Life Expands Courage!!

Posted on September 6, 2016 by Rod's World

Went on an Unleashing retreat on the weekend, it was called Unleashing Ecstasy and we had to have an intention for the weekend. I came up with being totally and completely loved but during the weekend realised that I saw this was only for my good parts, so I added All of it to the intention on the Saturday evening. I was mildly surprised when I came down with a severe cold an hour later as I thought intention where meant to illuminate you.

Still have the cold but thought I would have a go at the blog, even thought it’s a day late. What do we do to illuminate our lives on a day to day basis and what has society said about it over the years, Lets have a look:

1. Crying has a bad rap and attracts much undeserved criticism and unrequested support as there is something obviously wrong with you if you are crying, its just an emotion as is smiling.

2. Dorothy Thompson (9 July 1893 – 30 January 1961) was an American journalist and radio broadcaster, who in 1939 was recognized by Timemagazine as the second most influential woman in America next to Eleanor Roosevelt. She is notable as the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany in 1934 and as one of the few women news commentators on radio during the 1930s. She is regarded by some as the “First Lady of American Journalism.” : Turn on the Lights

3. They are waiting for you to illuminate your light, your friends and the rest of the world.

4. I like reading books like this, that talk about triumphing over the dark side : Don’t stop believing.

5. Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882), known professionally as Waldo Emerson, was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States.

6. And Pharrell Williams wrote a song about this: Happy.

7. Stop searching for it out there, Big houses and Ferraris don’t bring you happiness, though some may disagree with this. It’s the inner journey where the answer lies.

8. Jaeda is a self-taught photographic artist and poet. In “real life” she is a private, solitary and reclusive creature. She loves unraveling the mysteries of the human spirit. She creates self-portraits, dreamscapes, survivor art, spiritual art, sensual art and figurative.

Images . . . poetry . . .words . . .they can offer us a feeling, an experience and the magical gift of transport.

I want my imagery to give people a way to express themselves, to offer them a moment of magic and wonder, I desire to ignite their imagination, emotions and give them a sense of connection: Black and White Emotions.

9. Sometimes we need to do this to illuminate what is important in our lives.

10. Possibly one of the most recognised quotes about getting off your bum and doing it: I want to break free.

11. A question if answered that will always illuminate your life if the answer is No.

12. There are 7,000,000,000 different normalities on the planet, I don’t think it can be: Lights.

13. If it light you up you are illuminated.

14. They say meditation lights up your neural passages, this person could be taking it to the extreme: Om Shanti Om.

15. On the weekend I mentioned we spent a lot of time delving into the essence of giving and receiving Love. Our willingness to love the dark bits is just as important as the happy bits.

To me it takes courage to seek what illuminates your life, thank you to all the people who are on this journey at the moment.

Namaste until next time my dear friends:

You can shake the World!!

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Rod's World

Arrived at one of my voluntary gigs yesterday and the collective potential team were having a brain storm as to where they were at. CP are a start up Personal Development company who I give my time to because I get heaps back helping people get real, here’s the link to check them out Collective Potential.

One of the things we got to was that we had lost touch with our community , so I volunteered to take on the Community Management role to see what we needed to restore it. Made me start thinking what does being part of a community mean ad how does society look at it, here we go :

1. Cute animal shot of the blog, but wise words about that in a community there are not always leaders that stand out, its more of a communal effort with everybody putting their bit in.

2. Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He is the 1993 Elite Men’s Road Race World Champion, and he had won the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005, but was stripped of his Tour de France victories in 2012 after a protracted doping scandal. He must have forgot the above: Lance sings.

3. We, Collective Potential are based in a co working space for women, these spaces are becoming more prevalent as people seek out communities to begin their solo entrepreneurships.

4. Star Wars for We are Family.

5. Community is not just about fitting in, it’s about standing up for what you believe in and dealing with evil.

6. A controversial figure both during her life and after her death, Mother Teresa was widely admired by many for her charitable works. She was both praised and criticised for her views. She also received criticism for conditions in the hospices she ran. But for her hundreds of people would not be alive as she partook in her adopted community of Calcutta. She treated people Just one at a Time.

