Is Adversity Awesome?

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Rod's World

This is a great question, do we want adversity in our lives or do we want them to chug along with very few bumps in the road. I confess that I tried the latter and kept ending up in psych. units because I did not handle the former very well.

The first time was when they were going to shut down the office I worked in where we had created a special relationship with our clients and I didn’t want to lose it so I clandestinely fought it with the community and union so that they kept it partially open in a smaller site around the corner. The stress of doing this saw me start a journey were I was dismissed and put on a pension never to work again with another two admissions during the two year period.

So what can dealing better with adversity offer us? There are many quotes from famous characters in history to unknowns on the subject and it was a difficult task choosing the fifteen most relevant, but here are my favourite ones. Lets have a look :

1. One of the great tests of adversity is who stays along for the ride when the going gets tough. I know that when in deep depression I was not an easy person to stay with but there were certain friends who stayed through me trying to tell them to go away because I was not worth knowing.

2. Adversity is put in our lives to test our resolve, how we get through them increases our Strength in life, helps us get through those moments in life that truly test our ability to break on through to a stronger person.

3. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī, Mawlānā/Mevlânâ, Mevlevî/Mawlawī, and more popularly simply as Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet” and the “best selling poet” in the United States. I spoke to an Iranian friend who did not know who Rumi was but knew Mawlawi well. He says it simply but it is profound.

4. In my friends Arion’s work The Activation Program we work on an aspect of life called Renewal where we look at what controls us being more effective and look to accept this, in doing so this allows it to no longer control us, like having it blow the adversity away.

5. American author and bloggist Randi J. Fine points out that even though adversity is happening to us it is occurring for a reason, what is happening is exactly what is meant to at that moment to move us through life. You could even say from reading her site she is suggesting Don’t worry be Happy.

6. A lot of my friends lead workshops and seminars in the conscious movement and personal development areas. If you were to hear their stories as how they got there you would definitely agree that they are shining the light for other, living proof of the wounded healer stories.

7. here is one of the great natural examples of what can be created by overcoming adversity. Considered the most sough after gemstone who realises that it began its life as a piece of charcoal.

8. Discussing his quote we all think of Frank Herbert as a Science Fiction writer of note, best known for the novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for science fiction, he was also a newspaper journalist, photographer, short story writer, book reviewer, ecological consultant and lecturer. He had adversity covered in all directions.

9. It is a little known fact that many millionaires go broke several times in their life. But due to the fact they can handle great wealth they can also handle great adversity so have the ability to return to their former status.

10. John A. Passaro grew up as a wrestler and points out that is were he learnt to be a better person not in his Science and Math and English classes. Perhaps this is what Pink Floyd meant when they sang We don’t need no Education.

11. If we lived our whole lives between the lines, in the safe zone, how much meaning would there be in our lives, I often here people referring to the Nanny State these days, that everything is so controlled people don’t know what to do when they are challenged in life.

12. Climatic disasters are what this quote reminds me of. It brings out the best in people because at the heart of it, we all want to make a difference with others and these occurrences are when we are needed to do it most.

13. When we look at our politicians and how many of them have to resign due to corruption this quote from Abraham Lincoln hits home. It seems to bring out the worst of behaviour in some people who seek to be elected to make a difference. As JOhn Lennon sang Power to the People.

14. Walter Elias “Walt” Disney was an American entrepreneur, cartoonist, animator, voice actor, and film producer. He was a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, and is regarded as a cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during the Twentieth century. Flowers grow in deserts and mountains , areas we do not expect them to.

15. Roads keeps us well under control, discoveries do not come from staying on the road, but trying out the adversity of the Unknown, not many life changing inventions were made driving the car down the road.

I have learnt to deal with adversity much better these days, I do not recommend waiting 58 years as I did, many of these spent trying to fix myself.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

If Liberation feels like a chore, It isn’t Really Liberation is it ?

Posted on January 21, 2016 by Rod's World

This question goes deeply into our Psyche, doesn’t it. Its point to the fact you may go to conscious dances, attend bush Doof festivals, do ten day silent meditation retreats but if it is something you are doing to fit in, or because it is something you have always done it isn’t really liberating your Soul is it.

