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Conviction.

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Life can be tough. It can be tiring and frustrating. In striving for any goal we face a road of trials. At times its too hard. We throw our hands in the air and shout “I give up!” How do you know when to push through? How do you know when to persevere? How does one come to the conviction that they can, or that they can’t? That they are right, or that they are wrong? That they should continue or that they should give up? And how does one find the determination, the motivation, and the energy, to continue on the journey?

I don’t know the answer to these questions. I don’t know where conviction comes from. But I know what it feels like. This little story, and the sense of conviction I felt at the time, is a landmark feeling I know I’ll refer to in the trials I face in my future.

The story behind a photo…

From the lookout at the top of Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. I was exhausted. It was FREEZING cold. My wrists hurt. My back hurt. I tried. It was messy. My back simply didn’t want to bend.

I tried again. And again. And again.

“I give up.” I declared. “My body won’t let me. I just can’t do it.”

 

But sitting there watching the luminous sunset. The beauty in the trees, the mountains, the sky… changed me. Something inside me changed.

“Get the camera,” I instructed. “I can do this.”

I put my hands under my shoulders.

I thought of the journey I have taken – the most unlikely dreams that have already come true.

I thought of the journey ahead – the dreams in my life that I am working towards.

With all my might I took a deep breath, and lifted my body up as high as I could.

I held it and held it. The beauty before my eyes. The wind catching my hair. The freshness of the cold air permeating my being. The stars and my body aligned for one short magic moment.

And this is the shot.

Truth,

New Year, New Food Pyramid: eating for health, longeivity and a better future

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Before I begin my rant about food, I would like to say a big HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! I hope it has kicked off to a better start than mine (7am New Years Day I was at the hospital having barnacles taken out of my feet) and that you had a great night celebrating (my night of swimming in the harbour and watching the fireworks was worth this pain the next day).

I thought this post better wait till after Christmas and New Years celebrations. Now is the time that, if you indulged in the delicious foods (as I did), you are probably sitting there (like me) considering how you are going to put some of those “get fit and healthy” new years resolutions into place.

I’m not one for diets. They are good in theory – lose weight fast – but in practice they mess up your metabolism and cause more long term damage than the short term gain.

I am also not one for rules. Tell me to do something, and I will probably do the opposite.

I like to have reasons to motivate my daily decisions.

The anti-aging pyramid above captures my general food habits (minus the vitamins/supplements – this pyramid must have been put out by a vitamin company lol).

But seeing this pyramid wouldn’t motivate me to follow it. The fact that free-range eggs are relatively  cheap, keep in the fridge for a long time, and very quick and easy to cook up, with a few vegetables, rice, and either some tofu or fish, it works for me, my taste buds, and my lifestyle.

I think it’s important to find a pyramid that suits you, your lifestyle and taste buds. If you can evolve it to be one that it also good for your mind, body, and has a more positive impact on the global system, then all the better for everyone.

When animals wake up they walk to the waterhole and fill up with water for the day. This image motivates me to do the same. Before breakfast go for a brief walk, even if it’s just around the block, then drink half your water intake for the day. I find this a very uplifting way to start the day.

Another motivating factor for food choices comes from thinking about what exactly it is I am putting into my mouth…

What is a cheeseburger? The traces of actual “food” in this processed pound of sugar is so little that it hardly draws an insect or microbe near it. Get it away from my digestive system!

What are jelly lollies? Pigs hoof. I recently learned this. Gelatin is pigs hoof. Ewww! No more lollies or jelly for me 🙁

What is chocolate made using unethical beans? The blood of chocolate slaves.

Having recently seen Food Inc I’m now choosing Lamb over Beef, free-range chickens only, and, well, I never liked pork anyway. If you haven’t seen it yet, then check it out on YouTube. This is the first part:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Tf822vzJ7g[/youtube]

The documentary points out the disconnect between government regulation of the agriculture and health industries.

A few multinational corporations control most of our food production lines. In the CEO’s defined mission to maximise profit for shareholders, they are neglecting many elements of the system including the quality of what we eat.

I enjoy a juicy tender steak. I realise it sucks that we kill an animal to enjoy it, but such is the chain of life.

However, I cannot bring myself to eat a cow who has been fed so much corn (something they aren’t meant to eat), concrete (something they are definitely not supposed to eat), and growth hormones (to make them grow five times as fast) which put them in a state that they can’t even walk for their short miserable lives.

