Pay as you Feel or Donate, its all Giving.

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Rod's World

I wanted to write todays blog on the pay as you feel ethos, there is a chain of restaurants in my hometown of Melbourne, Australia called Lentil as Anything who do just that, you eat there and pay what you can afford. There are not many pay as you feel quotes so I have had to move over to what it is to donate or give of our time.

I give a lot of the little money I have that I can afford to give. I support guide dogs as I have a blind friend, I support Green peace and several other organisations who do good stuff around the planet and volunteer my time as well as an English teacher and a Social media nerd.

I have chosen 15 quotes that i think will allow for some interesting comment. Here we go:

1. I have a friend Emeli who runs an organisation called Collective Potential whose target audience is corporate types who have realised that the $100,000 job does not provide the satisfaction they are looking for. Frankly they never do.

2. At least several times in out lives the chance will come to make a difference to someone. I once met a person in the street who told me that I wouldn’t remember him because he used to be a drug addict but that I had saved his life in the way I had treated him as a human being and not a number when I worked for the government welfare agency. He was right, I didn’t.

3. What makes the greatest difference, the child talking to the homeless man who has not spoken to someone in five days or the millionaire making a six figure tax deductible donation. I know which one does for me.

4. Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who, along with her father and other family members, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. She was imprisoned for her actions. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, describes the ordeal. She certainly lived the meaning of the above quote.

5. As the example of the person I met in the street who said I had saved his life thorough my actions and that of children who talk to strangers like they know the person needs love these are both moments of the above.

6. This man is a frigging saint, enough said.

7. Can I put a Dolly Parton song in this blog , yes I can : Put a little Love IN Your Heart.

8. What would it take to make a statement like this. Anne Frank was a teenage jewish Schoolgirl hiding from the Nazi’s who wrote the Diaries of a Young Girl which was made into the iconic film The Diary of Anne Frank, she did not survive.

9. Sir Ken Robinson has done four TED talks on the danger of rigid education. He points out if you buy into the mainstream you will not know how to give your gifts to the planet, they will be drained out of you.

10. In the United states there are over 100,000 people waiting for live saving organs, why do we get buried intact when we could just as easily save another’s life. I don’t think your God would notice the difference.

11. There are people who are worshipped for what they gave in their lifetimes, this man is one of them, and yes we killed him as well.

12. What every person thinks who this happens for, they may not be able to say it physically or mentally.

13. It is always valued by someone, at times you will be rewarded in person, in other times it may be your next lifetime, if you believe in that sort of thing.

14.The Tao Te Ching, Daodejing, Dao De Jing, or Daode jing, also simply referred to as the Laozi, is a Chinese classic text. According to tradition, it was written around 6th century BC by the sage Laozi, a record-keeper at the Zhou dynasty court, by whose name the text is known in China. The text’s true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated, although the oldest excavated text dates back to the late 4th century BC. It is full of wisdom like this.

15. The great Buddhist concept of compassion as spread by the Dalai Lama is well spoken in this quote by Steve Maraboli, the worlds most quoted man.

Will the people who are the givers of the world withstand the attack of the takers,is it really the beginning of the Age of Aquarius as is being promoted on the internet, I hope so.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

Rod Has a Way with Words.

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Rod's World

I recently have been become resistant to a growing power within me. I went through a process with my mentor Arion Light the other day and he asked me where I was resisting it most. I answered in having my new business be a success My website.

Life is based on a premise for me that to change one must be willing to step forward or your life will keep teaching you lessons until you get them. I had worked in Federal Government service until my heart told me to to leave and I did not listen and was retired never to work again.

During this time I have kept up my knowledge of editing in all its facets as I was an editor of a National Development journal back in the early 80’s. I have had a love of words my whole life and am very good at expressing them even to the point of getting my cigarette money at high school by writing other peoples essays for them. So in retirement my friends who run businesses said why don’t you start your own as they were willing to pay me to do what I was doing for them for nothing.

So what does Power mean to us, I have chosen 15 rather different quotes on the subject, lets begin our journey.

1. Knowledge gives you power when you are partaking in interactions on a daily basis, but if you have no enthusiasm for the subject the power involved tends to wane over time.

2. My business started off with a flourish, I am now working on my determination to keep going in the face of no results from my actions.

3. The only thing that is certain is our life that is it will change, we have to realise at times our mind will not want to do this as it will be uncomfortable and what our mind loves most is being comfortable.

