DR. PATCH ADAMS. A man who simply cares very deeply about people, giving and showing them so very much love and happiness. A man who has a great deal to teach many of us about the power of love and the huge amount of good it can do.
This is a little of what Patch has to say:
"Our system of "people fame" values self-centeredness and wealth. I want to live in a world where people become famous because of their work for peace and justice and care. I want the famous to be inspiring; their lives an example of what every human being has it in them to do — act from love!"
You can read more about Patch and his wonderful Gesundheit! Institute right here: PATCH ADAMS
Now, through the wonders of Youtube you can see and hear Patch, the REAL Patch Adams, talking about his life and what made him decide to become 'A Scientist Of Joy' :0)
PATCH ADAMS ON LIFE
"...OUR MEDIA AND THE PEOPLE IN POWER HAVE MANIPULATED OUR ADULT POPULATION TO STOP THINKING. THEY MANIPULATE THEM TO BE A CONSUMERIST SOCIETY. 'BE INTERESTED IN A MERCEDES! BE INTERESTED IN SPORTS! BE INTERESTED IN BRITNEY SPEARS! WE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE BUSINESS!' AND THEY LEARN FROM HITLER'S FRIEND HERMANN GOERING THAT IF YOU CAN MAKE THE POPULATION FRIGHTENED YOU CAN GET THEM TO AGREE TO ALMOST ANYTHING..."-Patch Adams
And here, talking of more important issues, Patch sees the solutions in a very different way to the majority. He is being interviewed in Brazilian/Portugese but answers in English.
A REVOLUTION OF THOUGHTS
Below is the kind of human being who Patch Adams is talking about above in his quote about 'People Fame'.... "I want the famous to be inspiring; their lives an example of what every human being has it in them to do" His name is MARTYN JOSEPH one of our deeply powerful songwriters. A man who works tirelessly to get his message out. And his message is simple....Compassion, Love, Honesty, Integrity, Inclusion.
This is the story behind the video:
Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement, also known as the MST is the largest social movement in Latin America, with an estimated 1.5 million landless members, organized in 23 out 27 states. The MST carries out long-overdue land reform in a country mired by unjust land distribution. In Brazil, 1.6% of the landowners control roughly half (46.8%) of the land on which crops could be grown. Just 3% of the population owns two-thirds of all arable lands.
Here you can read all about the 19 people murdered in 1996 for daring to stand up and say they simply wanted a decent life. One of those murdered on that day was a young man called OZEIL ALVAREZ LIMA leader of the MST, who Martyn sings about in his song below.
Martyn Joseph is a man who'll inspire you and who'll light a flame inside your soul. Take that flame...and pass it on to others. So...here is Martyn's Flame, which I now pass on to all of you:
Till The End
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Martyn again, singing live at The Royal Hall For Cornwall in Truro, just before Christmas 2006. I was there that night and I watched him take an audience who'd never heard of him, completely by storm! He had them in the palm of his hand by the end of the first song. You can read the whole story in my blog, 'Martyn Joseph's Cornish Experience' plus another review of him too 'Martyn Joseph's Soul Music' This is his great protest song 'How Did We End Up Here?' about Bush and Iraq. How DID we end up here? Apathy I guess....and Martyn blasts apathy apart with his words!
MARTYN JOSEPH 'HOW DID WE END UP HERE?'
And if you want to have a few thoughts about HOW we ended up here, then watch this video about the...THE PEAK OIL MOVEMENT and hear the facts about how the world will soon be running out of cheap oil and how Governments may well be going to war over it in the future...Then ask yourself "But hasn't that already happened in Iraq?"
Next, spread the word that we HAVE to change the way in which so many of us are living...and fast!
"WE NEED TO CONSUME MUCH LESS AND WE NEED TO CONSERVE MUCH MORE"(taken from the video below)
THE PEAK OIL THEORY
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"There is a principle placed in the human mind
Which is pure & proceeds from God
It is deep and inward
Confined to no religion
Nor excluded from any
Where the heart stands in perfect sincerity" - JOHN WOOLMAN-American Quaker 1720-1772
And below these words is one more person who cares passionately about this world, and who is doing everything in his power to turn things around for the better. His name is VINNIE JAMES and he is a man for whom I have a great deal of respect. I've written to Vinnie on many an occasions, he is a man of integrity and honesty.
Vinnie writes songs that wake people up. He sees what is happening around him, and does not turn away, he REFUSES to be apathetic and he REFUSES to give up. He sees how we're drifting apart as a species, instead of being inclusive and supportive of one another....and he is DETERMINED to start turning things around in his own way...and he WILL do it too. I've a huge amount of faith in Vinnie. He's a great protest/anti-war songwriter, but he's also a great writer of love and the human condition.
