people who have ever lived, we get an estimate of 63,000 religious groups throughout human history. (Only Homo sapiens’ religions are being considered. It may well be that other hominids believed in god or gods, but it would be pure guesswork to estimate the number of gods they believed in.)

The modern dominant (that is, have the most adherents) religions are monotheistic, but they are few in number. Wikipedia lists 309 Hindu deities. The ancient Hittites claimed to have 1000 deities in their pantheon. So for a rough estimate of the average number of deities per religion, we’ll take the average of these 3 figures, giving 440 deities per religion.

This gives an estimate of Gods = 28,000,000.

4. Kurt Einstein is definitely not Alberts son, but delves in the same area as his quotes. Its a bit like choices we make based on fear versus those of love of life: I’d love to change the World!!

5. Another by the great philosopher, Unknown. This quote reminds me of circling the wagons to defend yout life against the Indians in Western movies.

6. How old were you when your beliefs took over from your capabilities, I reckon I was about four. Before then I could save the planet because I was Superman, sorry about the Fanta ad.: What Now.

7. Hold the press, my first ever Donald J. Trump quote. Is this Fake News?

8. Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the “moral” (meaning, in modern terms, psychological) and political aspects of war. He believed in European Enlightenment , this quote is definitely from that school of thought: Hot and Cold.

9. 7,000,000,000 unique capabilities walk this planet. Make yours as might as it can be!!

10. Very similar to the ethic if someone asks you to do something, say yes and learn on the way. Gandhi must have done this time and time again in his pursuit of freedom for India: Beginnings.

11. Do you know those people who can do anything. My brother in law was like that. He used to buy piano’s off Ebay, when he found out how much it cost to tune them , he googled it, and became a piano tuner.

12. Over the years, the slender, bespectacled Holtz has become known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. He led six different American Universities to football titles. I think he spoke from mastery of the subject. That Fanta ad again: Irreplaceable.

13. One of the more profound proverbs I have ever read.

14. Surprising that one of the great singer songwriters would make this statement. I love pop divas,so I agree wholeheartedly: Don’t Cry for me Argentina.

15. At One Roof, the work co-op I hang around there is a statement, Jump off, and learn to fly on the way down. Learn as you go, and never stop learning.

Remember your capabilities as a child, the dreams, your imaginary friends, dragons and unicorns, you can walk on the moon.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends

Seize the opportunity by the Beard!!

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Rod's World

It’s seems quite a silly statement, seize the opportunity by the beard but how do we deal with opportunities in our life? Do we say the following prayer: ‘Thank you, Universe, for helping me see this obstacle as an opportunity. I will step back and let you lead the way” or do we jump in with both feet yelling go for it. Both methods have their merits but let’s have a look at what the universe has to say about it:

1. They say dreams are useless without actions, Milton Berle points to the same thing here. As the host of NBC’s Texaco Star Theater (1948–55), he was the first major American television star and was known to millions of viewers as “Uncle Miltie” and “Mr. Television” during TV’s golden age.

2. We have the opportunity to change our life moment to moment. Often fear stops us doing it. have a guess what people talk about on their death beds, Regret at what they did not do: When You’re Gone.

3. They don’t remember you for your possessions, they remember you for the feelings and the experiences. Don’t miss out on them.

4. If you make a lot of excuses in your life, time to check your integrity register and how much you take the opportunities that present in your life: No Excuses.

5. This quote is probably over 100 years old. Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897. His writings discuss common-sense principles and virtues that make for a well-rounded, successful life. Many of his ideas are based on New Thought philosophy.

His first book, Pushing to the Front (1894), became an instant best-seller. Marden later published fifty or more books and booklets, averaging two titles per year.

6. Onlookers do not take their opportunities: Safety Dance.

7. Very similar to there are no mistakes, it’s all on the comprehension.

8. 10,000 light bulbs, enough said: Opportunity.

9. Michael S. Hyatt is an author, blogger, speaker, Hyatt now writes and speaks full-time. He has written seven books, including New York Times Bestseller Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World.

10. I love the scraggly haired man known as Albert, he points out where to look for the opportunity, in the middle of the difficulties in your life: Dumb Things.

11. How do you start your own airline, music company, chain of fitness centres? Do this!!

12. Read the red letters: Right Now.

13. When you mind is saying No, go to your heart for the answer.

14. I thought this was a silly analogy. Lewis McDonald Grizzard, Jr. was an American writer and humorist, known for his Southern demeanor and commentary on the American South: Kerry’s victory song.

15. Cameron Diaz was named the highest-paid actress over 40 in Hollywood. As of 2015, the U.S. domestic box office grosses of Diaz’s films total over US$3 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $7 billion, making her the second highest-grossing U.S. domestic box office actress (after Scarlett Johansson).

So how do we see life, as something to survive or a grand opportunity, we have the choice on a day to day basis.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

She believed she could, so she Did!!