4. In the process I mentioned at the start of this blog, Arion asked me to look at what I was no being passionate about that I loved. I think Midnights Oils Power And the Passion expresses this the best for me. Surprisingly the lead singer Peter Garrett succumbed to the power of becoming a federal politician and gave up many of his passions.

5. You cannot locate real power outside yourself, this is a lesson well learnt by many after seeking it through their career status, their amount of possessions and then they reach a point of dissatisfaction and begin the journey within.

6. Abraham Lincoln February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. He was one of the great examples of what a man can do with power if they do it with character.

7. Power is defined as follows:

Someone with power has physical strength or they’re in control of things. So a weakling who’s in charge of a business still has a lot of power.

Power comes from the Latin word potere, which means “to be able.” But things with power are much more than able — they’re able to exert a lot of force. “The powers that be” are those who hold authority, and “the power behind the throne” refers to the people who exert influence without being formally in charge. When used as a verb, power means “to supply with mechanical or electrical energy,” as in a nuclear-powered submarine. It is not very useful if you are going through life asleep.

8. “Do I dare Disturb the universe?”
― T.S. Eliot, The Wasteland, Prufrock and Other Poems sums up what governments do not want people to know, that they really do have the power if they are willing to take it.

9. Jimi Hendrix only lived to be 28 years old, he was one of the magic bus people along with Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison, iconic figures of their time who sang and spoke about the greatest power being Love. Here is Jimi’s opus to it Power of Love.

10. Reclaiming your Power can return you to being back on track in all areas of your life, in owning that you are off in one and doing what is needed to restore balance you are actually working on all areas.

11. When you stand in your power, your Sparkle shines through. All the colours of the rainbow included. Sparkle was a film made in 1976 and remade in 2012 that was a huge success with African American audiences loosely based on the life of Diana Ross and the Supremes Filmclip.

12. The halls of Power are not an easy climb for Women, on the way there they have many bricks thrown at them, its what they do with them that leads to the final result.

13. Many people fall by the wayside when it comes to the abuse of the power they have been gifted by their position. They did not handle the responsibility that came with the position, something I feel a bit in my business , I am learning to provide the level required.

14. John Ray was an environmentalist from the 16th century, he is best remembered for this quote around the power that comes with being considered beautiful.

15. The Power stance is part of a TED talk by Amy Cuddy that 32,154,177 have watched so it must be very informative on the subject of power : Amy’s Ted Talk. Hunched shoulders are not a sign of power

My gifts to people from my business are Proof reading, Website Polishing, Copy Editing, Slogan writing and Research. Contact and Like my Rod Has a Way with Words Facebook Page.

Namaste until Monday my dear friends.

From the Ashes Rises?

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Rod's World

I attended a seminar on the weekend called Prosper from your Passion run by Ben Harvey’s Authentic Education. The point that really stuck with me was the term you are only as sick as your secrets. The premise was if you can rise above the worst thing that has happened to you nobody can do anything to you and there is nothing you cannot do in your life because they have nothing on you.

So what does it take to rise up, rise above these secrets. The world has much to say about it, here is one definition:

rise above something to deal well with a difficult or unpleasant situation

.To successfully deal with a problem or difficulty:

cope, overcome, carry off…

to be morally good enough not to do something bad, especially something that most other people do.

To be morally good or correct:

rise above, be in the right, look good/bad…

rise above something to be better than other things of the same type

To be the best or better than someone else:

surpass, outdo, rise above…

Many people have commented on what it takes to rise up above where you have been, the 15 quotes I have chosen go as far back as 384 B.C. to Aristotle’s time, so lets begin our journey of the phoenix:

1. I sure all cat owners have seen that look at some stage in their lives, well here is the reason why. They have not given their beloved moggie their morning coffee.

2. Bruce Hornsby is an American singer and keyboardist known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances . As he says when we are at the beach we do not wait for the tide to rise: The River Runs Low.

3. Love or Hate is a choice. MLK’s famous quote “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” It takes a strong mind to rise above the weakness that allows hate.

4. The look on this swimmers face says it all. She has definitely risen above whatever concerns she had to totally enjoy the moment.

5. I have a mentor who believes that when we have risen above it all we see everything as a gift, that nothing is a mistake. Not many people have reached this lofty position as yet, we are all still rising.

6. You are a unique human being and have gifts for the planet. Some of us have just forgotten this, time to Rise UP!! I’ll Fly Away.

7. Perhaps the most famous rising quote by one of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin was a renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, Freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. He certainly lived a live that followed the premise of his quote.

8. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian : جلال‌الدین محمد رومی‎‎), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى), Mawlānā/Mevlânâ (مولانا, “our master”), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, “my master”), and more popularly simply as Rumi (1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic Scholar, theologian, and Sufi Mystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet” and the “best selling poet” in the United States. His poems go from several lines as above to several pages long enquiries into subjects. Coleman Barks is considered the greatest interpreter of Rumi, here is some of his work: Coleman reading Rumi.

9. “The Phoenix rising from the ashes.” . As the story goes, the phoenix is a mythical bird with fiery plumage that lives up to 100 years. Near the end of its life, it settles in to its nest of twigs which then burns ferociously, reducing bird and nest to ashes. And from those ashes, a fledgling phoenix rises – renewed and reborn. At times we are like phoenixes , we feel like we have been reduced to ashes. It is our journey to arise new and reborn.

10. In our country of Australia, we have a situation called the tall poppy syndrome, it fundamentally speaks to the fact that you are not meant to rise above your calling, Luckily for the new generations it is becoming an outmoded principle and we can stop bring people down. We need to have it be OK to rise up and blossom.

11. Another quote I like about rising up is Marianne Williamson’s If you’re not being crucified , you’re probably not on your mission. It takes something to achieve your dreams and at times you will feel like you are dying inside because people are still listening to you pre dream fulfilment stage.

12. The Dark and the Light, its what gives us the opportunity to rise again, So called negative emotions are not bad, its just how we relate to them. Let them overcome you then you will suffer, learn from them and you are on the rise.

13. The worlds first philosopher, his books still sell 2000 years later. He is remembered for his wisdom and propriety. He was very much a supporter of the middle way.

14. Maya Angelou is one of life’s great female orators, she is a stand for people being as unique as they can and rising as high in the sky as their efforts allow them.

15. Maya’s most famous poem is Still I Rise. Here is a recording of her reciting it. Still I Rise.

It is up to up to Rise. Whether your dream is to be the worlds greatest mum, our children’s preschool dream of being an astronaut or a fairy, to have a number one hit single it is our responsibility to fulfil our dreams, that is what we were sent here for.

Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die. Tom Clancy

Namaste until Thursday , my dear friends

Trusting in Allowing!!

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Rod's World

I read an article from the Goddess Circle which started with this quote :

“My daughter,” the Goddess said. “The sooner we release the grip on what is no longer serving us, what no longer fits and what is no longer in alignment with our highest good, the sooner what is meant for us can flow into our world. The sooner you let go of a life that isn’t yours, you open yourself to one that is.”

It made me think of how what we allow in our life can control how it turns out, here is the full article, its very good, Trusting.

So what does to allow or allowing mean here is one dictionaries definition.Expand

allow

/əˈlaʊ/

verb

(transitive) to permit (to do something); let

(transitive) to set aside: five hours were allowed to do the job

(transitive) to let enter or stay: they don’t allow dogs

(transitive) to acknowledge or concede (a point, claim, etc)

(transitive) to let have; grant: he was allowed few visitors

(intransitive) foll by for. to take into account: allow for delays

(intransitive) often foll by of. to permit; admit: a question that allows of only one reply

(transitive; may take a clause as object) ( US, dialect) to assert;maintain

(transitive) ( archaic) to approve; accept

Word Origin

C14: from Old French alouer, from Late Latin allaudāre to extol, influencedby Medieval Latin allocāre to assign, allocate.

So as we can see there are many different meraning, actually there are probably as many different meanings as there are human beings on the planet.

There were many different quotes, I have chosen some serious ones and a few light hearted ones to explore, lets begin out journey.

1. Dodinsky is the author of the NY Times best-selling book IN THE GARDEN OF THOUGHTS. His intent was simply to share his reflections about life in order to help heal the wounds inflicted by life’s troubles. At the time, the man known by his readers as Dodinsky had no idea that within months of starting his blog In The Garden of Thoughts, thousands of readers would find healing through the modest words he planted. Don’t allow your most beautiful dreams to become homeless. Dodinsky’s website.

2. In alllowing the reverence of gratitude in our lives, this allows for the possibility of any single moment to transform how we relate to life.

3. Possibly Mark Twain’s most famous quote. Do you put self love at the top of your list, as your priority. This allows you to realise when you are an option in someone else’s life. My suggestion is to walk away.

4. Thích Nhất Hạnh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He lives in Plum Village in the Dordogne region in the south of France, travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. His chief message is don’t allow the suffering in your life to keep you from being happy.

5. What does kindness allow in life. According to Mark Twain it is universal and does not have to be spoken as the deaf can hear it and the blind can see it.

6. Allowing or Attracting, as this quote points out it is always there so it is better to allow it than attract it, controversial I might say.

7. Tony Gaskins is a motivational speaker, author and life coach. Having appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tyra Banks Show and TBN’s 700 Club, Gaskins has become one of the most sought after speakers in the US. I like this quote a lot, it is very powerful.

8. But what if this happens, or they don’t turn up. Complaints don’t make a great deal of difference, Stop allowing it in your life or letting it happen is a more positive solution.

9. We reflect in our lives what we put in to the mix. From my experience of mental health issues where I held on steadfastly to my negative beliefs I have to agree with this one. I am so much healthier now that I have taken the time to do things that help me counter the effects of this.

10. Perhaps the most famous song about Allowing is the Rolling Stones Sympathy for the Devil. This quote points out the danger of allowing our corporations who are driven by the almighty dollar have too much influence, Monsanto and Nestle come to mind, one trying to control the world food industry, the other the worlds water supply.

11. I like this quote, we will all make mistakes, its just part of the human condition. The Art in life is learning which one to move forward with and turn it into our Art.

12. As hard as we try, we cannot avoid feeling insulted, attacked and taken for granted at some stage in out lives. When this occurs you must allow yourself forgiveness or events that happened on the past will keep controlling how you relate to current time.

13. Esther Hicks is an American inspirational speaker and author. She has co-authored nine books with her husband Jerry Hicks, presented numerous workshops on the law of attraction with Abraham Hicks. Here she talks about Allowance being as a result of appreciation. Here is their theme song ,If you want it, It can Happen.

14. Here is the light hearted one which has a slight dig at Facebook, you can stare at people with out getting caught.

15. Who doesn’t want inner peace, renowned Buddhist practitioner Pema Chodron points out not allowing other people or events to control your emotions is the middle path to achieving this.

What do you allow to control your life, your family, your friends, your thoughts, to me it is a life long journey and is something you need to spend time on daily as we are influenced by what we come in contact with moment to moment.

Namaste until Thursday my dear friends. Happy Allowing.

How do you Give?

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Rod's World

I volunteer at a local council social enterprise Darebin Intercultural Centre where we spread the ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included. I created a public open Facebook page allowing people to support this ethos : Access to the Interculturalism Page.

What has brought about the increase of social enterprises when people who make raw organic chocolates and plant trees with a percentage of their profits like Pana Chocolate in Australia go to their website. Newman’s Own is a food company founded by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner in 1982. The company gives 100% of the after-tax profits from the sale of its products to Newman’s Own Foundation (a private non-profit foundation) which in turn, gives the money to various educational and charitable organisations. In 1982 Newman summarized his initial intentions regarding distribution of his company’s profits: “My profits will be divided between a number of tax-deductible charities and causes, some church-related, others for conservation and ecology and things like that.” This has been happening for over 30 years, a remarkable effort that has surely enlivened many great projects.

Why did people start leaving the capitalist driven mentality that its all about the profit. Lets check out the 15 quotes that look at the world of social enterprise:

1. The quote by Maya Angelou “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” also speaks to what Albert is pointing out, you can’t take it with you and what remains are people’s feelings.

2. Hard to read but the last line is clear, Leave a Legacy. There is the famous story about the lists of the worlds most famous wealthy men in the 1920’s before the Great depression. After it none of them were on it and none of them were remembered.

3. We have an education system that seems to be more and more about this, I remember the saying that when your children are born most of the tools thye use will not have been. Why do they insist on teaching children their parents and grand parents knowledge.

4. You will find in Social enterprises this is a very important part of their lives Their offices are set up as a common space so that people feel they are part of a community. Another organisation I am involved with Collective Potential is currently working out of one of the new co working hubs that are breaking out over the world, where creative’s share space and ideas. Revolver Creative.

5. Lets return to 1982 for our first song, social enterprises definitely do not cry What about Me?

6. Social minded organisations are incredibly focused on this , thats its about their customer base not themselves, with out customers there is no self.

7. A lot of Social Enterprises are about this, educating the masses to empower themselves after being in contact with their organisation. As Bob Marley sang : Get Up, Stand Up.

8. These like minded social entrepreneurs know that its not about their first million, they are here for a much grander purpose, the survival of the planet.

9. The worlds most famous Cigar smoker, Winston Churchill points out the courage of standing up for your beliefs and listening as to how they will serve the world.

10. My friend Miroslav Petrovic is one of the greatest at doing this I know The Way of the Heart. Social Enterprises do not hold back in this area.

11. I love these word circles, for Social Enterprise they are all inspiring

12. Who more than Mahatma could dare to make a statement like this, can you about your social enterprise.

13. I suppose I could not write this blog with out a mention of our friend Social Media. My backdrop picture states I only post about peace, love, truth, harmony, self-growth, bliss, beauty, life, light, wonder, happiness and the goodness on the world: only the brave will hang in with me. Social Enterprise is my tool for this at http://www.rodhasawaywithwords.com.

14. But in Social Enterprise you must always remember this!

15. George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was a Nobel Prize and Oscar-winning Irish playwright, critic and socialist whose influence on Western theatre, culture and politics stretched from the 1880s to his death in 1950. I see Social Enterprise as the major positive change of this century so far.

Well as you may be able to tell from my writing I see Social Enterprise as the way forward in our restitution of our society from where mainstream media and big business are trying to take us.

Namaste until next Monday , my dear friends.

‘

Find Where It is, Follow your Bliss!!

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Rod's World

it is important to note that following one’s bliss, as Joseph Campbell saw it, isn’t merely a matter of doing whatever you like, and certainly not doing simply as you are told. It is a matter of identifying that pursuit which you are truly passionate about and attempting to give yourself absolutely to it. In so doing, you will find your fullest potential and serve your community to the greatest possible extent.

Joseph Campbell did a series of interviews at George Lucas’s Skywalker ranch in California during 1988 that would bring to the world the expression Follow your Bliss. There has been much spoken about it, with a lot of it being on YouTube 57 videos on Joseph Campbell’s Work.

So what does bliss mean to you. Bliss is defined as ecstasy or extreme happiness in daily life, or theologians refer to it as the ecstatic joy of heaven. Bliss is one of my five core desired feelings, the others being Peace, Love, Helping other People Evolve and Abundance. These are what I use to live my life and achieve my results from. It is from the Desire Map work process developed by Danielle LaPorte. It has transformed how I relate to life.

What do we as humanity say about bliss, I have chosen 15 quotes most of which mention bliss but several that don’t, lets see how it has been construed over the decades. Here we go :

1. People have tried to lead others to the state of bliss for a long time, this list seems to be a great way to get there.

2. Amy is an author, media personality, and expert dating, relationship, & wellness coach and medical intuitive. Her motto is Live Joy, be Kind, Love Unconditionally. One of the most quoted women on the internet, she says bliss is everywhere, its up to you to choose it.

3. In the state of bliss, everything is loved. Something that I and most of the people I know seem to battle with given how society is presented on a daily basis. keep up the good work everybody.

4. Here’s another version of bliss I definitely do not agree with, this is how governments control the masses, through their ignorance.

5. To me this quote signifies braveness, creativity, unlimited possibilities and positivity. It signifies everything that a young child naturally possesses and as we grow older we are stripped of these traits and are replaced with fear of failure. Picasso made me re-evaluate my life and I came up with a list of things I must do in order to keep my inner child alive.

6….”To maintain the state of bliss, the infinite consciousness must have the most ingenious ways of both having monotony and overcoming it, of so combining order with randomness that the principle of order does not issue in dead uniformity, nor the principle of randomness in chaos. Alan Watts gave a fascinating talk on the subject placing bliss somewhere between the two, its long but well worth it. Control and Randomness.

7. Remember the joy of the imaginary friends and the fairies and wizards we could see when we were young, Adele sings about this on her new album Back in those days.

8. My friend Jessica from Canada likes owls, we swap pictures of them on Facebook. I agree with this statement, that is what is in our unconsciousness that challenges our ability to attain the state of bliss.

9. It is a term used to falsely justify apathy on the given subject in the form of a catchy cliché. A prevalent saying of the people in the West when confronted by the truth. Steven Fry points to why this categorically untrue.

10. Is bliss sweet and internal, it seems to be far off the beaten track of normality. Here Alice ensures the Mad Hatter that he is well on the path to it.

11. Bliss to me is a state of where Everything is a gift. Acceptance of all the above allows the opening of the heart through trapping nothing inside.

12. I’m sure all parents can relate to this state of Bliss. Here’s a song from Jennifer Lopez about it – I love my Child.

13. That must be why they say we need to re declare our Love for each other each morning, so we can remember this.

14. Before they learn duality babies have the most wondrous blissful look, this video clip by Nahko Bear reminds me of that wondrous state – Aloha Ke Akua.

15. For the last quote we go to the master of Bliss, Joseph Campbell. He makes you a promise that if you follow your bliss and don’t be fearful of it, doors will open that you cannot imagine.

Having delved into this divine state, we can see that it is possible to attain it, but that you have to put in some determined effort. It just doesn’t happen by itself.

Namaste until next Monday , my dear friends.

Indifference is costing us the Planet!!

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Rod's World

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

I have always been a volunteer, my 88 year old mum Edna trained us to be involved in the community, she was a Brown Owl and involved in the local church all through our childhood. Mine has mainly been activism, environmentalism and Interculturalism being my latest passions.

Dr Suess’s character The Lorax , was heard to utter “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

So what does the world have to say about activism and why is there so littl eof it to counter mainstream media’s charge toward destruction.

Here are 15 quotes that may provide the answer. Let’s have a look

1. Ross Perot, America’s voice that states truths and the answer to the Greens party in Australia, points out it is not words that make the difference in activism its the actions.

2. One of the youngest winners of the Nobel Peace Prize at 16, Malala Yousafzai survived being shot in the head to being the best known activist for women’s education on the planet.

3. Jamaica: home of Zombies and Devils, their best known import Bob Marley, chose his activism to be Is this Love.

4. Ricky Gervais is one of the planets best known atheists as well as a great actor and comedian. He is very active in pointing out the benefits of atheism compared to the craziness of the religions that seem to control the planet.

5. Alice Walker is one of my heroines, Alice become a civil right activists in the 60’s after meeting Martin Luther King Jr. , turning to writing she released the iconic The Color Purple which the famous line I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it. comes from. At 81 she is still an activist for human rights and all living beings.

6. My friend Jeffrey Slayter says we are all going Sane in an Insane World, he provides a lot of information to help us do this Info for your Sanity., John Lennon agrees with him about the insanity.

7. Another great African American Female activist Audrey Lorde accuses the human race that their silence will not protect them when the shit hits the fan.

8. Samuel Clemens better known as Mark Twain was credited with writing the Great American Novel, The adventures of Huckleberry Finn was not astray from pointing out that you can not hide from the wrongs of the world by shutting your eyes to them.

9. Its interesting that in mainstream media you do not read much about our famous female activists of the world. Winona LaDuke is a Native American of Ojibwe ancestry who has fought for Tribal Lands since the 80’s. The point she makes in this quote shows the ridiculousness of our world at the moment.

10. Malala declared herself a feminist after hearing Emma Watson famous speech on gender equality We are Equal. Direct and to the point Malala states that we will not succeed in our Activism while there is no gender equality.

11. Probably the greatest activist who used Love and non violence to get what he was seeking this man freed a nation without firing a shot in anger.

12. I love Arundhati Roy, brave and outspoken. This quote on why activism is an act of courage in the face of the attempt by the mainstream to silence them and not listen.

13. This should be taught in All schools, must more useful than Maths.

14. Comes a time, a song by Neil Young The Song. states that we drift through the world then something happens and we choose to stand up for what we believe in as Martin Luther Kings quote is referring to.

15. This quote by Arundhati is the quote I use on my public Facebook group called Interculturalism. This is where people come to join together to actively spread the ethos of Love and Respect for All Everyone Included. It is growing slowly but everybody is welcome to join and contribute.

Activism is one of the things that will save us from what they are setting up. Be active in whatever area in life you choose, but be Active.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends

Are you Interested?

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Rod's World

I have lived in Preston, Victoria, Australia for four years now and find it a much more communal area than the suburb I previously lived in. Perhaps this is because of the local council who are committed to each of the 153 different cultures who make up its population and the Darebin Intercultural Centre that was sent up to ensure this happened. link to information on DIC.

What makes a great community, It is defined in meaning two distinct things

community

kəˈmjuːnɪti/

noun

1.

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

“Montreal’s Italian community”

synonyms: group, section, body, company, set, circle, clique, coterie, ring, band,faction;
2.

the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.

“the sense of community that organized religion can provide”

I have belonged to many different communities over my life: The football playing community, the singing community, the self development community and the Northside living community being some of them.

What has society said about Community over the centuries. The 15 quotes I have chosen say different things about it, lets have a look :

1. Author of the outstanding book Love and Will Rollo May states that Communication is an essential part of Community as it leads to us understanding each other not judging from made up opinions.

2, This beautiful poster suggests many ways to build a sense of community. If these are in place I suggest you would be part of a vibrant one.

3. When you become a genuine part of a community there is something you give to it, your heart. One touched in your heart you realise that this is what fulfils you th emost in your life.

4. Marianne Williamson, known for her quote from her best selling book A Return To Love: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. This quote is often incorrectly credited to Nelson Mandela. Another powerful pointer to th epower of community from Marianne.

5. Synergy is another benefit of strong communities. Synergy is the interaction of elements that when combined produce a total effect that is greater than the sum of the individual elements, contributions, etc. You need less to achieve much more.

6. In your Face community, Love and Respect for all, Everyone Included – the ethos of my public FB group Interculturalism, a space to join and share your examples of Community that includes everyone.

7. Always look out for people who are in your community who are not partaking of what is available in belonging to it. Always give them the choice but don’t assume they don’t want to be.

8. I agree with Mahatma, when I am not partaking in a Community I feel a little lost as I did for the first year of living in Preston, but after discovering The Intercultural centre and its activities I became part of that beautiful gift one gives, Of Service.

9. Love this image and quote from Henrik Ibsen, father of the school of Realism. In a community anyone can step forward and lead, they tend to have less bureaucracy than other structures.

10 A gaggle of words that come out of Community. Things that you obtain, assets, a sense of wellness, support of others and events to attend and meet the others from your community.

11. I am listening to Mitch Albom’s book the Five people you meet in Heaven, a book about Ernie who dies where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever. Its fascinating and points out the importance of creating purpose and meaning in your life through community service.

12. David Bowie worked on this his whole love, from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke, he was all about including everyone in his fan group AKA his community. Here is one of his finest songs in relationship to Community: Heroes.

13. Jasmine Guy is an actress who pointed out that Community is not as easy as it used to be when we were part of a tribe living in a Village, but it is still is so worthwhile.

14. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician, educator, and innovator, acclaimed for her educational method that builds on the way children naturally learn. She created schools where the whole school was a community not broken up into separate classes.

15. And finally something to remember, that our bodies are a community as well, made up of millions of Star Seeds and Cells.

So have a think about what communities you say you belong to and those you would like to, I guarantee that it will open your heart more for you and by being of Service you will live a healthier life.

Namaste until next Thursday, my dear friends.

Did you Get It!

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Rod's World

I have started listening to Podcasts on the recommendation of my Anam Cara Emeli. I listened to a fascinating one about fulfilling your purpose by getting your message out there. This made me think did most people know what the Message they had to give in life was.

I have done several modalities to set up my message for the year and live from my Core Desired Feelings of . These are from Danielle LaPortes brilliant process The Desire Map. From the others my Word for 2016 is Sacredness and my Essence is Sacred Love, more about those in a later Blog.

I have chosen 15 diverse quotes, covering Love, Social Media and Purpose. No Oprah but there is Mother Teresa. Lets begin our journey.

1. This is describing the essence of Sacred Love, where you or someone say I Love You, and you don’t really have to say it again because they you or they hear it for the rest of you life this time in. Its to do with revealing your Sacred Stories.

2. Google didn’t find Aditya, but their message is Inspiring in its words and intention, don’t mess round delivering yours.

3. Its good to have a dream, I have a favourite image which is of a Unicorn and it says don’t let them kill your day dream. But to fulfil that daydream you also require the actions of Doing stuff.

4. Dennis S. Brown is a motivational speaker who grew up in a three room “Shot Gun” house in Central Louisiana is known as Mr Attitude. His ability to relate to transforming your message through real life events he has experienced draw people to him in the thousands.

5. Luke Rinehart wrote a book called The Dice Man back in 1971 where he shook a dice before making any decision. It is a fascinating read as to me the message is that we make decisions on much more shallow fears and judgements than this in our lives.

6. Throw in a bit of weird, a bit of not normal, Yes even some insanity to get that Message out there if you want it to be heard.

7. Probably not many people on Earth are quoted more than His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. When spreading you Message , if you want it to be joyful and easy look in the mirror and there is the person responsible for it happening.

8. There will always be critics, mainstream media makes a living from it, imagine if they reported the great messages that existed around the World instead, it would transform.

