Download audio file (tpn_deadserious_20060610_036.mp3)

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This week I explore depression…………….often referred to as “the black dog” because it’s dark, haunting and always ready to pounce on vulnerable people when they least expect it.

What is depression? What predisposes people to suffer from depression? What causes depression? What are the symptoms and how is it diagnosed?

I used to think that people who were ‘depressed’ were self indulgent………….they should ’smarten themselves up’ and ‘get on with it’ like the rest of us…………………that was until I was ‘bitten’ by the ‘Black Dog”.

Depression was contrasted with grief by Sigmund Freud in 1917 in his essay “Mourning and Melancholia”. What are the differences between clinical depression and grief? How does our contemporary understanding differ from Freud’s first ideas
about grief?

What have we learned and how can we help and support people living with depression? How do the needs of people living with depression differ from those of grieving people?

Tune in and learn a little about depression………..an illness that is worryingly underdiagnosed because people are too frightened, too ignorant or too overwhelmed by their symptoms to seek help.

Music provided by Simpatico

For further information and support on all aspects of depression contact Beyond Blue or Depressionnet

(MP3- 16.22 MB- 47.15MIN)

LISTEN TO PODCAST HERE   Download audio file (tpn_deadserious_20060526_035.mp3)

Download the podcast here

“Hey baby, can’t you see I’m looking older?” George Michael sang and we all thought he was an ‘old coot’ reminiscing……but guess what…………it’s happening to us all, slowly and irreversably!

What does getting older mean? Are we destined to a future of walking sticks, mashed food and sitting in a nursing home watching day time ’soaps’ on TV?

What if we could live to be 1000 years old………….or what if we could live forever? Would this change how we lived our lives?

What happens to us as we age? What happens to our senses?

Is there a role in the world for older people or should they be thrown on the scrapheap?

This week’s episode of Dead Serious explores what ‘getting older’ means and how we can make maturity a positive, because it’s happening to us all and before we know it we will be facing the choice of living well as an older person or giving up and waiting to die.

Music provided by Dynamo’s Rhythm Aces and recorded on Skylook

” Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples”. George Burns

“I don’t feel old. I don’t feel anything until noon. Then it’s time for my nap”. Bob Hope

Download audio file (tpn_deadserious_20060428_034.mp3)

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This weeks show continues my discussion with Shane Holst, Founder of the Australian Altruism Foundation.

We look at some challenging concepts including the failure of the expedential economic growth model and what this model has in common with cancer (the disease not the star sign).

Shane talks about ways of “making a difference” to the world and how we can overcome the apathy of others and focus on excelling rather than “treading water”. He gives us some strategies for exploring our personal strengths.

Shane also shares his personal experiences of childhood abuse and how he overcame these experiences and developed personal resilience. He talks about his experiences in the Navy, his experiences in war zones and his understanding of the personal impact of Post traumatic stress.

We discuss the role of spirituality in Shane’s life and how his personal spiritual connection has assisted him to make ‘meaning’ of very negative life experiences by “surrendering to the mystery”.

We also talk about the upcoming “Turtle Awards” and their role in recognising people who “stick their neck’s out for the common good”.

This is a very personal and revealing interview with a man who has accommodated many negative life experiences with his own brand of humour and compassion.

Music is provided by “Simpatico” and I thank Victor for sharing his music.
Recorded on Skylook.

“Altruism……………hard to say, easy to do?”

What the hell is ‘altruism’? I hear you say.

My guest this week, Mr Shane Holst, is the founder of the Australian Altruism Foundation, an organisation established to explore ways of making the world a better place by encouraging humanitarianism, compassion and creative leadership.

Shane, inspired by the community building theories of M. Scott Peck, decided that he needed to do more to contributeto his personal, local and the global community and has done so via the foundation and by establishing an award program that recognises self-lessness and excellence in contemporary leaders (The Turtle Awards)…….recognising people who ’stick their neck out’ for the common good. The patron of the Australian Altruism Foundation is Dr. Patch Adams, a man equally passionate about improving the lives of people by empowering them, and having fun at the same time!

