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Respect to a Teacher

May 1st, 2010
by Andre.
12 comments

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Dear brilliant reader,

This post is about a realization I experienced recently on the subject of respect to a teacher.  Some of you might know that I belong to an online forum called the Law of Attraction Forum, which has been invaluable in my personal development and spiritual growth.  Recently, my teacher, who founded and runs the forum, made a comment in one of the posts about a mistake we often make when it comes to respecting others – especially to a teacher.   I also had the privilege to listen when he shared his wisdom on this topic at one of the regular talks I attended.  What I write here is barely scratching the surface.

Since the mistake he talked about is one I recognize myself doing so many times in the past, I feel compelled to share it with you, so perhaps you can be aware of it and not fall into it.

Respect by kkimpel.

Photo by kkimpel

Please keep in mind that I only write based on my level of understanding at this time, which is still very very very limited… (did I stress that enough?).  I encourage you to please test any concept and idea first, experience it for yourself before believing or dismissing it.  The purpose of my sharing here Continue reading →

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Posted in: Personal Development, Spirituality.
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Is Your Toolbox Getting Too Heavy?

Apr 4th, 2010
by Andre.
19 comments

Dear brilliant friend,

I hope all is well with you.   This is somehow a much more personal post compared to what I’ve done in the past… it is about an important realization related to my personal development.   If you are a growth-oriented person, you might be able to relate.   But even it is not directly relevant to what you have experienced, I hope my what I share here can be something of value to you.

At least for the last 7 years I have been very much into personal development and spirituality, and when I look back  objectively, I can see how I have progressed from the person I was 7 years ago to the person who I am today.    Each year has always been an improvement from the previous one across the many areas of my life, but  inside I still have that nagging feeling that I am not progressing as much as I can be.   In your own life, have you ever felt something like that?

Examine your toolbox

As someone who’s growth oriented (at least that’s how I see myself) I have been gobbling  lots of new information with gusto over the years.  I had been hungry of new information that I thought will help in my personal and spiritual growth.  You know, books, articles, blog posts, weekend workshops, mentoring programs etc. You might have a long list of those too like I do… spent a lot of money for personal development books, workshops, programs etcetera… :-) .  But despite the fact that I have so many tools, techniques, and exercises in my toolbox, ready at my disposal, I have that nagging feeling that I have not been progressing as much as I’d love to.  Ever felt something like that?

Inside a ToolBox by Siomuzzz.

“Inside of the Toolbox” – photo by siomuzzz

A few weeks ago I attended a local meeting Continue reading →

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Posted in: Personal Development, Spirituality.
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Mental Models

Mar 12th, 2010
by Andre.
13 comments

Dear brilliant reader,

Mental models?  No no no I’m not talking about beautiful supermodels suddenly going wacko creating all sorts of ruckus, although that would probably be interesting :-) .  Not at all, my friend – totally different context.  I’m talking about the models we use to view the world.  We all see and make sense of the world in a certain way unique to each of us, would you agree?

Free Crazy Girl Creative Commons by Pink Sherbet Photography.

Mental model??!

Photo by pinksherbet

Last weekend I had a great time attending Chris Howard’s ‘Breakthrough to Success’ event in Auckland,  and at one point they talked about perception being projection, that is highly relevant to the topic I’m talking about here.   There are 2,000,000 (two million) bits of information bombarding our senses every second, and to be able to function in this earth plane, we have internal filters : Continue reading →

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Posted in: Personal Development, Spirituality.
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Are You Arguing With Reality?

Feb 19th, 2010
by Andre.
16 comments

Dear brilliant reader, are you arguing with reality?

What do I mean by arguing with reality?

I first heard about this when I listened to an interview with Chris Attwood by Raymond Aaron, which left a deep impression on me.  Since then I have listened to that interview many times and what I share here is a distillation of what I learned, my understanding at this particular point in time.

Expansion and Contraction

At any moment, you could be moving toward expansion or contraction.  How to tell which one you are in?  Pretty simple, by noticing how you feel!  When you feel angry, irritable, grumpy, frustrated, worried, anxious, upset, sad, mad, blaming, unfortunate, that’s a clear sign that you are in a contraction.

Atada - Tied by NeoGaboX.

“Contraction” – Photo by neogabox

But when you feel loving, generous, thoughtful, open, excited, turned on, thrilled, relief, happiness, uplifted, lightness, in the light, you are in an expansion. Continue reading →

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Posted in: Music, Personal Development, Spirituality.
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Embodying Strength Through Gentleness

Jan 17th, 2010
by Andre.
22 comments

Dear brilliant reader,

I hope all is well in your world.  This post was actually inspired by my dear friend Therese Miu.  She wrote a blogpost titled Better than Resolutions: My 3 words for 2010 Love Action Bridge, which I love!  Therese’s post got me thinking of 3 words that help frame my thinking and also guide me in my personal actions.  These are the words that would be guiding principles above my actual goals for this year.

