Are you present , or in your head?

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Rod's World

I recently invited a dear friend over for dinner, the second person besides my family I have had in my home in 6 and a half years. To say I was excited is an understatement and I was thinking about how I could make the night perfect. That was where I made my blunder, I was in my head about it most of the night and not very present at all. Surprisingly my friend did not say anything directly at the time but let me know later that I had been mostly not present for her the whole time.

I have spent most of my adult life trying to work things out in my head and now have the opportunity to do it from and open up my heart. When she asks me what are you feeling I have to fight the urge to look in my head for the answer and feel into my heart also not to tell a story from my past or speculate on the future, but to be in the present or as Eckhart Tolle tells us, The Power of Now. It is a journey that we have agreed to take together to deepen our friendship.

Friendship, what has the universe said about that over the years, lets have a look:

1. Christie Brinkley is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur. Brinkley gained worldwide fame with her appearances in the late 1970s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues, ultimately appearing on an unprecedented three consecutive covers starting in 1979.

2. The letters IM drop out of your life when everything becomes possible: Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

3. They exist in that part of your heart that says, we will always be friends.

4. Do you wait?: A Song for You.

5. One is the most powerful number.

6. True friends are cemented together at the heart: That’s What Friends are For.

7. These are the people who where 5 years apart feels like 5 minutes when you meet.

8. They light the way and you need to no longer be afraid of the dark: I will Always Love You.

9. The Bible has some good stuff in it.

10. I have several of the atter family in my life, I love them: We are Family.

11. And you must keep proving it day to day if the friendship is to grow.

12. Disturb them with the question, what are you feeling?: Endless Love.

13. Like I will honour and love you, just as strong a promise.

14. My heart shuddered reading this one: Baby Please Don’t Go.

15. And for our final lesson today, the most profound statement of the blog, Hahaha.

So I am finishing this at 10.50 pm at night because I have spent many hours deepening our friendship over the past two days. It was joyous, confronting and loving and all the things in between. is it worth it, Fuck Yes!!!

The playlist tonight is dedicated to the BLM movement. Firstly Stevie Wonder leads off, following by the little known vocal genius Donny Hathaway. Dionne Warwick and her friends then hit the stage, handing it over to Whitney Houston. Chic and Sister Sledge then occupy the stage for a while, making way for Luther Vandross and Mariah Carey and we finish with a rocking tune by Muddy Waters and the Stones: Are you Present or in Your Head?

How changing is this journey of deep friendship I am taking? I intend that it transform my relationship to what friendship means and that my heart will be truly opened for the first time in my life. We have just begun but I am so more in touch with my world ethos of Love and Respect for all, Everyone Included. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

P.S. This one is for you, Amy.

Are you Enough?

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Rod's World

How often have you asked yourself this question? They say that you make your prime decision about your life by the age of seven years old, then spend the rest of your life surviving it via therapy or being in the winner’s circle.

Over to my friend Marc Chernoff to provide a list that will support us in this area. It is called 12 choices your future self will thank you for:

When life pushes you over, stand up and push back even harder, when there is a fork in the road and choices to make, make the ones your future self will thank you for:

1. Choosing you – The most exhausting activity is pretending to be who you know you aren’t.

2. Appreciating what you have – Sometimes, when you make the most out of what you have, it turns out to be a lot more than you ever imagined.

3. Believing in yourself and your dreams – Believe in you. Listen to your soul.

4, Being positive – You can’t live a positive life with a negative attitude.

5. Taking action – The happiest and most successful people are usually those who have broken the chains of procrastination.

6. Letting Go – The biggest step in changing the world around you is to change the world within you.

7. Picking yourself back up – Sometimes when things go wrong it’s because they would have turned out worse if they had gone right.

8. Ignoring negative people – You are not a rug; some people may try to walk all over you, but you don’t have to lie there and take it.

9. Staying in touch with close friends and family – There comes a time in life you’ll have to leave everything behind for a while and start something new, but never forget the people who stood by your side.

