But I'm a Sculptor-Michaelangelo and The Year of Broken Pathways

Ah, Renaissance Italy! What a time to have lived:- Leonardo Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, the Medici's, Raphael, Florence, St. Peter's built. It was the age of grand projects and innovation, never before seen. Today we are going to examine one of those famous projects; the painting of the Sistine Chapel in St. Peter's. This will be from the perspective of Life Cycles 'Year of Broken Pathways'. This is also totally new and has never been done before, even though we have moved on some 500 years.

Michaelangelo was born March 6th, 1475 and it was in his age 24 first adult 'Year of Revolution' (March,1499 to March,1500), that he gained renown as a sculptor, when he completed the 'Pieta'; a depiction of the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the crucifixion. One of his contemporary's said of the work:- "It is a miracle that a formless block of stone could ever be reduced to a perfection that nature is scarcely able to create in the flesh". His reputation from this led onto being selected to complete the statue of David in Florence.

Where to next at his turning point in his age 31 'Year of Broken Pathways'? Remember the essence of this year is that the path we have been travelling on since age 24 gets broken and we are handed a challenge or new direction, that will essentially take the rest of the 12 year Life Cycle to complete. This is a new concept and I illustrate by taking the lives of the famous or those mentioned in news stories. So 'Life Cycles' is based on biographical analysis, making it much more factual than any other esoteric theory. Though it isn't quite science, it's a lot closer to it than anything else. It's not a belief system:- there is no "trust me I'm a guru" element in this.

OK, so we're looking at events when Michaelangelo was 31 (March,1506 to March,1507). The first evidence we have of Pope Julius requesting Michaelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling was from a letter dated May 10th, 1506. Meanwhile Julius's chief architect Bramante discouraged this idea, saying Michaelangelo was not a painter but a sculptor and this would be technically difficult for him and he doubted his courage to do this giant work. Michaelangelo himself had doubts because he didn't concentrate on painting and regarded sculpting as the higher art form (famously arguing with Leonardo Da Vinci who replied:- "At least I don't spend my whole day covered in dirt and dust!").

When Michaelangelo returns to Rome in early 1506 out of funds for Julius's Tomb, he gets dismissed by the Pope and returns to Florence. Such is their fiery relationship, that Julius threatens to wage war on the whole of Florence unless Michaelangelo returns to Rome, which he does. Once Michaelangelo hears that Bramante doen't think he's up to the Sistine ceiling, he immediately drops other things and says he'd do it. These two then began a very famous and bitter feud that ran for years. You see it's all about ego for these very opinionated individual's.

There is no doubt that all this happened when he was 31. There is no doubt that it altered his direction in a very important way. There is no doubt that the sequence of events had a fateful character, seeming as if it were pointing Michaelangelo towards the Sistine Chapel ceiling. There is also no doubt that this was a huge challenge and led on to the rest of the years of this cycle (until his age 36 'Year of Revolution'-March,1511 to March,1512). It meets every criteria of 'Life Cycles'.

Michaelangelo began work on the Sistine ceiling in 1508 and hired five assistants. The work was done in fresco, which is an incredibly difficult and daunting process, involvong 336 assorted figures. Only the most confident and talented painter could do this, which was one of the greatest artistic feats of the Renaissance or indeed any period of time. He certainly proved Bramante wrong in a big way. He also had a very impatient Pope Julius, continually trying to hurry him up and demanding to see what he'd done. It would be an understatement to say that he had an uphill struggle to face.

How did this fascinating story end and why does it represent a triumph for 'Life Cycles' analysis? How is the Sistine Chapel ceiling related to the Pieta? What was so similar about events in 1499 and in 1511? Well the answer is that I'll tell you the full story in my next book:- "The Life Cycles Revolution" currently being written. You see 'Life Cycles' analysis is unnervingly accurate, sometimes down to the month as well as the year. Is your whole life written in code? Or does this only happen to the famous? You didn't paint the Sistine Chapel? No, but challenges and uphill struggles are the stuff of life. Anyone's life. Yours and mine. Until next month:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune"

USSR/ Soviet National Anthem - Red Army Choir

USSR/ Soviet National Anthem - Red Army Choir

The Heir Apparent-Leon Trotsky and The Year of Broken Pathways

We are now going back to 1922; a critical time in the new Communist Party's history. You see the Revolution of 1917 had only just happened by a few short years, but Lenin's health had undoubtedly been affected by an assassination attempt in August, 1918 (when he was in his own 48th personal 'Year of Revolution'). He was hit by three bullets and left unconscious. This was later to become manifest in 1922/3, when he suffered a series of three strokes between May 1922 and March 1923.

There is no question that the leader of the Bolsheviks and head of the Soviet State, began to think about who would succeed him. Why should I analyse this? What has this to do with Life Cycles theory and in paricular the 'Year of Broken Pathways'? Well I'm not featuring Vladimir Lenin in this post, I'm featuring his second-in-command, Leon Trotsky. You see Trotsky was entering his 43rd 'Year of Broken Pathways' (in his case:- 7th November, 1922 to 7th November, 1923) at the time the future leadership was reaching a crossroads. Remember that we are looking for major direction change, that would take several years to fully resolve (at least until Trotsky's age 48 'Year of Revolution' in November, 1927). This is what the 'Year of Broken Pathways' means to us all. But what in particular did it mean to Trotsky?

