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Critical Discourse Analysis

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Critical Discourse Analysis is a study of LANGUAGE, IDEOLOGY, POWER and SOCIAL CHANGE. ‘Discourse analysis is not a “level” of analysis as, say, phonology or lexico-grammar, but an exploration of how “texts” at all levels work within sociocultural practices,’ says Candlin in the Preface to Fairclough. If you didn’t already gauge from the title then take this as your warning: this entry contains high levels of academic language. It is also disjointed and includes a lot of quotes (because I’m lazy).

‘One crucial condition for social interaction in general and talk in particular is that people understand each other. This is possible only if we assume that social members have socially shared interpretation procedures for social actions, for example, categories, rules and strategies.’ (Dijk, 1985:2)

Critical Discourse Analysis is one of the “tools” I mentioned a few entries ago that can be useful for understanding the “taken for granted” systems of knowledge that we use in order to communicate. As such it helps us view the world in a more reflexive way – which not only makes people watching more interesting, it empowers us to interact with our reality in new and wonderful ways…

Critical Discourse Analysis involves looking at the “texts” that make up our realities, questioning their assumptions, identifying underlying ideologies, the connection between language and social-institutional practices, and how these connect to formation and maintenance of power structures (like The Pyramid).

These so-called “texts” range from books to movies, TV commercials, news stories, dinner conversations, education, parent-child relations, business meetings, and jokes. A “text” in this context is anything involving a communicative language – verbal and non-verbal.

Learning about this tool illuminates the ginormous impact that “texts” that surround us have on our lived experiences; how they operate as the key forces behind both maintaining status quo structures, and the initiation of social change.

Critical Discourse Analysis is intended to ‘critique some of the premises and the constructs underlying mainstream studies in sociolinguistics, conversational analysis and pragmatics, to demonstrate the need of these sub-disciplines to engage with social and political issues of power and hegemony in a dynamic and historically informed manner… to re-engage with central constructs of power and knowledge, and above all, ideology, to question what is this “real world” of social relations in institutional practices that is represented linguistically.’ (Fairclough, 1995:viii)

Critical Discourse Analysis might look at labels like “terrorist” and “counter-terrorist”, or “ally” and “enemy”… and examine not only the term, but how it is used by different people in different ways. The definition and use of terms such as these are clearly dependent upon which side you are on.

Take for example this funny clip:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZNbfIPrrCQ[/youtube]

What might this tell us about the propaganda techniques of Neo-Conservatives? Or could this clip itself be propaganda against them?

So… what does Critical Discourse Analysis involve?

Dijk explains that ‘a typical ethnographical analysis of speech events features, for example, a description of the discourse genre, the overall delimination, social function, or label of the whole speech event, the topic (theme or reference), the setting (time and physical environment), the different categories for participants, the purpose of the interaction, the type of code (spoken, written, etc.), the lexicon and the semantics, the grammar (also at the discourse level), the sequences of acts (both verbal and nonverbal), and the underlying rules, norms or strategies for the actions or the whole event… And even this enumeration is not complete.’ (Dijk, 1985:9)

‘The method of discourse analysis includes linguistic description of the language text, interpretation of the relationship between the (productive and interpretative) discursive processes and the social processes.’ (Fairclough, 1995:97)

Fairclough refers to Mandel (1978) to describe the “postmodernist” features of “late capitalist” discourse that includes “post-traditional relationships” with relationships based upon authority in decline, both in the public and personal domain, for example, when it comes to kinship and self-identity ‘rather than being a feature of given positions and roles’ they are ‘reflexively build up through a process of negotiation’. Also the development of a “promotional” and “consumer” culture – with our strong emphasis on market and consumption rather than production. It is difficult not to be involved oneself in promoting because it’s part of so many people’s jobs and because it self-promotion is now part of our personal identity. (Fairclough, 1995:137-8).

Fairclough is calling for a critical social and historical turn. ‘It would seem vital that people should become more aware and more self-aware about language and discourse. Yet levels of awareness are very low. Few people have even an elementary metalanguage for talking about and thinking about such issues. A critical awareness of language and discursive practices is, I suggest, becoming a prerequiste for democratic citizenship, and an urgent priority for language education in than the majority of the population (certainly of Britain) are so far form having achieved it.’ (Fairclough, 1995:140).

Textual analysis involves two complementary types of analysis: linguistic and intertextual – that are a ‘necessary complement’ to each other.

‘Whereas linguistic analysis shows how texts selectively draw upon linguistic systems (again, in an extended sense), intertextual analysis shows how texts selectively draw upon orders of discourse – the particular configurations of conventionalised practices (genres, discourses, narratives, etc.) which are available to text producers and interpreters in particular circumstances…’ (Fairclough, 1995:188)

Texts are dependent on society and history in the form of the resources available but intertextual analysis is dynamic and dialectical in that the texts themselves can ‘transform these social and historical resources,’ “re-accentuate” genres and mix genres in texts. ‘Language is always simultaneously constitutive of (i) social identities, (ii) social relations and (iii) systems of knowledge and belief – though with different degrees of salience in different cases.’ (Fairclough, 1995:131)

Fairclough suggests developing “Critical Language Awareness” (CLA). It is important to try to increase the reflexive capacity of individuals.

Fairclough describes education as not only ‘a key domain of linguistically mediated power’ but is also a ‘site for reflection upon and analysis of the sociolinguistic order and the order of discourse’ by equipping learners with a critical language awareness as a ‘resource for intervention in and the reshaping of discursive practices and the power relations that ground them, both in other domains and within education itself.’ (1995:217)

With mass media generally acknowledged as the ‘single most important social institution in bringing off these processes in contemporary societies’ Fairclough recognises that ‘we also live in an age of great change and instability in which the forms of power and domination are being radically reshaped, in which changing cultural practices are a major constituent of social change which in many cases means to a significant degree changing discursive practices, changing practices of language use.’ (1995:219)

I think its encouraging to remember that society and culture are ALWAYS changing, language is ALWAYS evolving, and power structures are ALWAYS shifting. And I suppose we should be thankful that developed capitalist countries exercise their power typically through ‘consent rather than coercion’, ‘ideology rather than through physical force’ and through ‘the inculcation of self-disciplining principles rather than through the breaking of skulls’. If I’m going to be controlled, I definitely prefer it to be in this way.

References:

Norman Fairclough, Critical Discourse Analysis : The Critical Study of Language (London ; New York: Longman, 1995).

Dijk, Teun Adrianus van, Handbook of Discourse Analysis Book 3, (London ; Orlando: Academic Press, 1985).

Picture:

Taken from Fairclough (1995) p. 135.

Academic, Truth,

Who is hot, who is not? Socrates decifers the Truth

Written by Juliet Bennett
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I want to kick off a mini Socratic series with a quirky YouTube clip staring Socrates and Plato: Who is hot, and who is not?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5tJV74Bew8[/youtube]

If I wasn’t studying philosophy I think it’d be quite rare to think “today I’m going to read about Socrates death sentence in Plato’s Apology”… but seeing as I am studying it, and seeing as reading Plato is an absolute delight, I thought in the next couple of posts I’d share my thoughts and favourite quotes with you on Socrates. 

When you read the words of Socrates, (through the written works of Plato) it is easy to see the wisdom he is so famous for. With humility and a few questions, Socrates makes sharp criticisms of the arrogant ignorance of other’s claims to wisdom.

Socrates walks around the streets of Athens asking people questions about life, war, justice and wisdom. He develops a reputation for being wise, yet this he denies:

‘The persons of whom I was speaking have a superhuman wisdom, which I may fail to describe, because I have it not myself; and he who says that I have, speaks falsely, and is taking away my character… I know that I have no wisdom, small or great..’

This Alain de Botton doco is great for imagining the scene of ugly Socrates pissing off the elites in Athens:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2rsiER-OnU[/youtube]

Part 2 – gotta love the Aussie accents… trust us happy Aussies to be the only ones answering questions about being happy 🙂

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28VIz9gg0po[/youtube]

Socrates encourages others to develop the confidence to question in times of conformity – he encourages us not to be blind sheep. Socrates teaches people in his society (and still in ours) that they are all capable to question, to overcome their lazy tendency to accept and conform, and to analyse the world and figure out what they really make of life, the universe and everything.

Socrates sought out those who were famous for their wisdom, and on questioning them discovers that they also know nothing. He concludes that he must be better off than they because at least he is aware of his lack of knowledge, which is one step ahead of those who think they know but don’t:

‘So I left him, saying to myself, as I went away: Well, although I do not suppose that either of us knows anything really beautiful and good, I am better off than he is – for he knows nothing and thinks that he knows.’

Of course, those wise people Socrates shows are not wise get a little peeved off. Those in power who Socrates shows don’t have genuine reasons for their actions, feel their authority being threatened by his questioning.

It’s not so unlike Wikileaks and the case of Julian Assange – when The Pyramid is challenged, those at the top aren’t too happy.

The five steps to good thought via the Socratic Method (quoting Alain de Botton in his documentary)

1. “Look around you for statements people would describe as plain common sense, for example, that the best jobs are those which are most highly paid, or that that happiness comes from being married.”

2. “Try to find an exception to this, could you ever be married and yet unhappy, or could you be in a very well paid job and yet miserable?

3. “If an exception to your statement is found, then it must mean that your statement is false, or at least imprecise.”

4. “Try to nuance the first statement to take the exception into account, so in our example realise that it is possible to be unhappy in a highly paid job that’s completely creatively unfulfilling, or to be miserable in a marriage if you’ve married the wrong person.”

5. “You continue this process for as long as possible, you keep trying to find exceptions to your common sense statement. And Socrates says that the truth, in so far as anyone is ever able to reach the truth, lies in a statement that it seems is impossible to disprove.”

Part 3 of Alain’s doco gives some context for Socrates trial:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNaeL7vdax8[/youtube]

Even his ‘ingenious riddle’ can’t save Socrates. Accused of the crime of encouraging the youth not to believe in the gods Plato writes this dialogue between Socrates and Meletus (a politician in power):

‘Did ever man, Meletus, believe in the existence of human things, and not of human beings? … Can a man believe in spiritual and divine agencies, and not in spirits or demigods?

– He cannot.

I am glad that I have extracted that answer… but if I believe in divine beings, I must believe in spirits or demigods; is not that true? Yes, that is true, for i may assume that your silence gives assent to that. Now what are spirits or demigods? Are they not either gods or the sons of gods? Is that true?

– Yes, that is true.

But this is just the ingenious riddle of which I was speaking: the demigods or spirits are gods, and you say first that I don’t believe in gods, and then again that I do believe in gods; that is, if I believe in demigods.’

Socrates makes such a good case for himself. The jury even agree to his logic and yet their own insecurities seem to cause them to find him guilty and condemn him to death.

I guess no matter how good  your logic, you can’t beat The Pyramid. You can’t win people via rational argument, you win them through emotions. Socrates fails to appeal to what the judge’s insecurities required of him – to cry and beg and promise to stop. Socrates knew this path was not the one he was supposed to take, so he held strong and proud of his claim to fame that: all we really know is that we know nothing. But more on this tomorrow.

…

“So it’s settled, Jessica Simpson is hot, high waisted jeans are not, and once again the Socratic Method arrives at the truth!”

…

Short personal note:

Coming across this Alain de Botton documentary on YouTube reminded me of his entire Philosophy as a Guide to Happiness series that I originally watched with my Opa a couple of years ago. I’d turn it on and my Opa would promptly fall asleep. Ah good memories. Interesting to remember this and see the seeds planted for the love of philosophy I have today.



Truth,

Other Gaps in the Distribution of Knowledge

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Last week I wrote about the gap between school and life-there-after, and I gather from the feedback quite a few of you agree.. Well today I’m going to write about some other gaps in our society’s distribution of knowledge that I’m sure many of you have noticed:

1. A gap between knowledge within the university and the rest of the world.

Deep and wonderful ideas that could inspire and improve the lives of many seem to get lost in the theoretical and abstract language, meticulous referencing and practically incomprehensible vocabulary and word games of the world of academia.