Now ever time I look at beef I think of images from Food Inc – of cows on a massive machine like fish in a net – their faces looking up as the moo toward their impending death. It’s so sad. If a cow lives its life on a farm eating grass and walking around the field in the sun, then in its final moment faces a quick slaughter – that’s one thing. I can handle it. But imposing a living hell on the animal – that’s too horrible for me to be a part of. At the very least I have to try to avoid being a part of it as much as I can.

Does anyone else see the irony in the new “shock factor” government campaigns against obesity:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4t8zL6F0c[/youtube]

I think it’s good to address obesity, but shouldn’t this be done from both ends of the spectrum?

As obesity numbers continue to rise, our food production system is on steroids, causing harm to more than just our bodies. From agriculture to animals, to government regulations, over-fishing and obesity… we are part of a food chain in which our consumption decisions directly impact on our quality of life, and the quality of the lives of many others in our ecosystem.

Questions to ponder:

  • What is the relationship between our food pyramid and our economic/societal capitalist pyramid?
  • Do our system’s rules that define CEO’s missions to gain “profit for shareholders” deprive us and even the shareholders themselves of good quality food?
  • What is the supply and food chain behind our supermarket purchases? How do our established systems impact on our lives and the lives of future generations?

What we eat directly affects more than just our body shape, our mental and physical health, and the speed at which we age…

Eating ethically helps you eat healthier and live longer. Everything is connected.

Choosing for nutritional value means avoiding foods produced by corporations who cheapen the quality of your food in order to make profit for shareholders.

Choose locally helps local farmers, and saves your planet from the pollution of transport mechanisms, and moves the power from the multinationals back into the hands of the people.

It’s not easy – I used to go to a farmers market but since I moved to the city I haven’t. It will take effort for me to source locally produced goods, but it will be worth it. And it won’t be easy to do it all the time. Step by step, I’ll try to make better choices. That’s where it starts.

The food we eat affects lives of many other people whose income is dependent on it, the lives of many animals who are produced for it, and the entire ecosystem which we are a part of. These are pretty good sources of motivation to help me make better choices and, as a by product, rid this year’s Christmas bulge.

Links

Some helpful tips from the Australian government

http://www.measureup.gov.au/internet/abhi/publishing.nsf/Content/Helpful+tips+2-lp

“Swap it don’t stop it”  – big for small, often to sometimes, sitting for moving, watching for playing…

http://swapit.gov.au/ways-to-swap

Picture

I got this picture from here http://www.drlam.com/pyramid.asp – this website explains the anti-aging pyramid in detail.

 

Beauty, ,

Potentialism: a new system based on humanity’s collective creative potential

Written by Juliet Bennett
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I posed this question to Q&A, a political TV show in Australia, sometime last year. They didn’t air it but it’s had a lot of views on their website, and a comment or two…

“We need a new system”

There is something fundamentally wrong with a system that puts profit before people and our planet. Billions suffer so that few of us can accumulate more “stuff”, leading to poverty, depression, and pollution If we continue our current trajectory, our own consumption will cause our own extinction. Big problems require big solutions. We don’t need another meaningless tax – we need to change the system.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqrikYS3EuM[/youtube]

As embarrassing as it is to watch, and as blonde, simplistic, idealist and immature as I sound (“capitalism equals extinction” lol… I’m the first to laugh at myself, so you’re welcome to join me), I think the ideas behind the question are important to address.

As I see it, we are at the precipice… https://julietbennett.com/2009/10/20/at-the-precipice/ … and we have to do something.

These are questions I have posed many times on this blog, and doing a full circle post-India’s hit of realism I revisit them and some of my old answers today.

How can we shift our system to one that doesn’t dictate a worship of capital?

What kind of system would not be based on an infinite growth in consumption?

How about a “stationary” economy that John Stuart Mill suggested in 1848?

How about a system that focuses on IMPROVEMENT rather than GROWTH – one that values the quality of our lives, not the quantity of stuff we accumulate?

How about valuing creativity over capital?

Creativity is the most joyous part of life, it’s where solutions to our problems come from, it’s how we evolve. And creativity is infinite!

Could “Creativism” be the answer to our political, economic and religious dilemmas?

The Urban Dictionary defines:

Creativism = ‘The theory or practice of creation as a way to live and understand life.’

Creativist = ‘someone who is attuned creatively to their surroundings; a person who understands and expresses their life through creative works or motifs.’

https://julietbennett.com/2009/09/10/creativism-a-philosophy-for-life/

A seemingly similar philosophy has been called “potentialism”.

