theSarayiahpost.com

Performance Artist Countess Alex Zapak Laid Bare

Introduction and Foreword

...In December last year I was kindly invited to the premier of “FaIRy TAil PuNK” by PR and long-time Facebook friend, Julius Just of Just Associates starring performer Alex Zapak. Being it was near XMAS and even though I didn’t have the foggiest of what I was actually being invited to, as I had never heard of Alex Zapak – the prospect of free alcohol always tempted me and so of course I attended.  The stage was at the London Print Studios on the Harrow Road.

It was a surreal experience just walking through the door and after a few minutes of trying to acclimatise to my new surroundings I almost turned around and left.  This was not a performance in the theatrical or cinema sense where the audience sit in orderly rows of seats.  No I walked into a room with people strewn on Tracey Eminesque style half made up beds complete with blankets and pillows as well as more bodies scrunched across the floor.  As I was to discover this was all part of the ‘experience’ and we – the crowd – were to be filmed as part of the show and this “the set,” as I was to discover, was meant to replicate Alex’s bedroom at home!  Then, as if a sign that I should stay, from a side entrance I witnessed a slender, attractive brunette who was clearly naked and being wrapped in what looked like Clingfilm!  Either I was about to witness some weird cult offering to the Bernard Matthews ready basted Gods or I was to be seduced by the impressionist charms of this woman. Either way it was going to be an “experience” and worth staying around to find out exactly of what type!

This was the lovely Alex Zapak or as she affectionately calls herself, “Countess” Alex Zapak and she would continue her journey to the stage hoisted aloft on a white cross naked apart from the food preservative wrap she sported.  For those who have not heard of her – like myself at that time - I would wholly recommend you Google her after reading this article and watch some of her performances on YouTube and read some of her press.  She is someone who has gone through the avalanches of life as many of us do (see ”How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?”, “Steve Jobs IRIP 1955-2011”, ”I Believe In Angels”, ”Staying Alive”), but fortunately has survived to tell the tale in a very unique and eclectic way and, as I was to discover, has been described as, “The Femme Fatal of the Underground,” by Rolling Stone Magazine and actress Rachel Weisz said of her, “I have never seen anything like it. The best performer I have ever seen.”

Her show lasted for about 40 minutes – not all naked I have you mind, as she donned a sexy backless beige dress during her first montage, but I still stayed.  Her songs and performance were about Love, Loss, Heartache, Tragedy, Death, Passion, Dreams, Twilight (her horse – not the film genre!) and concurrently Life and even though I didn’t necessarily understand everything she was trying to portray it still resonated with me; I believed there to be a powerful undercurrent for baring her soul to this world and I was eager to know more and to see if her story would fit in with the remit I have for my blog so I asked for this interview and it was granted. What follows is a synopsis of a 4 hour long very open and honest interview I had with her and my first ever interview…

The Interview...

...Through the course of the evening, I found Alex Zapak to be a charming, intelligent, beautiful, philosophical, bodacious and clearly a highly creative individual - even though that last quality was a given after the performance I had witnessed a month before. It was also clear we both had suffered through our lives and at points experienced deep depressions even though for differing reasons, but still conjoined under the umbrella that is LOVE.  In many respects, her journey was driven by a passion to discover True Love and to be Loved Unconditionally, sadly never experiencing it as a child or through her adult years. Her life due to this has been a causal nexus of heartache peppered with highs along the way and this clearly emanates from her impassioned performances.  Declining to tell me her age except as, “A wolf in full bloom,” she was neglected as a child by the very people we all place our utmost trust in – our parents.  Love was something she knew very little of and so, as she grew older her natural distrust in human beings made it impossible for her to love anybody yet alone herself.  In the interview she tragically cites, “I hated myself with a nuclear fierceness.”  She didn’t have an identity, her self-esteem was pretty much non-existent and she blamed herself for not being loved, as many people who are emotional victims do because they are told it is their fault when of course nothing could be further from the truth.

The emotional disparaging relationship with her family took its toll and led to her feeling worthless and lost.  Like a pretty butterfly that has had its wings clipped before it has even gained its pilot license or a beautiful eight year old girl who is in darkness due to the lack of unconditional love from the people that brought her into this world; that in a desperate attempt to Heal her solitude she covers herself in plasters in the upbeat, but ultimately mistaken belief, that these magical Healing Elastoplast’s will provide her with comfort and solace and keep her safe. A HUGE cry for help that devastatingly was never heeded by the parents that be…:-(x.

As discussed in previous articles including, “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?”, “I Believe in Angels”, “The Lonely Goatherd” and “A Mother’s Love”, if a child is not subject to the care, love and attention that should be ingrained in every parents genetic code then it will most likely lead to difficult and more than likely - shattering consequences - down the causal line, especially when it comes to loving others and relationships.  As I continued to ply Alex with red wine and chocolate rice crackers as we moved deeper into her life, she candidly told me that, as she entered her teens and subsequent adult years she became, “Greedy for love.” She was desperate for what she never had and so she entered "highly destructive" romantic relationships in a misguided belief because someone says they “love” you it doesn’t actually mean they do!  “Love is the Agitator,” (see “A Mother’s Love“).

Guided by her experiences, estranged from her family and wanting to make her mark on the world, in 1997 Alex launched her first album about falling in love with all the things that are bad for you and the causal consequences they lead too. It was poignantly titled, “My First Suicide" and candidly expresses her emotions to the point of the said title and she produced and self-financed it by working as a "tragically bad" burlesque dancer! But even in times of great distress it can inspire some to great achievements and Melody Maker said of it, “Unique, brilliant…thrills as much as it chills.”  However, using distraction techniques to get by and through the day is, I believe, just storing up further trouble down the line as you don't deal with the root cause of your situation/ depression - instead you are displacing it in the hope it can be forgotten.  And even though you can sustain this for maybe several years, at some point it will catch up with you and this was to happen in Alex's case (see “Staying Alive“).

During the "sustaining" years things went relatively well professionally for Alex...She didn't have much money despite her family being wealthy, but as she says, “It’s all great coming from money but it is only equivalent to how much LOVE was exercised as a verb.'”  In 2003, impressively Alex was handed UK Designer Magazine's "Woman of the Year" Award beating PINK and Kate Moss into 2nd and 3rd place respectively; and then in 2004 she divorced her husband and moved to New York City, USA and found relative accord with her art band project, “Countess and The CRR (Can’t Understand Normal Thinking, Rock Revolution) which played to packed houses and rave reviews in downtown New York.  The shows produced and art directed by Alex Zapak, showcased radical and exciting transformations of image and sound from week to week to challenge perception and thinking and her reputation flourished to the point that she was crowned, "Queen of the Underground," by social diarist Patrick McMullen.  As she says, “Life is a massive animal farm,” where society dictates your actions and behavioural patterns and only by breaking that Matrix (1999) style enforcement can one be true to who they are and potentially be FREE and Truly HAPPY. 

Yet despite this success and being thought of by some, as one of the inspirations for Lady Ga Ga, she still continued to live in relative poverty in between a Sex Shop and a Fortune Tellers’, as being a creative she was never very good with the business side of things! She considers the positivity about being poor is that it forces you to be very ‘disciplined’ and provides one a perspective as an artist.