For regular listeners and readers of the Blog, you will know why I feel a committment to the work Shane is doing………..he manages to see beyond the boundaries established by regulation and legislation to keep us ‘under control’ and see the true potential of each individual to contribute to the world around them.

Shane talks about ” providing real nutrition for the spirit” and how high profile members of our community need to focus on setting an example for others. He discusses ways we can find a spiritual and psychological balance in our lives and how the time has come to stop blaming other people and take responsibility for our own actions.

Shane explores the suffering of young people and talks about how we can connect with people who feel disenfranchised and disaffected.

He explores the concept of humanity as an organic entity and how we are ‘communal’ creatures and that the ‘nuclear family’ is an economic experiment that has failed………where do we go from here? How do we break this economic model and become more communal?

Listen in and find some new ideas, some inspiration and some creative ideas!

The music “J-Roc’s Ferrett” is kindly provided by Mike Schulze

This program, as always, recorded on Skylook.

Don’t forget to log on next week for part 2 of this inspirational and motivating interview. Shane challenges us to review our lives and to take ‘a good hard look’ at where we are heading and see if it’s really where we WANT to be!

Sacred Ceremony and Power Animals…………..a marathon episode that will leave ‘no stone unturned”!

Today my special guest is Dr. Steven Farmer, a spiritual psychotherapist, shamanic practitioner, author and former university professor with over thirty years experience as a professional healer and teacher.

Steven talks about the historic role of ritual and sacred ceremony and how we can incorporate these essential elements into our modern lives in order to acknowledge life milestones and to help us recognise significant events and create meaning around life experiences.

Steven gives us practical tips on how to acknowledge transitions, deaths, births, marriages, moves including how to clear and bless a new home, how to ritually ‘say goodbye’ to an old one and how to make ritual memorable.

Steven also talks about animals: power animals, totem animals and animal companions and messengers. He helps us to understand their roles and how to access them for guidance and support. Steven explains how animals perform the role of “spirit guides” and what this means for us as humans.

Steven is extremely generous in sharing with us his personal insights and experiences in working with animal spirit guides and talks about his new book, “Animal Spirit Guides” which contains over 200 individual messages from animal guides.

Steven travels the world speaking and conducting workshops and we are extremely fortunate that he generously agreed to spend time with us on this weeks episode of Dead Serious.

The music track “Life” is provided by a friend of both myself and Steven’s, Jeremy Donovan, himself a past guest on the program.

This program was recorded on Skylook.

REMEMBER………….feedback via the Blog (under comments) is always most welcome!

(MP3- 10.4MB- 30.33min)

This week we continue the exploration of the ritual and ceremony of Funerals.

We explore what happens after the formal funeral ceremony. What is the role of the pall bearers? Why do some people choose cremation and others burial? How is this choice influenced by cultural and religious traditions?

I explain the purpose of the “wake” as a less structured and informal ritual of support and community connection.

We explore in detail what is involved in planning your funeral in advance. Have you thought of doing this? Have you discussed it with your family? Have you considered organ donation or donation of your body to science or for medical research? Why would people consider this as an option and what would limit their ability to do this?

What happens when there is no body? If the peoson’s body is unable to be retreived, how do families construct a meaningful ritual in this situation?

Lots of “food for thought” in this week’s episode that I hope will encourage you to talk about your plans with the people you love and will enable you to better understand the options that are available to you when someone you love dies.

The track, “Take my Love” is generously provided by Simpatico

Feedback, as always is welcomed via the Blog

This is a huge topic and in order to give you some valuable information it will be explored in two parts.

DON”T TUNE OUT…………….yes, this may be a bit confronting for some of you, but putting your head in the sand won’t prepare you for the inevitibility of experiencing the death of someone you love!

This episode looks at how we incorporate ritual into care of people in the hours after their death. How do we prepare the deceased person for the realtives and friends to see? How does this preparation vary among different cultures and spiritual backgrounds? I share with you my personal experiences of preparing both the person who has died and the family and friends for a “viewing”.