Potentialism is a fast-spreading trend. Already since the GFC, one in five Australians are downsizing their wealth in order to dedicate their lives to the things they most enjoy.[1]

As the flight magazine I read on Virgin Blue summed, “We got greedy in the 1980s, grungy in the ’90s and geeky in the noughties. This decade, we’re eager to explore our potential.” [2] Read more here: https://julietbennett.com/2010/04/26/potentialism/

I couldn’t find an official definition of “potentialist” so from what i have read on the topic, I made up my own: A “potentialist” is an alchemist of potential – someone who strives to achieve their mental, physical and spiritual potential.

… I wonder what a society with a stable economy, focused quality not quantity, valuing creativity not capital, and with it’s sight set on the manifestation of our collective potential, would look like?

References:

[1] Deborah Robinson, Australians leading the way in a return to Global Financial Optimism (November 2009) URL: http://www.australianwomenonline.com/australians-leading-the-way-in-a-return-to-global-financial-optimism/

[2] “The Potentialists”, Virgin Blue Magazine (April 2010) pp. 34-38.

Photo: I snapped this on my phone on the weekend: kites, colour, sunshine, nature, friends – Bondi was alive as Sydneyites enjoyed the simple pleasures life has to offer.

Truth, ,

If you don’t wanna be doing that in ten year’s time… then

Written by Juliet Bennett
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“If you don’t wanna be doing it in ten years time… THEN STOP DOING IT NOW!!!!” a wise chick said to the sister of a hen.

Among the haywire of my sister’s hens party, Nadine McKenzie shared what has now become one of my new mottos. In a crazy taxi ride, in a not-so-sober state, I typed it into my phone, and managed to type it into my computer before my phone lost all my notes (side note: if you have an iPhone, I recommend regular backups). Yesterday’s entry about changing something if you are not happy reminded me of Nadine’s motto, so I thought I would share.

I don’t know you can apply this motto to everything all-the-time, because I suppose sometimes you have to temporarily do something you don’t like in order to get to where you want to go.

However, if you find yourself stuck in a rut doing something over and over again that you don’t enjoy, it’s not a bad idea to stop and ask yourself: do I want to be doing this in five or ten years time? And, if the answer is no, then STOP!

In my opinion there are always alternatives do whatever it is that is making you unhappy. Even there appears to be no way out – you just have to think creatively. And to be sure, if you keep doing it without at least securing a plan to get out, you surely will still be doing it in ten years and maybe even twenty years time too.

On a similar note, a mentor once told me that the books and people you are spending your time with today are the best indicator of where you will be in five years time.

So… what are you reading? Who are you talking with? What are you dedicating your time to NOW? Where does this indicate you will be in five year’s time? Is this a place you want to be? If no, then what should you do differently now to put yourself on the path toward your preferred trajectory?

chicksandhens

Pictures: cute chicks and my sexy sister hen.


Peace,

Are you happy?

Written by Juliet Bennett
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“Are you happy?” A friend asked me a couple of months ago.

“Yes, of course.” I answered without a second thought. Things were up-in-the-air at the time, and I was struggling with this and that, but I was enjoying all of that. For sure I was happy.

I returned the question, “Are you happy?” and was shocked to hear her answer: “NO.” She went on to explain that she will be happy “one day” but right now, because of this reason and that reason, overall she wasn’t really very happy.

I guess it’s all that “live in the ‘now’, because the ‘now’ is all we ever have” – the ‘present’ is a present, a gift, so we should enjoy it – type of Eckhart Tolle / Deepak Choprah books I’ve read or audio books I’ve listened to, this is so engrained in my head that my daily decisions, big and small, are guided by it.

While I have my moments of frustration and the occasional days I think of as mini episodes of depression, I can’t imagine being in an state of unhappiness for a long period of time. If I’m not happy, I blame only myself for letting myself get to wherever I have gotten. Then I figure out what I need to change, and I change it, true to the flowchart above.

Is this selfish? I don’t think so. The happier I am, the happier the people around me will be. No one likes a wet rag, or a person full of regret and gloom. It’s that over-flowing wine glass analogy again – keep filling up your own and it will flow into others glasses too. I struggle to imagine another way of life.

I guess I knew that not everyone lives this way. The thing is, when you are always inside your own head, it’s easy to forget that not everyone approaches life in the same way you do.

My friend’s answer snapped me back into the wider reality: not everyone is happy.

I have to wonder: if you are not happy, why don’t you change?

Picture:

I came across this picture on a friend’s facebook feed. It has the name of the creator on it although I can’t make out what it says.


Peace, ,

Potential: innate or situational?

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Does the value of life reside in a life form’s innate potential – the potential that their DNA allows one to have, or to the potential that a life’s situation provides the opportunity to achieve?