Irish author Lorna Bryne, writer of “Angels in My Hair” and “A Message of Hope From The Angels” makes this observation, “Many of us place too much importance on money and material things. Having some money is of course important but the Angels keep telling me to remind you that when you die you can bring no money or material things to Heaven with you. What you do bring with you are your memories and all the love you felt on this earth.”

She continued her life in New York which she loves and in 2009, Alex emerged with "FaIRy TAiL PuNK" which brought together a montage of her past and played to a sold out New York audience on its debut. She was even described as a visionary by certain quarters of the art elite. However, troubled times lay round the corner, as by never really confronting the root cause of her emotions and trauma from her childhood years and then into her teens and adult etc, she was effectively arming a ticking time bomb waiting for its detonation moment (see “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?“ and “Staying Alive“). Also by getting away to New York, she was in my opinion effectively running away from her problems at home and again not dealing with them.

The trigger turned out to be deportation from the USA to England last year for overstaying her visa’s welcome and she crashed harder than ever.  Not only does Alex say she doesn’t like the UK – most likely due to hidden memories of her childhood being brought to the fore (oh and the weather!), this time she was forced to relive them in detail, as she had nowhere to go except back to her family home where it all began.  Seen as a failure by her parents - she literally went to bed for a month and couldn't stop crying.  This was Alex hitting rock bottom - just like I had done in Dec 2010 when I too couldn’t stop crying and a beautiful glowing Angel with the face of the delightful, intelligent (even though contrary to her belief - not so great at problem solving (in my humble opinion!)), furniture re-arranging expert and talented at making delicious Mexican soup, Modern Day Maria - came to my rescue and breathed life back into my soul (see “I believe In Angels“). In Alex’s case she was guided out of the darkness by being encouraged to attend therapy sessions for abused women by a “lovely lady” angel who started visiting her and in hindsight, as she now realised, she was a said victim.  This allowed her to finally begin to talk openly about her deep rooted trauma and to understand why she felt this way and finally to start neutralising - in part at least - the pain and anguish she has been facing all her life.

As I try and point out in my articles and in my opinion – solving a problem at the root cause is the only way to diffuse correctly the pain and heartache so that it can never come back and haunt you…Bottle them up and this is what can happen and most likely – again in my opinion – will happen depending on the severity of the underlying traumatic cause. Sometimes though the only way back is to hit rock bottom in order to rebuild afresh with hope and sanity :-)x.  And even though Alex is unlikely to be able to solve this at the root cause she is at least now dealing with the very emotions she has put off for so long, which will hopefully help her lead a far more fulfilling and stable journey through the rest of her life. Of course there will still be speed bumps in the path to causal discovery but generally smaller and more manageable (see "Wacky Races").

Alex is now back to her creative and talented self - maybe even more so than before her breakdown if this is possible - and finally found what may be her first real love who, as I pointed out, she would not have met had she not been deported and been through her "weepy" depression (as she calls it). This is hot on the heels of her successful and highly acclaimed launch of FaIRy TAiL Punk in London – the telling of her life story in episodic parts using moving images, music, poetry, story-telling and singing (with a bit of nudity thrown in).

Alex says, “Everybody’s car journey is different. Everybody sees different scenery on the way. A really important way to connect as Human Beings is to narrate what that car journey is like.”

In that respect, my journey has led me to believe everything is Destiny and that the Universe sometimes makes you play a hard game before you can fulfil your ultimate desires. In both mine and Alex's case (and I am sure pretty much most you reading this) that desire is to be Truly Happy and personally, I am not happy or at Peace and won’t be until I am invited round by the wonderful Maria for another bowl of her heart-warming and scrumptious Mexican soup :-)x, but I trust this is just a matter of time just as I wholeheartedly trust her.  Dreams are there to be fulfilled and if life happens to give you a tough time try and take a step back and think well maybe this is meant to happen – this is part of my car journey - and if I can just hold on and navigate my way out to the other side, maybe True Happiness is just time pending.  Today I always look for the causal connections between events in my life, as I can see why things happened throughout my past and continue to try and put the pieces together of this highly complex jigsaw in order to predict the future outcomes.

Being True to who you are as a Human Being, is a very important piece in the jigsaw that makes up True Happiness, as is being Truly Loved. As Alex says, “Happiness is MASSIVE,” and it is so important to, “Sing your own Song;” And that is something which bravely she has always done and “A FaIRyTAiL PuNK” is an inspiring modernistic fairy tale of her life.

Have a wonderful day and Celebrate Your life :-)

Xx

For more information on Alex Zapak contact her PR Julius Just at Just Associates, Tel: 08453885814, Email: Julius@justassociates.com

For more information on FairyTail Punk, click http://bankofimaginationstheatre.com (Warning: This website contains strong language and nudity)

Image of Pilot "Staying Alive!"

...Following on from my 40^th Birthday Celebrations a month ago (see "A Celebration of Life"), this week I have another reason to celebrate as theSarayiahpost.com moves into the top 500k sites in the world as ranked by Alexa - the web information company which monitors traffic for websites in the world’s top 30m. It is also now in the top 5k websites for London and almost in the top 15k websites for the UK as a whole.  This is just 7 months after its launch.

Yet instead of jumping for joy at what I consider is a another milestone in the short history of my blog - just as moving into the top 1m websites in Nov 2011 was (see "Feel The Love"), I have been rather melancholy – depressed even.  This is despite the overwhelming feedback I get for my site to be extremely positive in nature and I have been told that I am helping and inspiring others, which is one of the aims of theSarayiahpost.com and an amazing thing.  But despite this, I still can’t shake a general form of malaise.  In fact, my mum commented to my sister Pamela that I looked really sad when I went to visit her in hospital on Monday evening, as she recovers from her spine tingling “knee replacement” surgery  (see "A Mother’s Love").

I think there are several reasons why I am feeling like this, but the major one is that the journey which led me to creating this blog is incredibly distressing and heart breaking, as the relationship between me and the beautifully special Modern Day Maria spiralled into the abyss (see "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?").  An “always great” relationship detonated because of deep rooted issues on love that have never been resolved and which brought me inches from losing my life on several occasions.  Maria intervened to save my life on one of those occasions in June 2010 and a beautiful Angel with the face of Maria on another (see "I Believe In Angels") until she finally put paid to our joint crisis in May 2011. I have never cried so much both on the inside and out and I still shed a few tears every now and again (such as this morning ).

I think the worst thing you can do when you have experienced a deep trauma and come out of the other side is to try and pretend it never happened. In other words, to bottle it up into a ball of emotions and feelings and try to displace it to a part in your body where it will be forgotten until time reruns the Ice Age, which I suspect is what the lovely Modern Day Maria is trying to do and many people mistakenly do that.  All that does is provide you with a temporary and (very) false sense of accord, which will lead to further headaches down the road, as if you don’t deal with a problem at the root cause it will always (in my opinion) and 99.9% of the time - come back and haunt you;  Next time you may crash harder and this time there may not be an ejector seat (as in the pic above) or a beautiful Angel to save you (and Angels come in many forms!).  Sometimes of course, the root cause cannot be dealt with (say for example if the other party/parties involved are no longer with us), is a situation beyond your control or is extremely difficult to deal with due to reasons such as described in my article, "A Mother’s Love";  Or sometimes - and as described in my Valentine’s Day article on True Love, “The Lonely Goatherd” - a tremendous opportunity arises from the tragic events of the past that will allow what was not solvable before due to its deep rooted and painful nature to now be readily solvable and, in mine and Maria’s situation, all it needs is for our paths to adjoin once again and this time we will be bonded with Superglue – I know as I am buying it by the truckload in anticipation!

