The rules of incarnation and your spiritual journey

You believe in incarnation or not, does not change things. You will recognise a lot of patterns that relate to your life that will be listed here. The Universe works in patterns and cycles. 
Regardless of your beliefs it is still happening to you, too. 
Being aware of these rules, cycles and patterns just makes your life easier. 


Once you read it, just find some time and contemplate on your past, present and future, how it all applies to you. 

1. We all get a body. This body is new and single. Nobody else will get the same body as you.
2. You get a brain. It is highly recommended to use it well but it is not a condition. 
3. You get a heart. The best result in life can be achieved if you brain and heart operates in equilibrium. In perfect balance. 
4. You get life lessons. Nobody else gets the same lessons and nobody can take it over from you. 
5. You can do in life whatever you want. Everything you do to others returns to you. Good and bad, resulting from your actions. That's the Karma. 
6. A lesson will return to you until you learnt and understood what you supposed to learn and understand from that lesson. It will return even through reincarnations, too. 
7. This contract is valid to everyone, without exception. There are no privileges, even if some thinks or say so. Changes noted by hand are invalid. 
8. You get a mirror or mirrors to learn. Many of these mirrors look like a body. They exist to show you what you are like and what qualities you possess. 
9. When your body os destroyed or does not work, you get a new one. Occasionally, you have to wait for it. 
10. The contract of your incarnation expires when you have learnt all the lessons and all your results are satisfactory. 
11. What's satisfactory, that's up to you!

About Parenting:

1. Having a child teaches you very special lessons. 
2. Having more children means you have more lessons to learn.
3. Not having a child means that it is not your time in that reincarnation. Possibly, you already went through those life lessons in a previous life so you get a chance to focus on other things. Remember that we get to reincarnate to a higher form of life. 

Useful tips and advice:

1. It is not a goal to accumulate a fortune for the time you leave your body.
2. To be famous and popular do not give you bonus points.
3. Don't compare yourself to the mistakes of others.
4. Rules are to be examined.
5. What other think about goals can deter your attention and focus. 
6. You can't make a mistake or fail. The worst case scenario is that it takes longer. 
7. Your heart gives you access to all answers and solutions. 
8. In your classroom (life) absolutely everything responds to the radiation of your heart. 
9. Destroying your classroom leads to limitations. 
10. Nobody can take over your responsibility. You, and you alone are responsible for you, your actions and your life. 
11. Violence is never a solution.
12. It is useful to take notice of repeated events and lessons. 
13. If you feel you need help, ask for it. Every possible assistance is provided to you if you ask!
14. Drugs, legal and illegal, alter the senses therefor the results of your lessons. 
15. Just because everyone behaves and responds the same way, it does not mean they are right.
16. Rarely there is only one solution.
17. You can request forgiveness. 
18. There is no special closure in your contract. 
19. You are loved. Does not matter you come from or live in Bronx and Somalia. Everything else is an illusion. 
20. The lessons are there to serve your growth, not to punish you. 
21. To put body into someone else's hands has its risks. 
22. To block others in their development has no benefits. 
23. Particularly at late nights you have a chance to leave your body. Out of body experiences are not stored in the body or in your brain. 
24. It is your own right to play with your body. However, if you want to do this with someone else's you need to seek permission. 
25. There is no point cheating. 
26. If someone else offer you life insurance, it's a scam. 
27. It's not a race. There is no reward to be the first. 
28. There is no point to try to look cool. 
29. In your position nobody else would make a better impression than you.

Addition:

1. Interruption or finishing your cycle of incarnation early on purpose attracts tedious bureaucracy and administration. 
2. You are not alone doubting the rules and contract of incarnation.
3. Because you gave your consent to this contact, there is no point of mourning that you are here. 
4. The present contract can not be broken. Get on with it!

Quick! Meditate!

Meditation is the luxury of celebrities or those who have lots of time to waste,   a lot of people think. We know that monks do meditate and have been for centuries. Most people know that it is beneficial but they worry about the time it takes to shut out the world have a little "me" time. Is it really luxury? Is it really selfish to find 15-30 or even 60 minutes a day to meditate? 

Not until something forces you to do, like a serious health challenge. If you are lucky enough to meet someone who teaches you to meditate like I was when I was twenty something and participated in a yoga class or someone inspires you to go on a spiritual journey, you life will change forever.

What are the benefits of a few minutes daily meditation, you could ask.

• It helps you to reduce stress
• Slows down ageing
• Adds more hours to your day. You become more efficient, more organised and focused. 
• Helps you appreciate life and relationships more
• Helps you to be more connected
• Increases your attention span
• Increases immunity and helps you fight diseases
• Improves metabolism and helps you normalise your weight and to keep it like that
• Helps you have a good night sleep
• Improves functioning of the brain
• Ideas, solutions, inspirations and visions might come to you during meditation
• Emotional relief can happen, sometimes in a form of crying during meditation
• Makes you and those around you happier

With meditation, the physiology undergoes a change and every cell in the body is filled with more Prana/Chi (energy). This results in joy, peace, enthusiasm as the level of Prana/Chi in the body increases.

On a physical level meditation

• Lowers blood pressure
• Lowers the levels of blood lactate, reducing anxiety attacks
• Decreases any tension-related pain, such as, tension headaches, ulcers, insomnia, muscle and joint problems
• Increases serotonin production that improves mood and behaviour
• Improves the immune system
• Increases the energy level, as you gain an inner source of energy

Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an Alpha state that promotes healing. The mind becomes fresh, delicate and beautiful. 

With regular practice of meditation:

• Anxiety decreases
• Emotional stability improves
• Creativity increases
• Happiness increases
• Intuition develops
• Gain clarity and peace of mind
• Problems become smaller
• Meditation sharpens the mind by gaining focus and expands through relaxation
• A sharp mind without expansion causes tension, anger and frustration
• An expanded consciousness without sharpness can lead to lack of action/progress
• The balance of a sharp mind and an expanded consciousness brings perfection

Meditation makes you aware - that your inner attitude determines your happiness.

Here I included a simple, short, 7 minutes morning meditation to put you on the path. 

Enjoy the Morning Meditation to set good intentions for the day!

Improving lower back problems with Toe Tapping

Most abdominal exercises, such as the standard floor crunch, work your abs through an active contraction -- the muscles contract, or shorten, to perform the movement. The toe tapping exercise that is a simple Chinese exercise and is part of Dahn Yoga, is a basic abdominal movement that works your abs isometrically, or statically. Your abdominal muscles are not the primary movers, but they do engage during the toe tap exercise.

Toe tapping is an ancient practice that helps balance the energy between the body and head while it dramatically stimulates energy flow in the legs, allowing you to become connected to the larger energy field of the earth. Because of this, I found this exercise extremely helpful with lower back pain, back tensions and with serious case of stenosis. Don't get disheartened if when you try this simple exercise first time that every healthy person can do hundreds of them right away, you can't even move your feet, your lower back goes into spasm right away and can't move or your legs get so stiff when your try this simple repetitive movement that you only can do 2-3 of the tapping. Even that is just a pathetic effort of what you supposed to do... This is how I started! Just trying it again every other day. This is how I worked my way up to 150 taps within two weeks! So there is hope! Don't give up!

Do not do this exercise if you have had a recent knee or hip replacement or if you are pregnant.

Find a comfortable place on the floor.

The legs rotate from the hips, like windshield wipers on a car. Lie flat on your back. Allow your hips and legs to rest easily, hips loose and feet apart. Rotate or rock your legs and feet, in and out from your hips, leaving your heels in one place on the floor. Roll your legs, first tapping your big toes together and then letting your legs and feet roll back out. Keep your legs straight.

The faster you tap, the easier it will be to do this exercise, because you will be using momentum from the previous tap as well as the rotator muscles in your hips and thighs. Continue the tapping for five minutes at first, then work up to longer periods. The demonstration video I included later is fantastic, the music is great, very rhythmical and easy to work with! Once you stop, rest on your back. Notice how you feel and relax in this position for a moment.

Watch and use this video to develop your daily routine of Toe Tapping

How does Toe Tapping work:
Your abdominal muscles do not actively contract, or shorten, during the toe tap movement. The iliopsoas, or hip flexor muscles, are the primary movers. These muscles connect your hip bone to your thigh bone and are responsible for pulling your thighs toward your hip. The rectus abdominis, your main ab muscle, isometrically contracts to stabilise your torso during the toe tap movement. Your ab muscles contract without a significant change in length.

