Category Archives: Achievement

Does No mean No.

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We often come across seeming ludicrous decisions in our life, things that do not just make sense. An example that occurred in my life recently was an edict from a local council not to use the overhead projector in a facility we hired even though we were willing to pay more money if necessary. This meant we would have to fork out several hundred dollars to buy one , money we do not have while the projector in place sat there unused.

My old mate Steve who I used to stand on the barricades with is a councillor for the area, an anarchist and a man who does not take kindly to ridiculous regulations. He believes that council employees are there to serve the ratepayers, something that council employees sometimes seem to forget in their day to day actions. So I wrote to him and he has got the CEO on to it, so No may not mean No.

I got this new sense of power from watching Amanda Palmers amazing TED talk about the art of asking, heres the link 14 minutes of transformation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMj_P_6H69g, when do we assume and not ask, how many opportunities have we let go by by saying in our mind I know the answer to that, I know it took something for the person in my last relationship something to break down my already always listening that relationships don’t work. In the end my attachment to this koan was so strong she left.

So what areas do I now ask in I never used to before?

1. In the area of contribution, I no longer think thats impossible because….. The help is always out there, you just need to be open and keep on asking.

2. In the area of Giving, If I see that someone needs assistance I will give generously of my time and money if that is what is required. Recently I could not attend a friends fund raiser to travel to Bali to attend a workshop and I contacted him to donate some money. he suggested I buy a ticket and that he make it available to someone who could not afford to come.

3. In the area of Love, I have struggled with self love my whole life and up until last year was a handshaker not a hugger. I broke through this at a retreat I attended and am now asked to give hugs and complimented for the loving hugs I give people.

4. In the area of Wisdom, I have always had an  inner wisdom but I was very unwilling to share it, being an introvert and all. This blog is a result of a breakthrough in that area and my 800 plus Facebook friends, many who I have obtained on the recommendation of others.

Thats enough, Namaste my friends until next time

What is Community?

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I attended an amazing community event yesterday – Rewilding the Urban Soul – a campfire conversation. It was led by two women who had had two life altering experiences and written books about them: Maya Ward walked the length of the major artery in Melbourne, Australia, The Yarra River and Claire Dunn, who spent a year living off the grid. Maya’s book is https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Comfort-of-Water-A-River-Pilgrimage/129867517114277 and Claire’s https://www.facebook.com/myyearwithoutmatches

They had originally organised it for a site that seated at about 40 people at https://www.facebook.com/CERES.Environment.Park?fref=ts but had to move it as the Facebook attendees got to over 200, about 150 turned up. They were hugely different quests but both had a similar theme: that we have lost touch with the land and had got stuck in our daily routines however noble they were. Maya had spent years organising events at Ceres environmental Park and Claire had worked as an environmental activist for over a decade.

I am fascinated by the wisdom of Indigenous people and their contact with the land , they do not own it as we think  we do  , they are part of it. At most of the events I attend in my local area Welcome to Country is given at the beginning of the event. This is a special ceremony that welcomes you to the land and gives respect to the land and the wisdom of the elders for the local indigenous tribe the Wurrundjeri, who have been custodians of the land for 40,000 years.

Clare was asked a questions about whether she used local indigenous methods as part of her survival skills over the year. Clare replied that she had wherever possible but that there was so little reference material for native housing that she had had to experiment using her own experiences before she came up with a practical home after two months but that she tried to use indigenous practices from around the world such as starting fires without matches for all other things. Clare was a part of a group of six people who were close in proximity to each other for the period of the twelve months.

People were more interested in the inner journey rather than the outer journey but both Maya and Clare returned the conversation to the fact that the inner transformation had come from the physical actions of in Maya’s case, walking for 22 days and Clare, in being with the land for 12 months. I asked Maya a question after the event that they often said that as humans we do not listen, but are just waiting fir the right of reply. Maya replied that yes, thats what it was all about. Another person asked Clare was she afraid of dying during the period.

So how do we get this remarkable sense of community with the land and all its creatures, including us human beings? Attending events like this one helps as people get to share their dreams and actions about being able to live like this. Take off your shoes and get contact with the land on a regular basis and feel the energy of mother earth. Have technology free days or weeks, talk to your neighbours and workmates, do not assume they do not have similar dreams.

I have brought Clare’s book and will report on it later, Namaste until next time, dear friends.

How big is your iTunes?

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guitarMost of the people I know use iTunes, i recently sold 500 CD’s to my brother in laws mate for $50 – he has a son with Down’s syndrome and they go to markets and sell vinyl and CD’s as a father/son thing as the son really enjoys it. They were sitting in my garage gathering dust as I listen to my music on iTunes.

How do we as music fans source our music these days? I have over 300 musician friends on my Facebook page, My friends Kavisha Mazzella calls me a patron of the Arts as I sponsor many crowd funding campaigns and have many an obscure Australian CD through this practice. I even have a Haitian folk singer Leyla McCalla album Vari-Coloured Songs through this practice, Its beautiful but would never had sourced it except for having seen it on Kickstarter. Her  name called to me so I sponsored her on a whim.

Another method I use is Op Shopping, You pay between $1.00 to $3.25 a CD which gives you the opportunity to buy several and if one of them doesn’t work out I recycle them back to the opshop after putting them on my iTunes anyway. I recently got the best of Crowded House for a dollar using this method, I gave it to my sister Ruth to listen to in the car as I know she likes the Finn brothers music, cheap presents and much appreciated.

Another site I like is Bandcamp because musicians get more money than from iTunes and being played on Spotify. I have 83 albums in my collection courtesy of quite a few Disturbed Earth CD’s. My friend Dean Richards composes under the name Disturbed Earth and sells his wide range for $3.00 an album, I have eleven at the moment, some more listenable than others, I think I’ll buy another two after writing this. I became a friend with a musician called Yesod through band camp who lives in Missouri as he contacted me and asked me why I was buying his music, I had to tell him I had got onto it because I liked the name of his band and album covers.

My brother Hugo is an announcer on http://www.3RRR.org – his show is called Frank and is on Friday mornings from midnight to 2 a.m. He is my older brother and I must give him credit for my wide music tastes and I do have quite a few CD’s he has burnt me in my collection. I try not to access music through burnt albums although I copy CD’s from the local library but never copy them for other people.

How much music do I have on my iTunes, 16 days, 7 hours and I always listen on shuffle so I am pleasantly surprised track by track. Namaste my friends, until next time.

What is your Storyboard?

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I recently attended a talk by Trevor Young, AKA the P.R. warrior – https://www.facebook.com/prwarrior?fref=ts who stated that all of us have a brand even if we don’t think so. He went on to ask us who was in charge of our brand, circumstance or deliberate actions. I have been thinking about this since this informative talk and suspect that I am clearly in the former at the moment.

If you did not have words to express your life and commitments such as on storyboards how would it look? Mine would have 4 episodes of psychiatric hospitalisation after the age of 50 for social anxiety disorder suggesting to some people I am not in control of my life. It would also have years of volunteering to great causes to give back to the community that has supported me during my journey including being on the board of CERES environment park for 7 years, the prominent Environmental site in Australia. It would have me being part of a group that had the main street of Leningrad disrupted as we ran along Nevetsky Prospect, the main thoroughfare on a Friday afternoon in the name of ending world hunger, the Australian ambassador in Moscow would not believe it until we should him the pictures, yes in 1990 we still used cameras and photos.

So what do you want on your storyboard to depict the things that are the power and passion in your life. I want a board depicting me leading seminars spreading the ethos of Interculturalism, Love and Respect for All, No one left out as it become the dominant paradigm across the planet. I recently registered the business name I am an Interculturalist so I have put my foot in the water, Yay!!! I also want a board depicting the disarmament of armies world wide as humanity has realised the futility of seeking peace through violence.

I have seen the possibility of Love and Respect for All, No one left Out displayed in a small way at Darebin Intercultural Centre https://www.facebook.com/DarebinInterculturalCentre?fref=ts and have taken on the commitment of having it occur across the planet. I have set up this blog and an open Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/Interulturalism/?fref=ts so that people can share their versions of it. This is how people can see my storyboard for the power and passion in my life.

So to end some questions for you:

1. Do you have power and  passion in your life?

2. How do you display it?

3. Do you have a koan for it – The lift speech when you have 30 seconds to express it?

Thanks for listening, Namaste and have a great day

Let Us strive to be fully Human

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These words were written by Confucius 2.500 years ago as part of a quote – let us strive to be fully human and there will no longer be a place for evil. I believe there are 5 essential reasons that this has not occurred in this long, long, period of time.

