Further to my blog on Isabella Plantation, Richmond Park, (click to read), I have put together some of the images I took into a video.
Isabella Plantation deep in Richmond Park, UK
Isabella Plantation deep in Richmond Park, UK
Category: Videos
Isabella Plantation deep in Richmond Park, UK
It must be my age. I seem to be spending more time in this last couple of year going to the hospital, than I had in the rest of my life.
This time I had to attend the Joint Ophthal Consultant’s Ophthalmology clinic, (try saying that after a couple of booze), to see the Reu Fluoresceins, (if someone had eye problems how would they be able to see?), at the Royal Eye Unit of Kingston Hospital.
I had been called to see the Practice Nurse at my local GP (General Practitioners) Surgery, “just to keep an eye on me”, but maybe, to attain the statistical figures set by the British Government and Local Heath Authorities of the NHS (National Heath Service).
Although it is said, the NHS or the British health service is the envy of the world, where all medical treatment is free at source, it is run on statistics, figures and targets. The length of the waiting list to see a doctor, the number of people seen, the number of patients given the flu injection over a certain age, the number of women patients having had the smear test (cervical cancer), all are figures that have to be met so that they will be paid.
I was offered the pneumonia jab or injection. Um, I wonder why? Figures again? Or had they purchased too many units? Waste not. Want not.
During my appointment I mentioned a problem with my sight, and was told to go straight to hospital as an emergency. That was two months ago (see Falling apart at the seams), waiting list is a big problem with the British NHS, but I have been seen by a couple of clinics in those two months.
Yesterdays visit to the Joint Ophthal Consultant’s Ophthalmology clinic, to see the Reu Fluoresceins, (I still cannot say it, nor could the other patients waiting to see the doctor), I had “stuff” put into my eyes, and as I sat waiting for the effect of the “stuff” to happen, my sight began to distort, get blurred.
I started thinking about how precious sight is.
It was walking home that my sight became even more strange, no wonder they had said, do not drive.
At home, my vision was bad, I could not focus to read, see my small screen of the computer, see a clear picture on the TV, or focus on the wonderful smelling lilies in the hallway.
Lilies giving a wonderful over-powering perfume
Yes, sight is very precious. Without it, how are we going to gain information of the world around us. See the smile of on a face, marvel at the colours of the countryside, the shapes of buildings and trees.
I began to appreciate what a get thing sight is.
But is sight the most precious?
A couple of years ago, I found I had a problem with my heart which had to be dealt with. Is the heart the most precious thing, as without it there would be no life. I know with a slightly ill functioning heart, I was not able to function well.
That incident and the drugs I had to take, led to problems with my ears or hearing, (see Today has so much going on for me.) when my one ear had a blood clot inside, stopping me hearing well. I could not hear the sounds of the birds early in the morning, the dawn chorus, the voice of someone talking to me, the sound of waves washing the sea shore.
Is sound the most precious?
How about touch? The feeling of cuddling up to, holding a loved one in your arms, holding hands, have a baby hold onto your little finger, feel the texture of silk, the warmth of wool.
Is touch the most precious?
What about taste? My last meal in Istanbul at the Barcelona Restaurant along Taxim Hill was a great tasting meal, one I have tasted many times and look forward to. And then, what about the taste of a chocolate cake?
Barcelona Restaurant along Taxim Hill, Istanbul
Is taste the most precious?
What about smell? The smell of perfume worn by a lady, the smell of those lilies, the chocolate cake being baked in the oven, the smell of burned aviation fuel or the passing steam locomotive (train). All smells I love.
Is smell the most precious?
I now think it is all of our senses, or in NLP terms modalities, VAKOG, that are precious to us, and it is our ability to appreciate them at a conscious level that is the most precious.
It was on a recent visit to RAF Duxford of the Imperial War Museum, where I went to carryout some research on the Spitfire, Hurricane and Merlin Engine, that I appreciated all my senses.
To see actual aircraft in front of me, to hear a Sopwith Camel flying overhead, to smell the fuel, to touch the exhibit, to taste a wonderful bun to quell my hunger, to meet an ex Avro Lancaster bomber pilot, Philip Gray, to be able to read his book (Ghosts of Targets Past) about his experiences, to imagine his life as he lived through the Second World War, flying, death, love and fear.
A small video of a Sopwith Camel flying at RAF Duxford, July 2008
It is our brain that is the most precious, without it we would not be able to process all the information being fed into it.
