Your contribution is a gift to the Community

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Rod's World

The news that has been being reported in my country is tragic at the moment, multiple deaths that are unexpalinable to anyone with a humane heart. it has made me think how does the community recover from such events when they become permeated in our history, Soon after the event an unknown person placed a bunch of flowers in Martin Place as a sign of the deep loss they felt for the people involved, they probably did not know them but they wanted to say i feel for you in some way.

In an amazing outpouring of compassion, thousands upon thousands of people have followed suit and it has simply become to be known as the martin Place Flowers Shrine.

This has brought me to think what options are available to you to mend a broken heart when something unimaginable happens that renders it asunder.

1. Seek professional help.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote sums up succintly the power of what we are thinking about something has over us. When your thoughts start getting dark and are making it difficult to face the day its time to talk to someone who has been trained in releasing the grip those thoughts have on you.

2. Write about It.

They say it is better in than out and if you find it difficult to talk to someone about it then the option of writing how you feel gets it out of your head and on the page. As they say you can’t start the next chapter if you keep on reading the last in your head.

3. Physical Touch.

I find this one difficult when in the depths of thinking life is not great but in following this koan: Physical touch makes you healthier. Hugs, Massages and holding hands reduces stress while boosting your immune system I have allowed my friends and family to help get me back on the path to wellness.

4. Do what makes you Happy.

Be it spending times with friends and family, physical exercise, watching a film that cheers you up, making something, just do a little bit a day if that is all you can do now, and build it up gradually as this will improve your general demeanour.

5. Meditation.

Your vision will become clear only when you can look in your own heart, who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakes. Carl Jung expresses very well what the benefits of a daily meditation practice are, meditation is just not for relaxation, its primary purpose is to respond skilfully and gracefully to life’s difficulties as well as its joy. There are many forms of meditation available, from calm abiding to chakra focus. Try one on until you find the type that suits you.

6. Spirituality.

Nothing goes away until it has taught us what we need to know – Pema Chodron, A Buddhist nun and profound thought leader of our generation covers it pretty well, if we think we know the answer there is no opportunity to advance by learning the lesson our circumstances are trying to teach us. Spending a few hours a week reading your favourite spiritual teacher can only enhance your understanding of the world.

7. Shake, Rattle and Roll.

Walking is the worlds oldest exercise and today modern medicine. In the days of driving to work and back home again simple exercise like an half an hour walk can transform your life. I started with this and have built up to cycling every where and three sessions in the gym a week.

8. Dancing.

Dancing with the feet is one thing, Dancing with the heart is Another. We all have our favourite music that touches our heart. Put some on and dance to it. As children this was one of our main pastimes, we have just forgotten the enjoyment we get out of it.

Sorry about the break in blogs, busy over the festive season, Namaste till next times my friends.

Why had I never heard of her?

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Rod's World

My friend Laura said to me at the end of May the world is a sadder place, Maya has passed. As the only Maya I knew was our mutual friend who was in her thirties I was much saddened. little did I know that Laura was talking about one of the giants in the field of words that made a difference worldwide Maya Angelou. I am ashamed I did not know of her, reading some of her quotes I actually did but not that she had penned them.

Maya Angelou born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American author, poet, dancer, actress and singer. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, and several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I know why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, prostitute, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonisation of Africa. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she earned the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University. She was active in the Civil Rights Movement, and worked with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made around 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” (1993) at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961.

It was probably with a pen like this Maya wrote some of her inspiring quotes, here are my favourite fifteen and what they mean to me

1. I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

As we are not listening most of the time to remember the words someone spoke its how people touch our hearts that gets in, isn’t it the people who make our hearts flutter that we look forward to seeing again and again.

2. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.

When you see somebody who is suffering an attack of the blues, don’t give them more reasons to feel that way, always present with a smile wherever possible, it will be returned to you in spades.

3. There’s a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth.

If we were to believe the mainstream media of today, we would think the truth is no acts of kindness take place on the planet only war, famine and disasters. The truth is that human beings in general have good hearts it just doesn’t seems that media barons believe that good news doesn’t sell newspapers unfortunately.

4. What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.

I have noticed I am spending less and less time with my friends who complain about things instead of getting out there and making the difference. Simply complaining never resolved a single thing in my life, actions did. I’m sure it’s the same for you.

5. Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.

Keep your ethics in line with what you choose to do for your lifetime, do not sell yourself short to be someones friend or lover. Self Love and Love of what you do and the actions you take to do it mean you will succeed in reaching your goals.

6. Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time.

Never let the circumstances of a failed relationship kill off the possibility of love appearing in your life again and again. Underneath it all lies Love.

7. Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!

Are we truly prepared to receive and live our dreams. We must be ready to transform our circumstances when our dreams start coming true. We cannot remain how we were our where we were.

8. Everything in the universe has a rhythm, Everything dances.

When you get down to the atom level, of which we are made you see everything is energy, dancing its dance in life, probably why I love 5 rhythm’s dancing so much.

9. I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life’.

I have done many a job that did not turn me on in my 60 years of life, I was doing them to bring the cash in to survive. I hit many bumps and pot holes making my life but it is smoothing out these days. What you do for a living is just as important as who are your friends in “making a life”.

10. I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.

Heart space, I seem to know that when I decide from here it will all work out. When I listen to my mind lots of What If’s and it won’t seem to come up on a regular basis. Keep training in the methodology of listening to your heart, meditation helps.

11. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.

Remember to give yourself holidays on a regular basis. Kick back and just relax, don’t save the planet on these days, recoup your energy, every champion deserves a break.

12. If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded.

The search for meaning for yourself is on the inner path, the satisfaction in life is gained in service to others. Making lots of Money at the expense of not giving back to the world is soulless and will stunt your growth and success.

13. Success is loving life and daring to live it.

Another Success quote simple in the question it asks, I dare You!!

14. I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

That famous quote that says whether you are 20 or 80 if you stop learning you die, never, ever give up the path of learning. As our life changes moment to moment so does what we need to know to flourish.

15. “Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.”

This is one of Mayas poems, it is beautiful in its simplicity, saying that whatever happens in our lives we will still rise.

These 15 quotes came from a list of 480, perhaps everything you say becomes a quote when you are as gifted and insightful as Maya Angelou. I hope that this list of my favourites gives you some insight into the power of her words.

Namaste until next time, my friends.

Finding the Now!!

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Rod's World

There are so many schools of thought how to be in the Now emanating across the airwaves these days one does not really know who to believe or where to begin to find the most useful amongst them. I have tried many of them over my sixty years so I thought I would pass on a few I have found useful.

1. Calm Abiding Meditation

“There are many stages in mental development, but as soon as we are able to maintain the mind in a calm state, at that very moment there is joy and peace. This is reflected in the body becoming relaxed, and then the mind becomes more relaxed. As the mind calms down, the hidden enlightened qualities emerge more and more.”

—Venerable Khenpo Rinpoche

This statement sums up pretty much what you can achieve in the daily practice of Calm Abiding meditation, a practice I did for 7 years, and which I have recently taken up again after a break of 5 years. I trained to become a meditation Teacher during those 7 years and look forward to using those skills again after my practice is established again.

2. Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga describes the physical practice of yoga. In fact, sometimes the name Hatha is used interchangeably with “yoga.” The slow pace and simple breathing exercises make it a great place to learn basic poses and become comfortable on the mat. My breath cycle improved from 9 seconds to 44 while I was doing Yoga and only gave it up when I discovered the beauty of Tai Chi.

3. Tai Chi

Developed originally in China as a self-defense strategy, or martial art, tai chi—the “supreme ultimate fist”—is practiced in modern times primarily as a gentle exercise technique. Described as “meditation in motion,” tai chi consists of a standing person performing a series of postures or bodily movements in a slow and graceful manner, with each movement flowing without pause to the next. According to Chinese legend, the technique was created by a Taoist monk who was inspired as he watched a crane and a snake do battle. Impressed by the ‘snake’s ability to subtly and swiftly avoid the bird’s thrusts, he devised a series of self-defense techniques that do not involve meeting the opponent’s force with force, but rather stress evading the blow; causing the opponent’s own momentum to work against him. I do the Beijing 24 practice daily and am learning he Bamboo practice. I Also do a warm up called Qigong

4. Qigong

Qigong, literally: “Life Energy Cultivation” is a practice of aligning body, breath, and mind for health, meditation, and martial arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine and Philosophy and martial arts, qigong is traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi) or what has been translated as “life energy”.^[1]

According to Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian philosophy, respectively, qigong allows access to higher realms of awareness, awakens one’s “true nature”, and helps develop human potential. This noble practice has helped me regain my well being and is my current practice.

5. 5 Rhythms Dance

5Rhythms is a movement meditation practice devised by Gabrielle Roth in the late 1970s. It draws from indigenous and world traditions using tenets of shamanistic ecstatic, mystical and eastern philosophy. Fundamental to the practice is the idea that everything is energy, and moves in waves, patterns and rhythms.

Gabrielle describes the practice as a soul journey, and says that by moving the body, releasing the heart, and freeing the mind, one can connect to the essence of the soul, the source of inspiration in which an individual has unlimited possibility and potential.

Getting back to this has allowed me to free my body and be much more present in the Now of my body.

6. Philosophers Notes

Brian Johnson made mega dollars in the I.T. industry then went to Bali and read all the great books. His gift to the world is he can summarise them beautifully.

PhilosophersNotes are like healthy, energizing snacks for the mind, heart and soul! This is such a superb idea, and Brian has such a natural, infectiously appealing way of making it relevant to just about everybody. For avid personal-development aficionados, Philosophers Notes serve as a sampler plate of the very best reads out there, making it easier to decide which new books to crack open next, and which classics deserve a fresh look.

I did one of these for about 60 days in a row then read the books that really touched my heart. They say the day you die is the day you stop learning, in our busy world this is an excellent way to get to access the best quickly. Here’s a link if you are interested https://www.entheos.com/philosophersnotes

7. Communing with Nature

We forget that Gaia has been gifted to remind us that we are all part of the greater plan. A weekend away from the chaos of the city in a forest , or near a beach or river restores our sense of Now. Leaving your phone, computer and work behind for this period has us focus on things like trees, animals and the fresh air that these places are filled with.

8. Growing and Cooking my own Food

Supermarkets are not even 100 years old, how did humans get their food prior to the existence of what is now the major supplier of Food for the human race. We grew our own and prepared and cooked it ourselves or brought it from our local producers. The joy of planting you own vegetables and having your own chickens is immeasurable and making your own meals from fresh, non toxic produce bought from a local farmers market is so good for your health.

Well, I hope this has helped you a little, Namaste until next time my Friends.

Small Changes, Big Results

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Rod's World

These are the beginning of 300 foot trees if they survive their journey. This is the same for human beings, we are destined to be the leaders of the world if we fulfil our dreams or failed seedling if we do not. As seedlings/children we imagine amazing futures for ourselves and our friends, real or imagined. Then comes something called the education system that is more and more becoming about normalising children, packing them into little boxes so they all come out the same prepared for their careers in our economic world.

Would we have lost the space program if all the astronauts of the world have stuck to their childhood declaration and sought to walk on the Moon or Mars for that matter. Would we have the politicians we have today if all the 4 year old presidents and prime ministers who wanted to make a difference to their friends and family had followed their dreams and transformed their communities.

Ritu Ghatourey,a writer from India said – Your life is made up of little moments, little efforts, little changes, big smiles, and all your hopes and dreams. Don’t think any problem in your life is any different. Don’t accept defeat. You were built to triumph through. I admit there are times where I have not lived up to these ideals.

Here are 7 things that can keep you on the straight and narrow when you feel that the results you desire are slipping away from you.

1. You are exactly where you need to be.

All those thoughts that keep saying I’m not going to make it , I have failed are not correct, you are where you need to be right now on your life journey, you cannot be anywhere else as a matter of fact.

2. Trust yourself Vs. the Doubting monster.

Love and Respect for all, Everyone included. If you go through life with this koan there will be no room to doubt what you are doing will succeed because you will have the majority of people onside. People who exude love have to push away people who are willing to support them because there are so many of them lined up.

3. Give up resisting what life does every moment of the day , Change!

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

4. Never stop learning.

There is a quote that goes “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning today is young. The greatest thing on the world today is to keep your mind young. I would add your heart and soul to this as well, the access to the knowledge of the elders is growing and refreshening our heart soul and mind is essential to keep our dreams and projects alive.

5.Develop a Gratitude practice.

We can be grateful for what we have in our lives, or complain and judge them, here are some reasons that being grateful works and makes us an all round better person.

Feeling more connected (less lonely)
Strengthened immune system
Improved emotional equilibrium
Better sleep
Increased energy
More confidence in ourselves
Deeper relaxation
Appear more attractive to others
Increased creativity
Easier bounce back from difficulty

I sure would like some of these!! Gratitude journal and the writing of Thank you notes are great practices to help manifest this.

6. Sun Gazing.

The practice of sungazing closely resembles its name. At sunrise and/or sunset, when the sun is closest to the earth, sungazers stand barefoot on the earth and look directly at the sun for 10 seconds. Every day, 10 seconds are added and some sungazers eventually reach a duration of 44 minutes. This is meant to increase your melatonin and serotonin levels, our feel good hormones which also increase our overall energy.

7. Care with no Reason, Love with no Expectation.

Life rarely turns out exactly the way you want it to, but you still have an opportunity to make it great. You have to do what you can, with what you have, exactly where you are. It wont always be easy, but it will be worth it in the end. Remember that there is no perfect life, just perfect moments. And its these moments you must cherish; its these moments that make the whole journey worthwhile.

Another Ritu Ghatourey quote to end on, no attachments make it easier to walk your path and have more and more great moments in your life, projects , relationship, pretty well all areas in your life.

Namaste until next time, my friends.

Give with All of Your Heart.

Posted on November 29, 2014 by Rod's World

I chose to write on this because I recently watched the inspiring Youtube about Narayanan Krishnan, chef turned social worker who gave up feeding the wealthy in his home city to feed the poor and the homeless, he stated that it wasn’t just about the food it had to also come with love for it to have any effect.

They say the heart is home to our soul and the mind is its advisor, more often than not when we follow our heart it turns out for the better versus the supposedly logical or illogical ideas the minds seems to offer up. The heart is the core of our joy, creativity and loving, It is when the heart is touched by a mighty passion that we perform at our best because nothing can stop us from achieving that which we intend to have happen as did the Incans when they built Macchu Picchu so many years ago.

Love is not discussed in the business world as it is deemed to be about making a profit over emotions such as love. Yet What is Love was the most searched question on Google in 2012. The ancient Greeks decided it was too complex to have one type of love and therefore they had six different words for six different types of love. The two most common are agape, love for everyone and pragma, the deep love that develops between couples over time. People do not tend to remember how much they earned over a lifetime but whose hearts they touched and who touched theirs.

A great exercise to strengthen your heart is to for the next 24 hours notice negative emotions when they happen. Behind each negative emotion there tends to be a negative thought. Notice what you are thinking and turn it around, flip it into something more positive. If you hold that negative thought for more than thirty seconds, start your twenty four hours again. This trains you in focusing on your positives, what you do brilliantly and what you wish to do better not what you did wrong.

What is Love to you? To me it often the simple things, the lick of a family pet, the laugh of my elderly mum, the passion I have for Interculturalism https://www.facebook.com/groups/Interulturalism/, my favourite music, the music of the indigenous people of my country, but is also the complex things such as the work of Medecins Sans Frontieres, doctors who work in the most dangerous places in the world to provide medical aid to the victims of war, plague and other disasters providing love to these people which would otherwise be unavailable.

If you are living the life you love you may have worked through these six questions:

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

We all had dreams as children as to what we would do and be when we grew up, they were often crushed out of us as impractical and not a way to make a real living. So if you have been given the chance again to relive those dreams what have you chosen.

Is this an action that you would defend and be happy to explain to your parents?

Our major relationships are often with our parents and siblings, they know us the best as they have spent the most time with us. Can you tell your parents with passion what you are up to and have them get it.

Is it making the world a better place?

Self love is important but is what you are spending your time on improving the situation for others, giving them a heart felt service, lifting them up from the place they have fallen down to. This is an important question to have answered to be in love with your life.

When you think about it calmly. Does it feel like the right thing to do?

A lot of people meditate, when you meditate on what you are doing to fulfil your life, does it feel AOK, I should be doing this over anything else, simply the right thing to do.

Does it make you a better person?

If you are operating from your heart space, are you being a better person because of this or are you still the same self centred individual, one would hope not as you have spent the time and effort to investigate what it is that inspires you on a day to day basis.

Will someone else’s life be enriched as a result?

As I mentioned previously you do not remember how much money you have earned when you reflect on your life but who you have touched and who has touched you. As you fulfil your passion remember it is in the giving of your openheartedness that touches and enriches others lives. The focus in fulfilling your passion should be out there, the love of self is the internal quest.

If you give with all your heart I believe you will never work another day in your life, as you will love what you do and you will be living a life of passion.

Namaste until next time, my friends.

Terra Nullius, the theft of a land

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Rod's World

I live in a land that has been populated for close to 60,000 years. Recently the Prime Minister of our country denied this https://newmatilda.com/2014/11/14/tony-abbott-says-nothing-bush-australia-white-settlement, an act he continues to do even though he is the self appointed representative of the people who have inhabited the land for this time. Our Country, Australia is the only western country that does not recognise the indigenous native in their Constitution, in fact the words “other than the aboriginal race” were contained in up to 1967 when 94% of the population voted to have it removed in a referendum. I am ashamed that prior to this under the White Australia Policy of the government our Indigenous brothers and sisters, The First Australians had been considered less than human.

Terra nullius is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning “land belonging to no one”, which is used in international law to describe territory which has never been subject to the sovereignty of any state, or over which any prior sovereign has expressly or implicitly relinquished sovereignty.

We are showing the inspirational SBS series The First Australians at the place that I work at Darebin Intercultural Centrehttps://www.facebook.com/DarebinInterculturalCentre?ref=hl ,a series created by First Australians to belie some of the myths that have been put across as the history of our land http://www.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians/. Facts I have learnt from this series are that there were over 250 Tribal groups populating the country when whites first arrived and that genocidal actions were taken against them to steal their land such as the 5 pound bounty put on an aboriginal in Tasmania and the hiring of professional hunters to complete the task by the government of the day.

This made me think that families who first settled the land in the early days probably saw or took part in some horrendous actions to claim their lands if they were all populated by an aboriginal tribe. I grew up in the bush so somewhere in our distant past who knows what occurred.

On the night of the 12 February 1965, 30 university students from Sydney boarded a bus and set off to campaign in the country towns of New South Wales. Officially called Student Action for Aborigines, they were led by Charles Perkins, a young man who would become one of the most important Australian Aboriginal activists, as well as a leader in the Aboriginal community through his work as a politician and bureaucrat, as well as through his sporting achievements as a soccer player, coach and administrator.http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-56_u-490_t-1335_c-5130/tas/sose-history/australia-after-1945/an-era-of-protest/charles-perkins-freedom-rides

Charles Perkins and his ilk were willing to fight for the rights of Indigenous people and their actions led to the referendum of 1967 and allowed people like Vincent Lingiari to lead his fellow stockman and families off the Wave Hill cattle station where their civil rights had been being abused by the Vestey family, a wealthy British family who had run the station since the 1880’s. In 1975 the land was handed back to the Gurindji people by then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam , the first such case and the beginning of the land rights movement in Australia.

Finally, to give back to you formally in Aboriginal and Australian law ownership of this land of your fathers. Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands this piece of the earth itself as a sign that we restore them to you and your children forever.—Gough Whitlam, August 16th 1975 [4]

This opened up actions to be taken by several governments to either crush or support land rights http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_title_in_Australia , the most famous case being Mabo vs. Queensland over the period of 1988 to 1992. Eddie Mabo took the government to task about the right his Murri people had re owner ship of Mer, his home island. Unfortunately Eddie became ill and died several months before the victorious decision was handed down http://www.abc.net.au/tv/mabo/biography/eddie-mabo.htm.

So why will the government of a supposedly civilised land not recognise the first 40,000 years of their lands history in their constitution? If you look at these statistics it could be assumed that the will of the people is not there and the government are listening to the unspoken racism that exists in our country http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/racism-in-aboriginal-australia#toc6

Terra Nullius is an abomination and belittles the people of our great country and we should be taking all steps we can to have it reversed and call out to our elected head of government to stop making statements that suggest he supports its existence. The fight for land rights has also risen again as the premier of Western Australia intends to close 150 settlements http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-12/indigenous-communities-closures-will-have-severe-consequences/5886840. I believe we are better as a nation in recognising our indigenous brothers and sisters, the First Australians than some of the actions occurring seemingly in the name of the money barons who wish to mine without having to ask anyone. Say no to Terra Nullius and the fold back of land rights.

Namaste until we meet again my friends.

Don’t compromise their dignity!!

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Rod's World

Human beings enter the world all newborn, another soul waiting to thrive. The path they take is often chosen by the circumstance they are born in, yet there are exceptions to this rule in each and every land, what separates these individuals from the rest. You often find these people have the guiding light of service for others. This quote sums it up pretty well:

Self love is the inner path but the creation of a dignified person is in how we interact with the world. Can you relate to the homeless person as well as the multi billionaire. Each of these people may be parents, brothers, sisters who have had passions in their lives, they are just demonstrating them in different ways at this point in time. I work at the Darebin Intercultural Centre where our ethos is Love and Respect for All, Everyone included. We had a homeless person who used to sit on our garden out the front. We started taking him a cup of coffee and he now comes to our events because he feels at home and that people respect him there.

The world throws up extreme circumstances to test people’s dignity, Nelson Mandela is famous for retaining his dignity while in prison, he stated that his freedom could not be taken away from him as long as he retained his dignity, he did not surrender it and went on to become one of the worlds great princes of peace and freedom on the planet. The country of Rwanda went through a near genocide in 1994 and the country has set up leadership trainings to restore the dignity of the country http://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/about/bgjustice.shtml

What do you take dignity to mean, there is a definition that is widely used.

Proclamations and conventions

Through much of the 20th century, dignity appeared in assorted writings as a reason for peacemaking and for promoting human rights.

“

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status

The declaration being the universal declaration of human rights:

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. The full text is published by the United Nations on its website.^[1]

The Declaration consists of thirty articles which have been elaborated in subsequent international treaties, regional human rights instruments, national constitutions, and other laws. The International Bill of Human Rights consists of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and its two Optional Protocols. In 1966, the General Assembly adopted the two detailed Covenants, which complete the International Bill of Human Rights. In 1976, after the Covenants had been ratified by a sufficient number of individual nations, the Bill took on the force of international law.^[2]

This is a difficult promise to live up to given the human condition, judgement, indifference, apathy, and selfishness often see it swept aside for the need for self gratification. Working on the inner path of self love places these things clearly in the background and allows for treatment of self and fellow human beings with dignity and respect on a daily basis.

The ethos of Interculturalism, Love and Respect for all, Everyone Included, join in spreading the word https://www.facebook.com/groups/Interulturalism/ and we will see a planet where dignity is one of the premises that people live by.

Namaste to all until next time my friends

Everyone’s Right of Place.

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Rod's World

Do you ever feel out of place? There is a fabulous quote that says we are all geniuses within but try to get a fish to climb a tree and it doesn’t get very far. Its points at that age old wisdom that one has to find our passion in life to truly discover the genius within. Albert Einstein liked lists as I do so I would like to feature one of his to back up that everyone has a right of place and what we can do to find ours.

1. Follow Your Curiosity.

The world has billions of things to learn, from different cultures to new scientific discoveries. As we grow older we are trained to settle down, fight this with every muscle in your mind, body and heart.

2. Perseverance is Priceless.

I posted a quote about that every one has the same 24 hours as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela etc. etc. It drove my brother to distraction. Things get done by people who see roadblocks as opportunities not reasons to stop.

3. Focus on the Present.

Eckhart Tolle is visiting my city, Melbourne Australia on Tuesday. His book The Power of Now says it all about the power contained with in this statement. You can’t do anything about the past, The future is yet to happen and will be a past moment of the time that make a difference, the present is the instant in which it occurs.

4. The Imagination is Powerful.

I love the joy of children playing together, they don’t need computer games and video’s, all they need is their pure, uninhibited imaginations. They can create dragons, imaginary super heroes and countries. Education systems seem to try and crush this out of them as they grow up and become more “mature”, perhaps it should be called the clone system.

5. Make Mistakes

It is said Edison broke thousands of lightbulbs on his journey to discover the one that worked. Don’t wait to have everything perfect before you have a red hot go, you will not start. Mistakes can also be called new opportunities to expand.

6. Live In the Moment.

86,400 seconds in a day. We sleep a lot of them so that we can be alert in the others we are awake. If you are in a funk about something somebody did to you 10 years ago who is missing the opportunity to be the best you can possibly be in the moment. Answers itself. I used to do this but took action about it as I sensed it was costing me my vitality day to day.

7. Create Value.

I have lots of friends who are in the healing profession and face the dilemma of how to charge appropriately for their services. The price of what I am willing to pay for an item or service to me is determined by the answer to the question did I get value being Yes. So this is one time you do not look inwardly for the answer but focus on your audience, did they get value.

8. Don’t Expect Different Results.

How often do you think If Only? This is the booby prize in your life education. What happens happens for a purpose, it may not be nice but our job is to not repeat the dose and grow from the experience. Yes we will go through grief, anger, frustration but the premise is to get the coaching, It couldn’t have happened any other way than how it did.

