B.C (Before Creation)

Being young I may be ignorant, but I feel that this age and generation filling the Earth is undergoing somewhat of a ‘spiritual awakening’. Ordinary people, with little to no provoking, are proving to be intrigued by things which are deeper than our material, external world. People who have come to the realization that life is so profound, significant and symbolic, that there must be some truth to religion, spirituality or certain theories and scriptures written by philosophers. Many embark on a ‘self-journey’ in which the goal is to create a connection between our sensual mind and our inner-most self. Things such as our conscience dictate our bodies to act in a reasonable manner, these things are embedded deep within us. When we read meaningful messages through music, poetry or spiritual writings, we connect in a way which reminds us that these thoughts and feelings are already in us, and the trouble most of us have is expressing these and applying them to life.

All of our bodies and minds are in a certain way timelessly connected together, in some cultures this is known as a soul, in Hinduism “one’s true self beyond identification with phenomena” is known as the Atman. The Atman belief bonds each person together by the fact that everybody possesses the element of God (Brahma) within their spiritual self, and our physical body is merely a shell full of desire. We are then distracted by physical feelings (senses which affect our body) which come directly from the external world around us. Many people spend large portions of their life striving to satisfy all these senses commonly through material success, which can be obtained relatively easily and quickly here on Earth. Many people get to a point in their lives where, as far as connectivity, material and emotional wealth, they “have it all”. Some people will live that life having a shadow of doubt as to what is missing. Some people will breakdown and act on impulse damaging themselves and people around them. Some people will abandon this lifestyle in search for something that holds a greater meaning to thems, and not to that which the society constructed around us encourages us to do.

If you live your life having your only belief held in scientific reason, logic and psychology, your life becomes very meaningless and hollow. Emotions become either chemical reactions or the attachment to memories. Your life is comprised of working in the material world until you have sufficient money to reproduce and support a family.  Your ‘deepest’ desires become things which were introduced to you possibly during childhood or tempted during your life. You find that thinking this way means that the defining qualities of each person are by logic experiences, environmental factors and social pressures. Thinking about this attitude to life properly results in everything being a projection of your past experiences. People, objects, relationships, activities and scenery become a subconscious standardized projection of an alternate reality. This has been mentioned before  in my blogs, in reference to the state of meditation that can be achieved by relieving yourself of this unconscious presence of experience. In the same way this way of thinking is damaging to one’s self, although can help many people deal with the inevitable facts of death, accidents and breaking of connections. And so we find ourselves in a dilemma as to how we create a balance between the sensual/external reality and a reality which is very inwards based. This inwards reality runs almost parallel to the science and logic of the “experience theory”, in which the universe is very much based around your own projections and feelings of that which surrounds you. Positive thinking ultimately results in positive actions, which will attract positive people/activities and circumstances towards you and therefore increase the enjoyment and positivity of your life. This is a fact and works with human psychology and behaviour, where certain portrayed traits and qualities will attract certain people. We live in a world where we must first of all judge people from their interactions with us, with others, how they carry themselves, what they tell us and how they fit into society. If you have shaped an attitude for yourself where you display and project positivity, people can more often than not recognize genuine behaviour and are drawn to it whether it be to; investigate the source of such positive being, surround themselves in positive environments or to learn from you.  And in this way your life can improve and change based on your outlook and philosophy on life. If your concept of life is a fear based lifestyle, you are more likely to attract those who either share this fear or have a perspective which is dominated by questions and doubts and is very rarely filled with love.
There are many different approaches to life, some new age ideas involve working very little, being happy in yourself in a way where you can still support yourself in the external world (financially). Other approaches are closer to those of Gandhi, where the fundamental element of life is to work for your luxuries and never over indulge or do things which you have not deserved through labor and work. Both of these concepts have validity in them and can be seen as logical and functioning in society. Which ever kind of lifestyle you lean towards is irrelevant, but you have to have faith in it, you have to know that it will work, and you must be comfortable in ever part of it. Some people build their lives by picking and choosing from different cultures, morals and beliefs and create a full, 360 degree view of the world around them. To me this is the ideal way to find religion because simply deciding that one religion is perfect for you and that you will now mould yourself to fit it is damaging and unconventional. The best way to find religion is to discover things deep within yourself, your innermost being, the things you firmly believe that will never change (they may expand, but not be altered) and the understanding you have of the universe and it’s un explainable workings. The best example of these “self knowings” as I will call them, is when you read poetry or inspirational/life quotes and something inside of you clicks to attention. It is this feeling which is an eternal understanding of ourselves and although we may not always be conscious of this, things such as poetry re-ignite these feelings and make us think “I feel like I could have said this”. Most of us just lack the rare link between creative talent and internal understanding.
Getting in touch with these thoughts and coming to your own self-understanding will lead you to a religion that suits you, rather than a religion you would like to suit. Or this will lead you to a combination of religions which in a way forms your own religion. Finding religion based on what your parents believe, what has been pushed on you, or what is individual and different will only lead to self-damaging behaviour. In this lifestyle you are living a life of fear, a fear of rebelling to the religion you have chosen, fear of being condemned to hell or fear of being hypocritical. Fear has a huge power over people and stops you from feeling free, individual and sometimes even happy. All religions (as mentioned in my previous blog) are based on the values of giving and receiving love, living a fair and equal life and respecting things, people and god (the universe) around us. By living like this you can be free, you can abide by most if not all of the moral ‘rules’ set by religious figures without conscious thought and you can be happy and share your happiness with others. Simply by being around people, there is no need for argument or scriptures, coming back to my previous topic, if you display love and positivity, people will naturally be attracted to you and wonder what it is that you possess.

