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Stand Up Straight and Realise Who You Are!!!

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The title of this blog is part of a Maya Angelo quote, the final line is that you tower over your circumstances. Do you let adversities stop you in life? Here are some questions to make you think about it:

1. What stands between you and happiness.

2. Are you holding onto something you need to let go?

3. Decisions are being made right now. The question is, are you Making them yourself or are you letting others make them for you?

4. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?

5. What is the biggest challenge you face now?

6. If the average life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

7. What’s something that happened to you that made you stronger?

8. What is worth the pain?

9. Are you aware someone has it worse than you?

10. What’s missing in your life?

One of my adversities is my families pre-edification to suffer from gout. I have not had it for one and a half years and I was asked about it by my naturopath two days ago, and yesterday I woke up with it. Ouch, this lies in the do not push your luck arena.

So what does life say about adversity, here are a few quotes that express it rather well:

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1. With her two most prominent roles challenging gender stereotypes and norms, The New York Times said Mary Tyler Moore’s “performances on [The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show] helped define a new vision of American womanhood.” The Guardian said “her outwardly bubbly personality and trademark broad, toothy smile disguised an inner fragility that appealed to an audience facing the new trials of modern-day existence.

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2. Best known to the general public for his mass-energy equivalence formula E = Mc squared, which has been dubbed “the world’s most famous equation, from the misogynistic earlier part of the Twentieth century, I’m sure this relates to men and women: We R Who We R.

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3. All butterflies have “complete metamorphosis.” To grow into an adult they go through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Each stage has a different goal – for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce.

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4. I suggest looking at the different styles of the last two POTUS’s to understand this quote: Don’t Give Up.

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5. Barbara De Angelis is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship, personal growth adviser and spiritual teacher. Her infomercial “Making Love Work” won an award as Best Infomercial of 1994.

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6. What can you do now you couldn’t last year? That’s called overcoming adversity: Look What You Made Me Do.

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7. From the man who went through his and freed a country.

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8. Simply for the Image: Sing For The Moment.

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9. Turn around, overcoming adversity happens the other way.

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10. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee: Black Superman.

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11. One of the ways to overcome adversity quickly is to learn the art of acceptance.

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12. Marty Rubin, a South Florida gay activist, author and journalist,  Mr. Rubin died after a struggle with AIDS. He was 64: Live It Up.

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13. Six powerful words.

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14. I love the zen of Japanese philosophy: Walking on the Moon.

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15. For your final lesson, remember flowers grow between cracks in the footpath.

So, a few words on adversity to finish; You never know how really strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

Today’s playlist contains some Sesame Street, a daggy song, an Aussie classic and two pop divas, surprise, surprise. We begin with Kesha, then Bruno Mars. Pop diva Taylor Swift follows, Eminem raps a tune out next. The ode to the Black Superman by Johny Wakelin brings the seriousness down a bit. Back to Australia for Mental as Anything and we complete with British supergroup The Police: Stand Up Straight and Realise Who You Are!!!

So when adversity arises in my life, I return to my ethos of Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included and get back on track. P.S. I found some joint cream I brought several years ago, It works. Until we meet again my dear friends.

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Take Time To Connect To The Divine.

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I spent the weekend at three entirely different connections in my life. Friday night I made chai at Dancing Freedom, Saturday I crewed on a Spring Chant Meditation and Sunday I attended Sunday Assembly. Each fulfils a different part of my soul and the people come from completely different parts of society.

I believe the more parts of society I have contact with it helps me able to strengthen my resolve to see the ethos, Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included become accepted across the planet. I am working on the Act Local, Think Global principle. I  live in the Darebin Council area in Melbourne, Australia where there are over 150 different cultural groups residing and volunteer at the Darebin Intercultural Centre where differences are Acknowledged, Explored, Understood and Embraced.

How has the world look at connecting in this time of world leaders talking about nationalism vs, Globalism and the difference which of these being dominant will make to human beings connecting with each other? Lets have a look over time:

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1. From Hollywood, the land of fables comes this wise insight regarding human connection.