10. Making time for fun – Fun is way underrated.

11. Spreading Love and Kindness – The happiness surrounding you is greatly affected by the choices you make every day.

12. Being the change you want to see in the world – Don’t tell others how to live; live and let them watch you.

So what has the human race said about being enough, let’s have a look

1. Three powerful statements on self love there.

2. Love the last line: Never Stop.

3. Time to break down the walls.

4. And to stop pretending: Worth It.

5. Read the handwriting.

6. Having these in your heart definitely brings out the strength in you: You Say.

7. What a great name: Badass Warrior Queen.

8. I love memes with hearts in them: Fight Song.

9. Some powerful I statements here.

10. Some great words from our curly-haired genius: Somewhere over the Rainbow.

11. What are your personal avatars?

12. All hail Brene: Love Myself.

13. That why all the good books say self-love first and foremost.

14. These boots are made for walking: Boots.

15. And the last offering comes from the cardigan-wearing one, Eckhart Tolle reminding us of the treasure we all have within:

So choose to spread love to one person a day, beginning with yourself would be a grand idea. Imagine the amount of happiness you can spread in a lifetime, day by day.

Today on the playlist we have an all-women lineup. We have something for the young and not so young. Two bands unknown to me start us off. The Brand New Heavies and Fifth Harmony, both have millions of followers. Lauren Daigle and Rachel Platten belt out a couple of anthems next. Then back in time to Judy Garland, the penultimate number is from Hailee Steinfeld and we finish with Nancy Sinatra: Are You Enough?

This actually is take two of this blog, I got one quote from the end and poof, it disappeared. But I had to mention my ethos, Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included and my ever-growing Facebook group calledInterculturalism. We would love you to join us to spread love and respect around the planet.

Until we meet again, my dear friends.

Told You So. Sincerely, Your Intuition!!!

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Rod's World

Apres workshop continuation, I have been having these amazing conversations with people by asking them do they know what their passion for life is. I have been sharing about one of mine, My Sacred Love Stories workshop idea.

The concept came as follows: One night I was making chai at Mojo – The Dance of Connection and I looked through the window onto the dance floor and the thought that a majority of these beautiful people would go home alone, and this made my heart very sad. Shortly after the words, Sacred Love Stories passed through. I pondered this for the following week and came up with the following. The premise is that we have stopped being vulnerable with each other, the evidence being the divorce rate, that the average length of a relationship for 18 to 35 years olds is six months and the existence of Tinder. So in the workshop, you will work through the chakras, telling your partner your if you knew this about me, I would die and your, No, I am not boasting, I actually did this stories for the distinction of each chakra. You practice with a fellow participant so that you can increase your ability to be vulnerable and then go home and do it with your beloveds.

So that’s one of my passions, Time for my friend Marc’s list on the subject:

1. When passion and skill work together, the end result is a masterpiece.

2. Your work is to discover your work and then, with all your heart, to give yourself to it.

3. If you are passionate about it, pursue it, no matter what anyone thinks. That’s how dreams are achieved.

4. The heart of human excellence often begins to beat when you discover a pursuit that absorbs you, frees you, challenges you, and gives you a sense of meaning, joy and passion.

5. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write. The concept can be applied universally/

6. It’s not how much money you make that ultimately makes you happy. It’s whether or not your work fulfils you.

7. No matter how many times you break down, there should always be a little voice inside you that says, “NO, you’re not done yet! Get back up!” That’s the voice of passion and courage.

8. Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things.

9. Find what makes you come alive, whatever it is. Become it and let it become you, and great things happen FOR you. TO you and BECAUSE of you.

10. Purpose is the reason you journey. Passion is the fire that lights your way,

11. If you cannot put your heart into it, take yourself out of it.

12. Continue to work hard at what you love no matter what the odds are. Eventually, someone will praise and appreciate what you do.

13. It’s not about getting a chance. It’s about taking a chance. You’ll rarely be 100% sure it will work, but you can be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work. Sometimes you just have to go for it.

People have been passionate throughout recorded history, what have they said about it, here we go:

1. Remember, you are a sovereign being.

2. In our country, the official retirement age used to be 65, many people died soon after. The passion was missing: The Power and The Passion.

3. Of course, Oprah would be one of the quoters.

4. Supposedly, the percentage of people who do this is at an all-time low: Money.

5. Besides being an amazing sci-fi writer, Kurt Vonnegut said some good shit about passion and purpose.

6. To help with this, I would recommend reading Lissa Rankins great book on the subject, The Fear Cure: Lose Yourself.

7. Time to open up one of the largest organs in your body.

8. Just don’t, okay: Not Afraid.

9. Born in Manchester, Jamaica in 1967, Bailey immigrated to Canada at age 13 and played basketball with John Degenhardt before his graduation at Queen Elizabeth Park High School in Oakville, Ontario. He began competing as a 100 m sprinter part-time in 1991, but he did not take up the sport seriously until 1994. At that time, he was also a stockbroker. He won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic games.

