118 Write That Book Now - The Writer Initiation Edition, page 3

117 Write That Book Now - The Writer Initiation Edition, page 2

116 Write That Book Now - The Writer Initiation Edition, page 1

115 The longer our vision, the deeper our depression. Think small and be happy. #Philip26Bradbury 2nd May 26

114 If depression arises from feelings of pointlessness, can we create meaning to step out if it? #Philip26Bradbury 1st May 26

113 When the passion shows, the energy flows. #Philip26Bradbury 30th Apl 26

112 Why are we so busy being busy when, really, none of it matters? #Philip26Bradbury 25th Apl 26

110 Whatever we spoke out at the world is what we feel about ourselves. It's called projection and it's not only unhealthy, it's immature. #Philip26Bradbury 22nd Apl 26

109 A story to show there are always 2 voices we hear and they don't agree or discuss anything with each other. Which do you listen to? #Philip26Bradbury 20th Apl 26

Words are but veils before Truth. Lift them carefully, gently, to reveal true meaning. #Philip26Bradbury 21st Apl 26

107 A story to show there are always 2 voices we hear and they don't agree or discuss anything with each other. Which do you listen? to #Philip26Bradbury 20th Apl 26

106 What are we really, really, REALLY searching for Maybe it's closer than we think, as this story illustrates. #Philip26Bradbury 19th Apl 26

105 We only misbehave when we're not living our truth and disconnected from our roots. This story explains how true anarchy works. #Philip26Bradbury 18th Apl 26

104 Your body can make you happy or sad, your choice. Try this exercise and notice the effect on your mood. #Philip26Bradbury 16th Apl 26

103 We don't know our best interests, most of the time. So, how do we get out of our own way This story will explain it. #Philip26Bradbury 14th Apl 26

102 Yesterday was a no-news day and today is a no-activity day. There will be no activity and we'll just take action. #Philip26Bradbury 13th Apl

101 There is too much news so I have declared today a news-free day, a panic-free day. Aaaaahh 🤭 #Philip26Bradbury 12th Apl 26

100 When we corral people into groups, we lose the opportunity for peace. Inly when we see and know them as individuals can peace and sanity reign. #Philip26Bradbury 11th Apl 26

099 When we corral people into groups, we lose the opportunity for peace. Inly when we see and know them as individuals can peace and sanity reign. #Philip26Bradbury 11th Apl 26

098 The easiest way to live from your soul, to live consciously, is to ask the small questions. The big ones will take care of themselves. #Philip26Bradbury 10th Apl 26

097 What is the spark that ignites our awareness, that helps us wake from the sleep of the past into a self-created future #Philip26Bradbury 9th Apl 26

096 The food you prefer could determine your political and other beliefs. #Philip26Bradbury 8th Apl 26

095 Love, like forgiveness, is not soft and it is the strongest feeling to take action from ... any action. Anger is weaker and is in a fight we can't win. #Philip26Bradbury 7th Apl 26

094 Forgiveness is not saying, What you did is okay. Forgiveness sets you free of the grievance you once had. #Philip26Bradbury 6th Apl 26

093 Freedom feels like an expansiveness but maybe it comes from the opposite, from a narrow, concentrated focus. #Philip26Bradbury 5th Apl 26

092 Happiness is an inside job and so is gratitude ... not grateful for anything in particular but just being grateful ... because we can be. #Philip26Bradbury 4th Apl 26

091 The power of human connections is greater than any man-made machine and, together, we become bigger than we can imagine. #Philip26Bradbury 3rd Apl 26

090 We say we want what we want but do we really, really, really want what we say we want? A big question. #Philip26Bradbury 2nd Apl 26

089 What and where is your sacred space, the space where you know nothing of the world, the space where you know everything of yourself #Philip26Bradbury 1st Apl 26

088 There are so many people worrying and angry, I am now redundant. The only job left is to be happy and I'll take that one. #Philip26Bradbury 30th Mar 26

087 We are not changing the world (or your life) today. We're just doing what we're doing today, one day at a time. #Philip26Bradbury 29th Mar 26

086 We are masters of our universe but how quickly do we forget ... or, how quickly do I forget! #Philip26Bradbury 28th Mar 26

085 What do the news, snakes and petrol rises have in common The tell us the level of fear we've taken on from those who feed on fear. #Philip26Bradbury 26th Mar 26

084 Turn up at the page of your book, of your life, even when no one's looking, even when it feels boring and uninspired. #Philip26Bradbury 26th Mar 26

083 In the spiral of days to come, the ashes of yesteryear unfurl and come alive for us. #Philip26Bradbury 25th Mar 26

082 If our current system (or life) doesn't work, we don't have to fix it. We simply create a new one which makes the old one obsolete. #Philip26Bradbury 23rd Mar 26

081 If we hold a grudge at another's insanity, we share in that insanity. #Philip26Bradbury 22nd Mar 26

080 Cream no longer rises to the top, the world is upside down and that's exactly how it's meant to be. Let me explain... #Philip26Bradbury 31st Mar 26

079 What does sleep and petrol have in common Accepting what is brings peace. #Philip26Bradbury 20th Mar 26

078 If you're looking for peace, you're looking in the wrong place. If you're looking for happiness, you're looking in the wrong place. #Philip26Bradbury 19th Mar 26

077 Why do we all want to feel peace Perhaps it's because peace gives us access to God, whereas anger blocks that. #Philip26Bradbury 18th Mar 2026

076 If you want to do the big thing, don't start by doing the big thing ... start with doing the little thing, each day, like Martin Luther King did. #Philip26Bradbury 17th Mar 26