1. Tribalism – The emphasis placed on tribe over humanity which leads to such shocking massacres and acts of genocide that occur around the world up to this day. Ukraine and Gaza come to mind. I think Rage against the Machines Killing in the name of expresses it beautifully, violent, out there music that shocks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNzIKoAy2pk.

2. Lack of Self Love – There are thousands of CD’s and books that tell us how to find the one to make us feel complete, then there are thousands of divorces each day when they don’t turn out to be that person. The emphasis that the answer to this is outside us is simply wrong.

3. Lack of gratitude – In this busy busy journey we call life the breakthrough in technologies have turned us into an instant gratification society. We have forgotten to remember to take time to smell the roses and be grateful for the simple things. I recommend a practice of starting a gratitude journal to get back in the habit.

4. Selling your soul for Money – I travel to where I do what I love Interculturalism on a train full of remorseful, shut down people where a word is not spoken. How did we become this from the out there life loving children we all once were. An education system that turns us into clones has a lot to answer for.

5. The death of Community  – I grew up in small country towns and the best and worst things was that everybody knew everything about you. It was safe to leave your car and pushbike unlocked even your house unlocked. We have gone in the totally opposite direction to a fear based society where we do not even know our next door neighbours, Volunteering in your local community helps break this down. Ask your neighbour to join you, you may be surprised at the result.

Getting to this part in the article I realise there are a lot more things one could add to the list but lets just start somewhere, namaste my friends.

Reality Rampage of Power

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I’ve been doing Izabella Siodmak – http://www.izabellasiodmak.com – The Pages of Power for Him for the past month. As I wrote in a previous blog I met Izabella on line via her ex lover I did a retreat with in the beautiful Byron shire in the Australian hinterlands, we both kept liking his posts so why not befriend each other. After a few months of doing this I thought I would check out what Izabella did so I went to her website, all good thought leaders have one, I’ve got one http://www.about.me/rodwill1707.com.

Discovered that she ran a retreat centre and produced these awesome workbooks. I ordered it and it was so pretty I couldn’t write in it so reproduced the pages and am now up to my second sheet. I do them every day and am proud to say I am creating a powerful new me through this practice. Here’s a few of the questions Izabella get you to ponder and write an empowering answer to.

– I am empowered whenever I ….

– I feel strong in my body when …, we all have body image stuff.

– I stand in my clarity and certainty when ….

– I experience my power when I am around…. looking at this one I have done a bit of a clean out.

– I now embrace the power of …… create your new life

– The strengths other see in me include….. Acknowledgement is a great thing to have as part of your daily practice.

– I see the power in others when……. As is Acknowledgement of Others

and I deserve…. create an empowering wish list, not a to do list.

Thats enough, don’t want to give it all away. Theres one for her as well as him and several other goodies. Check it out, its nearly time for Chrissie presents.

The workbook ends with the aptly titled Reality Rampage of Power.

I know what I want.

Everything works out well for me.

It’s just perfect.

Life is filled with ease, grace, knowing, clarity and my alignment in my power.

I accept only the best in Myself.

It’s easy to accept only the best.

I feel my power. I am the Power.

I am the power of the Youniverse.

I trust myself in each moment.

I am immeasurably divine and I know it in every particle of my being.

And So It Is.

I wrote this blog after doing todays answers, I am buzzing, Thanks Izabella – you rock, my Northern sister.

Should You Ask?

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I have changed my attitude to asking questions since watching this TED talk by Amanda Palmer on asking https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMj_P_6H69g, I came across peoples fear of asking at work recently where I am Social media Manager. We have 500 FB friends and I asked them  to tell there Friends about us, the repercussions of this where not what I expected. I only work two days a week and received a call at home that I had to remove the request immediately.

My way I treat people who link with you on Facebook  or any social media was transformed after reading a book called Think Like a Rock Star, Rockstars have fans who love them and other people have customers, here is a link to  a talk Mark Collier the author gave http://www.marketingprofs.com/podcasts/2013/11394/think-like-a-rock-star-author-mack-collier-talks-to-marketing-smarts-podcast, He gives five examples of bands/artists who have given power to their fans including Lady Gaga, go figure. So we have fans at work, not customers.

