Jun 19

24 hours in one day is a long time and there is so much that you can do with it. If you let it get repetitive every day will seem the same to you and you will get bored with life. Thats why I decided to create this list of 101 mini purposes or goals where you can pick and choose one to make the primary focus of your day. You will notice that the first 50 or so are quite random and more fun orientated whereas the last 50 or so are more specific in the area of personal development. I hope you get something out of this list and maybe even make one of your own! In fact create your own list and let me know when you have so we can link them all together so that people can get new ideas of goals they can keep throughout the day! :-D

1) Eat a little healthier
2) Smile more
3) Smile and talk to a complete stranger
4) Write a poem
5) Be a better listener
6) Try something completely new
7) Cut down on the junk food
8 ) Be more grateful for the food dished
9) Feel a bit better than yesterday
10 Help a stranger
11) Call an old friend and catch up
12) Stand tall in the face of adversity
13) Be a better driver
14) Write a song
15) Write a positive review of a product you like
16) Create a new TV show concept
17) Call a radio show and request a song
18) Enter a talent show
19) Start reading a new book
20) Start writing a book
21) Go for a drive with no destination in mind
22) Watch an old movie
23) Watch re-runs of your favourite TV shows
24) Go and see some famous works of art
25) Track down a lost friend and get in touch
26) Call a distant relative
27) Give some spare change to a beggar without thinking about what they might spend it on
28) Plan your strategy for becoming world famous
29) Start a trend
30) Create a cool new word that the young generation can catch onto
31) Organise a fantasy football tournament
32) Complete a crossword or soduku puzzle without help
33) Go old skool and write a letter to a pen-pal
34) Take a picture of something random and submit it to a photography competition
35) Make a fun video on your phone with your friends
36) Laugh for no reason
37) Poke some strangers on Facebook
38) Do some charity work
39) Raise some money for charity
40) Donate money to a random charity.
41) Do one ‘ARK’ (Act of Random Kindness)
42) Go explore a park
43) Get out the old photo albums and reminisce
44) Introduce someone who’s never see it to ‘The Secret’
45) Set yourself a challenge to double the money in your pocket by being savvy
46) Invent a new game
47) Play a board game instead of watching T.V.
48) Give someone a lift
49) Wear something you wouldn’t normally wear
50) Write an inspirational text message and send it onto friends
51) Wash your car
52) Focus on abundance for the whole day
53) Become more in-tune with people
54) Create a better rapport with people
55) Improve your attitude of gratitude
56) Remember that you have the power of choice at every step
57) Attract something simple like a sweet
58) Start a blog
59) Write a blog post
60) Let out pearls of wisdom you’ve been holding onto
61) Write to your favourite author or inspiration and say thank you
62) Shift your focus from the bad to the good
63) Focus on healing any minor ailments or injuries
64) Increase your sensory acuity
65) Give advice and guidance to those who need it
66) Ask yourself better questions
67) Pray
68) Meditate for brief moments throughout the day aka Minute Meditations
69) Practise following through on your decisions
70) Complete an unfinished project
71) Create some SOS’s (Simple Obvious Strategies) for enhancing your life
72) Focus on getting better at what you do
73) Practise being ‘in the moment’
74) Create a new way of doing a repetitive task
75) Look at a repetitive task in a new light
76) Listen to audio books throughout the day and at night
77) Apply your wisdom
78) Meditate in an open space like a park
79) Do some tai chi or yoga and allow people to join you if they wish
80) Get a book on NLP or EFT and learn it
81) Improve your memory and remember peoples names and other info
82) Find a good Life Coach and hire them
83) Start a new course or evening class
84) Learn to breathe more fully
85) Cook a healthy meal
86) Volunteer at a school and give some personal development tips to the students
87) Sort out your finances
88) Book some ‘you’ time
89) Be more charming and attractive to the opposite sex
90) Do a very challenging task e.g. walk on fire
91) Arrange a tournament of some kind
92) Get rid of clutter
93) Act more consciously
94) Appreciate the rain
95) Tackle something you fear head on
96) Overwrite a limiting belief with an empowering one
97) Anchor your positive emotions
98) Send out healing vibes to the whole world
99) Utilise the technology you have to do good
100) Get leverage on yourself to get into action
101) Write your own list of 101 mini goals/purposes for yourself.

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Jun 17

I saw the clip of the ‘Evolution of Dance’ with Judson Laipply on youtube a long while ago but I didn’t realise at the time that he was an inspirational speaker and does stand-up comedy just like I do. I found another clip of him being interviewed and also talking about the power of choice and I thought I would share it with you too.

And if you’ve never seen the full clip of the ‘Evolution of Dance’ then here it is; you’re in for a real treat!! ;-)

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Apr 7

It’s a great feeling to have my blog back up and running again! It was a bit scary there at one point as I thought I’d lost everything and I also noticed that my site was no longer being indexed by Google. In fact it was because of that I noticed that something was wrong.

I first noticed that the number of hits on my site had gone down considerably. So I decided to search for my site on Google and noticed I could not see it. I asked a few friends what my be wrong with my site and why that might happen? No one seemed too sure but they had some ideas and one of my friends spotted that I had and immense amount of spam code embedded within my blog. It was hardly surprising considering that I was still running version 1.5 of wordpress. I did attempt to upgrade my blog a few months ago and was unsuccessful. When I asked for help through wordpress no one responded to my messages on the forum so I decided to leave it again until I had more time.

This though though the situation was incredibly desperate. So I backed up everything and deleted my blog directory on my server and decided to start from scratch. This time I enlisted the help of a friend who was a lot more web savvy than I and he did the upgrade for me but it still didn’t work. Finally, thanks to his suggestion I got a setting rectified by my web host. That was supposed to fix it but for some reason it still wasn’t working! After nearly working on my site for 24 hours straight I finally managed to fix it and get it all running. I looked around for a nice theme and found the one you see before you now. I will be making minor changes at some point but for now this is a nice clean design with some good features.

My site is still not showing up on Google search however I think that for some reason Google had a cached version of a robots.txt file that was set to disallow crawling. I manually changed that and now I believe that will get my site indexed once again…fingers crossed!

I learned a very important lesson that if I’m going to continue to maintain my own blog then to keep the software up to date and change the passwords regularly. If, like me, you’re not so web savvy, then a good plugin to get is the Wordpress Automatic Update Plugin which pretty much does the upgrades to wordpress for you with the simple click of a button. My gratitude goes out to the creator of that plugin as I know it’s going to make the maintenance of this blog that much easier!

This experience has been a great lesson in personal development and the power of choice because, ultimately, I know that these problems occurred through the choices I made. It wasn’t a bad or a good thing specifically but I learned valuable lessons and web skills through it so I see the good that’s come out of this whilst also knowing that it wasn’t the best approach. However it’s done now so I’ll remember the lessons and try my best to implement them into the future.

Now comes the easy bit of writing blog posts! :lol:

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Feb 11

Time for yourself?

In this day and age we all become innundated with task lists; things to do; people to see; places to go; goals to achieve; deadlines to meet; people to please; etc etc! The list just goes on and on! Then people get to a point where they’re so overwhelmed that they feel like they need some time for themselves.

Time for yourself is great, but what do you do with that time for yourself? What’s your objective of getting time for yourself? What do hope time for yourself will achieve and how do you intend to get to that point?

Personally, I hear people say that they need time for themselves for all sorts of reasons e.g: to recover; to re-energise; to get away from it all; to have “me time; time for reflection; time for planning; time alone; time to re-evaluate life and a whole host of other reasons too.

So what do these people do with the time alone? Well most of them end up watching T.V. and at the end of their marathon T.V. session they feel worse off then when they began because they realise they have yet to do anything that they wanted to do, or think about, with that time alone.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of T.V. on occasion. I like watching my favorite shows from time to time or catching my fav flicks on the tube, but as a rule of thumb, if it’s time alone to recover, re-energise, or any of the other reasons I mentioned above, T.V. is the least constructive way to make use of that time.

Firstly ask yourself: How am I feeling now and how would I like to be feeling after this time alone? What is it that you want to get from spending time alone? What was it that caused you to feel like you needed time alone? Was it because you felt like you were giving to much to others and not yourself?

There could be a whole host of reasons and whatever the reason behind your feeling a need to be or have time alone there is simple suggestion you can do to enhance the results of what you get from that time alone.

However you choose to spend that time alone what you must firstly do is consciously acknowledge that this time is for you. Bring it to the forefront of you mind and set a clear intention or choice about what you would like get from this time alone. For many people the time alone passes and by the time they realised that they’ve had some time alone it has already passed and they have to get back to whatever it was they were doing before. It’s essential to get this vividly emphasise this to yourself and know the purpose of this important time for you.

When you’ve got it clear in your own mind what the purpose is you can then decide what it is you want to do with this time alone. You could do any of the following starting with the least productive all the way to the most essential for your well-being:

1) Watch T.V.
2) Listen to Music
3) Go to the gym
4) Go running
5) Read
6) Write
7) Visualise
8) Meditate

Those are but a few suggestions but the biggest key here is to consciously acknowledge what the purpose of that time is. When you do that, it will make a huge difference and the time you have alone will then begin to shift the way you feel and you’ll start to actually feel like you’ve had some time alone and that you do feel more energised and more prepared to tackle the things that you need to do.

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Jan 22

This post was inspired through the recent work I’ve been doing on the radio and some of the articles I’ve been reading in the tabloids regarding certain celebrities. Now, I don’t always believe what I read, especially from the tabloids, but I do know that celebrities will face challenges, in a very different way, to you or I on a daily basis.

What separates them from us? In reality, nothing, but we’ve designed a culture where they’re treated so differently which often stems from one of two poor perceptual constructs: 1) The way they look. 2) How much money they have. What happens then is that a celebrity will often need to meet the high levels of expectations which are created for them. There are many other factors but these two, more often than not, shape our attitudes towards these unique individuals who are fulfilling their dreams and doing the thing that they love most!

They will often be judged in various ways but a common theme that I hear often is: “They have so much money, how can they have anything to be worried about or complain about anything or lack anything or not be happy?” That suggests to me that there are still people out there that believe that money will bring them all the happiness they desire when the reality is that money is only part of the equation; a very small part to boot! Only WITH the right mindset can money serve you as a tool for not only enhancing your life but enhancing the life of others.

Money and wealth are two totally separate things. Money is currency for exchanging goods and services but true wealth is an abundance in of everything in every area of your life. The thing that people often don’t realise about wealth is that you can be wealthy right now. The way to be wealthy is to firstly being grateful and secondly to share that energy with others. When you start to experience true wealth through gratitude money will follow naturally.

Some celebrities have an abundance of money but become lost in their way and then squander their money for things like: cosmetic surgery, alcohol and drugs; all the types of things that cause damage and destruction; rather than towards things that create, expand, grow and help others! Why does that happen? How can someone with the means to obtain or do anything they like choose to take that kind of path?

My best friend recently got back from India and was telling me about how far just a small sum like 7,000 rupees (or£80 approx) can go for an orphanage and yet for us it’s not uncommon to spend £80 just on a haircut which can go wrong and in turn we can feel sad, down, angry or depressed? Why?

A celebrity is someone who is, where they are, because they not only love what they do, but they also enjoy giving happiness to other people and they enjoy receiving that love and admiration back. They enter a world where they all eyes now focus upon them and for some people they can do no wrong but then suddenly, they might do something that, between everyday folk like us, is something perfectly normal, but because they’re in the limelight whatever it is they have done is completely taken out of context and then often the media come along and crucify them. How would that make you feel? To just make one small mistake and have that plastered across the newspapers the next day? In my mind it would take someone incredibly strong minded to overlook that kind of attention and only focus on the the good they do.

If we allow the countless number of voices on the outside and try and absorb the input it’s no surprise that we might end up getting dazed and overwhelmed! Have you ever been in a position where someone has said something about you that has set you off or got you angry or upset? Right, now multiply that a thousandfold If you were a celebrity, and a paper printed something about you that wasn’t necessarily true, or was taken way out of context? Most people read an article in a paper and they often within a week or two it’s forgotten about but for the celebrity the sting of it can potentially last a life time! Even just a few small bashings can permanently change their mindset if they listen to all those stories!

So what can the celebrity do to minimize or even totally negate the effects of the public humiliations, stories, or mistakes? Here are my suggestions and ideas so feel free to try them out, experient and remember these ideas aren’t just for celebrities, they apply to anyone and everyone no matter who you are and what you do!

1) Do more for others, especially children, maybe even anonymously! - It’s naturaly with your lifestyle that you’ll work hard and also play hard. In amongst all your activities set time aside every month for charitable work; something hands on and something you can personally get stuck into! Even just a few hours every month doing something that you enjoy and also helps others. Find something that you feel passionate about and do lots of that. There was one celebrity who recently go into looking after mis-treated horses and said that helped to turn her life around.

2) Make the voice inside stronger than all the voices on the outside - I remember recently reading an article about Kylie where she consults her inner voice before making any big decision. Some might say she’s crazy, I say she’s the smartest one of all! Everyone has an inner voice and you can choose to change that voice at will depending on what you need it for. If your inner voice is pounding your for making a silly mistake, turn it into a forgiving voice and then change it into a voice that helps you either change or turn it into something positive. There is also more you can do in terms of adjusting your mental imagery to enhance your performance too. Sports people do this all the time as they know that doing so will absolutely enhance their performance.

3) Become a mentor for upcoming celebrities. - If you spot talent offer to take them under your wing and share the experiences that you’ve gone through so it might better prepare them. They might get thrust into the limelight incredibly quickly and might not have had the time to adjust to the sudden change in their profile or status. Initially it will be exciting for them but after time the steam from the pressure can build and they can get to boiling point! Offer them your help and guidance which will be priceless to them; something that money cannot buy.

4) You can’t always do everything right and please everyone so don’t try! - If you do you’ll constantly be second guessing yourself and then you’ll start to feel even more lost. People will always think what they want to think and trying to shift their opinion of you and that is just going to exhaust you! The only thing you’ll ever have conscious control over is where you choose to focus your mental energy. If you always focus on the things that are bothering you then you’ll slowly but gradually start to experience inertia. If you focus on what you can do next and all the outcomes that you want to achieve you’ll begin to gain more momentum and start feeling more energised.

5) Take onboard my 5-a-day rule. - I’ve always said that to experience a more fulfilled and enjoyable existense there are 5 things that you need to incorporate into your routine every single day. These are things which are very simple and easy and including them takes very liittle time or effort. The five things are: i) Meditate, ii) Smile, iii) Laugh, iv) Give, v) Appreciate. So simple and yet so effective. Make time for these 5 things watch it transform your life for the better.

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Jan 8

Troy aka Mr Wendal…

About two months ago I was in the west end of London and I decided to visit one of my favorite shops; Waterstones book store on Piccadilly which is the largest book shop in Europe. When I was there and I decided to purchase four books; one was a book to help me with my stand-up comedy and the other three were all books by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

It was a cold night, I had my gloves, scarf and thick winter jacket all on to keep me nice and toasty. As I left the book shop, I was walking back towards my car and I came across a homeless person who was sitting on his bum with his legs outstretched before him. He had taken his shoes off also. I nearly walked past him but he called out to me and asked me for some spare change. I didn’t give him any money straight away but I sat down next to him and decided to have a conversation with this poor soul.

His name was Troy and he was out on the street because his relationship with his partner had broken down and things for him went from bad to worse. We continued talking for about 10 minutes after which I decided to give him money and then I left. If a homeless person asks me for money I always give them something. Many people have criticized me for that and they say things like: “what if he spends it on alcohol?” My response is simply that it’s not my money and it’s not my place to judge them and what they might spend it on. My only concern is doing what I choose to do and doing it with a grateful heart and giving it with love.

After I left him, something pulled me back towards him; I was already close to my car but something deep down inside me told me to go back to him and give him an additional gift. I realised that I had more than just money to give Troy; I had knowledge, a true priceless gift. So I went back and I sat back down next to Troy and asked him: “Do you enjoy reading?” He said he loved reading but naturally at this moment in time he didn’t have much to read. I reached down into my bag and pulled out one of the books that I had just bought; the one in particular I pulled out was called: “The Law of Attraction”. As soon as I pulled it out “THE SECRET!” he exclaimed! As it turned out, about two weeks before our meeting a friend of his took him to his flat and showed him the dvd “The Secret”. After seeing The Secret he wished for some more knowledge about the Law of Attraction and now it had come to him.

I was thrilled that he knew what it was and suddenly he seemed like he didn’t have a care in the world. He was over the moon and extremely grateful. I left again but I learned something incredible, I wasn’t the one that gave a gift to Troy; he gave a gift to me!

What was it that drew me back to him? Was it his intention or my choosing? Something to ponder over but in my mind the answer is simple, it was perfect amalgamation of the two. A perfect demonstration of the deeper workings of the Universe in which we live.

I didn’t have to go over and talk to him; but I chose to. I didn’t have to return to him; but I chose to listen to something that runs that little bit deeper in all of us. Take a bit of time out and listen to those inner callings. Those intuitions and feelings that pull on our heart strings from time to time to guide us through our chosen journeys!

The next day, I was back at the radio station and I decided to play a special song for Troy; Mr Wendal by Arrested Development. A song that I’ve always found to be deeply spiritual and meaningful. If you’ve never heard it, get a copy or take a look at the lyrics and you’ll know what I mean.

Next time you feel a calling, will you listen to it?

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When you walk past a beggar…

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Oct 19

I feel as if we’re entering a new paradigm. It doesn’t matter how much politicians try and fix all our problems, it seems like those problems only want to grow with the desire to fix. With a growing culture of “please fix this for me” it seems we are losing our way somewhat. The more we ask for others to fix for us the less gets fixed because we disempower ourselves by asking, “please can you do this for me”, or “what is the government doing to tackle this?” The onus is always put anywhere else but ourselves. Offering help and asking for it are not the same thing and they do not produce the same result.

Change won’t come tomorrow, but it can come within a generation. Just the other day I heard on the news that within a generation we will face a mass obesity crisis. That means that it can also remain the same within a generation or it can improve dramatically within a generation. Self empowerment is the only solution that I currently see to this problem and many others! It’s a cycle but it must begin somewhere so I choose that it will begin with me. I’ve made many mistakes, I myself am overweight, something that could have easily been avoided if my parents and guardians understood better how to communicate and empower me. It’s the sole reason I now have chosen this path that I have. If I can empower the children I work with and show them that there is another way then maybe they’ll be much better prepared to deal with the challenges that not only face us on a community based level, but a global community level, the level that affects not just humans, but every living creature on this planet.

The paradox is here is that the more selfish I become the more selfless I become. True self consciousness is where I understand that I’m not just this bag of bones but we are all intricately connected. Every little thing I do has a global impact. If I focus on myself to become a stronger, more focused, caring, loving, spiritual individual then in turn it puts me in a better position to help others and that in turn will create a massive domino affect that will impact 100’s if not 1000’s of people. In turn those people will then affect 100’s or thousands of people too and so begins the process of a change within a generation. If my desire is to better myself then maybe, just maybe it will rub off onto others!

I see so many people out there who have the tools but don’t know how to use them. Some people though, genuinely don’t have the tools. The source of change is firstly insight and then choice. Many people like myself who follow a similar path first came to it through insight, the old patterns and old ways were interrupted for whatever reason, it was like an alarm clock woke us up and after the insight we made a consciouse choice to first begin the change in ourselves then show others that there is another way. I’ll make it clear, I don’t think we should all be thinking the same or doing the same things but deep down, I know we all want change in one form or another, and change is the source of the new destination we’re sailing for!

I went to a talk not so long ago and one of the speakers, Roger Hamilton said that if we take matters into our own hands, begin the change process now, then eventually there will be little left for the government to do!

And so begins my 100 days of Vision series… ;)

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Oct 1

My heart is sensitive and romantic and I believe that everyone in this world has that one special soul who they connect with. However recently, life has illuminated the reality of love, and essentially compartmentalised it into a ‘black and white’ order. I have been granted a brief look into the eyes of others around me, who see love as the manifestation of hormones, lust and desire. Where love has nothing to do with your heart or higher self’s purpose, but more of an indication of what other parts of the body are pulling you to do. The stark realisation of this fact aggrieves me; even though I have known it for years and am no stranger to its concept, I never the less find it a difficult and painful awareness to accept.

Have we as humans become so disconnected that even love has lost its mysterious potency? It has been handed over to our bodies and we are but slaves to its satisfaction.

The more I cling onto the thought that love is a beautiful, transformative, uplifting journey for your soul, the more I am forced to witness its corrupt expression.

However being a firm believer in the teachings of Abraham, I know that my thoughts are the powerful engines which shape my reality, therefore I understand that this moment in time serves me well to uphold my firm beliefs in love and what I REALLY want from the love of another.

Why should I bow down to an unnatural concept when my heart craves to experience the power of my creator through the love of another soul. Do I compromise my hearts calling for the sake of conforming to a lifestyle that is accepted by everyone else around me?

As I transmit my intention of love to others I am consistently made to feel guilty for asking for a love that is innocent and sweet, looked upon as though I have a warped, archaic perception of love. Have I always been the human dreaming of being the butterfly, who is now lost in the psychosis?

As you can see, my internal battle and quest to eliminate this loneliness brings pain, doubt and fear. However even though the world around me adopts such a view, I wish to live in my fantasy and hold on to my concept that this person who I fall in love with, will also have the view that love is a soul connection, and not just the result of chemicals and hormones surging around the body.

If this view is indeed a result of years of misconstrued understanding where the barrier between the dream world and real world has been breached, then I wish to allow this to grow within me. It gives me ‘hope’ and paints a picture of a world I ‘choose’ to live in, albeit a reverie.

So with this in mind, I allow the tears in my heart to dry and hold firm my views in the face of harsh truth and with god’s grace breathe in life and wait for the day when my fairy tale romance becomes my reality. I wish to be saturated in its magic, to bathe in its sweet aroma and to taste its intoxicating essence upon my lips!

Follow your dreams in the face of adversity – no matter what the cost!

Peace and Blessings – From a slightly broken heart, but i know i will heal! Kavi xxx

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Sep 10

Woooohooooo! :-D

The 100 day mark has arrived. For me this is a true milestone. When I first began this “100 days…” project it just started out as a little idea to keep me blogging regularly. Now I can see that it has the potential to go much further, who knows what else I can achieve with this idea. It’s just the beginning and I know it will go much further. Very shortly I will be begin a new “100 days…” project and it will have a slightly different theme. One thing is for sure, I’d like to make it more challenging for myself.

Throughout this wonderful journey, I’ve leanred many new and exciting things. Each day has brought with it a new adventure and a new understanding in how to live a more purposeful, spiritual life. Spirituality is everything that we do and if you can do it with a spiritual mindset, you will love every moment of life, no matter how challenging it maybe!

Always keep the relativity paradox in mind, you cannot know happiness without sorrow, you cannot know love without fear, you cannot know light without darkness. These things were created to so that we might know what it means to be loved and what it means to recieve it. We enjoy that feeling because we know it’s counterpart!

There are 10 things I want to share that will ehance the quality of your life, remember and use these 10 things and I promise that you will life will be more happy, enjoyable and fulfilled!!

1) Have fun with life! Don’t let your first response to people be about how stressed out or how depressed you are or about how busy you are. Always start you interactions on a positive note. If during your interaction you need to talk about your challenges then do so, then finish where you started, on a happy and light note, sharing what you’ve learned through that encounter, or just share a joke!

2) Challenges don’t disappear, they change form. Notice I say challenges and not problems. Problems are barriers, challenges are hurdles, hurdles can be leapt, it takes a leap of faith. Barries need to be broken down and take much more energy! It may appear to you that other people don’t face challenges, or that their challenges are not as challenging as the ones you face. That’s your own mind creating a story to hold you back from being where it is you want to be. Running away will not take away your challenges, changing jobs because you have a horrible boss won’t take your challenges away, they will change form. When challenges arise, face them head on!

3) Whatever your religious or spiritual beliefs, don’t hold so tightly to them so to you nothing else is true. Keep and open mind and listen to others when they share. Everyone’s point is valid and there is truth in every way of thinking as it all comes down to perception! There’s no need to challenge anyone else’s beliefs either, respect them, appreciate them, and share yours with spiritual pride. Views are not there to be converted, they’re there to be enjoyed and appreciated.

4) Our childrens education is not just dependent on the teachers. I consider every single child on this planet as my children and I make it my responsibility to educate them. Education doesn’t necessarily have to be of an academic nature, in fact, most often that’s not real education. Real education comes from what children see us do and then, in turn, emulate. Whether we like it or not, we have a responsibility to them as they will always follow our actions. They will adopt our attitudes and they will look to our actions to shed light where for them, there is none. Make it your responsibility to educate every child on this planet. The more we educate them, they more they will be prepared to deal with the challenges they will inevitably face.

5) Learn NLP! NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has some pretty impressive, no nonsense, tools that you can use for improving your life. It will be one the best investments of your time and money that you can make. You don’t have to become an expert, even learning the basics from any “off the shelf book” and acquiring a basic understanding will improve the quality of your life and your relationships. It will enhance your skills no matter what profession you’re in, whether you’re a house husband, a lawyer, a high powered business woman, it will benefit you!

6) Even if your life is going amazingly well, get a Life Coach! I’m not being biased in this because I am one! :P In fact, when you’re life is going amazing is the best time to get one because they will be able work with you to enhance your performance! If your life isn’t going so great, get one and you’ll be amazed at the results. They don’t perform magic, they just know how to ellicit the best from people!

7) I’ve said it before many times and I’ll say it again! Follow the 5 a day rule! Make sure that you incorporate these 5 things into your day, every day! 1) Meditate, 2) Smile, 3) Laugh, 4) Give, 5) Appreciate! They don’t have to follow any particular order but if I were to say one was mandatory, it would number 5, to appreciate and have gratitude for everything in your life! If you can do that one consistently and regularly then the other 4 will pretty much come naturally!

8 ) If you’re not sure what to do with your life the sure fire way of getting out of that rut is to put yourself out there and try different things. Watching Eastenders, even at the best of times, isn’t going to improve the quality of your life. What will is being social, interactive and experimenting with various activities like a sport or doing some charity work! Activities like that will enhance your focus and give you some clearer purpose and direction. The rule of thumb is to do something that completely takes you away from what you would normally do. If you’re normally on a computer or games console, then get out there and try a new sport or go speed dating! Anything that challenges who you are is worth trying once!

9) So often these days the first thing a person will tell me about is how tired they are! I’m no doc but one of the main reasons why people get so tired is because we’re so used to cars and junk food and living a lazy lifestyle it’s no surprise that lethargy sets in. We’re no longer use to physical exertion! When you feel tired is the precise moment you should get up and do some physical activity, push your body beyond what it’s used to and soon you’ll start feeling less tired! Another reason it lack of “good quality” sleep. Even if you’re consuming small amounts of caffeine, your sleep will be affected. Cut out as much caffeine as possible and was your quality of sleep jump from 3/10 to a 8/10 and you’ll feel more fresh and rejuvenated. You’ll actually wake up feeling like you’ve had enough sleep and be ready for your day!

10) Last but not least, tip 10 is read my blog and make it part of your daily spiritual digest! :lol: Ok that was a joke! You are valuable and important, make sure you make time for yourself on a regular basis. Whether that be 20 minutes a day to have some quiet time or whether you take 1 whole day a month and dedicate it to yourself is up to you but make it a regular ritual! We dedicate so much time to everyone else and unless we take the time to look after ourselves and nuture our well being that any pleasures in life will be short lived. The more you make time for yourself and take a step out of your life and become a spectator with an attitude of gratitude the more you will feel naturally happy and the more you will enjoy life.

There we have it folks, my top 10 tips and learnings from the 100 days of wisdom! Thank you so much to all of you who have left me messages, comments, sent me emails of blessing and well wishes! I truly hope this has been something you’ve not only enjoyed but something that you’ve got use out of too! Stay tuned for the next 100 days series! :-D

With love,

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Aug 16

Life has no meaning or purpose except the meaning and purpose we choose to give it. So, now you know, what does life mean and what purpose does it hold for you?

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Aug 15

StuHis passion is music (although he would argue it is chocolate!). His voice, so deliberate yet strategically subtle, gentle teasing you into submission for the message he brings. A winning combination to the lyrics, which are layered like a rich tapestry of life experience, higher learning, faith, goals and love. It’s like the poetic murmurings of a beautifully sung prayer – it touch’s your heart and leaves light in your soul!

Read the following in depth interview to uncover why this inspiring new artist is promoting the one thought “the human solution is a divine evolution” and why he has decided to donate his profits to a charity close to his heart.

So Stu, when and why did you start playing guitar, and when did you discover you had the talent to sing?

I asked for a guitar on my 16th birthday, as soon as I knew a few chords I started writing my own songs. A few months later I made my own studio by lashing together my ghetto blaster to my girlfriend’s dad’s stereo.
I knew I could sing as a child because I could imitate all the songs I liked, but I was v shy.

What are your fondest musical memories?

Playing my old Walt Disney record, yes vinyl! My favourite “I wanna be like you” over & over. Still know it word for word & every monkey noise.
Then my next favourite memory is when I was 17 & went to Dingwalls Jazz club on a Sunday afternoon. Giles Peterson was playing frenetic but musical 60’s bebop & two guys (I think maybe “brothers in Jazz”) were dancing, the floor just cleared for them. I can’t describe in words how I felt, the sound & the sight just moved me to tears as I stared, it was a v deep experience. They had such style, grace & physicality, the rhythm, joy & energy was shinning from them, the sound … it was a high that no drugs could come close too.
That experience got me into dancing, so I went every week to these Sunday afternoon jazz clubs, even on my own, it was so cool. Never packed & always full of interesting souls struttin n stepping, expressing their thing. You can see a person s soul through the eyes & how they move to rhythm.

So who are your influences?

The person who is the single biggest influence on me musically is my music teacher, Professor TV Gopalakrishnan, a master of Classical Indian music.

Who are your favorite musicians? Groups?

Musicians & influence is such an enormous question for me; so here goes. My musical training came from listening, first to the radio, with whatever caught my ear. As a young teenager I loved rock n roll, especially Little Richard, but the radio is so diverse & so my taste has always been diverse, but generally its Black music in its many forms. Growing older I could afford records: I loved the songs Prince did, up until about 90’s, loved hip hop beats, conscious lyrics of KRS1 & Chuck D, but the best flow was Big Daddy Kane. At that time you were either an indie kid or hip hop, I was the odd ball, I did like both, though I could only dance to hip hop. Indie songs, bands I appreciated. The breaks in hip hop got me into funk, JB being the obvious, but then the breaks began to get more obscure, jazz influenced & soon my record collection was well over 10,000; gospel, jazz, funk, soul etc.
No one name really stands out, but sooo many songs & artists have influenced me.

So how do you handle mistakes during a performance and do you ever get nervous before a performance?

Mistakes, if u don’t make a big deal of it, other people won’t either. When buskin on the underground I would actually be trying things out, writing, working ideas. True performance art ! the energy & vibe of all those people would become part of the creation. Busker’s do 2 hour slots, its all v official, sometimes for those 2 hours I’d work on 1 song, but people only hear 10 seconds of it so it cool. Any way if I didn’t make “mistakes” I wouldn’t get ideas. Of course I got nervous. The mind is such a trickster. Some days u listen to its crap more than others.

Do you work with other artists, If so who? and why?

Yeah, I got into doing my own stuff by working with others. My first single “Money” by Coco & the Bean, I did the rap for it. These guys did hip hop in their bedroom so this inspired me to do likewise. Currently I’m working with Sali, a Carnatic (south Indian classical) singer on an innovative dance track, also an RnB singer called Kavita, she’s great but keeps burping like Barney (Simpson’s) after a great vocal take.

Ha ha, very funny – I’ll get you back for that!
So, tell us about the REAL Stu?

Big question eh? I’m special, there’s no one quite like me. Then we are all unique & special so I guess I’m ordinarily special. I’m very blessed, I’ve had the opportunity to experience a “western” & “eastern” family life. I’m v healthy. Funny, well I laugh at myself. V positive, love life, especially people, but I think our potential is nowhere near reached. I’m also blessed with many talents, musical creations being the primary. But the more I witness people struggling with themselves, religion, God etc the more I realize that my most treasured blessing is having a direct communication with the divine. I always feel truly at ease with my personal faith & this actually also makes me feel at ease with any religious faith. Religious texts are words but the wisdom is woven between the words, interpretation depends on the heart & mind of the reader. The essence of love is universal, humanity is corrupted by ego. Music transcends all this political egotistical crap because its feeling comes not from words but the movement of notes. Like love it has its universal law. I study Carnatic music because the “laws” that define this music have evolved over thousands of years & its focus is more internal, it has more culture, not to say its better, but it has a different emphasis. It will be many more years before I will master this art but its influence will permeate into my creations.

Why do you want to record and release your own music?

I make one big assumption in life: if I like something, other people will also like it, not everyone, but then not everyone likes Thai red curry, but I do.
“I admit, this rhyme is not mine, it’s inspired, divine….” That’s a quote from “Beats n Love” but it reflects my music. I feel that my music will inspire other people, whether it’s a social or political comment or whether its lust or love, my tunes are varied, but whatever the message & emotion that combination of notes conveys, other people will share & appreciate hearing it.
I feel I have a “product” which is not eclectic, cliquey but has a wide appeal. I want to get “mass” appeal, that will mean more influence, power & of course money. With those ingredients I stand a chance of creating a school for deprived kids.

How do you describe your music to people?

