The other day I interviewed members of an immensely talented local band, a sort of reggae/funk ensemble. I asked the drummer what he did when he wasn't playing music. He gave me a perplexed looked and thought for a moment before replying, "This is what I do...every day."

Years ago while living at our retreat centre in the valley we were regularly graced with the visits of WWOOFers (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), young people from many nations who exchanged about four hours of work per day for a bed, meals and our knowledge of the land and organics. One such visitor was an enthusiastic young lady from Ireland. She was a remarkably balanced and happy person with a clear vision of what she wanted in life. She spoke one evening over a meal of how her father had positively influenced her and her siblings when she was growing up. He used to tell them that his job was simple. All he had to do was to help them each to find what it was that they really loved and then to encourage them to pursue it wholeheartedly. A wise man and wise words.

Isn't this the key to happiness? Find out what you love and then do it wholeheartedly. Like the drummer in the band. Simple, isn't it.

Have you ever noticed that the path to happiness is seldom paved in possessions? In fact, there is no path.

Happiness isn’t rooted in having, it exists in that exquisite state of being marked by a deep state of relaxed contentment, a place with no striving, no longing. There is a sense of deep fulfilment, where everything around and within you is just right; where enough is enough rather than the illusion that fuels so much of our striving, “If is enough is enough, then more must be better.”

The natural result of happiness is the state of giving rather than getting—a smile, a helping hand, a kind word—all given with no expectation of receiving something in return. The innocent joy of the child we’ve all been and still are. The extraordinary contentment of being.

 

I'm excited to announce that I've found a way to upload some of my radio programs to the net so that they are now available to everyone, as opposed to my usual geographically limited audience in New Zealand's Far North.

They're on www.odeo.com and for a complete listing of all my uploaded shows and associated blogs visit here.

Click on the link below for an interview with a fellow Gaia member, Elan Sun Star.

http://www.odeo.com/episodes/23482992-The-Smile-Interview-with-Elan-Sun-Star

 

This interview with Elan Sun Star is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. In addition to dialogue packed with anecdotes and scientific evidence supporting the value of smiling, the hour is sprinkled with smiley songs from the likes of Tony Bennett and Red Grammar. Hear about:

• How smiling assists brain development in children
• The Duchenne Smile
• The value of smiling to astronauts and peace negotiators
• How Norman Cousins cured himself of an incurable disease
• Laughing clubs spring up in India and elsewhere
• The Inner Smile

The smile is quite simply the easiest, cheapest and perhaps most important and available means of attaining radiant health and finding peace in any situation. This is one of my favourite interviews.

When this interview was originally recorded Sun's book, Smile! was a future eventuality. I'm delighted to announce that it is now published and available at:

http://smilesbook.com/

Keep smiling!

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I recently interviewed Alanna Moore. I'm  now delighted to provide her interview for your listening enjoyment and education. Be aware that because this was a live interview it begins with two minutes of music. If you persevere you'll get to the dialogue.

Click here to play.

 

Alanna Moore has been a dowser/geomancer for 25 years and has specialised in making 'Power Towers' across Australia over the last ten  years, as well as divining for devic energy fields. She likes to focus on practical applications for healing Mother Earth. She is well known amongst the international dowsing fraternity for her magazine articles, books and films.

Alanna explains what dousing is and how it can be used for good health in humans and in gardens. In a nutshell, dousing is an extension of our natural faculties and a tool to improve intuition. She described a study in Austria that linked behavioural and performance problems in school children to geopathic stress in the classroom or at home. Alanna suggested that beekeepers intent on having healthy hives and maximizing honey production would be best to emulate nature when choosing locations for bee hives. She tells a story of how a renowned douser outside of Belfast moved rocks around to balance energy in the area. The long awaited peace agreement was signed just after this.

Alanna's book, Stone Age Farming, came out of research she did on ancient stone towers in Ireland. She describes permaculture and how it runs counter to the status quo together with it's great recent success in Cuba encouraging food production within the cities.

Some of Alanna's other books include The Wisdom of Water and Back Yard Poultry Farming.

John
http://www.insearchofsimplicity.com/

Here's another interview I've recently uploaded to my Voices from the North channel on Odeo.com.
 

I'm sure you'll agree that the soulful music of this talented New Zealand band deserves to be heard everywhere. I've recorded this at 128 kps because I think you deserve to hear 1814's music at the increased resolution this provides. It does, however make for a larger file size. There is again 2 minutes of my intro music before the actual interview starts. The music played during the interview comes from Jah Rydem, the debut album from 1814. We play some of the eleven tracks of reggae that are fused with influences from a range of genres including R'n'B, soul and hip hop.

The link is:

http://www.odeo.com/episodes/23506252-1814-and-the-Music-of-Jah-Rydem

Enjoy. These folks are really good!
John

For information on ordering your own copy of Jah Rydem click here. You'll have to scroll down a few pages to find 1814.

 

During my morning walk on yet another glorious spring day here at Coopers Beach, I stopped to feast on the delicious fruits of a loquat tree growing on a pathside just above the beach. This is a stop I gladly make at this time every year. The tree is a seedling probably originally planted by a bird. It reminds me of the generosity of Nature, giving freely to anyone who comes along.

