Follow Me 

“Follow me,” she said

The woman inside my head

I will guide you,

Ney lead you

Along the path

To when it all began.”

So I followed

Cautiously and slightly wary

This voice inside my head

Was I to be misled?

“Of course

Knowledge is power”

She said, the voice inside my head

“Without it weakness resides and you end up

Wishing you could hide”

I had to agree

She was right you see

Never could she be wrong

    I soon understood as

I moved along

She guided me here and there

The Pied Piper sprung to mind,

Me following the voice behind

Where, oh where, oh where?

We climbed up hill and down dale

We stopped to reflect

And started again

Until here, now we belong

The Pied Piper piped

“Follow me”

She agreed

“Follow me

Follow me

For now I can see”

The End

I originally wrote this poem for a themed evening of the Pied Piper legend for a poetry group that I have joined .  I decided to bring it up to the 21^st Century. You can’t trust everybody as you will realise from some of my other posts so learn to trust your own wise decisions, the heart never lies

Who says that art is art?

Is the answer more in the eye of the beholder as in who can say someone is beautiful and someone is dog ugly? The person may believe they are beautiful or indeed ugly but someone else may seem them as the opposite.

An artist may well call themselves an artist yet some one else may say’ It’s a mess.’ Look to a recent sculpture of mine to see what I mean

So what do you see? A mess or a piece of intricate sculpture?

When you look in the mirror at yourself what do you see a mess or an intricate piece of sculpture with a beautiful striking nose, soft mouth, high cheek bones, small waist, strong back, tiny belly and so on?

Are you mean?

Come on this piece of art took me all of a few minutes to make and has been described as a woman with a bustle and a mess!

Don’t take it personally one person’s opinion is one person’s opinion.Yours is what matters. Let others just float past, good or bad. Believe in your work, your art, you then whatever anyone else thinks really has no relevance in your mind. A clever trick to build unshakeable self esteem and very effective.

Try this

Stand in front of the mirror and tell yourself how beautiful your body is. Look at the contours, the curves, the shapes and the structures non judgementally. See yourself as an amazing piece of art.

Notice how that makes you feel. Perhaps you don’t like hearing self praise, well time for a change get used to it and start doing it more it might shift you up in your own level of belief and lo and behold before you know it this will have a positive effect on what happens to you in your life. RESPECT

People will start to feel you deserve respect and treat you respectfully. You will feel less down trodden and more secure within. Less praise from outside means you’ve done it. You’ve appreciated you for you, warts and all. (We’ve all got them, tiny as they may be, they are there.)

Now stand in front of the mirror and notice how bad, fat, ugly, weird shaped or strained your body looks tell yourself how horrible it is and what a complete and utter mess you are. Observe the difference in feeling. Stop. Break state, you don’t want to go down the self hate route so poke out your tongue and laugh, it’s just an opinion not necessarily a fact.

This highlights what is art?

You are even if you think you are weird, strange, alone, unique you are still an incredible piece of art, with an artist inside that can create daily through detail of your clothes, hair, make up, accessories, smiles, frowns, posture all of these things how you feel and who you are inside. Does your inside world match the outside one?

And if not how do you project the real you and how you feel on the outside from within?

If you like this post then perhaps you will enjoy coming to the ‘It’s Not Porn, It’s Form’  being held in Bath in March 2012. The aim to highlight how incredible the human form really is. Check out the Events Page to find out more details

What are they? Good or bad?

Stigmas or pleasant views of who you are?

Do we act according to the labels that are placed on top of us, like dead weights by others, or the ones we place on ourselves like shining lights of hope?

Do you cling to all the labels you can find to define you?

Without a label do you exist?

Interesting and thought provoking questions that only you can answer.

Let me help:

I recently asked if I could take a picture of the label on a business man’s back. He felt a little upset as he didn’t want his face to be recognised. I reassured him it was only the word he had labelled on his jacket that I required and explained why. With that he was very obliging although still lacking in trust to let me get physically near him.

Weird for a business man who was earning 100% profit from his retail skills weekly. Strange from a man that works with the general public daily selling his product. Even stranger was his low self esteem or lack of confidence when I asked him about his sales.

This man was not what he seemed. His label was this

Now that makes sense.

Did it change my opinion? No. In my eyes this man is a businessman who still rewards himself  using his selling skills to make 100% profit. He has no over heads, no paperwork and no worries financially regarding his job.

On closer inspection his posture was bent over indicating low self esteem, he wasn’t smiling a sign of being unhappy as his face was drawn and tired. He showed signs of self deprivation and talked to me with surprise that anyone would want to engage in conversation with him.