075 Rather than Edging God Out (EGO) we can do this together. #Philip26Bradbury 16th Mar 26

074 Existential guilt is the engine that drives our lives. When we understand the engine, we can understand our lives. #Philip26Bradbury 15th Mar 26

073 We do not forget to do what's good for us. We don't do those things because we don't believe we deserve the benefits we'll receive. Existential guilt. #Philip26Bradbury 14th Mar 26

072 If you managed to do just one thing today, you're doing well. Just one ... #Philip26Bradbury 13th Mar 26

071 If you want to get more done, do less ... more often. #Philip26Bradbury 12th Mar 26

070 If we start the day in anticipation, we can't but feel happiness throughout it. #Philip26Bradbury 11th Mar 26

069 Failure may be the best gateway to success - it's worked for most successful people. #Philip26Bradbury 10th Mar 26

068 We think others judge us by our failures but they don't - they judge us by our successes. #Philip26Bradbury 9th Mar 26

067 If we don't let our past go, it will define us. If we forgive it, we can choose our future. #Philip26Bradbury 8th Mar 26

066 If you want to live longer, do less and do it more ... #Philip26Bradbury 7th Mar 26

065 God helps those who helps themselves. We are never alone and we don't have to do everything ourselves. But we have to do something ...  #Philip26Bradbury 6th Mar 26

064 A little chuckle as the master doesn't take his own advice - we are all fallible humans and thats okay ... not something to beat ourselves up about. #Philip26Bradbury 5th Mar 26

063 You are not the same person every day and, therefore, you can choose which one you want to be, each and every day. #Philip26Bradbury 4th Mar 26

062 Whatever is going on in the world, we can choose not to join it for there is no the world, only your world. #Philip26Bradbury 3rd Mar 26

061 When we pretend we're okay when we're not is the best guarantee we'll stay not-okay. Admit the truth and the mist will clear. Try it, you'll love it. #Philip26Bradbury 2nd Mar 26

060 Questions are more powerful than answers. When we have an answer, we're dead. If we can stay in the question, we're alive. #Philip26Bradbury 1st Mar 26

058 We might have big hairy goals but they won't eventuate if we don't have small, shaven ones as well. #Philip26Bradbury 27th Feb 26

057  If we want to move to something new - new home, new relationship, new job, new state of being, new business - we've got to actually MOVE .. move our bodies. #Philip26Bradbury 26th Feb 26

056 You don't have to engage. There is no rule that you HAVE to talk to people. #Philip26Bradbury 25th Feb 26

054 Doing things in our own strength means we miss out on great ideas, its harder work and we usually procrastinate. #Philip26Bradbury 23rd Feb 26

053 You can't tell a book by its cover or a lady by her walk. #Philip26Bradbury 22nd Feb 26

052 Everything serves and limits, depending on the choices we make. #Philip26Bradbury 21st Feb 26

051 If you think you can't find your purpose, your reason for being here, it might be easier to find than you think .... it might be what you're doing right now. #Philip26Bradbury 20th Feb 26

050  Our drishti (focus) not only brings us what we want but it makes us more resilient in life. Try it, you'll love it. #Philip26Bradbury 19th Feb 26

049 Grab your drishti (focus) and find what you're looking for. #Philip26Bradbury 18th Feb 2

048  Grab your drishti and pull yourself towards tour goal. #Philip26Bradbury 17th Feb 26

047 A story about the power of action - any action - and how the magic manifests when we take one or two tiny steps. #Philip26Bradbury 16th Feb 26

046 I've created magic, this morning, by invoking it with mind and body - simples.  #Philip26Bradbury 15th Feb 26

045  When your'e not feeling okay, choose that it's okay not to feel okay and you'll feel more okay each time. #Philip26Bradbury 14th Feb 26

044 We all yearn for peace but, when we get it, how do we deal with the empty feeling that there's nothing to fix. #Philip26Bradbury 13th Feb 26

043 The little things fix the big things and the big things become the little things ... if we listen. #Philip26Bradbury 12th Feb 26

42 Sing a song, suck your gums and find peace - understanding our sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. #Philip26Bradbury 11th Feb 26

041  When we lose the need to disclose our desired manifestations is when our manifestations are ready to arrive. #Philip26Bradbury 10th Feb 26

040  Peace is not passive; it is one of the most powerful forces we have. #Philip26Bradbury 9th Feb 26

038 The main reason we can't stop trying to make changes is that we believe were not good enough. Youre perfectly good enough if you do nothing today.  #Philip26Bradbury 7th Feb 26

037  We think the only constant in life is change but is it? Maybe we're allowed stop in our comfort zone and count the roses every now and then. #Philip26Bradbury 6th Feb 26

036  The more rules we have the more we need. The Dalai Lama and Jesus had 1 & 2 rules respectively. #Philip26Bradbury 5th Feb 26

035  Give yourself a break and remember how far youve come. #Philip26Bradbury 4th Feb 26

034 Do you procrastinate because you think you don't deserve the benefits of your actions?  #Philip26Bradbury 3rd Feb 26

033  If you procrastinate and don't finish things, you could use the Rumpelstiltskin method. #Philip26Bradbury 2nd Feb 26

032  You probably procrastinate because you're a cat and not quite a dog, yet. #Philip26Bradbury 1st Feb 26

031 We only have one life, one day. #Philip26Bradbury 31st Jan 26

030 Once you've set out to achieve something, how do you handle the set-backs? 2 lessons from yoga. #Philip26Bradbury 30th Jan 26

029 There is nothing to learn except to realise that you already know. Learning is nothing more than remembering. #Philip26Bradbury 29th Jan 26

