At least one friend has written to me recently and said it is time for another blog. I was not sure that anyone was reading it, but now I know that at least I have one reader.

It has been two months since my last blog. How easily the time skips along.

Generally, things have been going well. I have been doing some writing, although I would like to be doing more.

I started to write a blog update last week and with the help of dragon software, my little blog turned into eight or nine pages of writing. Once I start to write about a topic, it is easy for it to turn into an essay or some other kind of writing project. Probably a common issue for people writing blogs who are also writing ebooks and other research work. I decided not to publish that blog, as I looked back at the writing, and it actually looked more suitable for inclusion in an ebook that I’m working on currently. The topic of this book is strategies for advancing situations around the world, especially in developing countries.

In the last two months, in the world, there seemed to have been many incidents involving violence and threats with terrorism etc.

Personally, I have been listening to a lot of lectures by Abraham Hicks. The essence of her work is instead of taking action, be more aware of your feelings – vibration and pay attention to what ever can get you into a better feeling place. This is a bit of a contradiction to my other state which has often been about focusing on various problems in the world, and pushing and fighting to make things better. The wisdom of the lectures suggests that if we want to improve any situation in our own life or in the world, we need to focus on what we desire, rather than what we do not like. Many people, including myself, have battled against many negative things, thinking that they will assist in getting rid of the problem. However, the lectures of Abraham Hicks state that whether we are for or against something, when we give attention to the subject, we bring about more of it.

So for me, I have been becoming more aware of working for things, rather than against things. For example, rather than focusing on rubbish at beaches, which is a common problem in many developing countries, with limited education and organisation, the solution would be to focus on the idea of better education and better organisation and give promotion and voice to this strategy. Abraham Hicks also suggests that where ever we get negative vibration in relation to something, we are better off avoiding the topic, except in a very general way maybe, and give our focus instead to what inspires and makes us happy.

So for me, listening to Abraham Hicks has enabled me to be more aware of how my life is going. Through most of my life, I have been involved in many projects that have inspired me, and in which I have worked to improve things in the world. However personally, I have often been in an okay state rather than a really inspired state. And this is starting to change. Rather than doing lots of action to get what I want, I am increasingly thinking about the mood I am in, and what that mood would attract. So this feels a positive shift in my life. When things do not go exactly the way we want them to, rather than take different action, maybe we just need to take some time to get into a happier more inspired state. And from that state better things emerge.

So this is still a work in progress :-)

Being here in the Dominican Republic has enabled me to be living in a place that is fairly economical, and gives me time and space to look at this aspect of my life. Last year I bought the studio apartment next to the one that I am currently living in. I have just recently had both apartments rewired and new fans have been installed, which is pretty important with summer now here. I paid the maintenance fees which were US$1000 each for the year and so other than Internet and electricity use, there are no fees, no rent, no mortgage repayments or any other cost for the coming year. Most people I know in developed countries, would read of this, and understand what a relief and freedom this situation offers.

My days begin usually getting up about 8 AM, showering etc, meditation, breakfast, checking internet, coffee, reading and writing. I walk down to Sosua where I have lunch, do some shopping, then return to my apartment. The afternoon usually involves more reading and writing and meditation. Late afternoon I swim 30 laps in the big pool and then in the evening I usually relax and watch something on Netflix.

A lot of this freedom is offered to me because I am single, and because I am a gringo with some savings, and because I am fiscally careful and live within my means. I am also adaptable, and I know many gringos who would probably not enjoy being in this country that much.

The Dominican Republic has many cheap options available. My lunch costs only 100 pesos which is similar to 3 dollars in Australia. But there are many challenges here too. Most people don’t speak English, education here has been very basic so many people do not have strategies of their own and making friends with local people usually means that you will be asked for help. Poverty is common for many if not most. Many people have no work and those that do make 500 pesos a day on average which is similar to US$11. Many people here think that if you are a gringo you are a millionaire, so security is important in living here. There are many stories of tourists being killed, usually because of things they did which put them at risk. For example, in January a German man was murdered because he was wearing a gold necklace. When I was first here in 2013 and 2014 I took many risks. But now I listen to advice a little more such as not walking on the beach after sunset. We have security at the condominium as do most apartment blocks, and this is all part of living in a country with a lot of poverty. The temperature here is warm in winter and very hot in summer. The swimming pool is now always a tepid temperature, and of course during hot weather, we all want to swim in a cool pool. So living in the Dominican Republic may not be every gringos cup of tea. Or maybe I should say Coffee as that is the drink here!

But the other side to living here is that it is very economical, I live in a beautiful apartment with a fantastic view of the most beautiful trees and beyond it, I can see the most amazing swimming pool. I have all day free of work to do as I wish. I live in a country where technically I am an overstayer, but where almost all tourists are. When you arrive in this country you are given a 30 day pass and if you stay longer than the 30 days you pay a fine. For people staying 3 to 9 months the fee is about US$100 and most tourists come here to escape the European and North American winter from November to April. So there are no real problems. The police do nothing about drink-driving, speeding drivers or polluting vehicles. So while you are here you do your best to take care of yourself rather than assuming that the government and the departments will be on top of the situation. To go into that topic in greater detail, you can read my book on advancing developing countries. There are reasons why different countries are more or less organised, it has a lot to do with the history of colonisation, racism and slavery, poverty, dictatorship. The solutions lie in awareness, effective education, global strategies. Moralistic opinions about which countries are the best usually ignore the history etc.

Overall, things are going really well here. As mentioned, I am pretty good at living within my means so that reduces the pressure.

Right now I am redoing my web sites on my group ‘progressive global communication’, and the important idea of how entertainment serves a significant role in improving situations and awareness around the world, in people’s lives, and for the planet.

I am also working on my e-book’s relating to education, entertainment, ancestry, situations in the developing world and general essays.

Because of the heat, and because I have often wanted to explore South America, I may be going to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru next month for two or three months. So, the next blog may be coming to you from there!