I could have got uppity about being told to take it off but did not, Its just another step in the process of asking becoming a valued commodity again. So a question, LOL – where do you just assume the answer and not bother asking,And a request that will transform your  life, ask 5 more questions a day and flourish.

My CD’s cost me $1.00

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Do you op shop, go to thrift stores, to recycle stores? My sister Ruth and I have been taking my 87 year old mum op shopping in Australia every Tuesday for the past 5 years. Edna taught us to opshop and volunteered in her local church op shop from an early age. Over this time we have come to know really well the specialties of each op shop in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and some of our favourite suburbs in the south and south east.

The mental illness store in High Street Northcote has a fantastic range of mens brand shirts for the outrageous price of $8.00. I brought a Tommy Hillfigger shirt there and when I told my work mate Luciano he said they sell for $120, bargain. There are some stores that are selling at label  prices in the last few years and that is why I love Brotherhood of St. Laurence stores, they live by the ethos that you charge by item, shirts $5.00, trousers $6.00, jackets $7.00 not by label. I brought a London Fog jacket at their Watsonia store last winter for $7.00. i was interested in the retail price as I had heard of the label. I had just saved $343.00, another bargain.

A great place to source information is on the speciality blogs that are proliferating on line about this sacred practice on of my favourites is http://ilovetoopshop.blogspot.com.au/, they also have a Facebook link where you get to share your special purchases of the week. Another site I got onto recently is http://nevereverpayretail.com.au/, a spunky young thing who knows her labels and does great pictures, there are heaps of them just google op shops or thrift stores for your state, county or country and you can access the passion of many like minded souls who love a bargain.

There are many large super stores like Savers in Melbourne, an idea that was imported from Canada I believe . Just checked their site, they started in 1954, same age as me, 60 years of providing quality bargains. Both my nephews have worked in Savers in Brunswick. I think that is one of the joys of Op shopping, the staff are  mainly volunteers and genuinely love being there. I have had many a great conversation with staff at the Salvo’s, Vinnies and other like minded stores and they have always been passionate. Here’s the link for Savers: http://www.savers.com.au/

I also found one in High Street that sells CD’s for $1.00, CD’s range for this price to the outrageous price of $3.25. As I keep my music on my computer and iPhone these days I buy them and recycle them next week. I recently found Crowded Houses greatest hits and my all time favourite disco era band, Chic’s greatest hits. $2.00 for 2 hours of quality music. I will always love my mother Edna May Williams for passing on the gift of loving an Op Shop and my sisters Ruth and jann for being huge Op shoppers as well, thats how I started my wooden horse collection. My Chinese star sign is that of the Wooden horse and my sister from Tasmania Jann lobbed one birthday with about 15 horses in different shape and form informing me everybody needs to collect at least one thing. Have added a few to the collection since then, Its amazing how they seem to appear in your opshop after you need them when you didn’t notice them before.

So take an oath today: I ………… will willingly and lovingly buy from Op Shops/ Thrift stores from today on and donate to worthwhile causes and save shitloads of money. Yay!!!!!

4.15 a.m. , Wide awake for 3 hours

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I had an amazing weekend, attended two inspirational events. The first was a Kundalini empowerment in Carnegie. heres an article that gives you a sense of what opening your Kundalini channels offers you http://simonarich.com/kundalini-awakening-symptoms. During the night an unexplained flash went through the room, powerful stuff. When they started talking about the gurus involved I was a bit apprehensive as I have had a past experience of my guru having affairs with his students. I got over this and settled into the evening, Miroslav, Charmaine and Zoorian were wonderful facilitators. Simple techniques that were respectful of everybody in the room.

The second was Own Your Fuck, a sexuality exploration. it was take two for me as I had attended the first one six weeks ago. i got so much out of the first one I simply had to attend again. No sex involved , no touching , just awesome heart felt processes. A sound shower for 40 minutes where you accessed your body and made the sound that was necessary to clear your blockages. An interview with your penis/Vagina using the name you call it. My name is tripod, different to last time when it was The Lovehammer. In this interview you ask what is your relationship with your Tripod and then you reverse the situation and you interview your Tripod and how it feels about the relationship.