Not that these words and rules don’t have their purpose. I appreciate the ability to find a know exactly where an idea has come from, to know that the right person is getting their deserved credit and that the ideas being discussed have a history as opposed to being pulled out of thin air. Even the complicated language has its use, and brings with it much satisfaction once you actually “get it,” (after numerous readings, google searches and flicking between pages.) The world of academia serves an important purpose but it’s not for the layman, and if the ideas are not translated into an everyday language their potential goes unrealised.

So that’s one gap that I’d like to see bridged a little more.

2. A gap between disciplines within university walls

Politics can get in the way of sharing ideas between disciplines within the university walls.

For example in a class about historiography (the study of the different ways history has been written) I learned that history and archaeology rarely talk. The former looks at written stories, and the latter makes guesses at stories behind objects. To me, these are two parts required to tell one and the same story of our collective past, joined not only with archeology but with biology and and cosmology and philosophy as well.

Many new “inter-disciplinary” opportunities are arising. Working in “Peace and Conflict Studies”, which is consciously an mixed-discplinary discpline, I feel lucky to be one of a growing number that are seeking to bridge this gap through cross-discipline conferences, cross-discipline research opportunities, and cross-discipline subjects that look at sociology, philosophy, psychology, political science and religious studies all from a peace vs violence lens.

3. A gap between the exclusive fundamentalist brands of religion and inclusive ones

I’ll take Fundamentalist Christianity as my example, noting that the general points may apply to fundamentalist and non-fundamentalist versions of other religions too.  Fundamentalist Christians are brought up with the belief that either:

1. Their religion is completely, literally, absolutely true which means they better behave so they don’t be sent to hell; or,

2. Their religion is wrong, life is meaningless so they may as well steal, commit murder or just kill themselves. What’s the point in struggling through eighty years or so of life if when you die you end up in the same state of nothingness as everyone else?

It’s all or nothing. The bible is either all true, or it can be put out with the rubbish. But is the history, the books, and the ideas that religions are based upon really so black and white?

Does looking at religions in their historical context show, that as with any writing, the motivations of the writers, the limitations of their sources, and the limitations of our own interpretive techniques, render black and white as two ends of a continuum, with myriad grays and colours visible in between?

Might the writings that proved enlightening for a particular group of people at a particular point in time, contain more-than-literal meanings in the mythos and midrash that the writers used to convey these messages?

One result of this all or nothing – “we are saved, you are going to hell” – mentality, is that many people judge all religions on the rules and destructive exclusivity of the fundamentalist versions, and write-off religion altogether as a man-made power-hungry institution.

I think that if one goes back to the philosophical roots of the religions, reading the “holy books” in their intended historical context, filtering the words through today’s higher levels of post-slave and (in general) post-slaughter-the-enemy morality, and explores the ideas in combination with one’s own experience and our scientific understanding of the universe and evolution… well I think that in this combination, religion does have something to offer.

Fundamentalist versions of religions are not the mainstream, but it is from these extreme versions that many non-religious judge religious on. In Australia the largest Christian denominations are Catholics, Anglican and the Uniting Church, all who (except the “Sydney Anglicans”) are inclusive of other religions (ie believe all religions connect with the divine powers behind life), read the bible in historical context, and engage in interfaith dialogue (see: http://assembly.uca.org.au/rof/interfaith-dialogue).

I think that in order to bridge the gap between fundamentalism and non-fundamentalism, it is good for us to study the gray areas, and to comprehend the alternative interpretations and meanings for ourselves. This brings me to my next point:

4. The gap in distribution of knowledge about others’ religious traditions (without presenting them as “evil” and “wrong” – especially if you are brought up inside one religion, or atheist)

I think the cross over and sharing between different religious traditions is not encouraged enough. I also don’t think that the connection between religion and science doesn’t have to be explored as either/or, but both/and.

Why shouldn’t all religions learn from the connections that others have had with the divine powers at play behind life? Why would any be so arrogant to think they know it all and that, call it “God” or “Allah” or “The Great Unknown” wouldn’t reveal itself in different ways to different groups of people around the world?

Doesn’t it make sense that the nature of science would be to explain how the universe began and how we evolved, and religion and philosophy to contemplate why and what is good or bad about the various ways we can use this gift?

Even if the expansion of the universe is a completely random event, the fact that we exist in a state that is able to contemplate our own existence is pretty fantastic. For me the magic of life the whole evolutionary process in the realm of divine awe. Our psyche’s, our conscious and unconscious, and the relationship between my unconscious and your unconscious, is pretty amazing.

Just because we can put some names and describe the process of one particle becoming two doesn’t negate the spark of magic that this process involves. And from two particles, into atoms, into life forms, and into planets and into you and me… how can we not think “wow”!

Who is to say that science doesn’t put into words the processes that a macrocosm we personify and call “God” sets in motion? Not a man in the sky, but a live and conscious universe made up of smaller conscious beings including you and me? I don’t see the incompatibility between religion and science, I really don’t. This, again, leads to another gap:

5. A gap in terminology to describe non-religious people who still believe in “something”

I believe this is a big gap in our language – a name for the large and growing number of people who have rejected religion on moral grounds, and hence hesitate to identify with any particular religion however who also don’t consider themselves atheist, or even agnostic.

A name for (what seems to me to be) a growing majority of educated people who are happy to accept the unknowns, and still think themselves as something beyond the boundaries of their own skin and short lives.

This group doesn’t seem to feel a need to name it, to join any institution that tries to gain power over them from it, and who allow their intuitive senses to connect to the mysterious energies at play and use this connection (via meditation, prayer, intentions) to benefit their or other’s lives.

Drawn to philosophical ideas like Resolution Theory in the book Shantaram, Taoist notions of good and evil being two sides of the same coin, and what I am learning about in my studies of Panentheism and Process Theology. As you can probably tell, this is me. I like the word Panentheists – the belief that everything is inside “God” – that is, our universe is a macrocosm with a similar relationship to us, as we have to the organs and cells that make up our body.

5. A gap between the knowledge distributed to rich and the knowledge distributed to poor

Finally I just want to mention the gap in knowledge distributed to rich and poor, as I reflect on how education is used to keep the poor poor and make the rich richer.

Bridging the gaps…

The ability to bridge the above five gaps, I think, lies in the hands of those with power: religious authorities, governments, media, legal institutions, and economic regulators.

Like every idea I explore lately, particularly in relation to distribution of knowledge and hence control of power, I return to The Pyramid. That power-hungry annoying big monster pyramid that gets in the way of all my idealism. But more about these gaps and bridges and using the pyramid for good and not evil, some other day.

Photo: Machu Picchu, the “Lost city of the Incas” so high up in the mountains of Peru… just one example of the ingenuity of mankind. December 2008.


Peace, ,

The gap between school and real-life

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Does school prepare us for life in the real world? Is knowledge passed from academia to public spheres? Are we learning from the past, or do we continue to make the same mistakes? How well do we really understand ourselves and others in our geopolitical, social, and historical context?

It seems to me there are major gaps within our distribution of knowledge.

Today I want to focus on one of those gaps, the gap between life in school and life after school. Over the coming weeks I will look at other gaps, and then at ways they might bridged.

Schooling in Australia comes down to one result: the HSC. (For non-Australian readers, HSC = Higher School Certificate)

This seemingly life-determining series of exams is ridiculously stressful for students. Suicide, chronic fatigue and depression are among many of the disasterous mental and physical consequences.

After the HSC I have noticed that many students are left feeling high and dry.

The choices may seem too many, or too few, but either way many (including myself ten years ago) feel confused about what to do next. I mean, how many 17 year olds know what they want to do when they leave school? And of those who at the time thought they know, how many look back ten years later and realise that, well, they didn’t?

Whether motivated by guidance from friends, siblings or parents, by money-incentives, or some other not-very-well thought through reasoning, many of us go straight into university and waste 1-3 years doing, or starting to do, a degree in something irrelevant to our future.

Even if we are one of the new generation of Aussies who head overseas for a ‘gap year,’, most return home to face the same dilemma that they faced when they left: they still don’t ‘know what they want to do when they grow up.’

So the next stage of the majority’s life story ends up either drinking at university parties as they go to minimal classes to earn that obligatory piece of paper; or working a 9-5 job answering phones, waiting tables, or driving trucks, in order to pay off the credit card or HECS debt.

Maybe things have improved in the eight years since I finished school, or maybe the non-denominational (a la fundamentalist) Christian school I attended was an exception? If so please do point out my errs.

From my observation the gap between finishing high school and finding one’s role in society is a widely felt phenomenon in Australia, and maybe among other western-capitalist countries too.

Through trail and error of various degrees and jobs I have discovered many career options that at high school I never knew existed. Why didn’t I know about these things???

I think the problem with our schools comes down to one thing: The Pyramid. (See blog entry: Preserving-The-Pyramid-The-Reason-Things-Are-The-Way-They-Are).

Instead of encouraging a thirst for knowledge and the intrinsic rewards that comes from creativity, our schools seem to encourage a regurgitating of words and formulas in order to gain the extrinsic rewards of good marks, good university & eventually a good salary.

All of this so that you can pay back your university debts, get a mortgage and work towards the Australian Dream: owning your own house.

Translation: join the system, perpetuate The Pyramid.

Those who control the distribution of knowledge, controls the minds of the people.

Now, please don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing against The Pyramid. Unless I have some visionary solution to power paradoxes of the human condition I don’t feel I am in a place to criticise.  The Pyramid might be the only way a society functions, so maybe our education system is the best it can be.

So let’s put The Pyramid in the parking lot for a moment. How could these gaps in education, should The Pyramid allow it, be bridged? These are some suggestions:

1. Empower children to think for themselves.

I think children could be more involved in the direction of their learning (as in Montessori schools). I think the focus should be on teaching them how to think rather than what to think, helping them develop the critical thinking skills that allow them to do this.

2. Encourage a desire to learn rather than presenting it as an obligatory task.

Learning shouldn’t be something forced upon you. It seems so negative that a child is told they have to do their homework or else get in trouble from the teacher.

Instead, learning should be presented as the luxury it is. It should be presented as the passing on of the cumulated knowledge of humanity, with which it is up to the students to expand and build upon during their lifetime.

Isn’t that a much more exciting proposition than punishment/reward scenarios of learning just to get good grades?

3. Value creativity over conformity

Learning opens up the gates for a child’s imagination, for them to discover their individual potential. Learning makes people more interesting, gives people a better sense of humour, and enhances one’s quality of life in ways that money can’t.

Creativity is a source of pleasure and purpose, but it requires children’s confidence in themselves – getting over the fear of peers, parents or teachers rejecting or ridiculing what they create.

4. Teach more practical & useful skills.

Decision making, goal setting, managing savings, investing in shares or property, avoiding accumulation of debts, solving conflicts, understanding politics and democracy, and the history of civilisation on the whole.

Why don’t schools teach students a general introduction to university disciplines including philosophy, theology, development studies, anthropology, peace studies, and the like?

5. Notify students that the roles that society defines are not the only roles. They can create their own role, their own box.

Students should be provided with a broad perspective of their place in the world, be able to see their perspective in the scheme of other people’s perspectives, and see the similarities and see what factors have influenced the differences. We can’t know everything, but we can develop an understanding of the general areas knowledge or skills that are available, and with an understanding that new areas of knowledge and skills are created every day.

Students should be given the opportunity to find jobs that they will enjoy, that are not a means to an ends but are a day-to-day source of personal growth and giving back to society.

Maybe I’m too idealistic. Yes, I’m sure I am.

I do understand that someone has to take out the trash…

Of course in my mind this is done by computerised machinery, all trash is biofriendly and so even this job is maintained by creative-thinking programmers.