Yet despite everything we went through, I believe it was destiny and sometimes life throws heartrending events at us to test us and to help shape us and prepare for the next step in our evolution, which can lead to far greater positives in the future and in this case - fingers and toes crossed – our blissful reunion.  This blog may be one step in the process of that evolution and if you are reading this estranged Maria , it would be wonderful to share this experience with you and, as you will see if you click on the “My Posts” link which then categorises the articles I have written, there is a “Guest Writer’s” position which has yet to be filled!

Now I have put my thoughts down on internet paper, I have cheered myself up - at least for the now - and so with that I look forward to where this blog will lead me and us maybe/ even and if there are any companies that may be interested in sponsoring this blog then please get in contact, as I am now looking for a GLOBAL sponsor that will help take this to the next level. Maybe with my sponsorship monies I can hire a helicopter with a “theSarayiahpost.com” banner to circle over a certain high end furniture store in SW London to help promote my site and the LOVE it radiates x.

That aside, saying sorry is often described as the most difficult act in the world, as to do so it means you have to have to open up and acknowledge your mistake, dealing with those emotions and feelings that may have been buried deep in your nether regions and supposedly - depending on the gravity of that mistake - the harder it is to atone for and the longer you leave it the harder it becomes.  But once that step is taken it is cathartic for everyone involved and can heal in ways that no medicine, therapy or even Carlsberg can (if they did healing :-)). You feel better, they feel better – it is a win–win situation and the trauma lived is hopefully neutralised at the root.

Life is the most precious thing and it is tough and short enough as it is without us adding to the mix and our own unhappiness so shouldn’t we do everything we can to help others and ourselves to feel Alive and Truly Happy?

Isaac

Xx

Ps. Coming soon will be my exclusive and in depth interview with performance artist and singer, ‘Countess’ Alex Zapak.

Picture of our fabulous Mother, Hannah walking sister Pamela Sarayiah Down the Aisle on her Wedding Day, Sept 2008

...Today being Mother’s day I would like to pay tribute to my most wonderful mum, Hannah, and to all your wonderful mums out there who no doubt had the hardest job in the world in bringing up their loved ones! I can tell you for a fact, I know my mum did with me (and still does) :-)x.  And for those whose mums are now no longer with us then hopefully you have splendid memories of your mother’s nurturing, care and protection of you as her child that will provide comfort and solace and that she lives long and vibrant in those reflections.

My mum is 76 years young now and sadly her health is not what it once was and with a knee operation pending next week - which gives me the shivers every time I think about it – I can only hope that it is successful and helps her be mobile once again.  She is being very pragmatic about it which is interesting as she will worry about her children like there is no tomorrow, but faced with a major operation she is seemingly calm and collected!

Yet it is very sad to see my mum inactive when once she was so outgoing.  As a child we could never go anywhere without her bumping into one of her many friends and stopping for a 10 minute chat - much to mine and my sisters’ despair who just wanted to get to our destination, which was often the local Iceland supermarket!

My mum always brings joy and happiness to whoever she is around, as she is empathetic, giving and loving. She would always rather give to someone whether it is family, friends or even a relative stranger, rather than take or go without and she is loved by many; I hypothesise if she (a) were computer literate and (b) had a Facebook account the number of facebook friends she would have would stretch far… I will just add here though that impressively she can text and even teaches some of her friends how to!

She travelled here from Guyana in the 1960’s, which is to be found at the top of South America and is part of the Caribbean, where she met our subsequent father (also Guyanese).  She had a tough childhood being one of many siblings back home in Guyana, but came over here for a better life, as did many at that time and worked very hard to achieve that and then to bring up 3 children.  I would say we were pretty much a poor family throughout our childhood and so it definitely wasn’t easy especially compounded with what I can only imagine, would be the problems associated with being an immigrant in a foreign country in the 60’s and 70’s.  Then when my father passed away in 1990 she was left to continue to raise us on her own, but I think on the whole she has done a very good job and, in my opinion, should be knighted for being a shining example to Humanity and a 100% warm-hearted person that every community should have!  She does have the odd pitfall though – one of which is that she is an avid viewer of EastEnders and Coronation Street, but then no-one is perfect and we all have issues!

Parenting is never easy and being a mum is thought of as the hardest job in the world and is full of sacrifice, but loving unconditionally really costs nothing and that bond from a mother to a child is of course very special.  It is this powerful form of love that all of us look for as a child from our parents and then again in our adult lives when trying to find the all-encompassing magical relationship – a relationship that will make us float on cloud nine for the rest of our lives (see my Valentine’s Day article, "The Lonely Goatherd").

But unfortunately, sometimes life doesn’t translate like that and many of us will have had difficult childhoods maybe in part due to the lack of love and care provided to us as a child from our parents.  This can affect us deeply and make it very difficult for us to deal with love and relationships at many levels (see "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" and "I Believe In Angels").  It is also an incredibly difficult thing to resolve as this is deep rooted.   I recently interviewed performance artist, ‘Countess’ Alex Zapak, who in one of her songs states that, “Love is the agitator.”  In other words, Love is the impetus for us all and defines and shapes our lives forever.

Of course, many of you reading this will be mothers and fathers yourselves so need no introduction as to how difficult parenting can be.  I am not a parent as yet and also had a difficult childhood (mainly due to the relationship with my father) and accordingly I know I was never the easiest of children to bring up unlike my 2 sisters who were relatively saints compared to me and who still are! 

Lorna Byrne, a person who I recently discovered whilst browsing books in the store WH Smiths and is the author of “Angels in My Hair” and “A Message of Hope From The Angels” says, “Parenting is the hardest job in the world, and people are not trained or prepared for it. Many mothers were never shown love themselves as a child and didn't know how to show it in turn to their own children. You though have the chance to show love to your mother and acknowledge a job well done.”

My sisters and I are fortunate to have been born to a mother who is as beautiful, as she is loving and has given us unconditional love from the point of conception. Of course there will always be difficult times in that relationship, but no mother or child is perfect. I just hope that wherever you are in the world today and whatever your circumstances that today is a joyful and blessed day for you both, as a child and as a mother and parent.

Happy Mother’s Day .

xx

Picture of Isaac Sarayiah's 40th Birthday Cake in "Celebration of Life"

Picture of Isaac's "Celebration of Life" 40th Birthday Cake with a LOT of Candles!

