Bertram Daniel

Today I did something totally out of the ordinary and sat down and watched a TV show. In fact I had it in my diary and I even cancelled a networking opportunity to do so.

So what made me do something so unusual? It was nothing but a foray into nostalgia. I looked up the Wiki definition of the word nostalgia and it said:

‘The term nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form. In common, less clinical usage, nostalgia includes a general interest in past eras and their personalities and events, especially the “good old days” of a few generations back recast in an idyllic light.’

I think that that describes the show ‘Hey Hey it’s Saturday’ and I was so glad that I did watch it. I sat there and laughed and cried and relaxed watching a whole bunch of people having a good time – taking me along for the ride. They were not scripted and over produced they just had fun.

At the same time I lamented for the fact that programs like this did not exist anymore, because today we are bombarded by a brand of TV that is run by bean-counters and analysts and such like after sampling, testing, and doing focus groups. What happened to spontaneity?

The other reason I watched the show was it took me back to a time when I would sit with my wife and beautiful children and watch Daryl and Ossie and feel that beautiful sense of family. Aah, to have that time again. C’mon Bertram you’re just being nostalgic!

Cheers

Bertram

Posted via email from Bertram’s posterous

I have long pondered how the Universe works. I understand that we are all one and connected, but what I did not quite understand was how!

Today I got it. I have long been amazed at how I could send a text message halfway around the world or pick up my mobile phone and call someone anywhere. It dawned on me that if the phone call or the text messages, which are nothing but electromagnetic carrier waves transported on superimposed electromagnetic light-wave/particles and transported at the speed of light around the world, then my mind and my thoughts which are also electromagnetic light wave particles could do the same. As they say thoughts are vibrations and we are vibrationary beings.

Aha! So when I have a thought it is in actual fact flying all around the world and can be picked up by others, like someone answering a phone call. So it should not be a surprise that when I think of someone that they should call me or at least think of me at the same time. It would also follow that my thoughts could also create my reality, by bringing me what I thought about. So, this is how the Law of Attraction works.

In addition, when I meet someone and have a feeling about them all I am doing is picking up on their thoughts/vibrations. I’m sure you have heard people say that they liked someone as soon as they met them, but they did not know why. They were at the same vibration.

One of my favorite bits of writing has always been the narration by Sir Laurence Olivier from the musical called ‘Time.’ I now know why I loved it so much, because it is at the very foundation of how my life will be. Here is a small part of it:

Throughout the Universe there is order.
In the movement of the planets, in nature
and in the functioning of the human mind.
A mind that in its natural state of order is in
harmony with the universe and such a mind is timeless.
Your life is an expression of your mind.
You are a creator of your own universe
For as a human being you are free to will whatever
state of being you desire through the use of your thoughts
and words.
There is great power there. It can be a blessing or a curse
it is entirely up to you.

So think long and hard about what your thoughts are composed of. If you truly want to change your world, my friends, you must change your thinking.

Namaste

Bertram

Today being Grand Final Day I thought I would catch people at home watching the footy and I knocked on doors in my apartment block collecting donations for the Heart Foundation and I had some interesting and varied experiences. I got to meet some people who had lived here for over a year and never met, I was invited in to celebrate a sixtieth birthday, I chatted to some while they rummaged around for some money and I was shooed away by some. What I could not help but think was that here I was connecting with a micro community which is part of a larger macro community, which is part of a total community.

One of my heroes is Mahatma Ghandi who said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” So I thought I might start a newsletter for the apartment block and get a connection happening between the people who live in close proximity to each other and yet do not really connect with each other. I was lucky to meet one happy dweller that I shared my thoughts with and she was pro the idea and being a graphic designer offered me her assistance. So with this encouragement I will venture forth to create a newsletter for my apartment block. Maybe I can call it ‘On the Block’!

I will keep you posted.

Namaste

Bertram

In my last post I lamented the fact that people were not connecting enough. Well, interestingly enough I have just spent a week in Bali relaxing and looking at some real estate and I was so struck by the fact that people there were so friendly, welcoming and so happy to connect. I could not help asking myself the question: “Why are these people so willing to connect and people back home not so?”

I have not worked it out and would love to hear from anyone with their take on the subject.