After a moment of contemplation, one of the words that kept coming up to me was WATER.

Water – Embodiment of Strength through Gentleness

Water is a basic element that comprises around 75% of the world’s surface, and also our physical body.   And to me, water is a powerful metaphor of the embodiment of strength through gentleness…

Waterfall - Milford Sound 1 by zensei8.

Waterfall at Milford Sound, New Zealand. Photo by Andre

In its liquid phase, Continue reading →

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Posted in: Music, Personal Development, Spirituality.
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On Christmas, Silly Season, and Happiness

Dec 23rd, 2009
by Andre.
11 comments

Dear brilliant reader, Christmas season is here again!  If you live at the northern hemisphere, it is probably a time where you enjoy the winter wonderland… while for us at the southern hemisphere it is time to go to the beach and have some sizzling outdoor BBQ!  Yes, regardless of where we are, for many of us it is our favorite time of the year. It is a season to have a rest off work, spend quality time with our loved ones, our family and friends. It is a season to be joyful, to be grateful, to be happy.

Pohutukawa – New Zealand Christmas Tree

Sadly, here in New Zealand (and also in Australia) the Christmas/New Year festive period is also known as the ‘silly season’, which I think, is partly because people behave differently – often in silly ways – in this period… Do you also notice this phenomenon where you live? Continue reading →

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Posted in: Personal Development, Spirituality.
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Wilderness is Therapy – My Muriwai Experience

Nov 26th, 2009
by Andre.
6 comments

Wilderness is Therapy – My Muriwai Experience

Dear brilliant reader, when did the last time you get in touch with nature?  When did the last time you walk barefoot on the grass, the beach, or letting your feet touched by the crystal clear water of the little stream in the woods?  According to Wayne Dyer, in his audio book  “101 Ways to Transform Your Life”, the wilderness is therapy.   It has been years since I last listened to that audiobook, but somehow this exact sentence bubbled up in my mind this morning as I was opening the large sliding door at my living room to let the golden rays of the morning sun in.

Wednesday morning and I was home alone as my wife has gone to work…  A few of you might have known that I’m currently on a 2-months extended leave off my IT job while undergoing natural treatment (traditional Korean acupuncture) to address some long-term health challenges I had been neglecting for too long…  Continue reading →

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Posted in: Spirituality.
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Don’t Even Try to Build a Network!

Nov 20th, 2009
by Andre.
4 comments

Don’t Even Try to Build a Network!

school friends by woodleywonderworks.

Photo by wwworks

My brilliant reader, whether you are an entrepreneur owning or running your own business, or an employee working for a company, would you agree that there is tremendous value in networking?

When you hear the word ‘networking’, what’s popping up in your mind?

Going back to around  10 years ago when my geek-ness were undiluted (I used to love computers so much, and have been associated with the IT industry for more than 15 years), when I heard the term ‘networking’ what first came up would be of computer networks… .  That was my reality back then – having been a shy type, in many ways I was more comfortable relating to machines than to people… :-)

Fortunately over the years I think I got a bit wiser, and it becomes very clear that networking is about people connecting with other people.  It is about building relationships.  And I think we’d all agree that the ideal form of network to have is one where the relationships are Continue reading →

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Posted in: Entrepreneurship, Personal Development.
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The Force is Strong with This One

Nov 15th, 2009
by Andre.
4 comments

Holy macaroni.  It amazes me every time I notice that synchronicity seems to occur more and more in my life, or perhaps, I am getting more and more aware of them.  Have you had the same experience?

This morning I was re- reading the book titled “Infinite Love is The Only Truth, Everything Else is Illusion” by David Icke. This is one of my all time favorite books, but also – to put it mildly – one that will challenge your ‘open-mindedness’ to the very edges.  Some of his ideas are considered extremely outrageous that some people would dismiss him as a lunatic – Continue reading →

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Posted in: Spirituality.
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5 Questions That Define Success

Nov 9th, 2009
by Andre.
4 comments

Success by aloshbennett.

Photo by aloshbennett

How do you define success?  For most of us (me included, to some extent), success is something we pursue and we often tie it in to our achievements, status, great relationships, or the amount of nice stuff we accumulate.

This morning I re-listened to an interview with Srikumar Rao, the founder of the Creativity and Personal Mastery breakthrough course and also the author of the book Are You Ready to Succeed: Unconventional Strategies for Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life, and one of the topics being discussed was about definition of success.

He defines success differently, and for him it is about answering these 5 questions: Continue reading →

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Posted in: Personal Development, Spirituality.
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