the PDB list

Last week I got an email from Alexys over at Unraveling the Spiritual Mystique. The darling, but very naughty girl added ME to the Personal Development List that's currently doing the rounds in the blogosphere.

My first reaction...no kidding...was to swear with three words starting with "What the...?" (the last word *blush* is henceforth edited out). Once I recovered from the total shock I was amazed to see the company my wee missive here is being included amongst. There are bloggers on this list whose league I could not imagine emulating and yet, here I am...included among them! *heart beats rapidly with trepidation*.... the responsibility of this is rather intimidating but I am rather enjoying the brief glare of the roving spotlight all the same :)

So anyway.... blogger is supposed to be intuitive enough to just include the hyperlinks to all the blogs on the list in one smooth, easy, cut and paste effort. HA!

Alas and alack! It's taken me days to laboriously, one by one, copy each link for each blog and insert them in here. That "intuitive" blogger thingy just wouldn't work for me no matter what I did. I guess I can say I "belong" on this list now just because it cost me time and sweat making the list below all show up! *giggle*

Seriously though. Many MANY thanks to Alexys for including lil ol' me on the list and thanks to Priscilla Palmer for spreading the list in the first place.

I'm supposed to add another blog to this list. It's taken me some time to decide, but I wish to add Maria Gracia and her Get Organized Now! Weblog. She's a bit of a sweetie and a very professional organized person indeed who provides inspiriation and support to many thousands of people around the world in helping them sort out the minutiae of their lives.

And here is the list......

