The best is yet to Come!!

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Rod's World

Some days I struggle for a subject to write my blog on, I had nothing in mind today when Elliot Goulding’s Halcyon came up on my music feed. Not being sure what it meant I looked it up:

definition of Halcyon –

ADJECTIVE

denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful:

“the halcyon days of the mid 1980s, when profits were soaring”
NOUN

a mythical bird said by ancient writers to breed in a nest floating at sea at the winter solstice, charming the wind and waves into calm.

a tropical Asian and African kingfisher with brightly coloured plumage.

With such a beautiful meaning I knew I had found my word for the day. The 15 quotes I have chosen relate to the adjective more than the noun but I promise you will know what the kingfisher looks like by the end:

1. I have many female friends who hang out together and empower each other with their music, art and businesses which allow them to take huge strides in being ultimately successful in fields you would not expect them too.

2. In his iconic Halcyon series of books Peter Kazmaler points out that its good to include both the dark and the light in your life when considering what will come next: Fear and Love.

3. James Thomas Fields was an American publisher, editor and poet in the 1800’s. His most famous poem is “The Ballad of the Tempest”, which includes the famous lines: “We are lost!” the captain shouted, As he staggered down the stairs.

4. A woman who has spent most of her life going her own way, Angelina Jolie has done some remarkable things: Go your own Way.

5. Glass Towers are an Indie band from Sydney, Australia. In answer to their question I say unless you are meditating in a cave high in the Tibetan mountains the answer is no, that’s not how society works.

6. They obviously write deep songs, I agree with the line from this song. The only reason the world will be lost is if we give up: Halcyon.

7. As we see with the dramatic changes going on with watch I.T. technology, virtual reality and driver-less cars this statement made Charles Khupcan, an expert on foreign affairs who served in the first Clinton administration becomes more real each and every day.

8. Go to the peace and quiet of the wilderness of your intuition to resolve those things that natter in your life, time for : Elliott Goulding.

9. We have only this moment, the power of now. How many Now’s do you waste?

10. Jeanette Winterson, OBE (born 27 August 1959) is an award-winning English writer, who became famous with her first book, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against conventional values. Some of her other novels have explored gender polarities and sexual identity. Winterson is also a broadcaster and a professor of creative writing: Fifteen.

11. My halcyon days include this, for me peace and quite lives inside a good inquiry. And as they comment on Facebook when there is a cute dog picture, Aaw.

12. Karen Prior is a christian Professor of English who believes in the power of the word touching your soul, why books will never die: Great Big Words.

13. Remember those days when your mind and heart are in sync. They are Halcyon day but not days you are doing nothing but days you are living your dream.
14. Here is the beautiful Halcyon kingfisher. I take part in a return of the kingfisher festival in my hometown Melbourne Australia at CERES each year. It celebrates the return of the Sacred Kingfisher to an area that had been devastated by human indifference after many years. Here is the dance we do : The Kingfisher Boogie.

15. Gregory House, MD — typically referred to simply as House — is the title character of the American medical drama series House. Created by David Shore and portrayed by English actor Hugh Laurie, he leads a team of diagnosticians as the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey (based on the real-life Yale–New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut).

House’s character has been described as a misanthrope, cynic, narcissist, and curmudgeon, the last of which was named one of the top television words of 2005 in honour of the character. He is the only character to appear in all 177 episodes and, except for Wilson’s brief appearance, is the only regular character to appear in the season six premiere.

So there are many moods that fulfil halcyon times for people some quiet, some full of action because that’s the way they roll, Choose the one that suits you and go for it.

Namaste until next time my dear friends

Making Hope Possible!!

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Rod's World

My word for today is restorative, it’s interesting what quotes come up under that. When we restore something to its former glory we are doing a service to the planet as we do not have to build new structures, physically or mentally. we just make good what has become damaged.

So let’s begin our journey along the making hope possible trail:

1. By restoring Light and Love you have a much better chance of restoring the hope that has been lost from a situation.

2. Audrey Hepburn believed in the 5 R’s and that everybody was redeemable, imagine the world if we all thought that was possible: Wouldn’t it be Loverly.

3. This is one of the great pitfalls for perfectionists, do you start anything if you don’t think you are going to get it absolutely right. Problems are a part of life and for our lives to succeed we must learn to deal with them.

4.Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was the 5th Umayyad caliph. He was born in Medina, Hejaz, Abd al-Malik was a well-educated man and capable ruler who was able to solve many political problems that impeded his rule. The 14th-century Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun states: “`Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan is one of the greatest Arab and Muslim Caliphs. He followed in the footsteps of `Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Commander of the Believers, in regulating state affairs”.

During his reign, all important records were translated into Arabic, and for the first time, a special currency for the Muslim world was minted, which led to war with the Byzantine Empire under Justinian II. The Byzantines were led by Leontios at the Battle of Sebastopolis in 692 in Asia Minor and were decisively defeated by al-Malik after the defection of a large contingent of Slavs. The Islamic currency was then made the only currency of exchange in the Muslim world. Also, many reforms happened in his time relating to agriculture and commerce. Al-Malik extended and consolidated Muslim rule, made Arabic the state language and organised a regular postal service: Soften Your Heart.

restore5

5. When I was in the depths of my mental health crisis I use d to get on busses in the hope the problems would stay behind in the place I had left, they didn’t. Only when I started taking on board the love of my friends and family did the problems start to go away.

restore6

6. Marianne and John both believe in this: Give Peace a Chance.

7. I have found lately that the solution for a problem lies in the heart not the head. By going into your heart and accepting what is so, it magically clears the situation.

restore8

8. Risky behaviour is deemed to be that way if you haven’t worked out the way to get there. It may not be your normal path of action but there is always a way to get places: There’s no Other Way.

9. Yoga is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India. There is a broad variety of Yoga schools, practices, and goals in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Among the most well-known types of yoga are Hatha yoga and Rāja yoga.

The origins of yoga have been speculated to date back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, it is mentioned in the Rigveda, but most likely developed around the sixth and fifth centuries B.C., in ancient India’s ascetic and śramaṇa movements. The chronology of earliest texts describing yoga-practices is unclear, varyingly credited to Hindu Upanishads and Buddhist Pāli Canon,probably of third century BCE or later. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali date from the first half of the 1st millennium CE, but only gained prominence in the West in the 20th century. Hatha yoga texts emerged around the 11th century with origins in tantra.

Yoga gurus from India later introduced yoga to the west, following the success of Swami Vivekananda in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. Yoga in Indian traditions, however, is more than physical exercise, it has a meditative and spiritual core. One of the six major orthodox schools of Hinduism is also called Yoga, which has its own epistemology and metaphysics, and is closely related to Hindu Samkhya philosophy.^[

Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma, and heart disease. The results of these studies have been mixed and inconclusive, with cancer studies suggesting none to unclear effectiveness, and others suggesting yoga may reduce risk factors and aid in a patient’s psychological healing process.

restore10

10. There is a new method of justice taking of in parts of the world. It is called restorative justice not retributive justice. It looks at redressing the issues that have caused people to commit crimes so they do not do it again: Clean This House.

restore11

11. The daughter of artistic Italian parents, wife of a professor of philosophy, and an accomplished pianist, Vanda Scaravelli was accustomed throughout her life to meeting creative artists, intellectuals, and literati. The Indian philosopher J. Krishnamurti came to stay at the Scaravelli’s villa overlooking Florence every year. When Scaravelli’s husband died suddenly after World War II, she soon began spending summers with her children at a chalet in Switzerland, where she hosted Krishnamurti during his lectures there. B. K. S. Iyengar would come every morning to teach him yoga; he introduced Scaravelli, then in her 40s, to the ancient discipline, and “a new life came into my body.” Thus began her ongoing exploration of what she called allegrezza, “the intelligent heart.”

From T. K. V. Desikachar she learned breath awareness; she later formulated her own approach to yoga (in which “you become intelligent and at the same time you are happy”) and began to teach others. Her book Awakening the Spine (Harper San Francisco, 1995) became a classic. Since her death in 1999, at age 91, several teachers have carried on her work, most notably Toronto-based Esther Myers. “I practice because it is natural for me to practice,” she told Myers in a 1996 YJ interview. “There is no other reason.

restore12

12. The restorative power of a visit to a major art exhibition or to a great movie cannot be paid for, it isn’t the money you put out: Art for Art’s Sake.

restore13

13. I woke up with a bung knee this morning, after one hours sleep because every time I turned over I would wake from the pain. I hope the above quote has some credibility.

restore14

14. In our social media madness that is called our lives these days always remember that our soul is there hanging out in the peace zone: Desiderata.

restore15

15. Do we make our children think these days , or just rort remember facts so they are prepared for their careers that have been mapped out by society. MLK was not one to accept easy answers or half baked solutions.

The path to Possibility is what I have been aiming to address in this blog. Possibility opens up a new paradigm in our lives that allows us to restore all those dreams we had as children.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

namaste2

It’s a divine Purpose!!

Posted on September 29, 2016 by Rod's World

Support – It means many things across our society which could not exist with out it. We often hold ourselves as separate but this is far from the truth as without the support I received on my arrival on this blessed planet from my parents I would not be here writing this. It could be any of the following areas but I have focused on the support of family and friends, to me a divine purpose:

VERB

bear all or part of the weight of; hold up:

give assistance to, especially financially:

provide with a home and the necessities of life:

give approval, comfort, or encouragement to:

be actively interested in and concerned for the success of (a particular sports team).

(supporting)

(of an actor or role) of secondary importance to the leading roles in a play or film.

(of a pop or rock group or performer) function as a secondary act to (another) at a concert.

suggest the truth of; corroborate:

produce enough food and water for; be capable of sustaining:
endure; tolerate:
(of a computer or operating system) allow the use or operation of (a program, language, or device):
NOUN
a thing that bears the weight of something or keeps it upright:

the action of supporting something or someone or the state of being supported:

material assistance:

approval, encouragement, or comfort:

technical help given to the user of a computer or other product.

evidence that serves to corroborate something:

a secondary act at a pop or rock concert:

Lets have a look at how life talks about the act of supporting one another:

1. I spend time volunteering at two organisations because over my many years on this planets I have learnt that the biggest changes in my life have occurred when I have been involved in community action.

2. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a non-academic historian, a writer (as Winston S. Churchill), and an artist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, lifetime body of work. In 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States, he espoused that any one could lead a good life: Everybody.

3. Are you on some ones to do list or do you live in their heart?

4. I spent yesterday at a workshop called clarity and productivity, this is the type of support that would honour the person you are giving it to: Aretha’s Respect.

5. Possibly the most famous love affair of our time, Snoopy and Charlie Brown, who is the Snoopy in your life?
6. I have put my siblings through times where it was their love that sustained out relationship not my actions, I regret doing this but at the time I was not capable of anything else: That’s what friends/family are for.

7. Through giving support this is the gift you give to yourself, unconditional self love.

8. I saw this image and fell in love with it, then I read the message about the knowing. I have this in my life, thank you all: Sometimes when we Touch.

9. Gloria Laura Vanderbilt is an American artist, author, actress, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, and her paternal aunt, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, both sought custody of the child Gloria and control over her $5 million trust fund. The trial, called the “trial of the century” by the press, was the subject of wide, sensational press coverage due to the wealth and notoriety of the involved parties and the scandalous evidence presented to support Whitney’s claim that Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt was an unfit parent.

10. When you have that thought that its time to contact a particular friend and give them a boost, do it. Trust your Inner Pilot Light, that’s why you are friends: One Day.

11. High Five what your friend is good at, their soul is in there waiting to hear it in times of trouble.

12. The hug, one of the ultimate givings of support, here are her allies: Say Something.

13. I love the silliness of this one, but then again is it silly?

14. A little support is better than no support. Eeyore puts it so well:Stand up.

15. Do this exercise program daily and we will change the world!!

So my request is when you have that thought that that person or that cause would be a good thing to do don’t ignore it, go with your gut feeling, the more the merrier.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

I am a leaf on the Wind!!

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Rod's World

One of the things I have wanted to do my whole life is fly unaided. I tried gliding, hang-gliding, parachuting but they were all too noisy. I wish to float in the clouds like an eagle, silently looking down on the planet as I soar over it.

Birds do not see the borders we have made up for the planet, when they fly thousands of miles to return to their nesting sites from their wintering grounds they do not require a passport to cross the imaginary lines we have drawn on the planet. That is the freedom of soaring, the word that most fulfils my desire to fly.

Soaring is defined as soaring to fly or rise high in the air: “the bird spread its wings and soared into the air” ·, “when she heard his voice, her spirits soared” synonyms: fly up · wing · wing its way · take off · take flight ·

So lets have a look at what the world has said about soaring :

A. W. Tozer was a American Christian pastor, preacher, author, magazine editor, and spiritual mentor. For his work, he received two honorary doctoral degrees.

Tozer had seven children: six boys and one girl. Living a simple and non-materialistic lifestyle, he and his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz, never owned a car, preferring bus and train travel. Even after becoming a well-known Christian author, Tozer signed away much of his royalties to those who were in need. Sean Lucas has commented on a biography of Tozer by Lyle Dorsett. He said “Dorsett exposes a fundamental contradiction in Tozer’s character that raises all sorts of questions about holy zeal and its effect on the whole of life. The contradiction could be summed up: how did Tozer reconcile his passionate longing for communion with God with his failure to love passionately his wife and children? Perhaps the most damning statement in the book was from his wife, after she remarried subsequent to his death: “I have never been happier in my life,” Ada Ceclia Tozer Odam observed, “Aiden [Tozer] loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me”.

soar2

2. One of the parts of the recipe of soaring is looked at in this quote, the essential ingredient of Self Love: Feeling Myself.

soar3

3. Love this powerful quote by Anne Bronte, the lesser known of the Bronte literary family. Her second novel, The tenant of Wildfell Hall, considered the first feminist novel was prevented by her sister Charlotte being re published after her death.

soar4

4. How often do you soar above the clouds? : Eagle Flying.

soar5

5. Don’t you love those nature documentaries where young birds take their first attempts at flying, often they fail, but they never give up.

