Last night I came home from watching the movie Next. I was freezing by but off walking to mall from my car and back again after the movie. And only when I got home did I realise there were actual snow flakes falling and it was NOT rain.

Anyway here’s some photos I took around my town house complex this morning. I’d be keen to hear from anyone else who’s experienced the unusual snow falling around Johannesburg.

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Last I watch the film Next starring Nicolas Cage and the very hot Jessica Biel. Next is based on the latest Philip K Dicknovel, The Golden Man, to be adapted to the big screen. Philip K. Dick is mostly known for his works on Science Fiction and some memorable movies have been based on his work like Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report and others. This film is great action packed adventure plays up the “responsibility” that comes with great power.

Nicolas Cage plays a stage magician with a gift to see 2 minutes into the future. He is obsessed with visions of a woman, Jessica Biel, which is unusual because he is seeing days into the future because of her. Peter Falk, TV’s Columbo, makes a small guest appearance. Julliane Moore plays a sassy FBI agent who convinces her boss to bring Nicolas Cage in to help track down a nuclear weapon which has been smuggled into America. There is also sorts of plot changes that seem to happen because of his visions of the future changing. So ever now and then the movie jumps back to a previous point because the desired outcome did not happen.

One of the best scenes early on is when he tests various approaches with Jessica Biel and because he is looking into the future he can figure out which one actually works and do that one. A lesson here is in fact that the best approach is the one that is not needy, indirect and also unsuspecting. With enough practise you will discover that well thought out approaches can come across as natural and spontaneous.

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Dr John Demartini, a philosopher and international speaker presents an inspiring evening talk sharing wisdom and insights to help you to master your life. Be guided with straightforward, practical tips that will help you master and empower the 7 areas of life.

Learn the ancient and modern secrets to manifest the life you love! Practical strategies and applications of universal laws to unleash your innate wisdom and potential. Reveal your path to: Physical vitality, Financial empowerment, Clarity of your Vocational calling, Social prowess, Spiritual certainty and gratitude, Family support and security and expanding your Mental capacity. This is one talk you will not want to miss!

I’ve already booked two tickets. So join me for this event with Dr John Demartini because he is the most inspiring speaker I have ever met. You can read about my write-up on attending his Breakthrough Experience seminar which he is conducting again in South Africa in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. Call Clarissa on 083 370-2201 for information.

Cost for Art of Mastering Your Life public talk: R 90 @ Computicket: or 083 915 8000 or R100 at the door. Registration: 7pm. Talk: 7:30 - 9pm. (duration: 1.5 hours)

By the way I’m also attending his Speed Reading and Learning Dynamics seminar on 6 July. Again email Clarissa on clarissa@drdemartini.co.za if you are interested in receiving notifications of his talks and seminars in South Africa.

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This past weekend I finally watched the new Mel Gibson film: Apocalypto. This film is set in the ancient Maya civilisation just before the arrival of the first Europeans. It’s graphic in it’s violence and it’s portrayal of the capturing of one tribe by another to be used as slaves and for ritual sacrifice is gruesome indeed.

This movie really made me think about the link between fear and courage. This was first brought to my attention by Dr Paul Dobransky, a noted psychiatrist and author MindOS. Basically it goes like this when you are afraid you need courage to do the things that bring fear into your life. When you do courages things it fills up the amount of confidence you have to do other things which may bring feels of fear into your life. Susan Jeffers also wrote an excellent little book, Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway.

Now back to Apocalypto. This movie is set in the jungle’s of Mesoamerica and right from the beginning it’s very much an adrenalin rush with the capture of a wild boar. Soon after the capture the son of the tribal leader, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), through intuition or through sharp senses, gets up, turns around and calls out to what turns out to be a huge tribe in migration, to come out of hiding. This tribe is on the run from slave hunters if you can call them such. Flint Sky, the father of Jaguar Paw, reminds his son not to be afraid. He says to these tribal people moving through their forest, something like this: I am Flint Stone! This is my forest. This is my forest! My father hunted in this forest before me, and my sons will hunt here after I am gone! This is a quote that will be repeated by Jaguar Paw later on in the film.