10. The cardigan-wearing one, Eckhart Tolle time. Yes, The Power of Now: Sing for the Moment.

11. Some deeper stuff from Carl.

12. Already naked, follow your heart – Great words: Follow Your Heart.

13. There are no promises you will wake up tomorrow, we just live our lives like it is a given.

14. What is the anatomy of your Calling: Wake Me Up.

15. And for our final lesson, there is really no other choice.

So we will finish with another list titled Passion questions to make you think:

1. What will you never give up on

2. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

3. What activities make you lose track of time?

4. What fascinates you?

5. What’s something you would do every day if you could?

6. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

7. What would you do DIFFERENTLY if you knew nobody would judge you?

8. Would you rather have less work or more work you actually enjoy doing?

9. What is something you would hate to go without for a day?

10. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?

Today’s playlist contains three songs from the same artist, never been done before. We begin with one of Australia’s great rock and roll band, Midnight Oil, then off to the UK for Pink Floyd. across to the USA for three Eminem tracks, then Germany for the Scorpions and we complete with Avicii: Told You So. Sincerely, Your Intuition!!!

Lets complete with why we follow our passions: No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying, Love and Respect to All,, Everyone Included. Until we meet again, my dear friends. Remember you can sign up to receive the blog in your inbox on the right-hand side.

Answer with a Kiss!!!

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Rod's World

Still integrating the workshop. This week I have been noticing the things I have stopped doing to myself and others. Such as actually being present in conversations, noticing things that are not impeccable and just walking past them but actually doing something about it. It feels like a really different universe I am walking in. Went to my friend Marc’s book for some inspiration – here is a list of 30 Things to stop doing to yourself that will improve your life in general:

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people.

2. Stop running from your problems.

3. Stop lying to yourself.

4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner.

5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not.

6. Stop trying to hold onto the past.

7. Stop being scared to make a mistake.

8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes.

9. Stop trying to buy happiness.

10. Stop looking to others for happiness.

11. Stop waiting.

12. Stop thinking you’re not ready.

13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons.

14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work.

15. Stop trying to compete against everybody else.

16. Stop being jealous of others.

17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself.

18. Stop holding grudges.

19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level.

20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others.

21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break.

22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments.

23. Stop trying to make things perfect.

24. Stop following the path of least resistance.

25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t.

26. Stop blaming others for your troubles.

27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone.

28. Stop worrying so much.

29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen.

30. Stop being ungrateful.

So I reckon you could choose one or two of these to take on fortnightly and see your life transform in front of your eyes, and your perception of the lives of your significant others.

Time to walk down the what does the world say about this lane:

1. Time to undo those restrictive relationship knots and gain some freedom.

2. Crossing oceans can be adventurous or amazingly tiring if you are doing it with people who don’t really want to be there: Six Months In A Leaky Boat.

3. But we are not talking about giving up everything for others.

4. Welcome to the house of …: House of Fun.

5. Self Love 101.

6. From one of my top ten, I have 5,000 people and groups I follow so rate Danielle’s wisdom highly: Stop in the Name of Love.

7. The cardigan-wearing one, Eckhart Tolle’s philosophy is present here: The Power of Now.

8. You know which things you do to discard, it is not these ones: From Little Things, Big Things Grow.

9. Or these, as well or you will find yourself at that well-known square on the monopoly board.

10. Two words – Right On: All Rise.

11. Classic Tom Waits, that’s why I love his music so much.

12. Now, these things, let go of: Set Your Controls for the Heart of The Sun.

13. I thought it would say, Brene Brown, not Eddie Rickenbacker.

14. Lifts all the weight off your heart and soul, doing this: Brave.

15. And our final lesson in what is possible in taking on a practice of a few of these stops a month: you start caring about what really matters to you.

Many of the things we think will make us happier, more successful, more famous are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter, and working on our passions.

OMG, there’s a boy band in the playlist, with 55 million hits. Split Enz starts the journey, a New Zealand product, then off to the UK with Madness. Trump nation next with the Supremes. Australia’s offering is next with Paul Kelly and Missy Higgins, my most chosen song, why, because it’s so epic, that’s why. The Boy band Blue precede the penultimate track by Pink Floyd, and we finish in the present with Sara Bareilles: Answer with a Kiss.