Look after it. Do not abuse it.
For a number of years I have been traveling to many countries to give courses, including Turkey.
Often, there is a requirement to cross the Bosphorus, the water that separates the European and Asian continents and the two sides of Istanbul.
It is only a twenty minutes ferry ride from Beşitaş to Kadıköy (Besitas to Kadikoy), and it is a time to relax, reflect on what has happened and will be happening, and view the sights of various sizes of ships, ferries and boats.
Many times I have spotted dolphins breaking the surface of the Bosphorus, and it surprises me that many Istanbul people have never seen them, and many do not believe I have, so watch the video.
I have two videos here, one is on YouTube and another on my server. I understand that I some countries YouTube is banned, and thus people have not been able to see the video. Please let me know if this is the case. Thank you.
Dolphins in the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey
Many Turkish people have said they have never seen dolphins in the Bosphorus linking the two parts of Istanbul, here are some.
See previous spotting of dolphins (click here). Enjoy.
Another recommendation in English on my training in October 2007, in Istanbul Turkey by Özgür Yılmaz, this time in Turkish (Türkçe).
Another recommendation in English on my training in October 2007, in Istanbul Turkey.
Thank you for your support and effort Özgür we will work together in the future.
Özgür Yılmaz helped with the translation from my training in the English language into Turkish for Şükrü Kılıç.
Thank you for your support and effort Özgür we will work together in the future.
In October 2007 I gave a training course on NLP in Istanbul, Turkey.
This is a recommendation by Şükrü Kılıç, a participant on the course in Turkish.
Thank you Şükrü for the effort you put into the exercises and the course itself, but most of all your comments.
In 2003 I travelled to Columbo in Sri Lankato give courses in NLP, PhotoReading, Mind Maps, and was asked to take part in a TV program called Business Matters, hosted Parakrama Dissanayake.
The podcast TV progam lasts about ten minutes and will take a little time to download depending on internet speed. Enjoy.
The podcast TV progam lasts about ten minutes and will take a little time to download depending on internet speed. Enjoy.
For those wishing to take part in future courses in Sri Lanka, please visit the web site www.nlpnow-lanka.com or contact Maxwell de Silva or Hemantha Wickremasinghe on SRI LANKA 011 2345257.
In 2003, I appeared on Sri Lanka’s TV program called Business Matters with Parakrama Dissanayake, talking about NLP, PhotoReading, Mind Maps and how to achieve excellence.
This is a preview, whilst I load the whole program.
Download podcast now (click).
This is a preview, whilst I load the whole program.
Download podcast now (click).
Like music, (click for more) certain films have had a great influence on my life, and I enjoy watching time after time. I never grow tired of them.
Call me sentimental, (mental), but the Olivia Newton-John film Xanadu hits all the right buttons. In this cult movie, Olivia Newton-John portrays Kira, a Greek muse who attracts a painter dissatisfied with his career.
This musical follows the romance and the fulfillment of dreams, to the creation reality out of dreams with the dance hall called Xanadu, with the help of a retired musician played by the ever smiling Gene Kelly.
The movie includes such pop hits as Magic, Party All Over the World, I’m Alive and the title song Xanadu, played by the ELO – the Electric Light Orchestra.
My first exposure to Xanadu was in Saudi Arabia, buying cassettes of LP/CD’s to listen to, as there was nothing else to do in the early 1980’s, no cinemas, pubs, clubs, TV to watch. The music gripped me, it told a story, it was only years later that I came across the movie.
Another movie close to my heart is the black and white film called the Dambusters. This movie tells of the real life wartime story of the RAF (the British Royal Air Force) having to attack dams in Germany, to disrupt the Germans manufacturing industries, to bring the war closer to an end.
It tells the story of the dedication of the air crews, in training and to give their lives so others can live, it tells how Barnes Wallace, despite being ridiculed, worked out how to achieve the outcome needed, and that failures were a learning curve. Read the article on NOP click here.
The BBC created a radio series back in the 1970’s called The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, written by Douglas Adams. Unusually this radio series was then transformed into a TV series of the same name, and the book followed. A few years ago, a new movie was produced, but sorry to say not as good as the TV series. For a start the original robot Marvin was replaced, although, the real Marvin did play a cameo part. Marvin say one of the most outstanding statements for me:-
“I’m so depressed, I have the brain of a planet, and all they ask me to do is open the door, I’m so depressed.”