Continued Celebrations After Blowing Out All Those Candles(!) Picture by Dafyyd Jones www.dafjones.com

...Today I reach the grand old age of 40 having been born 5 hours ahead of the 29^th Feb in 1972 in what was a leap year - otherwise I would be a mere 10 years of age today (but a rather odd looking 10 year old if I do say so myself :-)).  I do wonder what the people who are born on the 29^th Feb do for their Birthday’s every 3 years out of the 4 and do they suffer an identity crisis because of it? I think if I was born on the 29^th Feb I would have 2 Birthdays – one on each side of the year – to compensate. In fact, in one year, whilst I was studying for my Masters at University College, Durham University – and I use the word “studying” in the loosest of senses, as I almost got kicked out for my preference to party with the undergraduates as opposed to reading a list of books as long as my arm – I did have 2 birthday celebrations. The first one – on my actual Birthday and I always do things on the day as opposed to postponing for the weekend – annoying to some, but just one of my fetishes;  I hired a coach for about 30 of us to go and party in York which (for my International readers) is a city about 75 miles away from Durham and both are in the North East of England and where I had studied for my undergraduate degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). I had wowed :-) my fellow University College students with my stories of York and thought it would be fun to show them the pleasures of the city and how to party! In delight they gave me a ginormous card, about half the size of 5’8” tall me, signed with witty (and some crude) comments from everyone.

The second Birthday celebration was a week later when my fellow Durham friends who couldn’t make the road trip held a surprise dinner for me. I recall how a first year student at the time was sent to collect me from my room and they took me on a maze of avenues and streets in Durham venturing random premises before we reached our final destination where – to my astonishment – there were about 30 first year undergraduate friends waiting for me to celebrate at this restaurant. Ah those were the days...

I was 23 that time, as that was 1995 and it seems – in the words of George Lucas, “…A Galaxy Far Far Away.” Since then my life has been a roller coaster with great highs but equally devastating lows as relayed on here (See "How Do you Solve A Problem Like Maria?" and "I Believe In Angels") and, as one of my closest of friend’s - Michael Gelardi – said to me recently as I ventured with him to a recording studio for him to record the song he has written, “Lady Love” (and to be delivery boy with the beers and food)  – that it was touch and go whether I would even see 39 let alone 40.   Well thanks to the beautiful Angel which appeared to me on that day in Dec 2010 (See "I Believe In Angels"), I am still here and now sharing my views to try and help everyone unlock the Mysteries of Life, Love and Relationships…So I trust everyone will have a wonderful day and today I am going to party like it is 1995 and celebrate my life with my friends and family with a very special thank you and Love to the Angel.

Love Always

Isaac

Xxx

PS. To listen to my friend, Michael Gelardi's, song, “Lady Love,” where he also performs on keyboard and is sung by, Rubin Richards click here http://dl.dropbox.com/u/60327287/Lady%20Love%20MASTER.mp3

[6th March 2012: A quick update to say that it was a very special evening. A wonderful thank you to all those who braved what is colloquially known as a "School Night" to attend :-)x. A couple of pics from the night have been added to the beginning of the article, but more can be seen at my Facebook profile - www.facebook.com/sarayiah Xx]

The Lonely Goatherd Clip from The Sound of Music (1965), Sung by Julie Andrews' Maria and the Children

...My most cherished Valentine’s Day present is from the beautiful and enchanting Modern Day version of Julie Andrew’s Maria (see "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"…). It is ‘just’ a card but what the card says and embodies is what makes it so special.  It is titled “RED HOT LOVER” on the front in silver and black writing with the “RED” made from silver beads and inside she has smooched all over it in scarlet red lipstick. To put it bluntly, I was stunned and blown away.  I still have that card and it stands proud near my bedside and is very much part of me, as of course she is and naturally, I yearn to kiss her real luscious pouting lips every day :-)x.

Destiny would have our paths adjoin in Oct 07 via a rather risqué internet dating ad I had placed seeking a “Fantastic Kisser” and she answered.  Her email response to me that day is, as I have told her, simply the most breath-taking email I have ever read and it was as if she knew how important we would become to each other before we had even met, let alone mutually corresponded in any form.  She mentions finding my “electric kisser” to “kiss forever and ever” and how glad she was, that there are people like me alive on the face of the earth!   These gestures personify this most precious of human beings’ and, as I say, this modern version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical star is every bit as special as Julie Andrew’s portrayal of the charmed nun turned governess.

It also just goes to show that when you are sharing today with your partner of the time or if so fortunate to be with your very real soul mate – it doesn’t need to be fancy or lavish, it just needs to come from the Heart; Just like you shouldn’t wait for a special day like today to show your feelings for another.  It doesn’t have to be long-stemmed roses or chocolates or heart shaped helium balloons that leap out from an unassuming white cardboard box when opened or even an expensive meal out or an intimate weekend getaway (of course they can all be fabulous too). It can be the simplest but most powerful of gestures such as a beautiful card as described here, say with an elegant rose ‘hidden’ inside or a simple but thoughtful text message that took months to plan showing your depths of love, trust and respect for that person.  All that matters is that it comes with meaning and purposeful thought just as any gift should.

Of course, due to the nature and complexities of us and the world at large, very few will be with their life partner today for a plethora of reasons - and human beings enter into relationships for all sorts of reasons and generally the wrong ones;  Some are in a stage of their life when they are only looking for fun – a stage I was more than happy to go through in my 20’s :-) (I am now 40 in 2 weeks from today!), some are on the stepping stones of relationships through life until they meet their Ultimate desire, some are confused, many manufacture their love kidding themselves it will work, some are on the fabled “rebound” and some of the rare minority who experience the Truest of Loves may not be able to deal with it due to very deep rooted issues stemming from childhood.

The deep rooted issues that plunged mine and Maria’s life into darkness was due to the latter, but the truth underlying our relationship is symbolised by her stunning card and embodied in everything we stand for and how at one we feel when holding hands, embracing each other or even just frolicking on the phone.  There are many facets to True Love of course and even though sadly it is looking increasingly unlikely we will be sharing our bodies with one another on a day this special, as we are yet to break tongue since she finally put stop to our entwined despair in late May last year (see "I Believe In Angels") - I do not believe we have ever been apart since we met, only in the descriptive physical sense.  We have always been able to sense each other’s feelings and emotions and at times pick up on each other’s thoughts wherever we stand, as our molecules and spirit vibe in unison and warp distance and time. And as I say in my previous articles, "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" and “I Believe in Angels”, hopefully it is only time now before we are able to banish the injustices and traumas of the past in both our younger and more recent contexts to move forward together in perfect rhythm and harmony in a childhood dream cum reality.  To grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and make this modern day fairy-tale scenario actual where, I believe, the stage is set for all the pain and heartache from the deepest pits of our stomachs to evaporate in an abracadabra style unifying kiss, this uniquely spiritually engaged Maria will hopefully manage to break her self-imposed convent style vow of silence and answer my radiating vibes once again .

So what of the all the other singletons out there today or the people still seeking their True mate? The person they have danced with over centuries past?  Well in fairy-tale puppet style we can all, at some point in our lives, identify and take inspiration from the handsome story of "The Lonely Goatherd,” as sung by the original and equally multi-talented, Julie Andrews’ Sound of Music Maria.  It tells the story of - well a lonely, but rather dashing goatherd who - high on a hill top - is searching for his true love and sends out his vibes in the form of “Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo” and “Lay ee odl lay ee odl-ooAh.”

Personally I have never tried this approach before, but chemistry comes in all forms and guises and clearly his vocals are strong as is his musical prowess and his octaves vibrate far and wide, penetrating the souls of many. One beautiful girl in a pale pink coat resonates with his harmonious tones and responds in unison – just as I placed my internet dating ad and Maria resonated with my vibes!