7. What a great analogy, well done Mrs. Griffiths.

8. As a community grows and expands it creates the opportunity for transformation of all members not just the chosen few. Transformation.

9. Marianne Williamson is one of my top ten because of words like these ones. She is one of the greatest supporters of Love on the planet.

10. I do number 9, I cannot imagine that the people who do it do it in their own homes, so why do they do it in the street, I have no idea. Build me up Buttercup.

11. All the Nobel Prize winners gave something to the world to receive the accolade, it was not about the money they had accumulated or how they looked.

12. Stand out and make a difference, noble and beautiful words, please fulfil them sometime in your life. The Man in Black sings on making a difference.

13. My dear 89 year old mother spent her life doing this, it rubbed off for all of her kids. I teach English to asylum seekers, my brother does a radio show, the eldest of my sisters does sustainability stuff and the youngest plays Taiko drums in a community orchestra.

14. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country’s first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress party from 1991 to 1997. He oversaw South Africa ending apartheid without serious recriminations on the white minority which was a huge possibility : Free Nelson Mandela.

15. And finally a wall poster to remind you how to DIY community.

I am so glad my mother inducted us into being community members who value contributing to our different communities, it’s much better than sitting in front of the TV being a lounge lizard.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Not all Superheroes wear Capes!!

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Rod's World

My sister and I take my 89 year old mum op shopping every Tuesday, for those across the seas think Thrift shop shopping. Recently I realised that I have many friends who are motherless who are much younger than me. My birth-name is Rodney Paul Williams and my mum is one of two people who call me Rodney, the other being a friend I have come back in contact with after 30 years when I used to call myself that name.

When you are 89 you sometimes forget what you have said and when reading our families reunion book mum takes pleasure in reminding me I was a very shy child, about every five minutes. I used to get frustrated but realise that she is showing her love as best she can. So what do we write about our dear Mums that make it into the quotes section of Google Images, lets begin the journey.

1. They are the people who carry us in their womb for 9 months, harbouring us until we are ready to enter the world and begin our journey, and yes, they are everywhere.

2. During one of my mental health issues, I argued with my mother that people didn’t care and that I was going to go away. She wouldn’t let me leave and rang the local mental health team so that I received the treatment I needed at the time. They are our Guardian Angels

3. I’m sure at times with the issues that children go through in their lives, their mothers may feel this. But whose name do people call out in periods of extreme fear.

4. It used to make me wonder how women felt about giving their career up to become a mother. My friend Mary says it was the most beautiful period of her life. A Mother’s Prayer.

5. 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 modernised the economy. Even presidents of the most powerful nation on the planet love their mothers.

6. During my years of health issues, I could always go home and my mum would heal me with her love. Mother Knows Best.

7. I was lucky enough to experience the joy of watching my sisters children fall asleep in her arms. They are now 30 and 25. My time fly’s by quickly

8. There are periods in our life where we rely entirely on them, then the period we wish they would leave us alone, and then we return to the love as we begin to fear that we will lose them for ever. This happens all across the World : Elderly Mother- Chinese.

9. In that period we do not see eye to eye with our parents, Our heart is what began beating in the womb: our heart knows best.

10 Terri Guillemets is a quotation anthologist from Phoenix, Arizona who has collected quotes since age thirteen. Her passion is sharing literary, inspirational, thought-provoking, and humorous quotations with a worldwide audience via her website The Quote Garden at http://www.quotegarden.com, one of the most long-standing online quotation collections and the first to offer a wide variety of special occasion topics. With a speciality in reviving vintage writings from the 1800s, she shares her love of old books, the art of writing, and the beauty of words with a personal, heartfelt approach — “spreading quotations joy” as she calls it. A curmudgeonesque optimist whose inner child will never grow up, she also enjoys nature, photography, cloud gazing, and family. Another one from across the planet A Mother’s Love

11. And then there are times one must have a laugh at the relationship.

12. Rumi is the most famous Persian poet so we must Have a Persian Mothers Love song: Mother.

13. We come out of the womb with wonder for the whole world. No racism, no sexism, no homophobia. It is the guidelines our mother and father give us that help us show up in life.

14. I remember the times we would get home from school and there would be gifts waiting when we least expected it. So each year I thank Gaia that my dear old mum has reached another : Happy Mothers Day.

15. Did you know mother was an acronym.

I’m sure there are times we have not felt this about our dear mothers, but our heart holds the memory of the womb and still having my mother at 62 years of age as an 89 year old shaman I regret those times.

Namaste until nest time, my dear friends.

Can you Feel the Noise?

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Rod's World

Ever since I took on the life-purpose of radiating Love my feelings have been going haywire.Its like their noise level has increased and that I am meant to deal with them, one thing I was very good at not doing for a long , long time.

I had an experience on a tram the other day where a woman told me I belonged in a psychiatric ward for tapping my feet to the music I was listening to. I felt it was my right to get angry and told her to Fuck off and that I would give her my psychiatrists number is she was disturbed by such minor things and to avoid school closure times when travelling.

So how do we relate and react to our feelings? Do we subdue them or let loose and lessen the hold they have over us. The world has many quotes on the subject of feelings and I like the 15 we are going to journey with todays: Lets begin.

1. I’ve been having these feeling again after a very, very long time of not allowing myself to. I’m still an amateur at it even though I am in my eldership years.

2. Those feelings you don’t want to have and wished they would go away, you had them for a reason. Breathe in, accept them and learn the lesson. Show The Tracks of My Tears.

3. I have been guilty of this for most of my life, as I suspect many of you reading this have been as well. They won’t go away unless they are accepted and expressed. So it’s not Silence is Golden.

4. The good old silent treatment, where you get to make up what is going on. Most times I go it wrong proving that this way of dealing with feelings is utter crap.

5. Out damn spot, denying it and trying to make them go away is the booby prize arena in the feelings stakes.

6. My friend Lissa Rankin talks about True fears and False fears, 90% of what we fear is never going to happen, its just our mind on full volume. Here’s a link to her page : The Fear Cure.

7. I have lost a few people in my life by not expressing my feelings. The latter statement os the result of not doing this.

8. Recently went through this, don’t know if she has forgotten me. gave her the choice to stay in contact, she declined. Feeling like this makes me think of Scary Monsters.

9. Moving on down the line, not really because those dang feeling are still somewhere lurking in my body and mind waiting for more playtime.

10. There is only one song that can go with this quote: Walk a Mile in my Shoes.

11. Declaration of this can have dire or gorgeous consequences dependant on what the other person’s reaction is.

12. Mind reading by any other name: If you could read my mind Love.

13. When people become media stars it is often forgotten that they have feelings to. Marilyn Monroe was hounded to her death as the sex symbol of her time.

14. How often have we thought or said, I thought I had dealt with that Feeling or Issue, yet her it is again raising its ugly head. Take it in your arms, my love. Feelings.

15. The flip flopping world of dealing with our feelings on a day to day basis. Will we ever make our mind up?

The things that make us distinct from each other, unique in our own right. Are we anything else but our feelings, I say that actions are also part of our makeup, but these are predicated by the former.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Connection is, of the Soul!!

Posted on July 28, 2016 by Rod's World

There are many forms of connection across the world, religious sporting, kindred spirits and even family. I went to a card making day for the United Nations International Day of Friendship at Darebin Intercultural Centre in Melbourne where I voluntarily tutor English to two Sri Lankans, one Pakistani and three Chinese students. They give me a great connection to other cultures.

I made a card for each of my siblings , and I am going to send them on August 7th, which is the official day, I’m not sure how my older brother will take being told how I love him, it’s not his thing.

The quotes for connection are widespread across many facets of life, so let’s begin our travel down the road of being connected to something or someone in our lives.

1. Our connection to life can be like Anthony Robbins screaming out Just do It or like Eckhart Tolle cajoling us to just be in the now . Neither is an incorrect way to be connected to the earth. Kate Perry, OMG, has a courage song : Roar.

2. I grew up in Bendigo and went to High School in the 1970’s. The last friend I saw from those days was at least 15 years ago as I had to move away for work. I sometimes regret losing those wonderful friends I used to ride my bike to school with.

3. I’m not sure if this is the cinemaphotographer from Finding Tory, but I have been learning recently that it is not money you work for , it is your time that holds the value. when you lose value , you may contemplate this : Rock and Roll Suicide.

4. You can do well at things, but if they are not improving life on earth, why do you bother?

5. I’m sure we have all seen Steve Jobs, Tim Minchin’s and Jim Carrey’s commencement speeches. How many of the people listening follow the advice before they are sucked into the normality of a 9 to 5 job. Fear and Love.

6. And if we could connect to our younger selves, what would we say. Here is what actress Sandra Bullock suggested at a commencement speech she gave.

7. Make your connection with your spirit the best it can be , shoot high. Terry Teachout (born February 6, 1956) is an American critic, biographer, librettist,author, playwright,and blogger. He is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal, the critic-at-large of Commentary, and the author of “Sightings,” a column about the arts in America that appears biweekly in the Friday Wall Street Journal. He blogs at About Last Night and has written about the arts for many other magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times and National Review : We are the Champions of the World.

8. Jim Carrey again, I have listened to the speech mentioned above in full about twenty times, if you have time seek it out on Youtube, the one I have included is a shortened version.

9. I wrote a previous blog on Anam Cara, Irish for soul friend, people you can be apart from for years and it feels like a minute and it just continues like no time has passed: That’s what friends are for.

10. There is a saying the greatest compliment you can give someone is to really listen to them. I think this quote sums that situation up pretty well.

11. We are here for a short period of time, do not leave the planet worse than you found it: Peace Train.

12. Not your Love, but your vision, creativity, character, and your passion, then perhaps it has a chance.

13. Because it says so much about our changing types of connection: My thoughts on Google+

14. Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady of the United States and so much more. She said great empowering things, especially for women.

15. And, yes we are getting two commencement speeches in the add-ons, take it away: Steve Jobs.

As I said, different ways to look at connection, quotes, songs and speeches. Some of them are inspiring, some daggy – Australian for quirky, and some just classic.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

You are not a Tree!!

Posted on July 25, 2016 by Rod's World

I suppose I spent the first 30 years of my life being a good country boy with not much ambition besides holding down a job that brought in some money so I could survive this life.

The first event that really changed it was when my sister rang me near her birthday and asked me had I heard anything about the Forum and would I like to come to an evening about it. Being a good brother I said yes as a sort of Birthday present. I could not imagine I would be running down the main street of St. Petersburg with the sports minister and mayor of that city that is larger than Sydney and Melbourne combined just a year and a half later after running the Moscow Peace Marathon.

This phone call was life changing for me as I had never really taken a look at my life up to the moment I enrolled in the Forum a couple of months later. It didn’t have a lot of effect at first because I sat there knowing what they were talking about. It was only when they said something my egotistical IQ did not understand or believe at the time that had me actually take part in the enquiry.

What changes our Lives? Is it looking across the room and seeing the person we know we are going to spend the rest of our life with, the birth of our first child, or in my case a willingness not to know something. Let’s have a look at what is said about it out there:

1. How does one change their life? Winston Churchill, known as much for his cigar smoking as his words says it take old-fashioned courage, the ability to continue down the path of life. Lets be Brave.

2. Don’t listen to those negative stories in your head, go and talk to someone else who will point out the lies they are.

3. There will be moments in your life that you rediscover your two-year old tantrum ability, NO, with this I will not put up with. Here’s why MLK was considered such a change leader : I’ve been to the Mountaintop.

4. The meaning of life is not to get your values from mainstream media but from personal experience, then you truly know how it affects you.

5. Eleanor Roosevelt said the essential thing is to learn and that there is no experience from which you can’t learn something. My mentor Arion says it like this: Everything is a gift. At times it hurts me when I try to comprehend this lifestyle. You could say Its Living not Dreaming.

