Cogito, ergo sum - I think therefore I am

It's Friday today. The end of the week. Fri-yay. Have a good weekend. Thank Goodness it's Friday  Thank God it's Friday  It's the weekend! I've got that Friday feeling. No matter how many ways it is framed, the fact remains that I experience Fridays differently to other days. It's a combination of knowing I have 2 days in a row where I don't participate in work, and an awareness that the working week is finishing up. I feel a sense of relaxation and slowing down. I feel a sense of motivation and increased drive. I can take it easy for a few days. And I had better optimise the last hours of the working week, so I have a clean slate on Monday morning. How long will my life be a dance of working weeks and 2 day weekends? I have a desire growing in my soul, and it says: "There has to be more to life". My life can't be like the rush hour, when the roads are full, the traffic is slow, and there is a constant sense of stress because I want to go fast...

The concept of 'world' is an ambiguous term, and is generally taken to refer to a set of structured systems and processes, along with cultural and physical experiences.  But what is the world, really?  And can we, you and I, say that we are in the same world? We can make the assumption that we share our experience of world with others. But we do not. The world that I see is unique to me.  The world that you see is unique to you.  Nonetheless, we think we are experiencing the same thing. And then we use words to express our perspective. Unfortunately, that gets us into more trouble, as words are unable to adequately describe the uniqueness of each individual world in a unique way by definition.  Each descriptive expression is shared and exists in the collective consciousness. It is impossible to rely on common words to explain unique experiences. Let me share an example of tasting honey to illustrate. A rich and unique inner experience, such as one of tasting hon...

Breathing. It is the foundation of life.  To breathe is to live. And as we become conscious of our faithful companion, it is easy to silence the mind. Breath goes in. Breath goes out. In. Out. In. Out. In the process of mindful attention to the breath, the mind becomes quieter. In. Out. In. Out. Mindfulness creates quietness. And in the space that is created, lyou may find that life is more vibrantly present.

After almost 3 weeks of writing I can feel a few new things bubbling up to the surface.  The first one is a sense of caution as I write things, especially when it feels like I'm providing or giving some sort of advice which I'm cautious to do.  To address this awareness, I am going to include a caveat:  "This is a perspective. If the information resonates with you, then use it with free will. If the information does not resonate with you, then listen to your heart instead of my suggestions. " The second piece is a bit more nuanced.  This relates to my perception of myself. It relates to the way that I change the topic of my writing.  I sensed that I could produce a more refined article if I had more time to spend on it. However, there is the counterbalance of this which is if I have more time to spend on an article then I'll get into the same situation which is a condition of analysis paralysis.  Therefore, it's important that I push the commitment that I ...

Change is important and change is constant. And when enough people seek similar change, then the collective experience begins to shift. The Australia Day experience has been varied, as many celebrate and many protest.  So focus on what you believe is to your benefit, and make sure it is right for you.

10.20pm, Saturday night. Perth Airport. The departure lounge is full with travellers are waiting to depart the final flight for the evening.  It's the red eye, and we are about to board. In three and a half short hours, the plane will fly across the country and land in Sydney.  Some people are catching some shut eye already.  Some people are charging a devices Some people are having something to eat.  For me, I'm preparing to return home to the east coast after a week on the west coast. The west coast used to be home for me. 25 years ago, I left the west coast heading east to Canberra. I was glad to leave the west coast. Now, I've spent the last week connecting with my extended family, introducing my children to their cousins, and showing my family where I got "my first stripes". It has been a full week. I've processed a range of intense feelings, emotions and memories.  I've leaned into my edge, exposed and released old 'stuff', and walked new pat...

Fear. Shame. Guilt. Anger. Low frequency vibrations. The body that vibrates these frequencies is liable to attract disease. Joy. Happiness. Contentment. Appreciation. High frequency vibrations. The body that vibrates these frequencies is liable to attract health. And where focus goes, energy flows. Contemplation. Awareness. Choice. Attention. The mind brings consciousness to the thought frequency that is present. https://www.brighterstridesaba.com/blog/what-is-choice-theory Do I engage the vibration that is present?  Do I disengage the vibration that is present? It is my free will that allows a choice. And I always choose. Consciously? Perhaps... Unconsciously? More than I like to admit. Always choosing. It may not seem like there is a choice in the moment. I always choose. I am all powerful in this choice. I am free to choose to hate myself or love myself. This, I am free to choose disease or health. It takes a moment of clarity, at each choice ...

