More than business as usual

Career

I spend most of my day in a workshop. The final budget allocation prioritised seven major information and communication technology projects. My pet project is included in the list of seven so I am excited but also know that it will take a lot of hard work to achieve the goals we set ourselves. We have 9 months to deliver results and a big portion of the nine months is taken up by the procurement process and initial infrastructure implementation. The allocation of funds allow me the opportunity to make a tangible contribution to the institution. The whole division's leaders and managers sat together to coordinate milestones, resource requirements and interdependencies between the projects. It is for the first time that seven such critical projects will be in progress concurrently with allocated funds. I hope that we can maintain the momentum keep to a proud heritage of successful implementations in the past. This is an opportunity I worked towards for the previous year and now it seems I will be empowered to actually make a difference. The challenges are significant of which people resistance to change is probably one of the most important to address. However since I am busy now for such a long time, I am confident that we will be successful.

#Jujube #tea

#Herbalism

My exposure to #TaiChi as a martial art, also exposed me to other eastern practices. The Shi fu who trains me studies in China for several years and adopted many of the Chinese practices. One of the things he is trying to introduce both from a commercial and cultural perspective is the practice of drinking Chinese tea. Although green tea is the most well known, it seems that any herb or fruit that can be put into water can become Chinese tea. The number of teas are endless. Combining that with my interest in herbs it seems that the Chinese tea is not different from herbalism.

I like the taste of the teas I was introduced to a few days at a free Chinese tea tasting. As a Cape Town resident I am used to wine tasting events. The difference between wine tasting and Chinese tea tasting is that wines are a rich combination of flavours while Chinese tea is more  one taste. Apparently when you have an understanding of the different teas you can start to combine different teas to get a more complex taste. So I bought myself a little inexpensive mug to start my journey into experimenting with Chinese teas. I will later invest into a more expensive tea set. The mug is a mobile option I can easily take to my work environment where I would like to be refreshed with a cup of Chinese tea. So this entry marks the first cup of Chinese tea in my Chinese cup.

I bought two types of teas namly Jujube tea and Goji tea. Jujube is a herbal tea prepared from the sweet jujube fruits and contains sugar, vitamin A, B1,B2 and C and is used to improve muscular strength and stamina and as a tonic for the liver. I chose this one because my flu is still persisting and my throat not totally cured. I am still coughing at night due to a persistent nasel drip.  The teas like other herbal rememedies all are associated with connected health properties.

The jujube tea has a sweet refreshing taste. The tea is a cheap option relative to other options like corbonhydrated colddrinks that are available at work. It normally does not contain caffeine like other teas and coffees. So for now it is an interesting alternative and once more an opportunity to expand my knowledge. Like herbs, Chinese tea is not an quick solution like other medication for healing ailments. Herbs tend to work a slower more natural process of dealing with the actual problem rather than just removing symptoms. It does not replace conventional medication but given the alternatives available the drink and use of Chinese tea does offer an alternative with consequent health benefits.

Making the tea is an art in itself for the true experts. Each tea must be at a particular temperature and mixed in the correct quantities. However for me starting of on this journey it is simple. You put the jujube fruit in a strainer, pour boiling water over it and allow it to stand for a minute or two. Then you remove the jujube fruit with the strainer and can drink the tea at any later time. You can drink it both cold and warm. When you want another cup you simply put the strainer back over the cup and pour additional  hot water over it. The strength of the tea deminishes over time giving you a different taste sensation. The golden rule is that you can use the tea for the whole day by adding water if you like but you do not leave it overnight. I could not find out the reason for it but ...that is the folklore rule to abide by.

On health and refreshment!

My Chinese cup for drinking Chinese tea. On the top you can see the strainer as well as the lid to keep the tea warm while it is brewing.

Oswald Wirth Tarot

#Tarot

Yesterday, I went to down to the buzzing streets of Green market square, Cape Town. A friend of mine made an impromptu phone call asking me if I would like to eat out with him. We agreed to meet at this plaza. Here, between the stores you will find locals mingling with tourist from all over the world. Green market square is one of those destinations all foreigners end up visiting. The various store owners try to sell merchandise that looks authentic African...little statues, masks, clothes etc. As a native of the land I seldom take the time to look at these stores...to me they look the same as the year before that and the year before that. I am heading to a specific little store that sells second hand books. The store is managed by two old men with years carved deep into their facial features. They seem unsophisticated but if you talk to them you will soon realise they know their books. I found on a few occasions a rare mystical or occult book there. As my eye scanned across the various titles, my eyes got caught by a Tarot deck right in the center of the display of books. It is called the Oswald Wirth Tarot deck with the words on top of it saying: "The Original and Only Authorised". The pictures did not impress me but I felt an urge to buy the deck which normally is sold for R350. This one is only R150 which means a good 50% plus discount.  Unfortunately I had only R135 in my purse...and after a bit of bartering money exchanged hands and I was the owner of a brand new Oswald Wirth Tarot deck.

This is an example of the Chariot as per the Oswald Wirth tarot. See the Jewish letter on the right bottom which links the card to the kabbalah and to Jewish mythology.

I met up with my friend and we ate a tasty lasagna dish, while watching how a group of musicians was trying to make a buck with dancing, chanting and strumming of an old guitar. All contributing to the open atmosphere of the square. I enjoyed my visit with a friend for we share many interests...following similar spiritual paths, both doing a PhD, both involved in the IT world etc. When we departed I could not wait to open the deck and see what the cards look like. The wrapping came undone easily. The cards lit up with bright colours and all the cards have a copper metallic colour in the background which gives the images more depth. The major arcana cards are beautifully, yet simple, drawings and the minor arcana is just symbolic without much interpretation.

At home I made a study of the deck of cards. I was a bit disappointed to here that Oswald Wirth only designed the 22 major arcana cards and not the rest. So only 22 of the 78 cards are indeed "Original" as stated on the packaging. However the deck is based on the deck of Marseilles of which I have a book. So I am looking forward to experiment with the deck despite its "unoriginal" status. Every tarot deck teaches something about the tarot for it represents somebody's interpretation of the same archetypal concept. I was delighted to read that Oswald Wirth wrote an accompanying book and that that book is downloadable from the internet without cost. The book is called: "The tarot of the magicians" and also look at the use of the tarot as a magical tool. So with this deck finding me it means the cycle has returned my interest back to Tarot. The time has come to pick up the cards again and learn more of the meaning behind the tarot symbols. Apparently Oswald Wirth was a free mason and influenced by Rosicrucian thinking. Whether it is true I do not know but it is true that he was a kabbalist and that study of the deck can not be done with some knowledge about the kabbalah.Apparently this is a picture of Oswald Wirth.

So I am off to play with my new tarot deck.

Proud dad

Parenting

My children both brought home school reports that are amazing. I am so proud of them. I wish I could do something to properly give them credit for their achievements. My daughter set her mind on getting honory clothes for academics and had to achieve a mark of above 85% and she did that with flying colors. She had to wait for her art marks to confirm that she succeeded and was overjoyed when she got 94% where the grade average was 52%. Looking at the joy on her face was simply magic for me as father. She truly is a special young woman. From an early age she set herself goals and always worked to achieve what she set out to accomplish.

My daughters painting for her practical #art...she had to apply four different types of art pointalism, expresionism, monochromatic and natural. Then combine them into one painting. True to her exposure to various symbols she used the ying-yang symbol to give more depth to her painting, placing the pointalism over her right eye and usig the monochromatic and natural for the inner yin yang balance. The outer portion and her jacket was made in an expresionistic style. She is dwarfing my attempt at being an artist. It is great for a father to see his child exceeding him.

My boy did as well in his final grade in primary school. He won the regional competition for general knowledge in his grade and was awarded a special price from a culture organisation for a poem he wrote. I am planning to track down the poem so that I can enter it here. The poem was written in Afrikaans but I will publish a translation. He is currently performing in a professional play. A small role but with such commitment that I truly am amazed.

So what can I say. I love them. They prosper and succeed despite of me. They are turning into young people who can take responsibility for the lives they lead. They play, thye have fun but they also perform without the need to be pushed. I admire their tenacity and inner courage to find their own inner motivation to become more than who they are. Looking at them thye give me hope. Hope that they will be able to take on the challenges that will face the new generation and succeed.

They are teaching me how to live fully.

Weakness

Self reflection

Being in bed most of the day gave me some time to ponder life. I am again fully aware of how vulnerable we are. Since I was feeling my own weakness I decided to think a bit about my #weaknesses. 

- Where do I feel the weakest?

 I lack prudence - the ability to express practical wisdom by differentiating between virtue and vice. My life philosophy is one of relativism and constructivism. It basically means that my moral compass does not have a fixed reference point and that all things are relative and/or situational. Where you have people who is black and white with hard borders...my world is malleable, it consists of many greys and colours in between. I live by a philosophy of dyadic resonance...which means I do not remain fixed at a point of polarity but in all things I seek to live the full continuum of experiences. This is my dark side...the dark elf. I will be consistent and dependable for a long time and then one day something happens and everything falls apart. Not because I do so deliberately but because there comes a time when I just lack the discernment.

 -- Where would I like #strength?

 I need to be clearer in my communication and expressing my intent. Often, due to my relativism, I might seem as if I cannot make up my mind or that I am inconsistent in living my values. This creates confusion and often a lack of trust with people that engage with me.  The strength needed is possible the strength to live who I am and not who others want me to be.

 -- Where do I lack #patience?

 I am results oriented. I bend the rules to achieve what I think is needed to be done. I rattle the cage, upset people or am brutally honest when needed while often just sitting back and waiting would have achieved the same result, a bit later. I lack tact when I have put my nose to achieve something. I get impatient when I do not achieve what I set out to achieve. I always have back up plans. When one path closes I move onto another ... sometimes even when the other path might not be the best strategy to follow...simply because on that path there is movement. The end result often being that I take on more than what I can handle, because with more obligations I have more space to progress. My life seldom slow down, there is always time to do more. I want to live life to its fullest in every moment I do not have the patience to wait for things to happen. They often say patience is a virtue and that all good things comes with time. I understand that but seldom abide by it.

 -- Where do I feel this in myself?

 I feel it in the many plans I have...the many responsibilities. There are always layers of meaning. I might write something and there is duplicity in meaning for in my writing people read what they want to read rather what I am writing. I am a pleaser and often present to people the side of me they want to see. This is mostly not a true reflection of who I am. I am likable because I expose to others that which they want to see. Most of the time, I am wearing a mask and beneath the mask is another mask...and if you start delayering the masks there is so many that by the time you get to the real face, you will be confused whether that is not also a mask.

Have you ever taken the time to ponder your weakness? What is your greatest weakness? Is it difficult to write about it?

Staying in bed

Health

I have a virus, #flu symptoms...so stayed in bed. Doctor booked me off for two days. My mind is thinking about #time. The idea of time seems to be jumping up everywhere. So maybe this is a good time to sit back and take stock. I would like to recommend the latest entry of @baldmike2004 : What is Xanga about? This entry is telling the story of time and how our lives are recorded on #Xanga...really a good read. Food for thought on what we are doing on Xanga and the role Xanga plays in our lives. I doubt if my writing will be any more read when I am dead nor if my writing will leave a legacy as is suggested. What I do know some of my best thoughts ended up on Xanga in its bare unformated rawness.

I wrote down philosophies, developed as a person....went through the good and the tough times. At some point of time my earthly life will also come to an end. It does so for all. I understand why my Nordic ancestors placed emphasis on dying in battle. They lived to die for a good cause. Through their live they wanted to embody the principle of courage and through death they sealed it as their expression of life. I hope my life will have meaning and that my life will also express the best #virtues possible.

Tai Chi & Kung Fu demonstration

Photo blog

We had an open air demonstration of Sifu Suliman Sampson's Kung Fu and Tai Chi school yesterday. The school is relatively new so it was the first time we would have had a demonstraton. Fortunately Sify Suliman is an old hand and it was amazing what he put together with relatively new students. I participated in demonstrating the Tai Chi standard 24 form. We took many photographs...they are far to many to put into a photo blog. If anybody is interested in Marial arts for more photo's look at my new Album: Martial Arts. For the rest here are a few photos:

A photo shoot.

Sufi Suliman with the hook

Lots of Kung Fu high flying kicks!!

Our Tai Chi demonstration.

The "whip" is a trade mark of Tai Chi - Doing our best to do it right. (The answer is "NO" I do not have to look so serious....when you do Tai Chi you are suppose to relax...but we wanted to do it right ....LOL)

Demonstration of the Tai Chi sword form

Simulated Kung Fu fighting

Group demonstrations of Kung Fu

I dont mess with these two dudes!!

The end

Eventful week

Diary entry

There are times that are exillerating....touching the core of one's being and making life worth living. This week was such a week. Even though my work environment was very constraining...I had a few wonderful evenings.

The first was our induction dinner at my Toastmasters club. June is the year end for Toastmasters so new officers are inducted for the club. I fulfilled last year the role of immediate past president and will not fulfil any leadership role in this year. The induction is accompanied by good food and wine, and as always it was an excellent meeting. However what made this meeting special for me was that I got two of the 6 club award. I won the award for the Best prepared speaker during the year and I won the award for the Toastmaster of the year. Especially the latter is a true honor that humbled me. I did not expect to win anything...so the win was a pleasant surprise. It was fun having my eldest daughter with me to share in my joy.

The second marvelous event was at the Kung Fu school where I am doing my Tai Chi with my youngest daughter. We were invited to a free Chinese tea tasting. I know very little about chinese tea even though I know it plays a significant role in the culture of the Chinese. It was lovely learning the different teas, its origin, healing qualities and most important how to brew each. The diffferent teas all have different brewing techniques. Discovering a taste sensation is always a precious engagement with the senses. Tasting is the last on the list of qualities. The visual look of the tea followed by the smell precedes the taste of the tea in importance. A fourth quality that is important is the shape of the tea leaves. Apparently if some of these tea's leaves ae chrushed then the teas loose there flavour.

But the week is by far not yet completed. Tonight in Tai Chi we practiced extra hard because we have a public demo scheduled. I have just learned the complete sequence of 24 moves and do not fee equiped to display my skills in public. But I do like to support our master and help him to promote his school...so I agreed to participate. The fun never ends......

Brussels

Photoblog

My trip to Brussels was fun... I will blog later about some of my experiences and observations. Not having much time to to the tourist thing, I could only take a few photos close by to the place I stayed.

1) The street in which my hotel was.

2) A highlight was visiting the Claddagh Toastmaster's club

3) Lovely open space parks gave a moment of rest between work.

4) This garden with its vibrant colors was a lovely find

5) I love towers and this is an amaxing tower. I loved the way I could combine it with a more modern sculpture.

6) This building reminded me of the South African Parliament buildings.

7) There are no shortage of really beautiful old buildings.

8) A statue with the tower and flag in the back ground.

9) The day came to an end...and it was time to pack my bags but even the vaded memory maintains something of the mystique of Brussels.