It depends who I’m talking to. Music is a science, its full of maths, symmetry, structure, its incredibly beautiful. Its nature & nature is not as crazy & abstract as many people think. If you are not aware of the fundamentals of it, then how can it be discussed? If u wanna chat like a critic then its all about your perspective, your interpretation & feeling. Many people may share that feeling but not everyone so its not really a discussion.
My music is natural, so without trying it has a structure, symmetry, flow etc. its natural because its inspired: by the millions of songs, rhythms & nature, by life, energy & love.

Out of the songs that you have written so far, which one is your favorite and why?

“On my way” seems to be a big favorite, I like it cos its catchy & has a great positive message. Its not my personal favorite. My favorites are some of my earlier tracks which wont be released till I’m in a position of having a great studio & engineer to do them justice. The sound scape of them is amazing, I would spend sometimes up to 4 months on one track. Now I spend about 4 weeks.
What challenges have you had to face in order to pursue music?
Time has been the biggest challenge. I’ve needed a lot of time to be ready for this release. Physically, spiritually, mentally as well as musically. I’ve practiced yoga for 15 years, studied martial arts, Sufiism, Carnatic music, ayervedic medicine, dance, all to get a balance in my life. I trained to become a school teacher, its all part of the BIG plan, its starting to come together. My drive has pushed me through some v tough times, fate has continually pulled me along. I’m ready now.

Why have you decided to donate your profits to charity and why have you chosen this charity?

The Parry Charitable foundation is a small independent charity that provides a loving home for handicapped children. It’s standard of care is high & there is a big waiting list. Every penny from donation goes into helping the kids NOT on administration. ALL the workers are volunteer, most charities 70% of your donation goes into paying their admin costs.
I know this charity & sometimes work there myself, for these reasons I donate to them.
In the long term I want to set up my own school for deprived children. I’m a qualified school teacher, yoga teacher & scientist as well as many other “life” skills. From a young age I would talk to God. When I was 12 years old I received instructions to help deprived children. This goal is my purpose, music is the vehicle to propel me there.

OK, finally what does “the human solution is a divine evolution” really mean?

It’s from the track ‘On my way’….
Ok this small phrase has a big meaning, & rather like a sutra in yoga text, a surah in the Holy Qur’an or verse from the Holy bible its open to interpretation. Unlike those wonderful books of wisdom the writer is fortunately for me still around. So here’s the intended meaning: evolution; this word is kicking up a big fuss lately, in America some schools are refuting the scientific evidence & claiming the “literal” bible version of evolution. Well books of ancient wisdom such as the Old Testament were written with hidden meaning & depth that belies a superficial surface. The true value of the words lie in studying those hidden meanings. The Darwin theory of evolution & the scientific evidence is compatible with religion in fact it’s magnitude & beauty reinforces a divinity & creation. However this is not the platform for this debate & as I said before, interpretation is dependant on perspective. What’s important is that evolution is not HISTORICAL its continuous. We are still evolving & compared to the history of the world we have just climbed down from the trees. If you look at how we behave we are still as ruthless as we ever were as beasts. Capitalism is the law of the jungle but applied to the City. “Only the strong survive. “ Fortunately this is not the whole story. All over the world people are silently working, giving unconditional love to those who are in need or weaker. I believe that right now, historically, we are at a cross roads of evolution. Technology is changing our lives & the global communication phenomena can & is spreading a message of love. It’s mixed up with violence & sex but Its harder to get any more violent than we are, its impossible to take off any more clothes, but the message of love is limitless & individuals & groups everywhere are able to contribute & unify in a way even the hippies never dreamed off. I read in a Sufi book once (can’t remember which one, sorry). “When we act like animals we are worse than the animals but when we act like angels we are better than the angels.”
Its just a case of time. When will we choose the path of love?

Thank you to Stu for sharing his work with us and giving us the time for this interview, and thank YOU for reading the article.

Peace and Love

If you would like to know more about this artist, then please check out his website WWW.STUSOUNDS.COM

Special thanks to the designer of the website: Pj (www.websitedesignz.net) and Phil (www.macpips.com)

Article written by: Kavita Sohanta - I DO NOT burp in between songs! :)

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Jun 29

Virtually anything can become a spiritual act or a meditation when you embed 3 things into your consciousness. It could be singing, dancing, rapping, climbing, golf, tennis, painting, writing, driving, playing, sex, bathing, yes, absolutely anything at all!! All you have to do is practise these 3 mantras converting them into an inner dialogue or script that gives you some fire in your belly! They are:

1) Remember that you have a wonderful gift, a body through which to experience and perform action through so that may experience emotion and action. You were given the gift of your 5 senses so that you could process, colour, contrast, smells, tastes, make tactile contact, make love or scream according to whatever emotion you choose to experience!

2) Whatever it is that you’re doing, when done in a powerful frame of mind, can enhance not only your experience, but your result too. The stronger and more focused your level of thinking will assist in giving you the greatest result. I was reminded recently of a strength test you can do whilst varying your state of mind. You will always find that you will be stronger while in a positive state than when you’re stressed or feeling low.

3) No matter the activity, think of it as “my time to grow”. It’s important to have fun but the fun expires quickly unless you’re learning and growing. So consciously tell the unconscious that through this activity you will now get better and have fun whilst learning. This act is spiritual because it is contributing to my spirit becoming immersed in the experience of now. It is in the now that truly pleasure lies.

Remember to try different things too. There is never any harm in trying something new and more than likely you going to make new friends and discover something about yourself that you never knew! ;)

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Jun 20

In the U.K. it’s illegal to talk on a mobile phone, without a hands-free kit, while driving. Today was one of the few days that I forgot to take my hands-free kit with me to work. As I was driving home, I got a call from my best friend, we began talking and a police patrol saw me. So they did a “U” turn and pulled me over.