Wikipedia defines liberation as:

noun
the act of setting someone free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression; release.
“the liberation of all political prisoners”
synonyms: freeing, release, discharge, deliverance, salvation, rescue, relief, extrication, setting free; More
freedom from limits on thought or behavior.
“the struggle for women’s liberation”

Being set free from imprisonment is how I relate to it on a personal level, that being that my mind is imprisoned when it comes to certain beliefs, and if I do not take actions to release it from its slavery to the thoughts that have me trapped there I do not liberate myself from these situations.

The 15 quotes I have chosen cover a wide range of views on what Liberation is and how it can affect your life. Lets delve into it :

1. The story of Nelson Mandela is living proof of this, Nelson said “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”

2. Jeanne Moreau is a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director, stated this early in her career after struggling like many actresses to have success in her career but knew the path to liberation was not over.

3. Eckhart Tolle, best known as the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to your Life’s Purpose. In 2011, he was listed by the Watkins Review as the most spiritually influential person in the world. What does he mean by this statement. Liberation lies in the answer to that question.

4. What is Harriet Tubman, well known slave abolitionist pointing to here, that what is called a certain life style by one person is not seen as that by another so can not be liberated because they do not understand the concept you are talking about, the power of language.

5. This should bring up some discussion, “believes she is human as a man”. My friend Justine posted recently that women run the world so don’t need to be liberated, they just need to wake the fuck up. Here’s some of her music Ikigai’s sweet tunes.

6. This takes what the mind does to us a step further, Nisargadatta, one of India’s great philosophers blames our bondage on it, and that our mission in life is to go beyond its influence on us.

7. How many of us have seen the pictures of horses being tied to plastic chairs and elephants held by the slenderest of ropes. They could leave whenever they felt like it but remain there imprisoned by their minds training.

8. Joseph Campbell, author of the Heroes Journey points to that liberation is not hanging on steadfastly to the life we have created so far. In fact we must let go of that exact one for us to have the life that awaits us.

9. Junebug is a mythical character of the Civil Rights movement in America. Liberation is being who you truly are , not what other people want you to be.

10. Stu Mittleman lives the above quote Stu Mittleman is an ultra distance running champion, as well as a fitness/running coach and author. Mittleman set three consecutive American 100-Mile Road Race records in the US National Championships 1980–1982. He is a liberated Elder proving that life does not stop at 60 when you retire.

11. Liberation is not handed to you on a silver platter, you have to work for it on a daily basis especially in the circumstances Assata Olugbala Shakur, who is an African-American activist and member of the former Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army who resides in Cuba describes above.

12. No one could ever accuse Mahatma Gandhi of uttering a Yes to please or worse, to avoid trouble, after all he led the movement that free the second largest country in the world.

13. Personal Revolution, one at a time is Jim Morrison’s cry for a large scale liberation. He wrote a classic song about this Break on Through.

14. There are thousands of references on Google pointing to Abe Lincoln being the first gay president, not something that makes it to mainstream media but David Herbert Donald wrote an extensive biography on Lincoln in 1995 that explored this.

15. Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence of Picasso on modern visual arts, the influence of Stravinsky on music, Martha says the path to Liberation is through discipline, blessed discipline.

Liberation is as we call it is unique for each and every person and culture. I hope you have enjoyed studying the history of Liberation with me.

Namaste until next Monday , my dear friends.

Did you Get It!

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Rod's World

I have started listening to Podcasts on the recommendation of my Anam Cara Emeli. I listened to a fascinating one about fulfilling your purpose by getting your message out there. This made me think did most people know what the Message they had to give in life was.

I have done several modalities to set up my message for the year and live from my Core Desired Feelings of . These are from Danielle LaPortes brilliant process The Desire Map. From the others my Word for 2016 is Sacredness and my Essence is Sacred Love, more about those in a later Blog.

I have chosen 15 diverse quotes, covering Love, Social Media and Purpose. No Oprah but there is Mother Teresa. Lets begin our journey.

1. This is describing the essence of Sacred Love, where you or someone say I Love You, and you don’t really have to say it again because they you or they hear it for the rest of you life this time in. Its to do with revealing your Sacred Stories.

2. Google didn’t find Aditya, but their message is Inspiring in its words and intention, don’t mess round delivering yours.

3. Its good to have a dream, I have a favourite image which is of a Unicorn and it says don’t let them kill your day dream. But to fulfil that daydream you also require the actions of Doing stuff.

4. Dennis S. Brown is a motivational speaker who grew up in a three room “Shot Gun” house in Central Louisiana is known as Mr Attitude. His ability to relate to transforming your message through real life events he has experienced draw people to him in the thousands.

5. Luke Rinehart wrote a book called The Dice Man back in 1971 where he shook a dice before making any decision. It is a fascinating read as to me the message is that we make decisions on much more shallow fears and judgements than this in our lives.

6. Throw in a bit of weird, a bit of not normal, Yes even some insanity to get that Message out there if you want it to be heard.

7. Probably not many people on Earth are quoted more than His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. When spreading you Message , if you want it to be joyful and easy look in the mirror and there is the person responsible for it happening.

8. There will always be critics, mainstream media makes a living from it, imagine if they reported the great messages that existed around the World instead, it would transform.

9. Parenting 101, give your used things to your next sibling or the family down the street who are not as well off as you. Thinking about it later and having judgements about it doesn’t get that Message out there.

10. I get to tell one of my sacred stories, about how I broke up a friendship via SMS because she said that it was a valid way to communicate and would not agree to meeting face to face. I told her it was a crap way and have not heard from her since after I said to her that I was not the negative person she talked about and that negative people did not send three things I love about you for 5 months each and every day.

11. Time for a song, Little Anthony from 1960. Tears on My Pillow, Tears may be necessary to move to the next level of getting your message out there. It isn’t always a cakewalk.

12. Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, juggler, comedian, musician, inventor, actor, and best-selling author known for his work with fellow magician Teller in the team Penn & Teller. He is also known for his advocacy of atheism, scientific scepticism , libertarianism and free-market capitalism . The Message is the Message, we often forget this as it becomes more difficult.

13. Mother Teresa is much loved and much maligned, there appears to be no middle ground with her. She got her Message out powerfully to the World about the slums of India. As she states, you need to light the flame daily for it to keep burning, same with your message.

14. There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today. However, about 2,000 of those languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. The most popular language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. There are 1,213,000,000 people in the world that speak that language. How about if we wrote our message in every language, that certainly would make a difference.

15. Finally a bit of humour about getting your message out there. Make sure it is real for you. if its not why will other people listen to it.

Each of us have a message to bring to the planet and its people, it would seem that the messages being spoken the loudest are those of war, corruption and Terrorism. Do not worry, it is the last cries of a time that has seen its day. We are entering the Age of Aquarius. Peace and Love and Human Connection.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

What makes it Spectacular?

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Rod's World

There was a fire in a Tyre Depot today which led to a huge smoke cloud over our city. Local News outlets reported it as Spectacular. This started me thinking as to what did I construe to be Spectacular in my life and is the word under utilised or overused.

I thought about it and would call my relationships with my siblings and several of my friends spectacular, my 29,000 songs on Itunes spectacular, the result of my 40 year addiction to listening to all forms of music and my commitment to spiritual growth spectacular.

What does society have to say about it and how do they use it in quotes. There are some beautiful ans slightly in your face examples amongst the 15 I have chosen, so lets begin :

1. Mason Cooley was an American aphorist known for his witty aphorisms. One of these such aphorisms Cooley developed was “The time I kill is killing me.” He suggested failing spectacularly will also lead to spectacular success.

2. The people we are in awe of did not just wake up one morning and release their product or vision on the world. They worked at it for a lengthy period of time before hand.

3. A lot of people feel that to be Spectacular they need to be somebody else than who they are now. This quote from the teen angst film The Spectacular Now suggests that fighting who we really are never works.

4. This film looks at what teens are feeling as they come into their college days, everyone’s hanging on to some sort of dream to stay afloat, will you be one of the ones who does it spectacularly.

5. After an unusually short pregnancy, Karen Powell gives birth to a baby boy whose body ages much faster than the normal rate. With her husband, Brian , Karen raises their son, Jack , who appears to be a 40-year-old man when he is only 10. Though Jack ages rapidly physically, he is mentally and emotionally still a young boy, which causes him considerable difficulty. Eventually, Jack gains the support of his peers, which helps him live a fuller life. If you aged similar to a cat, seven years in one human year, how would you live your life spectacularly.

6. Very direct and to the point. How are you to question that you were put on this earth to be spectacular. How knows you could be a super hero. The Spectacular Spiderman.

7. Its very difficult to be Spectacular if you are not enjoying being who you are, remember you are AWESOME.

8. Doug Larson was a columnist and editor for the Door County Advocate and wrote a daily column for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. First contentment then Spectacularness, one come before the other.

9. Lisa St. Aubin de Teran has lived in England, Venezuela, Italy and Mozambique. Writing memoirs and has produced an episode of Great Railway Journeys. She spectacularly lives the above quote.

10. True Friendships are not based on physical presence with each other. They can spectacularly be oceans apart and years apart. When they meet it feels like a minute has passed.

11. Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer and illustrator best known for authoring popular children’s books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Some of his more famous quotes are

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!

Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

12. We are all star-seed on a ball of energy spinning around another ball of energy that appears as a pin point in the map of the universe, and we don’t think that human life is a spectacular occurrence.

13. I’m Possible can easily become I’m spectacular and so can your life.

14. Robin Williams had spectacular success in his life, playing many unique roles form people who aged like a cat, eccentric radio announcers in Vietnam to voice over for a happy penguin. Make your life spectacular but remember to stay in touch with others.

15. And for the final one, a shout out to my favourite actress from not my favourite actor, Yes Kate Blanchett is Spectacular.

Well after commenting on these 15 quotes I’m going for the use of Spectacular is under utilised, we need more spectacular in our lives not less.

Namaste until Thursday my dear friends.

Surrender, Rumi Style!!

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Rod's World

I was so busy yesterday doing pre Xmas things, that the blog did not appear out of my fingers. And after a sumptuous lunch with the family and relatives I was wandering around the apartment looking on the walls for inspiration.

Thats where I go to when i’m stuck, I have posters, writing from courses and quotes from my favourites. When the real estate agent who recently sold my flat saw them he took a step backwards. its OK though another investor brought it and she loved them and wants me to stay.

I read through them and saw the following Rumi quote – This is Love: to fly toward a secret Sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of Life. Finally to take a step without Feet. I keep this on the wall because it challenges my logical way of thinking about Life.

I also recently did a find a word for the year exercise via the fine work of Susannah Conway Find Your Word for 2016. My Anam Cara Emeli passed this on to me , its really worth while over a 5 day period. My word is Sacredness but another word I was considering was Surrender.

I put Surrender quotes into Google images, thats where I get all mine from, but two listings underneath it was Surrender quotes by Rumi, I knew what I had to do. So lets look at 15 quotes by Rumi on surrender, here we go.

1. How much of our lives do we resist surrendering to new adventures, would you go with your dream partner if they came up to you in the street and said, lets runaway to Jamaica now?

2. I have been learning to surrender to my emotions more and more. I imagine I will be freer to deal with moments like these were they fly back and forth between extremes at the end of the rainbow.

3. We, or at least I have spent a lot of money on this question, some of it from a good place, some not so great. I have been hospitalised 5 times due to mental health issues. My last mentor has suggested I do body work and get out of my head. it has made profound changes in my life.

4. When we are coming from Conscious spirit the necessity to blame others drops away, responsibility becomes the gift it is.

5. I sure those of us still waiting, especially if you are in your 60’s like me find this one confronting. I surrender to its wisdom.

6. How often do we repeat the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, same with questions I’m afraid.

7. Underlying all there is Love, drink copiously of it and you will remember this.

8. Don’t know how this snuck in, but Eckhart is a fine philosopher on the subject of surrender as well.

9. Here’s the silent one, the one without words, drink it in.

10. I know I have looked in totally the wrong place for the friendships and love i seek in my life, when it has been there all along, surrender to what is so.

11. I have written lists and burnt them so that what my soulmate is like is out there in the ether. When I met someone who was one for a while, she was nothing like it, all my other desires did melt away.

12. Perhaps Rumi’s most famous quote on Love and Surrender, if we really got this we would be able to hear Sacred Love, that time when someone or you say I Love You and it never has to be said again because it is heard for a life time.

13. Surrender to this and have your life explode in 2016, I dare you.

14. Place you hand above your heart and knock, it has been waiting a long time for you to enter!!

15. We finish with one off my bucket list, Sufi spinning. Perhaps its as simple as this not to become a dizzy wreck as I do after 60 seconds. Sufi’s do it for hours.

I was speaking to one of the Iranian asylum seekers about my love for their poet Rumi, Abdul looked at me strangely, I think Wikipedia explains it well. Only in the west is he known but such a simple name.

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد رومی‎‎), also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī (جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى),Mawlānā/Mevlânâ (مولانا, “our master”), Mevlevî/Mawlawī (مولوی, “my master”), and more popularly simply as Rumi (1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century Persian^[1]^[8] poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic.^[9] Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries.^[10] His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet”^[11] and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

Well I hope this gives you an idea of how highly I regard Rumi. Namaste until Monday my dear friends.

Love to Love You Baby!!

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Rod's World

So I chose this title so I can link Donna Summer, Yay!! Disco Gold

I went to one of my favourite dance journeys last Saturday Mojo Tantra Dance which I have been attending over the past year run by my dear friend Jules Sutherland. The people who attend are beautiful souls but most are single which is not how we were intended to be.

Even some of the partnered people behave like they are not but what would it take for each of us to discover Sacred Love with each other. I define Sacred love as meaning that you have a devoted, everlasting and precious love for someone who you want to spend your life with.

So what gets in the way for us, the beautiful people of the conscious movement of Melbourne Australia to have Sacred Love in our life.

I have chosen 15 quotes to make comment on. Here we go :

1. When you fall in love the energy it provides you is amazing until we realise that we have given the power to the other person and then we begin to feel drained as if a Vampire is sucking our life force out of us. This is not Sacred Love.

2. Are souls made of star stuff. When Sacred Love becomes existent in our lives this statement by Emily Bronte rings so True.

3. With our instant gratification lifestyles some will find this statement quite confronting. No Ending, Nadda, Never, Eternally Yours etc. etc.

4. Is your toilet sacred, discover Sacred Love and yes my friends that little room at the end of the hall becomes part of it.

5. Robinson Crusoe got lost for years. with Sacred Love you can get lost for ever, in the nice way.

6. This is why Sacred Love is Sacred. You don’t say it flippantly, because when you say these three words to the person you are declaring it to, you will never have to say it again.

7. Falling in Love is often based on the physical in Holywood movies. Sacred Love is falling in Love with the whole Freaking lot.

8. Barbara De Angelis is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship and personal growth adviser. I love this quote of hers, what a great gift to give to Life.

9. Johnny Depp cannot only act, he can say some deep shit as well. Four Questions of Sacred Love all with the same answer, Awesome.

10. THIS!!

11. Abira Mukherjee, a highly talented and versatile singer of Hindustani classical, Indian light and folk music, understands the Sacredness of Life and the power of Sacred Love.

12. I’ve used this quote before but I love Charlie Chaplin, mainly for his famous speech The best of Charlie. For Sacred Love to be available handle this first.

13. That broken arm, don’t worry about it. Sacred Love restores our whole being. Physical, Mental, and Ethereal.

14. No words needed, pure Sacred Love.

15. And finally, when it happens there are no rules. My friend met her life partner walking along Elizabeth Street in the city. He offered her a ride home on a hot day. They had sex and have been together 30 years. Go figure.

I wrote this because I looked around a room full of beautiful souls who deserve Sacred Love. I honour them as friends and wish that on the writing of this Sacred Love will enter all their lives.

Namaste until Thursday my dear friends.

Walking the Visionary Road!!

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Rod's World

Had an inspiring weekend crewing on my dear friend Emeli Paulo’s True Grit workshop. Twenty brave souls and Ten crew inquired into what does True Grit mean for them to fulfil their dreams and purpose.

The highlight of the weekend for me was the two times we did the process that saw people move from their current reality to embracing their vision by seeing what they needed to let go and what support they needed. I have called it Walking the Visionary Road because I forget the actual name used and I like mine better.

I got to play the current reality in one of them and saw so much out of it, primarily how I hang on to mine and how my vision is normally in the distance but without structures in place to get there.

So what do we as a society say about why we need and the power of having a vision. Fifteen quotes and yes Tony Robbins is in there, how could the big guy not be. Here we go –

1. And the rhythm of life is a powerful beat, feel the tingle in your fingers and the tingle in your feet. Having your Vision powerfully in presence is a truly creative act, take it today.

2. What is your position in Life, an oft asked question at parties as social chit chat. Who gives a flying rats, I wonder what that expression means. But what inspires is people speaking about their passion in Life, what turns them on and gets them hot under the collar. Cute little duckies by the way.

3. As a child I remember watching the old American series, The Invisible Man. It was mesmerising to a young child living in Country Victoria. A bit like our powerful vision is to others who cannot not see it and often become the naysayers in our life. Don’t listen to these folk.

4. I am old enough to remember when Muhammad Ali was named Cassius Clay. Here is his take on living from Vision and the forgettable song that was written about him : The Black Superman.

5. Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. Here is her take on living an ordinary life.

6. Debbie Ford was an inspiring author who wrote on how our shadow world inhibited our chances of fulfilling our vision. her work had us look at our excuses and re aligning with our life’s vision. Unfortunately she died young, her fans have continued her insights at Debbie’s Work.

7. The legend goes that Thomas Edison broke 1 million light bulbs before he discovered the ones that worked. If this is true that definitely makes him an expert in the arena of execution.

8. Alice Cooper’s first hit was Welcome to my Nightmare – Alice in Action. The Japanese are very succinct and direct, with their sayings. Here is their input to the importance of action in our daily lives and the consequence of the lack thereof.

9. Nelson Mandela had one of the great Visions if our time. He attributes the power of being about to hold a huge Vision through your imagination as the reason for him succeeding.

10. In business there is a requirement to provide the Tax department with your Income statement and Balance Sheet. How many of us include our Vision in our assets list. Really it is the greatest one we have.

11. How many of you have been to Disney World. I have, it a place where our dreams and fantasies come alive. This is Walt Disney’s vision for the children of the world. Awesome, if I don’t say so myself.

12. I sing in a choir, The Moons a Balloon, our leader is my Friend Kavisha Mazzella, she is an award winning Singer Songwriter, here’s one of her songs Invisible Indivisible. I pay more to go and dance to recorded music that hear her sing her beautiful words.

13. I recently went to a public talk on healing the wounds of Love. The focus was not on making up a better story about them but Waking Up. Jeremiah kept stating our job is to Wake Up. This was a profound moment for me.

14. Saving the best nearly to the last. The Get it done man Tony/Anthony Robbins. Why Vision holders are special people. Combined with commitment and willingness to act, the world is your oyster.

15. Another way to sneak in another list of Possibilities, but this is a beautiful one, it included all the ingredients for an awesome life.

It was an extraordinary weekend, opening up a sense that we will fulfil our Visions, one step at a time, some taking fast steps even running towards it and others one solid step at a time, with periods of falling backwards. Remember we are now officially a member of the Collective Potential tribe, welcome aboard.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

Doing the Honourable Dance!!

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Rod's World

I went to my friends Jules Mojo Trance Dance on the weekend. Its a dance where you change partners each song and dance to a theme. This month it was on being Honoured, not a subject that I think of much when it comes to Conscious dance. Jules is a beautiful, beautiful soul who’s commitment in life is to empower people’s souls and build community. Here’s the link to her Facebook page – Perpetual Mojo.

So how do you honour one another at dance. You follow the two signals, I want to dance with you, but I don’t want to be touched, there are a lot of Contact Improv people among the attendees who just love being touched and the other signal that I want my own alone time. You always get so much out of the night and the group Hug at the end is worth the money alone.

So what do we as human beings have to say about honouring one another. No Oprah again but some quality insights among the fifteen I have chosen. here we go :

1. We go way back to 400 B.C. for our first look at honour. Sophocles is one of the three surviving Ancient Greek playwrights, imagine out of such a prolific era that only three people made it through. His message is simple, Honour is all that matters, corrupt success is bad for the health.

2. Our school system seems to be focusing more and more on the three R’s, turning out corporate clones. What matters later in life is how you relate to others not your ability to know the 12 times table.

3. Samuel Langhorne Clemens is Mark Twain’s real name. He lived by this famous quote above, a true man of honour.

4. Remembered for saving England and smoking Cigars Winston Churchill was meant to be a man of simple tastes and it seems simple words – freedom, justice and of course Honour.

5. Back to the 400 B.C. time frame Socrates is held to be one of the founders of Western Philosophy. This cute and pithy quote points to how to live a great life, be who you say you are going to be, Astronaut or President or Postman. it doesn’t matter, the joy is in the honouring.

6. Winston again, He had a profound belief in the fact that if you kept your word that you could do anything, but that honour and good sense were vital ingredients in the recipe required. He helped save a country with this belief.

7. I have several of Martin’s speeches on audio. They go for over 15 minutes but you are riveted the whole time. One of the most honourable men of all of history he made a race of people believe they weren’t niggers, they were proud African Americans.

8. Balastar is a cool name, he is a Spanish Jesuit prose writer. He was also known for his insightful quotes, why say something with more words that necessary. Balastar points to the value of keeping your words in the face of pleasing others is what counts.

9. Looks like this has been taken off a graffiti installation, How many of us create our present moment to moment. I know I’m guilty of not doing this 24 hours a day.

10. The Law of Abundance, always remember that abundance does not mean more possessions. In fact most awards are given to those who have contributed the most to society, get out there and be abundant by giving of yourself.

11. Taking us back to the the fact that Honouring oneself not be so significant is well known screen hero Chewbacca. I could’t find the language on Google Translate but I’m sure it is profound.

12. Prepared to die, not many people live by this creed. Nelson Mandela was one such inspirational being. I remember singing Free Nelson Mandela in our singing group Soulsong and how much we were moved by it each time we sang it. Here is the Specials great version of the song The Specials.

13. Off to ancient Egypt for this one, 1300 B.C. Akhenaton was a Pharaoh. I suppose the Pharaohs words got saved before anybody elses. Interesting that the soul had importance way back when.

14. I have been a bit male centric this Blog, and unfortunately this is by an other man. But it is about our mothers. Sai Baba, eccentric Indian Hindu guru from the 1970’s made a promise that we would come to no harm if we honoured our mothers.

15. Misunderstood critical thinker Werner Erhard, founder of the Landmark Forum, the mainstreams rite of passage into Transformational work came up with this classic. I did his work back in the 80’s and 90’s when he was still around. We did courses led by out there Americans who shocked us naive Aussies, so much that I went to the States and did two of their advanced course and ran the Moscow Peace Marathon the year before the Berlin Wall came down.

So I promise that my Blog on Thursday will be focused on that the wild women of our society have to contribute. Namaste until next time my dear friends.

Stop Running Away!!

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Rod's World

I have recently begun working with my friend Arion Light’s principles at his Activation School on setting up my new business Rod has a Way with Words FaceBook Link..I commit to three actions each week and have not yet completed them all.

At our weekly session I breathed into what did this mean to me and I felt this incredible sense of Fear of Success rise up in me. With Arion’s work you accept that being fearful is part of how you are. He asked me was it OK to be OK that I have a Fear of Success, checking into my body the answer was No. So I am working on having it be OK to be Fearful and be in action to have my business be an outstanding success.

So what does society say about fear. I have chosen 15 pithy quotes and yes, there’s one from Oprah , so here we go.

1. Around it, run from it, pretend its not there, all of these things do not work, you must enter it and have a play with it. Like the joy of entering a mud heap, getting dirty but having so much fun you forget about it.

2. Fear is more of a feeling than a solid object, yet is has the strength to immobilise us completely. Working to overcome it is possibly more beneficial than a few days at the gym.

3. Its often the what if’s that drive our fear. What if they don’t feel the same way, what if I try again and the same thing happens. No action has the same result, fear just makes us imagine it will be.

4. Bruce Lee talks about fearing the man who has practised the same kick 10,000 times more than the man with 10,000 kicks because the man with one kick has gone through many failure to perfect it and not listened to his fears.

5. The title of this Blog is Stop Running Away. I met my dear friend Emeli Paulo from Collective Potential Their Webpage. at a Yoga and Meditation day. We were putting out the chairs because we had arrived early, we’re both like that. Em did a mini 30 minute workshop in which she promised we would know what stopped us in life. I have her card in my wallet with the words – Stop Running Away on it. She delivered.

6. Oprah time. The rulers of countries don’t get the privilege of being wimpy about their fears for too long. They must make decisions daily and cannot afford to take days off to ruminate on them.

7. Eleanor Roosevelt was one bitching woman. She says she did her best work after the time she was the President’s wife. What she points to is thta your dreams and challenges live on the other side of the Fear.

8. Right Here, Right Now – In the moment there is nothing to fear, just being present. I plead guilty to have spent a lot of time in my past being focused on the past or worrying about the future. I’m getting better at it.

9. What are our largest fears. Mine are that people will find out I am unlovable and that I am disgustedly revolting. How good would it be if we were OK about them. I’m working on the first and truly OK about the latter.

10. Perfection the booby-prize that stops many people achieving in their lives. Linked with Fears this can be totally crippling. Salvador Dali, one of the great interpreters of the Absurd points out how silly it is to dwell on it, because it is essentially unobtainable.

11. On the other side of Fear is curiosity. A bit like the classic Divinyls track Pleasure and Pain Here’s the Video its a choice we can make as to how we interpret it. When a fear arises accept it and get curious about where it came from.