WHY?

He was HOMELESS, otherwise he wouldn’t have the recommended label to allow him to be part of this vast business.

Was he homeless?

No he had a shelter he could go and stay, whether he paid rent I don’t know, but he had somewhere to live. He didn’t like it and chose not to spend his nights there. Fair enough after all it is his choice and his responsibility to find his shelter. As mine is mine and yours is yours. He assured me he wasn’t a drinker or a drug taker and had fallen on hard times and couldn’t wait to find a fixed abode so he could go on the dole.

Sad. To aspire to be unemployed when you are earning more than most entrepreneurs when they first start off in business or indeed carry on, with all of their overheads, publicity and expenses.

A sad and scared distrusting man was actually a business man, not a down and out as he had previously told me but a retailer of a well known product. A merchant at worst and an entrepreneur at best. (Have you seen the way some of these people sell the magazine, their innovation blows my socks off!) Once he digested what I had said and that yes he was a valuable part of my next article he smiled. A small change in his posture and his face but I saw it. I can only hope more people will build this man’s self of sense and see beyond a brightly coloured label on his back.

Now look in the mirror and see what labels cover the reality that is you.

Bye for now.

Life is fascinating. We spend so much time worrying about totally insignificant things like is my hair the right colour, am I fat, do you think he she likes me? Why?

Why, because we lack security and acceptance of ourselves and have to get acknowledgement that we are good enough from peers, public figures, partners, parents, friends, family, bosses etc. Why do we not just stop asking that age-old question ‘Am I good enough and stop making life tough?’

Are we all martyrs and don’t believe life is hard enough without making it ten times harder by never being enough? That is tough.

And where do we think this ridiculous concept of being more than we are capable of being in worth comes from? Perhaps God? Not one to blame just understand I wonder if we are trying to be better than the very best, which, if we have no belief in deities is generally your best friend or a role model that you have compared yourself with for years, and never quite match up to. If you do believe in a deity are you always the lesser of the two because you could never be quite as good as they are. Obviously not most deities were superhuman in the eyes of their competitors.

Yet this thought creates our intentions, our pain and suffering, our ill-health, our mood swings and our odd need to be sooooo unique we end up weird, or strangely normal!

And all this from just one thought, not good enough?

Next time you judge yourself or go to berate another for lack of this or that, or not having done, been good enough ask yourself why? Why compare a stone to a leaf, a cow to a horse, a person of one uniqueness to another person equally as unique?

Then say WOW because you all are.

Green For Go

Sorry it’s not that type of article. These traffic lights are signs on “Yes – Green Good To Go, Helps Everyone To Grow” and “Red – No”

Do you, on the odd occasion have a decision to make?

I’m sure one or two of you out there in cyberspace do.

How do you make this decision? Do you fret, worry, stress and rush to hasten to add I haven’t done enough even when you are clear in your own mind that the decision has been made? Or do you just take the first thought and let that one be the right one?

To add to your pain would be to embrace that there is no such thing as an easy change. Well I don’t add to it I help alleviate it, hence the need for this.

Traffic lights.

Next time you have a decision to make look for the signs. Doors open and others close. Traffic lights help you to see more clearly. A door opening will automatically show you a Green Light. And a door closing will be a Red Light.

Take for example, just recently I had to make a decision whether to leave full time employment with no job to go too, but a dream of becoming full-time self-employed. I initially had the thought to leave and left it at that. Signs revealed themselves. I found there were skills I had that I had long forgotten and swept under my own metaphorical carpet, and my old job wasn’t utilising them to any degree. Opportunities for future work kept presenting themselves to me. My landlord said he would be happy to have the weekly rent  instead of monthly. People I had offered services to in the past kept showing up to say thanks and tell me how ‘spot on’ my information or guidance had been. My area manager turned up unannounced so I could say goodbye prior to leaving. These were all green signs. Including my job was getting worse in many ways and I was being wasted in my level of skill mix and my money was disappearing faster than I could blink.

Red Means No Then You Grow

Red Lights were to say No. I wanted to go back to the previous type of work for financial security, only for a brief moment, and after lots of applications none were accepting me. Any loans I tried to get were an ultimate No. Now some of you might see that as a Red Light to going self-employed and would stay in their old job and ‘make do.’ I agree. Yet turn the world on it’s head and see it from a different point of view. I can make the money so I don’t need to pay a loan back. The money I make in the coming months will enable me to reinvest time and skills back into the business I love not someone else’s. Two good things come from that my quality of life improves and so does yours. Yours because the more I have the more I can spread around in the ways that will benefit the rest of the world. Hence my red light led me onto another Green.

