Compassion, Creativity, Buddhism, The Quest for Truth & Wisdom, Health & Wellness, Music, Films, Literature, Art, Revolution, Healing, Critical Thinking, Mental Health Advocacy, Social Justice, Resilience, Reflection, The Beauty of Melancholy, Spiritual Development, Consciousness, Memento Mori, LOVE…
“People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is
realizing that you are the beholder.”
–Salma Hayek
I love Salma Hayek’s empowering quote.
According to Salma’s perspective, only you define beauty because you are the beholder. People let others define beauty for them- whether it is the media and other people. It is so refreshing and empowering to realize that you are the beholder.
Radiohead came to be my favourite band out of all the many bands/artists that I love.
I simply adore them.
My faith in humanity, life and love is restored when I listen to them.
When I watch this video, I am reminded of how much musicians and artists are so necessary in this world. They are vital because they are alchemists who can transform pain and suffering into beauty and enlightenment.
They are also healers that greatly contribute to the healing of the world.
I have a great reverence for musicians and artists.
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.
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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}.
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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.
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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.
Tilda Swinton as David Bowie. Photographed by Craig Mcdean for AnOther Magazine.
Tilda channels David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust alter ego…
Tilda is a Rebel Rebel…
Tilda is a huge David Bowie Fan…
“The other day, I was going through the airport security and I was searched by a male security guard. I’m very often referred to as “Sir” in elevators and such. I think it has to do with being this tall and not wearing much lipstick. I think people just can’t imagine I’d be a woman if I look like this.”
“You’re always playing yourself. It’s all autobiography, whatever you’re doing. It’s using them as a kind of prism through which to throw something real about yourself, or something relaxed at least. Because the last thing you want is to look like you’re acting.”
Tilda Swinton in Candy Magazine
Tilda is a Futuristic Cosmic Mermaid…
Tilda as a Cosmic Space Goddess…
Tilda Laughs At The Status Quo…
Tilda Transforms Through Make-up Artistry…
“These photographic performances and the opportunity they afford me to play with the shapes and attitudes of this lexicon are thrilling to me.”
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Tilda Swinton is a brilliant actress and performer {one of my favourites}.
“Society circumscribes us and we play into this feeling that we have to pick one identity and stick with it and any natural transformation within our spirit is to be resisted at all costs.
If there is some great shift in someone’s life one is to feel nothing, but shame and failure, that’s the thing I am constantly drawn back to.”
“There is something insane about a lack of doubt. Doubt, to me anyway, is what makes you human, and without doubt even the righteous lose their grip not only on reality but also on their humanity.”
What keeps her engaged in performing and acting is the moment of shift and doubt in one’s identity.
“There’s such an effort to try and explain people.”
Tilda Removes The Wig/Veil/Metaphorical Mask…
Tilda The Transformer…
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Gender, identity and beauty are such an intriguing topics which I hope to explore in future posts.
“Tilda does not always play women; she has played Mozart on stage, an Elizabethan nobleman in Orlando (1992) and an androgynous angel, Gabriel, in Constantine (2005).” -Internet Movie Database
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Please enjoy the fascinating video of master make-up artist Joseph Harwood as he transforms himself from a male/androgynous appearance into a female appearance.
{Joseph really shows us how make-up is art and how you can express yourself and construct our own identity}.
I am most grateful for a class I took called “sociology of gender relations” because it enlightened me about gender.
This class also brought to my awareness the struggles of women, gay people, transgendered people and other types of minorities.
More than anything this class convinced me that everyone deserves equality, there needs to be more love, compassion and acceptance in the world and that we should collectively fight discrimination of all kinds.
“These songs come out of so many random and contradictory thoughts bouncing around my head- like sound waves between sheets of glass and when I’m lucky they also allow me to reflect on the world around me.”
-Gotye
Gotye – Making Making Mirrors – a short documentary:
“The breath of the morning I keep forgetting The smell of the warm summer air
I live in a town Where you can’t smell a thing You watch your feet For cracks in the pavement
Up above Aliens hover Making home movies For the folks back home
Of all these weird creatures Who lock up their spirits Drill holes in themselves And live for their secrets
They’re all uptight Uptight.. [x7]
I wish that they’d swoop down in a country lane Late at night when I’m driving Take me on board their beautiful ship Show me the world as I’d love to see it
I’d tell all my friends But they’d never believe They’d think that I’d finally lost it completely
I’d show them the stars And the meaning of life They’d shut me away But I’d be all right All right..
Suicide is a very uncomfortable and necessary subject to discuss.
I recently came across a YouTube video that left such an impact on me that I was not able to write a blog post until now {approx. 18 days}.
The vice documentary left such a deep impression on me that I had to reflect for a while before I could decide what to write.
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Japan’s Aokigahara (青木ヶ原) forest also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海 Jukai) or the Suicide forest is a place where many people go to contemplate suicide.
Sadly, many actually commit suicide.
I feel so much compassion for people who are considering suicide as a way to end their pain.
I strongly believe that people do not actually want to die but to end their pain and they do not see another way to achieve this.
Below is an actual suicide note found in the forest.
I find it heart breaking.
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Many moons ago, I had a friend that was considering suicide.
I pray that he finds the strength to fight against his darkness.
I am still haunted by the fact that he felt this depressed but I could not do anything to heal his pain.
I know that only he can heal his pain.
I did my best to be a loving friend but I know that we cannot truly save anyone.
We can only save ourselves.
In fact, we always had a friendly argument about saving and being saved.
It revolved around the graphic novel and film Sin City.
Conversely, I went for a different thesis. I said that you can love someone so much that you get out of hell because of your love for them and possibly their love for you. Your love for them is so powerful and/or their love for you is so strong that you pull yourself up with your own strength and get out of hell- your personal hell or the other kind. In essence, you save yourself instead of saving someone else.
No one was right or wrong. It was fun to discuss but I stand by my point of view even though I recognize his had merit. It all depends on how you look at things. It was a healthy discussion nonetheless.
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Can we actually save someone?
Dita Von Teese & Marilyn Manson in Vogue Magazine Photo By Steven Klein
Azusa Hayano makes me question my beliefs that we cannot save anyone but ourselves.
I do believe we can help someone to save themselves and this is what I think he does so brilliantly and compassionately.
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We meet an extraordinary soul, Azusa Hayano, in this vice documentary.
He is a geologist that does the most important job of suicide patrol in the forest. {I discovered from another video that the police also seem to do suicide patrol}.
Azusa also studies how people co-exist with nature because he says it is part of environmental research.
He still does not know why people kill themselves in such a beautiful forest (18:53) although he does explain that it may be because of a popular book written in the past.
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Azusa patrols the forest looking for people who are contemplating suicide in hopes of convincing them otherwise.
He even finds a man in a yellow tent that appears to have been contemplating suicide. According to the VICE website comments found at http://www.vice.com/vice-news/aokigahara-suicide-forest-v3, the man in the yellow tent had been camping in the forest for one month. He had to be taken out in an ambulance.
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The police even put up signs to try to stop people from committing suicide. They also provide the number for suicide hotlines.
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I found it fascinating that many people leave a trail of tape to find their way back in case they change their mind. This is hopeful because people who are undecided can finally decide to leave the forest.
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With his gentle and compassionate manner, one can see how Azusa could convince someone who is struggling to live.
I was struck by how much this man cares.
He really cares and that is so rare these days.
In a forest where traditional compasses do not work, Azusa uses his compassion and wisdom as his guides.
He also looks for people who have committed suicide.
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Azusa reminds me of the value of a life and how much difference one life can make in the world.
If we could find our purpose and live our potential, then we could make our contribution- our gift to the world.
We need more people like Azusa in this world.
We need more people who really care and have compassion for those who are suffering. I don’t know if he technically “saves” anyone but he does help people to save themselves and this is priceless.
Azusa is actually living the Buddha’s teachings- especially that of compassion.
I am also reminded by how the absence of one life can be a tear in the fabric of existence and humanity. I think about how that person had so much more life to live, love and wisdom to give and receive, experiences to be had and potential to be lived.
I think of the apocalyptic loss for their loved ones.
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Azusa states in the documentary that the internet and technology may be the reason why there is such a disconnection between oneself and others. It is as if a schism is caused between our waking lives and our onscreen lives. Our lack of face-to-face communication has a price. Disconnection, depression, further loneliness and numbness may develop. Azusa discusses the human need for connection in real life- not through the filter of a computer screen.
“Face-to-face communication used to be vital, but now we can live our lives being online all day. However, the truth of the matter is that we still need to see each other’s faces, read their expressions, hear their voices, so we can fully understand their emotions to coexist.” -Azusa Hayano
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The essence of what Azusa teaches and lives is filled with compassion and wisdom.
This documentary also reminds me of the urgent need to discuss mental health issues.
I am and continue to be a mental health advocate.
I deeply believe in the strength and resilience of the human spirit.
We can transcend our suffering and transform it into something beautiful and meaningful.
The phoenix always rises from the ashes…
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To those of you suffering and feeling depressed…I offer you my compassion.
This post is for you.
Please speak to someone who cares- even if they are a stranger.
You will never know what a difference it could make in your life. They might have some life changing wisdom to give you or messages from the universe.
*Please reach out to someone.
I pray that the Buddha’s teachings, wisdom and compassion can alleviate your suffering.
Conversely, you never know how you can help someone who is suffering and in need.
You never know what impact you can have on someone’s life- even a stranger.
We are all interconnected.
By helping others we are actually helping ourselves.
“I’ve been living here for more than 30 years. My job is mainly environmental protection, I study volcanic eruptions and the plantation at the foot of Mt. Fuji.
In the year 864, Mt. Fuji erupted, and the forest that grew over the dried lava was named “Jukai” or “Sea of Trees”. Aokigahara is the actual name of the place, but people started calling it “Jukai”, because the forest as seen from halfway up of Mt. Fuji, is green all year round, and it looks like the ocean.
We’re entering the forest now. There’s a car that’s been abandoned for a few months, let’s take a look. I’m assuming the owner of the car went in from here and never came out. I guess they went into the forest with troubled thoughts.
In the old days in Japan, suicide was mainly known as the samarai’s act, as in “Seppuku” (harakari). In other cases poor families would abandon their elders in the mountains. That’s how it was back then, they weren’t killing themselves cause they couldn’t adapt to society. That didn’t happen like it does now, it’s a modern phenomenon.
This is a sign to stop suicidal people.
“Your life is a precious gift from your parents, Please think about your parents, siblings, and children. Don’t keep it to yourself. Talk about your troubles.”
Then it says to contact the Suicide Prevention Association.
Locals don’t commt suicide here. As children they’re told not to come near here, that it’s a scary forest. This path is open for the public, but you can’t follow the trail beyond this point. It says not to enter because you can easily get lost. In the Jukai, I think I’ve found more than… 100 suicide corpses in the last 20 years or so.
I found something strange, I’ll show you. People who are indecisive about dying, wrap this tape on trees along their way, so they can find their way out. There’s something that looks like a tent. I’m going to see if anyone’s inside, please wait here.” -Azusa Hayano, geologist
The forest is a popular place for suicides, reportedly the world’s second most popular suicide location after San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. This popularity is often attributed to the 1960 novel Nami no To by Seicho Matsumoto, which ends with two lovers committing suicide in the forest. However, the history of suicide in Aokigahara dates from before the novel’s publication, and the place has long been associated with death: ubasute was allegedly practiced there into the 19th century, and the forest is reputedly haunted by the ghosts of those left to die…”
Here is a short video about the Aokigahara forest and the plague of suicide in Japan (2:34). There is thought to be one suicide every fifteen minutes in Japan.
An expert postulates that societal pressures and culture is to blame for the high suicide rate in Japan (1:55). He notes that even from a young age weakness is not allowed to be displayed.
“Whether it is within the family, at work or in society, it is very hard to show weakness. From a very young age, from primary school on, dynamic and happy kids are held up as examples to follow. If you don’t live up to that, other people treat you harshly and that’s is why people don’t ask for help.”
It is intriguing to note that Dante wrote about a suicide forest.
His writing was also translated into art.
Dante Alighieri’s Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890).
Dante Alighieri’s Inferno from the Original by Dante Alighieri and Illustrated with the Designs of Gustave Doré (New York: Cassell Publishing Company, 1890).
“You are me, and I am you.
Isn’t it obvious that we “inter-are”?
You cultivate the flower in yourself,
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself,
so that you will not have to suffer.
I support you; you support me. I am in this world to offer you peace; you are in this world to bring me joy.”
There is something about listening to Sneaker Pimp’s Bloodsport that does something to me.
Chris Corner‘s angelic and seductive voice is so hypnotic.
The thesis of the song is that“love is just a blood sport.”
Almost every one of us has been in a romantic situation where we have felt like we have gotten beat up emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and metaphorically; hence the bloodsport analogy.
{Other times perhaps we may have been the one instigating the fight}.
It seems as though when you become vulnerable, many times you are hurt.
One thing that I say all the time is that people often mistake kindness for weakness.
In this case, people can mistake love for foolishness and weakness.
For this reason, people tend to put up walls, put on masks and have metaphorical knives up their sleeves to protect themselves from getting hurt. These same walls that protect you can eventually become a prison so you become mindful of how thick your walls are and of who you allow in.
It reminds me of one of my favourite Rumi quotes. {I have had this as my email signature for years and it is still there}.
“Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.”
-Rumi
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So one day you let the walls down and let someone in…
It is so beautiful when love is intimate, passionate, gentle and kind.
This is the utopian version of love- a compassionate union of souls; the type of love that Rumi wrote poems about- friendship set on fire- intimacy at its most pure, most spiritual and its best.
What Are You But My Spiritual Reflection???
The truth is that as much as all of us want that type of love, we don’t always find it because it is so elusive and rare.
Most are not ready or brave enough for true intimacy- to open one’s soul to another- to be spiritually naked without any armour…to risk really getting hurt while loving.
As a friend always used to say,
“If you risk nothing,
you risk everything.”
The question is…are you willing to risk everything?
Love isn’t a blood sport.
Is it?
What do you think?
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Bloodsport Lyrics:
I want to be a kid again Come down having Sunday best See me staying home bunking school Knowing wrong from right just rules
I wish I’d never seen your face Better done wonder phase I need an echo, not your praise Straying from the god you nailed
My mother, my mother, my mother never told My mother, my mother, my mother never told me Love is just a bloodsport Love is just a bloodsport
‘Cause love is just a bloodsport Love is just a bloodsport
Sex and love is not a game A game is something you can win Maybe something kind of fun ‘Cause love is just a bloodsport, son
My mother, my mother, my mother never told My mother, my mother, my mother never told me
Never told me Never told me
‘Cause love is just a bloodsport Love is just a bloodsport ‘Cause love is just a bloodsport Love is just a bloodsport
We all have somebody that we “used to know.” That person from a past life that is now a ghost. {Once so intimate, now so distant}. Previously best friends and lovers, now old flames and strangers.
I’ve always wondered what kind of mathematics turns friends & lovers into strangers?
Is it time? Distance? Pain? Anger? Disappointment? Betrayal? Worst of all: indifference?
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*I Love Gotye‘s Music & Videos!!! He {Gotye/Wally de Backer} is so creative and talented.
Gotye sings this song with so much passion.
You can see it in his eyes.
Most likely this song comes out of life experience- like some great art does.
To learn more about this Australian musical genius, please click on this link: http://www.gotye.com/
********************************************** Somebody That I Used To Know lyrics
Now and then I think of when we were together Like when you said you felt so happy you could die Told myself that you were right for me But felt so lonely in your company But that was love and it’s an ache I still remember
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness Like resignation to the end Always the end So when we found that we could not make sense Well you said that we would still be friends But I’ll admit that I was glad that it was over
But you didn’t have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing And I don’t even need your love But you treat me like a stranger And that feels so rough You didn’t have to stoop so low Have your friends collect your records And then change your number I guess that I don’t need that though Now you’re just somebody that I used to know
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I’d done And I don’t wanna live that way Reading into every word you say You said that you could let it go And I wouldn’t catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know…
But you didn’t have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened
And that we were nothing And I don’t even need your love But you treat me like a stranger And that feels so rough You didn’t have to stoop so low Have your friends collect your records And then change your number I guess that I don’t need that though Now you’re just somebody that I used to know
To learn more about this Australian musical genius, please click on this link:
