You don’t always need a Plan!!

Posted on February 23, 2019 by Rod's World

There are times in our life when we need to be motivated, here are some reminders from Marc Chernoff, author of the great book, Getting Back to Happy with his partner, Angel: Here’s the link.

1. You can press forward long after you can’t. It’s just a matter of wanting it bad enough.

2. Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. Since birth, it has always been a sign that you’re alive and full of potential.

3. Give up worrying what others think of you. What they think isn’t important. What is important is how you feel about yourself.

4. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today and you pay close attention, you’ll often find you’re right.

5. You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have.

6. A problem is a chance for you to learn.

7. You must see things how they are instead of how you hoped, wished or expected them to be.

8. Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Let it Go.

9. Tough times never last, but tough people do.

10. Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

11. Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.

12. Mistakes teach you important lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal. The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.

13. If it’s out of your control why fret about it? Concentrating on things you can control is how you make good things happen.

14. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.

15. Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.

What has the world said over time to motivate itself, here are a few of my favourites:

1. The old imagine they are naked public speaking trick reversed because this time you are.

2. You come to that twin fork in the road, take the road less travelled: Hit the road, Jack.

3. If you are going to the gym to find it, turn around, it’s inside you, not in the weight room.

4. The comfort zone is the home of the lounge lizard, not Nobel prize winners: Out of Tower Song.

5. What did you discover after your worst fall?

6. Treat people how you wish them to treat you: Treat me like Somebody.

7. Live out your dreams, they are worth it.

8. One foot in front of each other still means you are on the path of fulfilling your dreams: One Foot.

9. Plan it, then allow for the time it will take.

10. John Michael Green is an American author, vlogger, producer, and educator. He won the 2006 Printz Award for his debut novel, Looking for Alaska, and his fourth solo novel, The Fault in Our Stars, debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list in January 2012. The 2014 film adaptation opened at number one at the box office. In 2014, Green was included in Time magazine’s list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World. Another film based on a Green novel, Paper Towns, was released on July 24, 2015: It Hurts.

11. Jim Rohn points out sometimes we may have simply chosen the wrong path.

12. Just, because: Black Coffee.

13. Motivation 101.

14. Makes me think of William Wallace and his wee band of men: Freedom Speech.

15. You can make an excuse and not do what it will take or you can travel forward towards what your dreams in life are.

So a few questions: What stands between you and happiness, Are you holding on to something you need to let go, What is the biggest challenge you face right now and finally, If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently.

The playlist today begins with Ray Charles as we hit the road, then we continue to the musical Tangled. Three newbies to me follow: Tink, Walk the Moon and Emeli Sande. Then the sultry Peggy Lee and we end with Mel Gibson aka William Wallace: You don’t always need a Plan.

To live my life from Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included does not always need a plan, just a way of being. Until we meet again my dear friends, let’s live a motivated life.

Make Your Life Simple But Significant!!

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Rod's World

Someday life seems so complicated, yet other days we are in total flow: What is the difference? My friend Marc Chernoff suggests that there are things we should cease doing so we have more days of the latter. Here are Marc’s ideas:

Stop berating yourself for being a work in progress.
Stop doing immoral things just because you can.
Stop meaning what you don’t say.
Stop wasting time and money trying to acquire more of everything.
Stop spending time with negative people.
Stop trying to change people.
Stop being lazy and cutting corners.
Stop procrastinating,
Stop worrying and complaining.
Stop being dramatic.
Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
Stop making promises you can’t keep.
Stop blaming others.
Stop reacting without a plan.
Stop confusing being busy with being productive.
Stop over-committing and trying to do too much at once.
Stop being inefficient simply because you’ve always done it that way.
Stop cluttering your space.
Stop overloading your mind by consuming useless information.
Stop obsessing over the past and the future.
Stop waiting for things to be perfect.
Stop focussing so much energy on trying to avoid mistakes.
Stop making emotional decisions.
Stop being unhealthy.
Stop holding onto intimate relationships that make you unhappy.
Stop holding onto hate.
Stop pretending like you know everything.
Stop giving what you don’t want to receive.

Deep down in our hearts, we know these things would be good for us if we took them on. I wouldn’t recommend taking more than a few at a time, there is that adage new habits take 21 days to cement in place.

How far back does the advice on living life with ease go? Let’s have a look:

1. Apparently, a long way: here is some wisdom on the subject from Confucius, who lived in China in the Fifth Century B.C.

2. Time in nature is such a decluttering of the mind: Medicine.

3. Some people prefer to complicate their life and even die before they make the changes that will benefit them.

4. Physically steps are always forward, metaphorically, I am not so sure: Neon Blue.

5. And then there is always an act of service.

6. Are Kiss really a rock group on an acronym for a life less complicated: I was made for Loving You.

7. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.

8. Self-explanatory really, each sunrise brings a new beginning if we are willing: A New Day Has Come.

9. Start learning from your mistakes. Smile, then move on.

10, Nike!!: Beat It.

11. Love and Respect for All, Everybody Included.

12. To turn left or right at the intersection, either way, It could profoundly change your life: Thinking Out Loud.

13, Mini de complication list.

14, Less complicated does not mean easy to do, they are entirely different things: It’s Not Easy,

15, Finally, a reminder to surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be:, they are totally on your side.

What could you do to make your days less complicated, I’m sure there is something in this list that could empower you to live a less cluttered life, physically and mentally, go forward and try some on.

Today’s playlist contains some of the music industry heavies. We begin with the newbies, Queen Naija and Steps. Then four monoliths – Kiss, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and Ed Sheeran. We finish with a visit to the African continent with Lucky Dube: Make Your Life Simple But Significant.

A way I find to not complicate my life is to show Love and Respect to All, Everyone Included. Best wishes until next time we meet, my dear friends.

Take me to the River!!

Posted on October 30, 2018 by Rod's World

Several members of my year-long training program, The Warriors of Love went on an Essence outing to see Dr Joe Dispenza. He was spruiking his new book, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon: Get it Here.

Joe talked about that he began to ask himself:

‘What if people begin to believe in themselves instead of something outside of themselves? What if they believe that they can change something inside of them and move themselves to the same state of being as someone who’s taking a placebo? Isn’t that what our workshop participants have been doing in order to get better? Do people really need a pill or injection to change their state of being? Can we teach people to accomplish the same thing by teaching them how the placebo really works?’

He calls this crossing the river of change. Joe speaks about this:

“Crossing the river of change requires that you leave the same familiar predictable self— connected to the same thoughts, same choices, same behaviours, and same feelings—and step into a void of the unknown. The gap between the old self and the new self is the biological death of your old personality. If the old self must die, then you have to create a new self with new thoughts, new choices, new behaviours, and new emotions. Entering this river is stepping toward a new unpredictable, unfamiliar self. The unknown is the only place where you can create—you cannot create anything new from the known.

“Some people call this experience the dark night of the soul. It’s the phoenix igniting itself and burning to ashes. The old self has to die for a new one to be reborn. Of course, that feels uncomfortable!”

So when did you last or have you ever crossed the River of Change, entered the dark night of the soul? We know our favourite cereal, or favourite cafe and our favourite TV show very well. How does the world relate to this, let’s have a look:

1. Why is it worth doing, because with the dark naturally comes the light.

2. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old, and wrote in a variety of styles, including surrealist poems, historical epics, overtly political manifestos, a prose autobiography, and passionate love poems such as the ones in his collection Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (1924). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971: Pablo Neruda.

3. The unknown is the only place where you can create—you cannot create anything new from the known.

4. Oh death remorseless, consume this flesh. Release this soul to begin afresh, truly magnificent: Hold On.

5. You have to pay the full price to reach the other side.

6. Many people reach out for a superior being after entering this space: I Wanna Dance with Somebody.

7. after the death of her father from cancer, Joan, a medical researcher, became more interested in the person with the illness than in the disease itself and returned to Harvard Medical School to complete a second postdoctoral fellowship, this time in the new field of behavioural medicine.

8. Free hugs gain you entry: Hugging You.

9. This may happen along the way, but your new created life awaits you.

10. Your old thoughts will hold on tightly, they will not want you to leave: The Sounds of Silence.

11. Joe must have been influenced by Carl, methinks.

12. In that dark night, it is the voice of the soul that gets us through to the other side: King of Anything.

13. Your heart burning up during the dark night of the soul. Don’t worry, it will come out all new and shiny on the other side, created by you.

14. Without the Dark, no Lights: Starman.

15. And finally what Joe says entering the dark night of the soul will provide: UncoverYourJoy.com.

I will finish with Joe’s main premise: “If this is your personality then your personality creates your personal reality. It’s that simple. And your personality is made up of how you think, how you act, and how you feel. So the present personality who is reading this page has created the present reality called your life; and that also means that if you want to create a new personal reality—a new life—then you have to begin to examine or think about the thoughts you’ve been thinking and change them. You must become conscious of the unconscious behaviours you’ve been choosing to demonstrate that have led to the same experiences, and then you must make new choices, take new actions, and create new experiences.”

Today’s playlist begins with my dear friend Kavisha Paola Mazzella, one of the truly superb voices. next Wilson Phillips, daughters of very famous 60’s musicians. Then a Whitney Houston power ballad. Over to the men for Tom Rosenthal and Disturbed. Penultimate is Sarah Bareilles, finishing with Sir David: Take Me to the River.

Love and Respect for All, Everyone Included until we meet again, my dear friends.

The Power of Hope!!

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Rod's World

I haven’t written a political blog for a long time but I am reading the inspirational story of Kon Karapanagiotidis, CEO of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre here in Melbourne, Australia. The ASRC, as it is known is a refugee centre which receives no government funding who assists refugees who have nowhere else to go as there are people placed on our streets with minimal or no funding at all due to the harsh immigration policies of our federal government towards asylum seekers. Today, they are the largest independent human rights organisation for refugees and people seeking asylum, delivering more services on the ground than any other independent asylum seeker organisation in the country. Our work on the frontline with people seeking asylum informs our practice and enables us to effectively advocate for, and alongside people with lived experience.

The Official title of the book is The Power of Hope or: How Community, Love and Compassion can change our World: Link to buy it. It is the amazing tale of how Kon, himself from a refugee family in Australia came to set up this amazing organisation that has helped thousands of refugees survive in a country that has made the words asylum seeker dirty words.

So what is the official definition of the term Asylum Seeker, here it is: a person who, from fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, social group, or political opinion, has crossed an international frontier into a country in which he or she hopes to be granted refugee status.

How does the world speak about these two words, let’s have a look:

1. There are those rare people who have existed on earth who can hold values as high as these, Martin Luther King was one of them.

2. Labels are used to make people forget this, especially by mainstream media and governments: Human.

3. There is not a choice between staying behind and taking a bullet and getting on a rickety boat to seek asylum.

4. Often a family has to decide which member of a family to send to seek asylum as they cannot afford the exorbitant rates that money grabbing people such as boat smugglers demand people to seek safety, how would you feel if you had to leave your daughter behind.: The Best Day.

5. There are people running our country who have this fear and shame in their policy decisions.

6. There is a particular minister, Peter Dutton, who is digging a very deep grave for the reputation of our country worldwide: Set Fire to The Rain.

7. The two largest words say it all really, Human Rights.

8. This statement from ancient Greece sums up how mainstream media reports asylum seeking in our country these days: Believe Me.

9. Especially if your destination was Australia by boat, it means 5 years in a detention centre, including your children.

10. Especially if they are a fascist right-wing government as holds sway in Australia regarding asylum seekers: Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.

11. Considered the founder of modern nursing, Florence has captured truly where our government has taken the boat arrival discussion in our country.

12. Kon has transformed a lot of ordinary Australian into non-spectators regarding the human rights of the people who are besmirched as boat people by our mainstream media courtesy of the evil media magnate Rupert Murdoch: Get Up, Stand Up.

13. Had to sneak in the worst long-term refugee cruelty, seeing Israeli snipers deliberately shoot children brought tears to my eyes, and I do not cry.

14. And what can we do about it, this group of school children spent a night in this cage to show their solidarity and disgust for the situations on the islands where children are held on a long-term basis: Who I Am.

15. Warsan Shire is a 30-year-old British writer, poet, editor and teacher, who was born to Somali parents in Kenya, East Africa. In 2013 she was awarded the inaugural Brunel University African Poetry Prize, chosen from a shortlist of six candidates out of a total 655 entries. Her words “No one leaves home unless/home is the mouth of a shark”, from the poem “Conversations about Home (at a deportation centre)”, have been called “a rallying call for refugees and their advocates”.

So I will finish with Kon’s words on the back cover of his book: “I hope you take from this book the message that we all matter. That there is a place for all of us. That once we know our own voice, live the values close to our hearts and follow our dreams, we can be unstoppable. Hope is only exhausted if we forsake ourselves, otherwise, no one can take our hope from us. It is both our sanctuary and our destiny to live a life with love, belonging, connection and community.” Thank you Kon Karapanagiotidis, you rock!!

Two classics amongst the songs today, we begin with the fine voice of Rag N’ Bone Man, two pop divas follow, Taylor Swift and Adele. Then a rapper new to me, Fort Minor. The superb Otis Redding and Bob Marley finishing with the Disney interpretation of Natasha Bedingfield. Here’s the playlist: The Power of Hope.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

There is a voice that doesn’t use Words!!

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Rod's World

It’s here, arrived in the mailbox today, Yay!!. I’m talking about Marc and Angel Chernoff’s wonderful new book Getting Back to Happy: Here’s the Link. I have been a huge fan of theirs since I came across their first book and their Facebook page a couple of years ago, definitely one of the top five list creators on Social media. if you are one of my booker lookers you know I share their posts unashamedly because they can make a profound difference.

I used the method I always use when I write about their insights, open to a page and the right thing will be there, so on page 52 in the Mindfulness chapter is the following piece of wisdom – Inner Peace is Knowing how to belong to oneself, without external validation: In order to understand the world you have to turn away from it on occasion. Sometimes the need to justify yourself to others causes you to cease to be at peace with your thoughts. Don’t look for anyone else to give you permission to be yourself, or validation to be happy in the present moment.

So let’s wander off into the world of Inner peace and see what wonderful quotes have been expressed about it over time:

1. I had an amazing example of this in my life recently. I became seriously content for the first time in my life, and in doing so I gave up the wish that the women I had met had to be the one, something that had been controlling my thoughts for months.

2. From one of the two greatest philosophers in the world, Ms Unknown and Anon. comes a reminder to be calm in your heart: A Great Big World.

3. Although born a prince, Buddha Sakyamuni realized that conditioned experiences could not provide lasting happiness or protection from suffering. After a long spiritual search, he went into deep meditation, where he realized the nature of mind. He achieved the state of unconditional and lasting happiness: the state of enlightenment, of Buddhahood. This state of mind is free from disturbing emotions and expresses itself through fearlessness, joy and active compassion. For the rest of his life, the Buddha taught anyone who asked how they could reach the same state.

4. How much my inner proofreader wants to change center to centre but for my American friends I will give that thought up: Riders on the Storm.

5. We all have this within us, its called the shadow and the light, they travel together.

6. 42: Silence is Golden.

7. They say time is money, they cannot pay you enough for this.

8. The place to start looking for it is inner, not outer so what they do doesn’t threaten your Inner Peace: Hello.

9. Hi, my name is Zero (really). I’m the author of Not Everyone Will Understand Your Journey: Lessons learned from the path less travelled. Some of the work I’ve written over the past few years has been shared millions of times across the internet, so there’s a good chance you’ve already read some of it — although it doesn’t always have my name attached. Cool name.

10. You can become such a famous cartoon bear I don’t even have to put the name down here: Anything is Possible.

11. Francis de Sales was a Bishop of Geneva and is honoured as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.

12. How often do you ask yourself, who am I really: Remember Who You Are.

13. Love me some heart opening, any time of the day!!

14. My daily to-do list: I Gotta Find Peace of Mind.

15. it reads like ancient hieroglyphics, but you get the point don’t you.

I’ll finish with some more wise words from Marc and Angel – It’s important to remind ourselves that the greatest enemy of good thinking and mindfulness is busyness. We all have seasons of wild schedules, but very few of us have a legitimate need to be busy all the time. Too often, we simply don’t know how to prioritize well and say no when we should.

The playlist for today begins with Christine Aguilera, then back in time to The Doors and The Tremeloes. Back to the present with Adele then an iconic Aussie band of rockers Icehouse, some wisdom from the Lion King, finishing with some soulful Lauryn Hill.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.

I am in Charge of how I Feel!!

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Rod's World

Marc and Angel Chernoff’s book 1,000+ little things Happy Successful People do differently is one of the best buys I ever made. Unfortunately it is not available at the moment because it has gone for re editing. They are releasing a new book Getting Back to Happy: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Reality, and Turn Your Trials into Triumphs: which ships 22nd May 2018. Their website http://www.marcandangel.com/ has all the details and many of their fantastic lists to help you live a great life.

I opened the book today and the page was entitled Self Love Questions to make you think. The first question is : If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend? There are nine other questions just as confronting and insightful about how we relate to self-love.

So what vignettes do we release into the world regarding this often hard emotion, let’s take a journey:

1. At times we need to do this to our dear old brain. its our own worst enemy.

2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, remember to behold yourself first and foremost: Beautiful.

3. Lalah Delia is the founder of VibrateHigherDaily.com and Vibrate Higher Daily Blog. Vibrate Higher Daily is a sacred online space for personal growth, elevation, and transformation. By creating the hashtag #VibrateHigherDaily as a personal journey mantra and reminder, a new path was born. Soon, many others also journeying towards living their highest potential took community and joined in.

4. Not taken or single – Self Loved: I’m Real.

5. Such beautiful words to remember: You can’t lose you.

6. I had a session with my mentor the other day, He asked me who was I trying to be, and that wasn’t who I really was. I have fallen in love with the fact I will never be this more available Rod, I will be kind, supporting and loving Rod: I will Survive.

7. Or your kingdom, I think all of humanity could do with this list.

8. We all abhor violence toward others , why do we insist on regularly doing it to ourselves: Self Esteem.

9. How much has the person in your mirror been through, three cheers, they are still standing!!

10. Handed out at birth, keep working on it: Superpower.

11. Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Ever.

12. Pierre was a French tragedian in the 16th century. He probably wrote this so we could avoid this other works: Alive.

13. André Gide (French: was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 “for his comprehensive and artistically significant writings, in which human problems and conditions have been presented with a fearless love of truth and keen psychological insight”. That’s one hell of a way to say Self-Love.

14. We can see the magic in you so don’t forget that it’s there: All of Me.

And finally, remember self love can not come from another.

One more question from Marc and Angel: What’s something Nobody can ever steal from you – let’s go for Self Love.

Our music today is dominated by women. We start with Christina Aguilera, then Jennifer Lopez, travel back to the 70’s with Gloria Gaynor, then a sad number from The Offspring, to the mighty Beyonce, followed by Sia ending up with John Legend.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Be brave with your Life!!

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Rod's World

Just received Brendon Burchard’s new free book, High-Performance Habits – you actually pay the postage and handling in the mail and the premise of it is six habits, three personal and three social. The personal ones are Seek Clarity, Generate Energy, and Raise Necessity. The Social Ones are Increase Productivity, Develop Influence and Demonstrate Courage.

As Mark Twain relates ” Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.” When we first do something that contains fear, such as skydiving, the level of fear first time is quite high, or at least it was for me. But the more we do something the more comfortable we get with it. That’s why leading a courageous life can also increase our fearlessness.

What have people said about having a dose of courage over the years, here are the quotes I have chosen:

1. Who is your standalone hero or heroine, Gandhi, Malala, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa? Or is it just someone from your local community?

2. Everyday courage could mean keeping a positive attitude or taking action despite great uncertainty, bad health or hardship such as sharing unpopular ideas or showing up every day for work even when things are tough at the office: What’s Going On.

3. Mainstream media and our government are telling us to be afraid of Africans with one politician stating that people were afraid to go out because they were afraid of being followed home by an African and having their home invaded. No courage there!!

4. Feel that tremor in your heartbeat, that’s the recipe for courage, go out and do it anyway: The Climb.

5. Unconditional Love, the ultimate emotion – includes trusting someone besides yourself.

6. One of my top ten, Brene Brown. Netflix or ring that person you have been putting that conversation off with, you choose which will have the most positive effect in your life: Be Brave, Show Up.

7. My favourite E. E. Cummings poem is the following: I carry your heart with Me, here it is:

I carry your heart with me ( I carry it in my heart ) I am never without it ( anywhere I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling

I fear no fate ( for you are my fate, my sweet ) I want no world ( for beautiful, you are my world, my true ) and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will sing is you

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows ( Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide ) and this is the wonder that keeps the stars apart

I carry your heart with me ( I carry it in my heart )

To love that much is an act of immense courage.

8. The dark and the light, Fear and Courage, they travel with each other: So What.

9. Every great adventure began by putting one foot in front of another, the courage is in taking the first step.

10 Who remembers the cheesy song from the Mickey Mouse club, one of Walt’s first creations: The original mouskeeters.

11. Every year my friend Emeli from Collective Potential produces a workbook to implement 2018. This year its called On Purpose. If you would like a copy, join Collective Potential on Facebook and there is a link.

12. One of my other blogs is about this amazing woman Maya Angelou.

Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist, and civil rights, activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and was credited with a list of plays, movies, and television shows spanning over 50 years. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees. Angelou is best known for her series of seven autobiographies, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her life up to the age of 17 and brought her international recognition and acclaim.

She became a poet and writer after a series of occupations as a young adult, including fry cook, sex worker, nightclub dancer and performer, cast member of the opera Porgy and Bess, coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and journalist in Egypt and Ghana during the decolonization of Africa. She was an actor, writer, director, and producer of plays, movies, and public television programs. In 1982, she was named the first Reynolds Professors of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was active in the Civil Rights Movement and worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Beginning in the 1990s, she made around 80 appearances a year on the lecture circuit, something she continued into her eighties. In 1993, Angelou recited her poem “On the Pulse of Morning” (1993) at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration, making her the first poet to make an inaugural recitation since Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961: Maya on Courage.

13. Bravery is a synonym for Courage I think. As well as heroism, potvaliant, and valiancy.

14. Some truth is spoken by the cigar smoker: Hot N Cold.

15. Unusual image, looks like the fish is definitely not in the right spot.

You are capable of remarkable things that you could never foretell and will never discover without courageous action, please take it.

Music this week comes from Marvin Gaye, Pink, Brene Brown, Maya Angelou, the Mickey Mouse Club and one of my favourite pop divas, Katie Perry.

Namste until next time, my dear friends.

I’m going to see the World!!

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Rod's World

How do you see the world? Gabrielle Bernstein says you can change the way through the statement – When i lean on certainty and faith I change my mind about the World I See. What does she mean by this statement? Is it that when you believe in what you believe in you do not have to fall for what mainstream media is trying to push down your throat what you are meant to believe about what goes on day to day.

Let’s have a look at ways to do this, there are many:

1. Do you open up your creativity to see the many different ways that it permits you to relate to the extraordinary journey that our lives are.

2. I recently learnt that I had very western values about the Chinese culture when I became an English tutor for three Chinese mothers. I learnt as much each lesson about China as they did about the English language each lesson. It’s a great way to find out how sheltered how you see the world is: Curious.

3. I watched a documentary about Romania, the host was appearing on a fashion reality show as thousands of people were protesting on the streets because the government were trying to legitimise corruption.

4. How much do we owe to the photographers that travel the world and capture the images that make us go : I’ve never thought that way about that place. Alex Sattler is one of them: Photograph.

5. I Think Maya is giving permission to young women to listen to their hearts and not what the fashion magazines tell them is their role in life with this statement.

6. Dali and Picasso see the world very differently to a landscape or portrait artist. Yet each is revealing his soul on the canvas: Art for Arts Sake.

7. I was in Leningrad the year before the Berlin Wall came down and Communism ended in the Soviet Union, the people we meant said they loved Russia, but they just made a mistake 70 years ago, Now known as St. Petersburg, it is a beautiful city.

8. My sister takes thousands of photo’s when she travels the world, I don’t think one of them is of the local airport: Leaving on a Jet Plane.

9. You don’t need to leave your lounge room, to have these if you are , curious that is. Although I imagine that will not be the case.

10. Shaw’s expressed views were often contentious; he promoted eugenics and alphabet reform, and opposed vaccination and organised religion. He courted unpopularity by denouncing both sides in the First World War as equally culpable, He really meant keep yourself clean and bright: Windows of the World.

11. How would life be, if this statement was true for each of us every day.

12. The general theme of Rumi’s thought, like that of other mystic and Sufi poets of Persian literature, is that of tawhid — union with the Beloved, from whom he sees himself as being cut off and aloof. His longing and desire to attain it is evident in the following poem from his book the Masnavi:

I died to the mineral state and became a plant,
I died to the vegetable state and reached animality,
I died to the animal state and became a man,
Then what should I fear? I have never become less from dying.
At the next charge (forward) I will die to human nature,
So that I may lift up (my) head and wings (and soar) among the angels,
And I must (also) jump from the river of (the state of) the angel,
Everything perishes except His Face,
Once again I will become sacrificed from (the state of) the angel,
I will become that which cannot come into the imagination,
Then I will become non-existent; non-existence says to me (in tones) like an organ,
Truly, to Him is our return: Rumi, The Beloved.

13. So are our opinions of people, as this is what we see people doing.

14. The Chinese certainly have some quirky quotes, but they always hit home: Plant more Trees.

15. So, remember to be curious and question what you think you can see or are told about our beautiful planet, or the above statement may be true.

We have the opportunity each day to do something about the planet, is it because we do not have the faith and certainty that what we believe is worthwhile or is necessarily true. It’s time to stand up for it.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

When basic becomes complicated, Simplify!!

Posted on October 23, 2017 by Rod's World

Einstein said many things, but one of his most profound quotes was “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it to yourself”.

In this crazy tech driven society of ours people seem to have forgotten that life is meant to be about simplicity. Sunsets and Sunrises, rainbows, walking the dog, the simple tasks of life. In the excellent book about human nature; Selfish, Scared and Stupid by Dan Gregory & Kieran Flanagan: SSS article. they wrote a cheat sheet to keep it simple, here it is:

Make it Simple Shortcuts

We are already ridiculously busy and overloaded with information, so make things easy to digest and simple to action.
If you make our lives more complicated, we will simply ignore you.
We have more options than we need, so make yours simpler to understand.
If you can’t fit it onto a post-it or explain it to a six year old, it needs simplifying.
Identify the most basic need or value you need to satisfy and start there.
Information curators are the new power brokers.

Bruce Lee hits the nail squarely on the head: If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. So what has society thought about simplicity over the generations, let’s have a look:

1. How many of these don’t you do because of the complications you have made them mean, change to the simplicity of this list.

2. Two and a half thousand years ago Confucius gave the world this piece of advice, do you think we listened. Get out your Iphone and ask a friend: Simple Life.

3. And from the great series Mad Men, Don Draper offers an advertising executive’s cut at simplicity.

4. My friends daughter Natalie is a minimalist. Here’s some information about it if you don’t know what it is:Minimalism.

5. Never thought I would see the day I would quote Adolf Hitler, but unfortunately he has a point that politicians have been using for centuries.

6. I have to admit that there are complicated things on the planet. Those formulas we see written on those board in films need mathematicians to make them, simply, understandable: Welcome to my Complicated Life.

7. More wisdom from the curly haired one, an example: Steve Jobs and the IPhone, remember the original bricks that were the mobile phone.

8. The process of existing on this planet between sunrise and sunset , what happened?: Sunrise, Sunset.

9. When I was leaving my unit this morning, I noticed the many things I had lying around I have not used in months, time for a clean out.

10. Like this a lot. I must admit when I think of simple that less comes to mind: Clarity.

11. I was surprised Google Images brought up this reference to Bali under make it simple quotes, but then again I have not been there, all my friends who have would probably say it makes perfect sense.

12. It’s in the making of it that the simplicity gets in: Cheap Thrills.

13. What do you want to be when you grow up? Where does all that other shit come from.

14. And when your life is simplified here is one of the greatest and simplest gifts you can give another: Come up and see me, make me Smile.

15. Yes I am of that age where I recognise pictures that are no longer used but where a lot simpler.

A typical supermarket in the modern world holds more than 47,000 products on its shelves. Only 30 years ago , that number was closer to 9,000. Some toothpaste companies produce over 50 products, more than the number of teeth we have in our mouth.

A great definition of simplicity is given by Jonathan Ive, Apples head of design: “True simplicity is derived from so much more than the absence of clutter and ornamentation. It’s about bringing order to complexity”.

The music today is a 70’s classic, a mini doco, some pop divas, a musical classic and an alternative anthem to a simple life, Enjoy.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

You can Play a Shoestring if you’re Sincere!!

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Rod's World

I’m reading s great book called The Big Little Book of Resilience by Matthew Johnstone at the moment. Matthew wrote and illustrated it. It is subtitled How to Bounce back from adversity and lead a fulfilling Life. Each page has a little bit of wisdom with a supportive image.

Accepting what we can and cannot change is one of the most important aspects of understanding resilience. it’s learning to work with and grow what’s right in our lives while accepting, but not putting all our energy into , what’s not.

So bringing sincerity into our lives allows us to see what are our rights and what will empower us. Lets have a look at what people have said about rights over the years:

1. Standing up for your rights means that you do not have to offend or please others all the time, It gives you time to consider them.

2. This brave young woman has raised the voices of half the world’s population: Roar.

3. You have the right to…. it’s up to you, whatever you listen to in your mind takes hold.

4. I have difficulty with one of these, guess which one: Same Love.

5. Our voices are given to us for a reason, It’s you time to use it.

6. I say this to you all, you can do it, you rock: I will Survive.

7. As a race, we have a fair way to go with this one.

8. This year, I became a tutor to three Chinese mothers. Before I did this I didn’t realize who little I know about other cultures on the planet and how much my group of friends is from the one culture: Where is The Love.

9. Mainstream media, Whilst in the hospital with my mum I unfortunately had to view it. The word puerile and the meaning of this question come to mind.

10. As it say above, be a voice. This period of time in raising your your children cannot be taken back without some serious therapy bills if you stuff it up: Teach Your Children Well.

11. How do millions of people turn into killers during the time of war. Often they were neighbors who had lived next to each other peacefully for years and years. The above sentence speaks very loudly.

12. The federal government in my home country, Australia seem to have forgotten this, they are about to implement a national Grade 1 grammar test: Better Place.

13. This haunting image could not let me not include it.

14. I spent many months contemplating this during my dark times. It was not Erin but Ruth and Jann and Hugo who said this to me, not in such dramatic style, but I heard it: Stay.

15. Perhaps best known for the remark in a letter to an Anglican bishop, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men. Donald Trump, or Nelson Mandela who will be remembered in the year 3030?

So I am imploring you to realize that you have rights and you have a voice. It’s our time, Its up to Us, Because we Can.

Namaste, until next time, my dear friends.