Now I am not saying to find your soul mate you have to go out and start yodelling. In fact, in today’s X-Factor audition era, it may be your wonderful attempts to woo that very special person this way go unappreciated and you may end up being arrested for breach of the peace!  However, never one to stamp on enthusiasm, should this article inspire those daring enough to conjure up their yodelling talent and you find yourself equally blessed with a megaphone then by all means let the streets of far and away from wherever you live hear your dulcet (fingers crossed) tones.  After all, the once lonely goatherd is no longer lonely and blessed with True Happiness with his beautiful blonde pig-tailed companion and child, as depicted by the wonderful mini puppetry musical.

We are fortunate though, for us more reserved characters, that in the modern era we do not need to yodel to find our true loved one, but simply to venture our vibes into the ether in a myriad of more modern forms. In my case it was a dating ad, in your case it could be simply bumping into your soul mate in a Tesco Supermarket, via speed dating, on holiday in the Caribbean or even high up on the Inca Trail in Peru.  What this beautiful clip from the magical Sound of Music illustrates is that it will happen if you keep an open mind and listen to the world around you – you just don’t know when or where. However, just as I did, you will hopefully realise as soon as you meet that uniquely special person and in her words, electric kiss, forever and ever.

Happy Valentines Day Everyone.

And Modern Day Maria, “Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo” …

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wacky Races Clip Copyright (c) Hanna Barbera 1968-69 and the Cartoon Network

...I am sure those of us at (and beyond) a certain age :-), will remember the sheer carnage depicted in the Hanna Barbera classic cartoon, “Wacky Races” and the devious antics of Dick Dastardly and Muttley.  The villainy duo tried to overthrow the likes of the Ant Hill Mob and Penelope Pitstop with their wicked deeds in order to win the race at any cost.

Insanely some of today’s drivers seem intent on recreating the cartoon and these characters in real life and maybe it was just me, but around the festive season it was as if I was an unwilling participant in one of these “Wacky” races.  Some drivers seemed to have lost all sense of road and safety etiquette as they risked not only the lives of others but theirs too, to seemingly win some “mythical” race.  I witnessed people dangerously driving way too close to the vehicle in front and at speed (not that tailgating at low speed is any better), cutting people up, appearing from out of junctions as if they were a bunny appearing from a hat, not indicating (but that seems to be all too common these days as is speeding) and I hope not, but suspect, drink driving too.

This level of irresponsibility is just a disaster waiting to happen for everyone involved including innocent pedestrians whose fate may be sealed by the Dick Dastardly of the modern road rage era; and on XMAS day, I was the victim of one of the copycat villainy duo who hit me from behind whilst I was stationary causing me whiplash. I have always been nervous when I see someone driving too close to me and in this instance I had no chance and nowhere to go other than into the busy North Circular Road (a busy dual carriageway in London for my international readers) at a not opportune moment.  I saw the driver’s Renault Clio getting closer and closer in my rear view mirror and remember thinking, “Ooh they are getting close” and hoping they would stop until “CRASH, BANG WALLOP!”  As it turned out, my one real driving accident would be caused by someone who works for the ambulance service and if you were to be hit by anyone - I suppose in theory - you couldn’t be hit by anyone better except this person was in shock and I was more concerned about their well-being rather than myself.  Fortunately, I should make a full recovery after physio and destiny has it that my path would cross an expert in whiplash injuries and the other side has now admitted liability, but the knock on effects from a minor incident like that are time consuming as well as depressing in the sense that I can’t do what I would normally due to injury. Plus psychologically there is an injury too and I am definitely more anxious at times now when driving.

In cartoon land you can drive into someone and even blow them up using ACME branded dynamite without remorse and magically everyone is restored to full and normal working order in the next print. In the real world people and families can lose loved ones due to the senseless driving of others.  Does anyone need reminding of the horrific motorway pile up on the M5 a month before XMAS and which was caused by tailgating and driving at speed in bad weather conditions?  Innocent parties who were keeping their distance and following the commonsensical approach to driving sadly stood no chance from the arrogance and idiocy of those behind.

This style of driving should remain on the cartoon canvas and not in the 21^st Century – the fact that cars are safer and have shorter braking distances today doesn’t mean we have to put them to the test! The dangers and consequences are all too apparent and it is shocking that a tragedy like that seemingly does nothing to make drivers more aware and cautious.  My accident was minor so imagine the trauma caused to those and their families, loved ones and friends etc when it results in fatalities or serious injury.

Life has a habit of throwing a curveball at you when you least expect it, but that doesn’t mean you have to be the cause of the curveball on yourself or on others.  One of the themes of my blog is trying to change the way people think - to be able to see the bigger picture before rushing into decisions and to try and conceptualise the consequences of those actions/ decisions and their ripple effects etc before they even happen (See The Butterfly Effect).  Imagine how you would feel if you caused harm to another human being by your reckless and carefree driving, let alone the follow on consequences?

I am firmly of the belief you should treat others as you would like to be treated yourself;  To me, giving in life is all so important to one’s well-being and Karma and to give one a chance of being able to be “Truly HAPPY.”  For example, when you brighten up someone’s day – doesn’t that make you feel good too? And giving can take many forms from the transference of kind words such as complimenting someone, the giving of a long overdue apology for pain and heartache caused in the past, asking how someone is and wishing them a wonderful day, to simply a smile and making someone laugh (incidentally, in Hebrew, my name “Isaac” means gift of “laughter” except that I tend to laugh at my own jokes and sound a lot like Muttley in the process!); and what better with Valentine’s Day round the corner to open your Heart to someone very special and telling them you Truly love them and like no other x… Naturally, giving also applies to thinking of others safety on the roads and being considerate and thoughtful to your fellow driver.

Always try and take a step back to consider the causal effects of your actions on the parties involved and think it through to the end conclusion – if necessary break it down into steps to make this easier and this can apply to anything in life and not just driving of course.  But for example, imagine how tense someone must be feeling when they see your bonnet up their tailpipe and how dangerous that is! I utilise this way of thinking every day in my life to some degree or another depending on how important the issue is to me. By doing so it helps me find solutions to problems and importantly pre-empt problems, as well as helping achieve the outcome I desire.

The theme of using the infamous cartoon as a base for an article may seem light hearted in nature, but the message I am trying to make couldn’t be more serious so please let’s leave the wacky races to YouTube and reruns on the Cartoon Network and help make the world a safer place…

And for those who went to the ACME School of Driving please take time to revisit the Highway Code which can be downloaded for  here:

http://www.ldcdownloads.co.uk/pdfs/highwaycode.pdf

Also if you are in need of a real life fabulous driving instructor and are in or near the NW London, UK area then get in contact and I will pass on their details.

Please have a safe and beautiful day.

Love

Isaac Xxx

Happy New Year from The Sarayiah family, from left - our Mum, Me (duh!) and sisters, Pamela and Camilla Sarayiah x

...Naturally, not one to spell doom and gloom :-), I would like to wish Lynx very well in its genius “2012 End of the World” marketing ploy, as of course should the Mayans and the Conspiracists be right and the mystifying Planet X – last heard about in the mid 80’s  – combine to bring about an effective whitewash of the Human Race, then in the weeks of panic leading up to that – we will no doubt be rushing to stock up on Lynx’s final creation to stop us perspiring to death.