So, imagine if each person on the planet stopped doing what did not work for them. My ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included would have a much better chance and earlier fruition. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

Open Heart, Open Arms. Open Mind, Open Eyes!!!

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Rod's World

I was going to write this blog on what had been added to my persona from doing Awakening Connection, Level 2 last weekend. But there are not a lot of quotes about adding things so instead, I am using one of my new vows: I vow to have an open heart all the time. This is a new daily practise for me, as society trained me not too, from early on in my family to cultural expectations as I grew up. It peaked as mental health issues and six hospitalisations in 5 years. I discovered the conscious community of Melbourne at 59 and have been on a heart-opening journey ever since.

I was reading my friend Mark Chernoff’s 1000+ Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently and was drawn to a list he has created to write a life story worth living: He begins with:

When writing the story of your life, don’t let someone else hold the pen. Make conscious choices every day that align your actions with your values and your dreams; the way you live each day is a sentence in the story of your life. Each day, you choose whether the sentence ends with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point. Here are Marc’s ten ideas and my added one for writing a story worth living:

Find a passion that makes you come alive.
Work hard on that passion.
Live happily in your own way.
Change your path when you must, but keep moving forward.
When the going gets tough, keep fighting.
Let go of the past and live consciously in the present,
Embrace new ideas, lessons, and challenges.
Appreciate the little things in life that mean a lot.
Live honourably through kindness.
Spend quality time with people you love.
Keep your heart open at all times.

What does the human race say about having an open heart, here are a few of my favourites:

1. Vulnerability, Open Heart, Brene Brown – Snap!!!

2. Can you hear it across your airwaves? open your heart: Gorgeous Heart Chakra Music.

3. Shadow and Light, as we open our hearts, at times it will break or be broken.

4. Not a second Ferrari, or a yacht, or beach house: Smooth.

5. The long journey was finally over as her heart opened fully.

6. Debra is the International Best-selling author of Soul-Hearted Living; A Year of Sacred Reflections & Affirmations for Women, Being Love: How Loving Yourself Creates Ripples of Transformation in Your Relationships and the World (Inspired Living Publishing) and the author of Soul-Hearted Partnership: The Ultimate Experience of Love, Passion, and Intimacy, which garnered four book awards including the Eric Hoffer award.: Unconditional Love.

7. Love and Respect For All, Everybody Included.

8. What a gift to yourself, the sky is now yours, well done: To the Sky.

9, I have begun noticing the differences in the past week.

10. These are the things that will travel with your heart as well: Who You Are.

11. To achieve the opening there are things we need to let go of, it takes practice.

12. Carlos Santana, one wise dude around this subject: Peace Train.

13. At 65, I can’t do the pose, but I can open my heart to life.

14. What you hear with your heart open is extraordinary, a librarian gave me her number unsolicited because she wanted to continue our conversation, I had met her 20 minutes earlier: Seasons of Love.

15. As the cardiganed one, Eckhart Tolle says over and over, The Power of Now.

What does living with an open heart allow for? My friend Marc sums it up pretty well: Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forwards. The past is a good place to visit on occasion, but not a great place to stay. Don’t waste time trying to relive or change your past when you have priceless moments unfolding in front of you right now.

Today’s playlist begins with some Chakra Music by Divine Love. Then Santana’s track that relaunched their career. Tupac raps it out next. Owl City, who are new to me are next, I love owls. Jessie J is today’s pop diva offering. The penultimate track is Cat Stevens and we complete with a musical number from the cast of Rent: Open Heart, Open Arms, Open Mind, Open Eyes.

My world paradigm: Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included relies on more and more people reaching this euphoric state. Until we next meet again, my dear friends. Remember you can subscribe to my blog on the right-hand side of the main page.

You Are Not Alone In This!!!

Posted on October 15, 2019 by Rod's World

I went to a local council meeting today to support a group who had been defunded, there was a lot of anger in the room. One group called the other racist for doing it, and there were allegations flying everywhere. I left as it did not seem to be serving many purposes, the decision to not defund them was watered down to a prissy offering of looking at other means of funding them. So it appears they must use the energy of their anger to fight the next battle.

