Open Heart, Open Arms. Open Mind, Open Eyes!!!

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Rod's World

I was going to write this blog on what had been added to my persona from doing Awakening Connection, Level 2 last weekend. But there are not a lot of quotes about adding things so instead, I am using one of my new vows: I vow to have an open heart all the time. This is a new daily practise for me, as society trained me not too, from early on in my family to cultural expectations as I grew up. It peaked as mental health issues and six hospitalisations in 5 years. I discovered the conscious community of Melbourne at 59 and have been on a heart-opening journey ever since.

I was reading my friend Mark Chernoff’s 1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently and was drawn to a list he has created to write a life story worth living: He begins with:

When writing the story of your life, don’t let someone else hold the pen. Make conscious choices every day that align your actions with your values and your dreams; the way you live each day is a sentence in the story of your life. Each day, you choose whether the sentence ends with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point. Here are Marc’s ten ideas and my added one for writing a story worth living:

Find a passion that makes you come alive.
Work hard on that passion.
Live happily in your own way.
Change your path when you must, but keep moving forward.
When the going gets tough, keep fighting.
Let go of the past and live consciously in the present,
Embrace new ideas, lessons, and challenges.
Appreciate the little things in life that mean a lot.
Live honourably through kindness.
Spend quality time with people you love.
Keep your heart open at all times.

What does the human race say about having an open heart, here are a few of my favourites:

1. Vulnerability, Open Heart, Brene Brown – Snap!!!

2. Can you hear it across your airwaves? open your heart: Gorgeous Heart Chakra Music.

3. Shadow and Light, as we open our hearts, at times it will break or be broken.

4. Not a second Ferrari, or a yacht, or beach house: Smooth.

5. The long journey was finally over as her heart opened fully.

6. Debra is the International Best-selling author of Soul-Hearted Living; A Year of Sacred Reflections & Affirmations for Women, Being Love: How Loving Yourself Creates Ripples of Transformation in Your Relationships and the World (Inspired Living Publishing) and the author of Soul-Hearted Partnership: The Ultimate Experience of Love, Passion, and Intimacy, which garnered four book awards including the Eric Hoffer award.: Unconditional Love.

7. Love and Respect For All, Everybody Included.

8. What a gift to yourself, the sky is now yours, well done: To the Sky.

9, I have begun noticing the differences in the past week.

10. These are the things that will travel with your heart as well: Who You Are.

11. To achieve the opening there are things we need to let go of, it takes practice.

12. Carlos Santana, one wise dude around this subject: Peace Train.

13. At 65, I can’t do the pose, but I can open my heart to life.

14. What you hear with your heart open is extraordinary, a librarian gave me her number unsolicited because she wanted to continue our conversation, I had met her 20 minutes earlier: Seasons of Love.

15. As the cardiganed one, Eckhart Tolle says over and over, The Power of Now.

What does living with an open heart allow for? My friend Marc sums it up pretty well: Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards. The past is a good place to visit on occasion, but not a great place to stay. Don’t waste time trying to relive or change your past when you have priceless moments unfolding in front of you right now.

Today’s playlist begins with some Chakra Music by Divine Love. Then Santana’s track that relaunched their career. Tupac raps it out next. Owl City, who are new to me are next, I love owls. Jessie J is today’s pop diva offering. The penultimate track is Cat Stevens and we complete with a musical number from the cast of Rent: Open Heart, Open Arms, Open Mind, Open Eyes.

My world paradigm: Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included relies on more and more people reaching this euphoric state. Until we next meet again, my dear friends. Remember you can subscribe to my blog on the right-hand side of the main page.

There Is No House Like The House Of Belonging!!!

Posted on October 7, 2019 by Rod's World

We had a training day for my Warriors of Love yeat long training program yesterday, that’s Sunday for the rest of my readers who don’t live in Australia. Embarrassingly due to lack of sleep, I fell asleep twice in the theoretical section of the day. But towards the end of the day, we did an amazing exercise on Belonging – as in what was our belief’s that had us not fully belong in a group of over 30 people and what did we think was the core belief of the group that prevented it.