Life of course is very precious and should Lynx and the doomsayers be right then it is our last chance to rejoice in the splendour of a New Year and consider one of those fabled New Year’s Resolutions. Logically, it may all prove a bit pointless given what is predicted, but I think I have a good one and it will keep up morale as the European Union implodes and equity and debt markets collapse around the world leading to the greatest depression we will ever witness, but only if we are not fortunate for our time to be cut short by Armageddon.

In Nov 09, the lovely Maria (see How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? and I Believe In Angels) suggested I watch “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne and investigate the Law of Attraction, which it engulfs, as she herself had just read the book and was intrigued.  Unknown to her until then I actually had the DVD version for 2 years, but never watched it – until that fateful day.  The Law of Attraction, as I was to discover, is about positivity and interacting with the causal laws of the Universe (see The Butterfly Effect) and visualising our dreams to make them happen and as we were texting each other back and forth as to what it really meant and having a bit of fun in the process, I decided that another positive step would be to give up profanity.

I acknowledge that this is easier said than done, but probably no more difficult than giving up smoking or Sudoku etc (not that I smoke and I still can’t figure out how to do Sudoku).  So after telling myself that day I was not going to swear anymore and then somehow still shocked at finding myself uttering words my mum would be aghast at, I began to train my thoughts to obey my wishes until it gradually became easier and easier not to swear. Today I do not swear (or very, very rarely) even when all those around me seem to not know any other words of expression and I have to say I feel all the better for it. Of course you do notice it immediately when someone around you does utter what is now (for me) the unspeakable and you have to fight the temptation to follow suit and swear at them for swearing and maybe admonish them for their needless profanity.

So clearly this is not a New Year’s Resolution for the faint hearted as you need fortitude and courage to go against your peers and to tread where very few people have been before, but if you think you are up to it and are stuck in a dilemma whether to retry the carrot juice diet again or give up swearing I know which one I would chose. And if the worse comes to the worst and on 21^st Dec 2012 you are faced with a Tsunami the size of Manhattan you will be so proud of yourself for not letting the Human Race down in the final moments by cursing!

Help make the world a better place…Think Differently!

Happy 2012 ;-).

Love from The Sarayiah’s

xxx

...As we approach the end of a year, many reflect as to where they were 12 months ago and what has transpired since. To reflect upon mistakes made, wonderful times had and maybe some bad times had too.  Encompassing that is our spirituality or our religion/ beliefs and what this time of the year really means.  I am not religious, but I am spiritual and that spirituality has only been enhanced over the past 12 months as my beliefs, love and loyalties remained absolute (and still do) when faced with a tremendous challenge in my life.

As readers of this blog and indeed my Facebook wall will know I was going through a very tough time, but it was in December last year that I was at my very lowest.  I was probably functioning about 10% and in tears pretty much most of the time - I was that low.  All of this was a natural progression from a chain of events (The Butterfly Effect) that started in Jan 2010 due to what I believe was a lack of communication between myself and the person I believe wholeheartedly is my soul mate, the wonderful and beautiful modern day Maria (see prequel article, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?).  Due to the events that were transpiring, my heart and spirit had been broken and I was literally knocking on Heaven’s Gates. In other words, I was on my knees. It was a desperate situation.

Yet very positive situations can occur from deeply negative occurrences and I had always believed – due to my knowledge of the truth of the situation and the bigger picture – that this would be the case and which would ultimately result in our reunion.  I believe that if you understand the fundamentals (truth) of a situation and can see the bigger picture then you will see the only outcome that is inevitable and before it happens – like looking into the future. Yet, almost a year on since this terrible situation had started it was showing no signs of going away (in fact it was getting worse) and I was shattered and even though these beliefs remained resolute I was in so much pain and heartache that I simply didn’t want to be here anymore and my body and brain were shutting down – even my speech was becoming slurred.

But on 21st Dec 2010 – a year to the day - I was to experience something that in hindsight would mark the beginning of my revival and show me that I was being protected by higher energies.  As I say I am not religious and never really thought about Angels before as something that actually existed outside of fabled tales and the Bible of course.  However, I was this morning to witness first hand this apparition and this was to trigger a series of events that would save my life and ultimately bring me to where I am today…a much revitalised Isaac!  They say that Angels appear at a persons’ lowest point – at their time most in need - to protect and guide them and as I lay awake in bed at 5.45am, tears streaming down my face, I saw a bright light. Initially I thought that was it, as it is well documented that many who are close to dying experience a bright light and they move towards it. I thought it was now my time to go and to be honest I would have gone happily as I was desperately unhappy – I just wanted to be at Peace. But the light I was witnessing, as I seemingly moved closer towards it, proved to be emanating from the body of a beautiful Angel who had come to me with the face of Maria (I was later to research this and it is said Angels will often appear with the face of someone close to the person in need and who they trust). The Angel’s form was as is depicted in many illustrations that you will find on the web and in literature and whilst basking in her glow, I began to feel at peace and restful – all my pain was being taken away and I was being healed.

This experience lasted about 8 minutes and after that I just lay there in panic, not knowing what to do. I was alone in my sister’s flat and was unsure as to what just happened meant and was frightened…Was I actually dying? Do I call an ambulance (999)? What do I do?  I decided the best course of action was to text the person who had been in charge of my care over the Summer months, Dr Adrian Lord of the Cygnet Hospital, Harrow – a person who I had built up a rapport and level of trust with. I saw him that day and a couple of days later my family paid for me to be in hospital over this critical period so I spent XMAS and New Year in a private hospital with 2 other patients – not much of a XMAS, but it kept me alive and the food was good – not that I was eating much.

Then in May of this year, the terrible ordeal that started in Jan 2010 ended exactly how I had predicted it would – pretty much to the astonishment of everyone I think - and I was handed my life back.  I was still low, but not at those extreme levels...

To be fully recovered Maria and I need to heal each other and though we are yet to speak directly I believe we are well on that path now – a path which will hopefully see our eternal flame rekindled as we embark on a conjoined life full of excitement, happiness and sexual ecstasy :-) and together, I believe, we can do some truly wondrous things and hopefully help many.

It goes to show that if you don’t stop a mistake once realised in its tracks the ripple effects of that mistake can be truly horrendous, but at the same time tremendous positivity from the deep negative is I believe just at its beginning. This blog is now my passion and I would never have created this if it hadn’t been for those 16 months and its success has so far been stunning.  Equally I met some truly wonderful people whilst in hospital whom I would never have met if none of this had happened and one of them has a luxury apartment in Malaga, Spain where I have been recovering from time to time as their guest, which equally would never had happened.

I also believe the deep issues behind why this all happened are now solvable which would not have been possible had this situation between us not actually occurred and I had not taken the stance I did to show her just how much I truly care.

Ultimately, this experience has made me believe in destiny and that the Universe is always speaking to you and you just need to listen. It was Maria that told me about the Law of Attraction (The Secret, Rhonda Byrne) – how we can interact with the causal laws of the Universe to make things happen - and I believe in that, except after this episode in my life, I believe whatever outcome happens has already been pre-destined.  Yes of course tough times will happen and sometimes they are beyond our control and you just have to step back and trust, as Steve Jobs says, that the dots connect ultimately in a positive manner, whether that be in your life or the impacted life of others. To me now everything is written and the key to unlocking the mysteries of life and understanding those outcomes before they happen are within each and every one of us – you just need to really want it, be prepared for sacrifice and trust in who you are as a human being; To not be afraid to go against the grain and to think differently…

Finally, I would just like to thank my amazing family and friends who have showed me so much love and who worked tirelessly and sacrificed so much to protect me that equally none of this would be possible without them and which has also brought us much closer together as a family – another powerful positive x.