Lots of dancing and great vegan food down the road at Friends of the Earth, ten bucks for lots of healthy food. its interesting the people who attended, quite a few men which is unusual as it is women who are leading the transformation of sexuality movement in Australia. Miroslav and Belinda have the ability to attract all sorts of people.

Here are their links, Belinda https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holistic-Moon/142744245786346 and Miroslav https://www.tribeheart.com.au.  This how I am writing this at 4.30 after having been awake for three hours. I got home well sated and went to bed at 9.40, 4 hours later I woke up, wide awake. I only sleep four hours a night now since starting using Body Balance but thats another story. Thanks to all the beautiful people I shared these experiences with, you have allowed me to get closer to my soul. Namaste, all.

A few of My favourite Things, via lists.

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I like lists, it shows people have taken the time to research and think about a subject and are willing to pass their wisdom on. I may not agree with it but I am appreciative of the time and passion they have put into it.

So I would like to do a list of my favourite new thought leaders on the airwaves, they are not in rank, they are all valuable in what they offer to the planet.

1. Mastin Kipp: http://Thedailylove.com, I met Mastin in Sydney last year when I travelled up from Melbourne only to find they had put the wrong address on the Facebook event page. I missed the first half hour of Kundalini Yoga but was honoured to take part in his inspiring Heart Process. He blogs daily and get into your soul, highly recommended.

2. Lissa Rankin: http://LissaRankin.com, I came across Lissa via Mastin when he used to have people write blogs on his page, he has stopped this practice. her blog made my heart shudder, wrote a remarkable book called Mind over medicine which relates her journey from M.D. to thought leader, you work through a process and do a self diagnosis and a prescription in the end. Also created the distinction Your Inner Pilot Light, I like it much more than your Intuition. Get the book.

3. The Purpose Fairy; http://www.Thepurposefairy.com/, my favourite list provider. Came out of Romania to be featured on Oprah and at the Awesomeness festival. Have gained so many insights reading her quirky outlook on life, I share her lists to my network a lot.

4. Jeff Brown: Soulshaping.com, the distinction of enrealment not enlightenment shook me to my soul. His books, I’ve brought all three are gems. You can read one page of one book and it will do you for the day or week for that matter. He posts a lot on Facebook and each one can change your life.

5.Martin Soulreader: Aura & Soul Psychology, posts the best quotes and Images on the Facebook realm on a consistent basis. has a web page http://www.soulpsychology.org that has lots of services on it, haven’t utilised them yet but very reasonably priced, does very good short Youtube videos.

6. Danielle La Porte: Another Canadian like Jeff Brown, http://www.daniellelaporte.com, her workbooks The Fire Starter Sessions and The Desire Map should be required reading in all high schools. As I wrote in my last blog she will change you life from to do lists to living from your passions.

7. Izabella Siodmak: http://www.izabellasiodmak.com, I got onto Izabella through her ex lover who I did a retreat with, she kept liking his posts and I friended her on Facebook as you do. her books The pages of Power for Him and for her can transform your life if you are honest.

8. Leyolah Antara: Founder of the magnificent Kundalini Dance lifestyle http://www.kundalinidance.com,
Leyolah is a powerful shaman whose forte is Womens sexuality. I came across when I went to a Kirtan evening in Melbourne Australia and it had advertised a Kundalini Dance. I didn’t know what it was but enjoyed it so much I enrolled for an 8 week dance course at the age of 59. It opened my heart Chakra so much and I met my next list participant out of it.

9. Tanishka Tantrika, The Moon Woman, http://www.starofishtar.com I went to the Rainbow Bridge 13:13:13 retreat out of doing Kundalini Dance. A this retreat I became a man, an elder and married myself making it possible to marry someone else, not bad at the age of 59. Tanishka was channeling I do not know what, but when asked to repeat it, said sorry darling, she likes the word darling. Her Moon Woman site has over 400,000 likes on Facebook, she deserves it, get on board.

10. Miroslav Petrovic and Paras Paradise Yazdani, http://www.Tribeheart.com.au. Two switched on young things, founder of Tribe Heart events in Melbourne Australia with elemental themes, drug and alcohol free, kid friendly, don’t have a website re their transformational work yet but keep an eye on them. Mykki is an inspirational course leader and very inovative. his recent Own your Fuck sexuality work shop was awe inspiring. Paras loves clean living and healthy food, has Bliss days Link to them on Facebook.