There was an amazing range of reasons offered, some people spoke easily, others did not comment at all. For myself, my bugbear “If they truly knew how unlovable I was they would hate me” was my offering. Others covered I am afraid to shine because I will be cut off at the knees too, I can’t bring all part of my life here. They were as many and varied and unique as the diverse individuals in the group.

When we moved on to the group ethos it tied into fear of what would our lives be like if we actually achieved this. The thought crossed my mind that my worrisome and sometimes anxious identity would have to die. So what has the world said about belonging, what stops or creates a sense of community, let’s have a look:

1. Who else could we start this with but a classic Brene Brown quote?

2. As children, we will try anything because everything is a new experience, and we belong to them all: Adventure of a Lifetime.

3. British film director Anthony Minghella powerfully states the control these thoughts have over us.

4. I totally get where actor James Caan is coming with this statement: Hey Ho.

5. Not just students: children, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, girlfriends, boyfriends, lovers, ex-lovers, etc. etc.

6. I think William should have called them the superpowers: Superpower.

7. Wonder (curiosity), self-discovery, problem-solving, interaction, exploration, and play—that’s what Bev Bos taught me. Reading and writing come after these approaches to learning are established. Children learn best when they can make their own choices and set their own goals.

8. The entertainment industry is featuring heavily in this blog, musician Tom Petty directs us towards our freedom spot: Freedom.

9. That’s how powerful your story is – speak kindly to yourself.

10. More Brene, Self Love 101: Love Myself.

11. And from outside Western civilization comes proof this is a worldwide search.

12. Being the daughter of famous parents may have something to do with this quote, Gail’s mother was Lena Horne: Stormy Weather.

13. Belonging has many different meanings.

14. Being the best or most extreme example of its kind. “the ultimate accolade”: Ultimate.

15. The final lesson for today is this image because I loved it so much.

I like adding one of my friends Marc and Angel Chernoff, who wrote 1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently lists at the end of my blogs, I have found them extremely useful on my healing journey. Todays is entitled 10 TIMELESS lessons from a Life Well Lived:

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.’
Be a student of Life every day.
Experience is the Best Teacher.
Your Choice, Your Actions, Your Life.
No one is “too busy.” It’s all about priorities.
Be patient and tough. Someday this pain will be useful to you.
It’s usually better to be kind than right.
You can become a magnet for good things by wishing everyone well.
Only you are in charge of your attitude.
Satisfaction is not always the fulfilment of what you want.

Today’s playlist features Rock, Rap and Pop Diva’s. We begin with the rock of Coldplay and the Lumineers. Beyonce and Hailee Steinfeld are split by a classic Woodstock anthem from Richie Havens. The penultimate song returns to the time of World War Two from Lena Horne and we finish with a grungey rap number from Denzel Curry: There Is No House Like the House of Belonging!!!

I was thinking as we were standing in the completion circle of our Belonging process that if we achieve this it would be possible for the whole planet to come from Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included, my heart shuddered. Remember if you enjoy reading my musings you can sign up to receive them on the right-hand side of my home page. Until we meet again on the airwaves, my dear friends.

Why Walk When You Can Dance!!!

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Rod's World

I made chai for Mojo, The Dance of Connection over the weekend. I have been chaistro for four different dances over the past month: Mojo, Dancing Freedom, Ecstatic Dance and Resonance Project. Here, in Melbourne Australia, we have a vibrant conscious dance scene which I love being part of. I hold that dance is one of the true forms of healing available on the planet. It has existed longer than language and takes us to states that words alone cannot.