It also makes me think of the permaculture idea of planting fruit and nut bearing trees on public roadsides. These loquat trees naturally do this and reward passers-by with masses of their yellow/orange fruit. Lucia and I throw avocado pips into wild roadside verges. We are already seeing young avocado trees shooting up through the weeds. Imagine the world of abundance we would live in if everyone did their little bit to spread food plants into wild but accessible areas. Johnny Appleseed did it. Why can't we?

It is my pleasure to announce another radio interview for your listening enjoyment and learning. Each of my programs is one hour long, so you need a little time.

Alison Panckhurst speaks with reverence for her faith and optimism for the future of humanity based on her long time involvement as a Baha'i.

Interspersed with wide ranging discussions covering subjects like progressive revelation and the importance of cooperation in all aspects of life, is some beautiful music including Lord of the Mountain by Grant Hindin Miller. Click here. 

The photo is of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel- a place of pilgrimage for Baha'is. It has recently been named a world heritage sight. Alison visited there recently.

Enjoy,
John

  

This Voices from the North interview was recorded with Russ and Gina Garcia in 2007. At the time this amazing couple had been married for 54 years. Russ is a world renowned composer, arranger and conductor who has worked with the likes of Fred Astaire and Louis Armstrong. Today, at 92 he is still working (although Russ hastens to say it isn't work for him). Gina, is a professional singer, author and lyricist. Together Russ and Gina still do human values work with students in three Bay of Islands schools each week. Talk about tireless and inspirational servants of humanity.

Russ and Gina speak of leaving the Hollywood life for their six year odyssey on the Dawn Breaker that eventually brought them to New Zealand. They speak of their Baha'i life and the wisdom they've gleaned and shared in full, joyful lives dedicated to creating a peaceful world for ALL humans. The underlying theme is the strength of their relationship, out of which has flowed the love they share with everyone they meet.

Prepare to be inspired. Click here.

                                                                   

I continue to upload some of my archived radio shows, ones that I consider to be inspiring and relevant to people who love people and the Planet.

Here's an example:

 

This Voices from the North interview was recorded with Russ and Gina Garcia in 2007. At the time this amazing couple had been married for 54 years. Russ is a world renowned composer, arranger and conductor who has worked with the likes of Fred Astaire and Louis Armstrong. Today, at 92 he is still working (although Russ hastens to say it isn't work for him). Gina, is a professional singer, author and lyricist. Together Russ and Gina still do human values work with students in three Bay of Islands schools each week. Talk about tireless and inspirational servants of humanity.

Russ and Gina speak of leaving the Hollywood life for their six year odyssey on the Dawn Breaker that eventually brought them to New Zealand. They speak of their Baha'i life and the wisdom they've gleaned and shared in full, joyful lives dedicated to creating a peaceful world for ALL humans. The underlying theme is the strength of their relationship, out of which has flowed the love they share with everyone they meet.

Studies show that people are healthier and happier when they join like-minded others in hobbies, activities and clubs. Scottish Country dancing is one such activity. Anyone, of any age, can join, costs are minimal and clubs exist all over the world, including Japan, of all places. Obviously you don't have to have a drop of Scottish blood in you to participate in Scottish Country Dancing. I don't and in one and a half years I've graduated from providing comic relief to the other dancers to getting most of the steps right. And from the beginning it has been a lot of fun.

Join me on odeo.com as I interview Gladys Farrant of the Scottish Country Dance Club in Kaitaia in New Zealand's Far North. Gladys is a shining testimony to the value of Scottish Country Dancing (SCD) and the benefits of activity in general. At 75-years-young, she tutors Scottish Country Dancing and takes tap dancing lessons with a group of chronologically-younger dancers.

Gladys outlines her life with dance, the history and practice of Scottish Country Dancing, and her travels in America and England. She was a nanny and her husband Brian was a chauffeur with a wealthy family in LA in the course of their travels. Hear some of the types of music associated with SCD-a strathspey..a jig and a reel.

SCD is certainly good for circulation, beneficial for the brain and an opportunity to socialize with like-minded people. You'll want to join a regular dance group after listening to this.

 

In this Voices from the North interview Dr. Jennifer Cornell describes her astounding experience while still in medical school in the 1980s of researching TB in the Navajo Reservation in Arizona; this is the place that contains Monument Valley, familiar scenery from Western movies. The Navajo vocabulary has no words for human body parts and no words for pain. For them health is harmony. Jennifer's time with these people shaped her future direction in medicine and life. This interview touches areas most of us will never personally encounter. The insights are profound and fascinating.

The knowledge indigenous people have always had is only being discovered in Western culture now because technology is able to corroborate the knowledge of the ancients. I will say no more. Listen to this talk for a whole different world view that will stretch your mind. Don't miss the stunning music in the middle of the hour, Lullaby for a Stormy Night by Vienna Teng, and the finish with Jennifer playing Native American Flute.

http://www.odeo.com/episodes/23546410-Dr-Jennifer-Cornell-and-Native-American-Healing

John
http://www.insearchofsimplicity.com/