“The master in the

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both.” James A Michener

"The dynamic princip

"The dynamic principle of fantasy is play, which belongs also to the child, and as such it appears to be inconsistent with the principle of serious work. But without this playing with fantasy no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of imagination is incalculable." C.G. Jung

"I guess it comes do

"I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying." - Tim Robbins, Shawshank Redemption

"A bank is a place t

"A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it." - Bob Hope

I was thrown out of

I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam; I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me. - Woody Allen

"I think of life its

"I think of life itself now as a wonderful play that I've written for myself, and so my purpose is to have the utmost fun playing my part.” Shirley Maclaine rocks!!! :-)

Now there is one out

Now there is one outstandingly important fact regarding Spaceship Earth, and that is that no instruction book came with it. - Buckminster Fuller

Is wondering how to

Is wondering how to squeeze 4 months of work into 8 weeks? The countdown to New York begins!

We are the Ones we are waiting for

The following is a quote from an unnamed Elder of the Hopi Nation in Oraibi, Arizona.

For me, questioning the quickening of life in this week of full moon and winter solstice, it says everything. Please ask yourself these things to be considered and answer each one. Then take a step back and take a look at your life.

"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered . . .

Where are you living?
What are you doing?
What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation?
Where is your water?
Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader."

Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time!"

"There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.

"Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.

"The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from you attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

"We are the ones we've been waiting for."

-- attributed to an unnamed Hopi elder

Hopi Nation

I watched the Elephant story by David Attenborough on Sunday. It struck me when he said they were superior conscious beings. This was my thought – just popped into my head – that like the Red Indians who could not see the ships sailing down the river because they had no visual reference for them, perhaps Elephants live like THEY are the humans and in control of this planet and only
See THEIR reality – what they eat, other animals etc. And they only see us when we enter into their realm and somehow cross over into their vision. Then I though that perhaps aliens and ghosts (and millions of other beings of whom I have no reference point - were possibly like this and lived here right now with us on this planet. It is only when they cross over into our realm, that we see them? and then only as a dream or a glimpse or a trick of the light.

However we question and have fear and our brains reject what we see as there is no acceptable platform for them. It’s as if billions of conscious beings live around us. They conduct their daily lives as we do, some aware most not.

I “FEEL” the pulse of earth beneath me to be quickening at a rate never before witnessed in recent history. It’s always quickening but we don’t see it as it happens over time. Now it seems to be escalating and everyone is feeling a shift – financially, emotionally, and physically. It is as if in order to survive we must let go of what we THINK is True and open to what we do not yet know. How we do that is to have faith in ourselves and not allow FEAR to influence our thoughts and lives.

Perhaps we are in an Intensive for Life and training for some future event – This is survival training. We either sink in fear or rise to the challenge and find new muscles we never knew we had.

I do not know if something is changing - or maybe it is just ME that is changing. All my friends and family FEEL this. Perhaps that is simply my illusion that is evolving?

Whatever this is - or isn't - perhaps we cimply consider all those things mentioned above and let go of the shore - and just float, knowing that we are already here and WE are the ones we are waiting for.

Touching the Void

One of my friends moved into a new apartment recently and decided to throw herself a cocktail party. She was very specific about how it was to look, the type of guest she would love, the food, entertainment, the party area design – all were created with precision. Her expectations were huge – this was very important to her. She invited 100 people and 50 gave her an RSVP. She catered, decorated and created her event the week prior in anticipation. 12 people showed up on the night. She was devastated and became so distraught that she tried to commit suicide.

In talking to her, she felt like she was a social failure and was terrified that at 32 years of age, she would spend the rest of her life alone. Attendance at this event was her criteria for her value in the world. Unless the party looked the way it did in her head, she had failed. It was obvious that the fantasy that she was benchmarking herself against was driven by a need to be loved and accepted. It was a hallmark of external confirmation and highlighted the biggest void in her life.

Now I could tell her that it would be wise to love herself from the inside out and not worry about attendance numbers or social acceptance however at this point that would simply provide further opportunity for depression as it was critical for her to hold onto this pain for a while longer in order to balance the love she thought she was missing with the love she had for herself – so obviously wanting to fill this void with hurt and indignation.

Instead I asked her what the difference was between the party in her fantasy and the actual party. What was the void? What did she miss out on? She listed many things – they all boiled down to one thing – confirmation that she was loved.

I knew that the traditional Demartini approach of asking where she already had those things would be met with a solid brick wall. A clear precise fantasy requires a strong will, motivation and energy and is fiercely protected. That line of questioning would get me nowhere fast. And rightly so!

On the second day of the Breakthrough, Demartini invites us to write our Love Lists and create a vision for what we would LOVE in our lives. We are inspired to set goals.

So what is the difference between a Goal and a Fantasy?

Well in basic terms, the difference is a systematic structured step by step action plan that converts the fantasy into a realistic achievable goal. However everything else in essence is exactly the same.

So when we see the gaps in our life and compare to our Fantasy and begin to beat ourselves up, we are actually developing talents, skills and strategies that we can use in the achievement of our goals. This is a necessary and vital step towards getting what we want. Focusing on what is missing in our lives means that we have the ability to identify the requirements for the action plan that will support the vision and we instinctively see what isn’t quite ready for action yet and is still in development. This is like being a mechanic working on an engine, an engineer upgrading a new building design, a systems analyst beta testing a new software application – nothing works in life without a system and the ability to identify where the systems requires an upgrade is an incredible skill.

Our bodies require water to function. Water is taken into our bodies via sodium or glucose. If one of our physical systems is out of balance, e.g. the stomach cannot digest food, then another system will take over from it to keep the body functioning. Until the system reboots, it will crave sugar or salt in order to intake water. The void of the stomach digesting food creates the opportunity for the pancreas to step in and take over while the stomach is given time to upgrade. This void has a purpose – the outcome is survival –and whatever action is taken to fill the void is a vital survival technique.

Our thoughts and feelings are the feedback required for the system of being humans in order to initiate action. Our thoughts and feelings are like the sodium and glucose required for the body to intake water. Feeling depressed and beating yourself up is a necessary step to take to bring your attention and focus to the void, creating enough pain to contrast the pleasure to inspire action – taking you one step closer to your goal.

Let’s revisit my friend, now in a state of self loathing, depression and embarrassment. What did she gain from this void? She knows that the 12 people who actually DID attend her party are true friends. They bent over backwards giving her support and comfort in order to try and balance her pain – she got extra attention. When she tried to push them away, she saw them try harder to get through and this extra effort was more confirmation that they loved her. She recognized that people will only be loyal to their own values and she understood that the actions of others actually had nothing to do with her – that was an enormous relief.

This was not the first time that she had held a party to which few people attended. This void in the past had inspired her to be more sociable, attend more events, befriend more people and expand her social circle. Even though few people came to her party, in no way did that diminish the social activities she had been enjoying for the past few years – nothing could change that. She had already begun to develop the art of communication, could start up a conversation with any stranger and had a unique repartee that entertained everyone she communicated with. The fact that not many people attended to her party reminded her of her own true values and to honour the values of others without guilt or blame.

A void creates space for – well - creation. My friend was given space - an opportunity of contrast to create whatever she wanted. She could sit around and continue to beat herself up or she could appreciate each of the 12 people who arrived. Once she saw that having voids in her life gave her the opportunity to develop important survival skills, she was able to see that nothing was missing – everything in her fantasy was there all along. It was merely in the shape of something not limited to her specific fantasy.

Forrest Gump reminded us that “Life was a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re going to get.” Be specific and precise and plan your Fantasy to look a certain way knowing that falling short of your own criteria is the greatest opportunity you will ever have!

Inspiration or Motivation

I have owned and managed an Entertainment Agency for 18 years. Until this year I have focused all my energy on training, workshops, seminars, qualifications, personal and professional development programs, counselling, coaching and rewarding my team – always trying to find ways to motivate them to excel and shine and add value. For me it was an important investment - It cost our company a fortune with monthly awards, lunches, dinners, treats and gifts. I created a family culture – we celebrated birthdays and milestones with parties and games – each year setting the benchmark higher and higher. I’ve hired clowns, singing telegrams, waiters, dancers, jugglers, performers – you name it – we’ve done it. This impacted on my family life. I was often late home, working at night, missing meals, behind on housework with some weeks where I wouldn’t even see talk to my children as they were in bed when I arrived home.

Our team have been well known in the industry for its cohesion and congruency. I can see how much this has added to our bottom line as much as budget. We have held our market share longer than any other competitor in this industry – a rate of four to one actually – and in part, I would consider that our value of human resource has contributed to that. It also cost us four times more to maintain!

Working in this industry is challenging. We broker perception of talent and the currency is emotion and ego – a tough market! To compensate for the daily stress of stroking and sucking, I consciously worked to balance my team’s experience by keeping them happy and creating fun. I therefore created a fantasy to balance the nightmare. The truth was that both were merely perceptions. The industry is an industry – clients are clients – jobs are jobs.

Every 3 – 5 years, someone would leave and I would feel great resentment at all the wasted investment into their development yet when the next recruitment was finalised I continued to invest in their position and subsequently upgrade the value and become infatuated with this new recruit with the “Finally my training would develop this candidate as per my vision” expectation. :-)

This investment cost my time heavily and I was subsequently working longer hours to complete projects as I established an open door policy and placed the team’s needs before the needs of my own obligation to the company. One of my life values is that People are the Gold – so I can totally see the creation of this professional pattern in my business.

Earlier this year, my business partner and I took the team and their partners out to dinner as a special reward. Everyone was joking about how we were a family and I was their mother. Suddenly it hit me like a lightning bolt – Why was I here with strangers when my own children were at home without me. I saw that for the past 17 years, I had been working for my staff - I had been in their service – I was accountable to them more than they were accountable to me. My sole purpose had been to keep them motivated. My resentment level was out of control as it became painfully obvious that I was out of fair exchange in my own business and with myself.

The very next day, I moved the contents of my office back home and set myself up to work remotely. I made the choice to serve my company instead of my team and to be available for my own family instead of my staff. Since then, I have been able to complete projects, create new products and expand into new markets and networks and develop other service options – all because I have committed myself to serving my company. I’ve also been able to keep up with my household obligations much easier plus I save money on fuel by walking upstairs to my office instead of driving for one hour each day. I considered this new phase in my life as a win win and began to congratulate myself.

But as we know, nothing is missing, there are two sides to every story and where there is a yin there will be a yang. In the meantime, my team had lost their focus, there was little motivation, and benchmarks were not being met, unproductive, demanding, attention seeking and now major cost factors to the business.

Why? – it is all about the difference between Inspiration and Motivation.

Like all important words "inspiration" comes from the ancient Greeks. The oracle of Delphi would sit in front of a fissure in the earth and breath in (inspire) earth vapours and in a half-drugged state, make her decrees. Inspiration also comes from the Latin spirare means spirit or to infuse with an encouraging or exalting influence. It is the act of breathing in, and to animate, to stimulate by divinity. It is genius, an idea or a passion. Inspiration comes from the soul. Inspiration is internal.

Motivation, on the other hand, comes from a complex of words beginning with "mo." Motion, motor, momentum - they all denote physical action. Motivation comes from the ego and is forced upon us, or by us, from the outside. Motivation is an external response.

The bottom line is value – how you value yourself, how you value your service and how you can appreciate how your service adds value to you and to the company and vice versa. When you appreciate, you grow. When you love what you have, it becomes what you love. When you value yourself you are inspired. When you do not, you need motivation.

Many times for each of us, we all need motivation. We need someone to pat us on the back, give us feedback, give us guidelines, create structure and micro manage our role. When accountabilities are not met, we will find a ready excuse. This provides a balance. It is impossible to be inspired all the time. You can only ever expect 50% at the most. We might try to fool ourselves that we are inspired beings of light but it may be that tax bill lurking in the background that is motivating us to get that job or create that income opportunity.

I know that I didn’t value my own service to the company. I didn’t see my own value or appreciate the opportunity that these industry challenges presented me. Therefore, I created a dependency where my team needed external motivation to do their jobs. They were uninspired internally and were unable to add value to my company without my investment. This indirectly added value to me didn’t it? I can list hundreds of benefits for me because of this. I can also list hundreds of drawbacks for the very same action.

The difference between Inspiration and Motivation extends to energy expelled. To be motivated carries effluent energy. There is an agenda, a motive, a HAVE TO. Inspiration on the other hand comes from a place of certainty that doesn’t use much energy as it is deep solid and integrated in every cell. Inspiration is effortless and a LOVE TO. We will always conserve a balance of both. In a company, we will always need to allow for both.

So I now view my present experience with my team as a wonderful opportunity. They have the choice of developing skills, enjoying freedom, appreciating self accountability and creating strategies by working as internally inspired self starters or moving on and gaining benefits from being victims. Both actions are valid and perfectly natural.

Consider how you value yourself? How do you value your service? How do you value the company that pays your wages? How do you value the employees that work for your company? How do you value your vision? How do you appreciate the challenges? How do you appreciate the inspiration as well as the motivation?

There is nothing to change but endless opportunities to appreciate!

Loving the Wolf

Last night was the most spectacular full moon. I lay next to the window at midnight and watched as this silver orb crossed from one side of the night sky to the other. All of a sudden I had an overwhelming urge to bay loudly. I wanted to be a wolf baying at the moon. It was a feeling of freedom and appreciation and oneness with nature. Needless to say I didn’t howl at the moon but simply chuckled at myself for feeling so at ease with my own inner wolf. :-)

Kate Histon’s beautifully expressed story about her dance teacher and the magic of her being so “hard” on her and the transformative impact of the results of that experience packs quite a punch. Childhood memories are often filled with similar stories –teacher, rugby coach – or parent. How many angry and nasty people provide the catalyst for achievement in our past? How many wolves in our history have killed off a weaker part in us and inspired new growth?

Exactly one month ago, in the August full moon, I experienced what I felt at the time was a most vicious public attack. The ‘tale’ was that I had created a situation where I perceived myself as a ‘shepherd” and yet for my attacker I was perceived as the ‘wolf”. At the time, I was dumbfounded at the attack and perception as in MY fantasy; there were only benefits for my vision and plans. For all my Demartini work, I didn’t consider the “other side”. This attack was designed to shatter my illusion of “leadership” to specifically teach me just how important it was to love being the wolf just as much as being the shepherd.

Joseph Campbell discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies. Campbell summarizes his theory thus: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

I finally realised that in the Hero’s Journey the only part I wanted to play was the HERO. My fantasy was that all my study and development work on myself was so I could rescue, save, fight the good fight, face my demons and slay the wolf as part of my journey. When you look at popular movie culture, the Hero’s Journey is a foundation favourite. We all want to be Luke Skywalker – no one would choose to be Darth Vader!

The reality is that no matter what you do 50% of people around you will perceive you as Darth Vader even though you think you are Luke Skywalker. We can all relate to this. Who hasn’t been bitched about, back stabbed, been faced off, criticised and equilibrated by external voices? However when this happens we usually beat ourselves up saying “I must have been cocky and I deserved to be balanced in this fashion.” Or we become indignant and angry “How dare they – I’ve done so much for them!” Yet there is a very real practical purpose for us to be seen as the villain and the wolf.

Wolves play an essential role in the forest ecosystem, as necessary efficient predators. They serve an important purpose in Nature, weeding out older and sick prey which in many ways actually strengthens the overall condition of that species. They also provide a bit of a second hand smorgasbord for other animals with bits of carcass they leave behind after a hunt.

The Wolf has been portrayed in many fairy tales and myths as evil, vicious, ravenous beasts with an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Legend has it that wolves can at the right cycle of the moon possess a human soul – which I can relate to after my urge to bay at the moon last night – just like a wolf.

All cultures have myths that embody a basic belief system about nature illustrating how nature filters into human nature – Human Behaviour 101. In myth, the wolf is quite a popular character – his appearance is heavily booked! No animal has so thoroughly captured the imagination of so many cultures around the world. In European civilization, myths surrounding wolves evolved to eventually represent evil or malice. European myths and fables tend to depict fear and man’s need to conquer nature to quell this fear. The wolf is a symbol of uncontrollable nature. In many older European cultures hunting was a primary means of existence. The wolf easily became the symbol of great hunting skill and was regarded by the Celts as a companion of the Gods – critical for communication between men and god. However as European civilisation evolved away from nature and towards more controlled agriculture and industry, the wolf's reputation evolved with it until it was hunted for bounty until near extinction.

To contrast, the structure of the traditions for the North America Native cultures are in relationship to the world around them. The wolf, revered it for its great hunting prowess is seen as an intrinsic part of their every day life and was valued for its great survival, culling, teaching and healing skills. These differences demonstrate the great balance – good/evil – positive/negative.

John 10:12 describes Jesus as the shepherd protecting his herd of sheep from the wolf. Isaiah verse 11:16 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb." At the end of the day both the shepherd and the wolf do the same job - eat the sheep – utilse the resource – appreciate the world they live in.

I can see the value in viewing the wolf from BOTH sides of the myth.

In Fairy Tales 101, an incident occurs in childhood that is stressful – illness, death, chaos and challenge. To resolve the tension of this perceived stress, a child will create a myth using the brain’s biosurvival circuitry. Starring in the myth will be the hero the villain and the victim – usually the child -The Wolf, the Shepherd and the Sheep! The perceived Wolf - usually the parents, challenged by chaos and stress, seek to protect and shepherd and will provide sanctuary for their sheep. The perceived sheep - usually the child, may feel hunted, culled or killed by the wolf. The same event doesn’t change – only the framework of perception changes. This tale will be repeated endlessly throughout all their lives as their unconscious seeks to fill the void and resolve the tension.

In Childhood, as part of our bio survival techniques (simply because our brains have not yet the information to process events) we each craft our mythologies in this fashion using “Hero Journey” template to process the information.

For me, after my experience of being attacked and seen as a beast that needed to be hunted and killed, I see wolves as providing a necessary culling of our addiction to external praise in order to strengthen our own self species. Never underestimate the benefit of using the image of a wolf in our own Heroes journey for valuable PR. A lamb (victim) is a great marketing tool that without the threat of a wolf, doesn’t grab half as much attention!

Being a Wolf is a survival technique, serving to break addiction and dependence. A wolf is a source of healing, transition and transformation. When faced with a life-threatening situation, becoming a wolf in order to protect in order is a valid survival strategy to highly value.

So you know what? I’m happy to be seen as the wolf! After all, Romulus and Remus were rescued and protected by a wolf. Appreciating and loving the wolf within is another form of being a Shepherd. After all, just how many sheep are dressed in wolves clothing? mmm? Consider doing a TDM on Little Red Riding Hood or the Three Little Pigs and check out the wolf’s perspective?

From now on, as much as I can appreciate being a sheep and a shepherd, I also intend to howl at the moon, embrace the nature around me, value every survival strategy I have created and love the wolf!

Balancing the Books

How many people globally have been majorly freaking out every time they read a headline about the looming global economic crisis? There is so much stress, fear, anger and confusion. Why? What do we think we will lose? If we could list all those things that we think we will lose, I wonder how many would truly matter. What is our wealth outside of money and business and possessions? What is our wealth if we lose all that we own? Where is the surplus to balance this deficit? No one knows for sure or can easily explain why we are experiencing a Global Financial Crisis (now commonly known as the GFC). So perhaps to better understand it, we could examine what a GFC may mean in our own backyards.In our household, if we need money to pay expenses, we find it by cutting costs elsewhere until we have enough money to cover the costs. We look at our household budget and see where we are spending and what we are purchasing and evaluate what we can cut that doesn’t immediately benefit the household. If we don’t have it we don’t buy it. We spend only what we make. We ask these questions - Do I need to pay for gym membership when I can go for a walk for free? No – so add that cost back into the deficit. Do I need to pay for Foxtel when I can watch public TV for free? No – so add that cost back into the deficit. Do I need to buy or rent a DVD when I can borrow a DVD from the library for free? No – so add that cost back into the deficit. Do I need to pay for beauty or spa treatments when I can get as massage from my husband, walk on the beach, swim in the ocean and breathe mountain air for free? No – so add that cost back into the deficit. This list goes on and on until we cut spending and find the money we need to meet obligations. This continues until the bill is met. We evaluate, we value what we have and make changes to lifestyle accordingly. We save instead of spend. If we spend more than we make and then find ourselves in a situation where we cannot make ends meet, is the government interested in bailing us out? If I run the household budget and balance the books, do I deserve to be given a golden handshake just for doing my job? If I take the weekly grocery money to the pokies, gamble it and lose, is the government interested in bailing me out? What is the value of my household to a government? In our small business, if we need money to pay expenses, we find it by cutting costs elsewhere until we have enough money to cover the costs. We look at our business budget and see where we are spending and what we are purchasing and evaluate what we can cut that doesn’t immediately benefit the business. If we don’t have it we don’t buy it. We spend only what we make. We ask these questions - Do I need to pay for a new desk when I can make do with the one I have now? No – so add that cost back into the deficit. Do I need to pay for the latest I PHONE when I can use the one I have now? No – so add that cost back into the deficit. Do I need to pay wages for an assistant when I can manage my time (and that of my team) more effectively and add a little more onto every team members jobs so that together we all achieve what is needed? Five or Ten minutes each day lost in productivity actually costs a company thousands of dollars in a year. No – so add that cost back into the deficit. This list goes on and on until we cut spending and find the money we need to meet obligations. This continues until the bill is met. We evaluate, we value what we have and make changes to operations accordingly. We save instead of spend. If we spend more than we make and then find ourselves in a situation where we cannot make ends meet, is the government interested in bailing us out? If an employee or manager fulfils the expectations of their role –i.e. does the job they were hired to do, do they deserve to be given a raise or a golden parachute just for doing their job? If I take the annual wages budget and invest it in a new enterprise, gamble and incur losses, is the government interested in bailing me out? What is the value of my small business to a government? In our body, if we exhaust our adrenals through stress, the stomach can no longer digest food. When this occurs, the pancreas steps in and the energy is taken from another system until we have enough to cover the costs. The Liver is producing bile that is not efficient. If bile is too acidic it will not digest fat so then pancreas tries to digest. The body is trying to meet its nutritional needs by borrowing from different systems to keep alive. The body’s agenda is to live and it will cling to life as long as it possibly can so it looks at its energy budget and identifies where it is spending and cuts what isn’t immediately benefitting the body. The body values what resources it has and makes changes to its processes accordingly. We save instead of spend. If we spend more energy than we have and then find ourselves in a situation where our bodies have no fuel to survive, is the government interested in bailing us out? If I look after my health and balance all my systems – spiritual, emotional and physical, do I deserve to be given a golden handshake? If I run marathons without fuelling my body, gamble and lose all my energy, is the government interested in bailing me out? What is the value of my body to a government? The enterprise of our households, small businesses and physical bodies hold just as much value as Wall Street or governments. The currency of Infrastructure, Healthcare, Housing, Employment, Fuel, Food, and Education are evident in each enterprise structure regardless of the size with each holding a function and a value.

The simple key to balance the books in each is appreciation.

We are witnessing a global catalyst of great change in our lifetimes. This GFC is giving us the opportunity to appreciate what value we already have by identifying the surplus in our lives. In doing so we may balance whatever deficit that may loom as a result of this great change in balancing the books of the world beginning with our own backyard.

Organic Process

Winter is in the process of ending and Spring is looming before us. Trees whose leaves went reddish yellowish brownish purple in April and then fell in June will begin to bud and bloom again in September so that by December they will be a brilliant green.

When we isolate principles of structure – like we do when learning music or dance or programming software – the series of lessons in natural order and organic forces – like the observation of trees in the cycles of life – provide us with the greatest of holographs.

New forms emerge from the disintegration of the old. Moss growing on dead tree trunks and seedlings sprout through dead leaves. Forests hold an organic order through growth, maturation and decay processes. We don’t hold onto the old leaves and attempt to glue them back onto the trees. We appreciate their life cycle.

Yet we beat ourselves up by being in one cycle or another.
“I need to move forward.”
“It will be ok when I get there.”
“Now I have updated my model and have improved life is better.”

mmmm.............

Wherever we are and whatever pattern/story/trait/value/belief we own forms part of our life cycle. There are times when things come together and times when things fall apart. This is the organic process of nature. Yet we hold on to one side because we don’t want things to fall apart. We negate our masculine or feminine OR our predator or prey - (keep going there are endless metaphors here) as we try to fit into someone ELSE’s cycle and paradigm – thinking it is better than ours.

WHY?

How can you answer this question? How can you possibly deduce the billion structures weaving and playing out together to create this end result?

When we appreciate the seasons of us as reflected back to us by the hologram of nature, we learn how to hold tension and from this point we learn how to create while sitting in this tension of seasons and cycles. In other words, knowing that we will feel every emotion in the spectrum, every thought in the cosmic unconscious and every sensation in our body without wanting to justify it, explain it, understand it, logic it or change and avoid it, is the ability to hold the tension of the both sides of life. Robert Fritz calls this Structural Tension and from this appreciation vantage point we assimilate and create.

So perhaps instead of telling our stories of how we are one side or the other, we can merely say to ourselves “Ah this is how I am at this moment. I am also the opposite – and can think, feel and sense that too. There is no why, this is simply one of the many HOWS I will experience in my life”

Someone once said “there is nothing to change but much to love.”

What If?

What if there was no peace?
What if there was no war?

What if these two words were simply words with letters grouped together?
Once judged and filtered by each individual belief system they took on a meaning based on perception.

What if there was no poverty?
What if there was no wealth?

What if these two words were simply words with letters grouped together?
Once judged and filtered by each individual belief system they took on a meaning based on perception.

What if the etymology of our language was based on the value system of those using those words? What if the meaning given to words is used to market their value to elicit certain perceptions to inspire a specific agenda and outcome?

Nietzsche in the “First Treatise” speaks of the origins of the values – good and evil. What is good for the aristocrat is deemed evil for the slave.

To a child playing a game of monopoly, YOUR poverty contributes to HIS wealth and that is perceived as just another part of the game making it fun and good.

To a President of a country who invests 600 billion dollars into a war in a far away land, war is simply another economic opportunity to build wealth for companies winning government supply contracts.

What if as Shakespeare said “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players”? What if the tragedy and the comedy play out no matter what and it is only our perceptions that characterise them as values?

As we each experience our own personal monomyth, taking journeys between old and new worlds, detaching from the old forming attachments to the new, confronting and conquering challenges, processing multiple catharses, adapting and eventually finding our treasure, I wonder about the rites of passage and initiation which value the very words of peace and war?

For me, perhaps peace and war will only ever mean what I say they mean to me?

A Tale of Two Cities

“1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. 2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children built. 6 And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”

This is a story about St Marys.
This is a story about the Roman Catholic Church.

I was baptized Catholic and did the whole communion, confession, confirmation thing – even played the organ on Sundays and sang in the choir. From a young age I asked questions, was always in trouble with the nuns, invariably kicked out of religion class and could never join the dots between history and the church mythology. Consequently I rejected the whole thing like millions of others like me. I attended my goddaughter’s baptism at St Marys in 2007 and have returned sporadically ever since as I have appreciated the language, value and expression of this community. My questions and beliefs have developed and expanded but fundamentally still disagree with the traditional “marketed” dogma however for me St Marys is a reflection of the world as I see it – and I “get” something every time I visit. I am free to “be” without question.

In observing the battle between RCC and St Marys, it seems to me that it all boils down to a battle about language. What is language after all? Every species has the ability to communicate – animals, plants and humans. We are unique in that we have created variants of a symbolic communication system that is learned instead of being biologically inherited. As we know, Language evolves in response to changing historical and social conditions. This can happen over a hundred years or in one generation. Think about it – 10 years ago, Googling and Texting was not part of our everyday expression was it?

Is the foundation issue between the RCC and St Marys about a difference in values and language and expression?
From the research, it would appear that the key issues are:
• Church Artwork including indigenous art and a perceived Buddha type image (monk praying)
• Incorrect language used during baptism
• Women preaching
• Homosexual couples blessings

Ok – so let me get this straight. The Catholic Church is experiencing dwindling attendance figures all over the world and is struggling to retain value within the global community in the 21st century. One tiny little community in South Brisbane manages to attract record crowds, bring people BACK to the “church”, updates its language and expressions of art to relate to its people and is now faced with excommunication. Mmm…….

In business, this very organic evolutionary practice is what keeps business moving and alive – current and able to compete – this is one of the steps in the constant cycle of service.

However the RCC is not a business is it? Is it a brand? How about St Marys – is it a business or a brand? Mmm……

The first place to begin is to ask questions. The hierarchy of these values – (Spiritual, Business, Relationship, Mental, Social, Physical and Financial) whether we value our family higher than we value our social standing – this hierarchy dictates what drives the decisions that we make – how we live day to day. Asking questions - Language is how we express our value systems. Someone focused on business will more than likely throw a few “benchmarks, markets and brands” into their word inventory while another focused on fashion and physical aesthetics will express themselves in those terms.

St Marys holds a high value on Social Justice. The RCC holds a high value on Branding – i.e. –a specific theology, belief, structure and language. St Marys are all about the people. The RCC is all about the brand.

Ooh that’s quite a statement to make isn’t it? So let’s ask the questions, where is St Marys all about their branding – theology, belief, structure and language? Where is the RCC all about Social Justice and the people? What does Justice mean to each party? What does community mean to each party? What does this current issue mean to each party?

What is the St Marys branding? How does the indigenous claim of attachment to the land connect to this branding? What is the RCC branding? Where is another indigenous claim of attachment to the land connect to their branding? Where is Social Justice not spiritual? Where is theology not Social Justice? How do each of these entities hold the ground of their deepest values?

Whatever happens this coming weekend, we are witnessing history in the making. This St Marys issue is not about the Catholic Church or Peter Kennedy – it is a reflection of humanity – this is about each of us. Look at the times in which we live. Barack Obama recently elected president of the US delivered speeches that inspired millions of people. How much did he sound like a preacher or one of those Personal Development gurus that are currently working in one of the fastest growing global industries this decade? Many people that previously went to church are now attending seminars with gurus like Anthony Robbins, Dr John F Demartini and Magicians Way. The church numbers may be dwindling but the self mastery personal development numbers are swelling. Nothing has changed – people are doing the same thing that they always did – now it’s in a seminar room instead of a church.

People all over the world are asking questions. St Marys is giving the people what they crave – a voice, currency and a place to discover answers. Where is the RCC also doing that?

Humanity develops and expands by asking questions. Look at your everyday life. Using a computer, you ask questions in all of the software programs via a series of filters, drop down lists and formulas. Google, Wikipedia – setting up My SPACE or FACEBOOK – all are a succession of questions. In your business or job, you ask your customers about their needs so you can serve them. Our lives, earth and bodies are driven by questions. The stomach asks the pancreas “Can you take over digestion for me today – I’m a little tired?” The bee asks its mate “Will I fertilise the Rose or the Dandelion today?” The earth asks the ocean “Do you need a little extra salt this month”.

St Marys has been asking questions and making changes accordingly. Where has the RCC been asking questions and making changes accordingly? Well, the letter from the Archbishop is your first clue. In the threat of resignation or retirement, where does St Marys make similar threats? Where does St Marys throw 30 pieces of silver?

If a community grows organically, should it be limited to the confines of a structure or can it be allowed to flow and grow naturally? Where does a hierarchical structure support natural flow and growth? Well just look at nature and your physical body for this answer. Where does St Marys employ a structure? Where does the RCC grow organically?

What valuable feedback do the language, values and expression differences that St Marys has adopted provide to the RCC? In business, this situation would be regarded as incredibly fruitful feedback and in every intelligent HR system, allowances are made to manage, refine and redefine in accordance with this feedback accordingly. For the best example, look at the human body and where it uses symptoms of disease as feedback for a transformation opportunity.

We all have a story. What is St Mary’s story? What is the RCC story? We all have a mythology about who we think we are. This is reflected in our values, patterns and how we ask questions and live our lives. We are all on our own Heroes’ Journey (see Joseph Campbell). There are times to be a victim, times to be a hero and times to be a perpetrator. To appreciate each character in a story is to see that each have a role to play – this role is a critical step to take in this particular journey. There is a time for peace and a time for war. There is never a time when we have only one or the other. Like the Yin and Yang that pulse through our bodies, the electric and the magnetic fields in our natural world, there will never be a time when we will not have peace and war simultaneously. This is human nature.

St Marys and the RCC each have their own story and each is writing another chapter expressing language in their own value systems. Seeking a world of absolutes is human. However our physical bodies and surrounding nature are certainly NOT absolute. We ebb and flow, produce positive and negative charge and experience night and day – in a never ending natural cycle. Imagine if we could all see that the opposite of our story was also true? Imagine if the St Marys and the RCC’s in our lives saw that they were the same as the other?

When both parties see that they are beautiful mirrors of each other, love and appreciate themselves and each other as they are without changes, then this challenge will shift.

Crazy for You

In the next suburb west from my family home is an old tumbledown mental institution. We used to go on Sunday drives through it, checking out the broken windowed architecture of a dumping group of what society referred to as "refuse".

Driving these through grounds, sounds weird, however I could almost "feel" the anguish, torment, terror and hopelessness of the patients - patient in their captivity only due to being heavily drugged.

Contraversially and without academic qualification, I do not believe that is appropriate to label someone as Mentally Ill.

How many people do we all know whose thoughts and feelings and sensations live outside of the acceptable societal paradigm? How any of them have been labelled genius and innovative for pushing the boundaries and seeking to breath life into absurdity?

History shows that much of what psychiatry formally considered a disorder or illness was the result of a cultural norm or bias and this perception will vary over time and place.

We are all neurodiverse. That is why we have different personalities, strengths and talents. Some argue that untreated mental health conditions can get in the way of our expressing our US ness. On the other hand, neurodiversity advocates argue that there may be more positive potential in recognizing neurodiverse subjects outside the accepted framework. In other words, it might prove more helpful to acknowledge a broader spectrum of human variation rather than approaching these variations as "mental illnesses" in need of "cures."

My questions is if physical illness or symptoms are expressed when the body trying to talk to us and trying to heal, then what is mental illness? We all own fantasies which polarise what we identify as holding value. Intense focus and skewed polarity will present as mental illness. The mental processes are not at ease - not experiencing wellness - but a swinging polarity unfetered by societal benchmarks.

Could mental illness symptoms being expressed be clues and healing opportunities in this same vein?

The concepts of wellness and illness co exist on a pendulum, which swings back and forth.

How much freedom would one experience on this swing?

Playing the Choices Game

I think I make choices and that I have control over how I live my life!

Really? Is this true or an assumption?

Examine my daily actions. Every decision I make in every day is based on a lie that I tell myself.

I buy a $1000 Louis Vuitton bag because I “feel” better when I carry it. I believe it gives me power of a kind and upgrades my presentation making me look more professional. It also makes me feel successful and wealth.

Really? Is this true or are these assumptions based on responses to various beliefs and stories based on someone ELSE's value system who I perceive as having more power than me?

I can eat at a certain restaurant because I “feel” like I am eating good healthy food and this makes me a more responsible and healthier person.

Really? Is this true or are these assumptions based on responses to various beliefs and stories based on someone ELSE's value system who I perceive as having more power than me?

I buy groceries at the Woolworths at closer smaller older suburb up the road as there is easy parking and I can just walk in without queuing – and this buys me more time and makes my life easier.

Really? Is this true or are these assumptions based on responses to various beliefs and stories based on someone ELSE's value system who I perceive as having more power than me?