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Rod's World

I met the new police inspector for our region at an interfaith celebration last month, she is a 28 year veteran of the force and specializes in Social Justice, Kelly has renamed her team Dynamic Darebin. I like it a lot, when do we declare something as dynamic in our lives? Are our relationships dynamic, our finances dynamic, our careers dynamic.

Let us have a look at what people have said over the years that they find dynamic:

1. Mahesh Sharma is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was elected in the Indian general election, 2014 from Gautam Buddha Nagar. He is a physician by profession.

If you wish to fulfill your ideas do not wait around.

2. From the prolific philosopher, Anon. comes worldly advice people will not be lead by you if you are not seen as dealing with them on a day to day basis: If You’re Out There.

3. Uneeka Jay is an award-winning speaker, personal consultant and the founder of Rewrite 365 LLC. Uneeka has over 20 years of progressive leadership experience in companies with revenues up to a half billion dollars. Using that experience, Uneeka effortlessly walks women through the process of rewriting their lives by refusing to settle. Rewrite is more than a brand for Uneeka; it is her life story. Finding herself pregnant at age 16 and on welfare, she refused to allow statistics define her future. She identified her Hatements (things preventing her from living her best life) and removed them one by one to achieve her goals. Uneeka lives her mantra; settling is not an option.

4. Your time is now, you are neither too young or too old: The Climb.

5. My friend and mentor Arion said he liked it when I laughed, that it was new for me. I gave up a long time ago when my life was endangered. I feel dynamic when I do it.

6. I think the person who takes a job in order to live – that is to say, for the money – has turned himself into a slave _ Joseph Campbell. Finally it’s never about the money: If we ever meet Again.

7. However you do it, via keyboard or artistically by pen and pencil, remember they cannot get it out of your brain once you have passed.

8. When do you feel most dynamic? Doing your 9 ot 5 or doing what turns you on: Surprise, Honeycomb.

9. Start Young!!

10. Lolly Daskal is founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world. Based on a mix of modern philosophy, science,and nearly thirty years coaching top executives, Lolly’s perspective on leadership continues to break new ground and produce exceptional results. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World: Brave.

11. Being dynamic also means standing up for your truth, nor pretending to like others.

12. Remember those times you thought, Why Me? And it turned you in a new wonderful direction in your life, keep on keepin on: Everything happens for a reason!!

13. And aren’t we glad he followed his own advice.

14. This is such a beautiful ethos, may all creatives follow it: Heart of Gold.

15. Matthew Kelly (born July 12, 1973 in Sydney, Australia) is a motivational speaker, author, business consultant, and founder of Dynamic Catholic. He is a founding partner at Floyd Consulting, a management consulting firm whose clients include more than 35 Fortune 500 companies. His lecture topics include identifying negative routines and actions in daily life, and the value and positive inspiration of Catholicism on everyday life.

So for me I feel dynamic when I am blogging and teaching English to improve relationships between the cultures in Darebin, we have 164 different ones.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

People are your Assignments!!

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Rod's World

You are always being guided, even when you don’t feel like it. It comes with being part of the human race, a unique human being. We are all in a large classroom called Earth and the people you choose to know and even those we do not give us our assignments in life. How often do you become frustrated with our political leaders even though we have never met them?

So who do we choose as our most personal assignments? Often it is our family, as they are in our lives the longest, even though it may be at some distance later in life. So let us take a journey through our assignments:

How many people have you met in your life, when you have thought, OMG, I am so glad I am nothing like them. They are there for that exact lesson

2. Joel Scott Osteen is an American preacher and televangelist. He is the Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas. Osteen’s televised sermons are seen by over 7 million viewers weekly and over 20 million monthly in over 100 countries. He gives you some sage advice as how to handle fear as an assignment in this quote: Fear and Love.

3. Number ten is the only one you can read clearly, that’s enough.

4. Listening to your mind, trying to work out what others want to hear is not the assignment. Deep down in your soul is what you have to say: Shake It Off.

5. The old 24-hour formulae, we all have the same time in a day, so each of us has the chance to inspire others with our actions.

6. Self Love first is the prime assignment, hard to give it away if it is not part of our inner being: Stronger.

7. This is why the idea of war is corrupt as an assignment, we need to end it ASAP.

8. The second evangelist today, Myles Munroe is slightly more controversial for his stance against gay rights. He is also the author of over twenty philosophical and biblical books. I like this quote though: Ride on Time.

9. This falls in the category of don’t listen to people’s words, watch their actions. Dreams without actions are very shallow.

10. What if all mothers had told their children this, what a different world we would live in. Motherhood is a vital assignment: Imagine.

11. Sometimes assignments with each other can be frivolous, this is one of them, or is it?

12. I am finding it easier to recognize the latter these days, It’s worth the effort: Adventure of a Lifetime.

13. Confucius’s principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, and respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. He also recommended family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle “Do not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself”, the Golden Rule.

