A huge, cheery hello to everyone for today’s Friday blog.

And why so cheery I here you say?

Well, that is because I am finally going to take some of my own advice ha ha ah ha – and head off on a vacation……………………………without my laptop.

That’s right ladies and gentleman – I am heading to Japan to indulge in the gorgeousness of all things Japanese and bask in the beauty of the famous Cherry Blossoms.

I am going to resist the urge to answer emails [ though in all honesty I am still taking my i-phone so will have access ], and am going to practice what I preach to the best of my ability. I am going to totally immerse myself in “me time”, with 100% attention given to my travel companion and all we do and see and experience together.

It is time to unplug and really practice the art of enjoying living for a while.

Mindful living.

Purposeful living.

Aware living.

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I was attending a seminar over the weekend when I came across a marvellous quote and it really struck me as so very true. So today I simply want to share that quote with you and invite you to let it settle within you for a while. I have a feeling that the quote is from Iyanla Vanzant –  but am yet to verify its source. So if the source is indeed different, please feel free to let me know and I shall correct that. So here it is:

” Every single person has at least one secret that would break your heart. If we could just remember this, I think there would be a lot more compassion and tolerance in the world”.

 - Iyanla Vanzant

So  - what was your first reaction upon reading that? If you are not sure – just re-read the quote, sit with it and really tune in to how you feel as you read it.

For me – the first sentence is really powerful. I felt an instant “breaking of my heart”……..like an instant connection with anyone in the world who has ever dealt with trauma and pain. Just reading that sentence, somehow sent waves of compassion pouring out of my soul into the Universe somehow.

I felt a natural inclination to want to “heal” these people.

To help them. To show them they are not alone. To show them compassion.

This reaction actually surprised me a little to be honest, and then I moved onto the second sentence:

 If we could just remember this………………

And here in lies the rub.

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Today is Easter Sunday and for this reason I am making this post very brief, as I would assume that most of you would be spending this holiday time doing something fabulous with people you love, rather than sitting at your computer reading my blog ha ha ha.

So – to follow on from my post on Friday: Forgive, Forget and Forge Ahead – My Easter Gift To Y0u, I am leaving you with a wonderful quote by C.S Lewis to continue on this thematic of life renewal at Easter.

You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream – C.S. Lewis

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As we enter into Easter Celebrations I thought I would share with you my take on this time of year.

It is not for me to tell others what to believe, or what to do, at this time of year, because everyone has their own history, beliefs and traditions that inform how they celebrate this special time of the year.

So firstly I wish you a wonderful and meaningful time, in whatever way and ritual that is relevant to you, your families and friends. Read More

I recently had the most enlightening conversation with a friend of mine, over a nice cup of tea and she pointed out a concept that I had never really given much thought.

The idea she presented to me was one of: what exactly is “winning an argument”?

This really is an interesting question and before we go any further I invite you to write down your answer to this question. What would you consider the hallmarks of winning an argument with someone? How do you define “winning” in a conflicting or adversarial situation? Just take 5 minutes to really think about this and jot down four to five responses.

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Today I want to share with you some beautiful words by the wonderful Matthew Fox [ Author of 30 books and an instrumental teacher and scholar in the revival of Western mysticism ].

I was lucky enough to see him speak when he last visited Australia and I have to say that he was beyond inspirational – so I wanted to share this brief passage with you and introduce you to him. It is a great quote and one that really brings into sharp focus the choice that we have each and every day to choose the Beauty in the World around us, or to choose to see The Beast in all that presents in our lives. Hence the title of this blog: Beauty or The Beast – You Decide. Because at the end of the day, it really is a choice that you make, whether you wish to admit to that or not.

This philosophy also feeds into the Ho’oponopono idea that we create everything, everyone, every experience and every situation in our lives. We are but an expression of our thoughts and our ideas. The paradigms that we choose to give life to each and every day.

So the question today is: Do you choose to see the Beauty in all around you? Or do you choose to see and feed The Beast? Read More

If you live in Australia, a certain advertisement and the accompanying song, most likely would have raced into your head as you read this title, and I will happily take your thanks or derision depending on your reaction to that ha ha ha.

For some, having a song rolling about in your head all day is a good thing – but depending on your love or not, of the song choice, this can be a ‘not so good thing’ too ha ha ha. Nonetheless – I shall continue on and hope that those of you with no affinity for this particular song will struggle along with us anyways.

For me this song is one with so much promise, and a perfect lyric that can be well harnessed to steer us through our lives and actualise our ambitions. Read More

Today I want to share with you a thought that wandered through my mind as I floated along on Sydney Harbour during my last Stand Up Paddle Boarding Lesson. As I got into a really good groove with my stroke for the first time, looked out at the incredible day and the sun coming up, I thought to myself – “You absolute idiot…. you nearly missed this incredible morning”.

Why? – because the 5:00am wake up that morning had a tinge of “winter” to it, the air was crisp and the cloud cover hung somewhat solemnly in the sky, without the promise of a sunny day ahead.  My thoughts turned to my irrational fear of being purposefully hunted down by some particularly hard core shark, being bumped off my board and being unceremoniously eaten on that crisp morn. And I felt lazy and more inclined to stay in bed. That seemed a much easier and more pleasant option at the time, all snuggled up in my bedsheets.

Three pretty good reasons to not go to my lesson I thought. Read More

Lately I am being told time and time again that I need to relax, trust and know that “not knowing” is part of the grand plan ha ha ha.  To just take one day at a time, with baby steps towards my new goals and all will be revealed when it is good and ready. Apparently everything is going to just fall into place. Opportunities will present themselves, synchronicities will unfold and all will be good in my world.

This message keeps finding me in many ways and through many people and it does not matter where I am, I turn the corner and find this message being placed squarely in front of me again and again and again.

Firstly – the obvious comment applies: yes – I can sometimes be a slow learner ha ha and the Universe is prevailed upon to keep sending me the same clues, to the same piece of the puzzle, time after time. But secondly, and more importantly, although there is a part of me that doubts this truth, there is a much bigger part of me that knows on some sort of “soul level” that this is indeed the truth. Read More

Todays blog is inspired by a conversation I had with a taxi driver recently as I headed to the airport on my way to teach an out of town seminar. As is often the case, I had quite the dialogue with this wonderful man who turned out to be the purveyor of great wisdom. Perhaps it is because they sit in their cab chatting with customers all day long, that many of them have these great observations about life and people in general?

Whatever the reason, I am ever so grateful that I seem to attract these incredible “thinkers” of our time who are willing to engage with me on some rather deep and sometimes taboo topics.  Many of my friends find the conversations that I have with taxi drivers quite intriguing ha ha ha ha – but there you go. They are the conversations I like to have.

And this conversation that I want to share centred around what you think about as you lie on your death bed? Like I said – not always the most embraced topic ha ha. Read More