Peace Out Nukka’s!

- TRICE1

Love Lost

 Religion is now associated with a controversial debate commonly pigeon-holed as whether your trust is held in religious aspects and beliefs, or in scientific ‘fact’. Over time different religions have come to light, and formed different layers in society. Different religious leaders, influences, trends and political presence have all helped shape the standings of the current religions present in the modern world. Every different faith at one point or another has been misrepresented and unfortunately left imprints on the minds of many whose knowledge of said religion relies on the reporting of the media. This ultimately results in misunderstanding of religious beliefs and practices and thus causes vast separation in society as different cultures, morals and ways of living. This of course leads to the most common argument and moral disagreement towards an organised faith which is “why does religion cause so many wars?” While historically this is evident through documentation showing the clashing of different religions, we may look at another alternative which is not commonly publicised as a legitimate rebutul to the question in question. Religion is something that holds people, communities and commonly back in time, countries together. It is a sense of togetherness, trust and faith which bonds, strengthens and keeps a society working well. While this is good on the positive sides, this sense of connectivity can be manipulated to easily cause panic, fear and to heavily influence a group of people towards siding on a particular issue. By reinforcing hate messages towards those intended to fight, it would be relatively easy to turn a large group of people bonded by faith into martyrs of their leaders disguised as religion. And so in ways like this where religion has been manipulated and moulded to suit the needs of a powerful few, it has lost it’s roots, it’s beginnings and it’s fundamental messages. If we were to refer back to these foundations of each religion we would largely see that the underlying and most essential factor in living is love. As stated in the bible, ‘love thy neighbor as yourself’. The 10 commandments and lists of sins and forbidden activities are all avoided if you live by this principle of loving one another. In this world you can either live in fear or in love, and many live in fear. Fear of disobeying (god or government), fear of judgement, fear of other cultures, fear to express, all these things have been implemented since the time of religion. Losing religious values was a threat to he functioning of civilised society and so many religions were tainted with fear, to affect peoples moral judgement and bound them to the church emotionally. This kind of tactic is very effective and powerful, but it also causes some to steer away from religions such as Christianity and Judaism, searching for a religion which is not so ‘forceful’. Through a journey of other faiths and beliefs, they may find comfort in a more Eastern concept (Hinduism, Buddhism) or may in fact rediscover the bible. When praying in church from the bible, certain quotes are used and certain passages are left out. This is an effective way to ‘pick and choose’ in order to reflect the desired message of the church. But by exploring the whole bible, people may see the whole message, the symbolism of each story and in turn the undeniable message of love. This is true in all religions and if you give and receive love openly, love each person as you do yourself, then all religions are accepting of you. And while I cannot speak representing Islam, as I have not enough knowledge of it, I understand than many of Mohhamud’s early scriptures involve messages of love for others. And the third pillar of Islam (Zakat) “Allah ordered every Muslim who possesses a certain amount or certain amount of property to pay annually of these possessions to the poor, or to the other categories mentioned in the Quran.” This is a beautiful concept and keeps the community enriched in wealth and satisfaction of inclusion and charity, and we can all learn from early scriptures such as these.