A variety of factors can impede the flow of energy, such as stress, lack of sleep and dehydration. As you tap your feet together, the Liver Meridian, Gall Bladder Meridian, Bladder Meridian, and Spleen Meridian as well as various acupressure points may be stimulated. These are part of an invisible network of pathways within the body through which Chi energy travels. Toe Tapping helps open these pathways to clear any blockages that may be affecting the balance and flow of energy in the body.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine we should have cool head, neutral heart, and a warm pelvis. And in our culture, we’re flipped: we often have a cool pelvis, neutral heart, and a hot head. As you tap your toes together, fire energy is drawn downward and your natural state of a cooler head will be restored. This desirable state is known as “Water Up, Fire Down.” This means that any tension and stress induced energy in the head area is directed down into lower parts of the body to help energise the circulation of both blood and energy throughout the whole body as it also strengthens the lower body. The tapping of the toes will stimulate some meridian points to bring energy up, and also it opens the hips.
Dr Chiasson writes that "I can teach it to just about anybody, because people who can’t get out of bed can do it; I’ve even taught it to hospice patients. It also works extraordinarily well for some of the things that we’re not very good at, like restless leg syndrome, peripheral neuropathy. It’s very, very simple. And kids do it naturally. I was teaching it the other day to a group of older people, and they were laughing, some of them were saying, “Oh, I do this sometimes without even thinking about it.”

Toe Tapping for Pain Relief
Toe tapping also comes with a variety of physical benefits. It can relieve headaches and lower back pain in addition to easing irritation in the hip joint. This is particularly useful for people who spend much of their day at a desk and, in effect, suffer from stiffness and soreness in the back, neck, shoulders and other parts of the body.

The exercises helps to relax the entire body and allows energy and blood to flow, thus raising the body temperature for optimal body function and healing, and offer new confidence for creating positive change in your life. Give it a try.

Toe Tapping for prevention
The tapping method was described by Ann Marie Chiasson, MD, of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. For her own patients with high blood pressure, Dr. Chiasson has adapted a tapping technique that is part of the ancient Chinese practice called Qigong.

Qigong involves simple movements, including tapping on the body’s meridians, or “highways” of energy movement. These meridians are the same as those used during acupuncture and acupressure treatments. According to a review of nine studies published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, qigong reduced systolic blood pressure (the top number) by an average of 17 points and diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by an average of 10 points. Those are big reductions! In fact, they are comparable to the reductions achieved with drugs—but the qigong had no unwanted side effects.

Though Dr. Chiasson has not conducted a clinical trial on her tapping protocol, she has observed reductions in blood pressure among her patients who practice tapping. The technique she recommends also could conceivably benefit people who do not have high blood pressure if it reduces stress and thus helps lower the risk of developing high blood pressure.

Conducting Toe Tapping Exercises at Work
You can practice toe tapping while sitting at your desk to find relief from stress and pain associated with sitting at a desk. To conduct this Dahn Yoga exercise, follow these steps:
Start in a seated position with your legs extended as much as possible while still keeping your feet on the ground.
Put your heels together and keep them touching throughout the exercise.
Tap the big toes together.
Open your feet by rotating the heels until the little toes touch the ground. The motion should resemble a butterflies wings flapping.
Repeat the movement as fast as you can 100 times. Use music if you prefer!

The more you practice toe tapping, the more you'll notice the benefits of this Dahn Yoga exercise. You can increase the number of motions each time to enhance the benefits slowly. Toe tapping may be low-exertion, but it can help to improve circulation in your legs and relieve tension and soreness throughout the body. It even has the ability to calm your mind and provide a better night's sleep. This wide array of benefits can, in turn, work to improve your job performance, as you find yourself feeling more awake, aware and vibrant throughout the work day and ready to take on new and challenging tasks.

More on Meridian Tapping and Energy Flow Techniques: http://www.holistic-mindbody-healing.com/meridian-tapping.html

Shaking the bones

How do you deal with stress? What do you daily, to get rid of any negative impact that we all get knowing or not knowing it? 

Keeping your home fresh by allowing fresh air to circulate, sun light enter and a Himalayan Salt Lamp to clean the air and allow negative ions to do their cleansing is a common method to keep your home a peaceful, relaxed space. But how do you deal with the stress in your body? One of the daily activity is to have a cleansing shower and remove the impurities that we are exposed all day. However, we all carry tremendous amount of stress in our body. We all carry it in different part of our bodies. Some have clenched jaws, tight butts, shortened hamstrings, painful shoulders, tension in their necks, have frequent migraines and pain behind the eyes. But how do you deal with these issues and get rid of them every day so they don't accumulate and become chronic pain, is the key here. 

Unfortunately, we are so not in touch with simple, ancient methods of getting rid of tensions but instead popping pills, get surgery or just put up with tension, stress and pain as normal part of life that it is ruining people's lives. 

“Shaking the bones” is an ancient Chinese exercise. Watch video demonstration with Dr Chiasson.

It could not be more simple and can be done anywhere. Once you see it done, you probably recall seeing it as part of American Indians, Africans, Aboriginals or other 'primal' tribes' rituals and dances. It even appears in one of my favourite romantic movie starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal. Bouncing, shaking and chanting, all leads back to the same roots. 

You just stand in place and bounce up and down at the knees while shaking your whole body like a rag doll.

Let go of the stresses of the day by shaking them out. Release tensions and revive yourself. Shaking seems simple (and is) but is actually a powerful, effective Qigong technique. It relaxes and warms all of the muscles, organs, joints and fascia of the body and even the multitudes of cells of your body. Whole-body shaking is an excellent way to exercise and detoxify every cell of the body. Besides being an effective warm-up, Shaking the Body can make bone marrow strong, strengthen the spine, and support the kidneys and adrenal glands. In fact, every organ and tube in the body is enhanced by Shaking the Body. Lymph flow is enhanced so that more gunk is cleared out and your immune function improved. Blood flow increases and hormonal secretions will benefit your skin. Bouncing up and down like this also adjusts the magnetic field, organising and balancing it. Shaking can strengthen cells through the quick, extra force each shake places on the cells. It adds a sudden dollop of extra-gravitational force, creating a need for all of the cells to buck up. It can help sagging tissues regain or hold their tonicity.

It is highly recommended that you do it daily for at least for 5 minutes. It helps move the physical and mental energy through your body and get it where it needs to be. Put on your favourite music and shake those bones and enjoy!
Watch video demonstration with Dr Chiasson.

That admirable true Aussie spirit

Australian are very well regarded in the world for their good work ethics, easy going nature, friendliness, the "she will be right" attitude and good sense of humour. These qualities, although the way they were delivered many times were new to me, made me feel at home and comfortable when I moved to Australia.

In the last twenty-one years, my love and my admiration just grew for the true Aussie qualities and how Australians approach life. This absolutely does not mean that I am less "Hungarian" than I was or I don't respect and love my birth nation's qualities. Many times I wish, we could mould together the best of these two nations' best but that's a dream. Maybe, some of us will manage to come close to that.

I love working on how our daily mindset influences our view on life, the outcome of our days and activities. I know, how far myself I have come since moving to Down Under. It bothers me to see how even my own countrymen and women behave, talk and treat other people. How pickiness and constant criticism ruins their/our good time. How lack of kindness, lack of smile or lack of gratefulness or appreciation of another person's efforts is present in our contact with people. When I experience this, it makes me embarrassed and makes me apologise after, when I meet those same people again.

Certain individuals behave like they have the right to treat others disrespectfully, like they were born with more privileges and rights but with fewer or no duties. No wonder, people in frustration respond to them with racist-sounding comments and send them back where they or their parents and grandparents came from. I am not defending anyone. However, a whole nation needs to protect the true Aussie values and the true Aussie spirit.

Recent sport events in Wimbledon made me feel embarrassed. The childish and nasty tantrums thrown by our top tennis players like Nick Kyrgios's, bouncing his racket into crowd, picking and commenting on the umpire and displeased with the noise his Aussie supporters made was not Aussie temperament. It rather reminded me of a little boy who absolutely not in charge of his emotions and moods. Swearing and throwing the ball out of court in his frustration shows that he does not have a way of coping with the pressures of a game and he is not in control of his emotions. While his talent is unquestionable, certain aspects of his appearance right at the beginning demonstrated that we are dealing with a unique and strong individual, who needs and wants attention. Unfortunately, he has been attracting lately the wrong type of attention. All those fans, who excitedly followed his every move at the Australian Open, now turned away from him disappointedly. His behaviour even attracted an unfortunate comment from a well-respected olympic star, Dawn Fraser. While that comment came out racist, maybe it was a good thing for our young Kyrgios to realise that he was behaving badly and not making Australians proud. Even the sport is turning away from him.