Life is fun again and I have my mojo back :-)x…

Merry XMAS xx

Kelly Rowland Perfoming on X Factor, 4th Dec 2011 copyright (c) ITV and X Factor 2011

...As of last week, theSarayiahpost.com broke into the top 1m websites in the world for traffic (and in the top 10,000 in London) as ranked by Alexa, having only launched in late August and a jump of over 26m places; If I can help just one person from this site then my efforts have been worthwhile so thank you to all those who have taken the time to visit my creation and continue to spread the word x.

To celebrate, join me in taking delight at the stunning Kelly Rowland’s refreshing performance on the UK version of the X Factor on Sunday night…

Having fun in life and being true to who you really are as a person and human being and your deepest of passions - in everything you do - is so important and a fundamental in being Truly Happy, as is being with your truest of loves. Kelly’s performance is engaging, inspiring and it is clear just from her body language that she was having fun on stage and thoroughly enjoying the vibe of the evening, which she herself helped create by her openness and interaction with the audience and the reaction was one of adoration. Positivity breeds positivity…

Enjoy the video.

Have a fabulous day.

be FREE be ALIVE :-)x

...I often believe people, companies and governments think they are autonomous to the natural law of Cause and Effect and only see the short term gains as opposed to the possible long term pain.  Sometimes decisions are made that don't even provide a short term gain as what was thought to be the right thing to have done, turns out on reflection to have been the very wrong thing to have done!  We have all heard of the fabled beautiful butterfly that flaps its wings and the ever increasing ripple effects of that causes a hurricane 1000 miles away.

In my article dated 15^th August 2011 titled, “Stupid Politicians” I cite, due to the short termism by politicians when dealing with the original debt crisis in 2007/8 there is now, in my opinion, no solution to the global debt crisis at the sovereign level and that it is only a matter of time before the world effectively implodes due to the full effects of this crisis.  This process can currently be seen with rising debt yields in certain countries to unsustainable levels and falling equity and commodity prices across the globe as the contagion spreads like a virus and I believe it is now likely that a market crash is plausible (see previous post titled, Black Friday for technical argument).

On 22^nd September 2011, I post the following on the blog of trader Carl Futia:

“…If history repeats itself we will most likely have a strong equity market rally until mid/end of October before complete collapse in equity, commodity and bond markets etc across the world.”

Hopefully, the world and the politicians and bankers who run it will learn from this debacle we are all witnessing and that a key ingredient when attempting to solve a crisis (or indeed any problem) is to always take a step back and try to look at the bigger picture and the fundamentals (truth) of a situation before acting and to try and extrapolate to the ultimate consequence of the actions you make – not just the immediate reactionary consequence. In other words think ahead and read between the lines, as very little of what is said is generally the truth and non-verbal communication makes up for 93% of all communication!  Furthermore, what this crisis amply demonstrates is that by not dealing with the root cause of a problem and instead by papering over it, as we all may have a tendency to do at times whether it be with a relationship, work or money issues etc, you never solve it and it is just storing up greater and more severe problems in the future.

Under the law of Cause and Effect, every action and decision we make has consequences and those consequences have consequences etc and every time we leave a problem unsolved it affects us in our daily lives and those ripple effects grow until at some point they may topple us just as countries are being toppled now. After all, we are all to some degree, a function of our past.

I recently went through a very tough time, but always kept my faith and belief in what the eventual outcome would be and sometimes very negative situations happen so that even more positive situations can occur.  If you can understand the fundamentals and the bigger picture of any given situation then, just like a mathematical equation, there can (I hypothesise) be only one outcome. Of course sometimes you have to take your best guess and we will always make mistakes, but generally, as long as we acknowledge and learn from them and care about and help others and our environment then we can hopefully put the errors of the past right before disaster strikes (except in this global meltdown :-)).

On that cheerful note and as there is nothing we can do about solving this crisis, have a wonderful day and some fun and if you need to Heal someone by saying sorry for a past error then why not make that call today and brighten up both your days .

Love

Isaac

Xx

[Further articles that illustrate "The Butterfly Effect" include: "Stupid Politicans", "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?", "Steve Jobs iRIP 1955-2011", "I Believe In Angels", "Wacky Races", "Staying Alive" and "The Naked Countess"]

Image from www.cartoonstock.com

...Following on from my article,The Butterfly Effect; and as today is known as Black Friday in the United States then I thought I would call this article the same…the relevance should be become apparent as you read it.  What now follows is a current analysis of key equity markets and why I believe we are heading much lower from todays' current levels.

At the time of writing, the FTSE 100 index in the UK and the Dow 30 and S&P 500 in the US - which are leading world indices - have completed Head & Shoulder patterns on the weekly charts.  Should the stock market falls continue, then within days the charts should post sell signals on the MACD (a widely watched technical indicator) at the weekly level.

A Head & Shoulders pattern is a bearish pattern that signals a potential fall in markets. In addition, the FTSE 100 is now below the key 200 day Moving Average on the weekly chart which is another sell signal and very bearish even though the Dow and S&P 500 have yet to breach that key level on their relative 24 hour trading charts.

Should these patterns play out then they indicate a minimum fall of 20% from current market levels and once the sell signal is triggered on the weekly charts, the fall could take the form of large one day drops or controlled falls, but seeing the current price action of the markets where the FTSE 100 index has fallen for 9 straight days it is leading me to believe that a huge one day sell off could be imminent. I post pictures of these charts for reference (click image to enlarge).

FTSE 100 Weekly Bar Chart

FTSE 100 Weekly MACD

Dow Jones Industrial Average Weekly Bar Chart

Dow Jones Industrial Average Weekly MACD

S&P 500 Weekly Bar Chart

S&P500 Weekly MACD

These charts are based on 24 hour trading and not on the daily cash charts. Also I am only looking at a selection of technical indicators (some of which I do not discuss in this article) and I must stress that this is purely my opinion and I am not qualified to give financial trading advice. Please read the terms and conditions on my blog for further information.

However, once the neckline on these Head & Shoulder formations is broken (as indicated by the black thick line in the weekly bar chart graphs), only a move higher above the peak of the Head on each index will nullify this bearish pattern, but it is my opinion that this will not happen and next year markets will move significantly lower than their 2008 stock market lows.

By taking a step back to study the bigger (Global) picture and understand the fundamentals, the inevitable conclusion is of this dramatic outcome.

Image of Steve Jobs, CEO Apple & Pixar

...I will be the first to acknowledge that I don’t own an Apple product and I am very much in the minority as I think everyone who I know does. But, as the world today mourns a phenomenal visionary, we should delight in that Steve Jobs was of our time and demonstrated his ethos via his actions and has changed people’s lives and indeed the world forever.

He embodied what life, in my eyes, should be about: Thinking freely, not being afraid to make a stand, to live for what you believe and not for what society tells you to believe or how you should live your life; To go with your gut even if a million people don’t see it your way - if you can justify your thinking and stance, be brave enough to see it through.