We explore the whole concept of ceremony. Why do we have funerals? Where does this tradition originate? How soon after the person has died do they need to be buried or cremated? What influence does culture and religion have on this?

Even what seems like a simple task…………….chosing a coffin, can be an enormous task for a grieving family…………….what are your choices? We look at how caskets and coffins have become expressions of the essence of the person they contain.

We also look at how funerals can vary in their form and content, from the extremely structured, traditional ceremony to the informal, relaxed approach, such as the “surfer’s circle”. The important issue being that the funeral reflects the life of the person and enables the grieving people who attend to have a meaningful experience of saying “goodbye” and the ritual that is chosen will influence this.

What are the religious and legislative rules that govern funerals and burial? How can you have CHOICE about the form of the funeral you have? Can you prearrange your own funeral??? I HAVE and I encourage you to think about this.

You may think that you don’t need to know all of this stuff right now……………..but, where would you start if someone you loved died tomorrow?

As I have said before………..the best way to prepare yourself for the inevitibility of death is to inform yourself………..you can’t predict when you will be in the position of having to arrange a funeral for someone you love, but if you know how to go about it………….that’s a start!

Music generously provided by Mike Schulze.

Don’t forget to tune in next week for Part 2 ………….WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE FUNERAL SERVICE?

Today’s show is both confronting and challenging.

My special guest, Liz Mulliner AM talks openly of her personal experiences of abuse as a child and how these repressed memories began to impact on her physical health as an adult.

Liz talks about her twenty-five year career as a Casting Consultant and what it was like working with such huge names as Cate Blanchet, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis as they developed their skills and later headed overseas to become the house hold names they are today.

Liz recounts the impact of her personal experience of childhood abuse on her health, her career and how the memories of this abuse nearly ended in her death. She graciously shares her experience of psychotherapy and her eventual survival.

Liz has established a haven for people to begin healing from the impact of their childhood abuse, with the assistance of other survivors. Mayumarri is a community made up of volunteers, professional counsellors and supporters and runs a range of programs for people at different stages of their healing journey.

Winner of the 2004 PRIME MINISTER’S AWARD for excellence, Mayumarri is a healing haven and provides both assistance and validation to sufferers of childhood physical, emotional and sexual abuse.

Mayumarri can be contacted by phone on toll free number 1300 760 580

Music is provided by The Downstroke and the interview was recorded on Skylook.

How do you cope with it when you’re “sailing along” quite nicely and someone throws you a “curve ball”?

It may be someone you know well or someone you’ve never met, but they say or do something that makes you feel really bad about yourself. They make you feel hurt, angry or sad………………how should you respond?

This happened to me twice this week and I decided it was worth detailed exploration on the show. I was feeling great, balanced, happy and ‘normal’ when out of the blue, someone I don’t know personally (but had always admired) sent me an email that shattered my happiness and made me feel angry and hurt. I’d just processed my responses to this when ‘low and behold’, a colleague sent me an email that made me feel worse………… as this person expressed that she felt hurt about something I had done……… unintentionally.

How do we deal with this? Why do we need everyone to like us? How do we respond when out of the blue, someone lets us know that they don’t like something we’ve done or worse still, they don’t like US?

These are the issues I explore on today’s show. I look at why we respond in the ways we do and how we can retreat in the face of attack, ‘lick our wounds’, recover and reemerge stronger and more resilient. How we can release the fear, anger and hurt and reconnect with the inate goodness that resides in all of us.

The show finishes with simple meditation exercise anyone can use when stressed, angry or hurt, to acknowledge the feelings, release them and heal.

An amazing track is included in the show from the Dynamo’s Rhythm Aces………………bet you can’t guess what it is!!!!!

The show is recorded on Skylook

Epilspsy…………what is it? How does it impact on the life of people who live with Epilepsy? What is a tonic/clonic seizure? How does this differ from an absence seizure?