The streets whisper the secrets of times long past, while the winds whip through the hills like they have always done. At each corner, a new memory bubbles up into my conscious mind as I recall the adventures of my youth. It's been 25 years since I called these streets my home, but it feels like a lifetime.  I could never have flourished under the watchful eyes of my ancestors and extended family. My soul yearned for wide open skies. The robust control that the religion of my mother's family exerted. The choice was simple: "My way or the highway."  My heart sang a melodious tune as I took to the highway heading east. It was the 11th March, 2000. I spent time in Canberra, the Gold Coast, and Brisbane, gaining a couple of university degrees and learning about my intellectual strengths and weaknesses. The call of the open road grew loud again, and I set of through Asia and India on my way to London. After a couple of years in the British Isles, the global economy fell ap...

It's been a long time.  A long time since I thought about him. And today I visited his grave. Actually, its not really his grave. His mother was buried there many years ago, and his ashes were scattered there after his cremation.  His brother thought this was the best place for him to rest . I'm not sure what I expected. Perhaps I thought that this would give me "closure", or a feeling of relief. Perhaps it's been so long, and the emotion and feelings are hidden behind many years.  We drove on long straight deserted roads, through old mining areas and tired looking cattle yards.  We passed across the marks of an old burnout, and drove through Jarrah forests and pine tree plantations.  As we got close to the cemetery, I felt something stirring deep in my belly. The stirring of pain, trauma and emotion long forgotten. The cemetery was a quiet simple clearing setback from the main road and surrounded by virgin bush. Some overgrown bushes covered the path, and I par...

Australians have a unique sense of humour. Some of it is borrowed from the British (i.e. rhyming slang).  Some of it is borrowed from other places, and some of it just made up. Welcome to Australia. I've heard a few "pearlers" (very good things) in my time, and much of the time, the Australian sense of humour will take those unfamiliar with it off balance.  The phrase "take a long walk off a short pier" is usually used when you want someone to go away. Aussies would likely understand this phrase, and while it has been adapted in Australia, the term pier is not widely used. It's more common to use the word jetty as opposed to pier. While it's literal interpretation could cause harm, it is not usually used in a viscous way, but rather as a sarcastic and cheeky comment to tell someone to leave you alone as now is not a good time and the person giving the instruction may be having a bad day.  And of course, a walk on a pier (or jetty) can be a rewarding expe...

Recently, I've been travelling with my family in Western Australia.  It is a return trip for me, and my wife has been once before, 14 years ago when we spent about a week in WA after our wedding. My children have never been to the west coast of Australia physically. I've spoken at length about my experiences growing up near the beach, and regailed them with stories of my adventures and mischief so it's like they've seen the place in their mind's eye. The first sight of the Indian Ocean is a breathtaking experience for anyone, but I'm certain that my children have fallen asleep ruminating on surf, sandhills and salty winds. To say they are excited is an understatement. And of course, so am I.  Perhaps it is for a different reason.  For many years I've stayed away, not confident that my path away has established myself as different from the person I was in my youth. I didn't like who I was in my youth, and I so I feared sliding back.  I did not want to ret...

On our sojourn further south, we've stopped off at a magical little corner of the world, and tonight we are staying on the edge of the Indian Ocean, admist the peppermint trees and the colonial gardens at the top of the hill in Yallingup. After settling in we took a relaxing walk, a waltz through the hills, to the sandy shores of Yallingup Beach.     By the time we arrived, the sun was already low in the sky  We were just in time for my favourite time of the day - sunset. Now i've seen a lot of sunsets. Despite being an 'old hand' at sunsets, I'm always enthralled by the vibrant golden orange hues. The way the sun paints and repaints the sky minute by minute as it makes its majestic descent to the horizon. And for a few moments, all the people on the beach are silent, mesmerised as one participating in the sermon of the sun. Then, in the brief seconds between when the sun touches the horizon and disappears below it, the veil between dimensions thins and the soul ...