It’s all in the way you see things. If you are mentally blind to the signs then you could equally make a decision that is right but you may have a lot of trouble convincing yourself. Enough to alleviate your own worry. I’m all for stress free productivity.

So next time you need help. Sit quietly, meditate on what has actually occurred, you’ll get the reassurance you need to become more decisive next time and if per chance it was the wrong decision then think about this.

Nothing changes without a desire to bring change. You can move your life forwards at your own pace. Stop and smell the roses if they smell sweet then you are complete, and if not then shit helps the gardener and the garden to grow. Mistakes are not really mistakes they are lessons in life all the same no one likes to fail.

Who said anything about failing! If that is what is stopping you from taking the leap then bring it on. No such thing as failure or indeed success it’s merely your own perception of what is. Based on what you believe.

Traffic Lights are your own signs. Be your own guide and hey, when times are hard, strange or not as good as they were or will be then look at your own strengths for comfort as to why you made the decision in the first place.

Good Luck

Open your eyes look behind the lies. Who is your partner sleeping with? Is it you or is it a person they want you to be? Do your relationships take the shape of you, always without fail, ending up bowing down? Even if it’s just for a quiet life. Or are you someone who can’t see and believes they have total control over their partner, boss, employees, family member etc? Only do you?

Ummm! Think again

You don’t. No one has total control over anyone or anything really. The only control you have is over your own feelings and behaviours and not even 100% control over how you choose to live. Compromise has to be acknowledged for harmony to be prosperous one day. So if you relate to this stop trying to control everyone else’s lives and look at your own. Harsh as this may seem I’m not feeding you baby food. If you have found yourself here then there is obviously a reason. I haven’t forced you to visit this site or indeed even to read anything on it. It’s entirely up to you what you do.

Too much freedom brings chaos so have faith in your own judgement or morals that you won’t push it. Just like I have to when I write. I mean what an amazing playground the internet. I can just sit at a computer and write whatever. Some of it could be brainwashing you as we speak. Only I choose through my own decorum and desires to empower others not dis-empower them. That does not mean you should trust and rely on that alone. Get in touch with your own instincts, wisdom, truth and learn to listen to your own inner guidance not just the rest of the worlds. (Traffic lights can help, see the article Traffic Lights for more info)

Hitler was a powerful man only because people were too scared  not to follow his lead and ended up bowing down to his cruel behaviours and following his destructive decisions. Neither of which I could ever condone. The more he led the more joined in and the stronger they became. Teams make growth happen. Together we can overcome anything, alone we are weaker. One person can achieve a lot of good or bad in their life time  but put them with another and another and another and miracles happen.

Imagine if you knew what I was thinking, maybe you already do? How amazing that would be. You could tap into my mind and read my very thoughts and share them back to me. I can that’s why I write. Inside of my readers heads are thoughts for peace, truth, clarity, an end to the war and dis-empowerment from everybody. Only their ego minds are too busy thinking this and that, usually irrelevant stuff, to be able to hear those type of genuine thoughts. These words merely reflect those lighter thoughts and offer guidance on how to bring change.

Stand up for yourself. Don’t let the 21st century Nazi’s get away with it. The more people whom are willing to go out on a limb peacefully for themselves  and others the less real power the trouble makers and dictators have. Take for example an experience I had whilst working in a local supermarket. One customer particularly used to take great delight in coming in and shouting at the staff, including me and was nothing but a bully. The two learned methods of dealing with this intimidating person was to either stand and fight or run out in the opposite direction. Not able to do either I chose the different more courageous route of standing up to them in a polite, assertive and professional manner. Having been bullied for almost all of my childhood and teens I was not in a position to back down. I made a promise to myself if I could learn techniques to prevent further bullying I would, so now I have and I had an ideal opportunity in a public place to see if they worked or not. And yes the bullying of all the staff stopped and this polite customer emerged from inside the bully. I know they only dictated their needs through aggression due to their own insecurities and low self-esteem and were unaware of how to communicate in a more civilised way with self-respect and were probably being bullied by someone in their food chain. In the bullies eyes we were sitting ducks, easy prey for them to bully as we weren’t really supposed to fight back whilst at work. Crafty but not wise. This person used us to have her control back as she didn’t really have any. Therefore how could they really know how to treat others with respect when they had none and had been shown none.

