2009
September 2009
At the moment so much is happening every day that I feel like three days fit into one. This morning I finish uploading the basics of this website and “took the next step” – announcing it on facebook. Facebook is interesting – with the click … Read More →
Some of my stuff from a few years back. Most of these are from Paris and London. I can’t hardly remember the feeling of having a shaved head… it was liberating, that’s for sure.
Exhibiting at Manning Artspace, Sydney University – July 2009-December 2009. The title of the series, Alchemy, was inspired by Paolo Cuelo’s The Alchemist; a four-part series taken over a three-month journey around South America. The first shot of the series was the one in Huacachina … Read More →
Galapagos is not the only awe-inspiring place in Latin America. Here are some of the most mind-blowing sights that with my camera I did it’s best to capture… Uyuni Salt-Lakes, Bolivia Lake Titicaca, Bolivia El Calefate, Patagonia Iguazu Falls Salvador, Brasil Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
“A Little Inspiration for a Big Idea”
The Art Tree Exhibition – my series is called “A Little Inspiration for a Big Idea”… The little inspiration The Theory of Evolution is a HUGE idea. But like all ideas, it starts with one thing: a little inspiration. Something happens to you: a feeling, … Read More →
South Americans are different. There’s some powerful energy inside of them unlike any other people. The eyes of these children say it all.
“Love Is” by Juliet Bennett Love is lost in eye’s oceans butterflies a breathe unknowns potentials innocent bliss Love is innate desire a constant distraction unexplainable energy a potent seduction soft lip’s tender kiss Love is beyond your control the wish of God ecstasy and … Read More →
Creativism – a philosophy for life
Creativism… the beginnings of a new philosophy, with positive implications on social, political and economic theories. Ok – with that amazing very creative photograph that won “Portrait of the Year 2009” by Sydney photographer Pippin Schembri – I now divert your attention to something close … Read More →
Lindt chocolate is NOT slave chocolate!
I emailed Lindt a year ago and pretty much got a ‘no comment’ response but I emailed them again today and got a response already and guess what?! They DO NOT GET THEIR COCOA BEANS FROM THE IVORY COAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They do not use slave labour!!! … Read More →
“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” In Japan, people would look at me and gasp “Kirre!” “SagoiI!” “Chiisai!” (translation: “Beautiful! Wow! Small!”) as they motioned a small circle with their hands and touched the skin on their face. This was followed by broken … Read More →
“Good novels are written by people who are not frightened.” George Orwell. Some of the most inspiring people in my life: Leigh Stark Blogger, photographer & the creator of this website. Thank you so much! www.leighlo.com & www.sackboyliveshere.com Chelsea Haywood Author and my wonderful Canadian … Read More →
Sorry about the photo. A bit rude. Rachel took it not me (I think) – one of the millions of photos we took of graffiti art in South America. This one was in Bariloche Argentina. I thought it was appropriate. I never really read FWD’d … Read More →
Something sure to come up a lot on this blog is the question of meaning – why the f**k are we here on this planet??? It is something I contemplate regularly. The human condition is a strange one - born no different from other animals … Read More →
Two entries in one day! Don’t know what’s gotten into me but I’ll probably be scaring off any readers if I have any… it won’t happen too often, I promise. I just got home from Warringah Mall. I was standing in line waiting to return … Read More →
This may sound strange but I LOVE our universe. I love that we are conscious of our selves, that we understand so much about our location in space and time, and I love that there is so much we don’t know – the mystery and … Read More →
As I go through my studies, learning about the world and the peace and conflict that exists on different levels, and even as travel through my own life’s little challenges, I find I coming back to one question: HOW CAN I FIND PEACE? Is peace … Read More →
Empowering women & the role of men
Empowering women has been said to be the “silver bullet” to ending poverty. Studies have shown that an increase in the income of women directly correlates with increases in the education and nutrition of children. These children will lead longer and more fulfilling lives, and … Read More →
Temporality & my chocolate belly
Ok I know that’s a shocking photo (it’s from a family celebration for my sister’s engagement last night which makes it even worse)… but I think it’s worth a laugh. And I tell you what, the chocolate semi fredo I’m licking is the very best … Read More →
October 2009
The journey of an inquisitive Christian
This is a 70-page book tracing the questions and answers encountered in my journey from a conforming, narrow-minded fundamentalist Christian into a passionate free-thinker – without losing my spirituality, my connection with “God” (albeit with a new understanding of what this word means, namely a personification of the macrocosm we are a part of), and reifying a passion for truth, people and our planet… Read More →
An Ethical Dilemma: Childhood Conversion in Christian Fundamentalism
My MA Dissertation completed in June 2009. I got a HD… pretty ridiculously stoked!!! Click here to download my PDF Abstract The rise of religious fundamentalisms and the implications of the dividing polarity are a topic of increasing attention in scholarly literature. The induction of … Read More →
Written as an appendix to my masters thesis “An Ethical Dilemma: Childhood Conversion in Christian Fundamentalism” in June 2009. My ‘Thunderbolt’ Moment This brief account of my personal case is provided to make known the perspective from which this paper was written, to demonstrate how … Read More →
Things aren’t always what they seem
Back at bikram yoga yesterday I looked back into the big horrible mirrors and smiled – my tummy looked thin and flat. This was only my third class and I was already getting great results. Then I stepped to the left and the image changed … Read More →
“I have an excellent idea – let’s change the subject!”
