Speaking for Itself

Louder than words:

Prodigy Artist

Another prodigy with an interesting story. Watch the accompanying interview with her as well:

A Prologue

I have recently seen the film 'Lady in the Water' again after some time, and just realized again what a great story teller Night Shyamalan is. He has his critics, how else? But his stories (films) - especially Lady in the Water - are important, and ring true in our deep subconscious minds.

The Power of One

Ever wondered why most of us are afraid to speak in front of a crowd at first, and when finding the courage to confront this fear, later thrive on doing so?

When we see an angry crowd rioting, one truly understands the words: a crowd is a dangerous animal.

There is a mysterious force that binds many into one; a force we see in an ant colony or bee hive working for the greater good of the collective; we see it in a flock of a thousand birds flying as one, turning time after time at the very precise moment as if by magic; when zebras evade their predators by moving collectively, their numbers and patterns confusing the predators; when mammals like dolphins work unselfishly in groups to catch their fish by chasing fish into balls, and taking turns to feed.

This magical invisible force, is the power of the collective mind; when many act as One. This is indeed, because all is One, forgotten by Supermarket Man, desperately clinging to his reductionist Victorian mindset of divide and conquer, destroying nature and the future of his children in the ‘name of progress’.

But the Winds of Change has started to blow. The collective mind of the Sleeping Giant is awakening to the Light; and the Awakened Giant with Light in its heart, is a dangerous Being to the forces of darkness…

A video showing a flock of birds flying as one organism (wait for at least a minute into video for best shot).

Proverb

I have recently discovered this wise Native American saying:

"Western man will soon discover that, when the last tree is cut down, and all the rivers are poisened; he won't be able to eat his money..."

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

Another year gone by in the blink of an eye; another lying ahead...



Yes, it's January again, the month's name derived from one of the oldest Roman gods Ianus/ Janus, who has two faces: one facing the past, the other facing the future; essentially being the mythological doorway from yesterday to tomorrow.

And here we find ourselves in this mythical doorway once again; our 2007 Self 'dying' on the solstice of December 21st, and then being 'resurrected' for the coming 2008, passing through the doorway or 'janua'.

And finding yourself on this doorway once more: what lies ahead for you and all of us?

So far, things look a bit grim: Pakistan and Kenya are in turmoil; the Iraq war looms forth; oil has hit an all time high of $100/ barrel (with fuel prices surging); the credit crunch of 2007 continues to haunt the markets, and threatens the world economy (thus ultimately you and your children)...

But fear not dear readers. As Frankl once remarked: in order to cause light, one must endure some burning...

Being mythically 'reborn' through Janus - thus standing on the threshold of another year - the opportunity arises for you (and all of us) to make a change not only for ourselves, but for the the world. The world is in it's current state, because of billions of individuals making poor decisions day after day; year after year. This collective decision making causes what we live everyday.

Think about it: everything you experience around you was once a mere thought of someone. From the PC (or Mac) you are using to read this blog, to the chair you're sitting in, the house around you, your clothes and car...all ideas once in someone's head that was made reality by externalizing it through decision and action. You want a house, you imagine it in your mind, explain it to an architect who then draws the plan (externalizing the thought). This plan will then be further externalized by the builders, until you live in that once imagined thought.

This applies to everything. What once was a vast and rich wilderness, is now a wrongfully conquered country: with sprawling tarmac, concrete and metal, shaping our cities, sucking the life from Earth, and polluting her as a 'thank you'. What once was freedom of the people in smaller lovingly empathetic communities, are now endlessly bureaucratic legislation, controlling the consuming masses of billions.

And among those billions of thinkers and decision makers; is you. The reason why you think that you don't count, is because you feel lost in that faceless and impersonal giant called 'humanity'. But everyone's thought counts. Like my wife always says: $999,999.99 can never become a million without that last cent. It takes one snowflake more on the heap, to cause a deadly avalanche.

Some thoughts and decisions empower us, while others deceive us into thinking we have power, while we are actually destroying ourselves. It is as Jimmy Hendrix once said: when the love for power is changed into the power of love, then we will have peace.

Thus, take this opportunity of 'rebirth', and think about your future. Don't just fall into the mindless routine of work again, slaving away your existence to afford your mortgage and further enrich the central banks of the world. Think carefully about the life and future not only of yourself, but of your children and the entire humanity. Your powerful thoughts and decisions can make or break your life, and that of others.

Learn from your past, live now and create your new future with the decisions of today...

Jean Erasmus