This is my story.

I believe that there is an underlying order for everything. Some people may call this “God” or “Universe” or “Higher Self” or the number 42. I cannot give you a definitive identification of this order – for me it is a Grand Organised Design – the mother of all systems.

For me, logic would dictate that each dynamic is conserved throughout space and time. For me, I believe that every trait, archetype, personality, colour, texture, shape or style is always present – they add the colour to our experience. Each experience contains every possible ingredient according to how we view it. Instead of good or bad, they are simply experiences.

The fundamentals of my life – the children born through me, the mirrors I attracted through relationships, culture and networks, the challenges of enterprise, business and career and the physical universe of my body, home, finances and possessions are reflections of the light of all around me. Each fundamental is one note sung in a variety of harmonies in a song that one enormous choir is singing. There are times when one of these mirrors introduces me to a new sound – a new style – a different pulse – another key – a whole new musical experience. Bottom line – there is an underlying order – a system in all of this.

By virtue of my history – my “story”, I have attracted the opportunity to manifest many systems into my life. We all do. And for me, this provides us with an incredible array of skills to use for whatever we want in our lives – relationships, business, financial freedom, education, health, public influence, personal power.
For me, the source of all our power is in the “story”.

One version of my story – I grew up with an alcoholic father and a drama queen mother. Our house was dirty and messy and out of control. From the age of 10 I became the caretaker, the housekeeper, the parent and the manager. My father is a computer programmer who pioneered much in the field of business system analysis in Australia. My mother is a front line manager who managed several businesses throughout her career in Community and Charity organisations. However at home there was no order, no system and plenty of chaos. This was the perfect environment for the breeding of a “Nicki”.

I married at a very young age. I married twice. According to my skewed perspective at the time, both husbands were messy and out of control in most areas of their lives. I birthed four children. I ran several businesses: Live Bands, Vocal Groups, Shows, Wedding Planning, Recording Projects, Catering, Agency, Software Development and Song Writing. The partners I attracted into these enterprises expressed chaos in the areas that I did not and together we found some sort of balance.

My introduction to The Demartini Method ® woke me up to the perfection in all the frustration I thought were so important. Without my so called messy story, without a long succession of “voids” – things that I perceived were missing in my life – I would not have been given the opportunity for my development as a business systems professional. My parents, children, husbands and business partners all trained me in a boot camp all their very own.

In November 2003, I was stuck in a small village in the Himalayas for one week. I was suffering from Altitude Sickness and was unable to proceed onto Base Camp, as the group insurance could not cover me. Therefore I remained in this small village with the locals, several heads of yaks and a Tibetan Doctor for company. Boredom set in rapidly and I became obsessed with counting the things around me to maintain my sanity. I counted all my possessions then I began to count my heartbeats, measure my steps, time my movements and find patterns in my breaths. As I ventured out around the village, I began to do all of these things simultaneously in conjunction with the weather, time, trees, rivers and the hum of the earth. I could actually hear and feel it 5000 feet above the clouds. Counting and recognising a pattern in everything around me seems rather insane I know. Yet the experience was almost religious in its fervour.

It was while sitting on the tarmac in the fog waiting for the plane to take off back to Kathmandu that I looked out the window at the majestic Himalayas towering over the airport and saw in an instant how working with the beat, current and vibrations around us, seasons and cycles – sequences of a type, will create a specific dimension of events. The management of all of this creates a system – a framework for us to use as our bottom line – our foundation for enterprise – for anything in our lives. Nature is one hell of a free seminar on system design and management.

My grandmother’s favourite saying was A Place for Everything and Everything in its place. There is a system for everything. EVERYTHING. No exceptions. She was absolutely correct! Once we recognise that a system exists in everything creating order and balance and a whole series of resulting relationships then we have the means to master our lives by our awareness of the universal laws that govern all systems.

When I visited Stonehenge in June 2006, I felt incredibly connected to the Earth and whatever Grand Organised Design that this Universe is. Now I COULD go all new age on you and say that I was delivered a special message about Time, the Seasons, the Planetary movements, Moon Phases, Solar Activity, Tides, Universal and Natural Laws and how they all worked together in a synergy connecting my body and my consciousness to that of humanity, the earth and the cosmos – blah blah blah. But seriously – I’d only be making it up! As a child, I recall a movie or book or someone of significance refer to Stonehenge as having power in some magical mystical way. And if I could possibly GO there – to Stonehenge, somehow that power will have an effect on me.

Stop laughing – I – along with many – ok – all humans – hold a belief of an external power source one way or another and at one time or another.

My “story” if you like is that I believe that we can live in alignment between all areas of life, all spheres and all planes of consciousness if we understand the principles of systems. In real words, my “story” is that if I control everything in my life systematically, I get “more out of it.