9. Knowledge Comes From Experience.

As we age we have the opportunity to gain Knowledge. This is different from existing and repeating the same things over and over again. We experience an event in our lives and some times we get an aha moment from it and our knowledge grows which we can pass on t those following in our path. Aboriginal elders in Australia live by this premise “In our culture, decisions are made for the communal good and the community is considered above the individual need.”

10. Learn the Rules and Then Play Better.

Each of our Societies are governed by a set of rules for each area of its existence. If we want to make great change its our job to know these rules and manipulate them and play the game better than the mediocre players such as many of the political parties that exist as our “rulers” these days.

We all have a right of place and it is our responsibility to discover what that purpose is for each of us individually. Albert has written a very powerful list that can help you access this for yourself. get out on the track and place one foot in front of each other and begin.

Namaste until next time , my friends.

May the Animals be Blessed.

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Rod's World

Today I remember the animals of the world, our cohabitants of this precious planet. I recognise their vulnerability, as well as the harm we sometimes do to them. May careless, even cruel behaviour towards animals be forever removed from the earth. May my heart be open to ways I can be of service to them. May the relationship between humans and animals be lifted to its highest place. Dear Gaia, Please bless the animals. Protect Them From the actions of those with cold hearts. May we be proper stewards Of these precious creations in our midst. Amen. I love this prayer by Marianne Williamson to the other inhabitants of our planet although I changed one word, I cannot bring myself to use the word God, it is far to damaged in my estimation to be used to represent the spirit that is mightier than the human race, I much prefer Gaia, the spirit of the planet that does not relate to any power seeking religion. I spent last weekend volunteering at World Vegan Day in Melbourne Australia, my friends call me the worlds greatest volunteer. I was highly impressed by the number of young people who have journeyed down the path to Veganism. What is Veganism, Wikipedia defines it as follows

Veganism /ˈviːɡənɪzəm/ is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as following an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. A follower of veganism is known as a vegan.

I used a picture of Beagles to begin this blog as there is a group in Victoria that specifically operates to rescue them from abandonment or cruelty http://www.beaglerescuevic.org/aboutus.html, and they are damn cute.

There were many other organisations that defended the rights of animals around the world and I was drawn to the Tiger Protection booth and was amazed to find out that there are only 3,200 tigers in the wild, as articles say it is ironical it is the Chinese Year of the tiger when mankind is rapidly removing this noble creature from the planet. The link to this article does not hold out much hope for them in 12 years when the next Year of the Tiger rolls around. http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/all-worlds-tigers-extinct-in-15-20-years-without-better-conservation-efforts.html.

I chose to become Vegan due to the fact I did not want the energy of a living creature in my body not due to animal cruelty but the talk I heard by Philip Wollen pointed to why we need to give up eating meat and fish, we are literally killing the planet for the sake of our daily steak. Philip is a philanthropist who used to be head of Citibank in Australia and who had a turn around in his life and now funds project worldwide to prevent animal cruelty and extinction. He has the ability to speak to people who can make a difference in a huge way. here is a link to a blog with one of his speeches http://livelearnloveeat.com/2012/12/16/philip-wollen-animals-should-be-off-the-menu/. He also funds Kindness House in Victoria where he allows groups dedicated to animals such as Vegetarian Victoria space for minimal rent so they can do their work to defend our fellow creatures.

It takes 25 times as much energy to produce one kilogram of beef as it does a kilogram of vegetables. If the developing nations keep changing their dietary habits to be carnivores we will need two planets at least to produce the energy required, we don’t have two planets, we have a profoundly wounded one. The children born today will not have fish to eat in the year 2050 according to an influential report released by scientists in the U.K. recently, this is sad but not as sad as the effect this will have on the oceans as fish are the life blood of the oceans. A friend of mine who is a solo ocean crossing sailor said the things he noticed in two journeys ten years apart was the silence of the seas, no fish no birds, he was profoundly worried for the future of our oceans and was speaking from experience.

There are people worldwide who do not mistreat animals, heres a list of some of them http://list25.com/25-animal-saviors-who-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity/ So are Vegans and vegetarians the saviours of the planet in the future, they are a growing number worldwide as the benefits of a meat free diets become apparent and it is recommended by more and more health professionals to battle the ever increasing battle with obesity and diabetes that has become an epidemic worldwide, here are some stats on vegetarians and vegans worldwide http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country.

Namaste until next time my friends