There was no question that Trotsky should have been the natural successor, but he had a strong opponent in the ruthless and cunning Joseph Stalin. Stalin, who had been elevated to the position of Party General Secretary in early 1922, had distanced himself from Trotsky, by forming a troika (a triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamemev) to keep Trotsky from power. They chose to exploit Trotsky's policy of seeking world communist rule, by appealing to an already revolution-weary populace, that they should just focus on running the Soviet State.

Trotsky wrote an autobiography and I will use this as my guide. Lenin was shocked when he learned of a plot to throw Trotsky out. He then spent much of his time devising a counter-plot to ensure Trotsky succeeded him. In December, 1922 he wrote a will suggesting Stalin be removed as Secretary General. He offered Trotsky an alliance against him. However his final stroke in March, 1923 left Lenin speechless till his death in 1924. Only weeks before Trotsky confirms a conversation with Lenin saying:- "Yes, he does not trust Stalin and wants to come out against him openly, before the entire Party. He is preparing a bomb".

From the moment of the final stroke it was a huge change for Trotsky. The would-be successor and the co-conspirator becomes the hunted. With Lenin sidelined, the Stalin faction moved to take control of the politcal process and cut Trotsky off from decision making. His faction became known as the Left Opposition. After Lenin's death worse was to come. Even though Lenin's Testament came to the surface at the Party's Congress it was defused by the troika and they criticised Trotsky's military leadership in the 1917 Revolution. He became sick and was unable to answer them and in late 1924, they forced him to resign as Red Army Chief.

In 1925 he became effectively unemployed. The troika broke up, with the other two former members gravitating to Trotsky and forming a United Opposition. In 1926 Stalin became increasingly extreme. He started using the Soviet secret police to infiltrate and discredit his opponents. Finally in November, 1927 Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled from the Communist Party. This brings to an end the several years of uphill struggle that follows the 'Year of Broken Pathways'. It was so for John Lennon (sounds a bit like..) and for Robert the Bruce and Anthony Prince and Diego Maradonna. It will be so for you too.

Don't imagine my quaint theory won't touch your life; it has already. As I begin to write my follow-up book:- "The Life Cycles Revolution" I am getting ready to provide such a weight of evidence that it will be impossible not to accept it. More is to come in the most unique blog ever written. Don't miss it and make sure you read all the posts, they are all linked. Until then:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune".

Diego Maradona's Goal of the Century.

Flawed Genius-Diego Maradona and The Year Of Broken Pathways

Look at any ranking of "Best Soccer Player of All Time" and Diego Maradona is number 1 or very close to it. Physically short and stocky, he nonetheless grew into a giant on the field. At his height he took Argentina to the very zenith of the soccer world, virtually singlehandedly. He has also scored, in the infamous 'handball goal' match against England, what is recognised as the best goal ever scored. He passed through the entire English side and the ball never touched his right foot.

But that is on the field. Off the field he strikes a tragic figure and today we'll turn to his 43rd. 'Year of Broken Pathways' to see just how tragic. Remember all the years of 'Broken Pathway':- 19,31, and now 43 are featured in this blog. In every case we look at life altering moments, somewhat outside of the individual's control, that took several years to resolve (in Diego's case until his next 'Year of Revolution' at 48). I did this analysis blind at the request of a fellow blogger, so remember just how powerful 'Life Cycles' is as a predictive tool. I don't really know much about soccer either.

Throughout his career he has been known for his drug abuse (particularly cocaine) and his romantic indiscretions, which he owned up to in his autobiography. Since retiring in 1997 he had gained a lot of weight, spent time in a Cuban rehab centre and continued with a reckless lifestyle. When he was 43 he came to his lowest point. On 18th April, 2004 he suffered a major heart attack, following a cocaine overdose and was admitted to intensive care in a Buenos Aries hospital. During the 12 days he was there he said:- "I saw death up close". His ex-wife said, that committing him for psychiatric care in a local hospital against his wishes in May, was the only way to save his life. Interestingly it was in the same year that he and Claudia Villafane divorced. Apparently he did not take this well either with Claudia saying:- " He doesn't want to acknowledge it, he still keeps wearing the wedding ring". She also said he couldn't cope with fame:- "He always said he had been taken to the top of the mountain, but once there nobody told him what to do".

So he certainly had an uphill battle from there. You can't get much lower. His own family took an injunction against him leaving the country. He even met the Argentine President to discuss it. What happened over the next couple of years? Well he went on to become good friends with his ex-wife and they travelled together to Napoli in 2005 for a series of homages. He also went on Argentine TV in 2007 to say that he had not touched drugs for 2 1/2 years. With alcohol it took longer however. In March, 2007 he was admitted to a hospital in Buenos Aries and treated for hepatitis, brought on by alcohol abuse. After this he vowed publicly to quit drinking.

Has this story of tough love and even tougher redemption got a good ending? Yes, I'm pleased to say it has and just before his 48th birthday, he learned of his upcoming confirmation as coach of Argentina. Yes this was to happen in his 48th 'Year of Revolution', just as retirement had marked his 36th 'Year of Revolution'. His most devoted fans call themselves "the Church of Maradona" (now 120,000 members). They rang in the year DD 48 (or After Diego) carrying a "goalary":- an over-sized rosary with 34 beads, which is the number of goals he scored for Argentina.

'Life Cycles' is the only theory where you get this analysis. Nowhere else! You don't see 'the hand of God' at work in that controversial goal, but you may choose to see it in the extraordinary predictive power of 'Life Cycles'. So, till we meet again:- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune".