Kerala – God’s Own Country

The past few days I have been in Kerala, this place can only be described as a slice of heaven.

I arrived at Cochin airport and travelled by taxi, an old ambassador, to the backwaters.

The “Ayurvedic Resort” had entry only by walking along the dirt path next to the canal.

A traditional hut sitting right on the waters edge and the glow of irridecent greens like i have never seen before. There is a healing quality to this place, the glassy river glides by as do the many houseboats and dugouts that populate the “backwaters”.

Daily I have been treated to 3 ayurvedic treatments, a massage like never before, two women in rhythmic unison undoing the doings of my western body,  a steam in the stainless steel contraption with just a hole for my head to stick out. The pouring of buttermilk and warm oil on my forehead for a full half hour.

A day on a houseboat, cruising the stunning rivers, served tasty Keralan meals at the dining table as I float past the village people washing themselves and their clothes at the waters edge.

Docked for the night at the rivers edge a beautiful black boy appears and takes us on a tour of the village, about 10 rustic houses, small families. We meet his friend and before we know it they have us in their dugout and are paddling us around the rice paddy lake circumnavigating the boys home perched on an island in the lake.

A small girl comes running up to me and presses a blue flower into my hand. A naked princess all of three stand naked but for her silver bellychain and anklets and says “hello” “hello”, lets me take her photo.

A night on the boat under the Keralan sky caressed by the Keralan breeze, touched almost by the banana palm that is trying to touch my face, leaning into me, I feel kissed by god.

Travelling the World… First stop India

So I have been here 10 days now. What a wild and fabulous place this is.
I have felt really tested in myself, pretty out of body initially and now I’m here for sure.
This is truly the land of contrast. The huge amount of time spent in the car is the only really downer and even then I am getting to see lots of this city.

I started my day today with a visit to the residence of Ramesh Balsekar, this 91 yr old gentleman is considered one of the greatest Advaita Masters of today. I have been in the hot seat a couple of times asking him questions and it is taking me a bit to wrap my head around his “concepts” as he calls them. Basically he says everything is the will of god, everything is predestined and today mentioned that Stephen Hawkins has made the same statement. Not so much about god but that everything is  predetermined. I’m  not doing him justice by simplifying his teaching  in that way but that is an aspect of what he has to say.
I just love that I can get up in the morning and sit in the company of an extraordinary being in the true sense of the word.
I went on to town after and stopped at Leopolds the famous cafe where much of the novel “Shantaram” is set and where I had my first ever meal in India 20 years ago, I was just leaving when a casting agent for Bollywood movies who specializes in foreign talent approached me to be in a movie over the next week. I will only be here for one day of it because I leave in the morning for Kerala to float on the backwaters in a houseboat for a week.
When he heard I was about to have my hair cut he insisted that he should escort me to the best salon in town and that I should ditch my current appointment. He then led me and my driver Biswagid on a high speed race ( I reminded myself since all is the will of god and predetermined that I need not be concerned at the wreckless speed at which i was travelling) across the city to Jean Claude’s where the stars get their hair done with the genuine french stylists. Jerome gave me a consult and I am booked for next week.

It is hot and it smells a lot and the beggars and slum dwellers are there as an accepted part of life here. An amazing and wonderful thing is that I can walk the streets alone any time of day or night and I am safe, I love that

Gratitude beats the blues

It’s been a while since I blogged. A Summer holiday, returning to the world and much learning already this year. I want to share a great learning Ihad the other day with my business coach. A key tool in overcoming the undercurrent of unworthiness that so many of us carry through life is the practise of gratitude.

I have been trying it out and it really is quite wonderful. Whenever you are feeling unworthy of the very best in life then take a few moments to write down all the things you are greatful for. Gratitude fills you with a feeling of positivity. If you’re not feeling, it then keep going until you do. There are so many things to be grateful for from having a healthy body, a loving family, friends, a welcoming home, a beautiful country to live in, what ever it is that rings your bell.

Give it a go. And when you write the gratitudes, try starting with “I am so grateful for….”

The Power of Positive Exercise

Well if you are anything like me then going to the gym has not been an easy “consistent” activity. I have always found the gym sooo boring, I find it hard to keep it up over time. I have recently discovered a great way to get motivated at the gym. Firstly I aim to go EVERY day! That means that I actually end up there about three times a week. And next I use the time on the tread mill which is the bit I find most tedious to say my affirmations. One per minute. And because I actually really enjoy the experience of repeating my affirmations I want to stay on the treadmill longer so I can affirm more great stuff to myself. I reckon that is pretty good. Not only am I now enjoying the gym and going a LOT more than I ever have but I am setting my mind in the right direction for the day.

A friend passes away

Last week a dear friend and a man who came on my show in series one Matthew Faid died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 47. I will miss Matthew, I already do. Much as I feel ripped off of many more years of knowing and learning from Matthew and as much as I feel ripped off for his 6 kids and wife Catheryn of years of enjoying the irrepressible man that was their father and husband, I must focus on the gratitude I feel for having known him.

So I do give thanks for knowing a man who was full of the joy of life, who was committed to others enough to break from what he was “meant” to be doing to help out with advice and time spent with the many many people who called on him for his help. Matthew was a “do it now’ man, a “what are you going to do about it” man. He believed absolutely that there was always a solution to EVERYTHING. And he would stand by your side or check in to find out that you had followed through and made things happen.

Another thing about Matthew is that the moment I met him I trusted him. And he was true to that, committed to relatoinships, committed to being a decent bloke.

So, thank you Matthew for the fun, the lessons and for being a man that I can say for sure enriched my life and the life of many many others.

That’s him pointing to himself as his greatest inspiration in the wee video on my home page.

My Landmark Forum

I recently attended a Landmark Forum. I have to say I was really impressed. After months of my partner passing on his insights from his Landmark experience which I did not always appreciate, I had to admit that there was definatley a change that I liked in him. 

Well as I said I was impressed. The wonderful experiences of people reconnecting with their family and with themselves on a whole new level, and for myself I feel a whole new realm of possibility and the afterglow was indeed the happiest and most relaxed week I have had in a long time. A new sense of self acceptance and acceptance of life and others.

This week.

23.9.07 

This week I want to tell you about a book I am reading, “When  the rivers run dry” by Fred Pearce.

This is a must read for everyone so we can undersatnd this most precious of resources and what we can do about preserving it. Most of the book is about the state of water in the world. However if responsible action is taken now there is hope. David Bellamy said, “Of all the travel books I have read this is the most frightening, the most inspiring and the most important.”. So get on that computer and order your copy. 

11.9.07 

This week I have had the pleasure of doing a segment about “Compassionate Communication” for my radio show “TIA”.

I interviewed relationship counsellors Rudolf Jarosewitsch and Mirjam Busch about this topic.

Compassionate Communication was founded by Marshall Rosenberg in his search to discover why it is that in some circumstances people loose their ability to relate with compassion and become verbally or physically violent  or exploitative. And conversely what allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate nature under even the most trying circumstances.

If you want to find out more about what compassionate communication is and how to try it out in your own case then check out my website www.tiatalk.co.nz and click the relationship button.

2.9.07 

Life is ever revealing and this week I had the good fortune to interview Dr Patterson Stark anti aging specialist for my XLRadio Show about “Male Menopause” or more correctly Andropause. I found this fascinating and any men out there are going to get a great deal from the show. If you or anyone you know can recognise these symptoms then be sure to listen in (I’ll let you know when wneh it has been scheduled). Grumpiness, balding, pot belly, slumped shoulders, lowered libido, lethargy.

Dr Stark talks about these common states as simply a result  of an incorrect lifestyle and generally this acn be rectified with the Stark Plan. Check out some preview titbits about all of this in the experts button above.

Also this week I am pleased to say I have started my own Stark regime for real. I was at the gym this am and it felt really fabulous. Normally I really hate the gym and find it really boring. But know more. I was so inspired by Dr Starks revelations I am filled with a renewed committment to a truly healthy life. Although I must confess I did indulge in some Black and Gold Organic dark chocolate with cherries today.  

So it is in between series right now. I’m collecting info for the next series and going through the exciting process of planning etc.

Of course there is never a dull moment. By November I will be the Wealth Dynamics expert for women in New Zealand. I love this particular understanding because I can see how so often people struggle to achieve in ways that are simply not their natural flow and as a result suffer unnecessary stress and unhappiness. So it will be my great pleasure to be able to pass this understanding on to others. 

I am working on putting together some radio shows for XL Radio, The Inspiration Station. The TIA SHOW will be featured and other shows hosted by me will be shows on sustainability, business and health.

This Week

23.9.07 

This week I want to tell you about a book I am reading, “When  the rivers run dry” by Fred Pearce.

 This is a must read for everyone so we can undersatnd this most precious of resources and what we can do about preserving it. Most of the book is about the state of water in the world. However if responsible action is taken now there is hope. David Bellamy said, “Of all the travel books I have read this is the most frightening, the most inspiring and the most important.”. So get on that computer and order your copy. 

11.9.07 

This week I have had the pleasure of doing a segment about “Compassionate Communication” for my radio show “TIA”.

I interviewed relationship counsellors Rudolf Jarosewitsch and Mirjam Busch about this topic.

Compassionate Communication was founded by Marshall Rosenberg in his search to discover why it is that in some circumstances people loose their ability to relate with compassion and become verbally or physically violent  or exploitative. And conversely what allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate nature under even the most trying circumstances.

If you want to find out more about what compassionate communication is and how to try it out in your own case then check out my website www.tiatalk.co.nz and click the relationship button.

2.9.07 

Life is ever revealing and this week I had the good fortune to interview Dr Patterson Stark anti aging specialist for my XLRadio Show about “Male Menopause” or more correctly Andropause. I found this fascinating and any men out there are going to get a great deal from the show. If you or anyone you know can recognise these symptoms then be sure to listen in (I’ll let you know when wneh it has been scheduled). Grumpiness, balding, pot belly, slumped shoulders, lowered libido, lethargy.

Dr Stark talks about these common states as simply a result  of an incorrect lifestyle and generally this acn be rectified with the Stark Plan. Check out some preview titbits about all of this in the experts button above.

Also this week I am pleased to say I have started my own Stark regime for real. I was at the gym this am and it felt really fabulous. Normally I really hate the gym and find it really boring. But know more. I was so inspired by Dr Starks revelations I am filled with a renewed committment to a truly healthy life. Although I must confess I did indulge in some Black and Gold Organic dark chocolate with cherries today.  

So it is in between series right now. I’m collecting info for the next series and going through the exciting process of planning etc.

Of course there is never a dull moment. By November I will be the Wealth Dynamics expert for women in New Zealand. I love this particular understanding because I can see how so often people struggle to achieve in ways that are simply not their natural flow and as a result suffer unnecessary stress and unhappiness. So it will be my great pleasure to be able to pass this understanding on to others. 

I am working on putting together some radio shows for XL Radio, The Inspiration Station. The TIA SHOW will be featured and other shows hosted by me will be shows on sustainability, business and health.