So anger, what is its purpose and is it very useful in today’s world? Marc Chernoff writes about it as follows:

WHEN SOMEONE UPSETS us, It’s often because they aren’t behaving according to our fantasy of how they “should” behave. The frustration, then, stems not from their behaviour differs from our expectations. This is a moment for looking within.

You can’t control how other people behave. You can’t control everything that happens to you. What you can control is how you respond to it all. Your power lies in your response. Let’s practice together…

Get comfortable with pausing.
Respect people’s differences.
Be compassionate
Extend generosity and grace.
Don’t take people’s behaviour personally.
Talk less and learn to appreciate silence.
Create a morning ritual that starts your day off right.
Cope using healthy choices and alternatives
Remind yourself of what’s right, and create more of it in the world.

What has the world written about the power that Anger has over us, here are a few of my favourites:

1. I wouldn’t suggest telling someone they are being stupid if they make you angry, that would mean there would then be two angry people in the room.

2. Known for his satirical wit and sardonic view of human nature, Ambrose Bierce earned the nickname “Bitter Bierce.” His mocking cynicism is on full display in The Devil’s Dictionary, a work that originally appeared under the title The Cynic’s Word Book. … As a short story writer, Bierce gave us many treasures: No Regrets.

3. Ralph points out simple homegrown logic in a lot of his quotes, check out this classic.

4. They say it is better to reclaim the anger than have it reclaim us by being blurted out all of a sudden: Just Give Me a Reason.

5. In the development work I do, we speak of the immature feminine and masculine, and the mature feminine and masculine. Guess in which fields an insecure personality would hang around in?

6. Anger doesn’t tend to hang around in the field of contentment: Going Through Changes.

7. The cardigan-wearing one points out what lies within when we are angry.

8. From the 16th Century, noted English poet Alexander Pope talks about anger being revenge on oneself: Smells Like Teen Spirit.

9. Duck!!!

10. Not a good anxiety practice, going to bed angry: Fight for the Right.

11. Fark!!!!

12. From the man who found enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, why holding onto anger is so toxic: Burning Down The House.

13. Commonly known as a foot in mouth disease.

14. It’s the old one finger pointing forward, three backwards routine: Lithium.

15. The final lesson is that anger is just as important to deal with as all the other things we feel.

Everybody gets upset and loses their temper sometimes. Remind yourself that we are all more alike than we are different. When you catch yourself being angry with someone, add “just like me sometimes” Choose to let things go. Let others off the hook. Take the high road today.

Today’s playlist is anthem clad. From the 60s we begin with The Walker Brothers followed by some angst from Pink. My favourite white rapper Eminem is next, then the first of two Nirvana entries. A unique version of The Beastie Boys biggest hit will test your mettle. Talking Heads second last then back to Nirvana to finish off this great rocking playlist: You are not alone in This.

So the world does not say anger is bad all the time, I believe I need some to get my ethos, Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included to triumph over the current world conversation. Remember if you like these blogs of mine sign up to have them in your inbox on the day of creation. Until next time we meet, my dear friends.

At Our Core, We Are Love And Light!!!

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Rod's World

I will begin today’s blog with two paragraphs from Brene Brown’s unknown tome I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t) on that verboten subject, Shame. The chapter it is form is entitled Practicing Compassion in a Culture of Blame: Get It Here, Great Read.

“This is YOUR fault! This is all MY fault! You’re to blame. I’m to blame. We are a culture obsessed with finding fault and assigning blame. Holding ourselves or others accountable is a good thing, but blame and accountability are very different. I think the difference between accountability and blame is very similar to the relationship between guilt and shame> Like guilt, accountability is most often motivated by the desire to repair and renew – it is holding someone responsible for their actions and the consequences of their actions.

On the other hand, we often use blame to discharge over=whelming feelings of fear and shame: “This is painful – who can I blame? I’ll blame you! You are bad and this is your fault.” Inherent in holding ourselves or others accountable for our behaviour is expecting change or resolution. Like shame, blame shuts us down and it is not an effective tool for change.

So what is the opposite behaviour we could utilise, we travel to the land of Nepal and visit one of the greatest human beings, His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. This is the person that instantly comes to mind when the words and actions of compassion are uttered. Mind you I was a practising Tibetan Buddhist for Eight years and lead 4 hours of calm abiding meditation and diety practice for five years every Sunday.