6. Do you agree with this?

7. Over to John Lennon: Imagine.

8. How many of the men out there were trained not to be emotive and shed tears because it was not being manly? Luckily our society has changed and this is no longer such a crime.

9. I was just turning 30 when I chose the latter. Let’s hear from the Sesame Street crew: Don’t Give Up.

10. My God, of which I don’t really have one, that hurt. Which type, which pain?

11. I’m a How I met your Mother fan, big time. If you are not you will not know who this proud and out gay actor who played the womaniser of the series is. Such an irony. Here’s Tegan and Sara from the Lego movie : Everything is Awesome!!.

12. Life will not always go the way you want it to, time for some yachting lessons so you can sail your way back.

13. My friend Emeli says it You’re Allowed, to live your dreams, she’s referring to. Arnie, the terminator in the classic movie series says it even simpler: I will do! Rise Up!!

14. Albert Einstein , 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Einstein’s work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein is best known in popular culture for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his “services to theoretical physics”, in particular his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory. His research has changed many lives.

15. Possibly the oldest quote with the youngest and cutest image. Confucius points out how to change your life, begin by taking a step at a time : One Step at a Time!!

The title of this blog comes from another quote: f you don’t like where you are, then change it – You are not a Tree. Victimhood is the booby prize, take that step from tree hood today.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends

Do we experience the Divine?

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Rod's World

In this time of Pokemon Go, Facebook, Tinder and instantaneous gratification do we remember what it is to experience the divine? Those moments that make our heart shudder such as the birth of our children, the moment we looked across a room and realised that they were the person we were going to marry and other similar events that fill up our photo album of divinity.

This is the meaning of divinity according to the dictionary, number 5 shows how much our society has changed

Divinity – definition of divinity by The Free Dictionary

1. The state or quality of being divine.

2. a. Divinity The godhead; God. Used with the.

b. A deity, such as a god or goddess.

3. Godlike character.

4. Theology.

5. A soft white candy, usually containing nuts.

Over the ages much has been said about what constitutes the divine, often dependant on how strong religion was at the time, lets begin our journey down this sacred path:

1. We often place divinity onto our favourite singers yet they never claim it for themselves, so lets go for Peace, Love and Understanding.

2. Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, a young girl named Jerusha “Judy” Abbott, through her college years. She writes the letters to her benefactor, a rich man whom she has never seen.

3. One of the dangers of divinity to me is placing it on one character, it splits the world into believing that theirs is right and the other is wrong. Perhaps it should be A Love Song.

4. A Journey of Discovery – Uncover the mysteries of this key time in our history through ancient spiritual knowledge and new scientific research. Studies of specific numbers and letters have led to unusual findings hidden in lost knowledge and ancient mysteries. Unique and unusual patterns are discovered revealing profound links between modern scientists and ancient
philosophers. These new discoveries point to the beginning of a new era.

5. Washington Irving was an American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmith and Muhammad, and several histories of 15th-century Spain dealing with subjects such as Christopher Columbus, the Moors and the Alhambra. Irving served as the U.S. ambassador to Spain from 1842 to 1846. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

6. The bard knew that it was in the everyday that we honed our divinity and that it was up to us how it turned out.

7. Doreen Virtue is the queen of Angels, she believe their is A Spirit in the Sky.

8. Cute animal quote of the blog, speaks to the law of divinity and the power of nature.

9.Charles seems to be saying there is divinity in Every Moment.

10. Samuel Benjamin “Sam” Harris is an American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist. He is the co-founder and chief executive of Project Reason, a non-profit organisation that promotes science and secularism, and host of the podcast Waking Up with Sam Harris. His book The End of Faith, a critique of organised religion, appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list for 33 weeks and also won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction in 2005. Letter to a Christian Nation was a response to criticism of The End of Faith. In The Moral Landscape, Harris argues that science can help answer moral problems and aid human well-being. He subsequently published a long-form essay Lying in 2011, the short book Free Will in 2012, Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion in 2014 and, with British activist Maajid Nawaz, Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue in 2015.

