Live More Awesome, Jamgrass Music Festival, People Matter.

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Rod's World

What do these three statements have in common? They are the stickers on my music folder that contains the songs I sing at the Moons a Balloon, the community choir that I am a member of led by the inspirational Kavisha Mazzella. We are a Mental Fellowship of Victoria initiative so a lot of our members are in different stage of recovery from the dark times we have had in our lives.

When I was recently in The Melbourne Clinic for 28 days my friends in the choir offered to come and sing me some songs, I was nowhere near being in the space for them to do it but the offer made my heart shudder, that they would consider giving up their time to come and care for me was illuminating to say the least.

What songs do we sing? We have several standards, Tell Me Why by the ever awesome Neil Young, Somewhere over the Rainbow because its a beautiful song, The Moons A Balloon written by the choir when the chirpy Alicia Egan replaced Kavisha for a few weeks while she was off learning a new Tai Chi movement, but thats another story. My Island Home, a song by Christine Anu that should be Australia’s national anthem and Geckoe Song , one of Kavisha’s tunes, by the way did I mention that I have followed Kavisha and Her musical journey for over 20 years and once paid her $50 to sing my favourite song at a benefit at CERES environmental park in Brunswick. She is to me the worlds greatest singer songwriter and has the voice of an angel because Kaviisha is one.

But my favourite moments are when we sing the rounds Like Eagle Flying, another tune by Kavisha, Here are the words, when this song is sung in different harmonies you are moved to tears by its simplicity and power:

As I walk this Country, As I walk this land, I feel you watching over me

As I walk this Country, As I walk this land, I feel your spirit healing me

Eagle flying , Eagle Flying, Keeper of our Dreams

Another favourite is There is so much Magnificence by Peter Maken, simple words, awesome beauty.

Thers is so much magnificence here beside the ocean, waves are rolling in…Waves are rolling in…

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,

Ahhh Lehhh Luhhhh Yaaaaaa

Often Basil brings his nieces along and its OK to have a cry if its tough out there on the roads of life because we are a family and we love each other, Thanks Kavisha for making our lives more worthwhile by having the choir be on fire.

Namaste till next time my friends

Do you write Love Letters?

Posted on October 1, 2014 by Rod's World

I write Love letters, yes by hand to anonymous people.

I took up the practice when I came across a Ted talk http://www.ted.com/talks/hannah_brencher_love_letters_to_strangers The idea of receiving letters from strangers appealed to me so I looked up the website as you do https://moreloveletters.squarespace.com and signed up about 12 months ago.

I have written about 60 love letters in that time and have had the gift of expressing unconditional love as it cannot have conditions, you do not know them. I’ve written to China, The Philippines, the good old U.S of A., England, Germany and Australia where I live. You are told a little background about the person and away you go. Write on!!

I have also taken up the practice of writing Love Letters to people I know as well, Its quite a beautiful thing to do , to acknowledge the reasons you love another person in your community. If I don’t have their address I email them one, but much prefer using my colour crayons as it appeals to my inner child.

I use distinctly Australian cards that an organisation I sponsor, Indigenous Community Volunteers www.icv.com.au produce. I get about three packs for an additional $20 in sponsorship, so that covers me for three months and its all tax deductible.

So some questions for you –

1. Who do you love that you would take time to write a letter to?

2. Are you open enough to receive a bunch of love letters from strangers?

3. Are you open enough to receive a love letter from family or friends?

4. What is stopping me doing this beautiful practice?

If you want any easy access to self love I recommend you take this on, if five letters is too much you don’t have to write to everyone, just as many as your heart and soul can handle, it will open them up in ways you cannot foresee.

Namaste till next time , my friends

Make a Heart felt decision!

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Rod's World

Our life is filled with day to day decisions that we need to make to get from point A to B. Such as I will leave at this time to get to where I need to go to, I will continue doing the thing I do to make money even though it does not inspire me and it is definitely a job not a passion, and what will I give my priority too to make it through to another day.

When I walked out of Melbourne Clinic Psychiatric unit after 28 days just four months ago, which was my fourth internment in the last 10 years I vowed that I would never return. I have kept getting into these situations by not listening to my heart and just giving up. It seemed easier at the time, a seemingly silly thing to do that put me in a often called looney bin, but your mind is a fascinating beast when left to control itself.

So what have I done since then, I have taken the opportunities that come my way courtesy of my heart. Four workshops, two of the same to cut the mental ties that constrict me. I discovered that I had killed my sexuality 10 years ago in a toxic relationship that I was unwilling to walk away from powerfully and that this prevented me from being in another. My mind was providing the your’e just getting old story, reasonably believable at 60. This story was another one blocking my access to the beauty of my new friendships, I was harbouring the thought its not okay to be twice as old as your tribe, at one of the workshops I linked up with a 22 year old, someone a third of my earth years, it was like we had known each other for ever.