If you don’t know much about Epilepsy, I guarentee you will learn a lot from this very personal program that explores the impact of a diagnosis of Epilepsy on a young man and his family. I say personal, because I interview my son, Lachie who had his first seizure when he was eight. We talk about how it was for him, how he has come to terms with his epilepsy, how he manages his medication and how he now lives a ‘normal’ life despite his illness. I also talk about how it was for the rest of us.

I sincerely thank Lachie for agreeing to this interview as it IS very personal and he was happy to share his story in the hope that it may help other people understand Epilepsy a bit better.

Epilepsy can be scary for the sufferer and for the person who witnesses a seizure, but it doesn’t mean that the person is “possessed by the devil” as was the thinking in the middle ages………………..it just means you have some ‘rebel’ brainwaves who just don’t want to behave like the rest of the brainwaves!

This episode of Dead Serious is dedicated to Emma Kelly, who unfortunately didn’t have Epilepsy, but a brain tumor that caused her seizures…………she died on July 28th 1999 aged fourteen and she is sadly missed by all who knew her!

Music for this program is provided by The Downstroke (more of their music can be heard on www.unsignedukmusic.com) and the program recorded on Skylook.

If you need more information on Epilepsy, contact your local Epilepsy Foundation or Epilepsy support group.

This weeks episode sees the continuation of my interview with Des Paroz from Surface Interval (and The Personal Productivity Show). Des talks about dolphins and we discuss the concept of ‘entrainment’, how experiences with free dolphins can have an impact on endorphin production in humans and meditation practices and how they can relate to dolphins.

We discuss the things that make Des’s life meaningful, his passion for diving and how he sees himself as an ambassador for the marine environment. How does Des connect diving with martial arts? How does he find balance and manage stress? What have been the life changing experiences that have had the most impact on Des?

Des discussed the fragility of life and how death can even impose itself on the most experiences of divers. Des talks about living a life of adventure and shares with us his ‘pearls of wisdom’…………but you’ll have to tune in to learn what these are!

I also continue our discussion about the anxiety attached to the transition from childhood to adulthood and how you can learn to navigate this with a ‘minimum of fuss’.

Music this week is proved by the Dynamo Rhythm Aces and the show (as always) is recorded on Skylook.

My guests this week are Wayne Turmel from The Cranky Middle Manager Show and Des Peroz from Surface Interval both on The Podcast Network.

As with all of the shows I’ve done with other hosts, this show is full of surprises and insights about a range of life experiences that Wayne and Des generously share with us.

Find out how a standup comedian morphs into a manager. Find out the secrets of Wayne’s childhood, growing up in an environment of spiritual awareness and parapsychological interest. Find out why “because Daddy says so” doesn’t work.

Hear Wayne’s interesting take on ritual, truth, WICCA, God, leadership and his passions (including podcasting).

This is the story of a “good, enlightened, bleeding-heart liberal”, his midlife crisis and the book that resulted from this experience.

My interview with Des Paroz, from Surface Interval, has a bit of a different ‘vibe’. Des talks about the scary things that hang out under the water. Hear Des’ views on technology, macro photography, ‘pushing the limits”, surreal experiences and what happens when you enter the “technical realm”.

Des says, “Divers are noisy, gassy type people” and yet they have “magical under water experiences”………………how does this work????

Hear Des talk about the ‘light’ that exists in the depths of the ocean, SHARKS and facing his fears: fears of the unknown, fears of the deep and personal fears.

You will also get the beginning of our discussion about ‘entrainment’ and dolphins, but will have to tune in next week for the continuation of this discussion.

Music this week is provided by the Dynamo Rhythm Aces, a fantastic U.K outfit who interpret contemporary music in an interesting way.

This show as always is recorded on Skylook.

AND REMEMBER: The Podcast Network is wanting to expand to 100 shows by mid year………….so if you have the ‘guts’ to put your opinions, thoughts, passions and experiences into a show and put it our there on the www for any ‘Tom, Dick or Harry’ to ‘have a go at you’ ………….get in touch with Cameron via the website and ‘come join the gang’! Change can only happen if we share what we have learned!