I find this a lot in my line of work, not retail I left but that’s another story all together, no in guiding and in my everyday life. I have always been astute and the ‘Nazis Have Won’ really is about bringing your own attention to how do you deal with dictators and dominant people. They aren’t easy to say “no” too but there is something rather satisfying when you see the look of sheer shock, or horror that someone actually deemed themselves strong enough to say no. For the perpetrator there is also a longterm reward, a) they might not get their own face smashed in if they decide not to persist in dictating to everyone the way they do and b) a dictator is extremely unhappy. If the dictator can become the communicator and express themselves in a more reasonable manner then just maybe others will see how much pain they are actually in and be able to help them. Until that time blame is all the dictator really knows, that and how to shed their pain onto the rest of the world. And don’t they have that down to a fine art.

Blaming all who come near instead of looking at what created their own pain in the first place and finding ways of dealing with it. Don’t let  the Nazi’s win. Stand up to anyone who tries to push you around or walk over you or dares to touch you over familiarly in an inappropriate manner. All of these things have occurred in my short life many, many times to varying degrees and only through feeling helpless did I look for ways to prevent them from reoccurring and found ways of helping others to stop it happening to them. I now have the skills, strengths and tools to stop them.

Take a leaf out of my book, until you develop your own power you will always be a victim. you will feel like one, behave as such and the dictators, or powerhouses, will take advantage of you. Not only that when you find yourself in an advantageous situation like being with someone who can’t fight back, as they are behind the counter of a shop or a tiny tot, then you too will become the bully and the victim in you will have their own victim and the victor will reign. It’s not easy breaking the cycle but if I could then so can you. Get help to do it, trust me there’s plenty on offer.

Courage is a good place to start with and then remember there is safety in numbers is why they come in gangs. This customer was a better person on their own but hell on earth when they had their ‘posse’ around them. For you there is safety in truth. The more you become accustomed to the words “No, you can go, then you can grow” the more you can help yourself and your ‘Nazi’ grow into more humane human beings who show respect to their fellow travellers as we all journey through life together.

Good luck. If you need any more help ‘One’ How To Be A Human Being can you sort you out. A book that will be published as soon as and helps you to develop the right skills for the right situation. Updates will be made in time

NB: Oh and if like I used to be, you were or are the victim of abuse from someone else watch out for the signs that show  you have started to take it out on yourself  instead of making someone else your victim, you become your own victim. Don’t bother, life will bring you enough ups and downs to create pain that you don’t need to turn on yourself with hate and blame. Strength comes from loving you again.

Why do you stare at that?
Is it cause I be black?
Do you stare and hope for war?
Are you silly Billy?

I ain’t a man to fight
I ain’t a man to discuss my plight
I ain’t a man to hurry you
Love me through and through

Love me as your bruv, bro
Then maybe you too will know
I ain’t black
I be white

I ain’t common as muck
Or a quick f….
I’m not you but
I don’t treat you like
Shit on my shoe

Why bother with blame lets educate so it doesn't happen again

I ain’t here bringing harm
I ain’t gonna call the long arm
Of the law to get you OUT
I ain’t gonna scream and shout

I will help you to feel
Strong, wise and true
Belonging where you are
Happy just to share

Culture divides and aids
Truth in that
But why?

Black, white, green or blue
I love you just for you.

By Julie-Ann

NOW

Wow it’s now
The time is right
To end all the fight

Be at one
With home
It’s where the
Heart is

Open your mind
To freedom
And peace

Be at one
With all
There is

Never regret
Look back
And fret

Look to life
For what is
Right

Art, dance
Future of all
Revel in
The many forms
Of culture

Man the life boats, push and shove I’m first!”

“Well! I beg your pardon. Think of someone other than yourself for a change.”

Change doesn't have to bring pain

“Who are you?”

“I am a kind-hearted person who recognises that when change is ‘a coming’ it creates a lot of fear and people like yourself run. I am a person that understands change upsets you and your kind. I am a person that remains calm and allows you and others who are scared to just run. But hey, stop and see that the change that’s ‘a coming’  is of benefit to you and me.”

“No. I am a scared person who knows change upsets everything and I don’t like it and will not accept it. I refuse to go down with the boat and I’m off!”

“Suit yourself, but you’re the one who ends up lost. Whether the boat sinks or floats isn’t the answer, the question doesn’t even exist. Change is happening and there is nothing you can do to change it.”

“Wake up kind-hearted person, you can’t live through that. Change will crush you and the world will chew you up and spit you out! Run. Run for your life it’s the only way.”

“Stress is what you feel. Running inside not knowing which way to turn, twisting yourself up in pain and fear, not knowing what you are doing here. Stop. Let change occur. It can’t hurt you and perhaps one day you can look back and see that change was of benefit to you and me.”

“No”

“Okay, but then how do you grow?”