Traveling abroad

Journal entry

A new era is starting. Slowly #Saturn is leaving the sign of #Libra and with it leave a legacy of change and a new foundation that shaped itself and totally channeled my life in a new unexpected and unplanned direction. Few years ago my mind was set on my own business and success as a consultant. Now I am full time employed by the Parliament of South Africa. This was a strange #transformation but one with its own rewards. One that allowed me to start with my PhD...of which the proposal has now been approved. A path that brought be into a more healthy approach to life by embracing the meditative movement of Tai Chi. Three years ago I would not have thought any of these as possibilities. As #astrologer I align my life with the stars and planets. I use the age old art to shape my life....to connect to the bigger world in a way that is strange to most of the modern minds. We live in an era where we strive towards control...the human race on the quest to master nature...en yet messing so much of nature in the process.

For many religions it would be an abomination to follow the stars and planets for it will constitute equating them to gods. But the mystic see the hand of God in nature and seeks not just a right relation with God but also to live in sync with nature. In this my interest in astrology and the practice of astrology has become practically applied in my life. No, I do not think that the planets are gods, determining our destiny with forces irrisistable. Modern astrologers see the universe as a cosmic soup of energy and the planets representing shift in energetic patterns. It is an unconfirmed assumption that these slight sifts in solar energy patterns influence our own pattern of movement. For me however that argument is irrelevant. The art has moved from an awareness that the stars are created by God, and represents something of the perfection of the creation.

As mystic it is a process of consciously aligning with the planets and expressing a bigger cosmic truth through life. This is not a path that forces itself on others...it is a choice and as a choice it is an individual path for one's own delight. I do not believe in predetermination. I believe in free will and our will to choose...also our will to decide with which forces we align our lives. How lovely is the sense of being and belonging when one aligns with your own solar system. There is a sense of rightful belonging, a tolerance towards others who have their own patterns of energy to fulfill. When you align with the solar system your uniqueness is emphasised and your purpose clarified. You have a clear purpose in your alignment with your birth chart. These are all powerful tools to shape the conscious and the subconscious mind to be a whole, purposeful human being.

Should I have stayed on my old path? Who knows...I might have been as successful. Yes, I could have made other choices but now I can just look back to the patterns in the sky and remember Saturns visit in Libra....which was indeed a time of change for me.

Today I am leaving to represent the #Parliament of South Africa at a workshop in the European Parliament. I am traveling to Brussels in Belgium. Representing my country in this way is truly an honor. A small thing in the bigger world of events happening but significant in my own world. I have once again aligned my own objectives of growth with the bigger picture. I hope that this short trip to the European continent will help me to build new relationships and infuse my link with humanity with stronger relationships. Connecting with the European Parliament is important for the aims and objectives of my PhD to set a baseline reference framework for syntactic and semantic interoperability in parliaments. I do believe this visit will be the key corner stone of the next phase of my research. I have high expectations to get maximum benefit.

Aaah and this trip also once again emphasised the value of being a #Toastmaster. Toastmasters International puts the romantic ideal back into travel. I could simply hook up to the world wide web, find a club that meet in Brussels, send out an email. Three replies came immediately from people, I never met...welcoming me. I will visit their club in Brussels, and will be given a 12 minutes speaking opportunity. That is the power of Toasmasters International. I do not know of any other community that has the same attitude of embrace and sense for relationship building. I do not know anybody in Brussels but I already have three friends with their contact details eager to meet with me. We live in a small world where we can connect in a blink of an eye and yet so often we are isolated. I do believe Toastmasters through their leadership and communication skills development programme is bridging the gap by getting people to connect on a much wider scale.

I will only be three days in Brussels, and there time for exploring tourist attractions will be scant, but I know I will meet the people. What bigger treasure can one find than meeting with people from different countries. I will probably not have internet access in this next week but will tell the story as it unfolds when I am back.

As I prepare for my trip I remember the words of John O'Doneheu: "Make sure before you go to take time to bless your going fort". A particularly valuable message for me in this time and hour but it rings with a universal sound...Lets bless our path going forth.