Within each of these sciences exist thousands of systems. Each system is a collection of real or abstract moving parts, which comprise one whole with each and every element interacting or relating to another one. Each system has its purpose. There is a job to do within a specific time frame. Time governs every interaction and relationship. In every science, there is a rhythm, a flow and a pulse, which occur in sequence and create a dimension of events. Our spheres of consciousness operate within each science, field of study and each corresponding system.

The first law of expansion is order. For something to grow, it needs system. Cut open an orange and examine the symmetry of a tree or a beehive. There is discipline. It’s called organization. Working in system in rhythm leads to the alchemy of abundance.

My mission or rather belief and story is that the application of systems within the universal order and rhythm in every area of life creates wealth. And in my paradigm, this is true.

System (from the Latin (systēma), and this from the Greek σύστημα (sustēma)) is an assemblage of objects or entities either real or abstract, comprising a whole with each and every component or element interacting or related to another one. Any object which has no relationship with any other element of the system is not a component of that system.

To better understand how systems work just look in the mirror. The human body is like a complex organization that has an important job to get done on a tight deadline. In order to get everything done perfectly and on time, it has to use a system. Actually, the human body uses many systems that work side by side. Some of the body’s systems are directly connected to the heart, while others are not. Of course, the heart is like the president of the organization. Even if it is not directly involved in the system, it still plays a part. Obviously, if the heart isn’t working, nothing else is working either. Interesting that LOVE is associated with the HEART and if the HEART isn’t working the human body system will crash. Without LOVE the universal system doesn’t perform to maximum potential.

All of the systems within the body interact with one another to keep an organism healthy. Although each system has specific functions, they are all interconnected and dependent on one another. The nervous system controls various organs of the body directly. The brain also receives information from many organs of the body and adjusts signals to these organs to maintain proper functioning.

Therefore for me, in my “story”, the study of all Logos is the key to the evolution of business and all life situations. Like our bodies, everything depends on relationships, feedback, deadlines, tracking, audits and reviews. Numbers are the collection and filtering tools and a system is the manager keeping it all together.

Sacred Geometry explains how all these systems interrelate between Cosmos, Earth and Human. Eg Spiral Fractals, 432, 5 divisions of nature, trinity, nine and twelve. The Zodiac defines the apparent movement of the sun throughout the year into twelve signs each of 30-degree arcs. The rays from these planets pour down onto the earth. The cross of matter (as identified by Empedocles as the four Roots of all things; earth, fire, water and air) is centred upon the earth. As Astrology seeks to mediate and translate the planetary positions and movements in all aspects, houses and transitions, so my vision includes the amalgamation of all elements into systems for every requirement.

There is a vibration in the use of numbers. It is no accident that business exists in the accountability of all financial and operational numbers. Throughout the ages, certain numbers have figured in belief systems. The twelve signs of the Zodiac symbolize the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve theses in the Divine Commandments for Alchemists, and the twelve gates of passage in the Opus Magnum. Four is another significant number in esoteric traditions. The Aristotelian Prima Materia notes four qualities. There are four phases in Alchemy, four degrees of fire, and Hippocrates’ theory of the four humours to the microcosm and the four directions of Hermeneutics.

There are five grades of substance (Physical, Emotional, Mental, Intuitional and Spiritual) having certain qualities. These five grades of substance form the five planes of evolution (Earth, Astral, Manasic, Buddhic and Atmic) and compose the five vibratory spheres (Spinal Base, Solar Plexus, Head, Heart and Throat). These five planes each have a quality, of which the five physical senses (Smell, Taste, Sight, Touch and Sound) are the correspondence.

According to the theory of correspondences, each person is a microcosm in which all the divine powers of the cosmos are present in the various organs and parts of the body. If these powers are in harmony with each other, the person will be healthy and live in harmony with the macrocosm in which the same divine order prevails.

These are theories and myths and concepts and beliefs and philosophies that make sense to me. This “story” of mine is how I am and how I have developed so many programs, systems and processes that so many clients use to add value and wealth into their lives. To another person, this may be a site filled with such ridiculous thoughts that it is considered to be outrageous comedy. My father has labelled it a “pile of rubbish”. My uncle has labelled it as “life changing.” I’m chuckling to myself about how much energy I have expended in my childhood worrying about the opinions of others when it’s simply just one story in a library catalogue of billions.

So what is YOUR story?
How does it serve YOUR purpose, mission, vision and goals in life?
How does it earn income?
How does it add value to your life?

Write it down and start your own Values Metrics.

When I was 10, my brother and I would walk to and from school each day, up the hill and over to the main road, left around the corner until we arrived at a tiny little Catholic school. Half way up our street, on the corner opposite the entrance to the sporting fields was a small broken down cottage surrounded by overgrown shrubs and trees. It was rumoured that a wicked witch lived inside and my brother would insist on crossing the street or running very quickly past as we approached it each morning and afternoon as he was sure she would catch him.

