Jane AsplinWisdom | Compassion | Sharing

Yep it’s me, haven’t dropped off the planet, felt like it at times but I’m baaaack!

Well here we are May already and I see how long it is since I have written and am amazed at how life can sometimes take over.

Last May as I celebrated turning 50 I set myself the challenge of doing things I had never done before. This last year has seen me:

Take classes in Burlesque – OMG I will never look at a chair the same way a very funny blog to come…

Get my first ever spray tan – I love brown and tanned boobies, especially my own! (more to follow)

Sort out friends from not friends (that deserves a blog on its own…..)

Get really clear on me and my life direction (more to follow.)

Such a short list yet it has been such a year of learning, accepting, letting go, surrendering and reflection.

Being 50 has been fabulous, I feel like I have really come into my own. Empowered in my Divine Feminine – Wow! what better way to mark this milestone year than……a NUDE (Yes Ethel she said NUDE!!!) photoshoot.

I wanted all of my 50th year experiences captured in a series of shots that showed ME, my 50 year old body that has  as you would imagine been through a fair bit. No airbrushing, just me, claiming my Goddess Within…phew!

I know a great photographer, Gillian Berry, (check out www.dragancaor.net or on facebook Gillian B Photography)  I was speaking to her about my ideas on this and after taking a deep breath and shouting YES to her offer I drove to her home where she has a studio set up and after being put so at ease by her – I did it!! We got some great shots of ME, just me, a tastefully draped chiffon scarf and my authentic self. It was fantastic.

What a liberating and empowering experience. Fun, laughter and some great shots that may never see the light of day except to the ‘chosen few.’

But – I WILL KNOW!

Not bad eh? 50 and still pushing the boat out. Gotta love that!

Applications to become on of the ‘chosen few’ will be considered but not necessarily accepted

How do!

Well is it? A duck that is…

I’m asking coz for a while now I have been observing Facebook traffic and Twitter posts and wondering if I am the only person in the whole wide world that sees lots of quacking from things purporting to be ducks but that are  not actually ducks…..?

I pondered long and hard on whether to write this post then thought what I see lacking in a lot of other posts is the integrity that is my number one value and driver in all I do.

If I f**k up I normally share that! If I succeed I share that too, what I will never do is claim things I have not either done or had experience of. Nor will I promote myself to a level that I am not genuinely working from. Does that make me odd? Does it put me at a disadvantage from those who would? I would like to believe that the average person who views my posts and blogs would have the heart to know the difference.

Will those that don’t know the difference and those that get attracted by the ‘bright shiny’ find the person that they need to learn from in order to understand discernment?

Am I naive? – don’t think so, maybe I am.  What do you reckon?

Do I want to change my approach and start saying things that are not an outright untruth but certainly a ‘stretch’ ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! What I do is personal and professional and the personal is heavily emphasized.

So over to you dear reader – what are your thoughts on the ‘traffic’ of Facebook and Twitter and more importantly how do you find what you want within its content?

Would love to know

Hey there – how you doing?

Question for you – What is your preferred method of learning? Huh?

Do you like to read books (shock horror ) or instruction manuals before attempting a task?

Do you prefer to watch someone complete a task then copy them?

Do you like to do the task yourself with someone instructing you verbally when you felt it necessary?

Do you need to see a blueprint/diagram and then copy it?

There is no right or wrong way to learn anything, however we do all have a leaning to a more specific way of receiving information. This is called our Preferred Representational System. Yep that’s a mouthful…

In simple terms it means we each have a way of processing data input that allows us to act on the information in a timely manner. To break it down further:

Those who devour books and read every letter of an instruction manual before creating your own action steps you would be Audio Digital, that is whilst you are reading the words you are re processing them into your own interpretation (that makes sense to you) and acting accordingly. You can tend to live in your head, analysing and rationalizing are second nature to you.

For those who like to complete the task yourself with instructions being given as necessary are Kinesthetic, that is you like to ‘feel’ what it is you are completing. You process your information by how it makes you feel. You can tend to live in your heart.

The Watchers are Visual, they need to see it done and copy it. They can be great map readers! As they are able to visualise the route clearly. They need to see to believe.

For those who need to hear the instructions whilst following them would be Audio, the need for guidance is there and once it is received and acted on they are happy to proceed. They can tend to need confirmation of their role.

OK that’s all well and good I hear you say….but just think about it…if you are a Manager or Team Leader or about to employ more staff….

What would it be like to “know” how your new team member processed their information?

You would know exactly how to train them to get the maximum results in the minimum amount of time….

Sound good?

Want to know more? then email me for more information.

Hi all,

I got the idea for a series of blogs the other day whilst sipping coffee in the food court of my local shopping mall.

What I plan to do over the coming months is to share stories of what it truly means to be of service and to share with you what an impact even a small act of service can make to any given situation.

I also think it’s about time we got to share positives in regard to service as so many times its only the negatives that get a mention. Don’t you?

So there I was sipping coffee, quietly anonymous, or so I thought. Sitting on the table next to me were two elderly ladies, chatting away. One was ever so frail in stature, the other more substantial. The cleaning lady for the food court came along and interrupted their chat by asking the frailer of the two if she wanted to have curly hair she ought to eat her crusts! This made both of them smile. The she said to her, ‘If you don’t finish all your sandwich you can’t have a cake’ This made her laugh out loud. “I mean it” she threatened as she cleaned tables, “You’ll never be big and strong if you don’t eat all your sandwich”

As she turned to another table the elderly lady poked her tongue out and in that instance I saw the mischievous child in her, alive and well and brought out to play by the cleaners gentle way.

I laughed with the ladies and she said to me, about the cleaner, ‘She is so kind, she always stops for a chat; I really appreciate that”

So did I. The cleaner was smiling the whole time she did her job, chatting to several people, smiling at Mum and kids, she had a word for everyone.

It showed me that no matter what job you have, however lofty you think you are in your role, nothing beats good old fashioned one on one contact. The simple act of saying hello, of asking how are you today? can be the difference that makes a difference to someone’s otherwise troublesome or weary day.

Now that’s what I call service.

Until the next time – would love for you to start sharing your good service experiences, even just noting them will make a difference to you.

Here’s a kicker…how about you start practicing great service yourself???

Jeez – controversial or what!

Gidday all

FEAR – false emotions appearing real and many other euphemisms that try and explain away  this very real emotion. The cause of fear can be as many as grains of sand on a beach

What do you do when you wake up at 3 in the morning, your heart racing and your mind going a million miles an hour? What does it take for you to settle yourself back down and get back to sleep?

For myself I take a few deep breaths, place my hands over my heart and solar plexus chakras and give myself reiki until the thoughts slow and stop and the calming energy and heat settles me. I also pray, giving thanks for my life and all those in it. I pray for others I know may be going through a tough time and I pray for the world.

Prayer…..! I hear you gasp, where’s the exit button? But you know what? the power of prayer is quite amazing. God, Buddha, Goddess, Divinity, whatever name or word connects you to that which you sense is bigger than yourself, something your inner knowing recognizes as Sacred.

It leads on nicely into FAITH – have we lost it? When we turned our backs on religion did we turn our backs on faith too? What have we learned from the political correctness that plagues our lives? That we dilute and remove to soothe others rather than standing for what we have faith in?

What do you believe in, I mean truly with all your heart believe in? What does Faith mean to you? I would LOVE you to start thinking about and discussing it here or with friends and family.

I recently read a great book by Gregg Braden called the Secrets of the Lost Mode of Prayer, a small book with huge information. I highly recommend it  as an addition to your bookshelf.

Ask and ye shall receive – what have you got to lose? What could you gain?

Interesting………

Hi,

What a massive question! I like to open with the big ones…

Sacred means so many things in so many ways, what is means to me is something that I value beyond myself, it is bigger than me and I am respectful of that, in awe almost. In the full sense of the word and not the homogenized version of awesome!

Sacred is – nature, sky, earth, moon, ocean, prayer, God,Buddha, wisdom, compassion, kindness, love, health and family. Not necessarily in the order written either and that list is only  a portion of what I consider sacred and what I value in my life.

Deep or what? I just want you to get an idea of what sacred can mean so I can turn the tables on you (evil laugh mwah ha ha) and ask you to contemplate what is sacred in your life and how do you honor it?

Ok I’ll fess up now, the reason I want you to start thinking on this is so that you begin to understand what you VALUE.

Values hey…yes that’s right, When you begin to uncover what you value you begin to understand yourself and your best or optimum environment.

Hang on!!! So if I know what my values are, I will know where I am best suited to work…? Who and how I like to relate to people..?

Yes and Yes and can I get an amen??

Values, a top way to sort out what is meaningful in your life and why. When was the last time you elicited your personal values, your values in business, in your relationships….oh the possibilities…

Maybe it’s time to  email me?

Hello

I read something recently on Facebook that literally took my breath away.

It was intimating that if you had a job you were a failure, that to be a success you HAD to have or be buiding your own business and anything less was not acceptable.

Oh for the love of God – who is this person to judge, who is anyone to judge how someone makes their living.

It prompted me to write this and say whether you make your living by your own means or for working for someone else – that is FINE!

Whatever works for you. The certainty of a paycheck cannot be underestimated in this financial climate and in other countries families have been torn apart as houses are repossessed and left empty, lives ruined by the feelings of unpreparedness for adversity. The spirit I see in the US in particular, where this is more prevalent than the lucky country that is Australia, is one of ” I will do whatever it takes to keep my family together,” so former executives are flipping burgers, working in petrol stations, donut shops to keep body and soul together. I think that is something to be respected and admired. I wonder if the writer of the comment would do that?

Here in Aus and in WA (mining boom land) we are cosseted and protected, I do feel however that in the West if you are involved in some way with the mining industry you are doing just fine and if you are not, well things are a little tough.A gap is appearing and it is getting wider. The same can be said for many cities in many countries I guess.

What shocked me from the glib comment was a lack of understanding and an unwillingness to see beyond their own world – isn’t that what prompts exclusion and separateness that ultimately can lead to fear of anything which is not familiar? Is that how far we have come?

For the workers, the unemployed seekers, the executives, the researchers, the stay at homes mums (doing more than most) however you earn your way in this life, as long as the face that looks back at you in the mirror is one that you accept wholeheartedly then you are doing OK. One of my favorite saying is ‘what other people think of me is none of my business’….

Alright I’m getting off me soapbox now!!  :-)

Howdy!

Does it mean its gold? …hmm think this post may offend some and do you know what…I think its time to open to the door to some good old fashioned discussion.

Is it just me or are you as sick of the often unrelenting bulls**t you see on Facebook, Twitter and elsewhere. Are you as fed up to the back teeth of:

10 tips, 9 steps, 8 ways, 7 ideas, 6 hints, 5 Go-old rings!, 4 tried and tested, 3 methods, 2 tricks and a partridge in a pear tree….

Maybe I’m turning into one of the Grumpy Old Women that are sometimes shown on the ABC criticizing life in the 21st century…hey mighty fine company and I always said I wanted to grow old disgracefully, however I am not ready quite yet, so I don’t think so, I think I have just reached pussy’s bow on being told/sold what I ‘should’……..and how incomplete my business/life is without it.

I am intelligent, I think I can figure most things out for myself and if I don’t know or need help, guess what – I get help and that’s where all of these damned posts backfire and turn into a sea of sameness, how do you sort through the plethora and find what you actually need and not what THEY tell/sell you you need???

Bloody oath, if you find out how please tell me as I am in complete overwhelm. I’m drowning!!!

People pleeeeze – give me a break, how likely is it in my lifetime that I will  need 10 tips, 9 steps, 8 ways etc on a regular basis….Once, maybe twice….so post it once and be done stop posting it time and time again.

One thing I do know is that when you constantly bombard me I switch off, simple as, gone, out to lunch, gone fishin’ so is your marketing working?? What would happen if you just hung your shingle out and let your business grow by word of mouth? Shock horror – is that a dinosaur in the room???

Think about it, take a look around you, the businesses that work long term are the ones that can credit a huge part of their growth to the organic word of mouth. Qualifed leads, no need to sell to, your client has already done that for you..

Jeez – radical or what?

Just sayin’……

Hello to one and all and thanks for checking me out!

Have you ever reached that point in your life where you know things cannot remain the same yet the urge to resist change and argue with the Gods/Goddesses takes on some strange ritual of bargaining…..?

Yep – me too. Sucks doesn’t it – big time, say again B I G time.

What I learned from this though is that what you resist persists and surrender actually releases you from a lot of unnecessary pain. Simple hey? YA THINK??

For those of you who are awake at 4am with your brain spinning out of control, maybe not. You at the stage yet where you feel like a hamster on a wheel? if so – STOP, yes that means YOU, stop and get off the merry go round and start to prioritze what is actually going on.

Go back to the drawing board – literally, Get  a clean sheet of butchers paper or a white board or even a pack of post it notes and start to write down everything that is going on that is causing this worry/stress/pain (insert own word here) Betcha it doesn’t look so scary in your handwriting does it?

OK now you have written down what is going on – what are you going to do about it?

What needs to be done first?

What can be handled later or even delegated? (Oh the D word…..watch for later posts…)

What do you need help with and who can help you? (hint – ME!!!)

Once you have sorted things/tasks into an order that makes sense to you and is workable create a NEW list.

Bloody hell!  It really is that simple…wish I’d known that at 4 o clock in the morning a few years ago….

Get sorted folks and I’ll catch you soon

Hehehe….just gotta tell you about last week…

I turned 50 and it was brilliant!

For those of you who get anxious about what number comes after your name, DON”T it is just a number after all and it doesn’t define you, unless of course you let it.

So I thought I would wander around being 50, try it out and see what it means a few days in…

My friend Shane said to me, well it means ‘you’ve served your apprenticeship, you can speak from experience, you know yourself and can bring that to everything’ WOW, what a great description.

He hit the nail on the head, I am experienced – in many things, some good some not so. I do know who I am and I am committed to deepen that knowledge wherever I can. I am not afraid of  being disliked over what I will put up with and what I won’t. I am ‘myself.’  That’s a biggie!

Q: How empowering is the saying ‘what other people think of me is none of my business’?

A: VERY!

The thing that struck me most is that I live my life on my terms and I know what the terms are! I have great people around me, really great and that makes me feel like I won lotto every day.

From my perspective being 50 is a pivotal moment in your life, so what was your experience or indeed what do you look forward to when you turn 50?  Let me know…..