Michael Moore made a documentary called Bowling for Columbine all about guns and how you can buy them so easily in America. I think he has a sequel to make here in South Africa. This image below is a photo I took of the 1 page advertising paper I found on my car windscreen after a yoga class last week. Now I just wonder if they give you a gun for free when you open a bank account as they did in the movie?
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Have you heard about a documentary called “World Peace and Other 4th Grade Achievements”?
It follows a teacher named John Hunter, who created a World Peace game in 1978, to try to expose his 4th grade students to “the complex issues of the greater geo-political world that they will one day encounter.”
Hunter did not set out to be a teacher – in fact, he was primarily on a spiritual quest. Upon returning from one of his trips to India, with white robes, full beard, an afro, and John Lennon glasses, he said to his father, “Dad, I think I am really close to getting spiritual enlightenment.” His father replied, “Yes, well there’s one other thing you have to get too: a job.” Hunter ended up getting a degree in experimental education, and I think that his degree and job choice have definitely paid off – a millionfold, perhaps.
The trailer for the movie can be seen here , but what is really worthwhile watching is Hunter’s TED talk. It is truly inspiring.
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The first time I came across Brene Brown was in November 2010 when I watched her TED talk on Connection, Vulnerability and love.. Then in August of 08 I posted an interview Gretchin Rubin, founder of the happiness project did with Brene and once again I was drawn right in.
Now, in May 2012 Brene Brown has released another TED on SHAME. In this talk she covers topics like the wide gap between what we expect ourselves to be and who we really are. You might want to read that line one more time……..the gap between what we expect ourselves to be and who we really are. The interesting thing is that it is right in the gap that shame nestles. SHAME keeps us a far distance from feeling real happiness and fulfilment. I know this to be true so deeply that it was not until I spoke to my step farther face to face that I actually forgave myself and released some of this shame.
Yet one need not even experience adversity to feel shame. It’s Shame that says “There is something profoundly, critically wrong with you. You should be different than you are.” Ah, that ever present “should”, a word that mostly comes from an external source, yet we internalise it often without even being aware we are doing so……”You should be/do/see/feel………”
If shame has roots in the conflict between whats expected and what’s real, then should’s are its potting soil. Break the should habit and you have a chance at breaking the endless shame circle.
My favorite article on learning how my words were creating my life was written by Christine Kane. Since then I’ve tried to substitute “I should” for “I choose”. I don’t always get it right but I sure am trying.
Here’s the article from Christine Kane Watch your language
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Fresh fruit and veg markets have to be one of my best places to hang out. The Indian market in Tongaat is no exception.
Lily and her grandson, my guides for the morning
Indian Spice Store
Left overs from the Festival of Colour
Back at Essenwood Flea Market, Durban's version of the still statues who dance when money is places in their box
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Jake Goldenflame went to prison as a sex offender twenty years ago. Today he goes back into prisons to help reform others. He has assisted groups of victims and spoken before psychotherapists, the federal bar and in international conference’s. His books are now read in over half-a-dozen institutions.
In his book Overcoming Sexual Terrorism: 60 Ways to protect your children from Sexual Predators Jake Goldenflame looks into his past and tells readers sixty ways they can protect their children from sexual predators. Two-dozen of them are steps that children can take as they get older and he urges they be taught to do so.
Chapter-by-chapter, Jake uses the story of his own formation as a sexual predator, his struggle against his darkest urges and then his recovery in prison. He also includes steps that sex offenders can take to earn their way back into the community.
This book will be an indispensable guide in all child sex abuse trials.
This interview below deals with Jill Blackstone a women who was groomed and sexually abused by her tennis coach. Jake Goldenflame provides his thoughts.
My question is really, can sex offenders be fully rehabilitated? It is my opinion that the first steps are when they are able to take responsiblity and acknowledge what they have done. Not only to a select group of people or their church but to the person they abused face to face. No doubt this man is helping allot of people.
Jake Goldenflame Discusses Child Abuse on Dr. Drew by BeyondPixBroadcast
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Definately one of the best movies I’ve seen this year The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel tells a story of a group of retired English people who travel to India for many different reasons. It’s about connection, which in my opinion is the root source of a humans nurturing soil, without connection to our souls I think we die even if we still wake up and walk. Then if you’re like me and you want to know more take a look at the interview on Charlie Rose explaining more about why they made the movie and shooting in India, interview with Charlie Rose. As a good friend of mine said of Ruby Wax Loving it, if you have not seen this movie yet, run don’t walk.
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Third Fire films has just released a new movie. Their philosophy is that “Motivation shifts when ambition is replaced by meaning. An inner fire is sparked, often in the third stage of life, propelling individuals to use their time, experience and wisdom to improve the world. We call this burning desire to infuse action with meaning the Third Fire”.
“We are meant to be whole and if were lucky we get there before we die” – Jane Fonda
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Dumisani Rebombo was a 15-year-old boy when he was raped. Some years later, he raped a teenage girl of the same age. And, twenty years after he carried out that horrible act against the young girl, Rebombo found and asked her for forgiveness. The woman, now married, told him she would try and “get the bitterness out of her heart.”
In an interview with CNN, Rebombo recalled the circumstances behind why he raped the innocent teen and how he is devoting his life fighting the same kind of behavior that he once thought was a normal part of boyhood in South Africa.
Sometimes we have no choice but to make our most painful experiences our life’s work.
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Chris Waddell was a promising young skier at Middlebury College in 1988 when a skiing accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. Determined to get back on the slopes, he began skiing on a monoski roughly one year later. A little more than two years later, Waddell was named to the US Disabled Ski Team.
He went on to become the most decorated male skier in Paralympic history, winning twelve medals over four games, and spending a total of 11 years on the US Disabled Ski Team. He is one of a select few who has medaled in both summer and winter games. In the fall of 2009, Waddell became the first paraplegic to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro unassisted, and in 2010, he was inducted into both the Paralympic Hall of Fame and the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.
Waddell has been named the Dalai Lama’s unsung hero of compassion and has been featured in numerous publications, including Outside Magazine, Skiing, Ski, National Geographic Explorer, and People Magazine, who named him one of ‘The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.’ He has also appeared on Dateline and Oprah.
In addition to his work with the Paralympics and the International Paralympic Committee, Waddell has found success as a motivational speaker. Waddell speaks to the resilience of the human condition, with topics ranging from leadership to adversity to quality of life.
Read more about Chris Waddell his life and his documentary here
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hi, i’m tanya monteiro a starter. curious adventurer. lover of colour, online marketing & innovation. always asking…are you Thriving or Surviving?