I believe that all religion was founded on the basis of love for others, for god (or the creator) and the environment around us (sometimes referred to as god). This means that common respect, rights and love is given to each person, regardless of culture, race or religion. This means that there is respect displayed for the environment, and a spiritual understanding which bonds us to our land. This means that we have gratitude for our existence and of the creation of our world and life. Whether atheists agree with these mutual respects or not, we can all relate and empathise as they are all fundamental human feelings and they all encourage positive behaviour. Our world is slowly coming back to it’s roots of peace and love, and perhaps with this looming threat (or myth) of 2012, the people living on Earth will find a way to come together and embrace each other. For it seems civilisation, unfortunately, only learns large defining lessons on the brink of disaster.

I Lie 100% of the Time

“We’re never so vulnerable than when we trust someone – but paradoxically, if we cannot trust, neither can we find joy or love”

- Walter Anderson

Trust is the invisible connection that exists between yourself and something which you allow into your personal circle resulting in the sharing of things from your deepest emotions and experiences. We may open ourselves up or do things which normally would only be thoughts or actions we communicate with ourselves. Trust within another person is putting them on a level with yourself, a level which allows you to openly think and talk about your feelings and thoughts. It is allowing someone else to see who you are in depth without anticipating a negative reaction. We hold trust in not always who the person is, but who we see them to be and how similar that person is compared to ourselves. Trust is a natural thing to put in someone when you are close enough to a person, but we are always ready to take it back. The repossession of trust in yourself after a meaningful connection is broken may take years, months, or merely days depending on the length of the relationship. But in the end we find a way to recycle it back to it’s former energy and intensity, because without trust the prospect of a long relationship with family, friends or partners is seemingly pointless.  Although instead of allowing someone to strip their ego and outer shell before with-holding trust, we tend to see positive people as who we want them to be. And who we want to trust.

Our outer-shell consists of experiences and cultural standards which we have come to build up in order to protect our fragile selves. These barriers we build come into full effect when under social pressure and in familiar environments, they act as safety nets where we can parallel a version of ourselves which fits in to a particular setting that we choose. It takes time to strip these outer layers off ourself, as in time some of these layers are not conscious to us, rather a sub conscious hindering and pressure. And so in order to get rid of these conscious or unconscious levels of built up ego, environment and social pressure, we must enter into an unfamiliar environment where these expectations and standards do not exist. This is where we can truly engage with ourselves on the deepest level of our instinct, imagination and thought, where no distractions and artificial realities have been created by society. In modern society it is easy to glide through being a product of the controlled environment around you or standing against such a controlled environment which ultimately is a product of the same society but at a lower level. Living in a democratic country it is inevitable and essential to have those which oppose the direction in which the nation is heading, and so accepting these opinions and rebellion is, in the grand scheme of things, accepting the nature and system of your society. And so as products of our governed social and cultural society, we act in similar ways and have similar thought processes which makes it easier to communicate and understand one another. Through observing these similarities and differences we modify ourselves in conversation, social behaviour and thought until eventually the easy going, nice person you admire becomes your outer shell which must be broken to discover your deepest ‘soul’ of thoughts, feelings and desires. And if we portray all these good, although incorrect, characteristics with other people, how can we expect to attract the people who we will feel the deepest level of connection with?

Trusting the wrong  people leads to an often endless chain of the loss of trust in others either because they are simply not who we thought, which ironically is not who they ever were (but merely a combination of imagination and idolization in looking for a perfect partner or friend) or because we trust people in ways that we would not trust ourselves. To resolve this we need to connect with ourselves, trust ourselves and discover our limits, desires and un forgiven sins. In creating a positive energy flow within ourselves where we are our own best friend, we can then begin to see our friends as those who reflect positive qualities within ourselves rather then the positive qualities we are yet to obtain. Everyone has the ability to be their own best friends and feel comfortable and completely confident as themselves, it is just a matter of whether the individual is open to unfamiliar settings, people and experiences which as a journey will eventually open up doorways in your life that will make you happier than any other ‘happy’ lifestyle strongly encouraged by the developed world around us.

Life is filled with the constant juggling of decisions and actions concerning holding onto and letting go of things. While it is important to hold on to things which are of meaning to us, it is even more important to safely judge when to let go and not let things entirely consume us. It is relatively easy to let emotions consume us and it makes us feel safe and purposeful having one thing to point our lives towards. But this holds us back from exploring the many wonders of life, love, connections, relationships and beauty which is all around us in the world.

Peace Out Nukkas! xx

-    TRICE1

Forget Experience

“Thinking about sense-objects will attach you to sense-objects; grow attached, and you become addicted; thwart your addiction, it turns to anger; be angry, and you confuse your mind; confuse your mind, and you forget the lesson of experience, forget experience, you lose discrimination, lose discrimination and you miss life’s only purpose” – Bhagavad Gita

Our lives are filled with an array of senses, emotions, thoughts, actions and reactions. And from a very young age we begin to learn from experience. This is basic human instinct and fundamental logic. But through all the wisdom we gain in experience and discrimination, we lose certain elements of life, we lose the natural beauty and pure reality of situations. When we witness things, we automatically search our brain for a duplicate, or something of similar attributes and characteristics. By instinctively doing this we reduce the effect of natural beauty and first-hand experience, and instead it is compared to others we have had, heard about or seen, either first or second hand. This then dilutes the experience until eventually making the subject itself almost invisible, instead we are met with an altered view of the subject based on events in the past. And while each of us hold a unique perspective on everything we are confronted with, this is based on environmental, influential and awareness factors thus concluding that we all have one thing in common in our outlook. That none of us can witness an act without secondary thoughts which are external to the subject. For the subject to be viewed in it’s natural essence and quality, for the moment to capture and suspend train of thought it must be met with no expectation or previous knowledge. A fine example of this is a famous story of the Śākyamuni  Buddha entitle  the “Flower Sermon”. The Flower Sermon was wordless, encapsulating ineffable suchness: it comprised the purity of direct communication wherein Śākyamuni proffered a white flower to the sangha (a flower by which he had been gifted immediately prior), amongst whom there was no realisation except Mahakasyapa, who smiled. This recognition of a captured moment in time, a perfect symbol of harmony, nature and self exactly represents the term “in the moment”. For if you are “in the moment” your thoughts do not wander forwards and contemplate the future, no more than they backtrack to previous moments of perhaps the same feelings. Once you are captured in the moment, not being distracted by the relentless and unfailing concept of time, you are in a complete state of Nirvana where the real beauty of nature and life can be accepted and absorbed through all your senses. Applying these philosophies towards social barriers, troubles and relationships, we begin to understand that our judgement of others is in fact a mirrored image of our life experiences. We try to fit people into our concept of life and the universe within our own minds. Therefore what we experience of others is in fact an accumulation of past experiences and thus we never truly see a person for exactly who they are, but rather how they measure and compare to other people, how they reflect certain influences in our lives (media, parental figures, environment, nationality, religion) and what they resemble in ourselves. In order to fully experience and absorb someones whole nature and being, we must not place our own identity on them, causing them to differ in behaviour or thought. We must instead allow other people to be their natural selves, feel comfortable and not limited emotionally, socially or physically in our presence. This is almost impossible to achieve and at the most we can shadow our own personality and identity, not lose touch and sight of ourselves but dis connect enough to not intrude on others.

Continuous and constant levels of peace and tranquility often come with a connection with nature, our level of intuition and sagacity towards the natural life forms in the world around us are instrumental in discovering deepest levels of networking within our mind and body. Isolating yourself from modern day obstacles and surrounding yourself in nature is greatly rewarding. The more your presence settles in, the more you can become aware of the synchronicity and timeless wonders of nature. Different scenery changes the way we act, feel and think and so spending time in an environment where the only subjects are that of natural origins, the ingredients of the Earth and the universe as we know it, there we can deepen our knowledge of self. Much like looking at basic elements of our world and connecting them to civilisation created by man, we can journey into ourselves, discovering our origins and elements of life, and the products of those.