It is in the movie that we can see that the human brain always needs completion, if you ask it a question, it will always try and find the answer, if you give it the answer it will try and find what the question was.
42 is the answer.
The Wizard of OZ, the 1939 film starring Judy Garland, tells the story of a young girl trying to get home with her pet dog Toto. The only way back is to visit the Wizard of Oz. She meets friends on her journey, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion, and together they have adventures and challenges which they overcome. When they meet the Wizard, it is then we realise we all have the same powers to meet our own challenges and adventures.
The latest film is What the Bleep Do We Know. A beautiful animation, film and documentary, telling the story of a woman going through a crisis, but coming to a realisation, that we must see things from a different perspective.
Very heavy on NLP, this film needs to be watched a couple of times to get the inner meaning, but it brings together all I teach in my courses.
The above films have a deeper meaning, a metaphor which we can all learn from.
Sentimental old me.
“No-one would have believed…………”
There are a few things in life that inspire me. Music. People. Places. Objects.
When I have those moments, those times, I know they are special. I will hold on to those, forever.
In music, there are very special tunes, songs, arrangements, that have captured my imagination, and after one hearing, they have stayed with me.
My college days at the Stafford College of Commerce in Wednesbury, when we, Philip Green, Paula Dawes et al, went into a coffee bar in Walsall, spending 6d (six old pence, read story, click here), to play The Animal’s House of the Rising Sun. It lasted the longest time, that was value for money.
When I first started work, say 1968, with the National Coal Board Computer Power in Cannock in the Midlands of the UK, the shift system we worked allowed me and my colleagues to have breaks of four days. One of these breaks I went camping with Pete to Barmouth in Wales, and sitting on a wall outside a pub, the sound of Mike Oldfield’s, Tubular Bells rang out. The haunting melody is in my mind now.
Simon and Garfunkel’s, Bridge Over Troubled Water was played in a house Pete and myself rented in Pelsall at the time, and I would entertain girlfriends in the front room. It was not my LP record, I never had a record player or LP’s, but the songs created a great atmosphere for romance. Well it worked for me.
Neil Diamond’s Beautiful Noise, was a song I heard driving my VW Beetle up the A52 from Bottesford to Grantham in the East Midlands one morning, and it made my hair stand up on my arms. It still does today, as I listen with such joy at the arrangement.
James Last, and his unique big band sound. Sitting in the front room of the first house I purchased at 13 Cox Drive, Bottesford, having created a stereo sound system from bits and pieces of equipment before the days of commercially available equipment, and trying to sit in the precise position between the giant homemade speakers so I could hear the dueling between the various instruments of his orchestra. I was later able to hear James Last live at Leicester’s De Montford Hall. Wow.
Around 1979, my life was influenced by another collection of words, songs and music.
Based on the story of H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Jeff Wayne created a musical master piece.
I can loose myself in the story as narrated by Richard Burton, sung by David Essex, Phil Lynott, Julie Covington, Justin Haywood, as the Martians invaded Earth, not in America as the movies suggest, but in the UK, the area I live, Woking, Horsell Common, et al.
The music creates images in my mind so real, as Peter and the Wolf, (click to read), I see the Martian’s machines as they rape the earth and humanity on their way to London, the sinking of the ship HMS Thunderchild, the eventual destruction of the Martian’s with the red weed. See the blog NLP now – Our Minds Eye (click to read).
I went into Central London, and as always playing with Phillip’s Sausage, I saw that Jeff Wayne was to appear in Virgin’s Megastore, a massive CD music store in London’s Piccadilly Circus, signing copies of his latest release of War of the Worlds.
Phillip with Jeff Wayne, London 2007
It was in Istanbul, walking up Taxim Hill after having a meal with my translator Asuman Yildirim that as I passed a previously unseen store, (D&R), my attention was drawn to the corner of the window, and there was the Collectors Edition of the War of the Worlds, something I never knew existed. I had to buy it.
It was at the beginning of the year when I purchased a newspaper I never really buy, that I opened the pages and there was an advertisement for Jeff Wayne’s live performance in London’s O2 Arena in December 2007 (click to visit). I had to book a seat. To book, visit www.thewaroftheworlds.com.
“No-one would have believed…………” that such things can happen, that we are presented with opportunities, chances, possibilities, but we are.
Synchronicity. The release of human possibilities. Breaking free of limits. It will happen if it should happen.
C.G. Jung describes synchronicity as “a meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than the possibility of chance is involved.”
2 CD selection Highlights Collectors Edition