This weeks episode is the continuation of the 21st episode celebration and includes interviews with two of my TPN colleagues, Scott Sherman and Richard Giles.

Get to know the men behind the shows…………what they think and feel. The life experiences that have formed their personalities.

Find out what S&M has to do with grief. The joys of podcasting. Investing hopes and dreams in a child only to have that child taken away. The fine line between pleasure and pain. Getting excited about technology. RSS and aggrigators. Making technology accessible to ‘newbies’. Generation Y. “Festering in your own sorrow”. Being ’sacked’ and ‘dumped’ by your girlfriend on the same day………………..and living to tell the tale. Learning by ‘playing’. “Getting a trill from new applications”. “Lightbulb” moments.

Oh and find out what Flickr is (and no, it’s not a horse)…………..

A stimulating, surprising and illuminating program that will show you a whole different side to both Scott and Richard……………with a special message from Michael (the Gaming Show) and music by Siobhan.

Recorded on Skylook.

Remember…………your feedback and comments are what keep us tapping away on our computers each week to bring you our shows……………….so don’t forget to click on the “comments” section and leave me a message!

This week’s episode explores the enigma of Christmas and ‘the holidays’.

My guest this week is J. Shep Jeffries, a psychologist who specialises in grief and loss and end of life issues.

Shep has a private practice and is assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and teaches pastoral counselling at Loyola College in Maryland, U.S. He trained with the ‘trailblazer’ of contemporary grief and loss theory, Dr Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and has experienced loss first hand when his eight year old son died.

Shep talks about the difficulties people face the first Christmas after a significant loss. Do you have a tree? Do you celebrate? Do you need to compromise?

Shep talks about celebrating when you still feel sad. “Don’t do nothing” he says.

How long does grief take? How long till things return to normal? Are they ever normal again? WHAT IS NORMAL?????

HOW DO PEOPLE MANAGE THEIR GRIEF?

We talk about ‘allowing’ yourself to experience your grief. Being sensitive to yourself and others. How we can experience continued connections with people who have died. How we can carry on the legacy of significant people in our lives. How we can ‘reclaim’ our lives after a significant loss.

How Christmas can highlight the grief we feel over people who are still alive, but aren’t available to us any more, maybe due to illness (dementia, coma etc), estrangement or geographical distance.

The importance or remembering is discussed as is crises that split families apart and how ‘blended’ families divide their time during the holiday season.

We talk about ’seasonal effective disorder’ and how Christmas can equal “disaster’……..what to do when you ‘hate the holidays’, how to ‘externalise’ and when denial is useful……………how to find resources and empower yourself by using ritual.

All in all a very informative and motivating program!

Music is provided by Dave Keifer and recorded on Skylook.

I hope those of you who are dreading Christmas will find this program a comfort and that the Christmas’s to come get easier……………

Today’s episode is the beginning of the 21st episode celebration for Dead Serious. YES we’ve made it to 21 episodes! The show I intended to do with a range of TPN hosts has actually ‘blown out’ to multiple shows as the info these guys were willing to share was too good to end up on the ‘cutting room floor’!

My special guest today is “our Lord and Master”, Co-Founder of The Podcast Network, Cameron Reilly.

Get to know the ‘man behind the mask” of G’Day World, the Advita Show and the Father Bob Show (among others)………….Cam and I talk about:
- Indigenous issues
- Alcoholism and Alcoholics Anonymous
- Life changing experiences
- Chryogenesis
- Living to be 500 years old
- Becoming a cyborg
- “Backing up” your brain
- The future of TPN

Hear how the ‘reluctant father” became a convert to parenthood. Listen to Cameron struggle with the concept of fourth dimensional vibration.

What advice does Cameron have for kids entering the workforce? What does he think about ‘life long learning”? How does Cam “invest in his brain”? and what are his views about books?

All this and more on this 21st episode of Dead Serious……………….with up coming interviews with other TPN hosts who have challenging views on life including Wayne Turmel, Scott Sherman, Ian Dixon, Christian Payne, Des Paroz and Richard Giles. So, the celebration continues and I know you’ll enjoy finding out what makes these guys ‘tick’!