Personal Development List

Aaron Potts at Today is That Day
Adam Kayce at Monk at Work
AgentSully at Life Learning Today
Al at 7pproductions.com
Alan Torres at Made to Be Great
Alex Shalman at AlexShalman.com
Alexander Kjerulf at The Chief Happiness Officer
Alexys Fairfield at Unraveling The Spiritual Mystique
Albert Foong at urbanmonk.net
Amber at Random Mangus
Amie Ragan at Psychology of Clutter
Amy Hedin at There is no Maximum to Human Potential
Andrea Learned at Learned on Women
Andrea J. Lee at Money, Meaning, and Beyond
Andy Wibbels at AndyWibbels.com
Anita Pathik Law at Power of four Way
Anna Farmery at The Engaging Brand
Antonio Thornton at AntonioThornton.com
Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living
Ask Lucid at Ask Lucid Spiritual Development
Barbara Sliter at Creatorship
Belle Wong at Abundance Journal
Billy Smith at The Organic Leadership Blog
Blogfuse at LifeDev
Brad Isaac at Achieve It
Brian Clark at Copyblogger
Brian Kim at briankim.net
Brian Lee at geniustypes.com
Bob at everyeveryminute
Cam Beck at ChaosScenario
Cara Lumen at The Success Magnets With Cara Luman and Your Second Wind Blog
Carlon Haas at Possess Less Exist More
Chris Marshall at Martial Devlopment
Christine Kane at ChristineKane.com
Clyde at Feeling Good
Conceive, Believe, Achieve at Conceive, Believe, Achieve
Craig Harper at Motivational Speaker
Curt Rosengren at Occupational Adventure
Cyres at Cyres Matters
Damian Carr at Soul Terminal
Daniel Sitter at Idea Sellers
Dave Schawbel at The Personal Branding Blog
Dave Schoof at Engaging the Disquiet
Davers at Language Trainers Blog
David Allen at The David Allen Company
David Bohl at Reflections on Balance
David Fitch at David Fitch.com
David Rogers at How to Have Great Self Confidence
David Seah at David Seah.com
Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com
Dean Lacono at Law of Attraction for Beginners
Debbie Call at Spirit In Gear
Debbie LaChusa at 10 Step Marketing Collection
Debra Moorhead at Debra Moorhead.com
Des Walsh at Thinking Home Business
Dick Richards at Come Gather Round
Dominic Tay at Personal Development for Winners
Don Simkovich at Hey Don
Donald Latumahina at Life Optimizer
Donna Karlin at Perspectives
Dr. Charles Parker at The Core Psych Blog
Dr. Hal at Northstar Mental fitness blog
Drew Rozell at Drew Rozell.com
Dwayne Melancon at Genuine Curiosity
Edward Mills at Evolving Times
Ellen Weber at Brain Based Business
Emmanuel Lopez at The Adventures of Motivatorman
Ellesse at Goal Setting College
Elly Jolly at Jolly Life Coaching
Enoch Tan at Mind Reality
Eric Napier at Quotation Collection
Frank Kanu at Frank Uncovers Excellence in Leadership
Frank Roche at KnowHR Blog
Galba Bright at Tune Up Your EQ
Gleb Reys at Personal Development Ideas
Grayson at Modern Worker Blog
Gretchen Rubin at Happiness Project
Gustav at Success-is-in-you.com
Guy Kawasaki at How to Change the World
Gyanish at Diethack
Halina Goldstein at The Inner Travel Journal
Hilda Carroll at Living Out Loud
Henrik Edberg at The Positivity Blog
Honman at Open Your Mind to Prosperity
Inkedmn at The Cranking Widgets Blog
Itzy Sabo at Email Overloaded
Jacklyn Ker at Inspiring and Empowing Lives
Jason and Michael at Black Belt Productivity
Jason Ivers at A Miracle a Day
Jason Womack at Fit and Effective
Jay White at dumb little man tips for life
Jean Browman at Transforming Stress Into Power and Cheerful Monk
Jeff Lilly at Druid Journal
Jeffrey Phillips at Think Faster
Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness
Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy by Jeremiah
Jerry Hart at Blue Print to emarketing
Jerry Lopper atPersonal Growth
Jim stroup at Managing Leadership
Jim Walton at Black In Business
Joan Schramm at Accelerating Momentum
Joanna Young at Coaching Wizardry
Joe Vitale at Dr. Joe Vitale at Zero
John Pratt at John Pratt International
John Place at John Place Online
John Wesley at Pick The Brain
Jon at Join The Secret
Jonathan at Smart Wealthy Rich and Freelance Folder
Jory Des Jardin at Pause: Meaningful Work
Josh Bickford at Reach For Magnificence and Reach for Magnificence
Julia Rogers Hamrick at Julia’s Blog: Journal of the Journey Home to Eden
Julie Bonner at Declutter It
Kailani at An Island Review