So what has the world said about practising compassion over the journey. Here are a few of HHDL comments and the rest:

1. His most famous quote on the subject, by a long way. Features across the planet.

2. Got to love this acronym C.A.R.E, replace God with your favourite entity, for me it is Gaia: Unstoppable.

3. Looks like old school crayon writing, but what a question.

4. What is your Bodhi tree: True Power.

5. This powerful image says it all really, no comment.

6. Some world leaders have forgotten this: Killing In The Name Of.

7. Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West.

8. Life a simple life, his Holiness rocks: Who You Really Are.

9. The first step, Self Love 101.

10. Repeat after me, we are not alone: Is This Love.

11. Why this, I just loved this image.

12. A bit difficult to read for us bespectacled folk, but very insightful: Morning Has Broken.

13. Pick it up in your hands and offer it, love.

14: We are one day away from the worldwide school strike for the climate crisis, One of my slogans best describes this event: It’s Up To Us, Because We Can, It’s Our Time: Big Yellow Taxi.

15. And for our final lesson, we go to the good old USA, American-born multi-genre author Aberjhani (born July 8, 1957, in Savannah, Georgia) is a historian, columnist, novelist, poet, artist, and editor. Although well known for his blog articles on literature and politics, he is perhaps best known as the co-author of Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance and author of The River of Winged Dreams. The encyclopedia won a Choice Academic Title Award in 2004.

I will finish with some comments from the interviews Brene did in relation to shame:

“She’s Chinese or something – you know, she’s smart.”
“She’s Indian, They’re super rude like that.
“She’s so closed-minded – I can’t stand old people.”
” I think she’s like that because she was raped a couple of years ago.”
“It won’t hurt her feelings- She’s the sweet grandma type.”
“I don’t think she’s mad, she’s just got that whole angry black thing going on.”
“Her boyfriend is from Pakistan – she’s probably not allowed to go out.”

How would you answer the questions that had these type of answers occur?

Our playlist today contains some classic tunes and if I don’t say so myself, the best obscure track so far. We start with Sia, then the unknown Emily Ebert, great song. One of the great rock anthems from Rage Against the Machine is next. We then enter the spiritual world with a tune from Kirtana. We go back a century for the last three numbers. Bob Marley, Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell end this beautiful playlist: At Our Core, We Are Love and Light!!!

So, we have discussed our penchant to blame when life becomes hard and the compassion practised by His Holiness. One of Brene’s lines sums up the choice for me: – it is holding someone responsible for their actions and the consequences of their actions. To me, compassion allows for this, and blame does not. It behoves us to walk alongside Love and Respect For All, Everybody Included. Until next time, my dear friends. If you are enjoying reading these blogs of mine, sign on to receive them in your inbox on the right-hand side of the blog.

Why Walk When You Can Dance!!!

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Rod's World

I made chai for Mojo, The Dance of Connection over the weekend. I have been chaistro for four different dances over the past month: Mojo, Dancing Freedom, Ecstatic Dance and Resonance Project. Here, in Melbourne Australia, we have a vibrant conscious dance scene which I love being part of. I hold that dance is one of the true forms of healing available on the planet. It has existed longer than language and takes us to states that words alone cannot.

Each dance is different: Mojo, to me, is the dance of healing where people get to be touched in a safe, loving manner during the forest and if they fulfil the request to dance with a different partner each track, they get to examine their relationship to connecting with others: How to contact Mojo. Dancing Freedom is more a personal shamanic transformational dance through the elements the earth is made from, you are a little bit different after each journey: How to contact Dancing Freedom. Ecstatic Dance each fortnight brings you diverse rhythms beats and melodies to attune your Body, Mind and Soul to: How to contact Ecstatic Dance. Resonance Project brings together an evening of 5Rhythms embodiment and sound medicine magic, a full sensory experience for you to journey deep and invite transformation of the highest frequency. It includes a guest musician as well: How to contact Resonance Project.

So there was dance before language, what have we said about it since we learned to speak, read and write, here are a few of my favourites:

1. The Hebrew Bible is not somewhere I would expect to find this quote praising dance.

2. Passion, turn to the left, hold on that’s: Fashion.

3. My Happy Place.

4. I just had to look up who Marilyn Ferguson was after reading this fantastic quote, A founding member of the Association of Humanistic Psychology, Ferguson published and edited the well-regarded science newsletter Brain/Mind Bulletin from 1975 to 1996. Her acquaintances included Bucky Fuller, Ram Dass and Al Gore: Let’s Dance

5. Considered one of the most innovative dancers of the last century, Isadora Duncan began teaching dance in her teens, unfortunately, she suffered one of the most bizarre causes of death when her scarf went around her cars axle.