I think if we were encouraged to have a desire to learn, an ability to critically evaluate our world, and to think creatively, we as a society would evolve in the most incredible ways.

Creativity, motivation and critical awareness have the potential to stimulate innovation to new levels, foster ongoing improvement in all areas of life, from local to global and beyond.

Check out what Ken Robinson has to say on the issue in the TED talk “schools kill creativity”:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY[/youtube]

Ah yes, if only the world could be recreated by creative minds…

Picture:

With some other idealistic visionaries including Dr Vandana Shiva, winner of the Sydney Peace Prize 2010.

PS:

If you want to follow this blog on facebook, the facebook page is: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Adventures-with-Ideas-Juliet-Bennetts-Blog/108739765813581

Academic, Featured Posts, Peace, , ,

Brisbane’s Narrative Wreckage: Cataclysmic Interruptions and Redemptive Solutions

Written by Juliet Bennett
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Content in living out your life: work, money, weekends, holidays, home, kids… and then something happens: a cataclysmic event changes everything.

Be it a sudden illness or a natural disaster like the flooding Brisbane is now facing, everything you know – everything you care about, everything you have dedicated your life to, everything you imagined for your future – can disappear in an instant.

As I write, Brisbane faces 12 people dead, 43 missing, 20,000 homes, and 3000 businesses under water. No words can convey my sorrow and empathy for all those whose lives have been upturned.

The events reminded me of an analogy I came across in my narratology studies. The analogy of a “Narrative Wreckage”.

Events like are described as an “ontological assault” that throws even the most ‘basic, underlying existential assumptions that people hold about themselves’ into disarray. [1]

I imagine many people living in Brisbane are presently feeling such pain, among the many physical ones.

Occurrences like this cause worlds to be “unmade” – one’s identity and thoughts about the future are thrown into sudden disarray.

One’s basic sense of time is destroyed. Storytelling takes a massive turn. One’s life-narrative must be reconstructed.

At points like this that the Buddhist philosophies of non-attachment show their value: the less attached you are to the things lost, the easier the loss is to deal with.

Even if attached to the things lost (which most of us are), the incoherence in your life narrative can still be repaired.

The repair, depending on the damage, will likely see the creation of a new narrative: one of renewal and redemption, one of hard work and incredible reward. I don’t know if in these situations it helps to consider “the hard road to the good life.”

In an article in the Journal of Happiness Studies, a collaborative group of narratologists write about ‘narrative variations on the good (American) life’ that describe:

‘a gifted (chosen) hero whose manifest destiny is to journey forth into a dangerous world in order to make it better (to redeem it), and who, sustained by deep (intrinsic) convictions, confronts many setbacks along the way, but learns from each of them, and continues to grow.’

The stories ‘celebrate personal growth and redemption stories’ while also affirming ‘the sense that one is special and destined for greatness, that the world is dangerous and in need of the protagonist’s reforming efforts, that the righteous protagonist should never conform but always trust his or her inner convictions, and that good things will come out of suffering, no matter what.’ [2]

This narrative is so familiar – in our literature, movies, religions and even in our daily stories – yet that doesn’t take away from it’s deep psychological value, nor the difficulty of the experience as it is being experienced. Hindsight is great.

Each of us may be an Average Joe yet through narrative we turn into heroic protagonists, setting out on our own quests and adventures, most likely with something narratlogists call a “generative” aim – leaving some kind of personal legacy, creating positive value for future generations, demonstrating the meaning of one’s life (be it lives created eg via making babies, or through lives touched eg through relationships). [3]

No doubt cataclysmic events like this change lives. It changes the future. You may even look back one day and be thankful for the path the cataclysm led you to.

As an observer of the cataclysmic trajectory humanity’s narrative seems to be heading, I hope it isn’t insensitive to think about what the Brisbane floods can teach us all?

Human induced global warming or not, our radical global population growth and unsustainable lifestyles indicate our collective narrative is near wreckage.

People may argue that our population will slow as people come out of poverty and women are educated, but where is the sign that either of these things will happen in the near future? The economic pyramid depends on the large base and a huge gap simply in order for the middle and top to move up and live better. The lifestyles of the rich rob the poor of their choices, and rob future generations of their resources. I am, in every aspect of my lifestyle, a cog in this system. While this system poses threat to the narratives of many individually, and collectively, the institutions and society we are born into is not easy to escape, and even harder to challenge.

At difficult times like the Brisbane floods we see the media, the government, the nation, and much of the world, unite in effort to help those in need. Our common humanity triumphs over the economic, cultural, religious, and ideological differences that so often tear as apart.

As we join together to restore the order, to help those in need get back on their feet, I am reminded that humans care. When we see others suffering, we know that it could be us in their place, so we treat those people how we hope they would treat us. Our more superficial aspirations may distract us at times but at the end of the day I think we each feel connected to everyone and everything that surrounds us and that we are a part of.

This gives me hope.

I hope we can find ways to repair the cataclysms that face us in this moment, and to avoid the cataclysms that (on our current trajectory) appear to lie ahead.

References:

[1] Crossley, Michelle, (2002) Introducing Narrative Psychology, Narrative, Memory and Life Transitions. pp. 11-12.

Michelle refers to Narrative Wreckage analogy from Frank, A (1995), The wounded storyteller: Body, illness and ethics, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

[2] Bauer, J. J., D. P. McAdams, et al. (2008). Narrative Identity and Eudaimonic Well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, p. 98.

[3] Baddeley, J. and J. A. Singer (2007). Charting the Life Story’s Path: Narrative Identity Across the Life Span. in Handbook of narrative inquiry : mapping a methodology. ed. D. J. Clandinin. Thousand Oaks, Calif., Sage Publications: xix, 693 p. 191.

Photo:

I snapped this in Budapest 2006

Adventure, Peace, Random Life Stuff, , , , ,

Ending 2010: Evaluating one’s story

Written by Juliet Bennett
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The end of any period is the beginning of another. Transitional points like the end of a year are great times to take a step back and reflect on the year and it’s place in your life story. How does the past year fit into the narrative of your life? What direction are your decisions taking you? Are you living out a drama, a comedy, a tragedy or an adventure? Are you happy with this genre?

Times like this are a good time to ask: am I happy? And if the answer is no, to ask: what can I do to change this? Life is short, very short, and I don’t believe the gift of life should be wasted.

Learning about stories in literature we can identify the following elements, each which we have the agency to change:

  • Events – am I happy with the events and sequence of my narrative?
  • Time – where do I prioritise the time allotted to various elements?
  • Action – what decisions are coming up, what actions am I going to take with other characters?
  • Location – is the setting my life is taking place where I want to be?
  • Relationships – am I happy with the relations between actors, events, locations, time and other (symbolic, allusive etc)?
  • Point of view – what way to I chose to frame my experiences of the above elements? [1]

So am I happy? In general, yes, but there are many things I wish to change. I wish to add more adventure and comedy into my life, and leave at least some of the elements of drama and tragedy behind. I wish to take more time finishing the things I start.  I wish to make time for more yoga, swimming and running, and to spend more time with fewer characters – remembering it’s all about quality not quantity.

What can you expect from this blog in 2011? As this blog follows my life and research, I can imagine the types of entries you can expect next year will be engaging in questions like:

  • What role do stories play in my life?
  • How do the stories in my mind relate to the stories in the reality I experience? What is the relationship between “me”, my “reality” and “others” and our collective “Reality”?
  • How does the society I live within impact who I am, what I value, and how I live my life?
  • How does language and framing create categories and realities? Can we rely on these? Can we create new ones?
  • What is the trajectory of my life-story? What is the trajectory of the story-of-humanity? How can we ensure this is a trajectory we desire?

The above questions will be explored from a range of literature on “Narratology” (the study of narratives), “Social Construction of Reality” (sociology), “Phenomenology” (philosophy of the mind), “Process Philosophy” (the idea that nothing is static, everything including one’s self is a dynamic process), “Panentheism” (the idea that we are inside a macrocosm we call “God”), philosophical reflections on Health and Happiness, and “Ecological Thinking” (that looks at the unity of self and the world we are a part of). Hopefully I’ll manage to combine these with life experience, photography, travel, and humour – variety is the spice of life.

How has this blog developed since it’s birth in September 2009? Below is a list of titles – click a heading to read the full entry.

September 2009

My first blog

At the moment so much is happening every day that I feel like three days fit into one. This morning I finish uploading the basics of this website and “took the next step” – announcing it on facebook. Facebook is interesting – with the click … Read More →

Early days

Some of my stuff from a few years back. Most of these are from Paris and London. I can’t hardly remember the feeling of having a shaved head… it was liberating, that’s for sure.

Alchemy

Exhibiting at Manning Artspace, Sydney University – July 2009-December 2009. The title of the series, Alchemy, was inspired by Paolo Cuelo’s The Alchemist; a four-part series taken over a three-month journey around South America. The first shot of the series was the one in Huacachina … Read More →

Sud Americana Landscapes

Galapagos is not the only awe-inspiring place in Latin America. Here are some of the most mind-blowing sights that with my camera I did it’s best to capture… Uyuni Salt-Lakes, Bolivia Lake Titicaca, Bolivia El Calefate, Patagonia Iguazu Falls Salvador, Brasil Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

“A Little Inspiration for a Big Idea”

The Art Tree Exhibition – my series is called “A Little Inspiration for a Big Idea”… The little inspiration The Theory of Evolution is a HUGE idea. But like all ideas, it starts with one thing: a little inspiration. Something happens to you: a feeling, … Read More →

People and Portraits

South Americans are different. There’s some powerful energy inside of them unlike any other people. The eyes of these children say it all.

Love Is

“Love Is” by Juliet Bennett Love is lost in eye’s oceans butterflies a breathe unknowns potentials innocent bliss Love is innate desire a constant distraction unexplainable energy a potent seduction soft lip’s tender kiss Love is beyond your control the wish of God ecstasy and … Read More →

Creativism – a philosophy for life

Creativism… the beginnings of a new philosophy, with positive implications on social, political and economic theories. Ok – with that amazing very creative photograph that won “Portrait of the Year 2009” by  Sydney photographer Pippin Schembri – I now divert your attention to something close … Read More →

Lindt chocolate is NOT slave chocolate!

I emailed Lindt a year ago and pretty much got a ‘no comment’ response but I emailed them again today and got a response already and guess what?! They DO NOT GET THEIR COCOA BEANS FROM THE IVORY COAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They do not use slave labour!!! … Read More →

What is Beauty?

“Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” In Japan, people would look at me and gasp “Kirre!” “SagoiI!” “Chiisai!” (translation: “Beautiful! Wow! Small!”) as they motioned a small circle with their hands and touched the skin on their face. This was followed by broken … Read More →

My inspirations

“Good novels are written by people who are not frightened.” George Orwell. Some of the most inspiring people in my life: Leigh Stark Blogger, photographer & the creator of this website. Thank you so much! www.leighlo.com & www.sackboyliveshere.com Chelsea Haywood Author and my wonderful Canadian … Read More →

A guy’s point of view

Sorry about the photo. A bit rude. Rachel took it not me (I think) – one of the millions of photos we took of graffiti art in South America. This one was in Bariloche Argentina. I thought it was appropriate. I never really read FWD’d … Read More →

Meaning of life

Something sure to come up a lot on this blog is the question of meaning – why the f**k are we here on this planet??? It is something I contemplate regularly. The human condition is a strange one –  born no different from other animals … Read More →

Shopping malls & traffic jams

Two entries in one day! Don’t know what’s gotten into me but I’ll probably be scaring off any readers if I have any… it won’t happen too often, I promise. I just got home from Warringah Mall. I was standing in line waiting to return … Read More →

God and fundamentalisms

This may sound strange but I LOVE our universe. I love that we are conscious of our selves, that we understand so much about our location in space and time, and I love that there is so much we don’t know – the mystery and … Read More →

PEACE: HOW DO WE FIND IT?

As I go through my studies, learning about the world and the peace and conflict that exists on different levels, and even as travel through my own life’s little challenges,  I find I coming back to one question: HOW CAN I FIND PEACE? Is peace … Read More →

Empowering women & the role of men

Empowering women has been said to be the “silver bullet” to ending poverty. Studies have shown that an increase in the income of women directly correlates with increases in the education and nutrition of children. These children will lead longer and more fulfilling lives, and … Read More →

Temporality & my chocolate belly

Ok I know that’s a shocking photo (it’s from a family celebration for my sister’s engagement last night which makes it even worse)… but I think it’s worth a laugh. And I tell you what, the chocolate semi fredo I’m licking is the very best … Read More →

October 2009

The journey of an inquisitive Christian

This is a 70-page book tracing the questions and answers encountered in my journey from a conforming, narrow-minded fundamentalist Christian into a passionate free-thinker – without losing my spirituality, my connection with “God” (albeit with a new understanding of what this word means, namely a personification of the macrocosm we are a part of), and reifying a passion for truth, people and our planet… Read More →

An Ethical Dilemma: Childhood Conversion in Christian Fundamentalism

My MA Dissertation completed in June 2009. I got a HD… pretty ridiculously stoked!!! Click here to download my PDF Abstract The rise of religious fundamentalisms and the implications of the dividing polarity are a topic of increasing attention in scholarly literature. The induction of … Read More →

My Thunderbolt Moment

Written as an appendix to my masters thesis “An Ethical Dilemma: Childhood Conversion in Christian Fundamentalism” in June 2009. My ‘Thunderbolt’ Moment This brief account of my personal case is provided to make known the perspective from which this paper was written, to demonstrate how … Read More →

Things aren’t always what they seem

Back at bikram yoga yesterday I looked back into the big horrible mirrors and smiled – my tummy looked thin and flat. This was only my third class and I was already getting great results. Then I stepped to the left and the image changed … Read More →

“I have an excellent idea – let’s change the subject!”

My blog has gotten a quite intensely serious. Religion, philosophy and peace talk. Interesting but reflective of the subjects going on in my mind, it has become a little draining. Or maybe today I’m just a little tired. Either way I do believe I should … Read More →

The Animal Question: Darwin’s Bastards

I’m working on a concept for an upcoming exhibition entitled “Darwin’s Bastards” that will be held at Verge Galleries on City Road in November. I’m not yet sure yet my photos will be accepted but it has been an interesting exercise to contemplate how Darwin’s … Read More →

I’m late

Time is my most valued asset. Time is money. And money (in its intended design) is a store of time. Money effectively allows us to trade our time for the time of others. Numbers in bank accounts provide me no pleasure. It seems to provide … Read More →

Death, life-commitments & a horse’s penis

It all began on Friday morning when my Opa said to me “I’m not well. I’m feeling dizzy.” I held his hand. He was freezing. I called the Doctor, and then the ambulance. I put a blanket on him, the heater next to him and … Read More →

At the precipice…

“Only on the brink of disaster do people find the will to change.” “Our sun was dying, we had to evolve.” “Nothing ever truly dies. Everything simply transforms.” (I found these quotes in my diary. I think they are from The Day the Earth Stood … Read More →

Live life for money

Live life for money Accumulate many things Get into debt Rejoice what this brings: … More work, less time Fear material loss Forget impermanence Decay of time is boss … What’s left is a story A story of Capital Of slavery to a system Of … Read More →

Depression

Sometimes life just sucks. For no reason in particular. And for every reason in particular. You know that feeling? Or am I the only one… The funny thing is that nothing has really changed. I’m still living with my Opa, I’m still at uni, I’m … Read More →

Circles in the Land of Angles

THE CRAB – IN ENGLAND I love learning where words come from. England, according to wikipedia, comes from the Old English Englaland, the “Land of the Angles”, the Angles being a German Tribes from the Middle ages. Learn something new every day – I always … Read More →

November 2009

Internal battles of head and heart

Sometimes the battles inside your body can provide many insights on the battles of the world. The last couple of weeks have been a struggle – a battle between my head and heart over what the two of them inside my body are going to … Read More →

Helping “developing” nations

Geez I have been bad at keeping my blog. I’ve had a lot on I suppose… what with uni essays, exams and my Opa slowly dying before my eyes … So yeah, haven’t really been so inspired to write just for the pleasure of it. … Read More →

St Tropez with Jason Mraz

Hmmmm….. I feel like a capitalist. How this reconciles with my hate for what capitalism does to the world I’m not quite sure. Yachting on the Cote de Azur was pretty frickin cool…

Sisters and puppies

Just a cute little post to encourage a laugh and smile on a Friday afternoon. The sleeping puppy above (small black mound of fur) is Bella, and that’s my youngest sister in 2004 – the only photo a sleeping dog I can find atm to … Read More →

The memoirs of Willem Van Leeuwen… and the magic of life.

Yesterday at 5pm my  Opa (that’s dutch for grandfather), passed away at the ripe old age of 93. Born 20th February 1916 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Willem Frederik Van Leeuwen lived a long and inspiring life. He was a wonderful, caring father and grand-father. Me … Read More →

A novel in the making…

On the 19th of November last year I left Australia on the most exciting adventure of my life thus far – a crazy fast tracked expedition around South America. A desire had been growing ever since I’d noticed the incredible energy of my Brazilian friends … Read More →

December 2009

Indecisive Spontaneity and Noncommittal Commitment

“Ok Andressa, how much to fly to Brazil for carnaval? Via New York? How about via Mexico? Ok, how about I just go to Mexico and make my own way there? … How about Africa? Tasmania? Uluru?” In the span of one week I have … Read More →

Potentialism: a philosophy for life

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 … Read More →

Burbs to buzz

Arrrhhhh moving house ain’t easy. I am writing now from a chair that’s too high for my desk surrounded by piles of clothes, computer gear, papers, and empty boxes; frustrated that the internet connection I was waiting to be delivered was (after many-a phone calls) … Read More →

Dilemmas of the Mercury Retrograde

“Since Mercury rules communication, it’s said that everything goes haywire in that area — emails get deleted or bounced back, mail is returned, calls go out into the ethers, etc.” (www.astrology.about.com) So put it into your diary: December 26th to January 15th, 2010. In 2010 … Read More →

Sex and the city

Sydney is my New York. And I am Carrie Bradshaw, sitting at my computer with an apple (or cachaca & pineapple as it is), pondering and writing about life, love and the city that is my new home. I’ve been here just one week and … Read More →

De ja vu? Hair

“What do you think?” She asked me. “Ah… It’s ok.” I said, frowning at my reflection. “I’m not quite sure how you got that,” I looked to the mirror, “from this” observing the photo in my hands. The cut is not so bad. Nor … Read More →

Consumerised misinterpreted pagan traditions

Surrounded by the mayhem of people spending money in desperation to tick the boxes and announce that those glorious words: “I have finished all my Christmas shopping”, when something dawned on me. It is not the nicest thing to day one day before the holiday … Read More →

Chapter 15: Old Peak (Machu Picchu)

This was my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day last year. It was absolutely positively fantastically magic. I highly recommend!!!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE  xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Keeping the tradition

No thanks to my preluding complaints I ended up having a great Christmas. I still don’t think gifts are a necessary part but who am I to complain about receiving money, new yoga mat, vacuum cleaner and other very useful and yummy and generous gifts? … Read More →

January 2010

Green porn

I can’t remember who or when someone told me to look this up but today on this rainy summer’s day besides enjoying calm pitter patter,working on my book, and sending a few happy new year messages, I have been looking up green porn. Soooo funny! … Read More →

The Christmas Pudge… and a Love of Beer

So I borrowed my mum’s scales to check the Christmas damage. 64 kilos. What the f??? I don’t step on scales so often, judging by measurement more than kilos. But, well, “in the day” I weighed 55kgs. And on average I think I’m around 58-60kgs. … Read More →

SHANTARAM

I’m revisiting one of my favourite books, that I actually never got to finish (it is 933 pages long), and typing up some of my favourite quotes (I do that with my favourite books) and I thought I’d share some with you as I type … Read More →

The Religion Debate

1. “Is there or isn’t there a God?” 2. “Is my god the True God or is yours?” These debates are entirely based on one’s definition of the word “God.” So, shouldn’t we be a little more focused on the question as to what is … Read More →

Loving the city but missing the burbs…

One minute I’m out, the next I’m at home. No more driving hours to see my friends. Now I just walk. No more “designated driver” (hence water above) – no doubt I love living in the city. But… since the “moving in” hype along with … Read More →

Walking through Rainforest

Sometimes I walk with music playing in my ears, sometimes I walk reading a book or editing parts of my own writings, and sometimes I walk with no phone, no music, no book – nothing. The later is my favourite – that’s where I get … Read More →

Alcoholic flowers

How would it feel to have consciousness without a brain? Check out these flowers! My cousins gave them to me sometime between Christmas and New Year when they popped by to check out my new home. I didn’t have a large vase so we hunted … Read More →

We ALL live off a Narrative Of Peace

Ok so I’m laying in the water enjoying an early morning swim at a nearby harbour-pool when all these thoughts stream into my mind. A sign that my mind has had enough vacation? I’m not sure.. Narratives of Peace is a topic I’m looking at … Read More →

When you lose your peace narrative….

Last night during some deep anthropological discussions, the subject of depression came up. “Depression is the incongruence between creations of your mind and soul, and the creations you are manifesting in the material world.” Lauren explained. “A depressed person feels as if their mind is … Read More →

Living too long and popping too many babies

Today I’m doing a little report for my Dad’s business which is in the Aged Care sector. And I tell you what – I’m learning some VERY interesting (and frightening) facts along the way… “Around two million Australians are aged 70 years or older. That’s … Read More →

A flea on a dog’s back

Sometimes I feel like a flea on a dog’s back. The great-great-great grand daughter of a family who decided to no longer jump from dog to dog, but instead thought it a good idea to settle down on one animal forever. My ancestor-fleas thought themselves so … Read More →

Over it… almost.

It has been a VERY long weekend. From blind dates to lost dogs, movies with sisters, drinks with friends, pub crawls, drunken falls, sprained ankles, frustrating lockouts, more drinks, a Girltalk concert, Oxford St clubs, waterskiing on the harbour, Australia Day bbqs, more beer, and … Read More →

February 2010

On the fifth day of detox….

It is interesting to see you operate with no drugs in your system. No using coffee and chocolate to wake me up and stimulate my mind. No using alcohol to relax and escape. Following a big night to farewell to the month of binges, the … Read More →

I shot a gun. And I liked it.

The first shot blows me away. I focus my eyes, level the gun and POW! My arms jolt up. The bullet hits the paper target. The second shot. Ok. I’m getting used to this. No idea where the bullet landed. The third shot. Bulls eye! … Read More →

On the tenth day of detox

So, all was going well, the swelling on my ankle was very slowly starting to disappear when… OUCH!!! I DID AGAIN… On my first morning walk in two weeks, as I enter Trumper Park, it goes on me. I fall to the ground and hit … Read More →

“There’s no such thing as balance.”

The fourteenth day = detox half-way mark……. It’s after midnight. I’m a little tipsy. What happened to my detox? As I’ve mentioned in my last post, I “fell off the horse” by no fault of my own – the 3rd ankle sprain in three weeks … Read More →

Call Me By My True Names

This is a poem by Thich Nhat Hanh taken from: Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life. Can we recognise ourselves in each other? Please call Me By My True Names Do not say that I’ll depart tomorrow because even today I … Read More →

We are our own enemy

There is no such thing as enemies. They don’t exist UNLESS YOU CREATE THEM. Australia sends “modern warrior’s”, off to “wage war against new and real threats” in the Middle East. Their mission is to: “kill the enemy,” “attack rogue states,” “stop terrorists,” and “protect … Read More →

The Cyberspace Witchhunts

Lateline is an abc news show that I only ever watched with my Opa. We watched it most nights and from there we would talk about politics and the depressing state the world is heading toward. Before I moved in with Opa, I didn’t know … Read More →

Step away from the book…

My sprained ankle had it’s benefits – LOTS of time sitting on my arse. And so, one week ago, I finished my first draft of my first novel. A first draft is a big achievement I suppose. The only problem is that it’s far too … Read More →

Resolution Theory

So I (finally) finished reading Shantaram!!! It is a very long book, but well worth the time. My favourite parts, besides Gregory David Robert’s incredible use of adjectives, is the philosophy of life that Khader Bhai, the Mafia don, shares with Lin. Khader Bhai calls … Read More →

A big thumbs down.

So the other day I’m in a bar and I run into a student from a Pilates class I used to teach. We have a nice catchup and he asks for my number. Without much thought I give it to him – not cause I … Read More →

Seeds, spirals and simplicity

Reading some diaries and writings of my past it is interesting to see how my consciousness today is embedded in them. I can trace most of my ideas in an almost spiral movement back through time. I can see the exact points in time where … Read More →

March 2010

Finding treasure

Have you read The Alchemist – by Paulo Coelho? The first time I picked it up it didn’t grab me and I soon put it down. But  the second time I picked it up, the simplistic beauty of the allegorical novel suddenly clicked. I’m going … Read More →

True Blood

Ok, so you’ve seen True Blood right? If not you should… From wikipedia (I’m too lazy to write today): True Blood is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries (informally known as The Sookie Stackhouse Novels / Chronicles and retronymed the True Blood Series) is a … Read More →

A different lens

What lens do you use when you look at the world? Is it a 35mm – where everything is pretty much a “normal” proportion? Is it a micro-lens, magnifying the small details? Or is it a wide-angle lens, taking in the big picture? Just as … Read More →

A time for everything

Time is the most valuable asset we have. We count as weeks and years go by, as we get older and our borrowed energy starts to dwindle. There’s not enough time in our day. Not enough time in our weeks. Not enough time in our … Read More →

Narrative of the TXT

Do you ever send a text later wonder if the receiver interpreted as you intended? Do you ever receive a text and wonder what the sender meant? On my walk this morning (my ankle is finally better!!!) I found my mind applying narratological concepts to … Read More →

Richard Dawkins and WHAT is God?

Interesting interview on SBS with Richard Dawkins last night. Stream it at this address: http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/600352/n/Interview-with-Richard-Dawkins I left this comment and thought I’d share it with you: There is a God VS there is no God.. haven’t we forgotten to define WHAT is it we refer … Read More →

Saving the Planet with a Sense of Humour

We are a funny species. And immensely arrogant… George Carlin on saving the planet: … BUT our arrogant species IS causing damage to our habitat. If we don’t want to go extinct it is in our best interest to stop destroying it. The good news … Read More →

Word of the day: Quixotic

Quixotic means: 1. extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable. 2. impulsive and often rashly unpredictable. 3. (sometimes initial capital letter) resembling or befitting Don Quixote. 4. caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard … Read More →

A Postmodern Grand-Narrative

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 … Read More →

A fear of death. A fear of life.

Juan, my new friend on Galapagos islands saw the look of horror on my face when I saw the iguana carcass. “It’s part of life,” he shrugged. As time on the islands passed I would see many more examples of the cycle of life and … Read More →

How Religion Spread

You MUST check out this awesome animated map of history. It shows when each religion starts and how each one spreads across the globe – all in less than two minutes. http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/Religion.swf It’s been a busy week so I will start the Big History series, … Read More →

Big History Blog Series: Introduction – Our Story

I wish to share with you a story: The Story of the Universe. My Story. Your Story. A True Story – well as true as true can be. Our Story has gone through many filters: of limited human knowledge developed through our limited human senses, … Read More →

Big History Blog Series: Chapter 1 – The Big Bang

Once upon a time, in the land of Quantum Nothingness, there was a BIG BANG and an infinitesimally small something started to expand, possibly faster than the speed of light. For some unknown but much talked about reason, matter in the form of quarks (the … Read More →

How to create a world war

Among my Internet surfing I came across a “creationist” website – the belief that the world is around 6000 years old – a figure derived from tracing back the genealogy in the bible from Jesus to Adam, and the seven-day creation. This belief is growing … Read More →

To do, or not to do? Avoiding regret.

I’ve come up with a new little set of questions I ask myself when making a decision. 1. Will I regret doing it? If I answer “yes”, I don’t do it. (Reason being, if I am pretty sure I’m going to regret something I think it … Read More →

Where are we, where are we going, and how?

‘I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got … Read More →

April 2010

Tangled up in knots

Yesterday EVERYTHING seemed tangled up in knots. Even my washing. Ahhhhh! I screamed. I had been trying to write journal articles and my mind seemed to mix up the concepts and ideas. I had been trying to edit my book but it seemed muddled up … Read More →

Happy Ishtar!

Easter is celebrated at Spring equinox, a time that for thousands of years was a celebration of the goddess Ishtar resurrecting the Babylonian/Sumerian god Tammuz/Dumuzid – the god of food and vegetation. Ohhhh, it makes so much sense! The burgeoning of spring: a time of … Read More →

Oil, smoke and mirrors

Oil does more than run our cars. Oil runs our cities, oil produces our food, oil fuels our flights and hence industries of tourism, and oil powers the weapons of war. Oil = Power. And as demand increases, supply is peaking… hence the “war on … Read More →

City living and neighbours screaming

I didn’t sleep last night. My sisters were visiting and I doubt they did either. I love city living, but sometimes it takes it’s toll. “Dirty cat, dirty cat,” some chick sang at the top of her voice. CRASH! BANG!!! And a few minutes later … Read More →

Dirty Cat Returns…

Yesterday morning’s crazy events almost repeated themselves that night. The girl who sang dirty cat, was back. In a hat. No not really in a hat. I just added that. Okay…. moving on. So she was back, and drunk again. No screaming or glass shattering … Read More →

Big History Blog Series: Ch2 – Star Formation and Another Big Explosion

To recap, in our first chapter of this Big History Blog Series, we learned that the Big Bang theory is based on the observation that our universe is expanding and hence that it must have once been smaller. Winding back time we imagined the infinitesimally … Read More →

The world is a game of chess

“War is like a chess game – operated by a few key people, everyone else doing what they are told.” “In war, who is the real enemy? The real enemy is war itself.” War is “preserving democracy, not practicing it.” Crimson Tide I was talking … Read More →

Sex or chess? Peace, the world’s trump card

So yesterday I enjoyed a little rant about the game our governments, supported by the people’s consumer-driven values, are playing with military pawns, strategically placed towers, and other oil-powered weaponry. We established the difficulty in knowing what sources we can trust, but decided that either … Read More →

An Aristocratic Future

‘If a single phrase could encapsulate society in 2015 it would be “more difference and starker differences”. Those differences will be between individuals and households: those with high skill levels and those without; those with property-related inherited wealth and those without; those who are fit … Read More →

The Spirit of the Times (Zeitgeist)

The word “Zeitgeist” comes from the German word Zeit, which means time, and Geist, which means spirit. So basically Zeitgeist means the “spirit of the times” and according to wikipedia this means the “general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual, and/or political climate within a nation or … Read More →

Free Documentaries: The Truth Is Free

Bored? Never! Check out this website: http://freedocumentaries.org/index.php In particular I recommend: Manufacturing Consent – Noam Chomsky … if you haven’t seen this one you better watch it NOW! The War on Democracy – The US manipulates politics of South America The Power of Nightmares – … Read More →

Small talk. How will we be remembered?

‘What do you think our generation will be remembered for?’ a friend said at dinner. ‘The generation who ruined the planet for everyone.’ I replied without a thought. ‘I was thinking more about what architecture style or something… but….’ Oops. Yep – I’m great at … Read More →

Happiness and relativity

Yesterday I had a bit of a rant about the money people earn and spend in the world I live in comparison to the money people earn and spend in the developing world. Here people work around 8-10 hours a day, 5-6 days a week … Read More →

Redefining the “good life”

There is plenty of evidence that ‘the work-dominated and materially encumbered affluence of today is not giving us enjoyable lives, and that switching to a more sustainable society in which we work and produce less would actually make us happier’: – the ‘stress, congestion, ill-health, … Read More →

Strange looking animals

So I’m still writing my book – the novel on South America – well, I’m editing it. It’s a tough. I like writing, but not a big fan of editing and filling in the gaps. Does anyone knows a good editor? Anyway, while searching for … Read More →

Buddha’s charter of free inquiry

From the Kalama Sutta: Do not accept anything on mere hearsay (ie oral history/ just because many people believe it) Do not accept anything by mere tradition (ie just because it has been handed down generation to generation) Do not accept anything on account of … Read More →

POTENTIALISM

“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 … Read More →

The parable of Easter Island

When I was in South America, one place I missed was Easter Island. If you want to go here I believe flying LAN Chile is the way to go as they give you a free stop over if you’re flying from Australia. We flew Aerolinias … Read More →

May 2010

The evolution of “Man’s Best Friend”

I stole my sister’s schipperke Bella for two days of doggie companionship – it’s pretty clear why they say that a dog is a man’s best friend. Not only are dogs adorable and fluffy, they (especially Bella) give you cuddles and snuggles when you ask, … Read More →

Why did the goose cross the road?

Why do any of us cross roads??? To get to the other side of course… still it was quite a funny sight. Today I took Bella to Centennial Park. As we approached a large flock of swans and geese Bella instinctively led me away from … Read More →

India’s default detox

Next Thursday I am going to India and I have a feeling I will be making up for the failure of my February detox. My sister tells me coffee in India sucks, so that’s a start. I wonder if they have chocolate? … Suppose I’ll … Read More →

Which road are you on?

These are some roads I drive on all the time but have never seen from this perspective… So while I should be packing and practicing my presentation here I am testing out the blogging application on my iPhone (thanks Leigh for making this work!!!). This … Read More →

The first chapter – Culture Shock and Stage Fright

Don’t worry, I’m not writing another book (not planning on committing to that ginormous task again in a hurry…)  but the first chapter of my 5 weeks in India/Nepal started out with 4 nights in Mumbai, or Bombay as people tend to still call it. … Read More →

Chapter 2 – One Country, Many Worlds

There seems to be a great reverence for Gandhi throughout India. His face features on every rupee note, and his philosophy and practice of non violence gained a mention in almost every Indian speaker’s presentation at the conference. “Truth is God”, said Gandhi, dedicating his … Read More →

Trusting one’s instincts

More than any other country I have visited, in India you have to trust your instincts. Look into someone’s eyes and you know. Even if people who should know assure you it is ok – that you can trust this taxi driver and that the … Read More →

Curing my incurable optimism

India is curing what my mentor used to call, my “incurable optimism.” I’m not it’s a good thing, it’s definitely a more depressing state of mind. But hey, the truth hurts. And I’d rather live and be aware of the truth, no matter how painful … Read More →

Accepting things, just as they are

“No seatbelt ma’am,” said the driver who picked me up at Coimbatore airport. This is one habit I just can’t shake. As we drove up through the mountains, toward my retreat, I turned on Deepak Chopra affirmations audio book. The first one seemed appropriate: to … Read More →

June 2010

And now, I relax

6am “knock knock” my revolting tasting medicine (of who knows what) arrives at my door… 630 yoga; 730 walk and feed monkeys; 830 breakfast (fruit and random-looking-but-delicious Indian vegetarian goop); 10am reflexology; 1030 continue reading “Holy Cow! An Indian Adventure” (awesome book btw); 1230pm massage (naked … Read More →

Disasters and Delhi

I say another little prayer from my prime position laying down in the back seat with my eyes closed. It is raining and the same crazy driver who overtook on blind corners on the cliff side on the way up was to drive me back down. The special requests for … Read More →