12. May Baker Eddy founded the Christian Science Church in the latter half of the 19th century. She would not have been able to do this as a woman in those times if she had given into her fears. The above quote sums it up nicely.

13. As a writer, this list empowers me. I took up writing again after doing Catherine Deveny’s Gunna’s Writing Class Link to her page which gave me the greatest gift: Just start, because beginning the writing dispels fear.

14. Fight and Flight both are not the answers to overcoming your fears, its in the acceptance of them that the power lies. Facing them full on as they approach and saying OK I’m fearful but it doesn’t have to disable me.

15. This can be construed two ways. You give power to the fear and they become all consuming, or you embrace them and inquire into why you have them and this allows for a more positive essence to emerge, I chose the latter.

So I will keep on embracing my Fears as this has given me power in being in action on a day to day basis.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

What does Lady Gaga mean to You?

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Rod's World

Its Blog writing time again, I read this fantastic one by Luminita AKA The Purpose Fairy this morning and it was about Integrity and it featured of all people Lady Gaga The Article. It was a short video by Lady, and Luminita’s discourse on it. Luminita is in my top 10 posters on Facebook. Her posts are always inspirational and well thought out. Here is a link to her Website – The Purpose Fairy.

How do we relate to Integrity, do we try our best to keep our word but have it drop out when life get busy. Or do we make it what we base our existence or no matter what the cost. Myself I wander between the two. I spent many years doing the work of Landmark Education and did their Integrity seminar at least three times. It is a rigorous enquiry into what it takes to live from Integrity and brings up stuff in all the areas you are not in integrity. So myself I travel the path of improving the amount of time I can say I am in Integrity.

So what do other people have to say about it, no Oprah today but an interesting collection to comment on, Here we go.

1. A powerful way to see Integrity is as your Inner Lover. The person we give all of our heart to, who we try not to disappoint and make good our relationship as soon as we damage it.

2. The Chinese culture is known for its philosophers and wise sayings. Here is their cut on Integrity. Very simply, do what you are willing to have people know about.

3. Mainstream media is full of sensationalist drivel 90% of the time. Mostly it is reports on when people are out of Integrity. Murderers , Wars , Domestic Violence all come from Lives lived without Integrity. Why do they think that is what we want to hear as news, then again why do we want to know about it in the first place?

4. Wise people are often quoted as being the thought leaders of our generations. They put us on the Right path, but it is the life lived in Integrity that matters, Actions not Words deliver the goods.

5. I often in my younger life made decisions that did not have a lot of Integrity. all for the instant gratification moment and personal gain. Luckily as we mature we realise that this is not the noble path and amend our ways.

6. Are we leaders without Integrity, Dwight Eisenhower, one of the most respected of U.S. presidents didn’t think so. The cement that binds Leadership is Integrity at whatever level of endeavour we exist at.

7. By now you may have worked out that travelling the path of Integrity is not Easy. It is taking the Road Less travelled.

8. Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Atheist – It doesn’t make a difference that you have strong beliefs if your actions are suspect. Integrity lives in your actions and behaviour.

9. Do not admire the person who has made their wealth from raping and pillaging the land. They are crooked in their ways, instead admire those who say This shall be and deliver on it.

10. The conundrum of one with out the other weakens both. Weakness and danger lie waiting if both are not on display.

11. This one is right in your face. Success simply does not exist if Integrity is missing. Imagine if this is how it was measured instead of how much money was made?

12. We have all read the quote about 1 percent of the worlds population having 40% of its wealth. Douglas Adams, best known for the eclectic Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy novel points out that Sincerity and Integrity are what needs to be provided to deliver True Service. I agree whole heartedly.

13. Consistency of Action is not the world of the hypocrite. It returns you to Power and Truth in your life. I am always seeking this sacred place in my day to day journeys.

14. I am always moved by that other quote that states people remember how you made them feel, not what you give them. This quote also points in that direction as to the cost of breaking your Integrity with others.

15. Erich Seligmann Fromm was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory in the 20th Century. I like his quote being the last one, it states that which we already know, that Integrity is the basis of our identity. To break it is to violate it.

So Lady Gaga lies with some esteemed scholars in reminding us as to how to live a Life of Integrity. I have recently discovered her music as well , its not as bad as a cynical Indie rock and Singer Songwriter loving music fan thought it would be.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.