Like a bird sitting still waiting to ride the wind, waiting
to flutter its fluffy wings and fly through the infinite sky of possibilities.
Watching the sunset from a bird’s eye view, watching the spectrum of space open up to a bigger picture where I'm the observer looking into a crystal ball. The
trees gasp as the wind caresses their leafs, and I inhale and take a deep
breath. Between two lungs, love is inhaled and exhaled, and we breathe as one.
Salty embraces in the ocean of love, floating in the waves
of positive vibration. I can hear the waves now as I sit here in Mannheim.
Flashes of riding on a thunderbird through emotional landscapes come over me,
and the memory of feeling pure love and gratitude. I found the birds within us,
those that fly free, and inspired me to try.
It all started with birds. Lying on the bench in a park in
Bangalore, and watching the migratory birds enjoy their new destination. I want
to learn how to fly too. A book found me in a cave cluttered with books on a
dusty road in Bangalore city. It was Jonathan Seagull by Richard Bach. Synchronicity
was thick in the air. I felt alive, a breath of fresh air so exhilarating, you
want to just scream how much you love the universe. Every day was a new day,
and it felt fresh and invigorating, and it’s easy to feel completely alive in
the moment. It’s a sacred experience to have these moments in which you’re
completely present and at peace.
Soaking up the sun in a park in Mannheim, I made up my mind
that birds were going to symbolize love for me. Now I see love birds with their
wings spread out like a heart everywhere, but only when I consciously become
aware of its presence, and the presence of love within us and all around us.
"Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone and everything is six or fewer steps away, by way of introduction, from any other person in the world, so that a chain of "a friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps."
Traveling is not always about exotic getaways, beautiful
sceneries and indulgence. It makes you question things. It opens up streams of
thoughts that have never been explored before.
But then there are times you just want to crawl up under the blanket and
sleep for a really long time to get away from the world outside you’re trying
to explore. Feeling alone in a big city full of strangers is not much fun.
Trying to cross cultural borders, but not quite getting through is frustrating.
Struggling to understand the cultural lingo, only to feel like a fool. Being cheated and conned by people you trusted
and thought were your “friends”. Traveling alone as a female, especially in the
not so developed parts of the world can be threatening and intimidating. There were
times I felt violated and disgusted. Trust
is betrayed and you become jaded with the superficiality that surrounds you. But
then I just do it all again. I still maintain a certain amount of trust and
optimism for strangers. I still put myself out there, sometimes in vulnerable
situations. I still take the risks you have to take just to have some fun. I’ll
do it all again - just to feel alive. Just to get lost wandering around soaking
up all the new sights, smells, and sounds of a new country. To get to know the
people – to connect with a seemingly strange and foreign culture. To find
people you share a random connection with in the weirdest places and
situations. To walk the streets and find
a total stranger to share a conversation, a cup of tea, or a meal with. And then
it suddenly hits you that the randomness of meeting these people is not so
random after all – that in some strange way, you were meant to meet. There are
no random coincidences, only meaningful coincidences. Synchronicity is a
strange and wonderful thing.
"Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events as meaningfully related, whereas they are unlikely to be causally related. The subject sees it as a meaningful coincidence, although the events need not be exactly simultaneous in time. The concept of synchronicity was first described by Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist, in the 1920s."
Today I met an artist in Bangalore who grew up in
the same neighbourhood I used to grow up in.
"The small world experiment comprised several experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram examining the average path length for social networks of people in the United States. The research was groundbreaking in that it suggested that human society is a small world type network characterized by short path lengths. The experiments are often associated with the phrase "six degrees of separation".
“Simple minded people are the happiest people” is an idea
that has crossed many lips and different strokes of the tongue in the ocean of
language. “Ignorance is bliss”. ‘Making
things complicated’ or the euphemism – ‘complex thinking’ leads to an over-cluttered
mind and to mental and emotional suffering.
Philosophizing and seeking to understand; human psychology
and seeking to be understood -these pangs of thoughts fuel the hunger to
satisfy the human need to understand and to be understood. But not all are as “lucky”
to have the “luxury” of a chance at self-actualization as there are many who
are still struggling to have finite needs met or/and limitless wants met. People that are in the place where they’re not
limited by finite needs and/or limitless wants have the luxury of gaining a more
sophisticated understanding of life.
Brainstorming techniques mirror the complex pattern of
limitless connections that take place in the neurons in our brain when we think
.Many different and seemingly unconnected random thoughts can lead to ideas
that are spirited by positive, creative energy.