6. Transcend the limitations of our self – what a beautiful description of ecstatic dance: Desert Dwellers at Burning Man.

7. All hail the teachers of dance that exist on the planet.

8. They have them, they are just made out of gossamer: Fly.

9. We dance for all the things!!!

10. And for me, it is always an honour: Waiting for Love.

11. How true is this in a dancers world, very in mine.

12. I feel so sorry for the deaf ones, they do not know what they are missing out on: My friend Suebee Fae.

13. In all its forms: folk, ballet, conscious, line, rock and roll, swing, etc. etc. etc.\

14. Even the cardiganed one has something to say about it: Dance Monkey.

15. Our final lesson on the dance comes from an extraordinary source: Margaretha Geertruida “Margreet” MacLeod, better known by the stage name Mata Hari, was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I and executed by firing squad in France.

So as you may have guessed dancing is one of my passions, I have fallen in love with my friends Marc and Angel Chernoff’s lists again: Here are some questions on passion to make you think.

1. What will you never give up on?

2. What activities make you lose track of time?

3. What’s something you would do for every day if you could?

4. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?

5. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

6. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?

7. What is something you would hate to go without for a day?

8. Would you rather have less work to do or more work you actually enjoy doing?

9. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

I have tried to include some more obscure tracks beside the classic tracks about dance in the playlist today. We begin with David Bowie twice, yes, one of them is that track. From The Desert Dwellers next is a sunrise set then we fly with Marshmello. Avicii lays down the next track and then my friend from Byron Shire, Suebee Fae features. We end with a track from Ireland by the Tones and I: Why Walk When You Can Dance!!!

Remember to signup to receive these blogs in your email box if you enjoy them, we can dance our way to a new world ethos: Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until we meet again my dear friends.

Everyone Has Oceans to Fly!!

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Rod's World

How do you know the difference between your preferences and your boundaries? I am doing this amazing online public speaking course called RISE with Fleassy Malay, it is the top 5 courses I have ever done, and I have done a lot over the years: Enter Fleassy’s World. and she points out that we often mix the two up, preferences become boundaries and boundaries become preferences. How do they differ, let’s look at their definitions:

Preference is defined as:

the fact that you like something or someone more than another thing or person:

Her preference is for comfort rather than stylish clothes.

I have a preference for sweet food over spicy.

Choosing furniture is largely a matter of personal preference.

It would be wrong to discriminate against a candidate because of their sexual preference (= the sex of the people they are sexually attracted to).

an advantage that is given to a person or a group of people:

We give preference to those who have worked with us for a long time.

Special preferences were offered initially to encourage investment.

Boundaries are defined as:

Like physical boundaries, emotional boundaries define separateness. Your emotional boundaries are the property lines that separate your thoughts and feelings from those of other people.

To me, preferences live in the realms of the examples above and boundaries are those gut feelings that much our stomach churn when we know they are not being respected or people have just walked through them.

So what does our society have to say about boundaries, there were some quite different expressions of it when I looked.

1. Unlimited giving is a surefire recipe for health problems to emerge.

2. Remember the age-old formulae: You are the result of the five people you spend the most time with, choose wisely: Get Up, Stand Up.

3. Lamott has described why she writes: I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families, secrets, wonder, craziness—and that can make me laugh. When I am reading a book like this, I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me, and throw the lights on a little, and I try to write these kinds of books. Books, for me, are medicine.

4. You may lose some of your peeps when you put them in place, and who they are may surprise you: Brene’s take on it.

5. Boundaries bring out people’s real nature.

6. Have clarity when you set them, and then stand by them as if you are defending your child’s life: No Need to Argue.

7. Boundaries actually increase your ability to give over time.

8. You have to wake up with you in the morning, so make sure the respect is there: Respect.

9. Teach the people in your life, or they will make it up how they relate to you.

10. If how you relate to people crosses more than the one on one relationship you have some work to do: Crossing Boundaries.