There is quite a difference and the implications are quite significant. You see, if innate potential is the dictator of life’s value, then I feel bad for cattle we breed to eat, for chickens that lay my eggs, and even for the horses whose sides I kick and neck I pull on to stop and go when I please. These animals have an innate potential that can only be discovered if they are FREE TO DISCOVER IT – something that, in these days of human dominion, such an opportunity is not really allowed.

But, how can the true potential of life be evaluated in our modern times?

In the last six thousand years or so, many animals have evolved into a state of dependency. Dogs, in the process of human’s domestication, have replaced the fierceness of their days as wolves with floppy ears and wagging tails. While they appear to like their new roles as man’s best friend and while they receive much love from humans in return… were they ever asked if they wanted to give up their freedom to roam the woods and instead spend their days lazing around our homes?

I guess this process of “co-evolution” wasn’t exactly a conscious decision of our ancestors – it just happened as a result of changing environments and changing levels of awareness – as a result of decisions made by ALL the species involved.

So… who is to judge what is right and what is wrong, what is the creative potential of these animals, and how this fits with the creative potential of other species, including our own?

Applying such ideas to human situations I consider those sitting behind sewing machines for 12 hour days 7 days a week, getting paid a pittance, and I try to think about the limitations their situation puts on their potential. But then I reflect – if I hadn’t made some pretty radical decisions about my own life, I may have been slaving away my life behind a computer pumping out 12 hour days 7 days a week working on spreadsheets (in a past life – around 8 years ago when I first left uni – I was an Accountant)…

And I ask myself: what allowed me the opportunity to pursue my own creative potential?

A few key people in my life who provided me the encouragement, and maybe even more so the people who provided me the dis-encouragement (which makes one even more determined to prove them wrong), spurred me to quit Accounting and travel to Japan where a new process of self-discovery first began.

It’s slightly controversial to say, and I know many will disagree with this statement, but in my opinion ALL humans have the innate potential to be academics, artists, accountants or actors – it’s just a matter of the opportunities they receive through their education and the cultivation of a vision of how they perceive their own capabilities in life.

This idea seems to make the ethical dilemmas of our unjust world even more difficult to deal with…

If I truly believe that anyone can achieve ANYTHING that they set their mind to – if they truly believe it to be possible – then where is the limit to anyone’s potential? Maybe there is no limit. So if you think of violence as being anything that prevents someone from reaching their true potential, then does that make everything in the world violent? Ok, now I’m really tying myself in knots.

Of course seeing the most unlikely dreams come true in my own life doesn’t this ask and recieve concept a universal law… yet when I combine these ideas with the concepts of innate and situational potential, I return to situation: if anyone else were born into my shoes, would be typing these exact words in this exact minute? I’m no psycho-analytical genetic expert, but my hunch is that they would… I’m not so sure how much of us is innate – might everything be situational?

What is it that prevents some dreams from becoming reality? In my observation it seems that it is fear and lack of confidence and faith in oneself, and a lack of ability to imagine the possibilities, that prevents ones ability to dream or prevents the dreams one has from manifesting in their reality.

Is it possible that we are limited only by our own minds?

Or, as Henry Ford put it: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.”

But then, there’s something to be said for innate factors – like the genetics of our parents, the skills our ancestors have learned and passed on… but are these innate, or situational to the choices or our ancestors?

Maybe in the end it is a combination of both the innate and the situational potential we are each presented that dictates the creative achievements of our lives? Maybe this whole idea of one or the other is just a play with words and concepts and all dependent on my own culturally cultivated perceptions…

It’s nice to think we are all “worth the same”, but when you see in other cultures the lack of value placed on human lives, and the extra value placed on, for example, a cow’s life.. you remember that grand cultural influence that shapes our perspectives and values. Are our creative achievements something we can use to evaluate the value of one life or life form over another?

Ok, I hope this entry isn’t too randomly haphazardly put together – I did warn you about my grasshopper mental state I blame on my PISD – my Post India Stress Disorder…

Anyway, in conclusion, let me just share that I’m starting to think that when it comes solutions to poverty and environment and conflicts and all the other stuff I rant on about, maybe the greatest gift we can give  is the ability to imagine the possibilities – the ability to dream… And to share a little secret: the only person who can empower you to achieve your dreams, is yourself.

Photo:

Set up by mwah and snapped by Lucinda Amon on the morning after my sister’s wedding in Bowral. Another one for my ongoing series – which I think I’m going to name “The Bridge” rather than “The Crab” so I can write up in artist blurbs as “symbolising the bridging of present to future” … opinions???

Academic, Truth,

POTENTIALISM

Written by Juliet Bennett
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“We got greedy in the 1980s, grungy in the ’90s and geeky in the noughties. This decade, we’re eager to explore our potential.” [1]

On my flight home from Melbourne I read an article that excited me. It was called “Meet the Potentialists”. A movement I suppose we could label “Potentialism” is very much in line with what the approach to life I labeled “Creativism” – a life based on discovering and fulfilling one’s creative potential. I think potentialist and potentialism is probably better terminology than creativist and creativism – it’s broader and less close to “creationism”,  bit less confusing. What do you think?

(To see entry “Creativism: a Philosophy of Life”, click here)

According to social researcher Mark McCrindle, “The ’90s were about buying bigger, better and more, and then it all ended with a crash… as a result, one in five Australians have decided to use the downturn as a catalyst to reorient their lives.” ONE IN FIVE! That’s a pretty good start!!! “Working from home is one of the key drivers of what we call the ‘hobby-preneurs,” said Mark McCrindle. “Turning a hobby into a business is a way of having it all – of fulfilling your potential and turning something you really enjoy doing into an income earner.” Potentialists are men and women, of all ages and incomes (although I must note Sydney ranked fourth after Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane – come on guys, pick up your act!) still that’s pretty incredible! [2]

Australia isn’t alone in this trend. A quick google searched identified Canadians as movers and shakers too. A survey showed that more than a third of Canadians (38%) actively have a Potential List, and nearly everyone in this group (94%) predicts they will accomplish all or some of the goals they have set out for themselves.’ (A “Potential List” is like a dream board.) “Topping the items included in Canadians’ Potential Lists are travel (77%), philanthropy (41%), learn a new language (32%) and living in a different country (32%) – all activities that align with priorities previously identified by Potentialists to actively live an enriching life.” [3]

I couldn’t find a definition so I thought I’d make up my own:

A “potentialist” is an alchemist of potential – someone who strives to achieve their mental, physical and spiritual potential.

And I’m going start a little Potentialism Blog Series based on some writings I did a couple of years ago when I started the search of my own potential (a search which is obviously still under way). I don’t know, but maybe it will help all you potentialists or potential-potentialists out there as you look for ways to realize your own potential.

Picture:

My mum and my friend looking at my artworks that I am both inside and (sort-of) behind the lens of (I framed the shot but obviously I couldn’t hit the button) that are on display in the Manning Building at Sydney Uni. I still get quite a buzz out of the fact that at school I was the non-creative pimple-faced mathematical/business-minded nerd and now I am on the path to discovering my true potential.

References:

[1] Virgin Blue (April 2010) pp. 34-38.

[2] Deborah Robinson, Australians leading the way in a return to Global Financial Optimism (November 2009) URL: http://www.australianwomenonline.com/australians-leading-the-way-in-a-return-to-global-financial-optimism/

[3] ‘Potentialist’ Group On The Rise As Canadian Optimism Improves’ URL:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2010/02/c5872.html

Based on online survey by Angus Reid Public Opinion on behalf of American Express January 21-25 2010.

Peace, Random Life Stuff,

A Postmodern Grand-Narrative

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Come with me on a journey through time and space… the mighty booooooshhhh! (If you haven’t seen The Mighty Boosh, do yourself a favour – watch it!)


Searching for a Postmodern Grand-narrative….

I deferred this semester’s uni in hope of getting a scholarship to support a research project starting mid-year. Although officially I’m not a student I’m still going to uni twice a week (only an hour each day) to attend the lectures of an undergrad subject – An Introduction to World History.  This subject is more than World History – it covers the history of the universe, or “BIG HISTORY” as it has been termed.

As always, there’s a little story behind this…

A couple of years ago, before I went back to uni, I discovered H.G. Wells wrote a book called The Outline of History published back in 1920. (And available for free online HERE) Why didn’t I know about this book? Why didn’t everyone learn history in one nice (even if long) interesting narrative?

One of the first subjects I did back at uni was Historiography – a fascinating look at the different ways we have reported history, throughout history. I discovered the answer to my question:

H.G. Wells wrote during the period of Modernity, a time where people believed that science could provide all the answers. A time where people believed religion was no longer necessary and through a grand-narrative of history and science we could discover our place in the world, and move toward a place of unity. And then came World War Two and the cookie crumbled.

Grand-narratives were rejected and the period of Postmodernity arrived. Postmodernity is a time ‘post-war, post-holocaust, post-colonial, post-gender, post-history, and, most important for the cultural critic’s enterprise, post-‘master narrative.’ [1]

History itself was almost rejected due to it’s bias to one-sided perspectives, political motivations, propaganda, faming of heroes, demonization of oppositions, and recording of themselves as drivers of history. Absolute truth does not exist. Objectivity is impossible.

Derrida says ‘the persistent search for a centre, a fundamental ground’, maintains a given structure in a ‘false state of immobility, of finality, of fixed truth.’ We should conceive structures without a centre, so we can see they are ‘open to interpretation without end, unconfined, unreduced, unfinalized, not continuous, not linear, where truth is never arrived at, is always involved in a play of differences that keep deferring its arrival, its full presence.’ [2]

My generation was born into this confusing mixture of rejection of grand-narratives, which for me was extra confusing when combined with a religious grand-narrative that had not quite been thought through… While one text book said that Australian Aborigines had lived here for over 30,000 years, our bible classes told us Adam and Eve lived around 6,000 years ago and that they were the first humans on earth. Okay….????

Then there’s Ancient Egypt and Ancient Sumeria – what child cares about ancient civilisations that appear not the least bit significant to their life? If History, Geography, and Science are taught as disjointed from each other, and taught in a way that puts you to sleep, what’s the point of school?

In hindsight I believe schools need to teach these subjects in connection to some form of grand-narrative, even if it’s a tentative one with known gaps, but something to engage with, to gain perspective of where each piece of knowledge fits into time and space, and most importantly, how this relates to my life today.

The subject I am studying this semester at uni is doing just that – providing an overview of all the essential details that compile to tell me who I am and what process I am a part of. Oh yeah, back to my story… how met the lecturer.

Somehow in looking for more recent historical works along the same line as H.G. Wells, I came a across a book called Maps of Time by Professor David Christian from the US. I ordered it on Amazon and after reading it I sent him an email telling him how much I enjoyed it. Incredibly he wrote back telling me he was in fact working on and off at Macquarie University in Sydney! Two years later and here I am, attending his lectures, and with him as an associate supervisor of my pending research project.

What is this research project, you ask? I’m asking myself the same question. I know it’s about narratives of identity and peace. I also think it’s about bridging the gap between science and religion through the narratives we tell. It’s also about panentheism and process theology and the philosophy of science and big history… argh!!! Lucky I have time to narrow the scope… somehow I know all these factors align.

Anyway, I’ll be sharing the journey on here. To begin with I’ll be sharing what I learn at these ultra-interesting lectures on super-novas and the beginnings of life on earth and milestones and paradigm shifts throughout our history.

To give you a quick overview of where we are going, check out this AWESOME little picture of world history in a flash bang 7 minutes!

http://worldhistoryforusall.sdsu.edu/movies/flash_large.php

Then buckle your seat belts and get ready to (over the next few years)…  journey with me through time and space…!!!


References:

[1] Toulmin, S.E., Return to reason. 2001, Cambridge, Mass. ; London: Harvard University Press. p.1-5.

[2]  Derrida, J., Structure, Sign and Play in the Discourse of the Human Sciences. in Hutcheon, Linda and Natoli, Joseph P. A Postmodern reader 1993, Albany: State University of New York Press. p.224.


Truth, , ,

Potentialism: a philosophy for life

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Potentialism: a philosophy for life

Discovering your ultimate creative potential: you as your individual conscious, you as your society and you as the universe – playing your role in the creation of a future reality you desire.

Syncretic paradigms:

1. The purpose of life is to discover and fulfill your creative potential in a way that brings the most benefit to others.

This is the purpose of all life

This is “living God’s will”

This is expressing Who You Truly Are and Who You Want To Be

This is discovering your inner being, your intuition, and listening to it

As Shakespeare said, “Above all things, to thyself be true”

2. We are defined not only by our separate identity, but are in fact a collective identity of humanity, of living organisms and of the universe.

In the same way that our body is not separate from the living micro atoms that make it up

In the same way that science describes all matter, us included, as made of the same substance: atoms, which at quantum levels flash in and out of physical existence

In the same way the Buddhists imagine God to be everything

In the same way Christians describe God, as three forms: the father, the son and the Holy Spirit, yet one God; simultaneously omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent ie all-knowing, all-powerful and present everywhere.

These ideas do  not contradict – they complement. They are each other’s missing link – the way such abstract concepts maybe by physically actualised.

3. Peace is a state of harmony, when the body, mind and spirit are united

Key principles:

4. Listen to “God”/ The Universe / Your Intuition

Thoughts – ideas, images, and words that come into your mind

Intuition – the deep feeling inside that says ‘yes’ or ‘no’

Omens/signs – notice the things in the world around you that you are conscious of at each particular point in time

Words of other people – be it in conversation, a religious, fiction or nonfiction text, or a song on the radio, everything that enters your world is God communicating with you

5. Minimize fear and maximize love

Fear leads to insecurity, hate, and greed

Love leads to security, generosity, and kindness

6. Commit to the process not the result –

Creative potential is infinite and there is no end. An end means a beginning, and the circle of life continues.

Living in the present – it’s a present, a gift from God, pre-sent to you as an accumulation of all your life experiences and thoughts.

7. Realise that all problems can be solved with:

Will – desire to solve the problem

Honesty – about everything

Empathy – understanding where the other is coming from

Creativity – finding solutions

Transform and transcend:

8. Equal care for self and others

When we understand the inseparable connectedness between ourselves and others, we realise our happiness depends on the happiness of everyone else.

Hence our goal: to maximise our collaborative creative potential – expressing our own creativity, and encouraging others to express theirs

9. Consequences of this paradigm:

Selfishness transforms into selflessness – I want the best for me, and since you are me, I want the best for you.

Greed becomes generosity – I want everyone else to have as much as they can, because everyone else is me.

Jealousy and envy becomes pride and happiness for one another – others achievements are achievements of other expressions of myself

The concept of hate disappears – we cannot hate what is you

Self confidence increases, as we feel other’s trying to bring us up, not put us down

We truly put into action Jesus teaching to “do unto others as you’d have them do to yourself” (check wording + add equivilant teaching from other religions)

10. Self-reflection and self-transcendence

Breaking down defensiveness, building up confidence to critically evaluate one’s self and acknowledge our wrongs or harms we have done to others – allow us to repent and allow them to forgive

Rid yourself of your own grievances and any desire for vengeance for injuries inflicted by others – through empathy with the Other, we learn to forgive and move on

11. Create your own happiness

Make the decision to be happy – it is the biggest decision you will ever make in your life.

Begin with gratefulness, for what you have, even if it is little

Study the past, analyse different perspectives, take lessons from it and use it to expand your creative potential

Don’t cultivate feelings of regrets, everything has happened for a reason, figure out what that reason is, and how the past can help you in your quest for creative potential.

Bad decisions do not exist, that is judgement you make yet instead you can realise that this results may have led you to challenging times, from which you can now learn. These consequences were a small sacrifice, part of the process of discovering your creative potential.

Do not cultivate feelings of guilt. Guilt is of no benefit for you nor for those around you. Forgive yourself and let it go. Learn from the past, but keep your mind in the present, and an eye on the future

12. Cultivating wisdom

Facts are never static, but are the closest statement of the truth, at a particular point in time. If the data changes, facts also change. We must remain open to new data, ready to evaluate it in order to constantly progress towards a more truthful truth.

Taoists belief “what is impossible today may become possible tomorrow, and what is good today may become evil tomorrow; what seems right from one point of view may from another view seem completely wrong.”

13. The pleasure of extremes, and joys of balance

Life and death, hot and cold, love and hate, good and bad – you can’t have one without the other. This is the dualistic nature of life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’d prefer a passionate love, even if it sometimes slips over to hate, than a mediocre love all the time. The extremes are much more fun. Ups and downs are what make life interesting. It’s the challenges that bring the most satisfaction.

Happiness when pushed to the extreme becomes sickly and dull.  Beauty overdone becomes ugly. Even too much chocolate makes feel sick…

14. Rid your life of fear

In the same way that millions of skin cells die every day, and yet our human body continues to live

Our consciousness is already connected, and will continue to be connected even when the separateness of our present memory no longer functions, our consciousness will continue to live on through others – that are ourselves

15. Cultivate faith

Faith is about cultivating a state in your heart and mind whereby you give yourself to God* – not about conforming to a set of “beliefs”

Don’t worry, don’t struggle, allow the will of God/ the Universe to be done

Is not about belief in hocus pocus or confession to any kind of autocratic dogma – faith is about a state of heart and mind

Even things that seem to have no reason whatsoever, in time, you will see how it expanded your, or another’s, creative potential

16. Get in-touch with your creative side

We ALL have one, you just have to give it a go

Try everything, don’t be afraid of anything

Know that time and effort are what give results; if you are prepared to invest yourself in something, you can do whatever you want to do.

In order to maximise happiness in life:

17. Right investment

(a) Of your time

Spend it with people who motivate and encourage

In an occupation that allows you to learn and express your creativity

Feelings of daily happiness are essential to stimulate your creative potential

Expanding other’s creative potential, and the creative potential of other forms of life, including the planet

In ways that will provide maximum benefit to the most people

Spend some time in silence, connecting to your conscious and giving it room to create; meditation, walking, driving, prayer

(b) Of your money

Money should be a reflection of the amount of time and effort that you have expended, and can henceforth use in exchange for others’ time and effort.

In your purchases, buying what is good for yourself and good for others

In your financial investments, in businesses that are helping life move toward it’s creative potential

18. Not no conflict but no violence

No circumstance ever substantiates violence

The ideology of Potentialism must never be fought for – this is against the nature of creative potential. Fighting for an ideology destroys creativity, which may be trying to morph into new forms, in which case, this is it’s achievement of creative potential.

Fighting against nature is fighting against the will of God, that is, fighting against the deepest drive of each of us,

Potentialism seeks organic expansion through love, it is never forced or forged, but is the result of a synergy between selfish and selfless – working together for the good of all-life itself, all which is God.

19. The power of the mind

The universe operates through spontaneous creativity, and through patterned phenomena – your role may be to contribute to either

Thoughts are powerful in ways we don’t yet understand. We do know they are measurable on wavelengths, like radio waves, but have not tapped in to harness them yet. Experiments have shown the incredible impact of positive thoughts on plants, water molecules, and even the nature of atoms.

Harness this power. Dream, make goals, pray, meditate, make them reality.

20. The power for world peace lies with you

Each of us have, together, the power to change the world

All it takes is a vision: what do we want the world to look like?

And then in each of us the will to reconnect with our life’s purpose and play out our roles in this transformation.

It begins with finding the peace within ourselves.

Anything is possible!


Some notes on terminology and origins:

What is a Creativist?

A Creativist is someone who sees Creativity as the expression of the Divine Creator present in all life and the universe. Creativity is humanity’s source of greatest pleasure, satisfaction, and act of generosity. Creativity expresses your individual consciousness and shares it with others, simultaneously expressing the collective conscious and providing avenues for your individual conscious to learn.

Creativism or Creationism?

Just to clarify – this is NOT to be confused with “Creationism” which refers to a belief in a 6-day creation 6000 years ago. NO. Creativism is about CREATIVITY and the role WE play in the ONGOING CREATION PROCESS of our universe. These ideas are a work-in-progress (that I wrote one year ago and haven’t touched since) hence I thought I’d put out there. Everything in life always seems to be a work-in-progress, so carpe diem…

Expressions of Creativity:

Creativity is not only for those left-brainers; creativity is for everyone. Analyse the sources of pleasure in your life, you will probably find they involve some form of creation that you contribute to. For example:

–       art of any kind: photography, draw, write,

–       in numbers, in science, in business: look for creative solutions to problems

–       food and wine: play with life’s little pleasures

–       breathe: take pleasure in every breath, it feeds your cells and contributes to the production of new ones

–       look for improvement: in every aspect of your life, each little bit of creative expression adds value

–       in interior and exterior of your house, fashion, self expression

–       make babies: the most amazing creation a human can make

Did I make this up?

I think you’ll find there’s nothing really new about what you’re read above … we are all so connected that I have this feeling when you finish reading this, you’ll feel like I’ve just typed out a transcript of your own mind. I may be wrong – all of the following may make no sense to anyone other than myself…

The writings above are a summation of my beliefs around July 2008. They outpoured form my brain as a stream of consciousness and are most likely inspired by all the books I’ve read and all the experiences I’ve incurred, so I don’t take credit for any of it. That’s how ideas grow and form – a culmination of the past, remoulded/stated a little differently, into something that can be used for the future.

I’m not sure how the term “creativism” first came into my head, probably on one of my long walks, where all my other ideas come from, and when I googled it I discovered it was a term being used by a few people to describe a similar concept of what I wanted to use it to describe.

There is even a definition in the Urban Dictionary: Creativism = ‘The theory or practice of creation as a way to live and understand life’ and a Creativist = ‘someone who is attuned creatively to their surroundings; a person who understands and expresses their life through creative works or motifs.’

I came across the term “Potentialist” in an article inside a flight magazine. See: https://julietbennett.com/2010/04/26/potentialism/

I couldn’t find a definition of “potentialist” so I made up my own: A “potentialist” is an alchemist of potential – someone who strives to achieve their mental, physical and spiritual potential.

The end and the beginning

Anyway if you have got through this essay then I have to say I’m extremely impressed. Six pages worth of babble… anyway I would really really really love to know what you think. And do you like the title Creativism or Potentialism, or can you think of something better???

Thank you!!!

Juliet xxx


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