Meditation calms the waves and storms of thoughts to a place
of serene stillness and finds peace. Zen is the calm in the eye of the storm –
it’s when the tiger is about to eat you, and you use the few moments of life
that you have left to gently pluck the strawberry hanging from a vine, take a
bite being completely immersed in the now, savouring the exploding tastes in
your mouth still being aware that the tiger is about to eat you.
Thoughts can be occupied by many things. Thoughts occupied by vanity can be amusing. It’s like a man crawling through the desert completely
dehydrated, and then when he finally finds water, he reaches into his pocket,
takes out his comb, dips it in water, and then combs his hair.
Perspectives shift, and paradigms glide smoothly into the
infinite possibilities of the universes. Outlandish perspectives opens eyes to see a
new spectrum of dimensions. Some call it the ‘enlightened ‘vision. The
innocence and purity of wisdom shines through in these vibrations of thoughts.
Most people would agree that poverty is a big problem in our world today. Let's rethink this notion. Is poverty or wealth more problematic? Which causes more problems and harm to the world?
A poor man may commit petty theft because he doesn't have enough to eat. On the other hand, a rich man has the potential to commit white collar crime, steal more money and cause more damage than all the poor people in the world put together. The worst part is, the rich man steals because he is greedy, not hungry. It is the wealthy and powerful men of this world that are destroying our planet for the sake of profit. The rich and powerful kill thousands of innocent people without hardly lifting a finger. How much harm can a poor man really do?
Poor people suffer, and their children suffer. Millions of children die just because they are born into poverty. For most people, this is a big problem. However, isn't it better to die than to be the walking dead? To be a zombie. To be a slave to money and materialism. The wealthy may seem like they aren't suffering or anywhere close to starving, but I'm sure some of their spirits and souls are starved to death.
There's so much talk about alleviating poverty. We've been trying for ages to help the poor. Unfortunately, no amount of aid, money, or volunteers seem to be enough to even make sure that people do not starve to death. Isn't this absurd in a world where so much of food is wasted everyday? It makes you think.
Yin and Yang of World Hunger by David Revoy
Wealth causes inequalities. It is in the nature of wealth that only a few can be wealthy, since one person's wealth depends on other people's lack of it. Our economical system is like a game of musical chairs - the scarcity is created as the law of economics states that the lower the supply, the higher the demand. There are not enough chairs for everyone, and there is only one winner. We cannot all be rich. Some must lose for others to win. Some must starve so others can stuff themselves with food. This is the yin and yang of world hunger.
Wealth causes poverty, and then tries to alleviate it. It is clearly not working. Philanthropists are basically wealthy people that give money to the poor. But maybe poor people wouldn't have to suffer so much if philanthropists didn't feed the hand that bites us. You see, wealthy people feed the system - the capitalistic system which bites us when we are the weakest or poorest. Wealthy people make a lot of money, and they spend a lot of money. Without wealthy people or the working class heroes, the cruel capitalistic system would come crashing down. Charity is not only about giving, it's about not taking so much in the first place.
So now that we've established that wealth is the main problem, not poverty; let's turn the tables. Let's help to save the poor rich people instead. The UN's new goal should be to alleviate wealth! But there's something all of us can do to help eradicate wealth. What? How? Don't be greedy! Only take what you really need. Most of the problems in our world today are caused by over-consumption. Over-consumption leads to environmental destruction and the suffering of countless people and animals. And who consumes the most? Wealthy people of course. So what can you do? Live simply, so others can simply live.
A central theme in Taoist philosophy is Wu-wei - to do without doing. We can sometimes do more (and less harm) by doing less. In fact, we may cause more harm and damage running around trying to save the world. Our intentions are good, but the outcome is damaging. Aid creates dependency. Wealth begets poverty. Many people aim to be rich with the good intention of then being able to help the less fortunate, but unfortunately it's a vicious cycle. A farmer friend of mine told me once to look at the tree. It just stands there and seems like it's doing nothing, but it contributes so much to this world without hardly moving. On the other hand, humans are busy running around trying to improve and make things better, but only to cause more damage. We can be more effective and contribute much more to the world through quiet contemplation and mindful actions. This is the Tao of charity.
Cambodia is a source
country for men, women, and children who are subjected to sex trafficking,
forced labour, and domestic servitude. Poverty and debt bondage results in
thousands of Cambodian children being sold and trafficked in the modern slave
trade every year.