Each dance is different: Mojo, to me, is the dance of healing where people get to be touched in a safe, loving manner during the forest and if they fulfil the request to dance with a different partner each track, they get to examine their relationship to connecting with others: How to contact Mojo. Dancing Freedom is more a personal shamanic transformational dance through the elements the earth is made from, you are a little bit different after each journey: How to contact Dancing Freedom. Ecstatic Dance each fortnight brings you diverse rhythms beats and melodies to attune your Body, Mind and Soul to: How to contact Ecstatic Dance. Resonance Project brings together an evening of 5Rhythms embodiment and sound medicine magic, a full sensory experience for you to journey deep and invite transformation of the highest frequency. It includes a guest musician as well: How to contact Resonance Project.

So there was dance before language, what have we said about it since we learned to speak, read and write, here are a few of my favourites:

1. The Hebrew Bible is not somewhere I would expect to find this quote praising dance.

2. Passion, turn to the left, hold on that’s: Fashion.

3. My Happy Place.

4. I just had to look up who Marilyn Ferguson was after reading this fantastic quote, A founding member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Ferguson published and edited the well-regarded science newsletter Brain/Mind Bulletin from 1975 to 1996. Her acquaintances included Bucky Fuller, Ram Dass and Al Gore: Let’s Dance

5. Considered one of the most innovative dancers of the last century, Isadora Duncan began teaching dance in her teens, unfortunately, she suffered one of the most bizarre causes of death when her scarf went around her cars axle.

6. Transcend the limitations of our self – what a beautiful description of ecstatic dance: Desert Dwellers at Burning Man.

7. All hail the teachers of dance that exist on the planet.

8. They have them, they are just made out of gossamer: Fly.

9. We dance for all the things!!!

10. And for me, it is always an honour: Waiting for Love.

11. How true is this in a dancers world, very in mine.

12. I feel so sorry for the deaf ones, they do not know what they are missing out on: My friend Suebee Fae.

13. In all its forms: folk, ballet, conscious, line, rock and roll, swing, etc. etc. etc.\

14. Even the cardiganed one has something to say about it: Dance Monkey.

15. Our final lesson on the dance comes from an extraordinary source: Margaretha Geertruida “Margreet” MacLeod, better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I and executed by firing squad in France.

So as you may have guessed dancing is one of my passions, I have fallen in love with my friends Marc and Angel Chernoff’s lists again: Here are some questions on passion to make you think.

1. What will you never give up on?

2. What activities make you lose track of time?

3. What’s something you would do for every day if you could?

4. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

5. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

6. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?

7. What is something you would hate to go without for a day?

8. Would you rather have less work to do or more work you actually enjoy doing?

9. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

I have tried to include some more obscure tracks beside the classic tracks about dance in the playlist today. We begin with David Bowie twice, yes, one of them is that track. From The Desert Dwellers next is a sunrise set then we fly with Marshmello. Avicii lays down the next track and then my friend from Byron Shire, Suebee Fae features. We end with a track from Ireland by the Tones and I: Why Walk When You Can Dance!!!

Remember to signup to receive these blogs in your email box if you enjoy them, we can dance our way to a new world ethos: Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until we meet again my dear friends.

From Where We Are, There Is Always a Pathway to Love!!!

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Rod's World

So, its the day after the Warriors of Love retreat and a feel many kilos of dross lighter. We looked at the power of choice in quite a rigorous and at time lighthearted way. I picked up a new nickname to go along with Tiny Tim and DF, I have to use the initials as the whole name and story behind it would not pass #Metoo guidelines these days. The latest addition is Naughty Boy. Here is some info about the Warriors of Love: Enter the Portal.

We worked with the distinctions The Loop and As it Is and What I Choose. I struggled with this for quite a time as the concept there are always consequences after making a choice got in the way. I got it in the end though.

So how has humanity worded choice over the centuries, let’s take that journey:

This quote is talking to you , not your circumstances.