11. Your Inner Pilot Light, that feeling , that persistent voice that you sometimes don’t listen to, yet what it is saying was the correct path. It is your Divine Lover.

12. Love and Respect for All, Everyone included – a statement of the divine.

12. Yes you are, look in the mirror daily.

13. Meditate 30 minutes a day and you will hear your divinity a lot louder. here is a short mindfulness meditation by Deepak’s meditation.

14. Has society stopped hearing Sacred Love, that space in life where we tell each other our Sacred stories so that we hear our own as well?

15. So when your divinity speaks to you , it’s a good idea to listen. Because your ripple effect could be what the world is waiting for. Your Ripple Effect.

Have a listen fir your divinity daily, It is speaking to you. It may be faded but it will never give up on you. After 5 psych unit hospitalisations I know this for a fact.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.

It’s always Changing. Life that Is!!

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Rod's World

I found out recently a friend had passed. He was young and it was unexpected, it was not in a nice way. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Everybody said that their life had been changed by the event and that it was not meant to happen that way. A wise friend then stated that we needed to be living our lives like that each moment could be our last .

Someone stated that was impossible as our mind and thoughts were so static about what life consisted of. This led to a healthy discussion as to whether this was true for each individual. It turned out about 50/50, we are close friends who are willing to go the distance and support each other in what’s so for each other.

So what does society say about a changing life. Here are 15 views on it that come from both sides of the bench: Let us begin our journey.

1. I think they left the word belong out of this quote. Paulo Coelho de Souza is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. His novel The Alchemist has been translated into 80 languages. The author has sold over 200 million copies worldwide and is the all-time bestselling Portuguese language author.

2. This quote speaks to me of the power of remaining in the Now, not relying on the past or the future to sustain a life, but to enjoy the blissful moments we spend with our friends and family.

3. How many of us are in the careers that were suggested to us at the school counselling session. I was meant to be a school teacher, as was my dear dad. Unfortunately the high school principal did not agree and told me I was not returning for my final year of high school and my first job was an an apprentice french polisher. Mel B sings about this sort of thing : For once in my Life.

4. I recently posted about not knocking on closed doors because what is behind them is not meant for you. This would be a good thing to do, run to the open one this way.

5. Hands up who remembers what this is being typed on. The word typed gives you a clue. Like typewriters becoming obsolete so do the previous chapters of our life. Be brave and type something new each day.

6. How could you not thing of our beloved David Bowie when you read about changes: David Live.

7. Today, and Today , and Today. Step forward bravely allowing for what educates you now but not what was taken away.

8. ..it Happens, move on.

9. My sister pointed out after reading the blog that this is by Meister Eckhart not Eckhart Tolle. Meister was well known for his work with pious lay groups such as the Friends of God and was succeeded by his more circumspect disciples John Tauler and Henry Suso. Since the 19th century, he has received renewed attention. He has acquired a status as a great mystic within contemporary popular spirituality, as well as considerable interest from scholars situating him within the medieval scholastic and philosophical tradition.

10. Each time I walk into a new workshop or experience I understand that this is what is waiting on the other side.

11. I have not become an astronaut, a prime minister but I have been many things but I still have many to go at the tender age of 61.

12. Kelly Heroes was a war film about an operation where all the bridges were burnt and they were not expected to come back : Burning Bridges.

13. Unfortunately most of us meet someone or something in our lives that the above statement can be related to. Take the advice.

14. My mentor Arion has a saying that you can get to a point in your life where everything is a gift. This would be after a lot of lessons learnt for me, I am not there yet.

15. Tomorrow is another day, I say take you first chances today, keep tomorrow in reserve. Here is my favourite Tomorrow song: Silverchair.

I hope that there is a song or saying that empowers you to get through your day, and always remember there is a new life possible in any moment.

Namaste until next time, dear friends.

Where we Wrong?

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Rod's World

Today I wrote on reconciliation. In our country there is a call for reconciliation to recognise the indigenous people who are not recognised in our constitution. There is one slight problem, most of the indigenous people don’t want reconciliation they want a treaty that recognises the fact the land was stolen off them.

This has caused much division, in the area where I live there is a call to change the name of the local electorate from Batman, named after explorer John Batman to recognising our indigenous people, the Wurrundjeri.

Batman is a controversial figure due to his dealings with Aboriginal peoples in Van Diemen’s Land/ AKA Tasmania and Victoria. The artist John Glover, Batman’s neighbour in Van Diemens Land, said Batman was “a rogue, thief, cheat and liar, a murderer of blacks and the vilest man I have ever known”.

The treaty Batman negotiated with local Aboriginal peoples in 1835, to acquire land in the Port Phillip area, was a matter of controversy in his day, and has remained an event of great historical interest and debate.

So what does the world say about reconciliation and is it essential that it occurs for the soul of the earth to be restored. Lets begin out journey:

1. Actually Thich Nhat Hanh, this beautiful man has been a peace and reconciliation activist since the days of the Vietnam War. He was interviewed by Oprah, a bit long but worthwhile: The Interview.

2. Recognised as one of the greatest peace activists on his release, he was originally jailed for being a guerrilla, he set up the famous truth and reconciliation commission after the end of apartheid so that chaos did not break out and that a new future could be created in South Africa.

3. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, was a Spanish writer who is widely regarded as the greatest writer in that language and one of the world’s pre-eminent novelists. What do you think he means by this statement?

4. It is said that we outgrow people but what about those times we made somebody wrong for what they said or did. I recently made up with a person who had been one of my dearest friends. My heart sung after I did it.

5. What if we could restore all the broken hearts we suffered in our life, would the world occur differently, fuck yeah!!

6. Nelson again, putting it in our faces. South African Songs

7. Practical action, Fraser was the last Liberal Party Prime Minister to practise Keynesian economics. In retirement, Fraser became involved in international relief and humanitarian aid issues and, domestically, as a forthright liberal voice for human rights. Shortly after Tony Abbott won the 2009 Liberal Party leadership spill, Fraser ended his Liberal Party membership, stating the party was “no longer a liberal party but a conservative party”.

8. In Victory someone usually loses, Reconciliation tends to be the opposite where both parties obtain what they desire.

9. García Márquez started as a journalist, and wrote many acclaimed non-fiction works and short stories, but is best known for his novels, such as One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975), and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). His works have achieved significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success, most notably for popularising a literary style labelled as magic realism, which uses magical elements and events in otherwise ordinary and realistic situations. Some of his works are set in a fictional village called Macondo (the town mainly inspired by his birthplace Aracataca), and most of them explore the theme of solitude. This powerful statement speaks to the gift of reconciliation.

10. The Fonz from the sitcom Happy Days could not say these words. How much pain has our inability to say them caused us? In my case quite a bit.

11. Have you ever met someone you keep running into in the most unusual situations. I saw one of these people on a TV program the other day.

12. Brother Roger was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 1988 and wrote many books on prayer and reflection, asking young people to be confident in God and committed to their local church community and to humanity. He also wrote books about Christian spirituality and prayer, some together with Mother Teresa with whom he shared a cordial friendship. A springtime to the Soul sounds like a wonderful place to hang out in. Leonard Cohen has a wistful song about reconciliation : Amen.

13. South Africa’s other great peace activist, Desmond Tutu calls us out that forgiveness and reconciliation are real things we need to take action on. Tutu’s admirers see him as a great man who, since the demise of apartheid, has been active in the defence of human rights and uses his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. He has campaigned to fight HIV/AIDS,tuberculosis, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984; the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1986; the Pacem in Terris Award in 1987; the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999; the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2007; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He has also compiled several books of his speeches and sayings.

14. The great Chinese philosopher Unknown asks us to walk powerfully on the earth, so do I.

15. And we must never forget the magical powers of the Unicorn of Reconciliation, they can help heal the world.

I believe that we can heal the planet through reconciliation, not with just fellow human beings, but the other animals and the plants as well.

Namaste until next time , my dear friends.

Do they really love us and can they talk?