I bank with Westpac because they have looked after us for 20 years, both our families banked with them and they give us what we want. We feel safe and valued and know that our business is valued and our savings and investments are sound and guaranteed.

Really? Is this true or are these assumptions based on responses to various beliefs and stories based on someone ELSE's value system who I perceive as having more power than me?

I buy meat from an organic butcher to ensure my family eat meat that isn’t filled with hormones so I feel like a responsible caring parent and a socially just member of society who will not tolerate the cruel conditions that animals are kept in.

Really? Is this true or are these assumptions based on responses to various beliefs and stories based on someone ELSE's value system who I perceive as having more power than me?

Every decision I make in every day is based on a lie that I tell myself.

Where did these assumptions originate? Whose value system am I deferring to? Why do I consider this external source of power to be greater than my own?

Look at what you do in a 24 hour period and review the game you play while making daily choices and answer these questions for yourself.

Stand Tall

Silent sentinel I stand in a world that holds endless species of light.
I am Surya driving through the heavens.
You look up and imagine that you see a golden orb.
This sun is merely your own reflection.
It is your own heart.
It is your own light.
The light you seek is within you.
The light you seek is within me.
The sky of the old order fell when a bird was knocked from his perch and the deluge destroyed the people of the wood.
The sky of the new world could only be raised by an act of sacrifice.
I was the cosmic sacrifice.
I am earth and air and water.
I am fire – I burn my own wood.
I am Yggdrasil and I am the axis between worlds.
A world clock ticking endlessly: sometimes my breath is tired and rusty.
My breath can cut you as your language can kill souls.
I watch as another world rests within my bones, unseen and untouched by your kind.
I am a gateway, a lighthouse to others, a communicator for the between.
Like you.
You are the spiritual internet.
Like me.
I am both directed and yet directionless.
There is a hidden door – come closer you will see as no other can.
Enter.
Open.
There is nowhere else to go but here – yet here is everywhere.
I am Thor’s Oak. Bonafcius did not fell me but my purpose was all in the telling of his tale.
I am a wet nurse for your race, watching and supervising and protecting – you have no concept yet of how I keep you safe.
The Olympic rings were originally cut from my body symbolising the rings of truth that protect you from danger.
I am Sekhmet and I protect the land, destroying enemies with arrows of fire.
Yes I have committed crimes in the eyes of many yet I am remorseless.
I have carved death on many faces.
Sometimes death has as much a purpose as life.
You too have killed as much as you have birthed.
This is life.
I am Yax Imix Cheand, I am abundance raised in the middle of the world.
I raised the sky and I birthed what you see is the sun.
Watch me; watch how my roots are sent deep into this earth.
The deeper you root yourself the easier you will bend, ebb and flow with the tides of your time.
Like your heart, this earth upon which you walk, is kept alive by me for I hold its terrestrial intention.
This intention is a submission to the point of resistance.
I am Sól and I count the years of man.
Every particle of mine is a book in a library far reaching beyond your wildest imagination.
I am every case study you will ever need.
I am every page every written.
I am every scientific experiment ever conducted.
There is a frequency that I hold upon which this earth was formed.
A frequency that beats your very own heart.
I am Helios driving my chariot across the sky.
My faith in the magnetic force and my trust in the safety of the flow hold me firm in a constant evolution of tension oscillation.
I am Ain Soph Aur, the tree of life – without end and with light.
When I bend, I am stretching and expanding – creating more space in this illusion while contracting and nesting.
I am Freyr, the Maypole, and the phalloi that Isis could not find.
My colours are crafted in the dramas of birth and death in this forest.
My leaves grow without any thought from me.
Your heart loves without any thought from you.
It is not possible for either of us to ever be alone.
I am a circle, a never-ending line, keeping and standing where you left me so long ago.
I am Lugh and I hold all contracts written of this world.
If I so choose I can fade like a ghost and vanish. No one will ever know I was ever here.
But this will not end my life as I will live on through another seed, another pod, another root system, branching out and merging with more light.
I can be whatever I choose just like you.
You and I – we share a molecular structure so refined and complex yet so basic and simple.
Your digital world and formless currency are frequencies crafted and released by my leaves.
I am Kuker and my coarse and speckled bark forms part of my horned mask.
My reptilian skin is just one coat – just one aspect.
Every leaf that I lose is my gift to the earth.
It joins me at the base – never lost – only re engineered.
Every person that you lose from your life is your gift to humanity.
They are never lost always reappearing in another face in another time.
I am Ra and I command the sky, earth and the underworld.
Standing tall under Mintaka, his pulse is felt in my roots.
You were born under this star forever in between, in the middle of the two.
You are destined to strip my bark, shatter my myths and stand in between.
With one foot in both worlds you stand under Mintaka’s power.
Beings of light are the only words you can understand and they are around you now – watching and prodding without you even being aware.
Their home is here – not some far away planet.
The planets you see in the night sky are not real; they are your reflections – your hearts, minds, souls and bodies.
The organs in your body are the planets.
What you are seeing is a grand illusion.
When they said that God created the world in seven days, they were talking about you.
The stars that you see in the night sky are not real; they are your reflections – thoughts, feelings, purpose and intentions.
Your star burns bright.
Stand tall.

These words were written after a long conversation with a very ancient gum tree in Barkers Vale NSW on 23 April 2007.