soar6

6. I love how eagles and albatrosses soar in the sky high up on their own. It is such a powerful statement about this is my life and I’m creating it: It’s my Life.

soar7

7. Don’t you love those moments when life clicks and whatever it throws at you you feel like you are floating on the timeless winds above those that usually toss you around day by day.

soar8

8. Victor Hugo – Though a committed royalist when he was young, Hugo’s views changed as the decades passed, and he became a passionate supporter of republicanism; his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and the artistic trends of his time. He is buried in the Panthéon. His legacy has been honoured in many ways, including his portrait being placed on French franc banknotes. I don’t really know what his quote means: The Pun Song.

soar9

9. Rufus Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter and composer. He has recorded seven albums of original music and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written a classical opera and set Shakespeare sonnets to music for a theatre piece by Robert Wilson. Not sure if he is referring to the fae or the fact that he is gay in this cute quote.

soar10

10. Just a little detail, I will never give up on my dream to fly unaided, even if it only in my dreams. Who knows what they will invent on the next few years?: I believe I can Fly.

soar11

11. Who says you can’t be the one, don’t listen to them.

soar12

12. Perhaps I need to befriend Dumbo, he can fly unaided: Dumbo Flies.

soar14

13. There are theories as babies we have invisible angel wings and they fade as we stop believing in our ability to soar as we age. Time to reverse the process.

soar16

14. When you locate the Self Love within, you gain the strength to soar: Don’t stop Believing.

soar15

Chetan Bhagat(born 22 April 1974) is an Indian author, columnist, screenwriter, television personality and motivational speaker, known for his English-language dramedy novels about young urban middle-class Indians.A noted public intellectual, Bhagat also writes for columns about youth, career development and current affairs for The Times of India (in English) and Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi).

Bhagat’s novels have sold over seven million copies. In 2008, The New York Times cited Bhagat as “the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history”.Bhagat’s screenwriting efforts have included the dramedies Kai Po Che! (2013), 2 States (2014) and the action-superhero movie Kick (2015). He won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay for Kai Po Che! at the 59th Filmfare Awards in January 2014. He has definitely flown above the stone throwers in his life.

So how do you choose to soar in your life? What is you desire that equals mine to fly unaided. Please don’t give up on it. That is what is your passion in life.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

namaste2

Like Icing with Cake!!

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Rod's World

How many truly intimate moments do we have in our lifetime? Is it a touch from our beloved, a feeling surging through our heart or screaming at a person you desire for 5 minutes like recently happened to me because words didn’t seem enough.

Type in Intimacy in Google and it brings up over 9,000,000 results. Lots of books, on line and experiential courses abound. It is defined as Intimacy:

the state of being intimate.

a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.

a close association with or detailed knowledge or deep understanding of a place, subject, period of history, etc.:

an intimacy with Japan.

an act or expression serving as a token of familiarity, affection, or the like:

to allow the intimacy of using first names.

an amorously familiar act; liberty.

sexual intercourse.

the quality of being comfortable, warm, or familiar:

the intimacy of the room.

So academics are not even sure what it means, how has it been quoted over the centuries, lets have a look:

1. I like this definition a lot, it has happened to me recently leaving me gob smacked as what to do about the situation after it occurs.

2. Same person, blowing all over each others face: These Boots are made for Walking.

3. I’m available for this. Not sure if there is someone there at the moment.

4. Sounds like song lyrics , these words are so intimate: Just give me a Reason.

5. My friend Chris runs beautiful events that allow people to experience the intimacy of this over a day : The Yoga of Eye Gazing.

6. Is bilss really Bliss? my anal proofreading picked up the mistake. Obviously they didn’t go the hard yards of intimacy when creating this: I was Here.

7. A deadly trio for the sacredness of true intimacy. Watch out for them.

8. How often do we withhold this integral form of intimacy in the name of not hurting someone ? : Only Love can hurt like This.

9. I see You, a phrase donated to the English language from the blockbuster film Avatar. It expresses the depth of intimacy well.

10. Intimacy cake, without the icing you end up in bed, alone. : Commitment.

11. Do you do the small things from which big things grow in the intimacy stakes on a daily basis?

12. I want this oh so badly, come on. I am ready and able.

13. Are you a player. How much does the C word scare you in your dealings in your relationships.

14. Henri Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and community. Over the course of his life, Nouwen was heavily influenced by the work of Anton Boisen, Thomas Merton, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh and Jean Vanier.

After nearly two decades of teaching at academic institutions including the University of Notre Dame, Yale Divinity School and Harvard Divinity School, Nouwen went on to work with mentally and physically handicapped people at the L’Arche Daybreak community in Richmond Hill, Ontario.: Fear and Love.

intimacy-16