A not-so-golden Golden Triangle (Agra)

I have never felt so dirty and disgusted in my entire life. A thick layer of smog and filth covers my skin. My feet are black. My finger nails are blacker. It is definitely one of those all-I-want-is-a-shower-and-bed moments. But my disgust is far deeper … Read More →

A more-golden Golden Triangle (Jaipur)

If you read my last entry you will probably remember it was written in an exhausted and over-it state of mind. But, as we all know, for every down there is an up. You never know what is waiting for you around the next bend. … Read More →

A golden farewell to the Golden Triangle (Delhi)

Counting the days in Mumbai and the Golden Triangle I probably spent a total of one week in what most seasoned travelers would laugh at me for calling raw-India. It was raw enough for me. And I definitely didn’t shed a tear as I stepped … Read More →

From Bangkok to Bikes, Bollywood and Bongs (Kathmandu)

On the plane from Sydney to Bangkok, a some three weeks ago now, I met Bipeen – a Nepali who has been living in Australia the last couple of years who was on route to visit his family in Kathmandu. “I’ll pick you up at … Read More →

Hippies and happiness (Pokhara)

We arrived to eat dinner and sip cocktails with a perfect view of this beautiful lake. I had no idea what I was expecting when I left for Pokhara, but I wasn’t expecting the quiet little Queenstown-like town it is. Before long, with more new friends, … Read More →

Overnight Change: One day you’re here, the next…

One day a prime minister, the next you’re not. A captain thrown overboard by his crew. Why? Was he really so bad? Was he leading the ship in a direction they didn’t want to go? Was a pirate about to overtake his ship? Was he … Read More →

Coming to grips with the elephant in the room

I knew I would leave India with a new perspective of life – but the upturning of my worldview has happened in a far different way than I expected. I thought I would arrive home more passionate about social justice, more inspired to make a … Read More →

Good, bad and the thinking that makes it so

No animal was harmed and no blood was shed, in the making of this photo… looks can be deceiving. So can words. Reality itself can be deceiving. Distinguishing deception from truth begins with accepting it is there. There is a funny story behind this photo, … Read More →

July 2010

Capitalistic karma: reinterpreting reincarnation

Walking up in the mountains outside Kathmandu I contemplated the connection between the world’s inequalities today, the actions of one’s ancestors, and the idea of karma and reincarnation that I had been reading about in some books on the Eastern Religions. Be they the ancestors … Read More →

The eye of the storm and the calm that follows.

I knew my final peaceful week of yoga and relaxation in Pokhara was the calm before the storm, and boy I was right. The eye of the storm hit the day I arrived home with every day and night packed full-to-the-brim with hens parties, farewells, … Read More →

Envisioning the future of humanity-on-earth

While in a recent entry I concluded that I simply need to accept the world as it is, today I wonder, does this mean accepting the projectory of the world’s future? If we have the foresight to see that the present path we are on has … Read More →

IS LIFE MEANINGLESS?

“Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back … Read More →

MOMENTO MORI (remember that you will die) so CARPE DIUM (seize the day)!!!

Whoever we are, and whatever what we have accomplished in our life, we all eventually face the same fears: fears of being old, ill, of being a burden to our families, fears of going insanity, of losing liberty, losing dignity, of being neglected in our … Read More →

Can Buddha help us deal with the elephant?

I am starting to understand what Buddha meant when he said all life is suffering. No matter which financial situation you are born into, we always want more. It is very rare we reach a stage where we happily say “enough”. The more chocolate I … Read More →

Greed: the JOY of having more than you need… Taoism and more about that frickin elephant.

I used to think we could all be less greedy – that if we wanted less “stuff” we would be happier, and some of that wealth would be shared with the poor. Apparently this simple shift has the power to end world hunger – the … Read More →

Population Vs. luxury… QUALITY OR QUANTITY?

“On the technical side there is no limit to population,” said a scholar after talking about solving world hunger. “We just need more efficient systems, and for the rich to eat less.” This may be true, BUT the greater question (in my opinion) is: Do … Read More →

Human rights or a collective future? The problem with definitions.

If the pursuit of peace is an attempt to rid the world of violence, we must ask ourselves – “violence” through the eyes of who? Defining violence from the perception of a collective-humanity, is very different form defining it from the perception of each individual: … Read More →

Potential: innate or situational?

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. … Read More →

Leftist idealist or right-wing conservative?

Have you noticed the reoccurring pattern of almost hypocritical contradictions contained in my most recent entries? There seems to be a battle going on inside my mind:a battle between my leftist idealistic side (a perspective largely shared at  the peace conference) that seems to abruptly … Read More →

Microcosms and macrocosms – we are specks of dust in a giant’s eye

“India’s chaos was bigger than your ego,” said Farhad Azad. “You have to remember we are but drops in the ocean.” He was right, India’s incomprehensibility had put me back in my place. Somewhere along the line I came across this song, it’s pretty funny. … Read More →

Lifting the blinds, and curing PISD

My PISD – my Post-India Stress Disorder – has been cured!!! Well, at least for the most part, for now. This post concludes over a month’s worth of writings on re-adjusting to life in Sydney post India’s turning my worldview up-side-down experience. I feel more humble … Read More →

August 2010

Optimum Trajectory, swimming against the current, and man who stare at goats.

So I watched The Men Who Stare At Goats for the second time, and loved it just as much as I did the first. I’m not joking. I know it got terrible reviews, but I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time. And I … Read More →

Chocolate slavery and the tragic flaw of humanity in the 21st century

Didn’t they abolish slavery a couple of hundred years ago? Well no – it continues… and it continues such to provide the “haves” with what (in my opinion) is the most delicious tasting delightful experience of all my being: chocolate. In my opinion there is … Read More →

Nestle’s reply.

Of the emails I sent, Nestle was the first to reply. I didn’t realised that they purchase 11% of the global supply of cocoa-that’s massive! Read their correspondence for yourself below if you wish. While I haven’t heard of UTZ certification, I have to say … Read More →

Are you happy?

“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 … Read More →

Inspire: To Be Inspired – Sydney laneway ball photos

Event photography at a fundraiser for The Inspire Foundation – a charity established in direct response to Australia’s then escalating rates of youth suicide. www.inspire.org.au Dress as “something or someone that inspires you”. I was an angel AND a devil, with the philosophical justification that the existence of … Read More →

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

“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 … Read More →

Inspiration: angels, devils, and suicidal ants.

While in the past I’ve aspired to balance, I’ve come to embrace the imbalance, accepting that balance is found in the wholeness of all that exists, and over time – it doesn’t have to exist in every moment I experience. The yin and yang – … Read More →

Lindt LIED. No more chocolate for me.

SEE THIS ENTRY, AND IT’S CORRECTION, IN THE NEXT ENTRY https://julietbennett.com/2010/08/18/correction-lindt-didnt-lie-we-can-eat-lindt-chocolate-in-peace/]

Correction: Lindt DIDN’T lie. We can eat lindt chocolate in peace!

There are two parts to this entry. One that was posted earlier today, which I am redirecting to this one so to ensure I don’t communicate any misleading messages. Lindt LIED. No more chocolate for me. While about a year ago I posted the good … Read More →

Why I don’t commit suicide

“Camus said there is only really one serious philosophical question which is whether or not to commit suicide,” said Alan Watts, quoting Albert Camus (going on to say he believes there are five serious philosophical questions… see audio book on you tube below) It is … Read More →

San Churro, gluttony and my fair trade chocolate question

San Churro, if you don’t know, make the best hot chocolate in the world. The Azteca is full of chili and very thick hot chocolate goodness. A few weeks ago after a session of indulgence, my friend asked me how my drinking chocolate fit into … Read More →

The “PAPER ECONOMY” and the GFC

Why did the Global Financial Crisis actually happen? The best explanation I have come across was when about this time last year Canadian professor Jim Stanford came to speak at my uni – he tries to demystify the economy by explaining the concepts and jargon … Read More →

September 2010

Are the laws of science and “God” the same thing?

”Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist… The question is: is the way the universe began chosen … Read More →

Imagining ten dimensions

Okay, so we draw in two dimensions, live in three, and think in four (I guess seeing as most of our thought is based around time…). What would a fifth dimension look like? And a sixth? Or a tenth? Could other dimensions exist outside our … Read More →

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

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 … Read More →

Making time

Time is an aspect of life I have always been a little obsessed over. It ticks by, “tick tock”, and never returns. When you are bored or doing something you hate it, goes by far too slow; and when you are busy or doing something … Read More →

Peace One Day

Have you heard of Peace Day? It’s the 21st of September, every year. Do you know the story behind it? Peace One Day is the story of one man trying to get the global community to establish the first ever annual day of global ceasefire … Read More →

Homoerotic “platonic” eulogies to Love

“I have to tell you that I’m really in a pretty bad state from yesterday’s drinking, and I could do with a break. I think the same goes for most of the rest of you as well, since you were there yesterday. So what do … Read More →

Practicing what I preach

“It’s easier said than done.” I think we all have discovered this at some point or another. A couple of weeks ago I was struggling with a few big decisions and I punched the following rant into my phone on my way to work. In … Read More →

Optimal Trajectory: your choice, or chosen for you?

Is your optimal trajectory something that you choose, or something that chooses you? I think the answer to this question can be found in the study of narrative, quantum physics, and process philosophy – the topic areas I’m studying for my Master of Philosophy – … Read More →

My Blog’s Birthday: One Year On

Birthdays, for me, are a time of reflection. I started this Blog on the 7th of September 2009, which means I have just missed its one-year birthday. That makes it due time to reflect and evaluate this blog: where it’s come from, where it’s going, … Read More →

Mastering Conflict: A Journal on Peace & Obesity

Welcome to Peace and Conflict Studies. First assignment: to write five journal entries that reflected on the learning process throughout the first half of semester. Written on the first day back at university, after five years of working,  travel and a six months teaching … Read More →

Mastering Conflict: A Journal on Cyber Conflict & Celebrity

11 March 2008 (Journal entry #2 – part of an assignment for “Key Issues in Peace and Conflict Studies”.) Tonight when I arrived home my Opa was watching the channel 7 news. Two stories of conflict caught my attention. The first was ‘cyber conflict’. Personal … Read More →

Mastering Conflict: Ignorance is NOT Strength

25 March 2008 (Journal entry #3 – part of an assignment for “Key Issues in Peace and Conflict Studies”) “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength” It’s our Easter vacation and I just watched George Orwell’s  ‘1984‘ for the first time. Propaganda, ‘big brother’ … Read More →

October 2010

Nice Guys Finish First

Can nice guys they finish first? Or is it always the bad boys who win the game? While you probably thinking I’m referring to my choice in men, I ask this question in a more general evolutionary context – inspired by a BBC documentary by … Read More →

Mastering Conflict: A Journal on the Business World

9 April 2008 (Journal entry #4 – part of an assignment for “Key Issues in Peace and Conflict Studies”) Something dawned on me this week while learning about security threats. My undergrad degree is actually relevant! When we learned about the inter-disciplinary nature of Peace … Read More →

Mastering Conflict: Journal on Peace & War

19 April 2008 (Journal entry #5 – final part of this assignment for “Key Issues in Peace and Conflict Studies”) “If you want peace, prepare for war” The last few weeks have focused on the concept of Security, and at the Iraq Never Again conference … Read More →

Levels of Morality

What motivates our decisions? Pleasure/pain; authority; social contracts; or some kind of internal judgement mechanism? Kohlberg identified the development of moral maturity as having six stages within three levels. The pre-conventional level involves punishment and pleasure-seeking orientation enforced by authority and observed mostly in early … Read More →

Taking the long way home

2am Saturday morning Isn’t it funny how when things change, it’s usually overnight. One day I have a social life – like every day and every night filled with some kind of pre-organised plan. And the next – NOTHING. Not one little thing. Oh yeah, … Read More →

More Chess and Sex – talking Peace with Army boys

This is a story within a story – an episode among Friday night’s random route home. A conversation between a peace lover and army dudes – about war and love and perceptions, and chess and sex. “What do you do?” A visiting American army boy, … Read More →

You are what you read (and watch and hear)

“You are what you eat” – yes, this is true. But also “you are what you read” (and what you watch and hear)… My mentor once told me that what you are reading now, and who you are talking to, is the biggest indicator of … Read More →

The day everything went wrong

Today I got my first rejection from an academic journal I submitted a paper too. Today I was reminded of my lack of knowledge and lack of experience. Today I was reminded to be humble as in approach. Today I stressed about whether I would … Read More →

How my day got better.

After facing rejection and depression that followed some emails and the lecture on Palestine and Israel, I went to the library and found myself inside my own little metaphoric story: I was looking for a book but I couldn’t find it. The number system can … Read More →

A deeper exploration of Resolution Theory

Following a question from someone who came across this blog, I was inspired to revisit Resolution Theory – Gregory David Roberts’ philosophical and cosmological model shared through Khader Bhai, the Mafia don, in Shantaram: The Novel. Roberts writes: “The whole universe is moving toward some … Read More →

Population Growth and Climate Change – A Debate

Last night I went to Population Growth and Climate Change – A Debate at Politics in the Pub at the Gaelic Club in Surry Hills. I had had a long day at a Post-Graduate Law Conference where I presented my paper A Breach of Child … Read More →

November 2010

Ikigai – a reason to wake up in the morning

Why do you get up in the morning? Does an answer come into your mind straight away? It does for the people in Okinawa, and it thought to be one of the key factors in their longevity – estimated to lengthen the lives of the … Read More →

Farewell Superstitions

I like experimenting, trying things I’ve never tried, testing one thing against the other – whether it be conducting little social experiments, buying the strange looking packet of dry fish from the Asian section of the supermarket, or giving the superstitious options on society’s menu … Read More →

Mastering Philosophy: A Love of Wisdom

Before I even properly knew what philosophy was, I knew I wanted to study it. I remember being drawn to it and religion when I first finished school, but my UAI and father’s advice lead me to study Business. I know the world in the … Read More →

Don’t be so hard on yourself… sometimes its soft

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” said one of my friends over coffee today. “Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s soft,” he laughed. “It’s important to have goals and dreams and expectations, but it’s more important to have a sense of humour about them.” I can … Read More →

Have you met TED? Introducing “Narratology”

Which Ted? Ted from How I Met Your Mother, or Ted-Talks? While both are wonderful sources of inspiration, today I will using the former to introduce “Narratology”. Narratology is the study of narratives, the stories lived and the stories told. The stories in one’s head, … Read More →

Mapping out religious beliefs and learning to think

I drew this up flowchart / map of religious beliefs about three years ago. I agree with this quote in part. Thinking can be terrifying. At the time I drew up this map I was at the beginning of an emotional process of learning to … Read More →

Overcoming a Fear of Failure

So I’ve been talking about this book for far too long – the travel memoir about South America. I’ve been working on it for too long, editing it for too long, putting my favourite snippets next to my favourite songs in attempt to get back … Read More →

Variety … the spice of life

“Variety’s the very spice of life, That gives it all its flavour,” said the William Cowper, an English poet of the 18th century. Food tastes okay without spices, but can anyone deny the enhancement of flavours when little salt and spice is added to the … Read More →

Truth through a photoshoot

On Monday I did my first fashion shoot for the year. I was modeling my sister’s fashion line (she’s a fashion student at Sydney Tafe) with Gilbert Rossi, an amazing photographer who I’ve remained friends with over the years. Rossi was standing about 8 metres away … Read More →

Mastering Philosophy: Heraclitus, Parmenides & Zeno

Is reality undergoing constant change or is change an illusion? Heraclitus, Parmenides and Zeno were pre-socratic early Greek philosophers (before Socrates), living and philosophizing around 500 B.C. These philosophers had very different ideas about metaphysics – the branch of philosophy concerned with the fundamental nature … Read More →

A Conversation with Plato on Being and Change

Plato (428-347BC) is known for putting words in other people’s mouths – into dialectical scenarios where each of the characters take turns expressing an opinion, for example in Symposium they speak of love. (See entry: Homoerotic Platonic Eulogies to Love) Following what Heraclitus, Parmenides, and … Read More →

December 2010

Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money and love

Just thought I’d share this inspiring story about Jessica Jackley who set up Kiva – the world’s first peer-to-peer online microlending service – which allows people in rich countries to lend small amounts of money directly to people in poor countries, and from this dramatically … Read More →

Humanity: are we an empathic civilisation???

Something many of us probably do not know is that connected to our drive to survive, is an empathic disposition driving the evolution of “civilisation”. Humans have a long history of empathy that unfortunately our history books tend to forget about. The book The Empathic … Read More →

“The surprising truth about what motivates us”

Money is a motivator, but only so much as if you don’t pay enough they won’t be motivated. Dan Pink says, in this RSA production, that after this basic benchmark is reached there are three factors that lead to better performance and personal satisfaction: 1. … Read More →

Hypatia, my new heroine

It was the burgeoning of the Dark Ages – a time where a blog like mine that questioned the “truth” would have me (like my new heroine the philosopher Hypatia was) called a witch, stripped naked, skinned alive, torn into pieces and burned. Tonight I … Read More →

Yoga – always a good decision

Tonight I had a decision to make: dinner with mum, PeaceBeliever Tribute to John Lennon at Oxford Arts Factory, bed (I was up late blogging last night), try to keep awake and study, or go to a yoga class. My body craved the hot room, … Read More →

Support Wikileaks Protest – Sydney Town Hall Tomorrow

I’ve never been much of a hands-on activist. While I support many causes, I tend to action my support in different ways. But tomorrow’s protest is different. Tomorrow is about making a stand for our fundamental freedoms, for democracy, free media and free speech. The … Read More →

Flying like ducks

All my life I have had a tendency to “go with the wind” so to say. It hasn’t been a completely submissive relationship. It sounds strange to say but the wind has tended to listen to my requests.  It blows me around a little but … Read More →

Protests and balls, left and right…

There are two sides to every story. We all know this, even if we choose to only see our side. Seeing the side of others takes empathy, a virtue that (unlike patience and many other virtues)  I think I’m not half-bad at. Lucky so, given … Read More →

Protests and balls, another Wikileaks rally (Town Hall 530pm TODAY), and the Left-Right Paradox.

Today the Westminster Magistrates’ Court will decide the fate of Julian Assange, well at least whether or not he will get bail. And so while I haven’t even told you much about last Friday’s rally yet, I had better briefly inform any Sydney readers that … Read More →

Preserving “The Pyramid” – the reason things are the way they are…

“Things are the way they are because they have been designed to be this way,” a friend of mine said. “It’s all about preserving The Pyramid.” What’s The Pyramid? Let me tell you… “The Pyramid” (according to my friend) is a method of social, economic … Read More →

Rethinking “The Pyramid” – do alternatives exist?

I want to revisit the social, economic and political pyramid I discussed in my last post, sharing my evolving thoughts on the question: do alternatives exist? While it seems overall human civilisations only really know the pyramid, if we think outside the square – could … Read More →

Stories, Boxes, and Things that Don’t Fit

Christmas is full of stories and boxes, as are our lives. Every day, in every interaction, and in almost every thought, we seek to put the things we see, hear, smell, taste or feel in categorical boxes, and attach stories to them. For a simple … Read More →

Photo:

The latest edition to my life narrative – my scoot!

References:

[1] Michael J Toolan, Narrative: A Critical Linguistic Introduction (London: Routledge, 1988). p 47. 

Adventure, , ,

Rethinking “The Pyramid” – do alternatives exist?

Written by Juliet Bennett
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I want to revisit the social, economic and political pyramid I discussed in my last post: Preserving the Pyramid- the Reason Things Are the Way They Are, sharing my evolving thoughts on the question: do alternatives exist?

While it seems overall human civilisations only really know the pyramid, if we think outside the square – could any other shapes work?

When I first considered this question I drew a number of shapes:

Could we operate in a circle, a flat line, a square, a rectangle, a diamond?

“How about a a flatter pyramid?” I asked my friend.

“That’s Communism,” he replied. “It tends to make everyone poor, and just a few mega rich.”

I nodded woefully. Over time I have looked to other sources of inspiration.

In animal kingdoms…

In nature…

In space…

Inside ourselves…

From our minds…



[1]

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I think my favourites are 1. THE SPIRAL 2. THE WEB 3. THE HUMAN BODY

Spirals might have interesting usages but probably not in this context. It makes me think of the pyramid on steroids, kinda what we have now – with the rich getting richer and the poor poorer in a manner that is spiraling with no limits.

Webs on the other hand are an interesting idea. Could a political, economic and social structure be more like a web than a pyramid?

Does the World Wide Web already provide a platform for this? Maybe.

When it comes to the organismic shape of the human body, I have to wonder: Do the my body’s organs and cells operate in more of a pyramid organisation structure, with my brain at the top and a hierarchy of body parts below it? Or does the networking of my spine through to the individual nerves throughout my body, the connections between my body and my mind, connections between my heart and veins, between lungs through alveoli and capillaries and through to feed oxygen to the cells in the tips of my fingers- is this more like a web?

Are our brains like pharaohs, monarchs, dictators and bankers, sitting at the top enjoying the work the rest of the body does? Or are our brains, spines, hearts, lungs, nerves and senses showing us a different system? Could our society be modelled on this?


If my foot and my arm squabbled about taking over from my brain, my body wouldn’t function so well. I need my feet to walk, I need my mouth and voice box to talk, just as right now I need my fingers to type. If my stomach goes on strike, my taste buds aren’t going to have much fun. If my hand decides not to feed me, I will die. Similarly if my hand feeds me endless amounts of McDonalds and chocolate – seeking short term pleasures at the cost of long term body functions – I will also die a relatively quick death. Similarly if those up the top of the human pyramid neglect those at the bottom, it won’t take long for the whole pyramid to fall.

While my entire body seems to be an integrated web, when it’s a working system some parts do seem to have more fun than others: I’d rather be a brain than a finger, just as I’d rather be a taste bud than a stomach. I’d prefer to be rich than poor in the capitalist world. But one without the other doesn’t really work. All body parts are happier the more happy/healthy the other parts.

At the end of the day, whether we have a system based on a pyramid or a body,

What I would really like to do is draw a big circle around the pyramid and label it “ecosystem”.

Look at your $1 bill and you will see this symbol is already kind of there…

A pyramid with a circle around it.

The “All-seeing eye” – “a universal symbol representing spiritual sight, inner vision, higher knowledge”, is a Masonic symbol that is a “mystical distortion of the omniscient (all-knowing) Biblical God”[1] which goes back as far as the ancient Egyptian god Horus.

Rather than representing an omniscient God, the all-seeing-eye makes me think of the growing fascist-nature of our governments, and the rich/elite/powerful who control them.

That’s not so bad, in my mind, as long as there is that circle around it which (ironically) is already there on the $1USD note!

I think it is really important  to remember what our social, economical and political model is located inside – an environment with limits.

The great pyramid of human civilisation can outgrow itself and if our Pyramid bursts through this circle there will be no humans left to build another one.

Can the pyramid work within our planetary limits? Maybe. I think it is possible for everyone to live out their lives playing their individual roles that altogether work for the good of all. I think it’s possible for us to have different levels of power and economic wealth, so long as together we create an anatomically correct system – that is, one that fits proportionately within our ecological circle. In order to do this, population must be limited, hence poverty must be limited, the crazy wacky food production lines must be changed (I just watched Food Inc. ewwww!).

If human civilisation is to be a functioning body, we have to re-think the roles and functions of its constituents.

There must be rewards of all the roles and each should be designed to be desirable and fulfilling. Just as unemployment might be depressing, so is living 70-hours a week in a concrete prison in the sky.

I wonder what would the social/economic/political roles look like if we were living within our ecological limits?

Photos/credits

[1] http://www.crossroad.to/Books/symbols1.html

Most from google images – forgetting to take note of owners, although most have their websites on them.

That great photo of the snails is from WAPPY AL – http://www.flickr.com/photos/jackslad/502468776/

Academic, Peace, , , ,

Preserving “The Pyramid” – the reason things are the way they are…

Written by Juliet Bennett
3 Comments

“Things are the way they are because they have been designed to be this way,” a friend of mine said. “It’s all about preserving The Pyramid.”

What’s The Pyramid? Let me tell you…

“The Pyramid” (according to my friend) is a method of social, economic and political organisation that is at the core of every human civilisation from the Egyptians to Hindus to Monarchies to Capitalism.

All the big political conflicts come down to one thing: The Pyramid.

Conflicts are either initiated by people on top pulling strings to preserve or expand the present Pyramid; or conflicts are initiated by revolutionaries who disagree with the structure and seek to turn The Pyramid up-side-down.

As I thought through history, I realised my friend was right. The English and Spanish Conquest of the Americas, India, China… We seize land to expand our pyramid. We seize resources to secure our pyramid. We take down any leaders who don’t agree to it’s rules. We call anyone who challenges the Pyramid a “terrorist” and “national threat”. Why? Because they really are a threat to this hierarchy – and the people at the top do not like that.

From the Egyptians:

To the Hindu caste system:

To Capitalism today…

Globalisation has seen the pyramids of once isolated civilisations join together to create an even bigger pyramid. And as the upper and middle class grows, so does the lower class, hence as our global population rapidly expands, so does The Pyramid. The rich get richer as  the poor get poorer.

In the global pyramid, the top 0.5 billion earning over $20,000 a year (of which many earn far more, and a small number earning far far more than that) while 60% of the world’s population live on less than $2 a day.

The pyramid of wealth distribution looked at in another way shows the top 1% taking 2/3rds of the US national income…

How is such inequality allowed to persist?

Through a carefully constructed system that involves a “social distribution of knowledge” [1]. We educate some (the children of the monetarily rich) to make the system work for them, and educate others (the children of the not-so-money-rich) to work for the system.

Those in power know the formula: give people a reason to live (eg through career path or religion or an ideology) and educate them enough for their societal roles. No more, no less.

The system teaches people to obey authority, not to question it. It encourages conformity, a docile acceptance of the status quo.

According to my friend’s theory, all the “evils” of the world are there for a reason: to maintain The Pyramid. This includes:

  • Poverty is there because a massive base is needed to support the weight of the top.
  • War is there because it secures the resources required to make weapons and keep the system running as those at the top require.
  • Lack-of-education is there because in the social distribution of knowledge, not everyone needs to know stuff. All you need to know is what your role requires you to know, no more, no less.
  • Religion is there because it gives people a purpose. It explains the unknowns, it controls the masses, and it gives people hope for a better life next time round – be it up in heaven or in one’s reincarnation.
  • Debt is there because it contracts a permanent slave of those people and countries who work to repay it.

The destructive cycle is this: (1) as we seek to join the upper class  or move up the middle classes (a good thing), we inadvertently (2) increase the lower class – not such a good thing if this means 12 hour work days behind a sewing machine. Then, (3) as the base of the pyramid increases, so does poverty (families have less food and less land to provide), and (4) as poverty increases, education decreases and people have more babies, causing (5) the global population continues to explode and (6) as the earth’s resources recede it seems inevitable that, at some point in the future, billions of people’s lives  are going to be lost.

Should we challenge The Pyramid? Maybe. But to be honest I’m not sure that we can.

What happens when someone challenges the authority of The Pyramid? They get taken down. Just look what they are doing to Julian Assange!

History has shown Animal Farm scenarios time and time again: revolution upon revolution. When oppressive humans are kicked off the planet and animals declare themselves equal, it’s only a matter of time before pigs (or some other animal) will rise up and become the new oppressor.

The Pyramid has been torn down and built back up by a numerous groups who then take the place of the new rich and powerful. Whoever wins the battle replicates the model’s inequalities, and rewrites history to produce a new “social distribution of knowledge.” It’s an endless cycle.

Geez this is depressing. Where’s my Christmas spirit? Don’t get me started on Christmas… the capitalistic “Christian” tradition that is based on a pagan holiday inadvertently idolizing the “God” that declared “He” never wanted to be idolised. Ah sorry, I shouldn’t write it off like this. It is a lovely family time. I’ll try to uplift my words from here on…

If we can’t fight The Pyramid, should we embrace it? Maybe. Maybe there are ways of making it work without the above evils, I’m not sure.

Is inequality ok? Maybe. It’s impossible for everyone to be equal. And unappealing – diversity makes the world a more interesting place. And whose to say that the rich people are “rich”? Are those at the top of the pyramid “better off” than the people at the bottom? Life can be pretty boring if you have everything without the challenge. The poor might be much richer in different ways…

But it can’t be denied that it’s pretty shit that two-thirds of the world have no place to shit.

Maybe it’s best to live one’s life somewhere in the middle. Probably myself and most of you think of ourselves as somewhere in the middle (although earning more than $20k pa places us in the upper).

Even in the top segment of the pyramid if you have a mortgage and particularly if you have children, then choices become even more limited – we are culturally molded to work for the system. I wonder how many people at the very very top of The Pyramid are even consciously aware that they are creating or perpetuating it?

Is there anything wrong with being a cog in this wheel? No. I guess not – as long as you are happy. What if this happiness is just an illusion? Maybe living in an illusion is the best place to be. Should we be putting our efforts into finding ways to make the pyramid work for us? Maybe. But maybe not. Alternatives may exist, I’m not yet sure.

In sum, things are the way they are because they have been designed this way. Poverty, religion, education systems, health-related issues – all of our problems are (at least in part) designed to serve the powerful and preserve The Pyramid. If you want to address these problems in a way that is real and sustainable, then it will be useful for you to consider the power hierarchies within The Pyramid, and engage with those in decision-making positions to make changes toward more just institutions and hence a more just world.

When my friend first shared this theory I protested, now I’m coming around.

More on The Pyramid? Check out the sequel blog post Rethinking “The Pyramid” – do alternatives exist? and blog entries tagged “The Pyramid“.

Pictures:

I have a habit of grabbing pictures off Google Images and not recording the copyrights… if anyone would like me to acknowledge their work where I haven’t please do let me know.

References:

[1] The Social Construction of Reality, Berger and Luckmann 1966

 

Academic, Featured Posts, Truth, , , , , , ,

Protests and balls, another Wikileaks rally (Town Hall 530pm TODAY), and the Left-Right Paradox.

Written by Juliet Bennett
1 Comment

Today the Westminster Magistrates’ Court will decide the fate of Julian Assange, well at least whether or not he will get bail. And so while I haven’t even told you much about last Friday’s rally yet, I had better briefly inform any Sydney readers that there will be another rally at 530pm, again at Town Hall, today. [1]

Professor Emeritus Stuart Rees (from Sydney Peace Foundation, and my friend and mentor) will be speaking,  so if you are Sydney, do come along. It’s sure to be informative, conducive to Assange’s case, as well as a good laugh (if anyone knows Prof. Rees’ humour, you will understand why).

…

Anyway, returning to the story of the 30 hour Peace vs Defense saga that I began to tell you about yesterday in my entry Protests, Balls, Left and Right.

In one day I attended both the first wikileak rally, and then my friend’s army ball, both held at Sydney’s Town Hall – allowing me to directly access the often polarised worldviews of Peace, and Security, and bringing me to what I will from here on refer to as the Left-Right Paradox.

Although separated by a few hours, I was one of the Lefties outside Town Hall by day, a “Hippy/Communist” as the army boys called us (appologising when I owned up); and lapping up the benefits of our capitalistic security-driven Conservative government (at my friend from the army’s end of year ball), by night.

The rally emphasised the cowardous and inexcusable way our politicians are handling Julian Assange: washing their hands of him and feeding him to the lions den, before proven guilty, is not something any citizen would hope from their country.

You would think they would learn from the case of David Hicks… what happened to being presumed innocent until proven guilty?

The rally also emphasised the citizen right to freedom of speech, freedom of media, and right to the truth.

You have probably gauged from other blog entries the value I place on the “truth” – so as you can imagine, my values were largely aligned with the rally’s speakers.

Later that day I gowned up and entered Town Hall, I also came to understand the other side.

“The information leaked put my friend’s lives at risk.” said my friend who served in Afghanistan earlier this year. “There are bigger questions that have to be asked.”

Gulp.

Let’s consider some of questions:

Should all political information be transparent?

Yes, I would like it to be.

What if this puts lives of Australian soldiers at risk?

Then no, it shouldn’t.

Do the public have a “right to know”?

YES, I think they do.

Do governments have a right to hold some information “confidential”?

Paradoxically YES, I think they do too.

Who should decide what truths should be told, and which should remain hidden?

I guess as a democracy this is the people’s decision, enacted through the government we elect to consider the facts and (hopefully) make decisions like this, hence controlling the information we see, for our own benefit.

While I think Wikileaks is a great resource for accessing the truth of the political, economic and social world we are a part of, in my opinion there are limits to what should be published. Namely nothing that puts the lives of fellow Australians at risk.

What if this puts lives of people from other countries at risk?

It is here we return to the Left-Right Paradox – the dicotomy that positions global peace against national security.

If I prioritise the lives of people from other countries, I can jeopardise the lives of people in my own country. In the political games we presently play, sending our troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and beyond, information is a weapon crucial to our winning or losing the game. So long as we are playing a global game of chess, can we really afford to tell our opponents our next moves?

There are two sides (or more) to every story, and this complicated debate is not going to end any time soon.

There are no easy answers, and there are an endless number of questions:

Are Australia, America, Britain actually democracies, or does the power of the intimate connections between media, politicians, and corporate elites nullify the ideal?

Can the Australian public TRUST their government?

Will the government one day point their finger at someone like me and yell “witch”, just for asking questions?

I hope Australia is a democracy with a government that can be trusted, who respect our questioning and always put the interests and freedoms of their citizens first.

In my opinion, government information should be as transparent as possible and it is nothing but bureaucratic bullshit if the public is held in the dark while institutions we don’t even know about pull the strings.

If I were to discuss this topic with a particularly wealthy and wise friend of mine, his response would be: “It’s all about maintaining The Pyramid.“

THE PYRAMID is a very illuminating idea – that all civilisations are based on a pyramid structure, with powerful rich at the top, and the poor workers at the bottom. Connected to the idea of maintaining The Pyramid, is the game of chess that those in power are playing with many other’s lives. So the question we must ask is:

Are we happy being pawns in a giant game of chess, or do we want to change the game, for example, from from chess to sex.

I don’t have the answers but I do have hope – hope that with collective creative ingenuity we humans can write some new rules, and start playing a game where both parties win.

In conclusion I wish to quote one of the army boys from the ball:

“Everyone just has to chill – chill out! Have a beer, talk about their issues, and then the solutions will appear.”

Cheers to that!

Thanks for listening to my rant… I’m sure everyone has an opinion and I’d love to hear your thoughts if you care to leave a comment below.

References

[1] http://antonyloewenstein.com/2010/12/13/sydney-rally-for-wikileaks-on-14-december/

Some links

This entry is continued from – https://julietbennett.com/2010/12/13/protests-and-balls-left-and-right/

My older entries on this topic that might be of interest:

Human Rights or a Collective Future – the Problem with Definitions

Am I a Leftist Idealist or Right Conservative, or BOTH?

A balanced article I quite liked – http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/42140.html

A little video I shot on the day of Lee Rhiannon of the Greens (NSW Senator Elect).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS3pqtAbS2k[/youtube]

Wikileaks video and site – http://213.251.145.96/video.html

Academic, Peace, ,