My blog has gotten a quite intensely serious. Religion, philosophy and peace talk. Interesting but reflective of the subjects going on in my mind, it has become a little draining. Or maybe today I’m just a little tired. Either way I do believe I should … Read More →
The Animal Question: Darwin’s Bastards
I’m working on a concept for an upcoming exhibition entitled “Darwin’s Bastards” that will be held at Verge Galleries on City Road in November. I’m not yet sure yet my photos will be accepted but it has been an interesting exercise to contemplate how Darwin’s … Read More →
Time is my most valued asset. Time is money. And money (in its intended design) is a store of time. Money effectively allows us to trade our time for the time of others. Numbers in bank accounts provide me no pleasure. It seems to provide … Read More →
Death, life-commitments & a horse’s penis
It all began on Friday morning when my Opa said to me “I’m not well. I’m feeling dizzy.” I held his hand. He was freezing. I called the Doctor, and then the ambulance. I put a blanket on him, the heater next to him and … Read More →
“Only on the brink of disaster do people find the will to change.” “Our sun was dying, we had to evolve.” “Nothing ever truly dies. Everything simply transforms.” (I found these quotes in my diary. I think they are from The Day the Earth Stood … Read More →
Live life for money Accumulate many things Get into debt Rejoice what this brings: … More work, less time Fear material loss Forget impermanence Decay of time is boss … What’s left is a story A story of Capital Of slavery to a system Of … Read More →
Sometimes life just sucks. For no reason in particular. And for every reason in particular. You know that feeling? Or am I the only one… The funny thing is that nothing has really changed. I’m still living with my Opa, I’m still at uni, I’m … Read More →
THE CRAB – IN ENGLAND I love learning where words come from. England, according to wikipedia, comes from the Old English Englaland, the “Land of the Angles”, the Angles being a German Tribes from the Middle ages. Learn something new every day – I always … Read More →
November 2009
Internal battles of head and heart
Sometimes the battles inside your body can provide many insights on the battles of the world. The last couple of weeks have been a struggle – a battle between my head and heart over what the two of them inside my body are going to … Read More →
Geez I have been bad at keeping my blog. I’ve had a lot on I suppose… what with uni essays, exams and my Opa slowly dying before my eyes … So yeah, haven’t really been so inspired to write just for the pleasure of it. … Read More →
Hmmmm….. I feel like a capitalist. How this reconciles with my hate for what capitalism does to the world I’m not quite sure. Yachting on the Cote de Azur was pretty frickin cool…
Just a cute little post to encourage a laugh and smile on a Friday afternoon. The sleeping puppy above (small black mound of fur) is Bella, and that’s my youngest sister in 2004 – the only photo a sleeping dog I can find atm to … Read More →
The memoirs of Willem Van Leeuwen… and the magic of life.
Yesterday at 5pm my Opa (that’s dutch for grandfather), passed away at the ripe old age of 93. Born 20th February 1916 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Willem Frederik Van Leeuwen lived a long and inspiring life. He was a wonderful, caring father and grand-father. Me … Read More →
On the 19th of November last year I left Australia on the most exciting adventure of my life thus far – a crazy fast tracked expedition around South America. A desire had been growing ever since I’d noticed the incredible energy of my Brazilian friends … Read More →
December 2009
Indecisive Spontaneity and Noncommittal Commitment
“Ok Andressa, how much to fly to Brazil for carnaval? Via New York? How about via Mexico? Ok, how about I just go to Mexico and make my own way there? … How about Africa? Tasmania? Uluru?” In the span of one week I have … Read More →
Potentialism: a philosophy for life
Potentialism: a philosophy for life Discovering your ultimate creative potential: you as your individual conscious, you as your society and you as the universe – playing your role in the creation of a future reality you desire. Syncretic paradigms: 1. The purpose of life is … Read More →
Arrrhhhh moving house ain’t easy. I am writing now from a chair that’s too high for my desk surrounded by piles of clothes, computer gear, papers, and empty boxes; frustrated that the internet connection I was waiting to be delivered was (after many-a phone calls) … Read More →
Dilemmas of the Mercury Retrograde
“Since Mercury rules communication, it’s said that everything goes haywire in that area — emails get deleted or bounced back, mail is returned, calls go out into the ethers, etc.” (www.astrology.about.com) So put it into your diary: December 26th to January 15th, 2010. In 2010 … Read More →
Sydney is my New York. And I am Carrie Bradshaw, sitting at my computer with an apple (or cachaca & pineapple as it is), pondering and writing about life, love and the city that is my new home. I’ve been here just one week and … Read More →
“What do you think?” She asked me. “Ah… It’s ok.” I said, frowning at my reflection. “I’m not quite sure how you got that,” I looked to the mirror, “from this” observing the photo in my hands. The cut is not so bad. Nor … Read More →
Consumerised misinterpreted pagan traditions
Surrounded by the mayhem of people spending money in desperation to tick the boxes and announce that those glorious words: “I have finished all my Christmas shopping”, when something dawned on me. It is not the nicest thing to day one day before the holiday … Read More →
Chapter 15: Old Peak (Machu Picchu)
This was my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year. It was absolutely positively fantastically magic. I highly recommend!!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
No thanks to my preluding complaints I ended up having a great Christmas. I still don’t think gifts are a necessary part but who am I to complain about receiving money, new yoga mat, vacuum cleaner and other very useful and yummy and generous gifts? … Read More →
Chapter 17: The Salty and the Sweet (Uyuni)
On a salt-lakes tour with five Brazilian boys, a dodgy 4WD consistently breaks down which synchonistically provided an opportunity to literally dance on clouds (and take some incredible photos). On New Years Eve the girls reunite in a remote conglomerate of hostels and in one small room people from all over the world sing, dance and cheer. The New Year begins with the end of a drought and an explosion of fireworks.
Music Credits:
I’m Yours, Jason Mraz.
What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong.
Chapter 16: Nunca say Nunca
A few bad decisions lead to a few disasters but “don’t worry be happy”… there’s a miracle or two just around the bend…
A race through Puno and a beautiful sunset on Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun) on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, is followed by another race through the witches markets in La Paz and finally, slicing time to the second, we stepped onto a bus that would soon turn my life upside down.
Nunca say Nunca. Never say Never.
Keeping the tradition
No thanks to my preluding complaints I ended up having a great Christmas. I still don’t think gifts are a necessary part but who am I to complain about receiving money, new yoga mat, vacuum cleaner and other very useful and yummy and generous gifts?
What I enjoyed most was the time I got to spend playing games. Handstands, rope-swings and Just Dance on Nintendo Wii resulted from sugar highs and were followed by Balderdash, a game where you make up definitions, which I considerably and shamefully sucked at (considering my hopes of being a writer).
I blame the drink.
What I came to realise is that Christmas, even if a consumerist and mis-interpreted affair celebrated in Australia at the wrong time of year, is still a fun day with the family and a good excuse for naughty food.
So keep the tradition, see if I care.
Chapter 15: Old Peak (Machu Picchu)
This was my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year. It was absolutely positively fantastically magic. I highly recommend!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Consumerised misinterpreted pagan traditions
Surrounded by the mayhem of people spending money in desperation to tick the boxes and announce that those glorious words: “I have finished all my Christmas shopping”, when something dawned on me. It is not the nicest thing to day one day before the holiday many people have looked forward to all year but to be brutally honest I realised I like Christmas about as much as I like loosing my ipod.
I looked down at my own list, cursing myself for not getting organised earlier, chewed down hard and repetitively on the gum in my mouth to prevent me from punching a big stand of useless shit. What the heck was I doing there???
It’s not that I don’t like giving presents. I do. I love giving presents. I love the smile and sparkle in the eyes of someone who likes something you have chosen for them. But I don’t like having to buy this present by a certain deadline. It turns a pleasure into a chore.
I feel like I have this big assessment due on the 25th of December. And until I have ticked all my boxes I am afraid that I’ll be up at the midnight mall on Christmas Eve doing a rush job to get it in on time. Am I missing something here?
Sure I could buy gifts throughout the year in preparation. I often do. But the lack-of-patience leads me to give my gift straight away. Then I get to see the smile sooner. And they can enjoy it now. Can someone please explain why I should have to hold onto that present until the anniversary of a consumerised mis-interpreted pagan tradition???
For a second let’s just consider the real meaning of Christmas, the reason our ancestors had a big party on the 25th of December each year, that is: the celebration of the winter solstice. The celebration of the last short day and rebirth of the sun.
I celebrate that too – in JUNE! Here in Australia, the middle of January is our summer solstice – the last of our long days and beginning of shorter ones. If we are going to celebrate Christmas shouldn’t we at least do it at the appropriate time?
When you think about it, Christmas is just another overbearing example of continuing colonialism, Western hypocrisy and chronic consumerist Capitalism on steroids.
“But it’s tradition.”
And now that all my boxes have been ticked I am actually looking forward to it. I am looking forward to dinner at Mums tonight. Amongst the move and my Opa’s death it has been weeks if not months since we have sat down for a relaxed meal together. Now that I think about it I really really really am looking forward to it, and the wonderful fruit-filled breakfast we will have Christmas morning as we laugh and play games and exchange gifts by the tree.
I am looking forward to checking out the Sydney to Hobart boats getting ready down their big race, a burgeoning tradition I do with my sisters, Dad and Stepmom, that nicely breaks up the wonderful food and wine we will enjoy that night with my cousins and grandma and my sister’s fiancee’s family. Those are some pretty special moments – I guess I shouldn’t write-off Christmas altogether.
I wonder, is it possible to enjoy these moments without the chaotic consumerist prelude???
What if next Christmas I buy each of my loved ones a tree to be planted in the Amazon – something that will provide oxygen for them and the generations to come. My friend’s family put their gift money together to sponsor a child for a year. That’s a good one too!
The years come and go so fast I think I’m happy for Christmas to come every 4 years like the Olympics. Last Christmas I was at the top of Machu Picchu and I’m already dreaming of next Christmas – in India. Or China. Or Africa. Somewhere away from the shopping malls and plastic wrapping. I don’t need a pagan tradition to bring me to see my family, nor to give them presents. I do that throughout the year and prefer it that way.