14. Jean-Luc Godard once wrote, “Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoyevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is German music.” Two of his films were listed in Sight and Sounds 100 greatest film ever made: Invisible.

15. And here is your final assignment, remember it as often as you can.

Remember to work on at least one new assignment AKA personal relationship a week, it will transform your life!!

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

When I am sad I eat Chocolate!!

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Rod's World

” I recognise my anger and I honour my reaction to the darkness. I know my true power lies in my capacity to be the light. I call on the energy and thoughts of love to pour through me and inspire me to take action from a place of true power “. This powerful prayer is from Gabby Bernstein’s The Universe Has Your Back, it comes from Step 2: Remember where your true power lies.

I think that what we have to offer the world comes from our remembrance of it. If we are eternally sad, that’s how the world occurs for us. Why not be curious in our remembrance of events. How they affected us, why they made us joyous or sad, we have examples of them all.

Let’s strap on our memories and go on the journey:

1. I remember a drive from San Fransisco to Los Angeles down the coast road on a foggy day. We picked up a hitchhiker going to his Narcotics Anyomous meeting. He was a local and took us to all the places people didn’t know about. The connectedness to the people and the area was remarkable.

2. This song was number one in our country for a lengthy period: Beautiful People.

3. Imagine if you walked the streets doing this, what a difference a day would make!!

4. There is that really bad 90’s Arnie movie End of days. I can remember moments for decades ago, and forget what I did last weekend: Moment of Clarity.

5. I was born in the 1950’s. Lots of truth to Brue lee’s statement. I remember the people I know and not many others who did not live a life worth remembering.

6. What memories live in your heart. then can be from your childhood or yesterday, they say time is a made up concept anyway: Memories of a song in my Heart.

7. My friend and I went on a cricket trip in the 80’s to Sydney, 1,000 kilometres away. He met our friend’s sister, fell in love and moved to Sydney three months later.

8. I have this vivid memory of Ken, the American Vietnam veteran who rescued us from the bush in New Zealand after our two-day hike in the mountains went bottoms up: I Remember You.

9. How often does this happen? Besties one day demoted to part of the pack six months later.

10. Is this the ultimate state of being? I use giving and receiving, better at the first, not so great at the second: Giving and Getting

11. People remember what you do, not what you say. A powerful memory.

12. Memories are made of this, but your future isn’t/ Fulfil your dreams: Follow The Sun.

13. Whilst writing this I received the phone call from one of my sisters I had been dreading. My beloved brother in law passed from cancer last night.

14.Lessing was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described her as “that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny”. Lessing was the eleventh woman and the oldest person ever to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature: I remember when I was Young.

15. And this is the place our memories live.

So as the phone call shows, your memories can change instantly, hold onto the great ones.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Nature is pleased with Simplicity!

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Rod's World

Sometimes we feel that we have just reconnected with a truth we’ve always known and that if we could just know more about it, our life would be delightful and rich. I call it reconnection with your soul. It takes letting go of many of the things that clutter our lives in the hectic busyness of the modern world.

How do you reconnect with those simple things that used to please you as a child? Let’s have a look at what the world has to say about it:

1. One way I find works is to reconnect and recommit to my core values, as Zig Ziglar, the iconic business coach says we can begin again and make a new ending.

2. I ran into a friend I had not seen for five years in a hat shop in Leningrad. What reconnection brownie points were taking place for this to happen: Fate.

3. From one of the world’s greatest philosophers, Master Unknown comes a beautiful quote about how and why we reconnect.

4. Throw out those judgments and the chance of reconnection being able to come to the fore is much more prevalent: Connection.

5. Laurie Colwin (June 14, 1944 – October 24, 1992) was an American writer who wrote five novels, three collections of short stories and two volumes of essays and recipes. She was known for her portrayals of New York society and her food columns in Gourmet magazine. This is great advice she is offering.

6. This quote is a recipe for reconnection with our souls, I think it is essential: One Human Race.

7. I have a special one of these, a mate I met at a retreat four years ago, Michael, you rock my soul.

8. Beautiful image for a beautiful practice: The Best of Me.

9. How did we survive with these relatively new words that have been added to our dictionaries? What’s a dictionary, is that spellcheck or google it?

10. Co-founder of the online sensation, The Huffington Post. Arianna points to the power of meditation and contemplation in reconnecting with our inner selves: Beautiful.

11. the opening lines from the all-time classic song, The Sounds of Silence. We need to reconnect with all of us for it to truly work out.

12. Go for it, email me the results to rod.williams13 @gmail.com: Never Grow Up.

13. How difficult is this living our distracted lives?

14. Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American philosopher, self–help author, and a motivational speaker. His first book, Your Erroneous Zones (1976), is one of the best-selling books of all time, with an estimated 35 million copies sold to date: Make peace with your Ego.