For me, however, I was fascinated. I was captivated and often tried to sneak a peak past the giant weeds and unloved hedges to see if I could catch a better glimpse. A quiet unassuming old lady lived in the cottage – I imagined her to be at least 100 years old and with her, lived hundreds of cats. In truth, she was probably only about 65 with maybe 20 cats in tow however that house captured my imagination for the whole of my tenth year.

It seemed that she lived alone and was daily taunted by the children in the neighbourhood. Consequently, she appeared to be rather grumpy and would often hose children if they lingered too close to her front gate. My best friend, Carolyn, told a tale of a boy from grade five who had visited the old lady and promptly disappeared – never to be seen again. “She eats children” she would whisper, “and feeds the leftover bits like ears and noses to her cats.”

The concept of a grumpy Hansel eating witch living up the street from our house loomed large in my imagination however this didn’t stop my fascination with her and those hundreds of cats and every chance I could, I tried to take a closer look at this strange little corner of our neighbourhood.

One Saturday morning I awoke to the sound of my little brother sobbing. Apparently, our very curious cat, Socks, had chased a cockatoo up the street and instead of returning, made a detour and went into the old cat lady’s yard. My brother was sure she was planning a late Socks brunch until I reminded him that it was only children that she ate – cats were perfectly safe.

Determined to rescue our cat, we gathered up enough courage to walk up the hill to the corner opposite the entrance to the sporting fields and knock on the door of the broken down cottage. Opening the gate onto the thick clumps of overgrown hibiscus bushes that had taken over the front garden, the sound of the creaking scraping metal scared my brother so much that he ran away and left me alone in the unkempt garden of the crazy cat witch.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Socks who immediately raced over to purr and rub against my legs. Once I bent down to pick him up, cats came out to greet me from every corner of the garden. Tabbies, Persians, Siamese, kittens, tomcats – all colours, shapes and sizes – all coming to check out this strange bewildered human trespassing in their domain. It was a cacophony of mews and purrs that met my ears as I sat down on the footpath to pat, stroke and cuddle this rather large and odd collection of cats. Momentarily forgetting where I was I talked to them asking questions (as if to expect a response), kind heartily pulling on their tails and had a glorious time communicating with my new feline friends.

Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up directly into the face of the witch! “So this little black one is yours dear? He comes and visits me often – what’s his name?” How disappointing – this witch didn’t have a crackly voice at all, it dripped with honey, her face was soft and she smelled of lavender.

That day, I listened as a wise old woman introduced me to every single cat by name and personality, recounted their stories, told of those she had lost and of those she could not bare to give away. There was no mention of her history or family, no anger or grumpiness – nor could I find a cage to keep naughty little boys in or a large pot for boiling children. I watched as she gently and lovingly fed and cared for her cats and noted with sadness, even at the tender age of ten, that not many people saw the beauty or grace in her service to these cats. All they saw was her difference, her willingness to walk to beat of her own heart and her eccentric lifestyle. After all, the Catholic Church associated cats with witchcraft and Satan and while working hard to build their new brand and establishing Christianity as the only religion, they hunted and killed cats over a 1000 year killing spree. (Of course, in their absence the Black Death then had space to flourish. The Catholic Church in their wisdom had destroyed the cats required to kill the mice and rats carrying the plague – but that’s a whole other story .)

Looking back as an adult with three cats of my own, there is a part of me a little terrified that I will someday somehow become the crazy cat witch living alone in a broken down cottage with hundreds of cat and eating school children.  However, there is also a part of me that remembers how much joy and comfort these cats gave to this beautiful little old lady. What balance did 20 odd cats give to her? What were they surrogating in her life? What value were they adding?

Why cats? What is it about a cat that provides so much consolation and companionship? The close relationship between cats and humans dating back to ancient times of the Egyptians to the Norse, to the Orient and the Celts collectively appears to represent some sort of threshold guardianship for the Otherworld. The humble feline – protector and soothsayer, secretive, mysterious, crafty and clever, linked with shamanism and magic, has long associations with superstitions – anything from a black cat crossing your path to which way it washes its face! They definitely demand a certain respect. The Muslim prophet Mohammed is said to have found a cat sleeping on his robe, so he cut a hole in his robe rather than disturb the sleeping cat. After all, in every household cat there is an element of “Don’t screw with me!” as – let’s be honest – we do tend to tip toe around these superior beings in case we upset them.

So as we run around cramming every second of our lives with activity and busy ness, exhausting ourselves with a never ending list of “have tos” , our cats simply yawn, stretch, roll over and go back to sleep. What are they expressing on our behalf? Are they another dimensional us in a lazy haughty self focused form? As their usefulness centuries ago was dependant on chasing away mice, is their purpose today to reflect and remind us of those forgotten day dreams and somehow entrain our bodies to relax, slow down and just chill?

Being loved by a cat is quite a privilege, perhaps their greatest gift to us is their incredible ability to self love?