Similarly, Novak Djokovic was loosing his cool and was yelling for towel at the ball girl in a moment of total destress. Bernard Tomic was not coping better with Wimbledon's pressures either. You could ask, what's going on with our Aussie tennis stars?

While I love sports, always watch the Australian Open, the Olympic Games, especially swimming, I rather do things than watch things on TV. I have a real issue with Australians being so obsessed with sports and with their athletes. I believe their are massively over-paid and elevated to celebrity status. In my opinion they do not contribute to society that much to deserve it, especially when you compare with other areas of our society when it comes to work, pay, respect and contributions.

It bothers me terribly that our TV news and all the newspapers also represent this view. Half the news and the newspapers are sport sections. It would be highly welcome I believe from a big part of our society if sport section would reduce in size and importance, giving way to the Arts, Science and community news.

Normally, I would stay away from expressing my thoughts publicly. However, this incident made me think. I was wondering, why did these incidents upset me so much that I came to write about it on my blog?

I feel that people who have certain privileges in life need to live up to that position. They owe society and the people who elevated them to that position to show a good example. Top athletes enjoy a lot of privileges in life. They are celebrities with elevated social status, lifestyle, connections, access to things the average citizen doesn't (for example a team of experts, top health care and special treatments), renumeration equivalent or more than the Prime Minister's and much more. It also proves that wealth and intelligence, especially emotional intelligence has no relations with each other.

When citizens were asked what professions they respect the most, after doctors and military officers came firefighters, scientists, followed by nurses and engineers. When you consider i,t money has nothing to do with it.

Those people who are constantly in the public's eye and unfortunately, due to media attention and our obsession with sports, our athletes, politicians and our celebrities have become the point of attention. These people have become the example of the younger generation, just because there is no better in the media and on Internet. In a way, it is a little sad world for those who don't have real passions and all consuming pastimes that introduces them to celebrities, away from the media attention. Artists, scientists, researchers, explorers and ordinary people who do extraordinary things in life. People who work hard and stay humble to serve the nation and the world. People, who not always earn a fortune or live their lives in the limelight. But they are around us, we just have to open our eyes and view the world with different eyes from how it is being presented to us by the media.

Work hard and stay humble. She will be right, mate!

Dealing with the Killer Called Stress by Captain Paul Watson

Captain Paul Watson

Founder of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Co-Founding Director Greenpeace Foundation

Dealing with the Killer Called Stress

Observations and Advice by Captain Paul Watson

I am often asked how I deal with stress considering I’m wanted by Japan and Costa Rica, I have a price on my head from the shark fin mafia of Costa Rica, we have numerous ships on the sea in dangerous campaigns, I am being sued, threatened and harassed continuously and I have a lot of enemies, critics and people who wish me harm.

The answer to this is simple. I don’t deal with stress, because I do not suffer from stress. And these are ten primary reasons why, and for anyone suffering from anxiety, worry or stress, I would like to offer this advice.