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Rod's World

I am back on the air. After washing my phone and not having access to my verification codes to do an article for several weeks I have my beloved I phone 6 back. I saw an elderly woman walking her beloved pooch this morning on my walk to work, she was dressed in black so I assume that her beloved had passed and that her little white poodle filled her heart in the physical sense at least.

This made me think as a pet-less one, putting me in the minority in my country, 63% of households have one, 40% dogs and 23% cats and probably like my sister Ruth having both ,what it is that pets fulfil in people lives.

I tried not to choose 15 images of cats and dogs, but they are definitely the favourite, so lets go on our journey about the love between the furry ones and their two-legged friends who bizarrely think they are the masters.

1. I never got into pet ownership as a child due to our family having several disasters occur. Dog poisonings, pigeon fox attacks etc. etc. I would enjoy the company of a cat but my lease says nada to that.

2. I am in-laws to a cat and a dog, Suki and Lhasa. How much attention Suki gets my brother in law said once that he wants to come back as her next time around to receive the attention that my sister pours on her. Lhasa is an old cat who rules the roost.

3. Unknown must secretly be a dog or a cat. This speaks so strongly about the bond between the pets and their owners that I know. This song by Patti Page does also : How much is that Doggie in the Window.

4. Those nights watching our favourite life’s a little bit hard at the moment” with our beloved moggie or puppy are so, so special.

5. One knows that as soon as you begin cuddling or patting yours or someones pet you next half an hour has just been taken up.

6. This is the contract you take on with an animal, are you ready for it?

7. I just had to put this one in, it’s funny and explains some of their cuter expressions.

8. Research shows that hugging (and also laughter) is extremely effective at healing sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress. Research shows a proper deep hug, where the hearts are pressing together, can benefit you in these ways:

1. The nurturing touch of a hug builds trust and a sense of safety

2. Hugs can instantly boost oxytocin levels, which heal feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anger.

3. Holding a hug for an extended time lifts one’s serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.

4. Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body’s production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.

5. Hugging boosts self-esteem. From the time we’re born our family’s touch shows us that we’re loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still embedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.

6. Hugging relaxes muscles. Hugs release tension in the body. Hugs can take away pain; they soothe aches by increasing circulation into the soft tissues.

7. Hugs balance out the nervous system. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system – parasympathetic.

8. Hugs teach us how to give and receive. There is equal value in receiving and being receptive to warmth, as to giving and sharing. Hugs educate us how love flows both ways.

9. Hugs are so much like meditation and laughter. They teach us to let go and be present in the moment. They encourage us to flow with the energy of life. Hugs get you out of your circular thinking patterns and connect you with your heart and your feelings and your breath.

10. The energy exchange between the people hugging is an investment in the relationship. It encourages empathy and understanding. And, it’s synergistic, which means the whole is more than the sum of its parts: 1 1 = 3 or more! This synergy is more likely to result in win-win outcomes.

9. Did the philosophiser Immanuel Kant creator of I think, therefore I am also come up with this classic statement about the human part of the partnership of animal and owner?

10. I’m sure most pet owners have nightmares about this. Cat Stevens would like you to sing you a song : I love my Dog!!.

11. James Alfred “Alf” Wight, OBE, FRCVS (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), known by the pen name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and writer, who used his many years of experiences as a veterinary surgeon to write a series of books each consisting of stories about animals and their owners. He is best known for these semi-autobiographical works, beginning with All Creatures Great and Small in 1972. The British television series adapted from the books is also titled All Creatures Great and Small.

12. My nephew was afraid of dogs for many a year after hearing a German shepherd bark for an extended period of time. Many things can cause phobias towards our furred ones. What would you name your snail?

13. Not always the most logical creatures, are they. Just tricksters at heart really.

14. Cutest animal picture of the blog, and best quote as well.

15. How could I look at this photo and not think of Michael Jackson’s first hit: Ben.

Being one of the 37% minority in my country who do not do this I feel I am close to having the illegal cat. We spend close to 1 billion dollars a year on our furry creatures and they love us for it.

Namaste until next time , my dear friends.