Category Archives: Books

Are you telling a great Story?

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My friend Emeli has chosen Stories as the theme of her next workshop, based on stories can carry us, or break us: Collective Potential. At different times in our lives we listen to different stories, some empowering , others that take us to the depths of despair. What is it that has us choose to stop listening to the empowering ones? I have a friend who never seems to do this , he says he does it by concentrating on living in the moment.

There are many varieties of quotes that relate to our stories, I think I have chosen wisely in the 15 I have selected today, let us begin our journey.

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1. Delicious ambiguity, what a beautiful term. Add some zest to your life by not knowing what the next moment is going to be.

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2. What were your favourite kids stories, I liked Charlie Brown.  Sir Terence David John “Terry” Pratchett, OBE was an English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his Discworld series of 41 novels. Pratchett’s first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971; after the first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic, was published in 1983, he wrote two books a year on average. His 2011 Discworld novel Snuff was at the time of its release the third-fastest-selling hardback adult-readership novel since records began in the UK, selling 55,000 copies in the first three days. His final Discworld novel, The Shepherd’s Crown, was published in August 2015, five months after his death.

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3. That voice in your head speak in words like I am and I always. The stories of our life link us, such as I have two sisters Ruth and Jann and an older brother Hugo. Christina Baldwin is founder of , Peerspirit.com living on our planet with Nature powerfully.

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4. As young children we have imaginary friends, believe in Unicorns and the fae. Society seems to delight in suppressing these as we grow older. Terry Prachett speaks to those of us that survive this.

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5. My writing teacher Catherine Deveny, The Dev says you should always be truthful in your words. then you don’t have to remember what you said or wrote, because it is the truth.

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6. 7 billion of them, each unique. Make it as good a one as it can be.

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7. This to me is a Sacred Story from a life of Sacred love.

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8. Perfectionism is the booby prize, how do you enjoy the journey?

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9. Memories are often written in a song – some Elvis : Memories.

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10. Neil Gaiman gave one of the most inspirational commencement speeches ever about making some art, its long but worth the time : Make some Art.

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11. Putting Yellow stickies on our fridges to express our feelings to our beloved, a noble past time.

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12. Sacred Love – to be told or tell someone I Love You and realising that It never has to be said again but that it will for the rest of their lives.

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13. Terry Prachett again. Who is going to write your story, moi or someone else?

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14. ANNA QUINDLEN is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of eight novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller’s Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a number one New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear. She loves London : Streets of London.

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15. A reminder for number 15. Only you can remember how you see the world, so tell those stories proudly. You are a divine being.

Remember behind every favourite song, there is an untold story. Please tell your Sacred stories.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.

Namaste2

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is Yours?

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I volunteer at an organisation called the Darebin Intercultural Centre where we hold programs that allow different culture to educate others on what inspires people about their cultures. We believe that this is the best way of integrating people in our multicultural municipality, there are over 150 different nationalities in Darebin.

What does culture mean, here is the Oxford dictionaries definition :definition of culture – the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively:

    1. “20th century popular culture”

      synonyms: the arts · the humanities · intellectual achievement(s) ·

      intellectual activity · literature · music · painting · philosophy
      • a refined understanding or appreciation of culture:

        “men of culture”

        synonyms: intellectual/artistic awareness · education ·

        cultivation · enlightenment · discernment · discrimination · good taste · taste · refinement · polish · sophistication · urbanity · urbaneness · erudition · learning · letters · belles-lettres
    2. the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society:

      “Afro-Caribbean culture” ·

      “people from many different cultures”
      synonyms: civilization · society · way of life · lifestyle · customs ·

      traditions · heritage · habits · ways · mores · values
      • the attitudes and behaviour characteristic of a particular social group:

        “the emerging drug culture”

    3. biology
      the cultivation of bacteria, tissue cells, etc.. in an artificial medium containing nutrients:

      “the cells proliferate readily in culture”

      • a preparation of cells obtained by culture:

        “the bacterium was isolated in two blood cultures”

    4. the cultivation of plants:

      “this variety of lettuce is popular for its ease of culture”

      synonyms:cultivation · growing · farming · agriculture · husbandry ·

      agronomy.

This gives me a wide access to what I could choose as the 15 quotes for today’s interaction, I hope I do  it justice, here we go:

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1. In my country Australia when they arrived in 1788 the British declared Terra Nullus – vacant land and went on a genocidal attack on the native population who had resided here 60,000 years. Luckily for us they failed and we have a growing culture to look back on and learn from the first Australians.

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2. The first thing conquerors do when they take over another is attempt to destroy their languages, music and knowledge of their past. In Tibet speaking their native tongue is banned by the Chinese.

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3. Wade Davis CM is a Canadian anthropologist, ethnobotanist, author, and photographer whose work has focused on worldwide indigenous cultures, especially in North and South America and particularly involving the traditional uses and beliefs associated with psychoactive plants.

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4. I am a language tutor for 4 people and find I am learning as much as I am supposedly teaching. I have taught 2 doctors. a Council member of a city three times as large as the one I live in and a structural engineer who was responsible for constructing the largest projects in his country until he was blacklisted by the Taliban.

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5. I have visited several countries in my 60 years and one of my unique experiences was visiting a housing museum in Tbilisi, Georgia. The building went back 1,300 years and were a fascinating way to learn about the culture of  the region.

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6. I just had to include this one, as an editing professional I don’t know if the spelling mistake is a deliberate part of the message they are trying to expound or not.

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7. And in my very core is one of the main cultural paths, music of many nations. Here is one of my favourite tracks: Culture – Wings of a Dove.

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8. What has the world become where the basics of our life have become unaffordable for some, it is hurting the heart of our planet.

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9. I believe mainstream’s media portrait of Iran to be a classic example of creating what is meant to be the culture of a country. In my work I have meant a lot of Iranian asylum seekers and become friends with an Iranian musician Studying here. Gelerah’s music is magnificent: Magnificent Tones.

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10. Raymond Douglas Bradbury was an American fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction author. Widely known for his dystopia novel Fahrenheit 451 as well as his science fiction and horror story collections The Martian Chronicles The Illustrated Man, and There Will Come Soft Rains. Bradbury was one of the most celebrated 20th- and 21st-century American genre writers. Hitler tried to destroy German Intellectualism by doing this prior to WW2.

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11. When Governments forget that cultures are not to dominate but strengthen the hearts and souls of their citizens quotes like this appear, unfortunately they are occurring at a growing rate.

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12. Credited with creating modern Finnish culture Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer, as well as a sculptor and painter. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware.

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13. Gaining insight into 4 different cultures at the same time can be quite invigorating, I spend some hours investigating what they tell me about each of their unique upbringing, one spent 25 years in a refugee camp, being born there.

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14. Pretty unique way to teach multiculturalism to your citizens, build different countries into your infrastructure, wonder what effect it will have on the inhabitants of each suburb.

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15. Sound familiar with what is happening in the current era, Herman Hesse wrote this back in the 1940’s prior to the war to end ll wars, they got that wrong too . He was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual’s search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

I believe the best of each culture will overcome the evil that is being used at the moment to corrupt the world. That is why I have created a Facebook public group: Interculturalism to have a space where people of all cultures can sing the praises and what they love about their life.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

Namaste2

 

 

 

 

 

Are you Interested?

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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. 1.
    a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
    “Montreal’s Italian community”
  2. 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 :

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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.

 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Namaste2

 

 

 

What makes it Spectacular?

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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 :

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.
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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.
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13. I’m Possible can easily become I’m spectacular and so can your life.
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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.
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15. And for the final one, a shout out to my favourite actress from not my favourite actor, Yes Kate Blanchett is Spectacular.
Well after commenting on these 15 quotes I’m going for the use of Spectacular is under utilised, we need more spectacular in our lives not less.
Namaste until Thursday my dear friends.
Namaste2

 

 

 

 

They were here Before!!

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There is a quote incorrectly attributed to the Buddha that the master will appear when the disciple/student is ready. It is actually from the Theosophical tradition.

In 1875 Helena Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and William Quan Judge co-founded The Theosophical Society. Blavatsky combined Eastern religious traditions with Western esoteric teachings to create a synthesis she called the Perennial Religion. She developed this in Isis Unveiled (1877) and The Secret Doctrine (1888), her major works and exposition of her Theosophy..

The second example I will give is the young monk asking the head monk how do you find your master, and what qualities must they have. He replied, they must have been here before you. Is it this simple the Art of Mastery or do we never reach it, is it a journey for our whole lifetime and  we get as close as we do to it as we pass on.

I have chosen 15 quotes covering most of the centuries wisdom has been on the planet, no Oprah but we have the big man, Tony Robbins.

Here we go :

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1. Presence, not knowledge, study is behind Mastery. If you are not present in the moment you may as well be watching T.V.

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2. Doing what you have been doing to get to where you are at the moment will get you a certain result, not often mastery. here’s a talk Marianne gave at Google on Creativity and Leadership, Enjoy – Marianne’s Wisdom.

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3. Infinitude – the state or quality of being infinite or having no limit. Mastery fits well into this description. it takes away logical explanation.

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4. Back to Leonardo’s time for confirmation that Mastery is not attainable as an outer skill unless you have achieved it in the inner arena.

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5. If you do not master your feelings you have very little chance of mastery very much else. This os where control actions comes from. Overcoming fears, self judgements are an  essential part of the journey.

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6. I went to the Australian Open tennis once and watched a match on a side court, I could not even register the ball because of the speed it was travelling at. So confidence would have made no difference in me mastering hitting the ball.

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7. Bruce Lee is heavily quoted in the area of mastery, but he knew that is was mastering yourself not your opponent that was your real victory.

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8. Hard work, not a weekend course! Michelangelo one of our great inventors and all round genius points  out that it takes old fashioned hard Yakka to obtain anything like Mastery.

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9. Robert Greene researched many of the great geniuses of history to write this masterful book on releasing your passion and getting closer to having mastery in your life – Link to Book.

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10. The ultimate test, Self Mastery. doing the things we should do versus those we should not. Listening to the angel not the devil on our shoulders. It comes from Integrity in all matters.

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11. Sometimes referred to as “The father of the American navy”, John Paul Jones knew back in the 1700’s he would not defeat the superior British forces if the did not engender faith in his men.

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12. Maslow also pointed to this , without strong foundations do not even think of mastering the finer points. Do the Work – Byron Katie, Access to the Work.

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13. We know what our creativity is, our Inner Pilot Light whispers it to us our whole life.  We do not have to look far it, but to take action and master it our circumstances cry foul for a lotto us.

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14. Mastery is not a race, one must include patience when travelling the path.

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15. You can attend as many  of Tony’s seminars as you like, they have inspirational names : Unleash the Power Within, Date with Destiny and Life and Wealth Mastery. Tony warns you the knowledge means nothing without the action.

I believe that the more effort you put into travelling the path that is our life and that you add integrity and hard work to it you will get closer to the elusive mark of mastery.

Namaste until next Thursday my dear friends

Namaste2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgive and Forget, Is it that Easy?

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I was recently talking to a friend outside her house discussing what publicity I could help with for an event she was involved with to receive a discounted ticket when I recieved an SMS from my bestest friend asking me if I was off the airwaves.

I SMS’d her back and explained what I was doing or at least I thought I did. I then received another SMS asking where we still going out that night. I sent one back saying that going out with her was my main priority. The reply I received was not what I expected, It was that she had not felt that way for a long time and felt I was being negative to her.

After the initial shock of receiving such a reply I realise that we needed to discuss the difficulties we had been having in catching up and forgive each other and re- establish our friendship to what it had been when we first started going out with each other.

Wikipedia defines Forgiveness as follow –

Forgiveness – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//

Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.[1][2] Forgiveness is different from condoning (failing to see the action as wrong and in need of forgiveness), excusing (not holding the offender as responsible for the action), pardoning (granted by a representative of society, such as a judge), forgetting (removing awareness of the offense from consciousness), and reconciliation (restoration of a relationship).[1]

In certain contexts, forgiveness is a legal term for absolving or giving up all claims on account of debt, loan, obligation or other claims.[3][4]

As a psychological concept and virtue, the benefits of forgiveness have been explored in religious thought, the social sciences and medicine. Forgiveness may be considered simply in terms of the person who forgives[5] including forgiving themselves, in terms of the person forgiven or in terms of the relationship between the forgiver and the person forgiven. In most contexts, forgiveness is granted without any expectation of restorative justice, and without any response on the part of the offender (for example, one may forgive a person who is incommunicado or dead). In practical terms, it may be necessary for the offender to offer some form of acknowledgment, an apology, or even just ask for forgiveness, in order for the wronged person to believe himself able to forgive.[1]

I have chosen quotes from across the Ages to see what our society has to say about it, Here we go –

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1. In our love relationships we will always come across things that make us arc up. This enables us to practice the noble art of forgiveness on a daily basis to restore the deep state of Love that we committed too when choosing those particular people to fulfil these roles in our life.

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2. When we are ruminating on the past and blaming others or being the victim of circumstances in our lives, it is valuable to realise tht we cannot change events as they occurred but we can drastically lessen the effect they will have on our future by uttering the words, silently or out Loud, I foryou you, me , them etc. etc.

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3. Lissa Rankin, Author of the ground breaking book The Fear Cure points to that a major percentage of disease is caused by False Fears. On reading the books I discovered that a lot of these fears come from things and events where you have not forgiven ,even to the point of Heart Attacks, here is the link to her page about it – The Fear Cure .

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4. Self Forgiveness is an important part of Self Love, a state that is required to allow other Love into your life. Be courageous in admitting that even you make mistakes.

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5. Holding on to interactions and events that play on your minds days and years later is very bad for your mental health research shows. Converting these from a bitter experience to a valuable lesson will free you from the debilitating illnesses that often follow the practice of blame and shame.

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6. Every Tuesday the local Council come and collect the rubbish I have been unable to recycle. If is was as easy to clear the mind of holding of things from the past that clutter up our lives.

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7. The vow goes I will love and cherish, whether in Good Fortune or adversity. Its not always plain sailing on the good ship Matrimony. Moments of forgiving occur every single day as we journey down this sacred path.

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8. How long have you sentenced yourself to. I had one shadow belief that was from the age of four. It only took to the tender age of 60 to realise what it was costing me, the world looked very different after letting this one go. I suppose there was no internet and Facebook when I took it on.

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9. World Peace Day is 21st September, It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, there have been a total of 26 days of peace since 1945, the end of World War 2, the War to End all Wars. Oops got that one a little eschewed.

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10. Be in the Now, Moment to moment, Discipline – all words that point to what is needed to live in the state of the dignity of True Forgiveness.

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11. Any you an anyone or a butterfly? Butterflies have beautiful colours and character and fly lightly in the wind because they are not carrying their past burdens around with them.

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12. Two steps forward, three steps back doesn’t get much done. When you grant yourself and others the precious gift of forgiveness you free your feet from work-boots to the latest Nike runners and you have the ability to Just Do It!!

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13. Promises, Promises was a minor hit for the band Naked Eyes in the eighties. What they sung in the 80’s. Its about how much value we place on them. When you forgive it better be of a reasonably high level.

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14. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a fantasy about a man who grew younger not older. He grew smaller the longer his life went on, do you by holding on to those grudges?

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15. Finally, the words you use in your life is what gives you your power. In Australia we are known for saying sorry for the simplest of things. So when you have cut someone deep those words have little effect, Try on Will you forgive me?

We had a frank and moving discussion that night when we went out and restored the relationship to nearer what it had been. I didn’t sat please forgive me. I will next time I see her.

Namaste until next time , my dear friends

Namaste

When Language Ends, What Then?

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I had been ruminating on what to write my blog about this week, but after spending a particularly creative day at my friend Emeli’s business Collective Potential the thought ballon went off so here they are , 15 perspectives on creativity, some quite famous , others virtually unknown.

The great inventors, artists and musicians were often considered flakey in their own time and most definitely did not fit in and many died penniless as their recognition came years later. What do we say about this area, creativity , that has changed our planet time and time again over the ages.

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1. Henry Matisse painted beautiful flowers, he also penned one of the greatest quotes about creativity, simply three words, Creativity takes Courage. When we get to our fear factor that is where creativity kicks in, in that area we have not been before, the Unknown.

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2. Remember as a child when you trashed your mum’s kitchen making your first cake, flour and cake mix and dirty bowls everywhere. One of our first major acts of creativity and it definitely was not tidy. Guess what, creativity rarely is.

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3. Sylvia Plath’s poems were often considered on the dark side, but they always seemed to strike a cord with the reader. On creativity she pointed to the danger of trying to be creative when you were visiting the realm of self doubt. Do something to get out of this state before journeying down its path.

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4. Some say Love is the drug, creative types know that the boredom of a life without creativity is the drug that feeds their adrenaline glands.

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5. Four years old, playing knights and dragons with our imaginary friendly dragon, other kids come along and join in the game until everybody in the playground is taking part. Creativity, pass it on.

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6. Author of the 9 Intense Experiences, Brian Vaszily points to the fact that creativity is actually showing other people their blind spots, something new and exciting that they can add to their daily life.

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7. The M word, Edison made a million of these before he came across the right formulae for the light globe. Yes on your creative path you are going to make many mistakes. In fact if you are not you are not being creative.

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8. Einstein, motley hair, eccentric as hell. But he always had that cheeky grin that one wears when you are being totally creative, much fun.

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9. Let it go , Let it Out , Let it all Unravel. Let it free and It will be a path on which to travel. Michael Leunig’s beautiful ode to letting go, this is the world of creativity, go there.

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10. Do we call them goals those things we attain to and that are not in existence yet, but in the world to be. I use Danielle LaPorte’s Core Desired Feelings from the Desire Map technology to relate to this area of my life. Mine are Peace, Bliss, Love, H.O.P.E. – Helping other people evolve and Abundance. Living out of these is much more fulfilling than any To Do list.

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11. My friend Jules is wild and juvenile and one of the most creative people I know. His imagination is unfettered. He is often accused of not growing up. I think he should be given an Order of Australia for his contribution to the creativity of the planet.

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12. Our minds often get blocked up with the grunge of our everyday lives, there are methods such as meditation, Yoga and my favourite Tai Chi to help clear them and allow some space for creativity to replace it.

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13. Oh those times in our lives when it felt like everything was floating around torn asunder, not connected at all. A perfect opportunity to use your creative juices to restore some sense to it all.

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14. We all have the same number of hours in the day as luminaries like Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, Beethoven, Sir Richard Branson and my friend Emeli Paolo of Collective Potential. The difference in what they achieved and are going to achieve, go Emeli is that they knew and know that you cannot change the world by being like it, you have to do something radically different.

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15. Fonzie in the classic 60’s TV show Happy Days couldn’t say the word sorry. In the world of Creativity you had better be able to be with being wrong, because you will be many times, that’s why it’s called creativity after all.

Another 15 vignettes pondered and written Namaste until next time my friends.

Namaste

Can they see Angels?

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We often see our children talking to their imaginary friends or staring into space like they can see something that is invisible to the rest of us. What is it that is taken from us as we age that seems to bring so much joy to the innocence and joy of child’s play.

Over the centuries people have pondered this question and written great tomes about it, her are 15 of the more popular ones that may help explain the mystery.

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1. As the newest arrivals on our planet babies are checking out all aspects that are available. They have to learn what is real or not, you cannot tell them this because they do not have language yet to understand what you are saying to them. What is it they see that holds them in such rapture for hours on end.

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2. The imagination that children develop is like that of a great painter creating an exquisite image on a blank canvas, so many wondrous unexplainable things that they form into their daily child’s play.

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3. Plato is considered one of the great thinkers of the ancient world, but he had something to say on the power of living life as play, learn from the children.

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4. We need to work to make a living, but what if our work felt like play, joyful and exciting each day. Make play each day your priority.

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5. Remember when you were young, a line from a very kitschy 70 or 80’s pop song. We have the opportunity to do this moment to moment, but how many of us take it to return to the totalled expressed joy of childhood?

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6. Do you remember the first time you were dropped off at kindergarten? Lots of your fellow conspirators of play had to be dragged kicking screaming and crying into that monolithic building. They all knew the serious work was the play not the formal learning.

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7. I remember trashing my mothers kitchen several times with cooking utensils and flour. I could never work out why I never got into trouble, I think Love is the word that explains it best.

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8. Even famous people like Martin Luther King junior valued time with his children in the heady days of transforming the civil rights of people. Here he is laying back with his children partaking in some Child’s play.

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9. The innocence of a child, especially a newborn baby sometimes bring tears to my eyes. it is this vulnerability that we spend so much money and time on trying to attain again as we have learnt to become more cynical as we age.

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10. Carl Orrf was one of the most influential composers of the last century, his Carmen Baruna is sublime. But as important as his music was to him he equally believed in educating children in play. here is what he had to say on the subject.

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11. Joy, freedom, contentment, inner and outer rest, peace with the world: these are a few of a child’s favourite things as they are participating in that heavenly state known as Child’s play.

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12. Past , Present and Future, babies and young children have one of these distinctions. Now, Now, Now. Eckhart Tolle has made a fortune getting us back to this point. We once had it so it is obtainable again.

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13. Sporting parents, we all have horror stories from growing up watching fellow children being forced to fulfil their parents lost dreams. Its great to know that there are sporting icons who don’t believe in this barbaric practice that has scarred many a child.

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14. One of Rumi’s great parables, that retaining your joy of playing with children is what gives you great insight into the world.

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15 Just one final reminder from our babies and children on how to enjoy life to the full, be in the present, don’t worry about what has gone in the past and we can’t be certain of our future, be in the NOW.