In one of the workshops Michele, the workshop leader http://www.WithinWithoutCoaching asked me had I put myself in the blog I wrote about my favourite ten thought leaders, Listening from my heart I could see this as a possibility, when I wrote the article my mind did not allow this but I have taken it on from my heart felt space. Another opportunity I got was totally unexpected, I attended the International World day of peace in Melbourne, Australia and met this remarkable woman, Emeli Paulo from http://www.collectivepotential.com.au. I had gone there to meditate and abuse my body with Yoga not to gain access to what stops me, this is the promise Emeli made in the mini workshop she ran, I discovered when it gets to great I run away, so I wrote on my card: Stop Running Away.

What is the difference between a heartfelt decision and a thought from your mind – the heart felt decision can transform you, mind thoughts you simply survive, I know this is good enough at times but no more in my life, thank you very much.

So my request, open your heart and soul and make decisions form there, your life will transform, I promise you. Namaste until next time my friends.

How do we take vows for another?

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Rod's World

I was cleaning up my displays on my fridge today when I came across My Seven Vows to myself. You may ask why one would make vows to oneself, before I attended Rainbow bridge 13:13:13 lead by the awesome Tanishka Tantrika http://www.starofishtar.com/ I would have asked you the same question, vows are for marriage aren’t they? Not necessarily.

Ask yourself, how do you keep vows for another when you don’t have any for yourself. Its wonderful to say you will honour and obey, in sickness and health etc. etc. – this obviously has some flaws in it as over one third of marriages end up in divorce in the western world, what happened to the vows that were taken.

The writing of my vows were part of a ceremony of marrying yourself, falling totally in love with you heart and soul. This bright up so much stuff for me that I fell asleep during the process in the total art of resistance to the process, luckily I woke up for the essential bit.

So here they are:

1. I promise to display my emotions

2. I promise to love how I look

3. I promise to live a healthy life.

4. i promise to give and receive love

5. I promise to speak my truth always.

6. I promise to allow communication to flow effortlessly

7. I promise to light up my life as an example for others.

I am better at these some days than others, the human condition. My request to you all, get married to the most important person in your life first before you take it on this someone else, and take on some vows to empower yourself.

Namaste to next time, my friends.

What is Clutter?

Posted on September 26, 2014 by Rod's World

Clutter to me is books, I cannot go past a good bargain and as I take my 87 year old mum op shopping every week its really easy to buy one or two a week. I am also a member of the Sunday Assembly book club in Melbourne Australia so there is another book a month. Living in a one bedroom apartment this means that I have several piles of them as I brought most of the books I had from the house I was sharing in Northcote and they fill my book shelf plus some.

I chose the above picture because my desktop sometimes looks like this, I use pictures a lot on Facebook when I comment on someone else’s post, I don’t understand why people share and comment with a heart or something like that which gives you no idea what appealed to you about the post. If social media is about sharing I think people should put in the time to contribute to another/others. I recently created 6 files and categorised all my pictures and files on desktop, heaps easier.

So what else can be cluttered, I recently attended a talk by Mary Anne Bennie, http://www.paperflow.com.au which was fascinating in the way she got people to see how we keep unnecessary things in our homes. The first question she asked was “How many towels do you own’, The answers went from two to twenty, Mary Anne asked the person who replied twenty, what do you do with them. The person lived with her husband and the children had left home, Mary Anne pointed out that they could never use more than four, One in the bathroom each, and one in the wash. She moved through each area of the house and sprung me in the clothes cabinet, I have about twenty shirts, same question, why did I need twenty shirts? Off to the op/thrift shop for some of them. It takes a breakthrough to give your precious possessions away and I am working on it on a daily basis.

I recently met a musician who has gone off the grid, moved out of his home and lives out of his car and on the goodwill of his friends. He has been doing this for over a year and the way he spoke about it on the night I met him his sense of freedom was extraordinary. I’m not up to this yet but good on him for showing it can be done.

The mind also gets cluttered with the fast paced life we live these days, constant information via phones, computers, media, hardly a break from it if we allow it to happen. I have recently returned to my meditation practice as well as my Tai Chi practice. i find this switching off of the world liberating from the constant chatter in my head. My 60 year old legs do not appreciate the lotus position but I have noticed the slowing of the chatter that clutters my mind.

So where is your clutter? Take some action to free your self from its hold. Namaste to next time my friends.