But Christmas is here and I can relax. I too can happily announce “I have finished all my Christmas shopping”! I am ready to enjoy the food and festivities keeping my fingers crossed that when the time comes for plastic wrapping to be unveiled, my gifts deliver a smile.
De ja vu? Hair
“What do you think?” She asked me.
“Ah… It’s ok.” I said
id, frowning at my reflection. “I’m not quite sure how you got that,” I looked to the mirror, “from this” observing the photo in my hands. The cut is not so bad. Nor is the colour. But it does NOT in the slightest look like the picture I had diligently printed out in hope of clearly communicating the colour and cut I was after.
I’ll survive. I’ve definitely had worse. After giving me green hair (from a henna mask) a hairdresser (in Japan) turned it purple (very strong toner).
If it doesn’t kill you it makes you stronger. Hair grows fast enough and in a few weeks it will be the length I was after. Maybe I’ll pull out some Sun-In left over from high-school days, and take matters into my own hands – desperate times call for desperate measures. Or maybe I should simply accept that these things happen for a reason and hope this haircut brings with it its own.
Yet the question still persists: why don’t hairdressers listen? This is not the first time it has happened to me, and I don’t think I’m alone in this question. How, when given a picture of a haircut and colour (that is totally compatible with the hair on your head) do a colourist and stylist create their own interpretation and leave you to sport something completely different???
Don’t get me wrong. I love my hairdresser and will surely go back there, probably with the same picture and probably expecting to leave with something completely different again. Why will I go back? Because every hairdresser seems to be the same: you NEVER get what you want. And it’s always a heck lot better than I can do with my own scissors or homemade dyes – been there done that – which always looks better in one’s mind than its manifestation in reality. Urgh. HAIR. Now I remember why I shaved it off.
Sex and the city
Sydney is my New York. And I am Carrie Bradshaw, sitting at my computer with an apple (or cachaca & pineapple as it is), pondering and writing about life, love and the city that is my new home.
I’ve been here just one week and already “getting to know” some people in my building and neighbourhood. It’s not quite sex in the city – I don’t move that fast – but coffees, dinners, muscley men helping move furniture and maybe just a little besos.
This week I also managed to host a couple of chrissy celebrations – with girls from school, with my South America travel buddies and other friends from here and there. With New Years Eve generally a non-event for me in Sydney I have been considering cramming my studio with a “traffic light” party – where you where red if your taken, orange if your not sure and green if you are ready to go! I’ve never been to one but it sounds like a fun way to combine housewarming with NYE and help singles meet other singles. Even if cupid doesn’t make any matches at least it would involve bright colours, Brazilian drinks, and the celebration of 2010 with a bang – fireworks at Bondi that is… 
Dilemmas of the Mercury Retrograde
“Since Mercury rules communication, it’s said that everything goes haywire in that area — emails get deleted or bounced back, mail is returned, calls go out into the ethers, etc.” (www.astrology.about.com)
So put it into your diary: December 26th to January 15th, 2010. In 2010 it’s April 17 – May 11; August 20 – September 12; and December 10 – December 29. So try to get your technology organised long before it begins. Allow extra time for getting to places and have a book handy to read when people arrive late, plans get mixed up, have backup plans for the no shows etc etc. Don’t move house. Learn from my experience these last few days.
Mercury Retrograde hit me early. Today I managed to get a tape stuck in my car’s cassette player (yes my car is from the stone age, or the 90s) and continue to suffer the consequences of rash decisions involving ordering electricals over the net. My recommendation – don’t do it. Go to a shop instead. Nothing replaced face-to-face communication.
Not only did I have to wait more than a week and make a number of calls just to discover my new iPhone and modem were sitting at the post office, but now the only way I can talk about the stupid snail-pace modem is to call and sit on hold for hours. Did I mention I hate technology?
Last night (I admit, after a couple of beers,) I managed to drop my old phone in the toilet of Four N’Hand (my new local!) I hadn’t even flushed! I know what you’re wondering… Yes. I did do it.
Flushing first (praying the phone wouldn’t disappear down the rabbit hole) I put my hand into the basin and fished out the screaming Nokia. He was not a happy chappy. I took him apart and dried him out but alas, this morning he took his last breath.
No more phone. But of course, it’s meant to be, right? I have an iphone sitting on my desk patiently awaiting its awakening. So first thing this morning I walked up to the local Virgin store.
“First you need your account number from Vodafone.” Vodafone was a few shops down so that was easy enough.
“How much will it cost to terminate my plan early?” I asked, praying for a small figure, a small figure, please a small figure.
“Around $30.” Phew!
“Just one more question,” I said to the Vodafone sales clerk. “My bills have dramatically increased in the last few months, I’ve cut down this month but can you please just tell me where my latest bill is at?”
… “$280”
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
I have a $49 cap that I thought I never exceeded until two weeks ago I received a bill for $160. That was bad enough. Now $280??? What the? What the? I didn’t think I’d been making more calls than usual.
Another hour was spent on their phones to their head office, discussing what the heck was going on. They managed to halve my bill, from which I was more than grateful for although the sceptic had not quite shut up. $280 is more than outrageous.