Below is Vinnie singing one of his moving songs, recorded at the Glasgow Songwriters Festival. It's very appropriate that his video lies right above 'The Quaker Tapestry' because he's a great believer in peace, kindness and the power that love has to change this world for the better.
So, I'll leave you now to watch Vinnie James, a man with the power of Springsteen and the compassionate wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr.
VINNIE JAMES 'WARSONG'
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THE QUAKER TAPESTRY
Personally, I think that The Quakers could teach George Bush some very humble lessons!
THE DALAI LAMA - "My religion is kindness"
The people in charge of the BBC and the Media in general, hold one of the MAJOR keys to great change, both in this country and right around the world. If they finally allowed PROTEST SONGS and music with an important message to get out there ONCE AGAIN into MAINSTREAM TV and Radio programmes, they could do a powerful amount to change attitudes and to open many people's eyes.
Once these strong songs are allowed back amongst the people, where they belong, they will reach millions of minds. The people who choose to hear the messages in these songs hold so many Keys Of Change inside themselves. The world desperately needs these 'locked doors' to be opened, as soon as possible and it is now WAY OVERDUE for a Music Rebellion to be started up, right around the planet. AND IT SHOULD START WITH THE BBC.
GEORGE ORWELL'S DISTURBING BUT DEEPLY ILLUMINATING BOOK '1984'...READ IT AND ASK YOURSELVES WHY WE NO LONGER HEAR PROTEST SONGS ON OUR RADIO OR TV....AND THEN, WHEN YOU'VE WOKEN UP TO THE DEEPLY WORRYING ANSWER...DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO HELP BRING THEM BACK
Here are a few Protest Songs to pass around the world from NEIL YOUNG'S SITE :
Seth Lakeman. '2007 Folk Singer Of The Year' in the BBC Folk Awards. Seth is from Devon and is writing and performing songs about the legends and people of The West Country. Below is a video of his brilliant song 'Kitty Jay'
Kitty was a real woman, who lived the hard life of a servant. On finding herself with child by the Master's son, she took her own life. Her grave still lies at Manaton Cross on Dartmoor, a simple raised patch of grass. To this day, it's visited every day by 'someone' and fresh flowers and gifts are laid there. Whenever I've seen Seth play this song, the audience is spellbound by his amazing fiddle playing. When you watch the video, you'll see why.
'KITTY JAY' written and performed by SETH LAKEMAN
There is a wonderful young man 'out there' called:
PETER THOMAS JAMES
Peter was only on this earth for a short time, but he wasted not a second. He took in everything around him, watching, listening, thinking. He joined a rap band and...just as they were becoming successful, it was time for him to 'go'...to move on, yet again, to another place.
However, unknown to his much loved parents, he left behind pages and pages of his thoughts. Wonderful words that had tumbled out of him, words that spoke of his anger and frustration at the world around him, words which show how he knew it didn't, and doesn't, have to be this way. A young man, with a wise 'old' soul. A young man, who already knew about 'the locked doors' which I have spoken about above.
His parents have now lovingly compiled Peter's words into two books and a new third book is due out shortly (2007):
'LIVING ON PAPER STREET'
'SLIPPING PAST THE PAGES OF LIFE'
Peter's words will bring you insight, they will make you angry, they may make you cry, but in reading them you will be given inspiration to take Peter's ideas forward for him, to help this world become more gentle, more caring, more compassionate, for it is up to each and every one of us to change things.
These are some words of Peter's that I have chosen:
"A pen and a notebook are just a few of my favorite things, the keys to unlock doors. I open them and begin to explore through dark journals, on a quest to tell you the truth."
And these speak, to me of the never-ending circle of Peter's love for his parents and theirs for him:
"ETERNAL, EVERYTHING TURNS ETERNAL, NO ENDING FOREVER, ETERNAL!!!"
Below are links to the sites of Peter's deeply loved Mum and Dad, where you can read more of his words. Gloria and Charlie, through their deep and continuous love for their son, and with Peter's help, are gathering many of us around them now. We are 'PETER'S PEOPLE' and if you wish to 'join' then your journey starts right here...GLORIA, PETER'S MUM and CHARLIE, PETER's DAD
Since writing the above words about Peter, there is now a third book of his words due out any day now, called 'STREET DROPS' and the story behind that can be read in my blog above entitled 'In The Footprints Of A Boy Called Peter' There is also a brand new Myspace page which has been launched recently, on behalf of Peter, run by his Mum and Dad, called:
THE ELEVATION PROJECT
On here you can see beautiful photos of, and read all about, the very first ever ELEVATION WALK which took place in April this year (2007) around the streets of Peter's home in New Jersey and also over here in the UK, in Dorset, to raise money for various charities and to celebrate Peter's life. The UK walk was organised by the poet and good friend of Gloria and Charlie, MAX HILLMAN
So you see...Peter's a busy lad, even now, but you watch, he won't stop there, of that I'm sure.
And here I am, just a few days later, with yet MORE to add about Peter! This time it is to bring you the hymn that has been written for him, by Max Hillman (see link above) and his colleague, MORTEN HANSEN the composer. It's a beautiful hymn called 'If He Must Go, Let Him Go Staying' which Gloria speaks of, in my blog above.
The words of the African Proverb below is what Peter, in his own way, did, and is still doing, with his powerful words and his caring nature. Death will never stop him. We each have the 'The Power Of One' within us and with that incredible power we can change this world right around. It starts with You...and Me...then We and Them....ending in ALL OF US.
IF MANY LITTLE PEOPLE, IN MANY LITTLE PLACES, DO MANY LITTLE DEEDS, THEY CAN CHANGE THE FACE OF THE EARTH - AFRICAN PROVERB - Taken from the 'TAKE IT PERSONALLY SITE' by Anita Roddick
Next, a song which is all about that very subject of ONE person starting the ball rolling, the ONE pebble that starts the avalanche.It's by Nickelback and my children brought it to my attention, already it's made an impact on them and how they think, so watch it, then maybe pass it on. And remember, don't wait for someone else to take that step, take it yourself.
IF EVERYONE CARED
The people in the next video CARE.
Every time you hear of something awful in the world or each time people tell you there are nothing but bad things going on..well...just take a look at this video and realise that the Power Of Good far outweighs the Power Of Evil. It just needs far more of us to take the Good 'out there' and use it in the right way.
This short film is about the orangutans. The orphaned ones, whose mothers are being killed and whose natural habitat is being decimated by human beings with no souls, no compassion and no thought or concern for the future.
But these wonderful people pick up the Evil and transform it into Good. You can read all about what is happening to the orangutans right here: ORANGUTAN FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL Then, feel the palpable love and empathy with which these beautiful, but often heartbroken, creatures, are being cared for by these loving people. Look deep into the innocent eyes of a species, which some of our own species are deliberately, and knowingly, bringing to the edge of extinction. They have no right to be doing this. There are NO excuses.
A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR THE ORANGUTANS
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Another man who cares, doing his bit in changing the lives and outlooks of many young people in New York. His name is PIERRE DULAINE and he's a dance teacher. He's taken the kids who are seen as 'problem' kids and given them hope by giving them pride! Pride in themselves and pride in their ability to achieve. He has bothered to look beyond, past the insanity of National Curriculums and Examination Passes, to the SOUL of the person.
So many of our young people are being thrown away by an Education System that demands that they perform ONLY in the boxes they are permitted! Hey, do you want to know something? We are NOT all scientists, or mathematicians, some of us do NOT yearn to speak French fluently or get the highest grade ever for our schools! No...many of us just want to dance, or sing or learn things for which we have a natural passion! We want people to see beyond, to see that we are all different and that we ALL have a purpose and a reason for being on this earth. Many of us want teachers and our Education System to just see US!
Not one single child on this earth should leave school feeling that they are a FAILURE! If they do, then it is the school that has failed so very deeply, NOT the child! I have had people say to me that THAT is what school is about, teaching you how to fail! YE GODS! If that is the attitude then it needs to be changed right now!
EVERYONE has a skill, every single person is good at something, even if it is only to inspire or touch others. And every child should come out of a system, in which they have been forced to spend their formative and most precious years, feeling inspired, uplifted and really good about themselves. Schools have our children for near on 15 years these days and if they can't get children to feel good about themselves after 15 years...then they have no right to believe that they are 'caring' for our children! Something is going VERY wrong within our Education System and we need to put it right..FAST!
The inspirational film 'TAKE THE LEAD' tells Pierre's story. A story that has now taken ballroom dancing into many schools in America, where over 20,000 children (and rising) have taken it up, a story which shows that through dance you can learn respect. Respect for you partner and respect for yourself...and you also learn far more along the way as well.
This is the trailer from Pierre Dulaine's story where he is portrayed by Antonio Banderas:
TAKE THE LEAD
"Nowadays, I don't say that the world is uncivil, but I believe we don't have enough civility in life and this is what this program teaches. If we can instill civility into children at the age of 10 or 11 - early enough in life - we can nurture it and have it grow with them. It will only make them better human beings." – Pierre Dulaine
And below are some 'real' young people who have now become part of Pierre Dulaine's wonderful vision above...
COLOURS OF THE RAINBOW
"A great vision is needed and the man who has it must follow it, as the eagle seeks the deepest blue of the sky" - CRAZY HORSE
"There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say" - GERONIMO
"We must try not to educate our children away from the spirit, so that they don't have to work so hard trying to reconnect when they grow up. When they know they already have spirit, then everthing else becomes understood. And it makes life easier for them." - SOBONFU SOME
Below is a video containing a mixture of many Spirits and many Cultures..but in the end it is the music of One Spirit and One Culture, which is that of the Human Race. Here you'll find music as it should be played, without barriers, racism, rules or regulations. Where it is played with freedom, joy, inclusion and openess.
The fabulous IMAGINED VILLAGE playing an English traditional folk song in a very different and inspirational way.
'Cold Haily Rainy Night'
"I'm just a human being trying to make it in a world that is very rapidly losing its understanding of being human." JOHN TRUDELL
THE POWER OF GENTLE - ROSA REBECKA
"WE are the ones we have been waiting for" MARK THUNDERWOLF
"The Leaders of tomorrow are growing up today
Totally unsure of these foundations you have laid
Your children wander aimlessly
Through prisons you have made
And for your sins of blind ambition
They will make you pay...." taken from 'Here Goes Tomorrow' by VINNIE JAMES
"A man without culture is like a zebra without stripes" - Ancient Masai proverb...taken from 'African Wisdom 365 Days' by Danielle & Olivier Follmi
PHOTOGRAPHER OF MANKIND - OLIVIER FOLLMI
"If we were attacked by beings from another planet, all of a sudden, world order would have to be created to face the alien attacker. Muslims, Christians and Jews would be brothers. So why do we have to wait?" JOHN YOUNG
LIVING WITH WAR ...Watch the 'Freedom Of Speech' video and listen to NEIL YOUNG because he cares and he's trying to get us to open our eyes.
If you've never heard the most BEAUTIFUL voice ofLOREENA MCKENNITT ...then something in your life is definitely missing! Luckily, you can find out exactly what it is..right here..
LOREENA MCKENNITT - THE MUMMER'S DANCE
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This is the man who took me out of my small world and let me soar with the eagles, high above those Cathedral Mountains of his. JOHN DENVER opened my soul to another world, as he did for so many people. It wasn't the 'happy clappy' John that interested me, but the one who knew about sadness and joy, about sorrow and love...who cared about the land and its inhabitants. The man who was brave enough, when he was older, to realise that he'd made some big mistakes, as so many of us do, yet few of us are brave enough to admit to them.
And this is what John Denver left behind for us, as well as his inspirational music. His WINDSTAR FOUNDATION ...dedicated to the land....
WINDSTAR MYSPACE - where you'll hear the hauntingly beautiful and spiritual music of MARK THUNDERWOLF ...and here you can read all about THE JOHN DENVER PEACECLOTH
Time to remind yourself, not only of a beautiful, inspirational song, but the man behind that inspiration, as John Denver talks about the birth of his song 'Calypso' named after the famous ship of the deeply caring Jacques Yves Cousteau.
John Denver sings 'CALYPSO'
The much needed work of Jaques Cousteau is now of course being carried on by his sons. Jacques was a man who cared desperately about the environment and what we are doing to it. His sons feel exactly the same.
Jacques is sorely missed, as are his wonderful programmes, that used to teach so much to so many of us. I'd suggest to the BBC that they abandon so much of the complete trash they feed people, and bring back programmes that teach, Programmes from which our children can learn inspirational things, which will set them on a path to 'who knows where' in their lives. For as Jean Michel Cousteau said, when asked, that given the shocking state of the planet, where he was still able to get his hope from "I get it from HERE!"..and he cupped the face of a young child he had been teaching, in his hands, "Here, HERE is where the hope is, in her eyes! SEE! THAT is where my hope is!"
And here is where the hope is being handed down:
THE JACQUES COUSTEAU SOCIETY
Here is where it started, with fascinating, intelligent, inspirational programmes such as the one below. THIS is the kind of stunning TV that I was raised on. So sit back and be transported to an amazingly beautiful place, as you watch nearly an hour of Jacques Cousteau and his team:
BENEATH THE FROZEN WORLD - COUSTEAU IN ANTARCTICA
And NOW I shall leave you to meet well over One And A Half Thousand of the world's magical musicians and non-musicians within my pages. I sincerely hope you enjoy finding out about them all as much as I have. And that they open as many spiritual and educational doors for you as they're doing for me.
In the words of BILLY BRAGG ... "HOPE...NOT HATE"
Lizzie :0) xxx
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PS: For the ORDINARY people of Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Iran, Iraq, Burma and indeed this entire, beautiful planet, which belongs to each and every one of US and NOT JUST to our so-called Leaders:
"YOU must be the change you wish to see in the world" GHANDI
"..Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for and no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join us and the world will live as one..." John Lennon
JOHN LENNON'S 'IMAGINE' VIDEO
And some wise quotes, below, from a man who knew what had to be done.
MARTIN LUTHER KING
He never got the chance to finish his work, perhaps it now lies with each of us to do that for him and change what is happening all around us, for the better.
"Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."
"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
"Will we be extremists of hate, or will we be extremists for love?"
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
"NOW IS THE TIME.."
Below is the video of one woman who encapsulates so many of the wise words above. An incredibly brave woman, a woman who has had the strength to stand up and speak her words, with a clear conscience and an open mind. Words that many would never dare to speak. Let us hope that she is listened to and that her flame will spark 'A Fire Of Peace And Inclusion' around the world, the likes of which has never been seen before. Her name is WAFA SULTAN and these are her words and her hopes for peace in this troubled world of ours...and as you listen to her, remember these words too...
"I love you when you bow in your mosque, kneel in your temple, pray in your church. For you and I are sons of one religion, and it is the Spirit" - KHALIL GIBRAN
WAFA SULTAN SPEAKS OUT
And it's only fitting, after Wafa's message above, to have this next video on here...for these are just some of the words you'll hear on it:
...I believe there is a God
But it doesn't mean that my God is greater than yours
It only means we all have the right to believe
'Cos nobody knows it for sure
If there's a Heaven or Hell or a sweet Paradise
Or a place where we all meet again
'Cos with minimal change
Everyone here is the same.....
The video, and the song, belong to a man I've not paid as much attention to as perhaps I should of over the years. This is his song 'One World' and his words speak volumes about many things happening in this world right now..and how we ALL have to change it right around for the better...and we CAN do it, if we all pull together...
'ONE WORLD' by CHRIS de BURGH
And the final video on here is..well...this is JOHN TAMS who is a great singer songwriter. Below is John singing with his good friend BARRY COOPE
JOHN TAMS is a natural teacher, a storyteller, a Keeper And Passer-On Of Memories And Wisdom. A gentle, wise man, who, with his 'ramblings', as he calls them, takes you off the so often straight, featureless motorway of modern life, and into the twisting country lanes, filled with wild flowers and small villages, where you meet the local people and learn so much about their lives. He brings out all the things that so many of us miss 'seeing' these days. The simple, beautiful, sometimes heart-breaking, but important things. He's a wonderful, compassionate songwriter who was hugely influential in creating the brilliant newBBC RADIO BALLADS contributing immensely to the music and songs that were written for it and working so hard in 'putting it all together' so that many more stories and much history is again, written down and recorded for future generations to have.
From his concerts and CDs he's taught my children a great deal about the past and present of their country. If you've never seen John 'live' then GO! His stories, inbetween his songs, are humourous, sad and enchanting, filled with tenderness and empathy. You may also recognise John as 'Lieutenant Hagman' from the TV series SHARPE
On the video below, he's singing EWAN MAcCOLL's song 'The Manchester Rambler'
Although John has now re-worked the words, which you can read here: John Tams' 'Manchester Rambler'
It was written after a mass protest had taken place in 1932, by local people from in and around Manchester, who were enraged that the open land they had always walked upon, was due to be fenced in by the landowner, forbidding them to walk their mountains and wild places. This 'freedom' and beautiful landscape was the only respite they had from the grim and filthy city, where they toiled hard all week long. And so, they took to the hills, literally, and came face to face with the gamekeepers of the Duke of Devonshire, who owned the land. Some were arrested and imprisoned for six months and a huge anger resulted that eventually led to THE RAMBLERS ASSOCIATION being formed and THE FREEDOM TO ROAM which we now perhaps take so much for granted. You can read the full story right here, on the KINDER TRESPASS SITE
So, next time you go walking freely in Britain's NATIONAL PARKS and NATIONAL TRAILS ...remember that the freedom you're so enjoying was fought for by many people....for YOU as well as for them.
And also remember, that all the above has come from just ONE song, ONE intelligent song, then consider the power that our music has, to teach, to inform, to keep our heritage ALIVE! This music belongs to our children and it is being denied them in many cases, so please, do *your* bit to ensure it is now given back to them again.
The Future belongs to our children, but so does the Past.
THE MANCHESTER RAMBLER
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Take care, and above all, be kind to one another...Lizzie :0)