2. This is an ongoing inquiry that ends when they throw the dirt on your coffin: The Path to Wisdom.

3. Two words, great list.

4. All hail Queen Oprah: Every Sperm Is Sacred.

5. Probably been replaced with the word journalling these days.

6. Trust the gut feeling and get the fuck out of there: Diamonds.

7. Luckily for me, my siblings are amongst my dearest friends, are yours?

8. What if you daily choices were that free: How Far I’ll Go.

9. Your awesomely wonderful life isn’t choosing, your heart-space is.

10. Blogger turned New York Times best-selling author and speaker Mandy Hale is the creator of the social media movement, “The Single Woman.” With a heart to inspire single women to live their best lives and to never, ever settle, Mandy cuts to the heart of the matter with her inspirational, straight-talking, witty, and often wildly humorous take on life and love. Mandy’s message reaches literally millions of women across the world every day through her blog, books, and social media platforms: I am Woman.

11. I found this one on consequences.

12. How many day and moments do you choose this: Can’t Stop The Feeling.

13. When was that again, Today?

14. Feeling life instead of just attending it, that would be novel: Freedom.

15. And for your final lesson, realise that where you choices take you is your own unique journey, the one meant for you.

We will finish with one of my friend Marc Chernoff’s lists, Ten Timeless Lessons/Choices from a Life Well Lived:

Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed.
Be a student of life every day.
Experience is the best teacher.
Your choices, your actions, your life.
No one is “too busy” It’s all about priorities.
Be patient and tough. Someday this pain will be useful to you.
It’s usually better to be kind than be right.
You can become a . magnet for good things by wishing everybody well.
Only you are in charge of your attitude.
Satisfaction is not always the fulfilment of what you want.

I have taken up the practice of including a relative unknown song on the playlist. Its begins todays and is by Mr. 48 Alec Verkuilen. The next track speaks to the light side of the weekend and is by the Monty Python crew. Then back to my beloved pop divas with a number by Rihanna. A track from a musical follows from Auli’i Cravalho. An ode to women from Jordin Sparks is before the penultimate track by Justin Timberlake and we finish with the iconic Beyonce: From Where We Are, There is Always a Pathway To Love.

Remember to sign up to the email miss so you don’t miss out on my latest blogs. Each is based in Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included:

F.L.Y. – First Love Yourself!!

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Rod's World

I have begun writing my blogs about how I feel about things in my life, I don’t want to write about having a cold or a dodgy knee so that leaves self-love. I went and saw my mentor Arion for my weekly session and as always he asked me what did I want to discuss. I said I would like to discuss why I am finding it hard to feel my ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included throughout my body.

He replied, but that is who you are for your friends and family. We went through a list of people and places I am a part of, he asked me if I asked them was I an example of Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included what would they say about me, I had to admit that they would probably say I was. So the next question was if 99 people were saying this about me that why was I not getting the message, this is when the old warhorse lack of self-love raised itself through my body.

It’s interesting the decisions we make as young children, I don’t remember coming to don’t allow yourself to be loved, because you will have to leave from moving a lot but at times it controls me. Loaded up with some breathwork exercises, I headed to the local library to sit in the rooftop garden and contemplate the session. It made me think what have the mystics and soothsayers said about self-love over the decades, here are some of them:

1. Lending his popular voice to various topics, Steve’s books, quotes, videos, and memes have become a social media sensation; being shared by millions across the globe in more than 25 languages.

2. I’m a step from this, I feel: Conceited.

3. I forgot the last line on my tattoo.

4. As is each of us: Irreplaceable.

5. Dodinsky’s home page has been hacked by a casino site, Love this quote.

6. Makes me think of that civil war statement, Rebel Yell: Rebel Yell.

7. Has to be some Brene in the mix.

8. Somewhere, Everywhere: Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

9. Marvel comics know this relates to both women and men.

10. Some of the really tough work, mirror work: I’m Still Standing.

11. Not surprisingly I became Community Manager of a company called Collective Potential.

12. This is because you actually have boundaries when you love yourself: Emotional Boundaries are Important.

13. Perfection, the ultimate booby prize.

14. Supposedly they are already there: Loving You.

15. The final lesson, don’t devalue yourself.

Writing this has made me feel a lot better, time to look at the evidence, not listen to identity.