Returning to the Virgin counter with my account number I made another wonderful discovery – the iphone’s sim card holder was gone.
“It’s probably on the floor of my apartment,” I told her. But it wasn’t. I engaged in yet another horrifically disgusting experience, going through the garbage I had thrown out that morning. An image of a little square piece of plastic sitting inside a banana peel or some kind of rotting vegetable scrap entered my mind. No luck there either. I moped around in frustration. Surely it would be here somewhere, I thought as I comforted myself with a large bag of gingerbread cookies (thank you Lisa)…
Eventually I gave up. With no energy to walk back to the junction I jumped in my car. Traffic. Parking. F**king HELL. Next time I will walk.
“You might have to go to the Apple Store on George St to get another one,” they told me when I finally made it to the Virgin shop. “But try the accessory shop first.” Eighty bucks later (twenty on the tiny square of plastic, and sixty on other “essential” screen covers and protectors) and finally I could leave the manic mall. Once I could locate my car, that is. If you know Bondi’s Westfield Carpark, you know that knowing your car is on “P3” is not enough to locate it. Try other entrance. And another one. Eventually I found it.
So here I am. Back in my little paradise that really does feel like home. Still of course with Internet that doesn’t work (currently using my mother’s prepaid 3 modem which happens to work fine) and getting out my anger writing this blog is even more therapeutic than the ginger cookies. And even better, Leigh, my techno-savvy saviour, helped save the day – now I have a phone that works (even if it’s a different number for a short while) and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Mercury Retrograde leaves me alone for a little while. I’m optimistic. But I’m prepared. Are you?
Chapter 14: Inferma en Amor (Cusco)
This time last year we finally arrived in Cusco having travelled the long way round from Lima through Huacachina (the sanddunes), Nasca (the alien lines in rocks) and Areiquipa (the monastery town of white walls and large volcanoes).
Not sure if it was the excessive number of hours we were spending sleeping (or trying to sleep) on buses, or the high altitudes we were reaching, but by the time we reached Arequeipa I was sick. Very sick. The photos footage was less and less interesting as I spent most of my time in bed and in a coffee shop with wifi. Eventually we made it to Cusco, the old Inca town nearby Machu Picchu. It was raining when we arrived and all I wanted to do was “get up to Machu Picchu and get out of there”… but when the sun came out so did the old city. It glowed. Sitting amongst the mountains one could feel the deep magic of this historic town.
On top the sickness penetrating my head I received the wonderful pre-Christmas gift of a terrible tummy bug. Now I was completely bed ridden in The Point, a hostel known for its wild parties.
Everything happens for a reason. In my case a special encounter from the distance of my sick state on a hostel bunk,would initiate a fast-paced romantic adventure through Bolivia, down the Chilean coast and beyond…
That is why in Cusco I was “inferma en amor” – sick with love.
Burbs to buzz
Arrrhhhh moving house ain’t easy. I am writing now from a chair that’s too high for my desk surrounded by piles of clothes, computer gear, papers, and empty boxes; frustrated that the internet connection I was waiting to be delivered was (after many-a phone calls) sitting at the post office; and even more frustrated so by the fact that the connection it is giving me is as slow as dial-up. I’m frustrated by trying to turn on the gas and every gas company telling me they don’t have service my apartment block and sending me on a wild goose chase. Then there are the mirrors and photographs falling off the wall due to stick-on hooks that claim to hold 1.5kg yet won’t hold 500g to save its life. Damn it.
All this being said I must say that I am so ridiculously happy it’s ridiculous. This morning I walked five minutes down the road and I was at Rushcutters Bay. The other night not far off midnight I walked five minutes in another direction to arrive at Double Bay Woolworths to get some detergent. Can’t to that in The Burbs. The block I’m in contains small studio flats which appear full of young good looking single men Or maybe it’s just compared to the view I’m used to in the burbs. I didn’t realise how much I missed the city buzz.
Yesterday I returned to Frenchs Forest to pick up a few more boxes of books and what not. I walked along my daily route to my mum’s house and was surprised how alien it felt. Big empty roads. Big houses. Families. Elderly. It’s been less than a week but I feel at home in my new home already. People, music, shops, bars – life.
There’s even a pub on my corner that has Kirin on tap, my favourite Japanese beer, that brings back memories of sculling competitions against rugby boys (that more often than not I won!). Actually setting up house in this small studio brings back many memories of Japan, the only other place I signed a lease. My flat is about the same size as my Tokyo one, although the kitchen and bathroom are a bit bigger, and this time I have a small balcony. Unfortunately this one is missing tatami floors and the massive floor to ceiling storage space the Japanese design so well. Also this time the whole apartment is just for me: my photos on walls, my mess on the floor, my shampoos in the shower, my boxes of stuff to unpack (thanks to my Dad’s tetris packing skills) and my red click clack sofa bed (thanks to my Mum’s brilliant e-bay skills). It’s a new fresh start for me. I wonder what adventures 2010 will bring.
In the meantime Christmas is just a week away and in all amongst the craziness of the last few months and the move gift shopping has been the last thing on my mind. Thank goodness for late late late night shopping…
Chapter 9: Garden of Secrets (Vilcabamba)
Vilcabamba is famous for its people’s longevity (living to 120 on average), its spectacular sky-scapes and normalised UFO sightings. At the Secret Garden hostel the girls meet Mark, an older American conspiracy theorist, who opens their eyes to a whole new perspective of the happenings around the world. A Vilcabamban boy who works at the hostel joins the girls for a glass of regional wine and shares with them the town’s history and secrets. Rachel and Juliet discuss religion, peace and Juliet tells her about “Creativist” philosophy – discovering a life that values creativity over materialism.
Chapter 11: Dreadlocks and Shaman (Huacachina)
Oh man! This was sooooooooo fun!
Aside from the insanely fun sliding down monstrous sand-hills, at this little Oasis in southern Peru we received messages from the universe including a recommended hostel in Cusco that had far more significance than we could ever imagine. Around a campfire a group of hippies shared their experiences drinking Ayahuasca, a spiritual plant, and told me how I too could find the shaman in jungle should I want to experience it to. I want. I want. I want.
Chapter 8: The Three Amigos (Cuenca)
The local boys (that they met in Quito) show the girls the university town by day and by night: city lookouts, alcoholic shots in backseats of cars, coffee shops and museums that introduce Juliet to the indigenous “cosmovisions”. With Lola bridging the language barriers, Juliet learns about the local (mainly Catholic) religions and (mainly Capitalistic) attitudes, values and aspirations, which lead her to reflect on the idea of indoctrination, and the roots of dominant religious and capitalist worldviews.
Chapter 7: Enchanted Islands (Galapagos)
30th November till 6th December last year we were at the Galapagos….
A month before “The Year of Darwin” – Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150-year anniversary of Origins of Species – I stepped onto the Enchanted Isles with more than age (26) in common with my hero.
Charles and I both defied our fathers expectations for us: for Charles this involved the rejection of a career in medicine and for me it was a career in the corporate business world.
Both Charles and I came from strong Christian backgrounds (Charles was a clergyman and I a was once a Sunday School teacher and unknowingly a fundamentalist Christian).
We both are (some-what) self-taught scientists (although mine more in the social-sciences than Charles).
And we were both inspired by the enchantment of Galapagos to question the significance of humanity’s connection with animals and nature, and wonder what this means for our lives.
Incredible encounters with iguanas, sea lions and cubs, ancient turtles, fish, crabs, birds, eagles, death, love, families, English teachers, Ecuadorian boys, planes, boats and tummy bugs – these are just some of my experiences of the Galapagos Islands.
Potentialism: a philosophy for life
Potentialism: a philosophy for life
Discovering your ultimate creative potential: you as your individual conscious, you as your society and you as the universe – playing your role in the creation of a future reality you desire.
Syncretic paradigms:
1. The purpose of life is to discover and fulfill your creative potential in a way that brings the most benefit to others.
This is the purpose of all life
This is “living God’s will”
This is expressing Who You Truly Are and Who You Want To Be
This is discovering your inner being, your intuition, and listening to it
As Shakespeare said, “Above all things, to thyself be true”
2. We are defined not only by our separate identity, but are in fact a collective identity of humanity, of living organisms and of the universe.
In the same way that our body is not separate from the living micro atoms that make it up
In the same way that science describes all matter, us included, as made of the same substance: atoms, which at quantum levels flash in and out of physical existence
In the same way the Buddhists imagine God to be everything
In the same way Christians describe God, as three forms: the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, yet one God; simultaneously omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent ie all-knowing, all-powerful and present everywhere.
These ideas do not contradict – they complement. They are each other’s missing link – the way such abstract concepts maybe by physically actualised.
3. Peace is a state of harmony, when the body, mind and spirit are united
Key principles:
4. Listen to “God”/ The Universe / Your Intuition
Thoughts – ideas, images, and words that come into your mind
Intuition – the deep feeling inside that says ‘yes’ or ‘no’
Omens/signs – notice the things in the world around you that you are conscious of at each particular point in time
Words of other people – be it in conversation, a religious, fiction or nonfiction text, or a song on the radio, everything that enters your world is God communicating with you
5. Minimize fear and maximize love
Fear leads to insecurity, hate, and greed
Love leads to security, generosity, and kindness
6. Commit to the process not the result –
Creative potential is infinite and there is no end. An end means a beginning, and the circle of life continues.
Living in the present – it’s a present, a gift from God, pre-sent to you as an accumulation of all your life experiences and thoughts.
7. Realise that all problems can be solved with:
Will – desire to solve the problem
Honesty – about everything
Empathy – understanding where the other is coming from
Creativity – finding solutions
Transform and transcend:
8. Equal care for self and others
When we understand the inseparable connectedness between ourselves and others, we realise our happiness depends on the happiness of everyone else.
Hence our goal: to maximise our collaborative creative potential – expressing our own creativity, and encouraging others to express theirs
9. Consequences of this paradigm:
Selfishness transforms into selflessness – I want the best for me, and since you are me, I want the best for you.
Greed becomes generosity – I want everyone else to have as much as they can, because everyone else is me.