9. Parenting 101, give your used things to your next sibling or the family down the street who are not as well off as you. Thinking about it later and having judgements about it doesn’t get that Message out there.

10. I get to tell one of my sacred stories, about how I broke up a friendship via SMS because she said that it was a valid way to communicate and would not agree to meeting face to face. I told her it was a crap way and have not heard from her since after I said to her that I was not the negative person she talked about and that negative people did not send three things I love about you for 5 months each and every day.

11. Time for a song, Little Anthony from 1960. Tears on My Pillow, Tears may be necessary to move to the next level of getting your message out there. It isn’t always a cakewalk.

12. Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, juggler, comedian, musician, inventor, actor, and best-selling author known for his work with fellow magician Teller in the team Penn & Teller. He is also known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific scepticism , libertarianism and free-market capitalism . The Message is the Message, we often forget this as it becomes more difficult.

13. Mother Teresa is much loved and much maligned, there appears to be no middle ground with her. She got her Message out powerfully to the World about the slums of India. As she states, you need to light the flame daily for it to keep burning, same with your message.

14. There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The most popular language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. There are 1,213,000,000 people in the world that speak that language. How about if we wrote our message in every language, that certainly would make a difference.

15. Finally a bit of humour about getting your message out there. Make sure it is real for you. if its not why will other people listen to it.

Each of us have a message to bring to the planet and its people, it would seem that the messages being spoken the loudest are those of war, corruption and Terrorism. Do not worry, it is the last cries of a time that has seen its day. We are entering the Age of Aquarius. Peace and Love and Human Connection.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

What makes it Spectacular?

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Rod's World

There was a fire in a Tyre Depot today which led to a huge smoke cloud over our city. Local News outlets reported it as Spectacular. This started me thinking as to what did I construe to be Spectacular in my life and is the word under utilised or overused.

I thought about it and would call my relationships with my siblings and several of my friends spectacular, my 29,000 songs on Itunes spectacular, the result of my 40 year addiction to listening to all forms of music and my commitment to spiritual growth spectacular.

What does society have to say about it and how do they use it in quotes. There are some beautiful ans slightly in your face examples amongst the 15 I have chosen, so lets begin :

1. Mason Cooley was an American aphorist known for his witty aphorisms. One of these such aphorisms Cooley developed was “The time I kill is killing me.” He suggested failing spectacularly will also lead to spectacular success.

2. The people we are in awe of did not just wake up one morning and release their product or vision on the world. They worked at it for a lengthy period of time before hand.

3. A lot of people feel that to be Spectacular they need to be somebody else than who they are now. This quote from the teen angst film The Spectacular Now suggests that fighting who we really are never works.

4. This film looks at what teens are feeling as they come into their college days, everyone’s hanging on to some sort of dream to stay afloat, will you be one of the ones who does it spectacularly.

5. After an unusually short pregnancy, Karen Powell gives birth to a baby boy whose body ages much faster than the normal rate. With her husband, Brian , Karen raises their son, Jack , who appears to be a 40-year-old man when he is only 10. Though Jack ages rapidly physically, he is mentally and emotionally still a young boy, which causes him considerable difficulty. Eventually, Jack gains the support of his peers, which helps him live a fuller life. If you aged similar to a cat, seven years in one human year, how would you live your life spectacularly.

6. Very direct and to the point. How are you to question that you were put on this earth to be spectacular. How knows you could be a super hero. The Spectacular Spiderman.

7. Its very difficult to be Spectacular if you are not enjoying being who you are, remember you are AWESOME.

8. Doug Larson was a columnist and editor for the Door County Advocate and wrote a daily column for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. First contentment then Spectacularness, one come before the other.

9. Lisa St. Aubin de Teran has lived in England, Venezuela, Italy and Mozambique. Writing memoirs and has produced an episode of Great Railway Journeys. She spectacularly lives the above quote.

10. True Friendships are not based on physical presence with each other. They can spectacularly be oceans apart and years apart. When they meet it feels like a minute has passed.

11. Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and illustrator best known for authoring popular children’s books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Some of his more famous quotes are

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

12. We are all star-seed on a ball of energy spinning around another ball of energy that appears as a pin point in the map of the universe, and we don’t think that human life is a spectacular occurrence.

13. I’m Possible can easily become I’m spectacular and so can your life.

14. Robin Williams had spectacular success in his life, playing many unique roles form people who aged like a cat, eccentric radio announcers in Vietnam to voice over for a happy penguin. Make your life spectacular but remember to stay in touch with others.