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.”

Our actions stem from our thoughts, and our thoughts stem from our experience and knowledge. So if we can discover the experience or reason of each problem we have with people, places or things. it is then possible to change the outlook of the experience. Emotions are created from memories and experiences, happiness, sadness, regret and anger are provoked by your train of thought. This is our sense of attachment we hold in things or people of which we have many experiences with, and although this is primitive it sometimes can cause us to lose sight of the importance of ourselves. The longest lesson there is to learn in life is how everybody within your life must be parted with, and this may be a quick process or lengthy and drawn out. It can come through moving location or an issue with the relationship, or through death, but the underlying undeniable fact is that no matter how long it takes you must eventually part with everyone in your life. But of course we learn from experience and the further we are propelled into the program of our lives we find it easier to accept, not emotionally but within our mind as a logical and natural part of life. And so each experience we have gives us knowledge of self regardless of whether it be a positive or negative experience. If you begin to look at it in a positive way, then only positivity will stem from it in your thoughts and actions. After such reflection and self therapy, only positive energy will be released from you and therefore will create a circular flow of good energy. Where it is consumed (in an experience), where you find positivity and personal benefits (knowledge) from the experience and where you finally emit positive energy for others to recieve.

The lesson of experience is the basic logic behind learning and a is rudimentary characteristic of living. That being said it is possible to hold vast amounts of knowledge from your past and clear your mind in awe of beauty, to be captured by the nature of things around you and to be blissfully aware in a state of consciousness where you are able to inhale your experience instinctively and meditatively.

Peace Out Nukka’s! xx

- TRICE1

Power of Thought

All the religions of the world, while they may differ in other respects, unitedly proclaim that nothing lives in this world but Truth.

- Mohandas Gandhi

When first arriving at the Ashram in Candidasa, I felt envious of the high spirited people who lived there. They all had character, beautiful personalities and a connectivity common in the Balinese. Their pleasures seemed simple and fulfilling and I could not fathom that which was denying the progressive world that surrounded them. I could see myself living here for an extended period of time, if not permanently based in Bali. The energy surrounding the smiles and well-nature of the members was especially heart warming during prayer time. Everyone would sing together and there was an immense sense of unity and togetherness, when one person momentarily stopped chanting, another would continue, elongating the note and “picking up the slack” for the others when neccesary. This was very symbolic to me, it re-emphasised my understanding that the ashram was compacted to a small community environment, more or less a family.

After a while at the ashram, I began to regulate my activities and participate in the ‘rhythm’ so to speak, of the maintenance of the property, people and guests. I was now beginning to have more of an inside look at the behind the scenes troubles, emotions and attitudes towards the ashram and the surrounding outside world. The ashram in Candidasa is a very enclosed environment, the days are made up of rituals built around the fundamental respect the Balinese have for religion and paying respects to the gods. This makes it quite easy to fill up the day with prayers 4 times a day (5AM, 11AM, 5PM, 7.30PM), meals 3 times a day (8.30AM, 12.30PM, 6.30PM) and the general upkeep of the property which includes feeding cows, cooking, washing up, gardening and sweeping. Whilst younger members attend school during the day, once again the remaining members find it natural to “pick up the slack”. Then there is the constant visiting of guests as the would flow in and out of the ashram, often entering with little expectation or experience and leaving with life lessons, new perspectives and new friends. Even while staying at the ashram the view of this lifestyle choice is very detached from the reality of the members, their stories, struggles and thoughts. While I am still a new-comer to leading the life the ashram represents, I have come to see the ‘underbelly’ of the peaceful, spiritual escape most only glance at. At first I felt a level of sympathy for the people who inhabited the ashram, whilst they received a sustained quality of life and a guaranteed living space, it seemed to me somewhat un fulfilling and limited lifestyle. This was of course a purely materialistic and Western outlook which I had been accustomed to. The Gandhian philosophies emphasize that the ideal life is one spent in service rather than indulgence in pleasure. This was ironic as the large majority of guests I encountered were those which had left their working lives, sometimes living on financial support from others, travelling to Bali to gain a new understanding of the fine art of living. Nevertheless this was a commendable act, which required courage and strength in ones self to enter an unfamiliar environment and if visiting Ashram, the full culture and almost un-altered Balinese life.