Jealousy and envy becomes pride and happiness for one another – others achievements are achievements of other expressions of myself
The concept of hate disappears – we cannot hate what is you
Self confidence increases, as we feel other’s trying to bring us up, not put us down
We truly put into action Jesus teaching to “do unto others as you’d have them do to yourself” (check wording + add equivilant teaching from other religions)
10. Self-reflection and self-transcendence
Breaking down defensiveness, building up confidence to critically evaluate one’s self and acknowledge our wrongs or harms we have done to others – allow us to repent and allow them to forgive
Rid yourself of your own grievances and any desire for vengeance for injuries inflicted by others – through empathy with the Other, we learn to forgive and move on
11. Create your own happiness
Make the decision to be happy – it is the biggest decision you will ever make in your life.
Begin with gratefulness, for what you have, even if it is little
Study the past, analyse different perspectives, take lessons from it and use it to expand your creative potential
Don’t cultivate feelings of regrets, everything has happened for a reason, figure out what that reason is, and how the past can help you in your quest for creative potential.
Bad decisions do not exist, that is judgement you make yet instead you can realise that this results may have led you to challenging times, from which you can now learn. These consequences were a small sacrifice, part of the process of discovering your creative potential.
Do not cultivate feelings of guilt. Guilt is of no benefit for you nor for those around you. Forgive yourself and let it go. Learn from the past, but keep your mind in the present, and an eye on the future
12. Cultivating wisdom
Facts are never static, but are the closest statement of the truth, at a particular point in time. If the data changes, facts also change. We must remain open to new data, ready to evaluate it in order to constantly progress towards a more truthful truth.
Taoists belief “what is impossible today may become possible tomorrow, and what is good today may become evil tomorrow; what seems right from one point of view may from another view seem completely wrong.”
13. The pleasure of extremes, and joys of balance
Life and death, hot and cold, love and hate, good and bad – you can’t have one without the other. This is the dualistic nature of life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d prefer a passionate love, even if it sometimes slips over to hate, than a mediocre love all the time. The extremes are much more fun. Ups and downs are what make life interesting. It’s the challenges that bring the most satisfaction.
Happiness when pushed to the extreme becomes sickly and dull. Beauty overdone becomes ugly. Even too much chocolate makes feel sick…
14. Rid your life of fear
In the same way that millions of skin cells die every day, and yet our human body continues to live
Our consciousness is already connected, and will continue to be connected even when the separateness of our present memory no longer functions, our consciousness will continue to live on through others – that are ourselves
15. Cultivate faith
Faith is about cultivating a state in your heart and mind whereby you give yourself to God* – not about conforming to a set of “beliefs”
Don’t worry, don’t struggle, allow the will of God/ the Universe to be done
Is not about belief in hocus pocus or confession to any kind of autocratic dogma – faith is about a state of heart and mind
Even things that seem to have no reason whatsoever, in time, you will see how it expanded your, or another’s, creative potential
16. Get in-touch with your creative side
We ALL have one, you just have to give it a go
Try everything, don’t be afraid of anything
Know that time and effort are what give results; if you are prepared to invest yourself in something, you can do whatever you want to do.
In order to maximise happiness in life:
17. Right investment
(a) Of your time
Spend it with people who motivate and encourage
In an occupation that allows you to learn and express your creativity
Feelings of daily happiness are essential to stimulate your creative potential
Expanding other’s creative potential, and the creative potential of other forms of life, including the planet
In ways that will provide maximum benefit to the most people
Spend some time in silence, connecting to your conscious and giving it room to create; meditation, walking, driving, prayer
(b) Of your money
Money should be a reflection of the amount of time and effort that you have expended, and can henceforth use in exchange for others’ time and effort.
In your purchases, buying what is good for yourself and good for others
In your financial investments, in businesses that are helping life move toward it’s creative potential
18. Not no conflict but no violence
No circumstance ever substantiates violence
The ideology of Potentialism must never be fought for – this is against the nature of creative potential. Fighting for an ideology destroys creativity, which may be trying to morph into new forms, in which case, this is it’s achievement of creative potential.
Fighting against nature is fighting against the will of God, that is, fighting against the deepest drive of each of us,
Potentialism seeks organic expansion through love, it is never forced or forged, but is the result of a synergy between selfish and selfless – working together for the good of all-life itself, all which is God.
19. The power of the mind
The universe operates through spontaneous creativity, and through patterned phenomena – your role may be to contribute to either
Thoughts are powerful in ways we don’t yet understand. We do know they are measurable on wavelengths, like radio waves, but have not tapped in to harness them yet. Experiments have shown the incredible impact of positive thoughts on plants, water molecules, and even the nature of atoms.
Harness this power. Dream, make goals, pray, meditate, make them reality.
20. The power for world peace lies with you
Each of us have, together, the power to change the world
All it takes is a vision: what do we want the world to look like?
And then in each of us the will to reconnect with our life’s purpose and play out our roles in this transformation.
It begins with finding the peace within ourselves.
Anything is possible!
Some notes on terminology and origins:
What is a Creativist?
A Creativist is someone who sees Creativity as the expression of the Divine Creator present in all life and the universe. Creativity is humanity’s source of greatest pleasure, satisfaction, and act of generosity. Creativity expresses your individual consciousness and shares it with others, simultaneously expressing the collective conscious and providing avenues for your individual conscious to learn.
Creativism or Creationism?