There are two great yells in the playlist today, and we may double the views of the young woman who has been viewed a mere 35 times. We begin with rap diva Remy Ma, then four icons from totally different era follow. Beyonce, Billy Idol, Ariana Grande and Elton John make them up. Then the little known Nadia Nelson and we finish with a classic from the 1970s by Minnie Riperton: F.L.Y. – First Love Yourself

I’m learning to include myself in Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until we meet again my dear friends.

midsection of woman making heart shape with hands

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Let Go of Your Mind and Then Be Mindful!!

Posted on August 13, 2019 by Rod's World

I have been missing for a while, firstly a cold then a very painful knee that had me sitting very still for about a week. I returned to life by attending a Waking the Warrior workshop run by my friend and mentor Arion Light, if you are interested in Warrior of Love work here is the link to WOL land: Warriors of Love.

We travelled a journey that began in the Immature male, I could list the characteristics but give my readers enough intelligence to work them out for themselves. Starting here was to exemplify what hanging around there a lot costs you. We then moved onto the Mature Feminine, that part of our life that is often known as our intuition. Picking up the gifts from here allows us to move through the area our identity that you can hang out in for days and days, that of the immature feminine. As we are empowered by the mature feminine we learn to not hang around here as long and move on to that area of life that completes our Warriors of Love, the mature masculine, that enables you to get those things done you have wished to your whole life.

So are the distinctions Feminine energy and Masculine energy new to the planet, I went on a search via Google to see what had been produced, here are some of my favourites:

1. From Sai Baba land we get this very succinct definition.

2. I like how they have balanced the two energies in this meme: Balance

3. Kundalini was first mentioned during the 3rd to 9th centuries BCE in India, so the concept has been around for a very long time.

4. Author of 18 books over a 40 year period Shakti Gawain is considered an expert on vibrational energies: Dance of the Sacred Union.

5. This is the cost of the Immature male being dominant I was talking about.

6. All contained within the one vessel, yours truly: All I Want.

7. To acknowledge all four areas exist and keep moving between them.

8. Immature, Mature, Toxic, Divine: whatever words work for you: Human.

9. I liked the image, the quotes good too.

10. Another oldie from the Buddha. This is one of the takeaways I got from the workshop, thanks Arion: Focus.

11. Love the logic of this one.

12. It’s very hard to be somewhere else than where you are: Whenever, Where-ever.

13. I thought this was a great reminder not to become am immature, mature junkie.

14. All is needed, the immature, the mature, the toxic, the divine: Light My Fire.

15. And for our final lesson on the feminine and masculine is the addition of a powerful tool, that of the art of hugging the two together and passing on a gift to another so they can see the possibilities they may have missed.

I forgot to mention the four areas were drawn on top of your tree of life so that having power in them increased the power of your roots and branches in life. Funnily the workshop took place at a beautiful retreat centre called Vines and Branches.

Today’s playlist contains a song that has a mere 200 plays and one that has over 500.000.000 plays. Have a guess before you listen. We begin with two relative unknowns to me, Timaya and Anu Sophia Ra El. Then Kodaline followed by the deep tones of Rag and Bone Man. Two pop divas belt their songs out next, Ariana Grande and Shakira. We complete with The Doors: Let Go of Your Mind and Then Be Mindful!!

It’s not about being balanced 100% of the time but the journey. Add some Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included and who knows where the planet could end up. Until next time we meet, my dear friends.

You, Will, Find It Is Necessary To Let Go!!!

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Rod's World

You find that some days you have to do things that mean you have to let go of your intentions and do things that don’t fit on your to-do list. How many times do you do this, I had to do one this morning, I was meant to teach English but I had a severe cold so not wanting to make my students suffer a cold as well, I called them and cancelled the classes. I really enjoy teaching Bing and Julie but realised that infecting a father and a mother was not something I should do.

