A Gold Coin to a Cat!!

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Rod's World

Luma Mufleh (born March 1, 1975) is founder and director of Fugees Family, Inc., (“The Fugees”) a non-profit organization devoted to working with child survivors of war. Mufleh founded Fugees Family in 2006 and is currently head coach of the Fugees soccer teams.

In the book Mistakes I made at Work Luma makes the statement – I’m always pushing our teachers: How can we create an environment where everyone feels capable? This is totally against the base of the education system of my country, Australia. It is purely rote learning to get a score to get into uni. The great teachers battle against this, trying to have kids see that education is about feeding their passion and going out and fulfilling them.

So how has capability shown up over the centuries? Lets travel down that well worn path:

1. Napoleon Hill (born Oliver Napoleon Hill; October 26, 1883 – November 8, 1970) was an American self-help author. He is well known for his book Think and Grow Rich (1937) which is among the top 10 best selling self-help books of all time. Hill’s works insisted that fervid expectations are essential to improving one’s life. Most of his books were promoted as expounding principles to achieve “success”.

2. What were you going to be when you grew up? Are you doing it. As children, we believed in our capabilities. What is our society doing that we belittle them through our education system: Astounded.

3. I hope they mean everybody’s god, here are some facts regarding gods

Using the ratio of current population to the total number of people who have ever lived, we get an estimate of 63,000 religious groups throughout human history. (Only Homo sapiens’ religions are being considered. It may well be that other hominids believed in god or gods, but it would be pure guesswork to estimate the number of gods they believed in.)

The modern dominant (that is, have the most adherents) religions are monotheistic, but they are few in number. Wikipedia lists 309 Hindu deities. The ancient Hittites claimed to have 1000 deities in their pantheon. So for a rough estimate of the average number of deities per religion, we’ll take the average of these 3 figures, giving 440 deities per religion.

This gives an estimate of Gods = 28,000,000.

4. Kurt Einstein is definitely not Alberts son, but delves in the same area as his quotes. Its a bit like choices we make based on fear versus those of love of life: I’d love to change the World!!

5. Another by the great philosopher, Unknown. This quote reminds me of circling the wagons to defend yout life against the Indians in Western movies.

6. How old were you when your beliefs took over from your capabilities, I reckon I was about four. Before then I could save the planet because I was Superman, sorry about the Fanta ad.: What Now.

7. Hold the press, my first ever Donald J. Trump quote. Is this Fake News?

8. Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the “moral” (meaning, in modern terms, psychological) and political aspects of war. He believed in European Enlightenment , this quote is definitely from that school of thought: Hot and Cold.

9. 7,000,000,000 unique capabilities walk this planet. Make yours as might as it can be!!

10. Very similar to the ethic if someone asks you to do something, say yes and learn on the way. Gandhi must have done this time and time again in his pursuit of freedom for India: Beginnings.

11. Do you know those people who can do anything. My brother in law was like that. He used to buy piano’s off Ebay, when he found out how much it cost to tune them , he googled it, and became a piano tuner.

12. Over the years, the slender, bespectacled Holtz has become known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. He led six different American Universities to football titles. I think he spoke from mastery of the subject. That Fanta ad again: Irreplaceable.

13. One of the more profound proverbs I have ever read.

14. Surprising that one of the great singer songwriters would make this statement. I love pop divas,so I agree wholeheartedly: Don’t Cry for me Argentina.

15. At One Roof, the work co-op I hang around there is a statement, Jump off, and learn to fly on the way down. Learn as you go, and never stop learning.

Remember your capabilities as a child, the dreams, your imaginary friends, dragons and unicorns, you can walk on the moon.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends

She believed she could, so she Did!!

Posted on April 13, 2017 by Rod's World

I met the new police inspector for our region at an interfaith celebration last month, she is a 28 year veteran of the force and specializes in Social Justice, Kelly has renamed her team Dynamic Darebin. I like it a lot, when do we declare something as dynamic in our lives? Are our relationships dynamic, our finances dynamic, our careers dynamic.

Let us have a look at what people have said over the years that they find dynamic:

1. Mahesh Sharma is an Indian politician belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party. He was elected in the Indian general election, 2014 from Gautam Buddha Nagar. He is a physician by profession.

