An Indigenous Canadian Journey

The Stage

I’ve lived in 7 cities in the last 6 years pushing to discover and become the best version of myself. Looking inside my new Canadian Passports it shows the place of my birth as Toronto, ON however in my heart and mind it could simply just read Canada. As a child my heart came alive exploring the commons of Halifax playing baseball at the local YMCA, summer day camp trips at the George Dixon Community Center and great memories on the football gridiron. The thrill of learning and challenging myself academically and athletically in the town of Sackville, New Brunswick as an adolescence forever changed my life for the better. Then I moved back to Toronto before my passion took me to Ottawa, where I then embarked on a great journey west stopping in Grande Prairie, Edmonton and Fort McMurray Alberta to secure my future and seek opportunity like thousands of other Canadians in the energy sector.

Presently

Now as a young man at the age of 30 without an immediate family or independent of my own reflecting back on these travels from east to west, the people that have come in and out of my life the moments of pride, shame, glory and sadness one thing has never faded, the desire to keep learning and becoming better, they say to know where your going you need to know where your from and understanding Canada and what grew from the former Dominion of Canada has been a great motivation of mine, and reason why I’ve enrolled in Cape Brenton University’s innovative new online Mi’kmaq course, to learn more, as Plato told Socrates “Know Theyself”. As an indigenous Mi’kmaq Canadian, who is also a direct decent of a slave, French Canadian and indigenous Jamaican I’ve come full-circle in some respects by landing in the town of St. Catherine’s Ontario. A historic and famous town for many reasons, for me knowing that it was the central hub of Canadian operations for Harriet Tubman during the time of the underground rail road is enough to give me a sense of pride and belonging, the same pride and belonging feeling as Canadians we should be extending to Syrian Refugees fleeing a devastating in humane conflict.

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Beyond The “Political Message”

Recently, “Barack Obama made reference to Kanye West best known album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy ” — Saying, “that’s what’s known as being ‘”off-message”’ in politics, “you can’t say things like that. There are a lot of people who have lost their Congressional Caucus seats saying things like that.” There is no doubt Obama is correct and his public response showed his legendary charm, tone and calm delivery and had everyone smiling. However beyond the obvious comedic element of the story there is a real question to ask, where do we draw the line on what is politically and not politically correct in 2015. Donald Trumps current presidential run would make a great case study on the subject, when asked if he took exception to being compared to Hitler, his response was, he didn’t mind…..

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Great Thought Leader: Wallace Wattles

His words are extremely powerful, simple and direct. James Allen and Wallace Wattles have a writing technique that is elegant in style but also straight forward and to the point. Teenagers who are curious about expanding there ideas on pursuing certain goals would be wise to take up these authors.

About Wallace Wattles

Wallace Delois Wattles (/ˈwɑːtəlz/; 1860–1911) was an American author. A New Thought writer, he remains personally somewhat obscure,^[1] but his writing has been widely quoted and remains in print in the New Thought and self-help movements. Wattles’ best known work is a 1910 book called The Science of Getting Rich in which he explained how to become wealthy.

Wattles’ daughter, Florence A. Wattles, described her father’s life in a “Letter” that was published shortly after his death in the New Thought magazine Nautilus, edited byElizabeth Towne. The Nautilus had previously carried articles by Wattles in almost every issue, and Towne was also his book publisher. Florence Wattles wrote that her father was born in the U.S. in 1860, received little formal education, and found himself excluded from the world of commerce and wealth.^[2] Continue reading →

Laughter is the Best Medicine

Laughter is good for you

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
Laughter triggers the release of endorphin’s, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphin’s promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
For more Information on the benefits of laughter visit. www.helpguide.org

Mad Men: Healthy Relationship Lessons

Music, Life and Business Lessons From The 1950’s

Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual, and Physical Intelligence this is the next frontier in Human Capital platters Training and Business Development. If you are going to have a strong team in the field, you must be able to work together safely.There needs to be a strong sense of purpose, respect, love and individual boundaries.

Ross Rosenberg has successfully built a business and value chain of service by explaining the impossible. His lessons, research and educational experience has made him a contemporary leader in in the psychology field regarding dynamic and powerful human connections. The following group The Platters song was played during one of his presentations explaining a subject on emotional intelligence, I suppose the the irony is topics that were important in the 1950’s remain just as important now in 2015.