Just to clarify – this is NOT to be confused with “Creationism” which refers to a belief in a 6-day creation 6000 years ago. NO. Creativism is about CREATIVITY and the role WE play in the ONGOING CREATION PROCESS of our universe. These ideas are a work-in-progress (that I wrote one year ago and haven’t touched since) hence I thought I’d put out there. Everything in life always seems to be a work-in-progress, so carpe diem…
Expressions of Creativity:
Creativity is not only for those left-brainers; creativity is for everyone. Analyse the sources of pleasure in your life, you will probably find they involve some form of creation that you contribute to. For example:
- art of any kind: photography, draw, write,
- in numbers, in science, in business: look for creative solutions to problems
- food and wine: play with life’s little pleasures
- breathe: take pleasure in every breath, it feeds your cells and contributes to the production of new ones
- look for improvement: in every aspect of your life, each little bit of creative expression adds value
- in interior and exterior of your house, fashion, self expression
- make babies: the most amazing creation a human can make
Did I make this up?
I think you’ll find there’s nothing really new about what you’re read above … we are all so connected that I have this feeling when you finish reading this, you’ll feel like I’ve just typed out a transcript of your own mind. I may be wrong – all of the following may make no sense to anyone other than myself…
The writings above are a summation of my beliefs around July 2008. They outpoured form my brain as a stream of consciousness and are most likely inspired by all the books I’ve read and all the experiences I’ve incurred, so I don’t take credit for any of it. That’s how ideas grow and form – a culmination of the past, remoulded/stated a little differently, into something that can be used for the future.
I’m not sure how the term “creativism” first came into my head, probably on one of my long walks, where all my other ideas come from, and when I googled it I discovered it was a term being used by a few people to describe a similar concept of what I wanted to use it to describe.
There is even a definition in the Urban Dictionary: Creativism = ‘The theory or practice of creation as a way to live and understand life’ and a Creativist = ‘someone who is attuned creatively to their surroundings; a person who understands and expresses their life through creative works or motifs.’
I came across the term “Potentialist” in an article inside a flight magazine. See: http://www.julietbennett.com/2010/04/26/potentialism/
I couldn’t find a definition of “potentialist” so I made up my own: A “potentialist” is an alchemist of potential – someone who strives to achieve their mental, physical and spiritual potential.
The end and the beginning
Anyway if you have got through this essay then I have to say I’m extremely impressed. Six pages worth of babble… anyway I would really really really love to know what you think. And do you like the title Creativism or Potentialism, or can you think of something better???
Thank you!!!
Juliet xxx
Indecisive Spontaneity and Noncommittal Commitment
“Ok Andressa, how much to fly to Brazil for carnaval? Via New York? How about via Mexico? Ok, how about I just go to Mexico and make my own way there? … How about Africa? Tasmania? Uluru?”
In the span of one week I have gone from planning a four-month vacation in Central America, Columbia & Brazil; to volunteering at a school in Rwanda; to a six-month trip around Australia discovering Indigenous world-views in Aboriginal communities. I’m not usually indecisive. Typical me would be to already be on a plane to Central America with a ticket booked to return me a day before I go back to uni. Farewell me lovelies.
But I’m still tired. I tell myself to chill out, take time making these decisions. My Opa’s death has been tough. I have six weeks or so until his house (that I live in) will go on the market so there’s no hurry. I need to be patient with myself. But anyone who knows me knows patience just ain’t my thing.
On Friday I applied for a 12-month lease on a studio apartment in Paddington. Ok, I know that once I do this, once I move into the city, set up house, finalize PhD enrolment (my proposal was accepted to start mid-2010!!!) and find a Pilates studios in my new neighbourhood, I will be locked in. Committed. At least for a while…. I ask myself: can I do that???? Can I commit?
What is it about commitment? Why is so damn hard? Why is it that we have so many options? And why does selecting one option always seem to involve turning down another? If I buy this top I forgo that dress. If I go to Africa, I can’t travel Australia. If I set up home in Paddington then I can’t go to Brazil. I can’t do everything.
I believe that “we can have our cake and eat it too” – just not at the same time. You can have it and look at it and adore it, but you may as well eat the frick’in thing before it goes stale.
I can go to Brazil in January, travel Australia in April, and move into the city in July. But that sounds exhausting. So what if I want to go to Rwanda and I want to go to Brazil and I want to travel Australia and I want to move to the city – all at the same time?
In the world of quantum physics you can do all and you can do them all at the same time. All possible scenarios exist in alternate dimensions.
“Phew! That’s a relief!” I say to myself. It does take the pressure off a little. We CAN do all the things we want to do, without forgoing the other. It’s only the restrictive components of our brains that restrict our awareness to a single dimension. My simple conscious will only experience one of these scenarios, but my greater conscious experiences them all…. at least on quantum levels anyway.
So I question which scenario I wish to experience in my present conscious. If my lease application is accepted I am thinking I’ll give the “staying still, settling down” thing a go. I’ll try out the “normal” life: working, studying, paying rent, paying bills, having a social life… re-opening up a whole new can of challenges and stresses, and a whole new world of possibilities.
That being said, who knows, maybe tomorrow I’ll be writing you from Africa.
Sneak preview… Rio’s Carnaval
Chapter 34 @ Rio’s Carnaval… a short clip from the most insanely incredible party in the world…