If you wish to fulfill your ideas do not wait around.

2. From the prolific philosopher, Anon. comes worldly advice people will not be lead by you if you are not seen as dealing with them on a day to day basis: If You’re Out There.

3. Uneeka Jay is an award-winning speaker, personal consultant and the founder of Rewrite 365 LLC. Uneeka has over 20 years of progressive leadership experience in companies with revenues up to a half billion dollars. Using that experience, Uneeka effortlessly walks women through the process of rewriting their lives by refusing to settle. Rewrite is more than a brand for Uneeka; it is her life story. Finding herself pregnant at age 16 and on welfare, she refused to allow statistics define her future. She identified her Hatements (things preventing her from living her best life) and removed them one by one to achieve her goals. Uneeka lives her mantra; settling is not an option.

4. Your time is now, you are neither too young or too old: The Climb.

5. My friend and mentor Arion said he liked it when I laughed, that it was new for me. I gave up a long time ago when my life was endangered. I feel dynamic when I do it.

6. I think the person who takes a job in order to live – that is to say, for the money – has turned himself into a slave _ Joseph Campbell. Finally it’s never about the money: If we ever meet Again.

7. However you do it, via keyboard or artistically by pen and pencil, remember they cannot get it out of your brain once you have passed.

8. When do you feel most dynamic? Doing your 9 ot 5 or doing what turns you on: Surprise, Honeycomb.

9. Start Young!!

10. Lolly Daskal is founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world. Based on a mix of modern philosophy, science,and nearly thirty years coaching top executives, Lolly’s perspective on leadership continues to break new ground and produce exceptional results. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World: Brave.

11. Being dynamic also means standing up for your truth, nor pretending to like others.

12. Remember those times you thought, Why Me? And it turned you in a new wonderful direction in your life, keep on keepin on: Everything happens for a reason!!

13. And aren’t we glad he followed his own advice.

14. This is such a beautiful ethos, may all creatives follow it: Heart of Gold.

15. Matthew Kelly (born July 12, 1973 in Sydney, Australia) is a motivational speaker, author, business consultant, and founder of Dynamic Catholic. He is a founding partner at Floyd Consulting, a management consulting firm whose clients include more than 35 Fortune 500 companies. His lecture topics include identifying negative routines and actions in daily life, and the value and positive inspiration of Catholicism on everyday life.

So for me I feel dynamic when I am blogging and teaching English to improve relationships between the cultures in Darebin, we have 164 different ones.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

You all laugh because I’m Different!!

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Rod's World

To care about people who are fearful, angry, jealous, overpowered by addictions of all kinds, arrogant, proud, miserly,, selfish, mean, you name it – to have compassion and to care for these people means not to run from the pain of finding these things in ourselves. Instead of fending it off, we could open our hearts and allow ourselves to feel that pain, feel it as something that will soften and purify us and make us more loving and kind. These beautiful words by Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron to me are certainly against the grain of society which is thrown to medicate all these situations as quickly as possible. In my country Australia they spend $155 billion a year on health care, most of it is not preventive but after the fact.

How are things that are against the grain looked at by humanity, let’s take that journey:

1. How many people have seen that silly video of the single soul who starts dancing in the crowd? then another joins , and another until all of the crowd join in, Being against the grain means other grains/people get the opportunity to experience something they would never have started themselves.

2. Hendrix re invented guitar playing, Bob Marley re invented the Love Generation’s music and Miles took jazz to another level, they were all doing something right: See Dem Fake Leaders.

3. If the great inventors of our time had only attempted what they were taught where would our society be now. Get out there and make some mistakes.

4. When you are rubbing against the grain of sand, there will always be an effect. Try to remember this on a day to day basis: Against the Grain.

5. History is riddled with wars started by this act, what is more people had spoken out against the grain at the time.

6. Punk bands typically produced short or fast-paced songs, with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti–establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through informal channels: Rock and Roll High School.

7. Perhaps the best example of this is Japanese electrical goods and cars. After WW2 they copied America’s goods poorly, where are the companies they copied now. The roles are reversed, and dare we mention made in China.

8. They say when a child commences school that 60% of jobs they will do don’t exist. I would think that we need many people who don’t just hang about the institutionally recognised for the world to keep growing as this fact points out: Neverland.

9. One of my all time favourite cartoons is ban the business burqa. It depicts a city street full of men wearing the same coloured suit. How do we know their leadership abilities when none of them are willing to step out against this unspoken rule you have to wear a suit to be a leader.

10. I went to a coaching session by a friend of mine, Jeffrey Slayter last night. At the end he asked us what was my takeaway. I replied the soul knows much better than the mind what to say, train yourself in listening for your soul: Your Soul.

11. Danilo Tagle is a nuerogenetics professor. I think this makes him a very smart dude. He may be talking about what he does for a living, or perhaps about you?

12. Not one of your A list actors. but a man with ethics. Also a writer and producer, he has starred in some of my favourite quirky movies. Who can forget his dark comedic role as a professional assassin in Grosse Point Blank: Complicated.

13. Often you have to go against the grain when you are looking for your genius, it just doesn’t walk up to you and introduce itself.

14. Two Alberts in a row, he is a much quoted man who often found himself in places no one had seen before: On Your Own.

15. I went to my friend Emeli Paulo’s workshop on Tuesday night on connection. I feel like this has happened for me.

So if its true there are more grains of sand on one beach that there are human beings on the planet what are you going to do with your grain?

Namaste until next time, my dear friends

Opportunity looks like a Bald Woman!

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Rod's World

The title of this blog is a famous Spanish quote, I don’t think you are meant to know what it means straight away. Pema Chodron writes in her beautiful book When things fall Apart ” When things are shaky we are on the verge of something “. The usual advice for coping with pain and suffering is to sweeten it up, smooth it over, take a pill. But distraction only makes you miss opportunities for happiness – when the courage to live in the present can bring clarity, and even spiritual change…

Do you call your mistakes opportunities? I try and live the ethos there are no mistakes, everything is a gift. It is not easy, we are trained from an early age to blame things we do not want in our lives as mistakes. let’s have a look at the world of opportunity:

The author of the classic Think and Grow Rich, one of the top ten self-help books of all time, Napoleon Hill was one of the pioneers of the industry and is widely quoted by current gurus such as Anthony Robbins and Zig Ziglar. Here are three more of his well-known quotes

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.

If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.

2. Beginning his acting career at the age of 12, you do not expect to see a quote by the man known as Mr. Television be listed among the great philosophers. Yet, this beautiful quote is fully deserving of it: Break on Through.

3. I don’t usually use quotes that feature the word, God, as I am a Gaia sort of dude, but I listened to a speech by a born-again Christian last night. In it, she related as a fourth generation Christian she saw God as being about kindness, can’t disagree with that.

4. Would you like a million dollars, you just have to fly unaided to get it. Do you accept the challenge? I’m your man.

5.Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

6. Are you a Yes or No kind of person? Just Say Yes.

7. What was that movie, Jim Carrey say yes to everything in? I can’t remember the name. But, yes it certainly challenged his limits and changed his life.

8. My favourite cigar smoker also said when they suggested cutting the arts to spend more on defence, then what would we be fighting for: Art for Art’s Sake.

9. They say you create a new world with the decision to turn left or right. My friend met his beloved when he bumped into her turning right, what if he had gone left?

10. A 20 year NBA player, Kobe also said – I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot. Negative or a small thing, take the opportunity: Scale Down.

11. Khalil can be obtuse to the extreme, after reading his quotes you will have expanded your knowledge.

12.Dr. Orison Swett Marden (1848–1924) was an American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897. His writings discuss common-sense principles and virtues that make for a well-rounded, successful life. Many of his ideas are based on New Thought philosophy.

His first book, Pushing to the Front (1894), became an instant best-seller. Marden later published fifty or more books and booklets, averaging two titles per year: Seize the Day.

13. There’s that famous story that most people on their deathbed talk about what they regret having done, don’t be one of them.

14. The curly haired wonder, Albert Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers along with over 150 non-scientific works. He took his opportunities: Taking Chances.

15. How many people shut the world out with headphones these days. I relate to you a story I heard from a Hazara refugee in our country who has made the decision that every person he meets is an opportunity to improve his English. He started talking to the person next to him on the tram and the elderly person sitting opposite asked if she could join in. She offered Haid and his family their beach house for a week and have become good friends. How many opportunities do we miss by making the judgement they wouldn’t talk to us.

Knock, Knock – Who’s there?

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

It is What it Is!!

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Rod's World

They say when people break up there are three versions: Yours, Theirs and Reality as to what really happened. There are 7,000,000,000 versions of reality walking around the planet. Some are very similar as they label themselves as belonging to a religious or political belief system and this often takes away the act of thinking freely.

Life is what it is, some of it affects our reality more than other actions do. At the moment it seems to be terrorism or mass migration that is on the top of the list of what is wrong with reality. I don’t think these are new to the world as my country is a totally migratory country except for the indigenous First Australians.

What have they said about reality over the centuries, let’s go on that journey:

1. Who would have thought someone from the 18th centuries quote would be so relevant these days. As idealists, we get a little exasperated with tedious attention to prices over people, numbers over names, logic over love.

2. We form our reality and Jarod Kintz points out a practice that stains it: Inconsiderate.

3. In the great book the Fear Cure, Lissa Rankin points out there are two types of fear. one you should listen to because you are in danger and the other that are all those thinks you think will happen if you do something and never actually do.

4. Danish philosopher Soren Kieregaard was considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. Much of his philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives as a “single individual”, giving priority to concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment: Let It Go.

5. They say police often have trouble getting facts about what happens at a crime scene because of what is written in the above quote.

6. I wonder how many people live by this premise, I don’t think it’s a question they ask in the census: Made to Dream.

7. It took being shot for this remarkable young woman to be listened to. I think she will fulfill this reality.

8. Mainstream media seems to have forgotten this seeing the way they interpret life: I’ll Show You.

9. Andy tried many ways to change reality in the 1960’s. His works explored the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s and utilize a variety of media, including painting, silk screening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best-known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966-67).

10.In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes. Why do we resist the latter so ferociously: Rivers of Tears.

11. Management expert James O’Toole, in a 2005 issue of Compass, published by Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, claimed that Bennis developed “an interest in a then-nonexistent field that he would ultimately make his own — leadership — with the publication of his ‘Revisionist Theory of Leadership’ in Harvard Business Review in 1961.” O’Toole observed that Bennis challenged the prevailing wisdom by showing that humanistic, democratic-style leaders are better suited to dealing with the complexity and change that characterize the leadership environment.

12. How often do we fall for this, that what is said about us is the actual reality vs. what we are actually experiencing: Human.

13. It changes moment to moment, each one a new reality.

14. Or seemingly not in mainstream media. If we believed them we would think the whole world is at war or committing acts of terrorism or be dying in accidents: Don’t Lie.

15. They looked across the room and fell in love/lust. The reality struck when they tried a relationship.

So what is your reality? How do you arrive at it and when are you willing to change it?

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

It Matters not how Straight the Gate!!

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Rod's World

Well, I lost my Thursday blog as I had to leave where I was writing it and it only saved the heading when I got to it again to finish it off. I have since lost the urge to write on that subject of patience. I read this quote and it speaks to how much that mattered.

How do we decide if something matters in our life? Do we flip a coin, ask others opinions, listen to our souls and hearts, attend a mastermind meeting. I’m sure we all have our own unique way of doing it. So let’s have a look at how it has mattered over the centuries:

1. Probably her most famous quote, Katharine Graham led the Washington Post through its most famous period, especially the uncovering of the Watergate scandal in the 1970’s which caused the impeachment of Richard Nixon, the President of the United States. Watergate is now the word used for any type of major scandal in that country adding a new word to their language.

2. Do you give without expecting anything in return, from your heart, not your head? This is a different type of giving that opens other people’s hearts as well: From the Heart.

3. You lose contact with a friend, a relative passes, you lose your job. The pain is almost unbearable. That’s when it matters.

4. Harry Potter offered much to our society over its seven volumes. Perhaps this is the most important lesson: It won’t be like this for Long.

5. In my Desire Map Planner by Danielle LaPorte which is subheaded What I will do to Feel the Way, I want to Feel there is a daily question about what are you going to stop doing. I had never thought of adding this to my daily routine. It opens so much space for what does matter to fill it in.

6. Why do people grow up and hurt each other? We come out as a bouncing baby. Judd Nelson, one of the 1990’s Hollywood Brat Pack, along with Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy asks a very relevant question that matters: Why is it So Hard.

7. Sometimes we lose direction in life and focus on what others are doing. It can make a difference but essentially it is what you do for yourself and with your time that matters.

8. Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down. When will you jump off the cliff and what for: Speak Now.

9. I once wrote the following statement on my Facebook page: We all have the same 24 hours as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa. My brother went apeshit. How do you react?

10. Spreading what matters in life also spreads Positive vibrations. Only one song and one artist can be used in this situation: Positive Vibration.

11. Even if you have to forgive your father, your remembrance of him is what makes the relationship strong even after he has passed. My father was a beautifully kind gentleman.

12. If it touches your heart it will always be remembered as a special moment. You may even have smiled: Blue Skies.

13. They say that on their deathbeds the thing most people regret is they did not do more things in their life. They let their common sense talk them out of trying things. Don’t listen to it.

14. I also posted a picture of an 80-year-old yogi and of another 80-year -old on crutches and with a walker. Same sort of reaction as my brother: Always on my Mind.

15. There are no Francis Bailey’s famous enough for Wikipedia but this one must be leading an exemplary life to be included in Google Images, just not quite famous enough.

So how does it matter to you, when do you stand up, and with who?

Namaste until next time , my dear friends.

When You Get Lost, Celebrate!!

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Rod's World

When you get lost, celebrate. In every great journey, heroes lose their way sometimes, doubt their own power sometimes. Get lost, and find yourself. Find presence, the breath, the beating of the heart> Take the giant step of not knowing which step to take; a perfect step. Trust the doubting too. And your path will find you, moment to moment. Your true path cannot be lost, ever.

Jeff Foster: Reasons to Celebrate, Page 164 – 165: – The Way of Rest.

Do we remember to celebrate our lives, or do we through complaint in there to balance it out? How could we have a total celebratory life, how would that fit in with what the media expresses as daily life, war, death, and mayhem?

Luckily there are individuals who do not agree with this, here are some of their profound quotes about leading a celebratory life:

1. What we say and think creates our life, I have a practice of writing in the Facebook group Daily Gratitude Space. Join it has you look at simple things you can celebrate. https://www.facebook.com/groups/949499165128838/

2. One of America’s most respected authors, keynote lecturers and productivity consultants on high performance human achievement. 10 million audio programs sold in 14 languages, Denis Waitley is one of the most listened-to voices on personal and career success. He has helped a lot of people lead a good life: Good Life.

3. One way to ensure you are celebrating life is to have your attention be fully where you are, moment to moment. Not so easy to do!

4. Why is it that events that happen in our lives are better as memories. Refer to the point above: Memory.

5. Celebrations change in their focus as we travel down the journey of our lives. Where is yours focused on now?

6. I am one of the world’s worst photographers. My 89-year-old mum served in WW2 as a photographer and passed her skills on to her daughters. Ryan is considered the most important photographer in America, a celebration of life: Photograph.

7. Well, you can’t read many words on this quote. Laughter, a Hug, and Candles Burning BRIGHT. Sounds like a celebratory life to me.

8. As Oprah said love it and the universe will love you right back: Wake me up before you Go-Go!!

9. Josef Pieper was a German Catholic philosopher, at the forefront of the Neo–Thomistic wave in twentieth century Catholic philosophy. Among his most notable works are The Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, Temperance; Leisure: the Basis of Culture; The Philosophical Act and Guide to Thomas Aquinas (published in England as Introduction to Thomas Aquinas).

10. What would life be like if we celebrated all body forms, no anorexia probably? Fashion magazines have a lot to answer for: Your Body.

11. Music, Dance, Laughter, Meditation equals Celebration.

12. The dictionary of Jazz (Robert Laffont, Bouquins) defines him in the following way: A first-rate artist and intellectual, Archie Shepp has been at the head of the Avant- Garde Free Jazz movement and has been able to join the mainstream of Jazz, while remaining true to his aesthetic. He has developed a true poli-instrumentality: an alto player, he also plays soprano since 1969, piano since 1975 and more recently occasionally sings blues and standards: Lush Life.

13. Celebrate your life, It’s yours and you have no idea how everybody else is doing with theirs.

14. What entry in the history book are you leaving behind? What comes up when they google your name. It’s your celebration by life: Celebration!!

15. I had this said to me about Los Angeles by a 16-year-old girl in California in the 1990’s. Then she explained what she meant. I had not heard or thought of some of the things she talked about. They certainly know what celebrating is about in the Golden State.

So let’s remember to celebrate life, supposedly we only have one.

Namaste until nest time, my dear friends.

We are a work in progress!!

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Rod's World

Disruptive Engagement – what does Brene Brown mean by that term: It’s quite long but worthwhile -To reignite creativity, innovation, and learning, leaders must re-humanize education and work. This means understanding how scarcity is affecting the way we lead and work, learning how to engage with vulnerability, and recognizing and combating shame. Make no mistake: honest conversations about vulnerability and shame are disruptive. The reason that we are not having these conversations in our organizations is that they shine the light in dark corners. Once there is language, awareness, and understanding, turning back is almost impossible and carries with it severe consequences. We all want to dare greatly. If you give us a glimpse into that possibility, we’ll hold on to it as our vision.

To me it is engagement through the community, accepting self-love and love of others and giving your identity up. The juice is from service to others. I put in engagement quotes to find pictures and got a whole lot of rings and vows of deep love so I changed it to committed engagement and these are what came up. Let’s journey:

1. Be responsible for your life, it’s your engagement and stand for what it is that creates the story that will be told after you have passed.

2. He really did look like an eccentric 60’s hippie philosopher. Alan Watts is quoted by humanists, community builders, and generally good people: Work and Play.

3. Doing Life – How do you do yours? Is it a joyous journey you wake up every morning screaming Yes!!!!!! Or is it a life of darkness?

4. Being silent is being busy if you planned it. I have many friends who have attended the 10-day Vispanna meditation retreat and said it was the hardest thing they had done and the best thing they had done all in the same breath: The Devil goes Down to Georgia.

5. How could you not choose this imagery and message, that’s why I said you need to give up your identity.

6. Engagement is a day to day adventure, make sure you do not wait to begin it: Alive.

7. Such a beautiful smile from a person who brings so much joy to the world. Can’t help but agree if you are fully engaged in loving your friends and family you are totally engaged in life.

8. Have you found a cause to sacrifice yourself into? They say it is the ultimate experience in your life. Parenthood is said to be this for many: Soul Sacrifice.

9. The Latter-day Saints base their religion on many hands engaged in a good cause> If you have ever been to Salt lake City you will never get lost as the first fifty streets around the temple are named Temple North, South , East and West.

10. I think it’s meant to be an anti-war slogan: The Universal Soldier.

11. Helen Keller definitely has the right to say this, I agree wholeheartedly.

12. Often people go and do self-development programs and get screamed out to go out and Do It Now, one big man being famous for it. Move at your own pace, its the only one you can: Piece of my Heart.

13. 7,000,000,000 unique folk battling a media who are trying to make you conform to fit a corrupted image of what it is to be human. Fight the good fight.

14. perhaps if we did this before doing it with a physical being there would not be so many of these: D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

15. There are heroes, and then there’s us, transforming the world one act at a time.

What you engage in will create your life. Think about that for a moment. Any change you want to make?

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Do You Fit In?

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Rod's World

Desire, often tied to sexual physicality yet it covers all fields in our psyche. It is said if you walk away from them you are not really living a life, just existing. How often as children do we have desires that we fulfill purely with our imaginations. Later on we are taught that this is not a practical way to lead our lives, I think that is a shame because it robs us of our ability to soldier on to fulfill our dreams later in life.

What has society said about desire, there were many takes at it, let’s have a look at a few:

1. Life does not make it easy for you to reach your desires. it has installed that little voice in your heads that challenges you as to whether you deserve it or not.

2. Arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history, Samuel Johnson points out another character we need to make our desires come true: Curiosity: Curiosity Killed The Cat.

3. There is one voice to listen too when considering your desires: Your courageous one.

4. Creativity is a journey of achieving your desires, not a battle to defeat those who may get in your way: Good Life.

5. Here’s a word you will want to drop in casual conversation to impress you friends and family.

6. Are your desires material things? That’s fine but you can’t take them with you. Remember: The Best Things In Life Are Free.

7. Not quite as famous as his son Alan, Lauded for his epic poem Howl, Louis was famous for the comment quoted from his death. Louis Ginsberg published puns in the Newark Star Ledger under the heading “Keep an O’Pun Mind”. He often asked and answered, “Is life worth living? It depends on the liver.” His collection of puns was never published but they can be found in Box 2, Folder 9 in the Louis Ginsberg Papers at Stanford University. Louis Ginsberg, who died of liver and spleen cancer, told his son Allen Ginsberg, “I never thought my pun would come back to bite me.“

8. Which do you choose, I align with the wise: Closer To The Heart.

9. I’m sure Gandhi said lots of prayers to have his desire to free India from England’s grips come true. They seemed to have become tied to religious folk these days, don’t do this, use the power they offer.

10. What if we could read minds, would you be slapped often or thanked for your generosity: Meet Me Halfway.

11. It is wise to remember that postponing your desires just strengthens their grip on you. Don’t put them off!!

12. Such a beautiful name, Spanish poet, playwright and theatre director was also famous for his quote To see you naked is to recall the Earth.: Burned With Desire.

13. Mignon McLaughlin was an American journalist and author. In the 1950s, she began publishing aphorisms that were later collected in three books, entitled, The Neurotic’s Notebook, The Second Neurotic’s Notebook and The Complete Neurotic’s Notebook. I think this testy quote is from one of them.

14. One of my favourite songs about what we desire in life: Wild Horses.

15. Einstein, the master of imagination quotes : Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”

Do your desires fit in to the life you lead today, or do you hide them away in the caverns of what you life would be like if you only ………., fill in the dots.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Don’t Squander Joy!!

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Rod's World

I went along to watch a friend do her graduation performance at a transformational program she had been participating in called The Voices Of. In it, Ally embraced the voices of her INNER CHILD, INNER WISDOM, FEAR, SHADOW, DO-ER & DREAMER, she had come to find her TRUE VOICE. It was one of the most joyous evenings I have been to in a long time. Here’s a link to the website for it if you wish to know more: Voices of Movement.

It made me think about what brings you joy in my life. Is it music, sex, food? There are many ways to feel it, let’s have a look at what they say about it:

1. From the author of the iconic novels Treasure island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson points to the fact joy is a feeling, not something that can be truly expressed in words.

2. Joy is a choice we must make daily, I made it last night by attending Ally’s graduation. To experience it today I must continue to choose it: I Choose You.

3. Can’t you feel it bubbling up just wanting to burst through, have a joyous day!!

4. Get out your fishing net of love, there is a soul full of joy waiting for you: Heart Full of Soul.

5. How do you have joy occur in your life, you focus on the things that make you feel that way.

6. What do you hold as holy, what keeps you warm and aglow? For me it’s music and blogging: Eternal Flame.

7. Your life is not somewhere to get to, It is a journey. Finding joy in that will make for a more enjoyable one.

8. It doesn’t change who you are when you get to your goal. If you are not joyful on the way there don’t expect it will change miraculously when you achieve it: Joyful Journey.

9. Until his final years, Wagner’s life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century; his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, the visual arts and theatre.

10. One of my favourite writers Wayne Dyer reminds us that we knew this when we came into the world, so how did it become something that we have to battle for as we get older: Be Natural.

11. If you lead a life of gratitude for the simple things joy will flourish in your life on a daily basis.

12. This is a list of joyful events I attempt to practice daily because it certainly would be a case of Incredible Joy: Singing In The Rain.

13. Joy is not a destination , it’s a state of being. There is a borough named Mount Joy in Pennsylvania though.

14. Thich Nhat Hanh says some mightily obtuse things at times. You will always get a huge amount from them. This song came up next on Youtube, I think it defines joy appropriately: A Spoonful of Sugar.

15. From the world’s most prodigious and famous philosopher, Anon. comes the reminder that when you are giving joy it cannot help but stick to you as well.

So joy is available in your life, if you want it to be, I say don’t squander the opportunities day by day.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.