As my time in the Ashram progressed, I continued to feel sympathy and compassion for the people of the Ashram. But as I deepened my understanding of simple pleasures and the astounding beauty and synchronicity of nature through meditation, yoga and prayer, I began to turn and look at Australia (my representation of Western culture) in empathy and compassion. Through an almost mind-washing process of growing up amongst the media and strong influencing ‘cultural’ factors, I had, like many others, lost touch with the communication of basic human feeling and happiness. In being surrounded by nature in Bali, and exposed to the level of connectivity and gentility those arround me had, I felt inclined to explore these philosophies which so far I had only heard about from a media or second-hand standpoint. The act of being “at one with nature” felt profound to me, but also due to the fact of such a phrase being harshly filtered through the media, it almost seemed a mythical venture. I have always believed strongly in the power of the mind, in the power of positive thought and the power of negative thought. And so it was not hard to convert these beliefs and understandings into a more profound terminology like energy, zen, chi, spirit and chakras. And through this transition I began to slowly dismiss all my previous prejudices about meditiation, yoga, the limitations of nature and the power of prayer. I felt myself being pulled towards this way of life, feeling the power and difference in both my body and mind and starting to define things less by their physical and technical ability and possibility but rather by the feeling which the filled me with.

Along this spiritual experience I came to an amazing understanding of myself and that which pulled me down negatively. Much of it was involved in holding my own character and sense of self within objects, therefore making me a materialistic person by thought, instead of holding things within myself. My one perfect example of this was when I realised I had lost my iPod. I felt a great deal of upset, considering the fact that music is one of my great loves, but I then decided to incorporate the way of life here and think of it spiritually and in terms of personal gain. I came up with – “It’s better to have lost an object and gained something in yourself, then to have gained an object and lost something in yourself”. I immediately felt better, I began to involve myself more in live music and have since not looked back at the loss. Some would consider this as ‘taking it as a sign’ and as I agree with that to an extent, I would rather define it as, accepting elements of life. As I began to change my thought process I could observe that I was in a way becoming more religious and perhaps closer to the idea of God as an internal understanding.

Australia shouldn’t be donating money to the Balinese, excuse the cliche but money cannot buy happiness. They are infinitely rich in the mind, culture and senses which go beyond the physical 5. The Balinese should be donating their way of life to the West who are in desperate need, whether or not they are ready to admit it.

Thanks for reading! Om Santih! xx

- TRICE1

Tags: ashram, bali, gandhi, jett abbey, melbourne, trice

Awakening

bliss·ful/ˈblisfəl/

Bali is in many ways  now viewed as an escape from generic, routine Westernised culture. A journey for self-understanding and connection under the bracket of a ‘spiritual quest’. And to break free of the endless chain of labor, ignorance and little-to-no self awareness ultimately resulting in material luxuries. The Balinese traditionally have a bounded religious connection with the land they live on and the nature that surrounds them. An average Balinese local has a deep understanding of the environment and how nature works. Contrary to South-East Asian culture is Western culture, where the average local may have an understanding of government issues, finances, criminal presence in the community and an underlying knowledge in the benefits of material wealth. To understand Balinese culture we cannot compare it to that of Australia, as Bali is built on religious laws, rituals and is quite literally the “land of the gods”. Temples are of an abundance in Bali and traditionally a region requires 4 temples, one in the north, the south, east and west. That is how a community would be linked, by 4 main temples, thus making a boundary of the spiritual area protected. Commonly in western countries, a region or town is bounded by certain roads or the amount of resources and human services available.  There is a pattern here, that is that in, for example Australia, there is little to no depth in the culture, no spiritual connection and no sense of a bond with the community, the land, or how the land works. The native people of Australia are the Aboriginals, who despite law-changes, multi-cultural and support programs and initiatives amongst the  younger generation of Australians, they are still widely but subtley unaccepted, ridiculed and disrespected. The Aboriginal philosophies are much like that of the Balinese, where there exists a connection between the people and the land, humans and nature. This type of spiritual outlook is common of age-old religions, given that their dependence did not rest on science and technology, and so seeing the amazing and convenient feats of nature were inclined to have respect and consideration for it.

You don’t have to travel far within Bali to notice extreme loyalty to the spirituality, everyday rituals include offerings to the gods and conducting ceremonies which are designed to express the respects and faith that is held in the existence of a higher power. Almost all the civilisations created in this world, where a working society existed, there was some form of religion. One factor in influencing this mind-set as opposed to todays sceptical athiesm, ‘logical’ and ‘scientific’ mind-sets was the level of technology available. The sun was and still is widely worshipped as a god, as it’s huge energy, power and control over the Earth is undeniably vital in the production of crops and thus sustaining a healthy society. One mythical Egyptian tale shows Ra (the sun god) in his everyday battle against Apep (god of darkness and chaos), before defeating Apep in order to emerge as daylight each morning. This belief is a constant presence from a religious upbringing and results in the Balinese people being very open, generally welcoming and eager to share their rich culture and way of life. The Balinese have an amazing sense of family and often live in ‘compounds’ where there are often 4 or more houses situated on a large block of land. In this compound a family is likely to have their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties and so forth. This keeps immediate and extended family together and allows them to stay very close to one another instead of drifting apart. This is quite uncommon in the West and ‘growing up” is portrayed as moving out of home, getting married and starting a life somewhat seperate to that of the rest of your family. Not only do the parental figures hold these loyal ties, the children are always very close to each other too,  very playful and shamelessly affectionate. Including the boys.

Growth in adolescent teenagers and young-adults in Bali seems to be somewhat slower and less pressured and in contrast to Western countries. Whilst Westerners, much due to the fact of influencial media, have become accustomed to “growing out” of childish behaviour and being “too old” for certain activities, many Balinese teenagers have a simple yet beautiful nature which can be found in smaller children in the West. Where a person (most commonly a child) seems completely blissful with their surroundings. Once you are attending high school or perhaps even before that, year levels at school break into different social groups, matched sometimes by their interests, appearance or general compatibility. This leaves a huge reputation for each person to hold, not only the most popular or attractive, but the quiet, less involved kids still have an image they portray for one reason or another. Little to none of the teenagers in this stage will have the courage, willpower or means to be 100% authentic, as fitting in and being accepted is a fundamental part of the school social system. Although in Bali it seems in some ways they have beaten these moder day expectations and pressures. In Bali a lot of older-teenagers/young-adults enjoy much the same activities as younger children, this is beautiful to watch, as instinctively you may still feel the same excitements as when you were younger, but in the West these emotions are played down. It is almost essential to “act cool” in order to function as a member of society. Quite often in Bali amongst young to teenage boys you can observe their closeness with each other. They are extremely affectionate with each other and hug, caress and sometimes hold hands. This is something that has been 100% lost in the West, the ability to display emotions towards another of the same-sex, as much as it hurts to admit, we live in an extremely homophobic society. A society that has been lead to the point where people must be careful (especially boys) in their behaviour and speech, so as to not imply a deeper level of emotion than ‘friendship’. This subtle attitude in society angers me, as the people close to me are the ones I hold a very strong connection with, much deeper than friendship and the kind of caring that makes you want them to be happy, and joyful when around them. And these relationships do not exclude girls or boys and really are the definition of love, which all real friends should have for each other. This is one thing many people, including myself strive to achieve, the notion of imagination without logic or reason. To act instinctively from your heart without considering the external factors of reputation and social status. Of course this method of action can only go so far, as acting on all of our instincts and first thoughts can cause injury physically or emotionally to others. But to live peacefully, where we achieve peace with ourselves and all that is around us, we strive for a life -

“…without craving, free of ego, free of pride…”

Poice Out Nukka’s. xx

TRICE1

Tags: australia, bali, difference, kids, life, melbourne, teenager, trice

Love Laws Rule

A drug, broadly speaking, is anything that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function.

When two people connect on a certain level, they begin to ask themselves meaningful questions which result in compulsive answers such as “i will love you forever” and “true love lasts a lifetime”. Mathematically and logically, there is more than one person in existence who will have the compatibility worthy of spending the rest of your life with. Falling in love with someone is not that much of a rarity that it justifies the behaviors that it produces. Much like a drug, a relationship (based on the values of love) can become addictive very quickly, it can cause withdrawal from social groups, isolation and depression, which are all caused by the dependency of another person or of the relationship two people hold. This idea of connection and direction in life makes it a very hard thing to let go of. Ironic how something that cannot be touched and cannot physically be seen, can be so difficult to let go of.  This ‘love’ which consumes people, most commonly teenagers in their first love stage of life, is not only the physical presence of another person. It is as much an idea and a presence in the mind, something that alters your perception of things and lingers at the back of each decision. It is much like an emotional safety net and something that is assured “no matter what” so to speak.

I see life as an accumulation of all the connections you make, the connections you make with yourself and the level of self-understanding you hold, the connections with that which is around us (being the environment, nature and atmosphere) and the connections with other people, whether it be lovers, friends or family, the way we engage with people and the level of depth we connect to personalities and feelings. When we feel “sparks’ of emotion towards another person, generally this means that two similar personalities have the same outlook or behavioral patterns OR that two different types of personalities compliment each other, feed each other with energy (excitement, affection, flirtatious frustration) and ‘fill in the gaps’ regarding the others strengths and weaknesses within themselves. These kinds of connections let us know things about ourselves, about the people we would like around us, about the kind of person we aspire to be and remind us that everybody thinks in a unique and different perspective dependent on the environments of our life span and internal instinct.

Think of relationships this way, by committing to one person you are creating memories, filling up space in your heart and making yourself feel needed and loved for the most part. But whilst in this relationship you are blocking out possibilities of other people, other people who, given the same chance would provide the same or increased levels of happiness and feelings of satisfaction. As we let these sparks of attraction and mutual energy go by, we move deeper into our committed relationship, investing more and more of our time, energy and making this person into a source of happiness. By committing to a long-term relationship you are following one path among quite literally, billions. Of course this is a relatively pessimistic attitude and on the flip-side sharing your life with one person can be endlessly rewarding and the more time spent with a ‘significant other’ the more you can see into the future as your paths intertwine until creating virtually one.

Especially in this modern, technology fueled age with boundless possibilities, most teenagers  are not very emotionally dependent in their youth. Although requiring a certain degree of assistance and support from family is vital, this stage is quite common in discovering a sense of independence. The teenage mind can easily fabricate a false sense of individuality in comparison to parental figures, whilst remaining closely aligned to the beliefs and views of people in the same age bracket. The focal point is very much the teenager, but still relying on the people and environments which surround them of which the feel most comfortable or adjusted to. This is a time where proving yourself and your independent capabilities can tarnish family relationships, friendships and opportunities where dictation is required (education and work environments). A certain flare is apparent in teenagers which is rarely found in older people, this flare provokes excitement, attracts others and often is expressed in a burst of rebellion and friction with others (often parental figures). This flare burns on through the teenage years as hormones continue to have an impact on behaviour, although we do learn how to somewhat control this flame, to move in sync with it’s movements and not let it take control or metaphorically, ‘set us alight’. This is a fundamental human skill and continues to be relentlessly used until the day our flame flashes, flickers and dies. This of course is self control and without it, the civilisation we live in would have no personal barriers, no sense of safety and people would do as they please, right or wrong until physically stopped.

Love exists, falling in love is so common and now publicised, made fun of and expressed to young kids through the media, that it has almost lost it’s meaning and significance in the linking via emotional connections and opening certain feelings and thoughts. Compatibility, sexual chemistry and attraction to personality all add up to the feeling of being love. And so with over 6.9 billion people with interesting, loving, creative and protractile traits similar to our own, it is quite simply illogical and delusional to think that one person holds with them everything you need in a life partner as opposed to the rest of the Earth’s population. It is relatively easy to get caught up in the ‘soulmate’ fantasy, naturally as human-beings it comforts us in holding the belief that there is a perfect fit of a person for each and everyone of us. And that the only struggle in life is finding him/her. Of course this is not the case and even if we logically and  personally found our perfect being, it would still require work to keep it up, as every relationship does. These laws of love apply to everyone but me, I’m only in love with one person.

Poice Out Nukka’s. xx

-TRICE1

Tags: bali, destiny, drug, fate, love, melbourne, relationships, trice, young love