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Mono – Hymn To The Immortal Wind

The Artist

Mono (stylized as MONO) are a Japanese instrumental rock band, formed in 1999 in Tokyo. The band consists of Takaakira Goto (electric guitar, glockenspiel), Hideki Suematsu (electric guitar, glockenspiel), Tamaki Kunishi (bass guitar, electric guitar, piano, glockenspiel), and Yasunori Takada (drum kit, glockenspiel, synthesizer). Hymn to the Immortal Wind; Part of the story behind the music and studio album released in March 2009.

Ashes In The Snow

Swiftly as a draft of wind, moving past her without a trace.

Time, cold and unbending, leaves her standing alone once again.Long ago, there was the sound of two children running here. Their footsteps, never straying farapart from each other’s, still echo through the woods where an old woman walks on his day.

On a still river surrounded by weeping willows, the woman rows her boat towards the open sea.With a grave face she pulls the oars to and fro, her eyes fixed upon a nearby cliff above the waters. She traces the edge and holds her breath, reliving the chilling distance down to the bottom. Her rhythm is steady and slow as she breaks through the familiar fog. The sound of waves crashing, the lingering smell of burnt wood, and the reflection of branches on the water all remain the same as her memory, as if frozen in a spell. She inhales all she can hold and wonders if winter never ended since that cold night she stood on the cliff with him. Here lies their landscape of memories untouched by the awakening spring.

On this day the woman prepares for farewell. Heavy are his ashes, sinking in her hand. As she strains to let his remains go, she turns herself to the earth for an answer, a reminder of why she is here. Beneath her grief she knows there is something beyond the finality of this moment. Like the spring that is born from a cruel winter, there is something here waiting to be born. Resting her hand on the boat, she lets her eyes sleep.

Peering from the thickets of the surrounding woods, a promise tree faithfully waits to welcome this day of their journey. With roots woven deeply into the earth, it is the only thing that’s flourished here where all else has stood still. In the midst of it all, it continues to grow, nurturing the vow that it was planted with as if it were its child. The tree watches the woman tenderly and sways its branches, sending a stream of wind to relieve her. Continue reading →

Optimism, Pessimism and Fear

Thoughts on Optimism, Pessimism and Fear

In Will Smith’s 2013 movie After Earth his character distinguishes the difference between Danger and Fear;”Fear is an illusion, Danger is real. ” In physically demanding collision/impact sports the most prevalent characteristic between the great athletes and the average ones is usually the ability to overcome the fear of hurting yourself. Fear directly affects your relationships particularly the one with your sense of self, imagine the difficulty of not being able to trust yourself let alone another person. The level of trust that exist when in a partnership needs to be solid in order to be successful this foundation is built on integrity, introspection and a healthy dose of self respect.

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I’ve always described myself as a realist with the heart of an eternal optimist. There is no doubt that the majority of my life decisions have been led with my heart it is my greatest strength and sometimes exploited weakness. The concept of “learned pessimism” is something I deeply agree with and a skill I’ve learned even though it doesn’t come natural. Optimism and pessimism are two different sides of the same coin, understanding this enables us to better understand and perceive the situations and circumstances we find ourselves in, as a result we learn more about our individual human qualities, would even go so far to say a greater appreciation for life. One of my favorite quotes was said by the entertainment and cultural icon Frank Sinatra, when he said “Confidence is king”. This Forbes article by Travis Bradberry is a good summary of the characteristics that embody this attitude. Continue reading →

Understanding SAGD Technology

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD)

Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD; “Sag-D”) is an Enhanced oil recovery technology for producing heavy crude oil and bitumen. It is an advanced form of steam stimulation in which a pair of horizontal wellsare drilled into the oil reservoir, one a few metres above the other. High pressure steam is continuously injected into the upper wellbore to heat the oil and reduce its viscosity, causing the heated oil to drain into the lower wellbore, where it is pumped out. Dr. Roger Butler, engineer at Imperial Oil from 1955 to 1982, invented the steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) in the 1970s. Butler “developed the concept of using horizontal pairs of wells and injected steam to develop certain deposits of bitumen considered too deep for mining.”^[1]^[2] In 1983 Butler became director of technical programs for the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA),^[1]^[3] a crown corporation created by Premier Lougheed to promote new technologies for oil sands and heavy crude oil production. AOSTRA quickly supported SAGD as a promising innovation in oil sands extraction technology.^{[2] – Via Wikipedia}

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Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II

What Is The Diamond Jubilee?

Created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, this commemorative medal served to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. During the year of celebrations, 60, 000 deserving Canadians were recognized. The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was a multinational celebration throughout 2012, that marked the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. As of 21 June 2014, Elizabeth was queen regnant of 16 sovereign states, known as Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. The only other time in British history that a monarch celebrated a Diamond Jubilee was in 1897, when Queen Victoria celebrated hers.

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