In 2010, I
visited a village in the Kampong Speu province of Cambodia. I went there
because the story of Vichetr Uon and his struggle to prevent child trafficking
in rural Cambodia stirred something in me. Vichetr grew up
in a village in rural Cambodia where many people are impoverished and are in
debt bondage with loan sharks. Vichetr’s father was shot dead while trying to
help the people in his village to resolve their debts with loan shark
syndicates. This incident sparked the idea for Vichetr to create Sao Sary
Foundation (SSF). SSF's mission is to "to identify at risk children and
provide sustainable assistance to both the children and their families".
Learn more about SSF here: http://ssf.org.kh/main/
SSF is located in a beautiful village where paddy fields are adorned with pretty
rolling hills. The people are simple and their smiles are genuine. Still,
behind those warm smiles are hearts that have become hard with suffering, fear
and worry. Many people do not own their own land and work laboriously in the
paddy fields for a measly wage. When they get sick because of the unsanitary conditions
of their environment, they are forced to spend money they don’t even have. Loan
sharks borrow money to vulnerable, naïve and desperate villagers. The loan
sharks charge an unreasonably high interest and demand for as much as they
wish. Many people in Kampong Speu are in debt bondage while still struggling to
meet make ends meet on a daily basis. Most people will never be able to pay
back the loan sharks and will forever be indebted to them. In many cases,
families who cannot pay the money back have their children taken away from them
and subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking. SSF is working hard to
prevent child trafficking by identifying and providing assistance to the most
vulnerable children and their families. SSF is engaged in various projects to
help the families earn more income. Other than that, SSF has also improved the
living conditions of the villagers by water and sanitation projects. SSF is
well aware that in order to prevent child trafficking, they must help improve
the social and economic conditions of the villagers.
The video below illustrates
the story of child trafficking in Kampong Speu, Cambodia.
Being in Kampong Speu really
made me realize how lucky I am. These people have done nothing wrong except for
being born in the wrong place. These children may one day be subjected to
forced labor and sex trafficking. There is only nothing much these children can
do about their situation, but YOU can make a world of difference with very
minimal effort.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Share this article to relevant groups to tell
more people about child trafficking and create an awareness of this issue.
3. Buy bracelets, purses and handbags made by the
youth from Sao Sary Foundation. You can send an e-mail to me at bogenfuerst@gmail.com to post your
order. They only cost between RM10 - 35.
The World as I see it - a massive optical illusion!
"All is Vanity" (1982) by Charles Alan Gilbert
Many times I get the creepy feeling that nothing is as it seems. I'm sure I'm not alone in this. The optical illusion in the picture above shows a human skull as the overall image, but if you focus on the picture, you will see a woman looking in her vanity mirror. Focus then unfocus. Interestingly enough, Zen Buddhism talks about human beings as having a choice to be either rational or aware beings. We can either choose to focus and reason, or we can choose to unfocus and be conscious. Being conscious means being aware. It simply means being. Being without no thought. Therefore, maintaining a consciousness above thought, not below it. According to objectivism and Zen, human beings have the choice of focusing or not focusing their awareness. To focus one is to unfocus the other. Coming back to Gilbert's optical illusion, when we focus on the picture closely, we may observe vanity represented as a woman preoccupied with her beauty. However, when you unfocus, you see a human skull, a symbol that reminds people of their mortality. When we unfocus, we tend to see the bigger picture. When we are able to see the bigger picture, we can let go of our vanity, pride, and ego and see ourselves for who we truly are. Finally, I arrive at the understanding that I do not have a soul. Instead, I have a body, and I am a soul. "All is vanity" is actually a phrase from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Christian bible that refers to the vanity and pride of man. This is our ego. Our world becomes an optical illusion because our perception is based on reasoning and ego. If only we could see the world being fully conscious and aware, I bet the world would be a very different place.
Global and personal events that took place last year and this year led me to this point of inner dialogue. For example, the revolutions of the Arab Spring. At first, I was only too quick to support the protests as it fed my ego's burning desire for a revolution. It also strengthened the identity that my ego had adopted as a pro-revolution/ freedom fighter/anarchist/ anti-government/anti-establishment/non-conformist type of person. I was consumed by my ego and overlooked the bigger picture because I lacked the awareness. My young blood thirsted for a revolution and a better world just as so many other idealistic, spirited souls out there.