So it has come a full circle. Tonight, after more than 15 years, I've returned to the town of my childhood and youth.  It's a Saturday night, and I was expecting some vibrant "night life". I took a walk about 8pm, and strolled a couple of blocks up the main street.  About half way along the first block, I pass a middle aged woman gently swaying in the opposite direction up the street.  "It's xxxking cold", she spits to no one in particular.  Three or four steps behind her was a man who also had his fair share of alcohol. He gazed past me as he passed me, and I looked at him, trying to read his expression. I heard the man mutter something, and I had the sense he was referring to me. "Just stop", I heard the woman rasp visciously.  I did not look back.   In a different life, this was a familiar experience on this street.  Exactly where I had passed the woman, I had engaged in a viscious verbal altercation.  The interaction had almost resulted ...

Making a decision is like diving into a fast flowing river. You know the direction the river is going when you jump in, but once you are in, you go where the water takes you. Good habits always start with a decision.  So do bad habits.  You never know if the decision is of no consequence, or if the decision will change your life.   On the 4th August, 2021, I decided to walk 10,000 steps. My legs were sore that night.  I didn't know it then, but that decision changed my life. The next day, I decided to do it again. My legs felt better after a walk, and so I decided to do it again the next day. After 7 days of walking 10,000 steps each day, I was hooked.   I made a commitment to walk 10,000 steps each day. I didn't say to myself how long I would maintain the commitment, and since that day, I've kept up the pace. When it's hot, I walk 10,000 steps. When it's cold, I walk 10,000 steps. When it's windy, I walk 10,000 steps. When it's raining, I walk 10,000 ...

When I grew up my parents were in a extreme Christian religion, and I would walk the streets speaking to people about the Bible and selling religious magazines.  Kids would laugh at me at school. Not just laugh, but fully rip into me. Picture this. A person I know from school. One of those mean ones. I'm standing in a suit on their front doorstep. It's a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. The sky is blue and they're enjoying life and I know already that I'm going to get sledged hard on Monday.  It's not like they need another reason. I was a gangly kid with buck teeth, a bad home hair cut and cheap looking home made clothes.  I can't explain the complexity to my parents, because to them this is the right thing to do and if you're not getting teased then theres probably something wrong. I would like to say it took great courage, but I'm not sure if it was courage. I was running scared most of the time. Sooner or later, I knew that I would run into someone ...

The life I've always dreamed of is close. Why? Because I said that it is. I didn't look at my Instagram feed to find out what the latest dream life is. I know that as soon as I look outside of myself to find "my" answers, the dream life seems to recede into the distance. Suddenly, I think it's a long way away off. And that is a self fulfilling prophecy. My thoughts create a mindset, and I'm more likely to act in a way that support the mindset and increases the distance between me and my dreams. So if looking outside creates a mindset that moves me further away from my dream, then how do I get closer? Well, it is important to recognise that I am responsible for the definition of dream life. And when I want to find out what is important to me, I find it helpful to get silent.  Creator: Deborah Lee Soltesz  |  Credit: Deborah Lee Soltesz Copyright: Public Domain Dedication   To take some deep breaths.  To walk in a natural setting among the tre...

Judging books by covers. It's a natural thing to do.  As a human, one of our most dominant senses is sight, and so the reliance on visual information is default.  At least, that's the way it is for me.  And the default settings mean we sometimes miss an opportunity to experience a beautiful person because our preconceptions of their appearance is a blocker.  So if you can look past the thumbnail on this video, and watch the video with an open mind, you'll find a man with a huge heart.   Meet Mr Jason De Ford, also known as Jelly Roll, a musician and former drug dealer. In this video, he speaks with passion about the issue of fentanyl addiction. Yes he has tattoos on his face. He's done things in his past that he is not proud of. And the way he owned his past and took responsibility for his actions made me trust him. He showed courage. He showed integrity. He acted with integrity. And that is a measure of a good human. As I reflect on this, there's a lesson form...

What is the difference between living at home and living abroad? For me, home is in Australia where I grew up. I’ve travelled to many countries, but only truly lived in 2 countries apart from my home country - in a small African nation called Lesotho and in London in the United Kingdom. I notice that I feel different in my skin when I am at living at home. There is a vague awareness of undefined but palpable inhibitions, and I feel less motivated to explore and find adventure, and I carry around with me a reduced desire to push boundaries. In contrast, when I am living overseas, I feel more energised and alive. There are new things around each corner, unchartered territory to explore and unfamiliar situations that intrigue me. Its not that the same situations don’t exist at ‘home’. Its just that the me who is at home is not the same me overseas, and so I tend to engage with the world in an uninhibited and fully awake manner. Its also worth mentioning that I like the me who is overs...