Soon afterwards the village of Jaguar Paw is pillaged by same slave hunters. The Mayan priests and through them, the king, had ordained that more sacrifice is needed to purify the lands, improve the crop harvest and to save them all. The society had been in decline for a number of years. There is elements of the film that is not historically accurate but this has nothing to do with how powerful a message it conveys regarding how to overcome fear with courage. Just before he is about to be executed a solar eclipse takes place and all the ritual sacrifices is stopped. It’s not over for the captures slaves as the high priest orders them killed. Through some tough determination Jaguar Paw outmanoeuvres the hunters who had captures him and manages to escape into the forest.

And here is where he’s courage is brought to the fore. His confidences increases as he gets deeper into the forest. Now just as his village was being attacked he managed to get his newly pregnant wife and son into a deep hole. And this is part of what drives him to keep going. The fact that he has to rescue them before it rains, and they drown. As the hunters close in on him he fights them off in different ways. The most exhilarating scene in the movie could be when he jumps over a waterfall. When you consider how some of the hunters following him hesitate and end up being killed because of bad jumps over the same waterfall you realise how superior Jaguar Paw’s confidence has become. He is not afraid to take risks and he places himself directly in the line of fire on several occasions. With speed and agility he overcomes great obstacles in the chase. Overall though you can start to see how living in the moment, the now, brings you closer to your true self. It brings you closer to nature and your instincts can take over. Now in a modern, westernised, technologically advances society we live in there is absolutely nothing that pushes us in the same way to develop our confidence, our courage and our instincts. To a large extent we become nothing more than automatons doing repetitive things over and over. Our ability to overcome fear when confronted by it is reduces because of this group behaviour and placating activity we call living today.

Watch the trailer for Apocalypto here and also checkout the detailed Wikipedia entry on Apocalypto.

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I found this posting on Youtube.com of all places. Zoo is making huge strides in the magazine business for men. And here’s a sample of why…

So my question to you is how would you approach a woman like Lee-Lee Liebenberg?

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There is a very popular saying in the seduction community that you should fake it till you make it with women. What they mean is that you should pretend you have confidence until you develop real inner confidence. And the same goes for confident body language, etc.

This last week I’ve been giving talks on MXit and Blogging in Durban. This is one of the most beautiful cities in South Africa and especially the North Coast where I was staying in guest house, On the Beach.

Anyway this morning I presented a Blogging seminar for a paid audience organised by ePages.net, a specialist e-business and web design company. The venue was excellent, the room was packed, the mic was there, and the projector was set-up. Just after I started my presentation we completely lost all electricity in the area. This took me by surprise for a brief moment. There has been so many power outages in South Africa for the last year or so it was not a complete shock to the audience.

I immediately continued to share some stories with the audience. Someone opened the windows so we could get some sun light. And so I proceeded, be it a bit shaken by the loss of my presentation. My instincts kicked in and I proceeded to talk. I know one thing that happened was that I spoke faster. And I ended the presentation with an hour instead of the agreed 1.5 hours. We took questions and there a good response from most the audience. The feedback I received afterwards was generally positive. In my own mind I tried my best to remain calm. There is something about fake till you make it that came into play here. Because I was really ensure how to proceed without my presentation. I think we in business have developed a unnatural reliance on visual presentations. So even though it can enhance the message being delivered, it should never be the primary source of stimulation for your audience.

The best comment I received was my Toastmasters club would be proud with how I handled the loss of electricity and smoothly moved on and continued to delivery my presentation on Blogging. So the last word here is to take it till you make it. Just continue talking as if nothing happened and your audience will follow your lead. Remember you set the tone of the engagement. And most people are going to look to you fo reassurance of some kind.