Then one day, history decided to give me a little revision lesson. Looking back at history, we can start to see the old patterns re-emerging. The ugly truth is that, in fact, the CIA has fueled the masses in overthrowing their dictators just so that they can replace the stubborn and uncompromising dictators with a puppet that will meet all their demands. The U.S. has also covertly supported opposition groups in various countries without necessarily attempting to overthrow the government. For example, the CIA funded anti-communist political parties in countries such as Italy and Chile; it also armed Kurdish rebels fighting the Ba'athist government of Iraq in the Second Kurdish-Iraqi War prior to the Algiers Agreement. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_United_States_foreign_regime_change_actions
During the early phases of the Libyan air strike offensive, paramilitary operatives assisted in the recovery of a U.S. Air Force pilot who had crashed due to mechanical problems.[164]There was also speculation in The Washington Post that President Obama issued a covert action finding in March 2011 that authorized the CIA to carry out a clandestine effort to provide arms and support to the Libyan opposition.[165]Muammar Gaddafi was ultimately overthrown in the Libyan civil war.
AlthoughGaddafi was demonised by the mainstream media and hated by many. In fact, he was a visionary leader with ideologies that most hippies would readily sing along to. Check out Gaddafi's Green Book : http://zadishefreeman.com/images/Muammar-Qaddafi-Green-Book-Eng.pdf
The video below is a short documentary on the "revolution business".
Not long after the Arab Spring, huge protests, demonstrations and riots started taking place all over the world. In my country, Malaysia, there were also huge demonstrations taking place. Although by this time, I had gained a little more awareness about the business of revolution and the dangers of it, this did not stop me from taking part in these demonstrations. I did not think twice about standing up for my rights as a human and a citizen of Malaysia. In a country that claims to be democratic such as Malaysia, all the citizens were asking for was a fair and clean elections. However, the Malaysian government strongly opposed the idea of an independent committee of various NGOs to act as a watchdog. In other words, the Malaysian government was telling the citizens that they were not in favour of clean and fair elections. The government also refused to allow a permit for a peaceful demonstration so that the citizens could let their voices be heard. That was the first time I cried for my country, but only because we were sprayed with tear gas that stings your eyes and leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Thankfully I was armed with salt, a scarf, shades, and plenty of water.
BERSIH 2.0
When it was time for the next big demonstration, we were all ready to go, and we came back even stronger in numbers this time around.
The yellow spots you see in the picture are people all over the city in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
However, it turned out that this time, it was different. It was not as peaceful as the previous demonstrations. In the previous demonstrations, the protesters had remained peaceful although they were attacked by the police and authorities. Many people believe that there were impostors (people hired by the government) among the crowd that instigated violence and attacks against the authorities.
Protestors (or impostors) attacking the police car as it drove into the crowded area at BERSIH 3.0
The police car crashing into the crowd, and then overturned by people to see if somebody was under the car
Anyway...this experience made me question whether these demonstrations were worthwhile. I do not endorse violence, and in such large crowds, violence is unpredictable whether instigated or not. Did it even make a difference anyway? Was it going to change anything for the better? Or was it going to piss off our draconian rulers even more and make life a living hell for us? Finally it hit me, it was only my ego. I still do firmly believe that we should stand up for our rights and protest, but these days I have different ways of protesting. I have come to the conclusion that huge demonstrations do not make the most powerful protests. The most powerful protests are the quiet ones that you practice as a lifestyle everyday. It is the decisions you make consciously every moment. Forget about the fucked up government. Don't waste your energy getting angry and heated up. I refuse to play their dirty games with them anymore. Build a community and do your thing quietly and make the world a better place. The quiet revolution is the best kind :) Shhhhh....don't tell anyone : P
So what is this quiet revolution that is taking place? These days, I protest by working and living on organic farms. As much as I can, I refuse to take part in the activities of the materialistic consumer society. This is because I know for a fact that the root of most of the problems in our world today such as poverty and environmental destruction arises from consumerism. The idea is to become self-sufficient so that we don't have to depend on corporations for our food and basic needs anymore. Corporation have ruined everything for us, and are destroying our world even as you read this lines. As you would have realized by now, politics is largely controlled by multinational corporations. And what's the point in fighting for opposition anyway? The lesser evil perhaps? Is it worth the wrath of "democratic" dictators who don't want to lose their power?
Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty. Plato
The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting.
Power is not a means, it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. George Orwell
Last but not least, funny man Sacha Baron Cohen says it the best in this video