Another 15 beautiful insights into what is possible from that wondrous period of our life known as Child’s Play. Hopefully this will help you return there, even if just for a moment.

So Namaste to you my dear friends, until next time

Namaste

When we dare to be Powerful

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When I dare to be powerful – to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid or not – Audre Lorde

I read this quote this morning in my friends Thea Westra’s book Time for my Life 365 Stepping Stones, 2843 Life Power Boosters at your fingertips http://www.timeformylife.com.  i think this is one of the best daily empowerment books on the market. A page for each day of the year that has a coaching, an action, a challenge, a quote, a clearing, a question and an affirmation on it, it never goes out of date because its not year based but day to day based. The quote called to me powerfully and never having heard of Audre Lorde I googled her.

Audre was a Caribbean-American writer, radical feminist, womanist, mother, lesbian and civil rights activists who believed our life mission is to speak our truth as this is what has let the world get into the situation it has today. Audre died in 1992 but her words are more relevant today than when written. I came across this rather lengthy quote but it is brilliant in its perception –

“I was going to die, sooner or later, whether or not I had even spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silences will not protect you…. What are the words you do not yet have? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence? We have been socialized to respect fear more than our own need for language.”

I began to ask each time: “What’s the worst that could happen to me if I tell this truth?” Unlike women in other countries, our breaking silence is unlikely to have us jailed, “disappeared” or run off the road at night. Our speaking out will irritate some people, get us called bitchy or hypersensitive and disrupt some dinner parties. And then our speaking out will permit other women to speak, until laws are changed and lives are saved and the world is altered forever.

Next time, ask: What’s the worst that will happen? Then push yourself a little further than you dare. Once you start to speak, people will yell at you. They will interrupt you, put you down and suggest it’s personal. And the world won’t end.

And the speaking will get easier and easier. And you will find you have fallen in love with your own vision, which you may never have realized you had. And you will lose some friends and lovers, and realize you don’t miss them. And new ones will find you and cherish you. And you will still flirt and paint your nails, dress up and party, because, as I think Emma Goldman said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” And at last you’ll know with surpassing certainty that only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth. And that is not speaking.”

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These inspiring words point me towards a call for us all to be in action, saying that its all too hard and not speaking your truth to avoid confrontation will not get it done. We will end up with more and more right wing governments who are driven by warmongers, coal barons, media moguls who have lost touch with the hearts of the people they are meant to serve. They will lock babies and children up in the name of keeping their counties safe, they will let major companies get away without paying taxes and let homelessness run rampant.

So should we take to the streets, only if you believe in it. Each of us has a different vision or passion that gets us up in the morning inspired to face the day. Mine is to have Love and Respect for All, Everyone included be the world paradigm. I’ve started implementing it through my open Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/Interulturalism and this blog. I’ve met people further down the path – Mastin Kipp with his http://www.The dailyLove.com, Danielle La Porte with her inspirational workbook The Desire Map http://www.daniellelaporte.com and Jeffrey Slayter with his Free Humanity movement -http://www.jeffreyslayter.com, each of them has a huge vision that they can speak in an elevator speech and then if you want to know more there is always the opportunity. They all are not silent and speak their truth, I’m getting better at it.

Namaste my friends until next time

Namaste

How do we take vows for another?

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I was cleaning up my displays on my fridge today when I came across My Seven Vows to myself. You may ask why one would make vows to oneself, before I attended Rainbow bridge 13:13:13 lead by the awesome Tanishka Tantrika http://www.starofishtar.com/ I would have asked you the same question, vows are for marriage aren’t they? Not necessarily.

Ask yourself, how do you keep vows for another when you don’t have any for yourself. Its wonderful to say you will honour and obey, in sickness and health etc. etc. – this obviously has some flaws in it as over one third of marriages end up in divorce in the western world, what happened to the vows that were taken.

The writing of my vows were part of a ceremony of marrying yourself, falling totally in love with you heart and soul. This bright up so much stuff for me that I fell asleep during the process in the total art of resistance to the process, luckily I woke up for the essential bit.

So here they are:

1. I promise to display my emotions

2. I promise to love how I look

3. I promise to live a healthy life.

4. i promise to give and receive love

5. I promise to speak my truth always.

6. I promise to allow communication to flow effortlessly

7. I promise to light up my life as an example for others.

I am better at these some days than others, the human condition. My request to you all, get married to the most important person in your life first before you take it on this someone else, and take on some vows to empower yourself.

Namaste to next time, my friends.