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2. Jacqueline is an entrepreneur who left the banking industry to make a difference in the area of global poverty: We are all Connected. 

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3. In our instant gratification times, we can easily miss the message of deep connection.

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4. The We are all Starseed conversation: Across The Universe.

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5. It can be as simple as eyes locking across a crowded room at a party.

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6. Harvey grew up openly gay at a time when very few celebrities were. So to have the above be true he must have had a strong belief in universal connection: You’ve Got A Friend.

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7. Hip Hop artist Dramatik of the Wolves speaks about the mind, body and soul connection we make with certain individuals we come across in our life journey.

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8. Don’t really know what Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg . is referring to here, although I know I have connected to quite a few people on a deep level across the airwaves: So Far Away.

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9. I agree, if you can discuss your shadow and light with your connections, they tend to be more intimate than just making polite conversation.

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10. Our roots are our common humanity: Human.

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11. Connection isn’t always about spoken words, it may be a shoulder to cry on.

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12. And then there is the special one: We Found Love.

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13. One World.

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14. John is known for his work on marital stability and relationship analysis through scientific direct observations, many of which were published in peer-reviewed literature. The lessons derived from this work represent a partial basis for the relationship counselling movement that aims to improve relationship functioning and the avoidance of those behaviours shown by Gottman and other researchers to harm human relationships: Steady Love.

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15. And our final lesson is from Steve Maraboli, I spend my time on how to make all relationships like this. Imagine that world paradigm.

A short blog today, Dancing Freedom fuels my body transformation connection. Chanting my heart connection and Sunday Assembly my desire to connect to humanity through service.

Today’s playlist begins with one of the most unusual songs I have used, it is a group of scientists known as Symphony of Science. Then a cover by Rufus Wainwright followed by two songs by Carole King and James Taylor where they reverse roles. The beautiful anthem by Rag N Bone Man is next, the penultimate song is by Rihanna and we complete with the golden voice of India Arie: Take Time To Connect To The Divine.

A dear friend who passed way to early, said that Love was the Answer. I agree, the more we communicate it the closer we will get to having Love and Respect For All, Everybody Included in all our relationships. Remember, if you wish to receive a reminder about when I have done my latest blog, sign up on the right-hand side. Until we meet again, my dear friends.

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To the World, You might be Just One Person!!

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I received a reply to the message from the woman I say I am in love with, I feel incredibly happy with this, she has been overseas the past six months. At the moment I am reading a book called Love 2.0 by Barbara Fredrickson which redefines our ability to feel the ultimate emotion: Get It Here.

We all know love matters, but in this groundbreaking book positive emotions expert Barbara Fredrickson shows us how much. Even more than happiness and optimism, love holds the key to improving our mental and physical health as well as lengthening our lives. Using research from her own lab, Fredrickson redefines love not as a stable behemoth, but as micro-moments of connection between people–even strangers. She demonstrates that our capacity for experiencing love can be measured and strengthened in ways that improve our health and longevity.

Ready for our new, upgraded definition of love? Love 1.0 = The emotion you feel for your “soul mate” or kids or family; what we hear about on the radio, etc. Love 2.0? Love 2.0 is ubiquitous. It’s that “micro-moment of warmth and connection that you share with another living being.” It’s what Barbara describes as “positivity resonance.”  Love is found in those TINY moments—the micro-moments—in which we are truly present, sharing a positive experience with someone. When that happens, our brains and bodies synchronize in truly stunning ways. Sprinkle in some mutual care for the others’ well being and you have positivity resonance—aka Love. What’s exciting about this upgraded version of love is that it’s not limited to our most intimate relationships (yet, very importantly, can be practised most frequently within them—something I’ve done a bunch of times since picking up the book yesterday). When we allow ourselves to open up to this possibility, we can create more of this positivity resonance with others and experience the extraordinary gains in health and happiness that go with practising this supreme emotion.

So how do we as humans define love, here are a few of my favourite takes at it:

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1. Imagine if we were in contact with those micro-moments of love 24/7. It would transform my life for certain.

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2. Imagine if you glimpsed it every day, it would be blissful: A Slice of Heaven. 

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3. And this is what drops away.

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4. And your micro-moment mission is to…: When You Believe.

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5. Not really a choice is it?

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6. And you, and you, and you, and you…: Better Together.

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7. One never knows what those micro-moments of connection can turn into.

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8. Positivity resonance at some times, our greatest fears at others, it is our time to choose: How Deep Is Your Love.

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9. Not really an example of Love 2.0, but I had to fit the bard in somewhere.

 

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10. Definitely possible in both areas of love, one and two: Soul Shakedown Party.

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11. All of the emotions come with Love.

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12. Love is a two-way street: Give Love.

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13. But we always have a favourite.

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14. And then, time for some Rumi: I Love You for What You Are.

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15. And from the Love Prince, Bob Marley comes how to achieve Love 2.0.

Barbara introduces us to the fact that micro-moments of love are created by and result in changes in three main biological characters: your brain, oxytocin, and your vagus nerve. As she says: “Put simply, your body was designed for love, and to benefit from loving.”

Very briefly, when we have positivity resonance, our brains synchronize in astonishing ways. This “neural synchrony” or “neural coupling” is produced as we attune to the individual(s) with whom we’re interacting. Oxytocin, the “love hormone” is, apparently, more appropriately identified as a neuropeptide because it shows up not just in our bodies but also in our brains. Barbara talks about some fascinating research on how increasing levels of oxytocin increase trust and cooperation. Then we get to Vagus. Our vagus nerve is our tenth cranial nerve. “It emerges from your brain stem deep within your skull and, although it makes multiple stops at your various internal organs, perhaps most significantly it connects your brain to your heart.” Hmmm… A physical, biological component of our bodies that connects our brain to our hearts? I’m listening! The short story here: As per all the benefits articulated above, Optimizing our vagus nerve’s functioning is a good idea. Good news is: our “vagal tone” can be developed much like our “muscle tone.” It just takes practice. We’re almost ready for those practices. First, desire.

Today’s playlist begins across the trough from my homeland, for all you others, that’s slang for New Zealand with Dave Dobbyn, then Whitney. A few rocky numbers follow with Jack Johnson, Calvin Harris and Bob Marley. The penultimate number is some soul from Andy Grammer featuring Lunchmoney Lewis, finishing with a Bollywood masterclass.

Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included until we next meet, my dear friends:

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Never tell people how to do Things, Tell them what to Do.

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This list is from John C. Maxwell’s excellent book: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Get It Here.

What would happen if a top expert with more than thirty years of leadership experience was willing to distil everything he had learned about leadership into a handful of life-changing principles just for you? It would change your life! John C. Maxwell has done exactly that in “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”. He has combined insights learned from his thirty-plus years of leadership successes and occasional mistakes with observations from the worlds of business, politics, sports, religion, and military conflict. The result is a revealing study of leadership delivered as only a communicator like Maxwell can. Here is the list:

THE 21 LAWS OF LEADERSHIP

1. The Law of the Lid. There’s a lid to your potential; it’s determined by your leadership ability. Therefore, expand your leadership capacity and expand your ability to impact the world.

2. The Law of Influence. As Maxwell says a number of times throughout the book, “The true measure of leadership is influence—nothing more, nothing less.”

3. The Law of Process. We can’t snap our fingers and become great leaders overnight. Maxwell tells us: “Leadership develops daily, not in a day.” 

4. The Law of Navigation. Steering the ship is relatively easy. Leaders chart the course—seeing where they want to go and charting the most effective course to get there.

5. The Law of Addition. Leaders serve. They focus on creating value for others. It’s not so much “What’s in it for me?” but “How can I serve?” That’s the law of addition.