Comments and feedback (as always) are welcome.

You’ll notice there’s no music this week……….I couldn’t stop Cam long enough to include a track!

Recorded on Skylook.

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On this episode my guest is Diann Rogers-Healey the founder of the Centre for Leadership for Women.

Diann established this organisation to empower and motivate the leaders of the future, (women in particular) to embrace their personal leadership style and pursue a leadership role in their communities.

Diann talks about the qualities of a leader, leadership styles, the “glass ceiling”, and seeing the potential in ourselves and others.

Ever wondered what the difference is between leadership and management? Ever wondered why some ‘middle managers are cranky’?…………….of course you can explore this further on The Cranky Middle Managers Show.

What about mentoring? What is it? What does it mean and how can you go about finding yourself a mentor?

The answer to these and a miriad of leadership issues are explored in this episode of Dead Serious.

The music track, “Life” is provided generously by Jeremy Donovan. This program is recorded on Skylook.

Today my special guest is Jeremy Donovan, an artist, musician, performer and ambassador for Aboriginal culture and an Australian storyteller.

Jeremy, a decendant of both the Gumbaiingirr and KuKu- Yalanji tribes, grew up in Sydney and at the age of 16 was sent to live with his grandfather in far North Queensland in a traditional Aboriginal community where the people spoke an indigenous language he didn’t understand and lived in an environment where Playstations, electricity and western luxuries were unknown.

So started Jeremy’s journey to reconnect to the land, customs and language of his KuKu- Yalangi people.

Jeremy talks about how this was for him as a city kid. How he rediscovered his heritage. How he learned the stories of his people and how he discovered his life mission.

Jeremy talks to us about the stories of his people. How indigenous Australians were the original environmentalists. He talks about his ‘totems’. About language diversity in Aboriginal communities. About death and loss in Aboriginal communities and tells the very personal story surrounding the death of his grandfather and how the community responded to this.

Jeremy also tells us about the ‘changing face’ of Aboriginal Australia and how his work as an artist and musicican gives his life meaning and ‘provides a bridge’ between indigenous Australia and white Australia.

I’m sure you will find (as I have as I have got to know Jeremy), what an inspiring man he is. He has spent time in the juvenile justice system and moved from the ‘fringe’ to discover his personal heritage and now shares that with the broader community via his performances.

Music from Jeremy’s new CD Yalangi is featured in this episode of Dead Serious and I’m sure you’ll find as I have, that his music inspires, motivates and makes you feel a real ‘connectedness’ to the land we call ‘home’.

For those of you we don’t live in Australia, when you listen to Jeremy’s music you will experience the ‘essence’ of the ‘wide brown land’, ‘the land down under’.

You can find out more about the art, the music and the man, Jeremy Donovan by visiting his website (simply click on his name to go to the link).

My special thanks to Jeremy for his generosity. For sharing his music (which I will be featuring in subsequent shows) and his life story.

This show was recorded on Skylook.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

This week my special guest is a very close friend and colleague, Sue Coombes.

Sue is a Naturopath, Reiki Master and Angel Intuitive. I have known Sue as a friend and ‘fellow traveller’ for more years than we would both like to admit. We did our Reiki training together and studied our Reiki Master level together.

Sue has always been more open minded than I, about all things spiritual. She is far more likely to explore ideas , that to the more conservative of us seem a bit ‘out there’, but she is also extremely critical in her analysis of all ideas.

So I can thank Sue for introducing me to working with Angels.

My ideas about Angels were firmly formed as a child by my Catholic upbringing. I viewed them as friends and allies, I spoke to them in my formal prayers occassionally when I was little, however I didn’t view them as I do now.

It was with Sue’s gently encouragement that I too, attended a Doreen Virtue Angel Intuitive course last year and returned again with Sue just last month. Why?

Because in working with Angels I have been able to access the deepest recesses of my mind, heart and soul, something I had never been able to do thru meditation or energy work.