028 Stop trying to understand the motor - just drive the car. #philip26bradbury 28th Jan 26

027 You are totally unqualified to do it and that's the best reason for doing it! #Philip26Bradbury 27th Jan 26

026  You can't steer a stationary ship and you can't edit a blank page. Source can only guide us if were moving. #Philip26Bradbury 26th Jan 26

025  A story about how black and white (ego and spirit) can control our lives. #Philip26Bradbury 25th Jan 26

024 The Voice for God speaks 2nd and quieter but it is also very persistent, while the voice for ego gives up easily. #Philip26Bradbury 24th Jan 26

023 Doing things in our own strength means we miss out on great ideas, its harder work and we usually procrastinate. #Philip26Bradbury 23rd Feb 26

022  Logic and ego are rooted in the past and spirit in the future. #Philip26Bradbury 22nd Jan 26

021  Emptying your mind gives clarity of purpose but we cease to exist without our minds. How do we do this, then? #Philip26Bradbury 21st Jan 26

020  We pretend that we don't know our answers to avoid short-term pain. #Philip26Bradbury 20th Jan '26

019  How the word hate muddles our thinking and takes us away from our plans. #Philip26Bradbury 19th Jan '26

018  How TV and fluoride cloud our thinking and decision-making. #Philip26Bradbury 18th Jan '26

017  The best way to solve your problems is to make them bigger! #Philip26Bradbury 17th January 2026

016  All grievances are the same size and take the same effort and time to resolve. #Philip26Bradbury 16th January 2026

015  Physical techniques to help realign with our soul, including activating our parasympathetic systems. #Philip26Bradbury 15th January 2026

014 Letting go of your oughtism and standing in your power and integrity.  #Philip2026Bradbury 14th January 2026 

The power of peace and our defenclessness ... 013 #Philip26Bradbury 13th January 2026 ..

The power of peace in decision-making 012 #Philip26Bradbury 12th January 2026 ... 

011 #Philip26Bradbury 11th January 2026 Finding your life purpose without really trying.

010 #Philip26Bradbury 10th January 2026 and how to make a difference ... without really trying.

009 #Philip26Bradbury 9th January 2026 and how we know we are healed?

008 #Philip26Bradbury 8th January 2026 ... onions, AI & how to manipulate your world

007 #Philip26Bradbury 7th January 2026 and has this become an information-sharing highway?

006 #Philip26Bradbury 6th January 2026 and 2 mysteries - one unresolved and one being resolved, slowly

005 #Philip26Bradbury 5th January 2026 and the world's mad, has always been mad and will always be mad.…

004 #Philip26Bradbury 4th January 2026 and noticing magic makes more magic

003 #Philip26Bradbury 3rd January 2026 and not feeling like doing this podcast ... already!

002 #Philip26Bradbury 2nd January 2026 A little trip ...

001 #Philip26Bradbury 1st January 2026 on the edge of several opennesses - - what does 2026 bring you?

I published 2 books on 1st August - one a novel by me and one a non-fiction by Teresa J Bird and I - and though the first was started 8 years ago and the 2nd 2 months ago, they encompass the same theme, coincidentally. 

Scars Could Love is a thriller/romance novel is about a solo mother, and her 13-year-old daughter, who has been abused and finally stands up for herself and her community. It contains guidance for people - especially women and girls - to help them stay safe ... a manual and a novel in one.

Authentic You is part of our new workshop series, helping people step out of the insanity of this world and be led by the sanity of their hearts and souls. We'll be helping people step into the integrity of their power, passion and purpose.

I've just finished writing my 23rd book, Scars Could Love, and people tell me I should make videos to promote it. However, writing is not a spectator sport so I had to become imaginative and create a series of videos about the life of writers ... well, this writer, anyway.

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Telling is when the author summarizes or uses exposition/description to simply tell the reader what is happening. Showing is about using description and action to help the reader experience the story.

 Example 1: 

TELLING: When they embraced, she could tell he had been smoking and was scared. 

 SHOWING: When she wrapped her arms around him, the sweet staleness of tobacco enveloped her, and he shivered. 

 Example 2: 

TELLING: Candice was anxious about how late she was.

 SHOWING: Candice’s eyes flashed to her phone. 9:33. She picked up her pace so it matched that of her heart, scampering down the hall. She had yet to climb two floors before reaching class. Again, her eyes flashed to the clock. 9:35. Couldn’t time slow down? Just for one morning!

 Example 3

TELLING: It was eerily quiet on the road until the sound of footsteps terrified me.

 SHOWING: Crunching hit my ears from behind, accelerating the already rampant pounding of my heart.

 4 RULES FOR DESCRIPTIONS

 1. Do not lead with exposition. 

This is a common mistake. Your first scene should definitely be one we can observe firsthand to get us quickly into the story ("the narrative hook"). Use dialogue, description, characters' thoughts: whatever will dramatize your opening.

 2. Match exposition to pace. 

The faster paced your story, the shorter your expository sections should be. An action story must be shown. We want to be there! If your tale relies on events piling up on each other at dizzying speed, keep up the speed by including only very short pieces of exposition, since exposition almost always slows a reader down. Conversely, if yours is a leisurely tale with many literary digressions, you can tell us much more.

 3. Try to alternate shown scenes with told exposition. 

If your reader has been given a rousing opening, he will usually then sit still for at least some exposition. But be sure to follow that chunk of telling with one or more dramatized scenes. That's much more effective than being given section after section of telling. Remember: The reader wants to feel present, a fly on the wall, for as much of the story as is feasible.

 4. Always show your climax. 

The climax is the place where the opposing forces in your story finally clash. This is true whether those opposing forces are two armies or two values inside a character's soul. The climax needs to be as vivid as you can make it, and that means dramatizing it with every narrative tool at your command: dialogue, action, description, thoughts, feelings. Put us right there.

Your Homework:

Turn either or all of these telling sentences into showing ones:

1. My mother was being overprotective.

2. Harry rushed out of the house in anger.

3. It was autumn and very cold outside

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For those who hate planning their book, here is the simplest way to plan your book - the plan you do when you're not planning.

Planners tend to plan their books before they start. Pansters, on the other hand, tend to avoid planning until they get into trouble, usually near the end of writing their book. This is the worst time to do any planning as there's so much to change. So, try this simple method of creating a story structure, BEFORE you start writing. Enjoy! :-)

Don’t emphasise for emphasis

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Along with redundancy, one of Stephen King’s (whose books have sold more than 350 million copies) pet peeves is the overuse of adjectives and adverbs. After you’ve finished your first draft, he suggests, go back and take out 10% of what you’ve written – especially the adjectives and adverbs. They’re supposed to strengthen the writing but, most of the time, they weaken it.

A recent issue of People Magazine refers to an “incredibly popular, groundbreakingly racy sitcom.” That’s tough to say even when you don’t have to move your lips.

In Still Life with Crows, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child describe a mysterious row of corn in the middle of a field: “It was, in fact, the only row that actually opened onto the creek.” Here are two attempts at emphasis (“in fact,” “actually”), but they just junk up the sentence. 

Remove them both and the word “only” carries the burden of the sentence with efficiency and precision: “It was the only row that opened onto the creek.”

The simpler, the more powerful.

Other emphasis words are very, so and quite.

Read these sentences out loud with the words in and out:

He was very tall … he was tall.

She was quite picky … she was picky.

The writing is generally more powerful without the emphasis words and the best test is to read it out loud.

Repetition

Just about every writer unconsciously leans on a “crutch” word. Hillary Clinton’s repeated word is eager. Cosmopolitan magazine editor Kate White uses quickly over a dozen times in A Body To Die For. Jack Kerouac’s crutch word in On the Road is sad,” sometimes doubly so - sad, sad. Ann Packer’s in The Dive from Clausen’s Pier is weird.

The editor for my last Australian thriller, Scars Can’t Tell, found 1,011 exclamation marks!

Commas

Commas are those funny little things that suggest a pause between words. To decide whether a comma should be there or not, read the sentence out loud to yourself. If you pause, momentarily, between any words, there should be a comma there. If it’s a longer pause, there should be a semi colon and, if you stop for a longer pause, a full stop is needed.

Some say that a pause for half a second should be shown with a comma, a full second is a semicolon and longer is a colon or a hyphen … or a new sentence. Again, read your writing out loud and you will know what’s best.

To break it down, there are four main reasons for commas: 

·           After an introductory element: There should always be a comma between an introductory word or phrase and the rest of the sentence. For example: In the novel Twilight, Bella lives in Forks.

·           In a compound sentence: A compound sentence has two or more parts that could each be a single sentence, joined by a conjunction. Before the conjunction, insert a comma. For example: The recipe sounded simple, but Julie burnt the cookies.

·           With a non-restrictive element: If there is a part of a sentence that could be removed, and the sentence would still make sense, use commas before and after to separate it from the rest of the sentence. For example: On wikiHow, the world's largest how-to manual, there are over 100,000 how-to articles.

·           In a series: When making a list, it's best to have a comma after each noun, unless you're a journalist. For example: Jane needed to buy milk, eggs, cheese, and butter.

Now you can astound your friends, at a literary cocktail party, with your

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When inspiration hides, we can step away and wait till it returns. The alternative is to keep writing. Sometimes creativity needs help to arise and we've just keep writing to lever it out - writing the boring, uninspired words till they turn into inspired ones. Or writing nonsense for a while, till that nonsense opens our minds and lets in something more creative. This exercise was to write two silly limericks and then around 500 words on an attribute or an emotion. Here is my example, below:

Little Miss Muffett sat on her tuffit
Then thought, “Oh, what the hell, stuff it!
I need a drink
And time to think.”
So got blind drunk at the pub called Jimmy Ruffitt

Mary had a little lamb
Its face was smeared with jam
It made lots of noise
Then broke all the toys
And then ran off with the naughty old ram

CRAVING EMBARRASSMENT
“I really like feeling embarrassed,” said our yoga teacher, Lilian, chatting to a friend after the session, as we were leaving … as she recounted an embarrassing and hilarious event. “I really like feeling off centre, not quite in control. I can really sense who I am, how I’m feeling. I feel so present to everything.”
Well, I thought, most people strive to avoid embarrassment, to avoid being wrong-footed, to avoid being wrong.
Most of our behaviour, it seems, is directed by our Mr or Mrs Fearless; that part of us that is ever alert to fear and always helping us to fear less – following rules, no matter how insane they are. Avoiding embarrassment. Avoiding not looking good. Avoiding risks. Avoiding rejection. Avoiding standing out. Avoiding feeling anything. Avoiding feeling. Avoiding life.
Some realise that to avoid embarrassment is to not speak up.
To avoid rejection is not to ask.
To avoid risk is to stay safe, stay inert.
To avoid not looking good is to avoid life.
To avoid feelings is to … well, avoid feelings, to step back from all of them – sadness and happiness, anxiety and excitement, drama and peace, rejection and acceptance.
To live in avoidance – in the grip of the Fearlesses – is to live that middle line, the inert line that never wavers, is always predictable, certain and safe. That’s exactly where the Fearlesses want us to be. Safe from diseases and health, safe from hot and cold. Safe from boredom and the unexpected. Safe from judgement and love. Safe from feeling. Safe from life.
Some of us get to an age when nothing matters any more. A stage that we just see frightened little egos running around avoiding fear, avoiding each other, terrified of life.
From the Fearlesses we learn that feeling numb is good and all else is bad. They tell us that it’s best to feel nothing and, as soon as any feelings arise, we’ve got to step back. Stop living. Stop expressing. Stop relating with others. Return to addictions.
The problem is that, sooner or later, we’ll bump into people and situations that arouse our feelings. That’s inevitable.
Then something happens.
Maybe we just become old and stop caring what others think or say.
Maybe we undergo some trauma – divorce, bankruptcy, war, theft, assault – and realise, later, that we’re still alive. Despite the explosion of negative emotions – where Mr and Mrs Fearless didn’t protect us – we’re still functioning, the sun still comes up and the biggest surprise of all … we are able to return to snatches of joy, peace and contentment. Not all the time, probably, but enough happy moments to give us hope of more.
Then we might realise it’s not possible to have a happy thought without a sad one. We can’t have excitement without boredom, peace without drama.
The straight and predictable green line through the middle of all – avoiding all – is the same green

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If we aren't clear about our descriptions, especially when there's a change of time and/or location, readers disengage with our writing. Like radio announcers, we only have our words to hold our readers. We know what we're writing about but our readers don't. This is my first attempt at describing my commute to work - an hour's cycle ride to Surfers Paradise.

CYCLING TO WORK
The boom gate goes up and down as I cycle out of the confines of the over-fifties complex and, before me, is the openness of nature. The serpentine cycle track ahead wends its way through mower-loved grassland and between trees verdant with birds of every screech and squawk imaginable – magpies, cockatoos, parrots, lorikeets, kookaburras – while silent ibises strut about like officious rubbish collectors.
To my left is the tidal lake with the shy, rising sun pouring golden syrup across the rippling waters.
I’ll say hello to Pete with his poodle, Jack with his … yes, his Jack Russell, Marjorie with her clacking walking stick and other regulars in this early-morning sunshine.
Some strangers look startled as I greet them, speeding by, and I know, in a few days, they’ll initiate the greeting and raise their eyes above the ground. Connecting with transient others is a learning curve.
Black is still the new black in town but, here, it’s every other bright colour imaginable. Is it that they’re retired and free, that they live close to nature or some other reason? Not a black garment to be seen and their smiles and banter are as vibrant as their attire.
There’s two men in waist-high water, casting their nets and then an old chap sitting on the lake-edge with his line out and pug dog snoozing wheezily beside him.
Three hundred yards later, two teenagers have clambered over the security gate and are fishing off the private wharf. I yell gidday, give them the thumbs-up and they laugh back – a shared celebration of victory for harmless anarchy.
After five minutes of weaving round curves and dodging walkers deaf to my bell, I break out into a cul-de-sac as trees give way to houses on my right, the inflowing lake my constant companion on my left. Then through another, shorter forest ride.
I appreciate that every tree and bird call is different as I zoom out into another street – square is the shape of houses and the colours are limited to white, beige and grey. No one would dare painting their abode in green, red, green or blue. Like the black clothes in town – and in every café – we don’t want to stray from the unspoken rule about being different, like everyone else.
Mind you, when I get to work I will change out of my green and white lycra and into my slacks and business shirt. We’re all captives of the rules of engagement, somehow, aren’t we!
So, half an hour along the black and white road, watching every black and white car – lest they’re not watching me – I come to the Big Blue, the Labrador beach with the screech of seagulls and smell of brine. This is another concrete path for bicycles, prams, wheelchairs, walkers, runners and dogs … and two chaps cycling along with a budgie on each of their shoulders.
As I cycle closer to Surfers Paradise, the colours, body-shapes and languages increase in variety – the whole planet sampled in this holiday microcosm. The other preponderance I notice is, as the relentless waves play their calming music beyond the smooth sand, are bodies puffed up with exercise and steroids as they stiffly strut their tanned skins before us. Pete, Jack and Marjorie think these people are funny but they regard themselves with grave seriousness.
And I wonder … does the water’s inability to judge encourage people’s creativity and variety? Does nature allow us to be our unabashed selves in ways we can’t d

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Make your story structure fit the way we live, so readers will engage more with your novel, short story, memoir or non-fiction book. And a story including the first 3 stages of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey is below:

CHANGING GLORIA SOAMES
Arthur Soames had a wife whose movements he could predict with unnerving accuracy: Monday – vacuum floors, clean toilet and roast pork for dinner. Tuesday – wash towels and sheets, her tapestry group and then steak and chips for dinner. Wednesday – wash clothes, clean kitchen and chicken Kiev for dinner. And so on.
It had never occurred to him, an accountant, to change anything. He was happy with their routine … well, that was until he realised computers were infecting his occupation and could take over his job. He resisted these new-fangled gadgets for years, until he acknowledged his dwindling clientele meant his expenses were more than his income. He felt hot and bothered at that thought but resisted telling Gloria. He knew what she was like when her mother died and his manly pride couldn’t admit his failure as a man and then upset his fragile wife.
But these pesky computers didn’t go away and so he rehearsed a speech at work, many times, fortified himself with a three-sugar cocoa drink and stormed to the front door with all the effrontery of a penguin defending its nest. However, that effrontery evaporated like a politician’s promise as Gloria met him in the hallway, wearing black heels, black slacks and a white business shirt with a coloured logo on the pocket.
His mouth hung open like a broken purse and she smiled as she’d never done before, like she’d just stolen the last cookie.
“Can we have a chat, Arthur?” she asked, waving towards the table that had been set with teapot, teacups and a platter of several biscuits. Definitely not the Yorkshire pudding he was expecting.
He complied dumbly with a thousand thoughts whirling round on his brain: Is this the I’ve-had-enough divorce talk? The I’ve-found-another-man talk? The I’ve-discovered-I’m-a-lesbian talk? The I’ve-been-diagnosed-with-cancer and have three months to live talk?
“First thing, Arthur,” she said as she sat and poured the tea, “is that this change is all good. For both of us. No bad surprises.”
He nodded dumbly while his brain wondered how any change could be good.
“See, since my mother’s funeral, I have been struggling …”
“You have?”
“Yes, Arthur, and I didn’t know how to tell you how sad I was and how paralysed I felt.”
“I know that …”
“Please, please let me finish.”
“Oh, right.” His brain had shut down, now that it was out of questions.
“Despite the paralysis, there was the urge to go on as it hit me that we only have one life. One chance. We don’t get a rerun.”
“Oh.” Is she considering suicide?
“I also know you’re stuck in a rut with your business and need space to step back and rethink.”
“Oh, gosh.” He didn’t know he needed that.
“So, over the last six months I have been doing a real estate course.”
“You didn’t ask me,” he said, plaintively.
“I knew you wouldn’t agree so I used my meagre savings and, yesterday, qualified and, this evening, I have my first client.”
“You’re a real estate agent?” He tried to squeeze this new occupation into the small box he’d built for her in his mind. It didn’t fit.
“Yes, naturally!” She smiled gloriously and she really did look beautiful.
“Why naturally?”
“What’s my name, Arthur?”
“Uh, Gloria Soames.”
“And that’s what I’ll be selling. Glorious homes.”
They laughed together for the first time since the funeral.

Wisdom, senility, nicotine, fluoride and standing for Truth ... everything we've been told is bad for is actually good for us and vice versa.
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When we attach to a truth we eliminate all other possibilities ... we limit ourselves. "Truth" is a blinder and stops us seeing other possibilities. It limits our creativity.

You can't do anything wrong ... just do something and it'll turn out right

Are predictions the last resort of the fearful? Being here, right now, is the most peaceful place I can be ... being present and in presence.
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If we don't like something, do we smash it or do we just replace it?

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A poem about how to write and how to live your biggest life. Enjoy!
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106 Who are you responsible for - yourself or the rest of the world? If someone wants you to hate another, that's a diversion from Truth.
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Put no man above your wisdom. Listen to your own heart, gut and mind
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How to banish anxiety from this moment ... and why the media exploit our preference to be willing victims and fall for their anxiety-causing narratives.
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Are you ready to be a blinding light of sanity in this insane world where narratives and lies abound? Can you stand in integrity while all around you falters?
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We don't stop our projects because we become sick. We get sick because our projects seem too overwhelming for us.
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A heart-warming story of persistence, coincidence and success - can you guess who it is?
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Do you say YES and mean it? If you do, more opportunities will come along. If you don't mean it, opportunities will dry up.
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Are you playing on the court or watching life from the stands?
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When you've lost your mojo and are feeling lost, what do you do? Stay lost
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If you've failed your New Year's resolutions, here are 3 effective ways to set achievable goals
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Everything we give out, we get back 3-fold, whether it's anger, kindness, abuse, humour or anything else. Here are 3 stories of how that happens.
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Man made God internet in his own image  - the internet is the perfect model for life and how to live it effectively
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No one sees or experiences your world as you do and as soon as we realise this, our world becomes more peaceful and happy. The alternative is to continue badgering others to think your way, thereby alienating and not inviting them in.
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We don't need to know how life, our book or anything else ends. We do need, however, to listen and act on the daily impulses from the universe, God or whatever you call that which is bigger than us. If we don't take action on each idea - silly or otherwise - the next idea won't come along and nothing will happen.
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For every conversation, good or bad, we have 2 choices.  Don't forget to exercise those choices. If we don't make those choices, other will make them for us.
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When starting a project, focus on:
1. The tiny success, not the final success, and
2. On the success, not the embarrassment

If we release (forgive) anger from the other end, it will work better. Anger is simply unmet expectations so, if we release (forgive) those expectations  ... well, the answer is obvious.

Many tell us that we must leave our past dramas and emotions behind but maybe - just maybe - we're better to let them stay. Firstly as they can be helpful attributes for our future life and, secondly, maybe we can't actually let them go ... they're so endemic to who we are, so much embedded, we can't actually get rid of that which we are.

So, here is a way to use our past, value and accept it.
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Do you believe in magic? You soon will ... from a Chinese and Hopi perspective.

A short story about when a war's over and we want to seek revenge and restitution, the war's not over. It's only over when we have all forgiven each other that the war is really over.
You are welcome to join me at: 
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Albert Camus invented the term Absurdism and said the world is absurd - there is no way to make sense of it. So, to deal with the absurdity, we have 3 choices - suicide (avoidance), religion (others' experience of life) or acceptance. To his "acceptance" I would add that saying YES to every opportunity gives life the opportunity to say YES to us. Try it, you'll love it!

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The child has run away
For a blighted cause today
He’s joined a crooked queue
Of brothers twitchy and new
For a leader they’ve never met
He makes them all a terrible bet
Prove you’re a man, brave and strong
Your kinfolk’ll love you as the day is long
They’ll make you monoliths ten feet tall
Brass plaques, street names and all
If you’ll go out and point your gun
Pull the trigger on dirty old Hun
Ruskie, Jap, Nip, Ching or Arab to blame
Whatever the current contestant’s name

Off the child goes, sure he’s an adult
Protecting his country without a fault
So he trains, learns and obeys
“Yes Sir, no Sir,” the right words he says
Jumps and spins and sharply salutes
Ready to savage all those foreigner brutes
Sent on a boat with sweat-stained mates
Talking up tough, kill everyone we hates
The young boy imagines he’s grown to a man
A warrior, a fighter and a dastardly plan
Overseas travel, true glory and gore
Saving my comrades, country and more
With a bang, a slash and a mighty blow
The enemy’ll run, never again to show

The world’ll be safer, peaceful and kind
From our actions, I know you’ll find
And up goes his name on pedestals so bright
Forever engraved, remembered and right
But we landed in muck, trudged through swamp
The food’s no better and clothing is damp
Walking forever, no enemy around
Till day six when the mines we found
Lost feet, arms, guts and whole mates
Forced to march on, no logical debates
Came we upon the enemy’s camp, they said
But just a village, livestock all dead
Women pleading us to save their kid
But won’t tell us where their men is hid

So we shot a few, get ‘em up talking
They didn’t know so we kept on walking
After burning their houses, corrals and crops
And firing our volleys till every child drops
Our rations are now low, stinking so rotten
Though my vomit’s not from the illness I’ve gotten
But from grief and all the bloody dead waste
All the good people we’ve gunned and chased
Minding their own damned business and lives
While we interfere between husbands and wives
Simple good folk, never a bad word
We treat them like a low-down dog turd
Would we do that to our own kin back home?
No we wouldn’t; we’d leave them alone

But for this big man, his pedestal bright shines
Spilling his phlegm, on brash words he dines
For his loud lies, loose lipped stories
Of enemies abroad and whigs hate tories
Hell, it took me fifty years of PTSD
Unravelling my trauma from a worn out chesty
And finding the truth of a war-loving world
File by file the dirty deeds are unfurled
Found we fought no enemy, not for our nation
Was a senseless pantomime for a man’s libation
Yes, I’ve come to see there’s no enemy out there
Just our own demons we want others to bear
‘Stead of taking charge of the victim within
We spew invective, wage wars we never can win

The child left for glory in yellow Viet Nam
Took a long time to return a full-known man.

The 1st question should not be, "How can we help change you?" It should be, "Do you want change?" If it's a YES, the next question should be, "Do you need outside help to change?" Only after that could the 3rd question become relevant. However, this is what is happening in towns across the globe - the government or councils asking the residents what do they want changed when the locals are perfectly happy as things are. However, having the 3rd question 1st, ignores the needs of locals totally.

Women have a lower centre of gravity than men and they see things differently ... why can't we accept and enjoy the differences we all have from each other - physical, political, beliefs - and still be good people to each other?

Anxiety, table-tennis balls and peace - how to release anxiety and other negative emotions in ANY situation.

Two true stories to show there is never just one answer and, for every situation, we have a choice to see restriction or release.
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Like the founders of A Course in Miracles, there HAS to be a better way.
You are welcome to join me at: 
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The only darkness is the one we paint on the landscape of our lives

Maybe there is no life purpose or predestiny ...maybe what we're doing is simply what we're doing and, whatever road we take, will get us home. Maybe we're never not-home!
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Accepting separation rather than trying to force diversity

Hold the pain, don't forgive or explain. Lean into it and follow these simple steps to alleviate it.

The road to success is strewn with broken glass. We can toughen our feet or we can find ways through it. The broken glass, however, will not go away.

Our life purpose is the last kind choice we made. It's no greater or lesser than that.

Why did I stop doing this videos when things were going well? Why do we stop at the point we're about to break through and succeed?

If you have writers block - or life block - try this. It could open all sorts of opportunities you never knew existed.

This is the cure for suicide. Try it - it might save your life.

Change happens at the 3% point and the answers are changing. This world is not what it was and the tried and true is no longer true.

Are you a victim or creator?

Facts that show change is upon us and how to deal with the change

If consistency was brains Id be stupid, very stupid. In spite of that, my life has gone on as planned ... yes, the planless life can go as planned.

If you're ready for success, you've got to be ready for failure. That's how the system works.

Stop thinking of aah penis and fill your mind with more productive thoughts

I do not know what God or Love is. No one does. All we can know what the blocks to Love are.

Don't tell people what you are - a true story about finding and living your passion

Panic slowly - the world is not going to end today

There's a spiritual war going on ... if you want it to be going on

Some roads you need to take alone. No friends. No family. No partner. Just you and the universe.

Limitations make me angry ... and then creative

The world is dangerous but we don't have to buy into the danger

Physical treatments for PTSD and stress that you can do at home

Do you want to understand or to know?

Still your mind, still your problems

Your world is perfect and sane, with satisfaction and gratitude

Deciding not to decide is a Declaration of Peace

We are different every single day and how that gives us potential to rise

Listen to the negative voices, acknowledge them and let them go

Embrace your challenges, says Mdel Gibson.
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49 A simple exercise to access our intuition
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We're told not to live in the past, not to look back and to live in the NOW or the future. However, sometimes, the past is really helpful. I'll tell you why.

The only meaning life has is the meaning we each give to it. Life is, itself, pure and empty, like a crystal bowl. Let me explain ...

A story about beauty and the power of love, from Philip J Bradbury.

2 major financial events on 12/3/23 signalled the collapse of the global financial system and it's to be greeted with relief - not horror or glee - as it's perfectly in line with the Hopi, Tibetan, Chinese, Astrological, Mayan, Hindu and many other group's timelines.

When we're in shock or denial, we breathe from our chest, trying to stop the pain entering our body. To release that pain and return to balance, to soul, we can breathe from the bottom of our stomach (diaphragm breathing), the bottom of our soul and we find a new peace and clarity.

It might feel like we're alone and have to do everything ourselves but that's not true - loving help and support is always here.

Words are symbols of symbols - the more there are, the less communication there can be. The less words and the more presence, the more communication there is.

Achieving less achieves more. Whatever the project - writing a book, starting a business, training for a marathon, starting a relationship, cleaning your house, doing a diet or whatever - doing less often achieves more. Listen and you'll see how.

Three questions about the sun, the earth and the stories we've been told ... and they may alter your view of the universe and of yourself.

The 2,500-year battle for freedom is over and the non-battle for freedom has started.

We're often told to get out of our comfort zone. But why?

Random thoughts on life and why do we bother with it

Are we moving from the love of power to the power of Love? The competitive mind-set of the Piscean Age is giving way to the Aquarian Age's spirit if giving.

All of our relationship breakups, job dissatisfactions, arguments, battles and other dramas ... do we create them to avoid the peace we're looking for, because we think peace is boring. And, is pain more boring than peace?

Whatever annoys us about others, annoys us about ourselves. So, rather than slinging invective and hate at those we revile, we can turn that energy inward for the greatest personal development opportunity possible ... listen to find out how.

We all have a purpose and the example of the Hawkes Bay (NZ) floods, shows us that everyone can play a part in helping others ... and so with life. None of us came here without a purpose and everyone is vital in this world.

Just when you're levering yourself out of your rut, do you keep sliding back into your uncomfortable comfort zone? Here's a story that might explain why ...

"Loving yourself" is such an ephemeral, unhelpful phrase and doesn't tell us what to do on a daily basis. However, accepting yourself is much more specific with specific actions - here are some of them ...

Quickly reviewing some of the devastation of the Hawkes Bay, NZ floods and the insanity and callousness of humans, how do we find peace and gratitude in such horrific circumstances?

Expanding our problems expands our lives - listen to this podcast to see how this works.

A quote from Byron Katie - "Who needs God when we have our opinions"? Opinions are like bum-holes - everyone has one but no one wants to see mine ... or yours!

A simple story to show how every thought of yours affects the world.

There is nothing to decide, nothing to strive for ...

Why do we lose energy in a project - diet, fitness program, business, relationship etc -  when things start going right? 

Whenever we fight we lose. Whatever we fight we lose. Fighting only got us more fighting, which is why no war was ever won. There is, however, another way ... the way of peaceful power.

Learning to live without reasons is liberating empowering. Therefore, being un-reasonable is the most reasonable way you can live your life

Forgiveness is not the weakness of giving in but the strength of standing for yourself.

Guilt does not go as it's a part of what we are as humans - that existential guilt. While we try to project it on others or avoid it, it drives us to insanity. However, when we acknowledge it's presence in our lives, we can find peace so much easier.

The same old world changes when we change inside, when we step into gratitude and presence. When we do, the world shines with a new wonder every single day.

When a writer has writers block, he still turns up at the page and the words arrive; the stories arrive when we turn up and keep writing. And so with life - if we don't turn up, life doesn't. If we do turn up and take forward steps, opportunities arise that weren't there before.

Changing our labels doesn't change us  Only we change us. Changing our name, identity or anything else external makes no difference inside - we'll still be just as angry, depressed, sad, lost or whatever we were before. However, if we start with changing the inside, we might just attract a new label that reflects the new us.

I am not grateful for anything ... I am not grateful for anything in particular. I am simply grateful. Why? Because, if my gratitude is grateful for something in particular, and that thing goes - and everything goes - my gratitude ceases.

Life is a strip tease artist - she only reveals herself, one veil at a time. So, whether you're using ego or VoG (Voice of God) as your decision-making tool, you'll only get to see one or two steps ahead ... which means we must trust in every moment.

Whenever we fight, we lose. Whoever we fight, we lose. If fighting gained anything, all wars would have ended. So, rather than fight, we can choose to move into peace and, from that powerful experience, take action from peace.

I start all my podcasts with, "Hello and welcome, Solvereigns." So, what is a Solvereign?

We're all busy making plans that seldom work out. Why? Partly as we use the wrong decision-maker and partly as we try to do everything "in our own strength", as A Course in Miracles says.

We can never be upset at a fact - we can only be upset at what we make of a fact. Therefore, we always know if we're in one of our stories - international, national, community or personal stories ... we're upset! When we're upset, we can flick a switch in our minds and go back to facts ... the upset disappears, every time.

We all have 2 ways of making decisions and the choice of which one determines the results of those choices ...

The simple art (technique) of turning grievances to gratitude and peace.

3 short stories on persistence, faith and the human spirit.

Over 90% of  New Years resolutions are given up on by 1st February. The main reason is that they set in ways we cannot relate to. So, here is another way - try it.

Looking at the tired old world with wonder refreshes your life and your attitude ... and it's easy to do, every day.

We are not about to deal with or overcome this - we already have dealt with and overcome this.

Whatever risks we take, the fear doesn't change - it's all one size.

Decisions made (and actions taken) from peace are more powerful than those from fear and/or anger.

In every moment, you are changing the world ... simply by just being who you are. So, in every one of those moments, we have the choice to affect the world for good or bad. This based on the book, Life Rejuvenated.

2 simple, powerful stories about perseverance from ordinary people who did extraordinary things, from the book, The Meaning of Larf.

A simple exercise to release self-hatred and self-destruction, from the book, Life Rejuvenated.

You are welcome to join me at:
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Website: https://writethatbooknow.com
Paper books: https://bit.ly/3WEaSUT
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