I put it down to the Buddhist and Hindu philosophy which are the main cultures in this part of Indonesia. I guess to some degree a tourist is viewed as a source of income and looked at very positively, as well. However I feel that it goes deeper than that and that the people are genuinely friendly and open to connect with people. What’s more they are ever so humble and are always looking to please. This of course is a good recipe if you are a tourist with all these happy, willing and friendly people looking to serve you and look after you.

I cannot help but think that although they maybe much poorer than people in more affluent countries these people exhibit an openness and a warmth that does not seem to prevail here at home. So I am sure there are some lessons to be learned here.

I was reading a beautiful little book by Wayne Dyer and what he wrote maybe sheds some light on this subject and I quote:

Winning and being number one seem to be the most important things you can do when you live at the level of ego-consciousness. You spend a lot of your time measuring your success on the basis of how you stack up against others.

In order to walk comfortably along the extra mile, you must tame this ever demanding: impossible to satisfy ego. Feelings of despair, anger, hatred, bitterness, stress and depression stem from the ego’s anxiety and insistence on living up to an external standard. The result is the anguish of not measuring up or fitting in properly. The ego will seldom allow you to rest, and demands more and more because it is terrified that you will be called a failure. When you move beyond ego and make your higher self the dominant force in your life you will begin to feel that contentment and inner glow of peace and success that characterises the extra mile. – Wayne Dyer

So is it about ego and a lack of connection?

Namaste

Bertram

As I make my way through this wonderful world I cannot help but notice that we do not have the same sense of community that we once had. We do not seem to be connected to each other like we used to be.

Gee, I sound like an old man having a winge and yet I do not consider myself old! Is it just me or do others feel the same way?

In today’s world of technology we do not have ample opportunity to get personal. Life is fast-paced and everyone seems to be in a rush. We dial the phone and we talk to machines. We spend long hours on the computer playing games, emailing one another or working with our web pages. Even in the office environment, we email the person in the cubicle 3 feet away instead of walking over to hand them a task list.

Don’t get me wrong. I love technology. I cannot imagine ever being without my computer and am guilty of spending a large part of my day working on line. The computer and Internet afford many opportunities. All I am saying is that as a result of the technological age of today’s world, our personal touch with one another is decreasing. We need to take full advantage of the opportunity to be personal. Humans are becoming strangers to one another. People are in a hurry to get on with the business of living and walk past each other on the street without even a nod.

A wise man once said “Do not bring me a problem without a solution, as well.” My solution is that maybe you get your head out of your computer now and then and connect with another person. When you walk down the street look at other people and connect with them.

I live in an apartment block and there have been occasions when I have passed someone in the basement carpark they have looked away and not connected. I have greeted others and been ignored. I do not get it. We are all the same. We all are one and yet some go through life, literally and metaphorically, with their eyes shut. What they do not understand is that we are a little community of our own.

And then there is the wider community. C’mon I’m sure we can do better than that. Make an effort to connect with someone today.

Namaste

Bertram

A few weekends ago I attended the ‘Breakthrough Experience’ with Dr. John Demartini and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it has changed the way that I think: in a good way. As it has given me a different perspective on many fronts and one of them is ‘Values’.

When you stop to think about it everyone has a set of values that relate to all areas of their lives. That is : Vocational, Familial, Spiritual, Mental, Financial, Social and Physical. Considering that no two people have had the same set of experiences and the same upbringing, it is fair to say that each person would have a set of values that is unique to them. That said, how could any two people agree with each other on every value. There are bound to be differences in many areas. So when someone does something or says something that conflicts with another persons values there are grounds for disagreement. So how do you handle this?

From my experience people will disagree in a number of different ways and usually want to change the other person’s actions or statements. Some may even get quite emotional about it and create some passionate argument for change to occur. Some might even become aggressive with it.

My point here is simply this. If you consider that everyone who walks the planet has their own unique set of values and are entitled to them, there should be no misunderstanding, because it is just another persons view based on THEIR set of values and NOT YOURS.

I don’t know about you, but when I got this, it made me understand that if someone said something or did something that was in conflict with my values, that I could make an effort to see it from their point of view and their set of values.

So, being careless means talking in terms of your values and not others.
Being caring means communicating your values in terms of others.
Being careful means talking in terms of others values but not yours.

Namaste

Bertram