So it is with great joy, that I introduce my friend Sue to you all. I hope this interview may awaken in you a desire to pursue your life purpose and motivate you to find the tools that best suit you, for connecting to your mind, heart and soul.

The music “Water” was provided by Ian Dixon and the program recorded on Skylook.

Today I interview Joanne Harrison.

Jo is an indigenous health worker who is currently the Victorian Project Officer responsible for ‘bridging the gap’ between Koorie communities and palliative care.

Aboriginal Australia has had to deal with having their kids stolen by governments, being incarcerated and being isolated in contemporary society…………..however as Jo says, there is so much we can be doing together…………white Australia and Aboriginal Australia to ‘come together’ and work for the benefits of us all.

Jo discusses Aboriginal spirituality, her peoples’ ties to the land, connectedness and reincarnation. She talks to us about the “Stolen Generations” and “Deaths in custody”, the fight for “land rights” and Native Title. She talks about how grief is expressed in Aboriginal communities and about ‘Sorry Business”.

Though I have known Jo for some time, I learned lots by talking to her about the things that impact on her community, and subsequently on the Australian community as a whole. You will probably find, as I did, that this struggle is similar to struggles other indigenous communities have had to have in other countries, to be recognised and accepted as the original owners of the land.

From my perspective as a fourth generation Aussie of Celtic heritage, I feel sad about the treatment Aboriginal Australians have received at the hands of the bureaucrats and over the past two hundred years………….I know I can’t change history…………..BUT I CAN build relationships with my indigenous friends and support them in pursing empowered solutions to the issues they face. I can support them in having their custodianship of the land acknowledged and promote moving forward together to build a more tolerant and compassionate society.

There are a number of resources Jo highlights for you if you want more information on Aboriginal health issues in Australia or Victoria or if you are interested in finding out more about Australian Aboriginal heritage. Just click on the highlighted words and follow the links.

Jo also refers to ATSIC (The Aboriginal and Torris Strait Islander Commission), which was dissolved by the current government incumbents, despite the protests of Aboriginal elders and the majority of the Australian community.

Sincere thanks to Jo for sharing her wisdom and igniting the passion in us all.

Thanks also to Armen Firmen for the fantastic music track, “It’s too Late” and to Tom Whitty for providing it. If you want more information about these guys, contact me via the Blog and I will refer you to Tom (their website is currently under construction).

Recorded as always on Skylook and supported by Motorola.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE…………..MOTOR WHAT?
As this podcast is generously supported by MOTOROLA, it’s interesting to learn the a ‘motor” prefix does not always mean an ‘efficient driving apparatus”.

In the case of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) it means anything BUT this. This week I interview Rod Harris, Cheif Executive Officer of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Rod is a funny, outspoken and very clever guy who shares wirh us the ’story’ of MND (or ALS as it is called in the U.S).

What is MND/ALS?
How do you know if you’ve got it?
What is the treatment?
What does it mean for your future?

Rod talks also about his relationship mentoring the newly formed MND Association in Mongolia and how organisations are working together world wide to promote awareness and support research into this debilitating, life limiting illness.

So each time you run, jump, dance or skip………….sing, talk or breathe………….spare a thought for people living with MND/ALS and don’t take your ability to do all these things for granted!

Music for this program ” Morning Groove” was provided by my friend and fellow host Ian Dixon. Interview recorded on Skylook and sponsored by MOTOROLA…………….DUDE!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

The second part of the “School’s out” episode is epitomised by the following quote from Laura Cuttriss (Inverloch, Victoria, Australia).

“It’s nice to be accepted for WHO you are not how smart you are”

How do teachers, parents and kids feel about the end of school……………saying goodbye and moving on to life after school?????

Listen and learn…………….. a marathon episode but one that’s illuminating!!!!

Thanks to Laura, Nicky, Sophie and Matt for their insightful comments.

Music by Siobhan, recorded on Skylook and with compliments of Motorola.

Feedback most welcome!!!