11. Today’s boundaries are how you live your life.

12. Don’t accept an invitation if it crosses your boundaries, as said above no is a complete sentence: Ball and Chain.

13. But always remember there are times your boundaries need to be fluid.

14. Brene: Boundaries equals being courageous: Perfect.

15. Our final lesson comes from the great Persian poet, Rumi. Have boundaries but remember to remain curious.

As we travel along our timeline some preferences may become boundaries and boundaries preferences. that is the joy of being human, each moment is a new experience allowing us to chose to grow or diminish. It’s up to Us, Because We Can, It’s our Time.

The Playlist honours some extremely powerful divas today. We begin with the only male, Bob Marley. The spoken word is next from Brene Brown. The sultry voice of the lead singer of The Cranberries is next followed by the powerful vocals of Aretha Franklin. Then a mini discovery in Mina AlAli. One of the great performances from the ’60s is next by Janis Joplin and we close with Pink: Everyone Has Oceans To Fly.

I don’t really like the other types of boundaries, I am fighting them as hard as possible to ensconce my world paradigm of Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included. Until next we meet, my dear friends.

The Pain of the Process is only Temporary.

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Rod's World

Wish you had more wellbeing? Are you longing for an evidence-based approach to consistently feel good and function more effectively at work? Do you need busy-proof practices to help you more confidently navigate the lows and highs we all experience?

What if you had a toolkit to unleash accomplishment. If you purchase Your Wellbeing Blueprint: Feeling Good and Doing Well at Work by Michelle Mcquaid and Dr Peggy Kern you get one: Get It Here.

There are seven levels to the tool kit, here they are:

Setting Goals That Work – Know what you Want, Audit your Time, Stretch Yourself, Set Weekly Goals.
Being Hopeful – Map Your Hopes, Start a Passion Project, Find Hopeful Friends.
Practising Growth Mindset – Set Learning Goals, Get comfortable with Failure, Name your fixed Mindset, Growth Mindset Reflection.
Developing Grit – Draw a Grit Map, Ask for Help, Invest in Deliberate Practice.
Boosting Your Confidence – Strike a Power Pose, Take One Small Step, Acknowledge “Not Yet”.
Being Self-Compassionate – Create a Mantra, Write a Letter, Soothe Your Pain, Remember to be Kind.
Improving Your Resilience – Challenge Your Beliefs, Lean into the Suck, Ban “Always”, Flex Your Stress Mindset.

Shakespeare said, “Joy’s soul lies in the doing.” How has society written about this journey, Let’s take a look:

1. Do what you love for work, and you will never work another day in your life.

2. Burn, Baby, Burn: Burning Down the House.

3. Charles Franklin Kettering sometimes known as Charles “Boss” Kettering was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. He was a founder of Delco and was head of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive developments were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline.

4. When you pass they will remember you for who you were, not what you owned: When I’m Gone.

5. The dreams, they’re on the other side.

6. Kids say such amazing things until we train it out of them: Lot To Learn.

7. Eric Thomas, PhD is a critically acclaimed author, World-renowned speaker, educator, pastor and audible.com Audie Awards Finalist. ET, as he is better known, has taken the world by storm, with his creative style and high-energy messages. His words continue to impact tens of millions of people in several hundred countries across the planet! Through a significant social media presence and his recent domestic and international tours, “ET, The Hip Hop Preacher” has become a global phenomenon!

8. Boom: Tomorrow.

9. You, Yourself, I.

10. I learnt an expression at Landmark Education I will never forget, what you don’t know you didn’t know: Heaven.

11. Katie Byron calls it the Work, you need to do it.

12. of course, it’s Judy and Somewhere over the rainbow…: Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

13. Two very similar statements with totally different meanings.

14. I believe in miracles and unicorns, do you?: You Sexy Thing.

15. And the final lesson, Yes, You are that person.
With more than 100 positive interventions to choose from, this book gives you everything you need to become an informed, confident, and active steward of your own wellbeing so you can wholeheartedly show up and be fully engaged in life — whatever it throws at you.

I really like today’s eclectic playlist. It begins with Talking Heads, moves over to Eminem, then another rapper in Luke Christopher. To the world of the musical with a track from Annie. The beautiful voice of Kane Brown is next, then the legend who is Judy Garland finishing with the sexy tones of Hot Chocolate: The Pain of the Process is Only Temporary.

So one of my accomplishments is to have Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included is part of common day language. Join me in spreading it until we meet again, my dear friends.