1. It is what it is. Whatever the issue, whatever the threat, whatever the circumstances it simply is what it is. Stressing will not change the situation. All problems can be dealt with or ignored.
2. “It’s always something.” I say this all the time to my crews whenever a problem arises. “It’s always something and if it’s not something, it’s something else, but it is always something.” This means that life comes with obstacles, challenges and problems. Problems should not be unexpected. They are inevitable. All problems can be dealt with by dealing with them, delegating someone else to deal with them, or ignoring them. One thing for sure, on a ship, it is definitely always something.
3. Stay calm. There really is nothing worth getting upset about. For example, if I drop a bottle of wine or tomato sauce and it shatters, my reaction is, “hmmm okay, that needs cleaning up.” If I lose my phone, wallet or keys, my reaction is “I better replace what I lost and take measures to cancel my cards etc. More seriously when my regulator jammed once at 30 meters, I calmly signaled my partner to indicate my situation. Fretting about it will not recover the object. Panicking will not save your life. Anger emanates from stress. Without stress there can be no anger. Without stress there is no panic.
4. Nothing material is permanent and thus objects are not worth stressing about. Your car is damaged, something you own is stolen, or you lost your investments etc. It is really not important. Material objects and comforts are nice but they should not be anchors keeping you attached to stress. Move on.
5. Friends are friends or they are not. A true friend will never betray you and if a “friend” does betray you than he/she is simply not a friend. Always walk away from betrayal and do not stress about it. True and loyal friends are rare treasures and should be treated as such. Loyalty returns loyalty. Compassion returns compassion. Courage returns courage. However you control only your own loyalty, compassion and courage, not that of others. And if they prove disloyal or they betray you, the treasure is no longer a treasure but merely a bauble to be tossed aside. Never stress about betrayal or loss. It is what it is.
6. Loneliness is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to discover yourself. You can’t find someone to love you if you don’t love yourself, and the secret to finding the right person is to not look for that person. Love should blossom from the ground like a lovely wild flower. It cannot be cultivated until after it is realized. Do not seek the seed but let the flower reveal an opportunity to you to grow and learn.
7. Relationships are like streams, constantly flowing and as they flow they meet obstacles. Some are minor and others major but a relationship either flows around the obstacle or it is blocked, and if permanently blocked, it ends. This is not cause for stress or angry, resentment or jealously. It is what it is. Move on with appreciation and without bitterness for the relationship that is no more, and open your heart to other possibilities that life presents. The most important factor in maintaining a meaningful relationship with lovers, family or friends is simply acceptance. You need to accept them for who they are and they need to accept you for who you are. If you cannot accept another person for who they are, you need to stop inflicting stress on that person and to walk away. And if another person does not accept you for who you are, you need to walk away no matter the nature of the relationship. Stress kills and living with a person who does not accept you for who you are, is like living with a person who is slowly killing you.
8. Fear is a poison that seeps into the soul and paralyzes our senses generating paranoia, insecurity and anger. Never let fear enter your life. There is really nothing to fear because things are what they are and will be what they will be. Remember you are the captain of your fate and the master of your soul and body. Who you are and what you wish to be depends on you and you alone. A person free of fear can accomplish far more than a person shackled to fear.
9. Oscar Wilde once said that the only thing worst than being talked about was not being talked about. People talk, they gossip, they make false accusations, some enjoy insulting and belittling others. They are easily dealt with by ignoring them. Responding to them is what they want, so don’t respond. Reacting to them is what they want, so don’t react. Such people are not worthy of causing stress to you. They come from a place of insecurity, jealously and fear. It is their stress, and their stress is their problem. It should not be yours.
10. Hoka Hey. It’s a good day to die. It’s a Lakota saying and it means to not fear death and to stand firm for what you believe in, to fight against all odds and to never surrender. The one absolute of life is death. We all will die. What matters is not dying but living. It is how you live that is important and the only thing important about dying is how you die. It should be a death without fear, with dignity and with acceptance that it is what it is. The person without fear dies but once, the person shackled by fear dies slowly from stress and anxiety. Accept the inevitable, embrace the final reality of life and smile in the face of the infinite. The real secret to happiness is to not fear your own death, to not fear failure or ridicule, and not to fear others.

Stress is an obstacle to mindfulness and an impediment to impeccability. Stress is the cause of migraines, cancer and many other ailments. It is the reason people smoke, take drugs, and drink excessively. When people ask me why I’ve never smoked anything, the reason being is that I have never felt inclined to do so. It never seemed healthy to me and I have always been mindful of the consequences. I think that stress blocks mindfulness of consequences. The same holds true to getting drunk or stoned. Without stress there is no need, nor a desire to do either.

Mindfulness is simply awareness of who you are and what you are doing. A person who is mindful is a person free of stress.

Unfulfilled desire leads to stress. Wanting nothing allows you to appreciate what you have. When you want nothing, you want for nothing. We all have basic needs for food, for warmth and shelter, for clothing and for companionship. Mindfulness allows you to be secure with your basic needs. Everything else is a luxury and although luxuries may be appreciated, you should not depend upon them. Depending upon luxuries leads to stress.

I have never worked a day in my life for the sole purpose of making money. I have never wanted to own anything and although I now do own property and material things, I do not allow those things to own me. I never engage in arguments about money or debts. I tend to avoid debts but when debts occur my position is that they are what they are and certainly not anything to be troubled with.

As far as basic needs, I learned to address this as a teenager when I left home at 15. I had no money, no place to stay, no prospects. I jumped a freight train, rode in the automobiles being transported from Toronto all the way to Vancouver. I arrived and camped in the abandoned gun towers on Wreck Beach and the first thing I did was to go to Vancouver City College to enroll. I found a job, moved out of the gun tower into a single room I rented and went from there. Looking back I see it as an adventure. I had nothing, but there was no stress. I simply replaced the insecurity of my position into an adventurous experience. I treated every job as a learning experience and working as a longshoreman, teamster, tree planter, warehouse man, short order cook, baker, painter, carpet layer, postman, tour guide, landscaper, and seaman all were educational experiences.

The truth is that all of life is an adventure, the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the experiences, the hardships, the thrills and the times that were lonely, happy or difficult. Even the loss of friends and family is simply dealt with by acknowledging that death is as it is. It is inevitable and although we may sincerely mourn we can do so without being stressed. This may be difficult to understand but it is indeed quite possible. With the passing of every friend, with the passing of my brother I have silently said “Good-bye” with the appreciation of having known them.

I have gone into situations many times where the risks of injury, death or imprisonment were practically a certainty. My approach has always been acceptance. And amazingly I am still alive and still free. When I have had nothing I have had everything I need, and when I have risked all, I have usually been successful. One of the things that concerns me is when I read about, or hear of people, especially young people committing suicide because of bullying. I wish that I could talk to such people before they make such a terminal decision. I would tell them to not let the insecurities and fears of others influence them in any way. I would tell them to accept that all the ridicule, insults, bullying and peer pressure is irrelevant and simply unimportant to who they are. If a parent is unaccepting of who you are, you need to say to them that if you are unacceptable to them they have no right to be your parent and you should walk away from them. Too many people are enslaved to parents, partners and friends who do not accept them Unacceptance and bullying are forms of violence and everyone should walk away from violence with dignity. No one should tell you what to believe, how to think, how to dress, how to behave or to dictate your sexual orientation or condemn you for your compassion, your passion, your imagination and your character. You are who you are and that is what it is, and how it should be, and if others do not tolerate who you are, don’t give them the satisfaction of destroying you. Simply symbolically spit in their eye, walk away and concentrate on being who you are for the benefit of yourself.

And if anyone is inclined to commit suicide my advice is to commit social suicide instead. That is, to drop out of your life as it is and begin another life, in another place with new ideas. Adventure is the antidote for depression. Take a chance, jump into the unknown and you will be amazed at what is awaiting you after you do.

I am not infallible. I have made mistakes in my life, many of them. I have at times in the past responded with anger although never physical and limited to the poison of the pen. I have let some people down, disappointed others and missed opportunities. But the one thing that I have been able to do in my life is to avoid stress.

At 64, I am healthy, happy, optimistic, and as passionate as I ever have been. Even more so because I have had the grace of experience and the satisfaction of achievement in those areas that I chose to address.

The point of this posting is this: Do not let stress ruin your health, your love or your life. Dreadnaught and live the adventure, this adventure that is life. It may well be the only life you will ever have. Even if you believe in the afterlife (oh and don’t stress about that either) the fact is you will never know for sure, so no sense wasting the unique life that you have.

A stress free life is not only possible, it’s also essential for your health and your happiness.

Read more about Captain Paul Watson 

Straight to the last piece of the new piano book!

What do we expect from a first grader? In my 31 years of music teaching I have seen a lot of things. 

Stephanie, a six-year-old Hungarian student of mine, supposed to start her Level 1 new piano book today but she flicked the page to the Certificate, similar to what we filled in for her when she completed her Prep book last lesson. Then she flicked the page to the last piece of her new book. She was not too worried of the look of the hardest piece at the end of her new piano book so I thought, let's just see what happens if we try it instead of going back to the beginning of the book and start with the usual revision.

It was amazing to see how Stephanie applied all the things that she learnt. She recognised the Alberti bass patterns, figured out the rhythms and said the names of the letter names. We identified the two chords that were broken up in the left hand bass then she identified the names of the long, held notes in the right hand. In no time she was putting the hands together in quite a reasonable tempo and with great fluency. In no time, she learnt it! What an amazing achievement!

Watch Stephanie's third attempt to play Sonatina with two hands! Pay attention to the fact how she is reading the notes from her book! What an amazing girl!

How is this music reading from a beginner piano player? This video is a great example of raising the bar when we work with children!