“She’s mad but she’s magic.
There’s no lie in her fire.”
-Charles Bukowski
Angelina Jolie is Magic…
*
Please enjoy Girl I Love You by Massive Attack {featuring Horace Andy}…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQPSMRQnNlU
Live Version…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atIXiwXeFnU
*
For more information…
Charles Bukowski…http://bukowski.net
Massive Attack…http://www.massiveattack.co.uk
*
Peace & Mad Love…
Happiness is no mystery to master comedian Larry David.
Larry David Finds Happiness In Comedy…
*
In this short video clip, Larry analyzes the causes of happiness…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl_sRAim8WE
Larry observes that religious people tend to be happier than their non-religious or atheist/agnostic counterparts.
He thinks that it is because they have the concept of heaven/the afterlife to look forward to.
{This belief in an afterlife reduces or eliminates the fear of death and existential angst. He notes that this is a huge advantage over the non-religious}.
Larry thinks that it is not possible to be happy if you don’t have job satisfaction, sexual satisfaction or a decent level of financial success.
Do you agree or disagree with him?
What about rich people who are unhappy or poor people who are happy?
Can poor people be happy?
What about mental illness?
How does that factor into the equation?
*
For more information…
Larry David…http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0202970/
*
Peace & Namaste…
“Money does not represent such a value as men have placed upon it.”
-Nikola Tesla
*
In this short video clip, Moby discusses the value of money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSGwVm-Tj_s
He notes, “the ultimate goal in acquiring money is to have enough money so you don’t have to worry about money.
His observation, “the best thing about money is when you don’t have to pay attention to money” is paradoxical.
It is a paradox that you can stop paying attention to money only when you have money.
This begs the question of how much money does one need to have in order to stop paying attention to it?
{I suspect that it varies from individual to individual}.
Moby talks about how he grew up poor and even lived in an abandoned factory in a crack neighborhood.
*It should be noted that at no point in time does he complain about the poverty he experienced.
One senses an air of gratitude from Moby for these experiences.
His humble beginnings are quite the contrast to his massive success as a musician. I believe that Moby truly deserves and enjoys his success- financial and otherwise.
His last point was that he doesn’t understand the pursuit of money for the sake of money.
Chasing money for the sake of money sounds like greed to me.
To me it seems that Moby is asking existential questions about human existence.
Specifically, he is questioning purpose and what brings happiness and satisfaction.
He does not think that happiness is derived solely from money.
Moby Loves Animals & Is An Animal Activist…
However, Moby notes that money can improve the quality of your life.
Sociology teaches us that a person’s income and social status greatly impacts their health and quality of life.
Sadly, society is not a level playing field; hence, the vital and urgent importance of social equality is understood.
Moby invites us to define success and find happiness and satisfaction on own our terms.
*
Please enjoy Paid in Full by the legendary Eric B & Rakim…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7t8eoA_1jQ
*
Do you agree or disagree with Moby?
Why or why not?
What does success mean to you?
What brings you happiness and satisfaction in life?
*
For more information…
Nikola Tesla…http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/index.html
Moby…http://www.moby.com
Eric B. & Rakim…http://www.ericbnrakim.com
*
Moby Wishes You Peace, Love and Happiness…
“I have never understood the concept of infatuation.
It has always been my understanding that being ‘infatuated’ with someone means you think you are in love, but you’re actually not; infatuation is (supposedly) just a foolish, fleeting feeling.
But if being ‘in love’ is an abstract notion, and it’s not tangible, and there is no way to physically prove it to anyone else…
well, how is being in love any different than having an infatuation?
They’re both human constructions.
If you think you’re in love with someone and you feel like you’re in love with someone, then you obviously are; thinking and feeling is the sum total of what love is.
Why do we feel an obligation to certify emotions with some kind of retrospective, self-imposed authenticity?”
Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
*
Please enjoy Think I’m In Love by Beck…
From The Basement Version…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S1wL87JywI
Original Video Version…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7WdKAvZ2ec
*
Do you agree with Chuck Klosterman?
Why or why not?
Are the concepts of love and infatuation too cerebral/intellectual and abstract?
Are they not emotive enough?
Can love truly be defined?
Why do we constantly need to define things?
Why can’t we just let them be?
*Is the role of art to define love or is it the goal of life?
Are feelings of love more or less valid than thoughts of love?
{I think it all counts but I believe love is shown in actions}.
How can you prove your love?
Doesn’t infatuation sound so immature as opposed to love?
{I think love is mature and infatuation is immature}.
Is infatuation always temporary?
{It is interesting to note that most poets/authors/musicians/artists write and sing more about love and not infatuation}. Why do you think that is?
Is infatuation dangerous?
*
For more information…
Chuck Klosterman…
http://pages.simonandschuster.com/chuckklosterman
http://twitter.com/CKlosterman
Beck…http://www.beck.com
*
Peace & Namaste…
“Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you.
This storm is you. Something inside of you.
So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time. Just fine white sand swirling up into the sky like pulverized bones. That’s the kind of sandstorm you need to imagine.
And you really will have to make it through that violent, metaphysical, symbolic storm. No matter how metaphysical or symbolic it might be, make no mistake about it: it will cut through flesh like a thousand razor blades. People will bleed there, and you will bleed too. Hot, red blood. You’ll catch that blood in your hands, your own blood and the blood of others.
And once the storm is over you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain.
When you come out of the storm you won’t be the same person who walked in.
That’s what this storm’s all about.”
―Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
The Storm Is Something Inside Of You…
*
Please enjoy Riders On The Storm By The Doors…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS-af9Q-zvQ
*Side note: “Riders On The Storm” was the last song recorded by the members of The Doors, according to Ray, as well as Jim´s last recorded song to be released (recorded December 1970 – January 1971 – released in June ´71).”
*
For more information…
Haruki Murakami…http://www.murakami.ch/main_6.html
http://www.murakamibooks.co.uk
The Doors…https://thedoors.com
*
Isn’t Haruki Murakami so wise?
Doesn’t he write so beautifully?
Is the storm an emotional, psychological or spiritual storm?
{I think it is all of the above}.
Could a storm be a real mental illness or physical illness?
{I think so- especially with mental illness because it is internal just like Murakami’s metaphorical storm}.
Is life just a pause between each storm?
Or is life the storm itself?
{One could come to that conclusion because life involves constant change}.
Is the purpose of the storm to make us grow, learn, heal and/or evolve?
Do we need the chaos and suffering of the storm so that we can learn, grow/evolve and heal?
I like that he suggests that even though we will get hurt we will also heal.
We are inherently resilient.
He also stresses the idea of metamorphosis.
Once we come out of the storm we are changed.
Could this be spiritual/emotional/psychological alchemy?
{I would love to hear your thoughts}.
*
Peace & Namaste…
I love poetry in all forms whether it be written or spoken {e.g. poetry recitals/readings, poetry slams, etc}.
Poetry speaks to my soul.
Does it speak to yours?
Which poetry speaks to your soul?
Which poets resonate with you?
{Many poets resonate with me but my favourite poet is Rumi}.
*
Gabriel Byrne has the perfect voice.
Gabriel Byrne is a Lover of Poetry, Literature and The Arts…
He has actually narrated quite a few audiobooks.
*
Here is a short video clip of him reciting poetry by William Butler Yeats.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnJsi2JFKKs#t=45
*
For more information…
Gabriel Byrne…http://www.byrneholics.com
William Butler Yeats..http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/117
*
{More poetry recitals/readings to come in future posts}.
Peace & Namaste…
Gabriel Byrne is one of my favourite people.
Even though I have never had the honor of meeting him, he intrigues me in the most beautiful way.