Steve Jobs embodied the philosophy of seeing the bigger picture when making decisions and - in his case - the very true global picture and to make decisions based on that rather than what is just visible with the naked eyes.

And, in the tough times, when life hits you with an avalanche always try and maintain faith and belief that this is part of your destiny and that at some point, “the dots will somehow connect in the future.”

“You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers… And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle,“ Steve Jobs, Stanford University 2005... And I will add one thing to that – if you’ve found your True Love, go for it and be Truly iHAPPY.

Below, Steve Jobs' Speech at Stanford University, 2005

Image of Julie Andrews, The Sound of Music (1965)

...The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer is one of the all-time greats and definitely one of my favourite films. I remember, as both a child and an adult, passionately huddling round the TV with my family watching around XMAS time.  In fact it was never XMAS until the Sound of Music was aired.  For those few who don’t know, it tells the enchanting love story of how a most beautiful, charming, delightful and very talented nun, Maria falls in love with Captain Von Trapp, a retired naval officer. As they get to know each other Captain Von Trapp finally stomachs up the courage to admit his feelings for her and they get married to live happily ever after.  But only after the wonderful Maria, frightened of her true feelings for the Captain tried to deny those feelings and runs away from the situation and the Captain, back to the convent from whence she came.  I surmise, that if the story had ended there then I doubt the film would have ever been as successful, as it would have been a very sad ending to something that could have been so amazing and special, but fortunately for both Maria and Captain Von Trapp (and of course the children) common sense and true love prevailed. Interestingly the Sound of Music is based on a True Story.

Almost 4 years ago, I met the modern day version of Maria; Charming, Beautiful, Warm, Kind, Intelligent, Creative, Great with furniture rearranging and the list just keeps on going and we embarked on what was to become my most important relationship. In fact, in hindsight I had fallen deeply in love with her from the moment we met. She is, I believe, my soul mate and being with this person was the most incredible time of my life.

Alas, we didn’t have sing-alongs around her open hearth – in fact come to think of it I don’t think I’ve ever heard her sing (and I can’t sing), but what we lacked in musical charm we made up for in other ways and it was, “always great.”

But as I was to find out, sometimes fate holds a cruel deck of cards and regardless how strong the bond is between two people, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we will be physically together forever…well not at that moment in time.  In our case the circumstances that transpired were truly horrific and didn’t end until May this year, having imploded in Jan 2010 and it happened, I believe, due to a lack of communication on a sensitive topic and just snowballed. But people make mistakes and the key thing is to rectify those mistakes and sometimes all it takes is a simple sorry or nudge to restart a path with tremendous possibilities and happiness.

The story emphasises the importance of problem solving from the outset and seeing the bigger picture. By talking open and honestly you can express your feelings and so allow the other person/ party to have a better gauge of the situation and importantly by getting things off your chest, you feel better whereas bottling things in only aides in negativity. Of course, sometimes doing so entails overcoming deep rooted fears but once overcome you will be free and can be truly happy and importantly be at peace within yourself. 

As the fallible creatures we are, we are always going to make several mistakes in life – some major and some trivial, but acknowledging those mistakes, learning from them and rectifying them is the only way to prevent further adverse consequences and heartache.

Maria isn’t the problem… what she is, is a shining light in this world; and The Sound of Music shows how love can traverse all circumstances and I am hopeful our modern day version will follow suit, but only time will tell...  xx

[The follow up article to this is, "I Believe In Angels", but also read: "Steve Jobs iRIP 1955-2011", "Happy New Year - The Final Edition", "Wacky Races", "The Lonely Goatherd", "A Celebration of Life", "A Mother's Love", "Staying Alive" and "The Naked Countess"]

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...The recent riots on the streets of London and other UK cities may forgive us in forgetting we even have a police force.  We watched in horror (and I am sure in fear as well for many) as people’s livelihoods were looted and burnt to cinders whilst the Metropolitan Police did very little to intervene. In the case of the turmoil on the streets of Clapham the Met Police did a very good job of playing hide and seek – they were simply not to be found.

Yet the following days, praise from the clueless and reactionary coalition were heaped upon them.  The police - who are meant to protect us from the very serious crimes we witnessed including arson and the tragic murder of the 3 young men in Birmingham - were told, to my incredulity, of how they were doing a good job.  Well if that is doing a good job, what does it take for them to face real investigation or shake up for doing a bad job? To me, their actions (or rather inactions in this case) made them complicit in the crimes that took place, but they will not be on trial.

It took the very brave and in many ways heroic words of Tariq Jahan, the father of one of the three young men sadly killed in Birmingham to bring calm and peace to our streets again. His way of thinking enabled him to see the bigger picture and despite his terrible grief he spoke with clarity, dignity, authority, passion and a sense you rarely hear from a politician or police officer who are only normally trying to protect themselves from their own failings and incompetence. His words resonated through every sinew of our society and shows that from a deep negative there are potentially many positives.

[Further real life illustrative articles include: "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?", "Steve Jobs iRIP 1955-2011", "The Butterfly Effect...", "I Believe In Angels", "The Lonely Goatherd", "Wacky Races" and "Staying Alive", but also read: "Happy New Year - The Final Edition", "A Celebration of Life" and "A Mother's Love"]

Three months to the day I was given my life back in what were the most difficult 16 months I've ever faced and where my beliefs and loyalties regarding someone very special to me were tested to the extremities, but where those beliefs and loyalties remained (as they still do) absolute.  And whilst I wait on her apology (which could take a while :-)), this episode in my life has inspired me to create this.  We all go through tough times and some tougher than others, but maybe if we think differently and challenge society we can free our mind and accordingly our lives.

There are a couple of posts already as part of the testing phase but today this site is now officially live and forthcoming topics include the Police and Love & Relationships and Soulmates...And feel free to comment and you can sign in via a plethora of ways including via your Facebook and Google account log ins.

I hope you all will enjoy what I am creating.

Love

Isaac

x

An inspiration to us all.  Goes to show what you can do if you put your mind to it and (of course) have an abundance of Diet Coke and Mentos lying around.  But the Feel Good Factor - Most Definitely...AMAZING

Image from www.cartoonstock.com

...Short Termism of course is not exclusive to our elected leaders.  Companies and individuals tend to only see what is in front of them and not the consequences of their actions beyond the initial ripple. People do it all the time in relationships, work etc as most fail to grasp the bigger picture.

When the world faced a liquidity crisis in 2008 and the banks were on the brink of failure, there was only one solution that would have saved us from the nightmare that is about to ensue from the collapse of nation states around the world due to the implosion of untenable debt. That solution, as I said at the time, was to let the banks and other institutions fail. Protect the depositors, but otherwise let them go to the wall.

Of course those consequences would have been severe, but at least we could have rebuilt knowing the bottom was in and it would have been tough for a couple of years possibly but markets would have recovered and been all the better for it as the recovery then would have been sustainable.

Instead what our idiot politicians and bankers do is that they flood the world with printed money. Creating more debt to 'solve' a problem that was created by debt....Non sensical and illogical and now the repercussions (see "The Butterfly Effect..." and "Black Friday") are about to be felt and there is no solution that can head off the impending implosion of our World. It's just a matter of time...