Silence, from the scared person.

Change can bring change. Change can bring change. Change can bring change.

Why do people fear it? It’s a word nothing more and nothing less. It’s simple growth will occur. Change is how we learn, live and prosper or not. Depends on your background, your history not mine. If change has brought pain then you will do everything to stop it happening again but if it was fun, filled with laughter and joy, an abundance of pleasurable things coming to you then change will never come too soon.

Often the thought is worse than the act. Remember that next time change pokes up its head  tell yourself , “There’s no need to run and hide in your bed,” change can change you for the better. It has many rewards to offer and hey, you may well end up wishing for more change rather than less one day. Or maybe not. It’s your decision. You can fight change and never ever win, because change is strong. It is an unstoppable force that will always win. Or you can if you give in. Allow change to come, welcome it in and let it bring all the depth of wealth for you to know what is true.

If you can find it in your heart to help when other’s have fear of change then you are a well liked person. If not then have a heart. People find change challenging, it’s the unknown that creates the fear. Imagine if in your own mind, somewhere, somehow you have already been there then it can never be the unknown. Familiarity will settle in as you get that ‘deja-vu’ feeling. A future vision within of what may be can help you to see. Change is already in our midst. Life is offering us the chance to work more in teams, less self, self, self to help the world that turns. Words are a start to change things, been around for years. Lyrics of songs, books, blogs, science brings knowledge and helps to inform us with proof, art, music, dance can evolve our minds to help us feel kind and not be so blind.

Use the tools that the world has to offer you to forward yourself. There are many. Help others to give back help. Ride on the back of no one always offer an exchange. Bring change and watch the world turn in balance and harmony with all things.

Just do your bit, it’s always enough

“And thank you,” said the kindhearted woman, “and if you are scared then turn to someone who’s already been there and done it, they are your best support and as such will guide you through the rough seas that change can bring.”

Love and good sailing to you all and remember a lighthouse often springs up to guide you from the rocks when you least expect.

xxx

“What’s life all about.”

The answer came short and sweet.

“Fate my dear that’s how we meet and greet!”

Now Cinderella, logical as she was wanted more. An explanation please

“Could it be the field of energy that surrounds me can bring me all I need?

Does God exist within and open my own door to freedom and peace?

Could I be a Master who creates using human power what I need?

Was I born only to succeed?

“Fate”

That was the reply.

Call it God, Destiny, Creation or Creativity. Call it what you want.

All I know is that whenever I ask, forgive and forget then I get more landing in my lap.

If I scream and shout, “Why not now?”  The wisdom inside reminds me, “It’s a slow, glorious ride no need to haste this will only create waste.”

So I’ve learnt  and grown, listen and learn, your heart will bring all you could need. Once this was just a tiny seed, but through knowledge and time it grew big and strong and now able to do this alone I share the fruits with you and you and you. Those who wish to hear my truth and realise their own. I share my fate so I know I’m not in this alone.

Too big for one was my only fear, all others had already long disappeared. But with help en route my dreams will come true.

“Fate will bring it all to you.”

And with that in a puff of smoke my Godmother vanished into thin air.  A story with no end because when I call she’s always there………………

Do you check out what your friends like or do you settle on your own opinion being good enough?

I don’t. I don’t rate it. It makes absolutely no sense to me to put a rate of this or that on anything. Something that I once considered being worthy of a 10 has now become a ‘Not on your life,’ ‘No way hosai’ kinda rate.

As we grow our tastes obviously change. Why waste time saying this? It’s common knowledge.

I don’t know. Does anyone really want this? Is it below par or just hits the spot at the right mark? Does it have any substance or isn’t that important to you?

What is your overall rate of yourself? Do you lack substance when you stand in front of the mirror and praise or berate the physical bits and pieces that make you you? Or are you deep and meaningful and see beyond your own body to your soul, the heart of you, and acknowledge this as having as much significance as the vehicle the soul travels in?

Does it really matter? What attracts you and is good for you today is equally disgusting and out of your league tomorrow. What’s bad and untouchable today is beautiful and right up your street tomorrow.

Are you worthy?

Does that really even come into it?

Tomorrow are you likely to be more worthy of the beauty, joy and abundance that life has to offer than you are today? Maybe if you receive praise you will be, but why?

Praise yourself for your own attributes and rate yourself top, warts and all, then maybe, just maybe when someone comes along and decides you are below their rating system or top notch then you’ll feel better. Not worse, not deflated as you didn’t impress them or elated as you scored top marks but happy, balanced, alive and full of self worth.

For your own worth remains true to your opinion of you.