I was totally aware of what was about to befall me so I decided to pull over even before the police got near me. They pulled over just in front me and approached the car. In those few seconds, I had made my choice about what I wanted this encounter to be. I knew I couldn’t change the fact that I was about to fined and given 3 penalty points. What I decided was that I would just be polite and friendly and just allow the officers to do their job.

They beckoned me to step out of the car and go over to them. They went through the motions writing out the ticket and doing what they needed to do. While they were doing so, I just decided to strike up a conversation and by the end of it, I had them laughing and smiling. In fact, I even began telling them about the power of choice and how I was a firm believer that it was through my choosing that the situation arose. One of them commented that they wanted to give me an award for being the friendliest person they’ve ever had to deal with.

I wasn’t frustrated that I was given a £60 fine, I wasn’t upset that I just got 3 points on my licence even though 3 points had just come off. Nope, I actually went away and I had a smile on my face too. I actually went away because in some small measure, I restored their faith in people. I did get the impression that what happened today, i.e., because I treated them like human beings and not people who were out to get me or there to harass innocent drivers, will have a lasting impact on both the officers.

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Jun 17

I love meditating, in some ways I exploit it to my advantage because I know that it carries with it some amazing power! (I’ve made it sound evil, but truly it’s not! :P)

Here are some of the perks of meditation that I’ve found over the 15 years I’ve been a practitioner.

1) Traffic jams and queues appear to move much much quicker! - This is so true and anyone who does this will know exactly what I’m talking about! When I’ve been caught in a major traffic jam or a long queue I, more often then not, meditate! It is the perfect time, because, lets face it, what else can I do? But if I get sucked into the emotions of stress and frustration I always feel like the queue or traffic jam takes 10 times longer and I get tired, I start to yawn, I slouch in my chair, I get back ache etc! However if I take control of my state, do some relaxing meditation, I find that the queue or jam almost vanishes in no time at all!

The type of meditation doesn’t matter. I vary it according to what I feel like doing. Sometimes I just focus on my breathing make sure I’m fully oxygenating my body. Obviously though, I would not do this method if it was a hot day stuck in a traffic jam as all I would be doing is breathing in harmal toxic emissions. If that were the case I would do some commentary style self talk internally and just do some visualising or just uplifting self talk. It truly doesn’t matter what type you do, but that focus will take your mind away from the situation and hand and your perception of time will change.

I also suggest that if you’re driving that you don’t close your eyes. You can meditate just as effectively with your eyes open just as well as when your eyes are closed. In fact, open eye meditation will improve your ability to focus in the long run and will give you the power to meditate anytime, anywhere!

2) People will be much more naturally attracted to you! - Scientfic studies have shown that meditation not only has beneficial positive effects on the body but on the mind too. When I’ve had powerful meditation, or even if I’m still in a meditative state while walking or carrying on with my day to day tasks, I find that people naturally get attracted to me and want to talk to me. Not only that but I find I get twice as many smiles and people are just much more responsive and friendly! Who knows what the true reasons for this are but all I know is because people are so much more responsive to me, it allows me to then share valuable information with people, such as the work I do or even tell them about meditation. Sometimes it even just ends up being a brief encouter with us both walking away with a smile! :-D

I suggest you try this for yourself, do some meditation every morning first thing when you wake up, any type you wish; commentary, chanting, breathing, or visualising. Watch the wonderful amazing effects unfold! You will find people smiling at you and greeting you even if they don’t know you! You will find that you have more of a reason to smile and that in turn will make more people smile at you and in turn your day will go much more smoothly!

3) It takes away the awkwardness of being alone! - I personally love alone time, but I know not everyone does. Lets say you’re in a restaurant with a friend or you partner and they have to visit the bathroom or they get called away by an important phone call. Now you can choose to pass away that time feeling uncomfortable alone or you can choose to be constructive with that time to yourself. If you choose the latter and yes, you’ve guessed, I’m gonna suggest meditation! :lol: In this particular scenario, I would suggest some creative visualisation or deep breathing, however, go for chanting if you have the confidence! ;)

Just like point 1, the time will fly by much quicker but you can be proud of yourself that you’ve done something very constructive with that time!

4) You will deal with the curve balls much more efficiently! - Meditation has the added side effect of giving you much more “inner strength.” You will find that generally you will be much more well equipped to deal with the unexpected curves in the road of life. You may be dumped by your partner, you may be given the sack at work, you may be diagnosed with a terminal illness. Somehow, because you have now made meditation a part of your life, these calamities will not seem as big as they once did. You will be emotionally more stable and generally find that you feel more happy for no reason! You will look these events square in the eye and say….”thank you” because you know that these events have come to you to make you grow. You will then be in a position to help others and share the wonder of meditation with those that need it the most!

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Jun 13

Gone in 3 seconds!

For the last few days and for at least the next 5 days I’m going to be pushed to my limits emotionally, physically and spiritually! We are drawing ever closer to the end of this project at work and it’s now at the stage where it is crunch time! Not only is my job demanding mentally because of constantly learning of new technologies like wireless and VOIP systems but it is also very physical because at times I have heavy equipment to lift and lots of running around to do!

I was incredibly stressed today at one point but I realised I was stressed only because I was choosing to be so. It only took a moment to shift my awareness and change my perception of the situation. It was easy. All it took was 3 seconds.

1st second - In the first moment I had to become aware of what I was feeling
2nd second - Then I had to offer myself a choice on what I could experience alternately
3rd second - Then I got myself into that state and found my productivity jump! I also got to a point where I began enjoying once again the tasks and challenges ahead of me!

I was just talking to a friend also and she could here the tiredness in my voice but in truth I was grateful for this experience because it is pushing me to new levels of self growth!

If you happen to be in the same situation, you the gone in 3 seconds method and then also remember what you’re gaining from the whole experience!

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