Kammie Kobyleski at Passion Meets Purpose
Karen at Journey with Water Learner
Karen Lynch at Live The Power
Karen Wallace at The Clearing Space
Karl Staib at Karl Staib.com
Kevin Kinchen at Creative Power of Thought
Killeris at Attitude, The Ultimate Power
Kim and Jason at Escape Adulthood
Kim George at Doing What You Can Do
Kirsten Harrell at Ipopin
Krishna De at Biz Growth News and Todays Women in Business
K.L. Masina at Be Conscious Now
Leah Maclean at Working Solo
Laura Young at The Dragon Slayer’s Guide to Life
Lee Nutter at bmindful
Leo Babauta at Zen Habits
Life Reflection at Universe in a Single Atom
Linda Salazar at Awaken The Genie Within
Lisa Gates at Design Your Writing Life
Liz Strauss at Successful Blog
Lodewijkvdb at How to be an Original
Lola Fayemi at Real World Spiritual and Personal Development
Lorraine Cohen at Powerfull Living
Luciano Passuello at Litemind.com
Lucid at Spiritual Suggestions
Lyman Reed at Creating a Better Life
Maddy at Illuminated Minds Want to Know
Maria Palma at The Good Life
Marianne Williamson at Journal
Mark at The Naked Soul
Mark Forster at Get Everything Done
Mark McManus at Build Your Life To Order
Mark W Shead at Productivity 501
Martin Avis at Kickstart Daily
Matthew Cornell at Matt’s Idea Blog
Meg Haworth at Life Lessons From Your Soul
Melanie Benson Strick at The Success Blog
Merlin Mann at 43 Folders
Michelle Moore at Happiness Blog
Michael Port at The Think Big Revolution
Mike St. Pierre at The Daily Saint
My Everyday Planner at My Everyday Planner
Nancy Tierney at Unconditional Confidence
Neil Patel at Quick Sprout
Nic Askew at Monday 9AM Blog
Nick Smith at Life 2.0
Nneka at Balanced Life Center
Organize-It at Organize-It
Pamala Slim at Escape From Cubicle Nation
Pamm Larry at My Spiritual Dance
Patricia Singleton at Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker
Paul at Paul’s Tips
Peggy Payne at Peggy Payne’s Boldness Blog
Peter at I Will Change Your Life
Peter Aldin at Great Circle
Peter Haslem at Necessary Skills
Phil Gerbyshak at Make It Great
Philippe Matthews at Shockwealth
Priscilla Palmer at Personal Development Demands Success
Raymond Salas at Zenchill Powertools
Reg Adkins at ElementalTruths
Rich Schefren at Strategic Profits
Rick Cockrum at Shards of Consciousness
Rick Cooper at The PDA Pro
Ririan atRirianproject
Rob at 7Breaths
Rob Cooke at Leave the Office
Robert at Compassionate Council
Robin Yapp at Yapp 3.0
Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz
Roger Von Oech at Creative Think
Rolf F. Katzenberger at Evomend
Rosa Say at Managing With Aloha Coaching
Ryan Marle at The Alpha Project
S.J. Yee at Personal Development for the Book Smart
Sam at Aquire Wisdom and Live with Passion
Scott Adams at The Dilbert Blog
Scott Bernadot at Keeping The Secret
Scott Ginsberg at Hello, My Name Is Blog
Scott H Young at Scott H Young
Scott McArthur at McArthur’s Rant
Self Pursuit at Self Pursuit
Seth Godin at Seth’s Blog
Shane Navratil at Zoomstart
Shauna Arthurs at Breathing Prosperity and Follow Your Path
Shaheen Lakhan at GNIF Brain Blogger
Simone at Dynamic Living
Simone and Mandy at Outfit Inspirations
Slade Roberson at Shift Your Spirits
Sleeping Dude at How to Wake Up Early
Sonora Jayne Case at Positive Realities Coaching
Spike at Organize It
Stephanie and Jeffrey at Brains on Purpose
Steve Olson at Steve-Olson.com
Steve Pavlina at stevepavlina.com
Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace
Stephen at HD bizblog
Steven Aitchison at Change Your Thoughts
Surjit at Gurushabad
Susan Sabo at Productivity Cafe
Ted Demopoulos at Blogging For Business
Terry Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full
Thom Quinn at Qlog
Tim Ferris at 4-Hour Workweek and Lifestyle Design Blog
Tom Peters at Tom Peters.com
Tom Spanton at TRCoach
Tim Taylor at My Agapic Life
Tony D Clark at Success From The Nest
Torlink at You Create Reality
Travis Wright at Cultivate Greatness
Trizoko at Trizoko.com
Trevor Gay at Simplicity is the Key
Troy Worman at Orbit Now!
Tuck Self at Rebel Belle Blog
Tupelo Kenyon at Tupelokenyon.com
Ubertech at Geeks Guide To GTD
Vickie at Contemplate This
Wally Bock and his real-life management insight at Three Star Leadership
Wan Qi at Meditation Forum Mantras
WildBill at PassionateBlogger

and these collaborated sites:
Burst Blog
Daily PlanIt
Did I Get Things Done
GTD Wannabe
Life Coaches Blog Strategies for a Greater Life
Lifehack.org
Transformational Girlfriends

The I'm in Time

There's a "me" too.

In the word Time.

I only just noticed that you know. The fact that the word Time has two variations of personal pronouns is interesting to me in a metaphorical sense.

I am in Time, of Time, out of Time, through Time, beyond Time. And yet Time controls me like no other invisible thing.

Time could be equated to God. It's infinite, indefinite and mystifying, confounding us when we think we have it measured and mastered. When we want it to move fast it moves at the pace of a snail. When we want the moment to never end, it whisks us away from it between heartbeats.

I am ruled by Time and yet Time cannot seem to contain me. I watch the clock to get the work done and I curse it when I'm having the time of my life! I am on time for meetings and late for work! I am in tune with the rythms of my life and out of step with my To Do By..List.

As humans, we order our lives around events and seasons that represent the passing of time. We celebrate festivals, birthdays, anniversaries, seasonal changes; we even order our lives through the rythmic patterns of habits we do every day.

Time is all around us and no matter how many times we throw the clocks away, it is there... tapping out lifes heartbeat according to its own design.

There is no 'u' (you) in Time because Time isn't about the other. Time is about me and my responsibility for it. Time demands that I take notice of it and respect it. Time requests that it be me who finds the space in my life to enjoy the pleasure of being with loved ones and friends. I am not take Time for granted but it allows me the freedom to do so if I so choose.

Time is more than a mathmatical equation, more than a physics conundrum on the Space/Time Continuum! Time is an Entity in its own right. A cold, clinical, über-rhythmic sentinel on the journey of life. Clear-headed and calculating, Time is neither romantic or artistic and yet it allows all these things to happen just because its necessary and good to do that.

Our whole entire lives since conception into Eternity, are governed by the effect of Time in every context.

Does that scare you? Your choice!

Last.fm

Many of you might be very surprised at the sort of music I tend to listen to. You'd think that at 45 years of age I'd be right into the usual pop music of my particular generation (I was a 60's child, a 70's teen and an 80's rager :) I kinda lost the 90's to rearing children).

I am not. I like a lot of the music of my youth but straight up pop bores me after awhile. These days I can listen to most kinds of music except maybe traditional country music which sends shivers up my spine in sheer horror and cringe. I do however like a little bit of classical or some light opera occasionally.

For big chunks of listening time however, give me some Alternative Grunge Rock or Ambient, Psychill, Trance, or Trip hop on iTunes or Last.fm Radio

I know! I am so weird.

I mucho prefer what my kids are listening to than what my peers tend to listen to...unless they happen to be blokes! For some reason my tastes in music seem to be much more "blokey" than what my girlfriends tastes are inclined towards. Perhaps I'm wrong but I find I share more music tastes in common with men than I do with many women of my demographic.

Here's my new page at Last.fm Radio. I used to have one of these some time back but somehow neglected to record my username and password for it so it has since been lost to the www.cyber.ether!

With my lovely Preciousss now calling most of the shots in terms of my ears and time... I figured I might as well add the applet to her and renew my affiliations.

And check out the wee widget for Last.fm Alternative Rock I've embedded here :) 'Tis a cool thing really :)

A home for a bunny...

Our street rabbit was killed sometime last night.

I saw his wee little body in our kerbing on the street this morning before I left for a drive to pick up kids from an event last night.

We called him "Thumper" or "Bunnykins". Who knows how many names he actually had though seeing as he didn't really belong to anyone in the street - he was just the streets rabbit. Constantly visible in a garden or outside the kerb of some dwelling place.

He had "escaped" from some neighbours place about 6 years ago and was never successfully caught. As time went by, kindly neighbours got to know him and used to feed him proper rabbit food so he was quite large and fat and healthy instead of being the little undernourished runt of a thing he was when he first escaped captivity.

And so it was that Thumper became somewhat of a legend in our street. I think we all enjoyed seeing him nibbling on grass or hunkering down against the cold in the evening hours. He avoided our place though because of Billy our cat. In recent years he had become almost tame enough to be patted not that I ever got that opportunity but the kids did and they would remark on how lovely and soft his fur was to the touch. Mostly black with white and speckled markings on his throat and underside he was quite handsome and looked positively enormous some evenings with his ears up and elert for prowling miscreants on four legs :)

How animals know that there is someone gone from their kingdom is a mystery but after Billy died, Thumper used to enjoy sitting on our nature strip and watching the passing of the hours.

I'm quite sad now. He was a lovely rabbit and probabaly one of the easiest "pets" we ever had.

I do hope his death was instant and he didn't die in too much pain or discomfort last night. How awful for him after the rather idyllic life he has led thus far.

He brought along some friends this past couple of years so I think there are a couple more semi-wild rabbits in the neighbourhood somewhere.

Fare thee well Thumper Unknown. May you find your home at last.

Focus not

An interesting experience today.

I used the new voice viewer in Second life with Martin.

Now we have been talking in text chat and on rare occasions in voice in our usual Instant Message application for close on 18 months now.

Voice was always hard to achieve as it had that "all-or-nothing" quality to it. It wasn't that it didn't work...it just took a lot of intense concentration especially on Martins side of things.

But with Secondlife, it seems to be different.

In Secondlife, voice chat seems more natural somehow as we are DOING stuff other than just talking. It's like being in a room together and one person is doing their thing and you are doing yours but you can still talk if and when you want or need to. The focus is not as intense. It's quite liberating really. It means that for once we are not focused on the conversation so much but rather on natural friendship. We are not having to think hard about how we write things when trying to establish meaning and context. Instead, we are moving in and out of conversation in an ordinary way such as would be found between friends in every day life. The feedback we receive and give is more immediate and easier to understand and grasp.

This is in direct contrast to my experience with using text chat for the first time with my daughter the other day. Just as text chat revealed a new kind of relating to my daughter...so has voice in Secondlife revealed a new kind of relating to Martin. It's the same but "different" in that the focus is different in both experiences.

With my daughter, I've taken for granted the face to face conversational aspect of our relationship. We just ...talk! When I spoke to her in text that time...it highlighted aspects of her character I don't get to see so often in normal voice conversations. The focus however was more direct than usual. I was "tied" to that conversation because it was new for me. I also had to concentrate more about how I said things in words than I might have if I'd spoken them.

In the past, the level of focus in voice conversations with Martin was like this...we felt "tied" to the conversation rather than the relationship. With Secondlife, that has shifted and we can talk more freely and naturally because its more about the relationship and the friendship in that space.

I have had a strong impression of what I believed his character to be from text chat but now its being fleshed out (so to speak) by the difference in focus in using our voices to talk rather than constructing sentences in words.

None of this is better or worse than the other...its just an observation on the quality of focus required in talking to people in different ways.

Focus is the key here. It's not about how good the conversation is or isn't and nor is it about what the converstation is about or how its conducted; the point here is that in ANY type of conversation it is the kind of focus required to engage oneself within the relationship that becomes important.

There are times when either form of communication, text or voice, will demand a high level of focus - concentration - because its important to do that. Generally though, the intensity of focus in a chat application, both text and voice, seems higher than in natural conversation in "ordinary" life settings.

Using voice in our usual IM application was too focused for us...we were tied TO the conversation in voice rather than the relationship behind it. So we naturally opted for the slightly lesser focus of text chat as it took the focus from the conversation itself to our relationship, our friendship.

In Secondlife, using voice is less intense than using the text tools as we have more freedom to do things simulutaneously while we are conversing. It has an entirely different style of focus to it.

I was hestitant about using Voice in Secondlife and I still am to some extent. I know Martin reasonably well from our long year of regular - albeit text based - communications, so I trust him to use the SL voice client appropriately. I will probably be very shy though about seeking to voice chat with people I hardly know at all. That's just not my style.

Secondlife is a real playground. It's a theatre, a stage, a confidence tricksters delight. It's also got relational politics, angst, love, history joy, sorrow, stalking, winking, sex, fashion, travel, sights, beauty, ugliness, wonders, and marvels. It's not like Real Life but its definitely representative of EVERYTHING you can find in Real Life. For this reason you take nothing inworld very seriously and assume that everyone inworld is taking you very seriously indeed.

Voice in Secondlife is voluntary. Just as you can chose not to talk to a stranger you "meet" in the street in real life....so you can in Secondlife. Just as you make new friends through conversations in real life, so you can in Secondlife. Its not that these things are different as such...its just that they're not quite the same ;)

The thing I am finding fascinating is the dimension of Focus required at each of these layers of relationship. It's really interesting stuff to me.

My current mood sees me...

musing on how far I've travelled this past two years.

Not travelling in the sense of physical destinations but travelling in the sense of emotion and spirit.

I have travelled very very far. The "me" I was two years ago is a very different me from the one I feel I am now. I am not sure if I present a different persona of myself to the people around me but I definitely sense that I have changed significantly these past two long years.

I can't pin down a time when I began this journey in earnest but I know its been a long and winding road since October of 2005.

Life has slowed down and sped up. It has harboured amazing joys and incredible love and devastating lows and irksome duties to perform. In all this time thus far (I don't know when this journey will end either)... I have changed spots on some things and grown some in others.

I've morphed.

Into what only others could say really but from my introspection, I am suggesting the following as possible new spots in my ever-evolving make-up as the construct "mitch".

i - I am more inclined to breathe when stressed. I still stress out and panic about little things a lot but I am learning/have learned to let things go more and just let time heal it. It's never as bad as we think its going to be.

ii - I lost weight. Not just a little but a lot of weight. Pragmatic and obvious I guess (I have lost over 20kg since I started writing this blog). Spiritually I've also unburdened a lot of weight. The spiritual weight of judgemental attitudes and fixed ideas about things. I'm more open to stuff now, more willing to accept what others believe as their right to believe it even if I don't. I still pray for people of course but I don't try to preach anymore if its possible. I was always a little too preachy and I apologise to my God first and to you second if you copped an earful from me about the Paths of Righteousness. I figure witness is more about the life we live not the life we tell. I am a poor witness anyway and always have been but thank God he works in ways I never expect or know. I'm also learning to accept that NOTHING is impossible just that it happens when its the right time for it to happen not when I have it "scheduled" into my own hidden agenda.

I only thought I had a glass half full way of thinking about things and its natural for me to be like that on occasion but now days I see things from a fundamentally different perspective. Life isn't a line..its a circle... infinite and possible in ways we can barely begin to imagine. There are times when it seems glass half full and times when it seems glass half empty. Its not our job to try to make life happen as it "should", it is our job to make life happen as it can. So, I let myself imagine more and listen to the reassuring voice rather than the egocentric cynical one whenever I can.

iii - I am learning to accept that nothing and no one can make me happy in and of themselves/itself. Happiness is a transient in-the-moment thing. Happiness is what you make of your NOW not something you can achieve through the pursuit of it. Happiness arrives like a butterfly on your shoulder. If you attempt to capture happiness in anything you may be sorely disappointed.

Happiness is a gift and a treasure akin to food. You don't sit a cake on a table and just leave it ...you, and hopefully others, partake of it and enjoy it in the now. You may be able to save some for later but eventually the cake will be consumed or tossed out - it cannot last if its to be appreciated properly.

Chasing happiness is wasted effort. Let it go and come to you and RECOGNISE IT when it arrives...THAT is the key to understanding happiness.

iv - I am slowly slowly slowly learning to be more patient. I have learned that I was never the contented type at all. I have been restless all my life. On the surface, I may appear to be slothful and lazy sometimes but in reality I discovered that for me I am the eternally restless soul ever seeking the new experience, the new thing to try, the new friend, the new idea. I don't toss out old things easily but I do embrace new things very easily. I am actually rarely content with life in the now. Mine is a energy spirit seeking to explore and try life. As i get older, I may have lessons to learn in this area perhaps. I adore being home...sometimes for very long periods of time but home is a transient thing...its more spiritual than material in concept for me. I may have to learn to just be content that this is the way I am... Restless, Movable, Shift, Change, Experimental and Innovation.

v - I write more and i am beginning to accept finally that perhaps I have a gift afterall. For a long time I have treated my flair with words with disdain. I never ever believed I was a "good" writer. Even now, I still struggle to accept that I have ability in this craft. I harbour lots of secret desires to write stories of all kinds but when push comes to shove, I only ever write when I am in the frame of mind to write. To force me to write would dry up my well of creative thought like the sun. I write to tell the thoughts of my soul I cannot speak with my voice. I write to make the pressure come down inside of me. I write to teach and to learn. I write because its the easiest method of communication I have available to me.

Whenever someone tells me they enjoy my "Writing", i say a simple "Thankyou" and smile but internally I am often sceptical and think that maybe they are just being nice because they either know me or they don't want to be rude. I am learning to accept that perhaps my ability to write is my true voice in the world and therefore my greatest gift I can give to the world. I am a writer.

vi - I am learning to be self confident. I make excuses for all sorts of things and especially for my being here on this planet. I say sorry for no reason a lot and I bend to the will of those I percieve as being more "powerful" than myself. This has changed. I will not be bullied into thinking I am not worth it. I am worth it. It hasn't been christian "humility" i thought I was demonstrating, its been small me thinking. I am not small. I am what I am. No excuses.

So that's where I am at today, musing on how far I've travelled on the journey of being human these past couple of years. I have done things and thought things, wrote things I would never have considered a mere 5 years ago. Life changes. Life IS change. I change. I'll keep changing.

its all good :)