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The funny thing about this book is that I bought it after listing to his public talk on the topic but I have not read it because its with a friend who needs it more than I do right now. Anyway one of my favourite websites for video content is Conscious Media Network with a ton of full length (30mins to 1 hour and sometimes more) video interviews with experts in various disciplines from the most esoteric, to string theory. And this is the website where I first encountered the work of Dr John Demartini. I guarantee you will learn something about relating to your men or women in romantic relationships from this interview:

You may also be interested in purchasing The Heart of Love from Kalahari.net if you live in South Africa or from Amazon.com if you live elsewhere in the world.

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Another innocent question I answered, asked by a girl on Yahoo! Answers: When people French kiss does the girl put the tongue in the mouth our the guy

The simple answer is that you both do. Here’s some tips from a guy who’s been kissing girls for about 10 years Never put your tongue inside his mouth immediately. Instead use it to lick his lips a bit. Start with his upper lip and move to his lower lip. Use your lips to kiss his lips and his chin and his cheeks and move around his mouth a bit. After a while stick you tongue in his mouth but only briefly. Try to tell if he likes it. One way would be to see if he “bites” your tongue by trying to keep it in his mouth. Mix all this up and you’ll be a super kisser one day soon…

If you need more details on French Kissing checkout this detailed description on Wikihow.

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This is a question from Yahoo! Answers that I answered and was voted Best Answer by the person who asked the question…

As the week keeps going, I’m feeling more and more depressed. I feel like pretty soon something is going to happen to me because of my bad decisions. What can I do to make me feel better about myself? And to not feel so depressed? I’ve been feeling depressed for about 2 weeks. Could this be something serious? Should I go to a doctor?Please, just give me some advice on how I can put off stress, and just get a little self-confidence.

Here’s my answer:

There is three suggestions I can make having experienced depression twice in my life before.

Firstly do all the things for yourself you wish other people would do. So for example if you wish someone would buy you a gift go and buy one for yourself. If you wish someone would take you out to a nice dinner or show. Do it for yourself.

Secondly help those less fortunate. This is maybe the most important because you will soon start to see there’s always someone else in a worse position. And when you do things to help others you will experience gratitude which open’s your heart. Gratitude is the key to changing the way you feel because you start to feel like you are making a difference in other people’s lives.

Lastly watch some comedy shows, stand-up comedy or funny movies. Go back to the classics like Charlie Chaplin or get the earlier Jim Carrey movies like Ace Ventura or The Mask, those really physical comedies with little words. Depression is a myth that’s in your head. You minimise yourself compared to other people. When you laugh you feel more like yourself meaning that you are not putting yourself down or patting yourself on the back. You just in equilibrium.

Source(s): www.drdemartini.com

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The worst kind of first dates these days is a coffee date or dinner. Why? Simply because it leads to an interview style of conversation. And you seek fake rapport with the person. For example what’s your favourite movie? The Matrix - “Yeah! So is mine. That’s awesome.”

So I did an interview with Essentials magazine which should be out in July edition with the following advice irrespective of whether you are using online dating, SMS dating or speed dating to meet people:

1. On a first date consider an activity like tenpin bowling, putt putt or window shopping at a flea market instead of boring dinner dates. An activity has built in conversation and reduces pressure so you have a more naturally flowing conversation.

To build rapport ask open ended questions, go deep into them and keep moving to related topics. When you talk about one thing all the time you will come across as predictable or even boring which kills attraction. Avoid interview style questions.

2. When meeting people for the first time use observation to determine their true behaviour. For example how they deal with the waiter at restaurant.

3. Make sure you are listen. They say to be interesting ? be interested. Consider switching your cellphone off for a while. If the other person answers a cellphone during that first date this sets a very bad precedent of what’s coming down the line.

4. If all goes well before the end the first date suggest a second ?date? but never refer to it as a date, simply suggest an activity as before. And by asking the other person to join you, you show confidence and certainty about what you want and where you’re doing in life.

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