I’m going to send them emails with classes they can do during the week. So how do we do things that are not fitting in our daily necessities? How has society learnt to let go of the things that don’t fit in the necessary to-do lists?

1. Crying is one thing that doesn’t come up a lot, but as Jennifer says its one of the best things you can do.

2. It’s the impossible dream: The Impossible Dream.

3. Letting go of you, that is who you are forgiving.

4. Letting go of things that are no longer good for you: Let It Go.

5. The past is where they belong, your problems that is!!

6. Have you found yourself recently?: Love Myself.

7. Do you question why it didn’t work out, Winna suggests you do.

8. It Is Us, Not hummus, So Right: This Is Me.

9. Not everybody can unfurl their fingers.

10. Buddha was a wise, wise man: Just The Way You Are.

11. I just liked this photo.

12. As an empath, you get to hold all the emotions: Emotions.

13. Remembering that word, Fear!!

14. I met my inner child last week, twice: Sweet Dreams

15. There are times I cannot let the memories go.

So letting go covered many different ways of relating to it. Today’s playlist goes back to the 1970s with the King, Elvis. Then we move onto the musical, Frozen. We visit a pop diva, Hailee Steinfeld next. More musical tunes from the Greatest Showman cast. Bruno Mars follows. The penultimate number is the famous Mariah Carey and we finish with the Eurythmics: You Will Find It Necessary To Let It Go.

So we read my ethos as our final lesson for the day: Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. That’s what I hold as the final statement for the day. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

People Think About What They Don’t Want!!

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Rod's World

It’s a bit of a celebration today, on Wednesday I reached the old official retirement/pension age of 65 in Australia. Our right-wing government wanted to make it seventy before the backlash became too much when it reached 68. This is also my 450th blog. What did I do on my retirement day, I went to an event called Awakening Attraction, this is the blurb for it:

There is nothing that enlivens relationships more than the potency of ‘chemistry’ – the charge, the tension and the excitement of impassioned desire.

It is this magnetism, this enchantment, this allure that is the elixir of relating and it weaves certain magic through our romantic interactions.

Without it, we may still have great ‘friendships’ or ‘partnerships’ but we will be missing out on the ‘juice’!!

Attraction has often been considered as an elusive ‘Je ne se quo’, but what if attraction was not a mystery but rather something you could understand, cultivate and play within a healthy way to bring out the best in those around you? What if you could ignite the spark of attraction and keep the flame alive in relationships?

During this interactive special evening event for men and women where we will be navigating all things ATTRACTION.

The topic we will be exploring on the night…
– When it comes to intimate relationship what is your ATTRACTION STYLE?
– Understanding the effect you have (or don’t have) on others.
– What do you WANT to attract and what are you actually attracting?
– How you ignite the spark of attraction
– How you keep the flame burning deeper in a long term relationship.

I have done the feeder program for this night called Awakening Women for Men, a transformational experience that alters how you listen to your own inner feminine, your mother, mine has passed, your sisters if you have them, your lovers and your female friends and the sister program is Awakening Men for Woman. The ethos of these programs is

We believe that at our human core our greatest longing is to be seen, felt and heard by those we love.

Awakening Connections is a new paradigm of relating that empowers people to come into deeper wholeness, love and truth.

We know a world exists where humans feel enlivened within themselves which in turn creates an opening for healthy, sexy and inspired relationships.

Relationships with self and others are the most challenging emotional experiences we face, asking us to continually evolve and grow.

We give people the ability to really step into and navigate the challenges we face and turn them into gold.

Awakening Connections celebrates the journey of relationship through embracing both its ecstatic potential as well as the gritty, real and raw nature of the human experience.

It’s time to create extraordinary relationships, are you ready?

So how has society looked at attraction over the years, here are some of my favourite ways!!!

1. This calls out to my heartspace.

2. In the real field of attractiveness, you do not have to live by the rules that there are only certain desires that are OK: I Feel Good.

3. But only with consent, we do not read it right every time.

4. Are you great at receiving your desires, it is something I am working on after years of listening to the reasons why I couldn’t in my head: Waiting for Love.

5. Body Butter, not something taught in standard high school sex education classes.

6. Talking about what is present in the actual moment, not saying what you think they want to hear, now that is expansive: Titanium.

7. Do you match your desires, I am about a 5 out of 10, always working on becoming stronger at it.

8. And once you begin to awaken your conscious self, your lifeforce does not allow you to go back: Set Fire To The Rain.

9. Magnets are built to attract to and stick to what are the right frequencies, listen to your magnetic power.

10. Fear prevents you from approaching what you desire and what you are attracted to, there is that classic saying have your fear and do it anyway. Over to You: Anyway.

11. Fuck Yes!!

12. Awakening occurs at the moment, you can do it millions of time in your life, especially around attraction: Changes.

13. Red or Blue, which are you attracted too?

14. Remember in this attraction game that you have unique strengths and skills, may you find the one, or even two or three that honours them: The Way.

15. And from the most famous of philosophers Ms Unknown comes the final lesson when awakening attraction.

A week or so after doing Awakening Women for Men a dear friend of mine asked me what did I learn about women from the course, it felt like she was checking to see what secrets Alley, Shaney and Jarrod had given away. Here is my answer: I said there was too much, it will take a lifetime to take it all in, but imagine I had never met you and I walked into the room and saw you and went: we must end up as lovers. I ask you out informing you that I broke up with Janice three months ago. I would know when I am placing my projections of being with Janice on our relationship, allowing it to be new and fresh and full of love and curiosity. She smiled and said that is beautiful.

The playlist for today speaks to the awakening of attraction. We begin with the Sex Machine James Brown. then we move forward to this century with Avicii. David Guetta duets with Sia next. Adele and Martina McBride follow. @Pac does the penultimate number, finishing with Ariana Grande.

Honouring your attractions is needed if we are to live from Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. I sincerely believe that there is at least one awakened soul out there for us. Until next time, my dear friends.

Leaving With A Lighter Load!!

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Rod's World

My friend Emma invited me to her partner David’s choir Gloriana’s performance of Path of Miracles on Sunday: Here’s another Choir doing some of it… The music was as evocative and haunting as my friends who have braved the Camino say the courage it takes to complete it requires. What inspires people to walk 700 kilometres when they have never done anything like that in their lives before? My friend Marc says it was a major event in his life, divorce proceedings, my other friends Kavisha and Andy that it was a journey of faith. So what has the Camino community said about it over the years, here are a few sayings they came up with:

1. Both of them said it was when they stopped listening to the logical no answers from their mind and what was possible in their hearts that saw them arrive in Spain.

2. You could possibly get lost walking 700 kilometres in the fields of Spain. But all the people I have spoken to about it, say what they learnt about themselves is what had them complete it: Find Your Way Back.

3. Norman Vincent Peale (May 31, 1898 – December 24, 1993) was an American minister and author known for his work in popularizing the concept of positive thinking, especially through his best-selling book The Power of Positive Thinking. I don’t know if he ever walked The Camino but this would be a useful tattoo to have done before you commenced your trek, I think.

4. And it continues well after finishing if the looks on my friends’ faces apres arriving back from Spain were anything to go by: Shiny Happy People.

5. This is one of my favourite all-time quotes, I can see how it would relate to The Camino as blisters miraculously appeared on your feet.

6. This is a post by a younger Camino trekker: I am 21, will be 22 when I walk. I think it’s great being around older people, 30 or 70 years old. They have a different view of their country than someone in their teens/the early twenties(when it comes to telling stories it makes them more interesting) They will be able to share more experiences and their stories with you than most 18-year-olds would be. I know what you’re saying, but I wouldn’t be worried about it. You might not have much in common with a 60-year-old or even a 30-year-old but I think that’s part of the journey, to understand one another, appreciate our differences, and to share this one magical experience with people all over the world of all ages of all backgrounds of all classes. I think it’s good to feel out of place once in a while.: Roam.

7. By the worlds greatest quote writer, Ms Unknown, comes this mighty insightful offering.

8. Deciding to walk the Camino, is that when you give up all your I can’t do it stories: Walk a Mile In My Shoes.

9. http://www.womenoftheway2011.com is a wonderful website dedicated to a brilliant doco that was made and information for our sisters who take the journey.

10. I’m sure you would get a lot of time each day to ponder this as you stroll through the Spanish countryside: Long Way Home.

11. Grace is from Canada, she has a Pinterest site called Discover Ideas about No Way.

12. And it is not only written about in one language: El Camino.

13. Am I off to The Camino, Maybe?

14. Janette has written a free book of poems about the Camino called: Camino Quotes and Poems – The Meaning of The Journey, it’s downloadable, word magic: Listen To Your Heart.

15. Google won’t give me the exact answer if Tom Petty actually walked The Camino, but this quote from him appears all over it. A worthy lesson to finish on.

So these are some of the things and reasons that have had people walk and comment on the sacred journey that is known as El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James). Music, poetry and quotes, all point towards the transformational experience it seems to be.

Today’s playlist is mainly made up of Rock groups. We begin in the ’80s with Jefferson Starship, REM and the B52’s follow. Back even further to Joe South before returning to our current time with Garth Emery. Our Intercultural offering is The Gypsy Kings and we finish with Roxette: Leaving With A Lighter Load.

From the 21 years old’s offering I sense that El Camino de Santiago fits right in with my world paradigm of Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until next time we meet, my dear friends.

It is What It Is, No Means No!!

Posted on June 13, 2019 by Rod's World

I went to a social occasion where a very lively conversation on consent was held recently. In my mind, this does not happen nearly enough in our instant gratification society, where things seem to be assumed as we do not have the time to discuss what works for all parties involved in interactions these days.

To me, evidence of this in the level of divorce, domestic violence and sexual assaults that take place daily around the planet. How different would communication be if we took the time necessary to set respectful boundaries for our social interactions?

How has the world related to gaining consent over the centuries, here are some takes at it:

1. Possibly the most patriarchal argument that bad men use in cases of sexual assault, that the way she dressed caused them to act that way, not their inherent evil.

2. This is becoming more widespread day by day, in our country recently our Federal police raided our national broadcaster in the name of national security, how to promote fear in the population 101: You Say,

3. In granting people consent, you take away their inferiority complex.

4. It is a legal contract, everything else within it needs to be based on open communication: Till It Happens To You.

5. Apathy has its price.

6. And it has a name, sexual assault: Don’t Touch My Body.

7. As the title of this blog says, No means No.

8. Unfortunately, this seems to be the direction the world is heading in Roll Jordan Roll.

9. Here is the opposing view when it is personal, not universal.

10. The state does not get to oppress their citizens unless the citizens allow it: Get Up, Stand Up.

11. Unfortunately, men may lie to get into government though.

12. What do you consent to in your life, creeping or soaring: Your Love.

13. Consenting to a cause where you are willing to die, that’s rare these days.

14. It isn’t only humans that require consent, remember how our beloved moggies behave when we move them: Best Kittycat Song.

15. MLK pointing out why consent is so important.

At the end of the discussion we had set what were basic premises for consent in the area we were discussing, it felt great.

The playlist today begins with two pop diva’s, Laura Daigle and Lady Gaga. Then a spoken word piece followed by a choir. Then two great classics from Jackie Wilson and Bob Marley. We close with a number from a cat: It Is What It Is, No Means No.

This is an area society needs to do a lot of work on if we are to live from the world paradigm, Love and Respect For All, Everyone Included. Until next time we meet, dear friends.