He is a very soulful person who seems to be deeply compassionate, sensitive, introspective and intelligent.
In this short clip, you can feel Gabriel’s conviction in his words and voice.
{His voice is medicine for my soul}.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eYvTpZTZFU
His suggestion of “imagining Ireland” is a great segue into this post.
*
In this short clip, Gabriel discusses his hunger for travel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ-rQcJF6Ns
He says that he always had a desire to travel and move.
In his birthplace of Ireland, Gabriel feels that he is always colliding with his past.
He feels defined by his past in Dublin.
Whereas in New York he feels that he has a clean slate- a tabula rasa where he is “free to compose his own present.”
Gabriel lived in Los Angeles for five years but he decided to leave. He feels that when you live in a place without clearly defined seasons, your sense of time becomes distorted. Time passes almost invisibly yet quickly.
*
Gabriel decided to move to New York and he lives there presently.
He compares Los Angeles to New York and he focuses on their restless nature.
“It’s a restless city…Los Angeles even more so than New York is a city where people come to…it has to exist for those people who can’t exist in places outside of it.
It exists for people who become in a way…who outgrow or out-dream or out-fantasize their own places
For Gabriel, Los Angeles is a land of paradox.
It offers new beginnings and freedom yet an ambiance of melancholy haunts it.
He notes, “The sense of freedom and light and being able to re-invent oneself is very strong there…but there’s also a sense of melancholy that pervades the place.”
I found the following observation to be the most intriguing.
“It is a place where people think that if they get successful enough, they are not going to die.”
In essence, Gabriel is using memento mori to analyze people’s avoidance of death. It is almost as if success was used as a passport out of death.
This incisive observation is very Buddhist as Buddha believe in impermanence {i.e. everything dies}.
*
One doesn’t need to have a gypsy soul to want to move or travel.
We’ve all dreamed of moving our proverbial roots to far away magical lands.
I know I have…
I believe the term is called wanderlust.
*
Ireland is definitely one of the countries that I long to visit.
Majestic Ireland…
It is the birth place of two of my favourite actors Jonathan Rhys Meyers and of course Gabriel Byrne. They often speak about Ireland’s sublime beauty.
Ireland’s Majestic Northern Lights…
To be honest there are so many places I would love to visit.
Since I was a child I fell in love with Egyptian history and mythology.
Ancient Egypt has fascinated me and still fascinates me to this day.
Egypt is one place I would love to visit.
Egypt: A Land of Alchemical Beauty
Iceland also seems like a mystical land full of haunting beauty.
The Magical Northern Lights in Iceland…
I would love to experience the northern lights- aurora borealis.
I would love to experience the beauty of Iceland that resonates in the music of Björk and Sigur Rós.
*Please enjoy Sigur Rós – Ágætis Byrjun…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWoQxk0-f0o
These days my heart longs to visit the magical lands of Greece.
Greece…A Place of Rich History and Eternal Beauty…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-ZeMwI2pL4
Japan is also another country I definitely want to visit.
I love Japanese culture and I love the humility and resilience of Japanese people.
Other places I would like to visit:
New Zealand…
Waitomo Worm Cave in New Zealand…
Australia…
and Hawaii.
Aloha From Paradise…
I would also love to visit Buddhist temples through-out the world.
I would really like to explore all the countries of Latin America- especially Cuba.
{To be honest, there are too many places I would love to visit but I just mentioned a few to not make this post too long}.
*
I think travel enriches one’s life in so many ways.
It open one’s mind and possibly even one’s heart.
Travelling connects us with our shared humanity and our interdependence.
Where would you like to travel to?
Where would you like to move to?
Do you agree with Gabriel?
*
For more information…
Gabriel Byrne…http://www.byrneholics.com/
Jonathan Rhys Meyers…http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001667/
Björk…http://www.bjork.com
Sigur Rós…http://www.sigur-ros.co.uk
*
Peace & Namaste
