Living in the Present

Can anyone learn to sing? (or dance, or play piano, or learn anything new for that matter )

Of course they can.

Does it matter how old you are?

While muscles are more difficult to develop as we get older, age is far less a factor than is mindset. However, age is indeed a terrific excuse.

The question really is: are you willing to let go of judgment and allow yourself to experience something new? So, a rapid learner is involved in curious exploration and discovery.

In contrast, a quick-fix mentality seeks external rewards. The goal is to seek internal rewards. Internal motivation is far more powerful than external motivation. Since rapid learners are involved in the process, they are also engaged in the present moment. Judgment and anticipation are reflections on the past and the future, respectively. Awareness is just that; being aware of the here and now - without judgment or anticipation. The present moment is where rapid learning takes place and where peak performance occurs. The rapid learner and the peak performer may love results. There is nothing wrong with that. However, they learn that the way to achieve remarkable results is to love the process.

This excerpt is from the website of Per Bristow at www.BristowVoiceMethod.com

How was the experience of learning for you? Would appreciate your comments.

Come with Me to the Hills

Today is Anzac day and I chose to go to the hills for a walk in the lovely beech forest and visit a new DOC hut near Lake Rotoiti just over the Nelson Marlborough border, top of the south island here in NZ.

The drive is approx 1 1/2 hours south and we set off early picking up 2 others around the town and headed off to the lake through the Golden Downs Pine Forests and through the fog and low morning cloud hovering in the valley. Just as we arrived the sun was beginning to peep through the clouds so we knew it would be a good day.

I will pause that story here for a bit and explain that I frequently have numerous serendipitous events in my life and I love writing about them. Today was yet another of those occasions.

Some background first. I have returned to NZ with my dream of building a Straw Bale house but have a long journey ahead as I don't yet own any land. Over the past couple of years I have been collecting info, reading books, talking to people and finding similar houses in the area. Later on I anticipate knocking on a few of those doors and chatting to the owners about the process of building their house, pros and cons, etc.

Anyway as we were walking back down the hill after our lunch stop I found myself walking with a guy and we started chatting about different things. I mentioned that I was hoping to build a house from straw in the near future and he then told me that he was a building inspector with the local council!! Just the person I needed to be talking to !! He was telling me that the council are not all that encouraging of giving permits for these kind of houses as the damp in this area is a bit of a problem, I guess he meant in the Winter time when it does get cold with hard frosts and a bit of rain usually. I won't be put off by that of course but will just need to talk to a few more owners about how they went about it and overcame this small hurdle. Where there's a will, there's a way!


At the end of our walk about 4.30 this afternoon the leader of the group very kindly took us back to her house nearby for a very welcome cuppa and chocolate cake and a much needed sit down to rest our weary bodies. I also had a good conversation with her en route as well and she informed me that her house was made from Adobe bricks so I was really looking forward to seeing that one too.

Some of the views up on the mountain looking down to the Wairau river were very spectacular. As we were admiring the scenery on our way up a huge full rainbow appeared. Considering we had traversed some of the land belonging to the Rainbow skifield at the beginning of the walk that was rather a coincidence as well.

I have been longing to get out into the countryside here ever since I returned from my travels so at last I have accomplished that. It really makes me feel great getting being in the bush, the smell is amazing and of course it's so good for the fitness too. You can even smell the sweetness of the Honeydew which hangs in tiny droplets at the end of hairs coming out of the trunk of the beech trees. That is one of the special features of the NZ bush.

We were with an interesting group of people from all walks of life, quite a few from UK and a couple from Scotland, plus a few native Kiwis, and all about 50's - 60's age group I think. (just guessing of course!) They were part of the Forest & Bird Association and many were very clued up on their botanical knowledge which made it so much more interesting. We heard many tuis and bellbirds along the way of course as they love the bush.

Since coming back to Nelson, I have promised myself that I will do more of the things that I really enjoy and that includes getting out into the hills, yoga, playing table tennis at the weekly club night in the new sports stadium here, taking up Feldenkreis and doing more meditation plus making bread for myself and a few other things. I can now tick off quite a few on that list. SInce installing myself in this house at the beginning of Feb I haven't bought a loaf of bread. Instead have found a recipe from Cranks Restaurant where I worked in the 70's, in London. It is a wholemeal loaf and I add linseed and a variety of seeds and use organic wholemal stone ground flour so it is a rather special loaf and is so nourishing. No kneading required for this recipe which makes it very quick to produce. I have made a few for some friends who are willing to pay me to do it and I feel it would be a great idea to keep doing this. Bit of pocket money at this stage. Watch this space to see how it develops.

Cirque de Soleil Show at Macau

Recently while at our 5 day Influence Conference in Macau at the Venetian Macau Hotel I was lucky enough to get to see this show. It was fantastic in one word. I couldn't believe it was real - felt like I was in a dream. More on my experience there to come.

http://www.venetianmacao.com/en/show/zaia

Words of Wisdom

I was browsing today on the website www.visionsofjoy.com and found these few words which I can relate to. As some of you may know I am very interested in restoring my eyesight to "normal" or as I'd rather put it "totally clear" in the near future.

"If only we could give up, let go, let the thing be done for us,
of how much strain would we rid ourselves!
What a difference between trying to do a thing and doing it;
between trying to see and seeing!"

L.M. Stanton, MD
(Better Eyesight magazine, January 1927

Am finding out some great information about our eyes and minds that is totally fascinating. My favourite book on the subject is "Take off Your Glasses and See" by Jacob Liberman. He was an optician and decided to do a few experiments of his own and discovered that it is our minds that govern our vision and ability to see. I quote "Vision care is still overwhelmingly based on the assumption of the old medical paradigm. However, my clinical experience overwhelmingly shows that these beliefs are actually a major source of the current epidemic of vision problems." (book written 1995) I have found that vision doesn't occur at any single point in the body - such as the eyes - but throughout the body and the energy field that surrounds us. I have found that our eyes are also made up of thinking cells, just like every other part of the human body. When we feel sad or scared, we see in a depressed or fearful way; when we feel expansive, are vision literally "opens up" "

Last Weekend in February 2010

I've had a lovely social weekend and it has been great catching up with friends round at my place - which is a change as I'm usually round at their's. For 'elevenses' this morning I made some very nice brioche and we ate it straight from the oven. It was a quick recipe that you can make and cook after raising the dough but I put it in the fridge overnight then at 3.30 this morning during a sleepless window I had a midnight feed and at the same time took the dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temp until I got up properly. They were really delicious and all buttery and flakey and oh so light. I poked a few soaked cranberries into them before cooking to add to the colour. I managed to find some perfectly sized brioche tins in the cupboard of my rented house too. Also whipped up a batch of our Anzac biscuits which were lovely and crunchy. I was well satisfied !

Yesterday I visited our wonderful Saturday market here in Nelson and chose some more plants for my small but soon to be productive garden. Thinking of the winter vegetables today so added celery, cabbage, cauliflower, more parsley, jalapeno mildly hot chilli and a young coriander plant. Will have to see if I can put photos on here for the record.

My niece passed through town this afternoon from Christchurch, on her way with 2 friends. They had been over to Golden Bay where they went for a night and a 3 hr tramp from Pohara. A few hours here then back on the road to their home in Chch. The stamina of the young is great !


Talking about family we had an addition to it last night. My second cousin from the UK, but living here in NZ, and his wife produced a lovely baby girl weighing in at 7 lbs. She is to be called Anna Lynda which has a charming ring to it I think. Well done Tanya !

The next thing I want to mention is that in a few weeks I am off to Macau for a 5-day conference being held at the fabulous Venetian Macau hotel (www.venetianmacau.com) and whilst we are there the new Cirque de Soleil show 'Zaia' is going to be on. I haven't seen any of those yet so it will be a fantastic opportunity to see this one. Here is the programme for anyone interested. http://ping.fm/cSsbN .


Looking at the social calendar for next weekend, there's a birthday lunch for friend's birthday and am sworn to secrecy on the number.

Hawaiian Exercise for Great Results

http://www.hooponopono.org/ Go here and check it out. It has far reaching effects ....

2010 Kick Off and Foundation Live Events Start the Year Off in a Big Way

2010 Kick Off and Foundation Live Events Start the Year Off in a Big Way