6. The Law of Solid Ground. Maxwell tells us that trust is the foundation of leadership. We must stand on the solid ground of solid character—living with integrity, being trustworthy.

7. The Law of Respect. People “naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.” We must cultivate our strength if we want people to respect us and be willing to follow our lead.

8. The Law of Intuition. As Emerson says, we must trust ourselves—“every heart vibrates to that iron string.” As a mentor of mine once said, “Trust yourself. Always.”

9. The Law of Magnetism. Who you ARE is who you will attract. Want to attract great people? BE GREAT. That’s the law of magnetism.

10. The Law of Connection. We must connect with others. Maxwell tells us, “Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand.”

11. The Law of Inner Circle. Our potential as leaders is determined by those closest to us. Whose in your inner circle?

12. The Law of Empowerment. You need to be confident enough to give power to others. Trust yourself and trust your team to crush it.

13. The Law of the Picture. People will do what they see. We need to create a “picture” of what awesome looks like which inspires people to follow our lead. Embody your ideals.

14. The Law of Buy-In. You have a great vision. Fantastic. (And essential.) But know this: People buy into YOU, the leader before they buy into the vision.

15. The Law of Victory. Victory. Leaders are FIERCELY committed to winning. Period. That relentless pursuit of victory is essential. (We’ll chat about this more as well.)

16. The Law of Big Mo. Mr Momentum. Is a very close friend of effective leaders. We need to create (and celebrate!) little wins—always remembering that progress is uber-powerful.

17. The Law of Priorities. It’s not enough to be busy. We need to be effective. Leaders take the time to properly line up their dominoes and focus on what’s most important.

18. The Law of Sacrifice. The higher you go, the more you need to be willing to give up. Leaders trade-off freedom with responsibility.

19. The Law of Timing. As Jim Collins says in Great By Choice, not all moments are created equal. Leaders know when to lean in and seize the moment.

20. The Law of Explosive Growth. Maxwell tells us about “leader’s math”—if you want to multiply your growth, create more LEADERS not followers.

21. The Law of Legacy. What do you want people to say at your funeral? Leaders keep this vision firmly in mind and dedicate their lives to its fulfilment. A quick inventory: Favourites? Strengths? Weaknesses?

“In a study of ninety leaders from a variety of fields, leadership experts Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus made a discovery about the relationship between growth and leadership: ‘It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguish leaders from their followers.’ Successful leaders are learners. And the learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance. The goal each day must be to get a little better, to build on the previous day’s progress.

So how many of the Laws do you work on daily, here’s what the world says about Leadership:

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1. You can’t do it on your own, Go that way and it will work out is what the leader is there for.

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2. Master, Miss, Ms, Dr, Mrs, Mister, they are titles, being a leader is not: If You’re Out There.

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3. Actions not words, Leadership 101.

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4. Obviously, they are speaking about Donald Trumps leadership style, aren’t they: When I’m Gone.

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5. I don’t take up the Challenge every day, do you?

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6. Presence, Presence, Presence, Leadership: My Immortal.

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7. Mark Yarnell died in 2015, lauded as the Worlds greatest network Marketer, he was truly inspiring — “I’ve lived a “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” life he said. “I’ve squeezed every ounce of joy out of every single day. It’s been an absolute blast!” And, he encouraged each of us to become the best possible version of ourselves while living a life of freedom.

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8. Even for your mistakes, that’s what real leadership is: Responsibility.

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9. Are you the former or the latter, Your Choice.

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10. Trying leadership on: Try.

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11. Word origin of ‘courage’: Middle Eastern & Old French – corage, heart, spirit  Latin cor, heart. Where we find our passion, In the heart.

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12. I recently came back in contact with Fiona, the woman who showed the leadership to get 13 disparate individuals to travel from Australia to Moscow to run a marathon in the name of ending world hunger, her leadership was inspirational at the time. It was the year before the Berlin Wall came down and communism ended in Russia: Fight Song. 

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13. Remember, it’s your actions that create the opportunities for others to become leaders too.

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14. I would change the middle quotes to Goes there own Way: Go Your Own Way.

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15. It’s OK to take walks, but it’s leadership that makes the difference after all.

As author Hans Finzel observed, ‘Leaders are paid to be dreamers. The higher you go in leadership, the more your work is about the future. At the same time, leaders are practical enough to know that vision without action achieves nothing. They make themselves responsible for helping their followers take action.” Great leaders are BOTH visionary *and* practical.

Today’s songs begin with John Legend, then we travel to the rap of Eminem. Rock takes over for the next three tracks with Evanescence, MxPx and Janis Joplin. It closes out with a very cute video of Rachell Platten and a whole lot of kids and finishes with a classic Fleetwood Mac number: Never tell people how to do Things, tell them what to Do

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

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People are your Assignments!!

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You are always being guided, even when you don’t feel like it. It comes with being part of the human race, a unique human being. We are all in a large classroom called Earth and the people you choose to know and even those we do not give us our assignments in life. How often do you become frustrated with our political leaders even though we have never met them?

So who do we choose as our most personal assignments? Often it is our family, as they are in our lives the longest, even though it may be at some distance later in life. So let us take a journey through our assignments:

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  1. How many people have you met in your life, when you have thought, OMG, I am so glad I am nothing like them. They are there for that exact lesson

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2. Joel Scott Osteen is an American preacher and televangelist. He is the Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas. Osteen’s televised sermons are seen by over 7 million viewers weekly and over 20 million monthly in over 100 countries.  He gives you some sage advice as how to handle fear as an assignment in this quote: Fear and Love.

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3. Number ten is the only one you can read clearly, that’s enough.

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4. Listening to your mind, trying to work out what others want to hear is not the assignment. Deep down in your soul is what you have to say: Shake It Off.

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5. The old 24-hour formulae, we all have the same time in a day, so each of us has the chance to inspire others with our actions.

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6. Self Love first is the prime assignment, hard to give it away if it is not part of our inner being: Stronger.

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7. This is why the idea of war is corrupt as an assignment, we need to end it ASAP.

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8. The second evangelist today, Myles Munroe is slightly more controversial for his stance against gay rights. He is also the author of over twenty philosophical and biblical books. I like this quote though: Ride on Time.

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9. This falls in the category of don’t listen to people’s words, watch their actions. Dreams without actions are very shallow.

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10. What if all mothers had told their children this, what a different world we would live in. Motherhood is a vital assignment: Imagine.

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11. Sometimes assignments with each other can be frivolous, this is one of them, or is it?

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12. I am finding it easier to recognize the latter these days, It’s worth the effort: Adventure of a Lifetime.

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13. Confucius’s principles had a basis in common Chinese tradition and belief. He championed strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, and respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. He also recommended family as a basis for ideal government. He espoused the well-known principle “Do not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself”, the Golden Rule.

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14. Jean-Luc Godard once wrote, “Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoyevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is German music.” Two of his films were listed in Sight and Sounds 100 greatest film ever made: Invisible.

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15. And here is your final assignment, remember it as often as you can.

Remember to work on at least one new assignment AKA personal relationship a week, it will transform your life!!

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

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It fills the cup of Silence.

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My Chinese english student Ginny isn’t coming today, her husband is flying back home so she has to drive him to the airport so I am listening to music and writing todays blog. I thought music would be a great subject to write about. I have 40,000 tunes on my Itunes, I’m a bit addicted, always have been since a young age.

I have been a door-bitch for my musical friends for over 30 years, I love most types of music and support the theory most eras produce some talented people. At the moment Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are playing on my iPhone. I saw him in the Birthday Party many years ago, always worth a listen.

How do you relate to music  , does it pump you up, slow you down or both, let’s have a look what they say about it:

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1. How did you choose your favourite songs? First Love, divorce, losing your virginity are often memorable times.

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2. Thats why we part with our hard earned cash to go and see the greats. They combine words and silence that fills our heart with joy: That’s what I Like.

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3. Your music rends to relief the pain, It’s your gateway to your soul.

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4. Friedrich Nietsche is considered on  of the great philosophers. At the age of 44 he had a complete breakdown and was cared for by his mother and then his sister until his death 11 years later: Without Music.

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5. Backstreet Boy member has had an extraordinary life for 20 years thanks to his musical ability. He is very grateful for it.

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6. Had to laugh at this one, probably true for me though: Life is like a Song.

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7. What is your soul music, Mine is beautiful deep songs by female singer songwriters.

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8. Have had many of these outbursts over my 62 years, the last was at a Safer Youssef, a mystical experience: Soupir Eternel.

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9. I always thought that I couldn’t sing until I met my friend Kavisha Mazzella, an award winning singer songwriter and beautifully hearted soul and my choir leader, you can listen to her at http://www.kavisha.com.

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10. There are so many songs that fill my dreams, what are yours: Dream a little Dream of Me.

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11. Love an acronym, this is a powerful one.

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12. I have made many a good friend I met at music gigs watching bands we both appreciated: Make you feel my Love.

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13. Passion, Joy, Heartbreak, Power. All have their specific songs.

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14. The Bard, taught at most western English speaking schools , you either loved or hated him. His words could make the earth shudder, didn’t know he discover earth music though: Earth Song.

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15. I went to a funeral of a friends father. He had them play Smoke, Smoke that Cigarette as one of the tunes. He died from lung cancer. I haven’t chosen the music for mine yet, I may not have heard it yet.

Music is a constant part of our lives, some of it we love , other styles we hate. My big secret, I love pop divas, very uncool in the live music scene.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

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It’s often its own Reward!!

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Being rewarded, is that receiving you a financial salary for what you do in life? Or is it a more spiritual path as spoken of by luminaries like His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra and Carolyn Myss.

Above me, there is a flier advertising the Compassionate Voices Community Choir quoting words such as Rejoice, Improve, Connect and Learn. If this is what being Compassionate has to offer I’m on board.

In our busy lives, compassion is one of those things that is easy to drop out, for ourselves and others. So let’s have a look at what society has said to remind us not to do that over the centuries:

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1. I recently read a quote that said do not complain for 24 hours, not even once and your life would transform. I can imagine the same applies for judging oneself and others.

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2. Putting life off is not a part of a Compassionate journey. it would be like being in the now moment to moment. How much more would you get done if you did not procrastinate over things: Do It Right Now.

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3. Grandparents are old, even older than our parents, and our younger siblings, why do they cling so hard? These are ideas you need to transform because you will probably be all these things sometime in your life.

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4. Always have a mirror around so that you can remember you always have someone to practice compassion with, the most important person in your life: Compassion.

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5. Compassion has some worth housemates, these are some of them.

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6. Compassion, another name could be heart to heart surgery: Open Your Heart.

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7. How would the world transform if we taught compassion in the education system as well as knowledge? I say it would be a very different place.

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8. The compulsory cute animal photo quote, If you don’t ask or act what you think is purely supposition: Rolling In the Deep.

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9. As Byron Katie said in her quote we always have someone to practice compassion with. And when we get that down pat we can then open our heart to others.

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10. I’m the leader, the leader of the gang of compassion I am, so can you be too: Leader of the Pack.

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11. Each of our senses has a purpose that can empower our lives and the world.

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12. Probably better known as Uma Thurman’s dad, Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born August 3, 1941) is an American Buddhist writer and academic who has written, edited or translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He is the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, holding the first endowed chair in this field of study in the United States. He also is the co-founder and president of the Tibet House New York and is active against the People’s Republic of China’s control of Tibet: Om Mani Pad Me Hung.

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13. Have compassion for the days to come, keep growing and creating the best day of your life.

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14. Thoughts don’t get a lot done, it needs physical actions as well for anything to happen: Would You.

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15. They call it the technological revolution, don’t forget the spiritual technologies such as compassion, kindness, serenity, mindfulness and humility.

Remember to look in the mirror when you first get up and say I Love You then go and pass it on to whoever you come across during the day.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Namaste2

 

Migrant or Refugee?

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I went to my friend Kavisha Mazzella’s first solo art exhibition yesterday and she sang a song of her nonna’s story. Her grandmother was a refugee from Burma who  had to flee when the Japanese started bombing and invading Burma and the Anglo Burmese had to flee the invasion. Here is the song: Fisherman’s Daughter.

It made me think how you become a refugee , the previous century had two world wars that saw many nationalities in the European sector become refugees and this century has seen more Asian, middle eastern and African countries due to civil wars and invasion by western countries.

What did the world do and what will it continue to do with these people who have suffered having to flee their own homeland because they have no other option.

The 15 quotes I have chosen cover statements about and people who have experienced being a refugee, let us begin the journey:

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1. This pope has to keep reminding us that migrants and refugees are actually human beings as well , mothers fathers, sons , daughters , uncles and aunties as some nations have started to forget.

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2. Each of us come on to the planet as a bouncing baby, some healthier than others, but none of us are illegal.

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3. Communication between nations or Interculturalism: Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included would solve many of the problems that occur when people are branded migrant or refugee. I have created a Facebook Page to assist this to happen : Interculturalism.

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4. On the page I talk about above I posted a quote that says if you call your self a christian or a muslim or an Italian or English you are being violent. On of you do not say you are from a particular religion or country are you not because you are owning being a human being totally. These flags above represent what is one of the major problems migrants and refugees face.

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5. We can never tell what our journey will contain, unfortunately for the migrant and refugee the struggle is much more difficult than those who live in the country they are fleeing to.

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6. For many of the families in my country of Australia, this is how they arrived, with one suitcase each. They made a successful life for their families from this difficult beginning.

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7. One of the difficulties forced on migrants and refugees is that they must become …….., the question to be asked of the nation saying that is would your citizens do it if the situation was reversed and you were the Other.

 

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8. We have all seen pictures of refugees camps and people crossing dangerous oceans in boats. Why do we wonder then when these same people make such wonderful citizens after putting up with these treacherous journeys to get to a safer country to call home.

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9. This is a very broad statement, we probably do it to our own family at times, so how do we do this to people from countries we know very little about. Take the time to get to know people, especially new arrivals to your country.

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10. This is what mainstream media forget when they place labels on people fleeing danger in their own countries. It is normally a label that has caused them to leave.

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11. Tshibanda Gracia Ngoy fled tribal conflict in 2005 from Nigeria. In 2012 she was a finalist in the NSW Young Australian of the Year and a member of the NSW Multicultural Youth Network. A commerce and communications degree student at Wollongong University, Gracia Ngoy is also a caseworker for refugee families, a youth motivational speaker and a member of the Illawarra Regional Advisory Council and the NSW Multicultural Youth Network.  Gracia, who speaks five languages, arrived in Australia with her family in 2005 after fleeing tribal conflict in the troubled Democratic Republic of Congo. After settling in Wollongong, she took up an offer of free homework tutoring, simultaneously signing up as a mentor for others. An accredited freelance journalist, Gracia recently published her first book entitled A Little Recipe for Success which aims to inspire young people to live successful, fulfilled and purposeful lives.  She has also written numerous articles aimed at breaking down cultural barriers between her native Congo and Australia.  Awarded the prestigious Australian Young People’s Human Rights Medal, Gracia was also named 2010 Wollongong Young Citizen of the Year. Drawing on the wisdom of personal experience, Gracia is determined to help the ‘many people living shattered lives who have been tied up by their past experiences and challenges.’

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12. What you let your government get away with when dealing with members of their citizenship, especially their migrants and refugees build the future way you are treated as well.

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13. This man is considered one of our greatest minds to have ever lived on the planet, he was a refugee.

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14.  António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres,  born 30 April 1949) is a former Portuguese politician who was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. He also served for a time as President of the Socialist International. He served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. This is what he say about accusing refugees of being terrorists.

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15. This has  been forgotten in our country, in fact we call them illegal and take away their rights to live as a human being saying they do not have a right to live here and send them to gulags.

So my request is that you spend time getting to know the migrants and refugees in your country. Only then will we realise that they are fellow human beings not terrorists. Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included.

Namaste until Thursday, my dear friends.

Namaste2

It goes to my Heart.

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My empathic traits are returning big time. Recently a friend posted a picture of her self with her girlfriends on Facebook and all the quotes were gorgeous, stunning,powerful women etc, etc. I felt like crying for her because all I could feel was the immense sadness emanating from her body. She had just returned from overseas and had posted how she was having difficulty assimilating back after separating from her lover who lives in another country.

so you know I like lists and the number 15 so here are 15 quotes or sayings about empathy and being an empath.

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1. Is being an empath a good thing or a bad thing, you can shut your eyes and block things out but when you feel it in your heart it doesn’t go away, light or shadow.

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2. Seeing Listening and Feeling, the three major skills of an empath that allow you to heal others and let them know that someone else relates to what they are going through.

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3. Our intuitive streak, Empathy, gut feeling when all our logical sensibilities are telling us to go the other way, yes you are an Empath and the former win out most of the time.

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4. We speak our truth, this may be after a very rocky journey, See most of humanity doesn’t and you can see it.

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5. Blessed are the few, and when we hone in on the suffering of the planet it sometimes feels like a curse. It takes inner strength to be an Empath.

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6. As an empath you can help heal other people with one word or one touch or lots of words or touches. But you are there for others as your dominant purpose on the planet.

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7. As an empathic individual you may go through rough patches where what is happening around you in the world is all consuming and saddens you. At this time its goodto remember your purpose is that of a healer.

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8. Imagine if all of our judges were Empaths. Would it change the sentencing of prisoners if the judge could feel the pain that they had suffered during their lives. A worthy experiment.

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9. With training and practice you can lessen the effect of outside energy but also must be aware of your internal energies. its up to us to be the change in the planets energy.

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10. As empaths we attend to attract likeminded people and you hear real stories, not its good and I feel fine. THis is raw honest communication, Yummy.

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11. Its Tenzin Gyatso, HHDL 80th Birthday, he is one of our spiritual leaders and he keeps pointing us towards the responsibility that being an empath is, keep on track.

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12. As empaths you don’t need to be directly adjacent to the person to sense whats going on, Possibly could be the reason why so many Empaths I know become Reiki masters and distance healers.

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13. One of my empathic friends formed a Facebook group called the Anchors of Love, thats what i see the purpose of me being an empath is, to send out the Love.

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14. A funny analogy, putting yourself in another socks, but this is what we do when we want to be comfortable to share whats going on, we take off our shoes and sometime even our socks and become more vulnerable.

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15 When I was downloading the images I lost count and only did 14 so I had to find another one. I found this piece of powerful writing. The quest for Love Justice and wisdom after the heroes journey. The uniting of dreamers, we can change the world.

Well we have reached the end, so time to sign off. Namaste my friends until next time.

Namaste

Small Changes, Big Results

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

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

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

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

1. You are exactly where you need to be.

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

2. Trust yourself Vs. the Doubting monster.

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

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

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

4. Never stop learning.

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

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5.Develop a Gratitude practice.

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

  1. Feeling more connected (less lonely)
  2. Strengthened immune system
  3. Improved emotional equilibrium
  4. Better sleep
  5. Increased energy
  6. More confidence in ourselves
  7. Deeper relaxation
  8. Appear more attractive to others
  9. Increased creativity
  10. Easier bounce back from difficulty

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

6. Sun Gazing.

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

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

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

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

Namaste until next time, my friends.

Namaste