Day 408 - Laurence Dervaux EXPO in Charleroi

Today I was fortunate to be able to see an exhibition in Charleroi from the Belgian artist Laurence Dervaux. The works in the exhibition were centered around the theme of the ‘liquids’ within the human body (such as blood, water, etc.) and the ‘fragility’ of the human body as a system that depends on these liquids.

When I entered the first room I immediately had to think of the book ‘Dune’ in which the scarcity of water, and how to frantically keep and recycle it, is such a central theme. But that was not so much the intention of the artist, as the entire installation functioned more as a metaphor for the entire human body through which liquids travel and are contained.

One of the smaller pieces, which looked like a network of blood vessels in the shape of baby-lungs, came with text, saying that the combined length of all the blood vessels in a human body, measures more than twice the circumference of the earth...  Now that made me ponder… because this means that the human body is indeed a vast system, a small universe of its own. The same reasoning can be applied to any body, to any animal or creature.

That alone should make us have so much respect for ourselves and each other who inhabit this world, as physical bodies. The realisation that we are each a vast universe of it’s own, yet extremely vulnerable, because we actually need each other to be able to live and co-exist. Real divinity would be to live in a manner that honours this realisation: where our actions are rooted within respect and consideration for ourselves and each other.

Yet, in this world not even the most vulnerable among us, seem worthy of our consideration. We declare wars, knowing full well that children will be the victims of these atrocities, and we declare them anyway. Does humanity deserve a seat amongst the Gods in the heavens? Or did we invent hell because we know we did nothing to stop the hell on this earth?

It is important to realise that there exists a way to 'stop'. Atrocities happen because at some point, we 'give in' to our emotions, we give in to our anger and our fears. This is an internal 'movement', an inner 'tipping point'. This inner movement does not happen without our 'consent'. We consent to it because we are participating in it. It takes many years to train oneself into developing the diligence and self-discipline required to be able to stop such automated forms of participation in emotions. I recommend to learn about self-forgiveness and how it works - because that is how you are going to learn to develop inner silence and the ability to Breathe through your own emotions when they visit you. 

Day 407 - Michel François EXPO in Brussels

I had a hunch that the exhibition of the Belgian artist Michel François would be relevant for me to visit. I suddenly remembered how much I actually enjoyed being exposed to modern art during my years as an art student. It's an enjoyment I had in a way taken for granted.

My environment was promoting creative expression, and being exposed to so many different languages and poetries of expression had over the years simply become like a second nature. I realise this is also what I enjoyed initally when I explored creative writing for a few years. Within this I also realise how fortunate I was to have been able to go to an artschool, where I was pushed to explore forms of expression that are purely based on how self wishes to express and explore a point rather than it being based on social convention and how things are ‘supposed to be’. Obviously norms and conventions also exist within the world of art – but I found that the startingpoint within art education allowed for much more ‘innocense’ and some kind of deeper life wisdom, than the education I had been receiving thus far.  

When I entered the exhibition for a moment I felt ‘lost’ between the artworks because it was clearly art that required some context and explaining and I felt that I was missing the context. For a moment I thought I should go back and get a folder with explanations which some other visitors seemed to consult. But instead of doing that I simply walked tot he wall where the titles of the artworks in this room were displayed. This actually revealed everything I needed to know. The titles were so specific it was amazing how that changed everything. I could appreciate the humor and the playfulness in the artworks. 

I also rememered my own creative processess when doing research for art assignments at school. At the time I would often be annoyed at having to do this kind of research, because I felt like I was lacking a clear path, whereas that was part of the process: there was no clear path and you had to carve out your own path. This kind of education is quite beneficial because it places ‘self’ at the center of your own creative development and also the development of yourself as a person. But at the time I was so wrapped up in my emotional turmoil, I did not see these dimensions so clearly, lol.

Now I see them more clearly, and I can only wish that this type of education would be made available for everyone to experience, if they choose to.

Day 406 - A visit to Brussel's Military Museum

I recently visited the Military History Museum in Bruxelles and would like to share some of my observations. When I entered the museum, my first impression was that of an old and completey outdated collection of military artifacts and national symbols (which made me regret my visit). But when I proceeded to the second hall, I found myself impressed by the collection of large artillery weapons and canons. 

I was mainly fascinated within the realisation that human beings had actually operated these machines (mostly from the first world war) and would have actually used those canons to try and decimate their so called enemies. As I proceeded through the hall, I saw even larger artillery and even full scale tanks. At this point it dawned on me how far humanity has gone in trying to specialise in forcing another party to agree with us and how much violence we are actually willing to use. 

If you are walking in a relationship with another being, you will find that reaching agreement through communication is actually one of the hardest things there is. You are simply not trained nor prepared for this - your education and entertainment has only prepared you for 'survival' and 'conflict'. Communication is not manipulation. I communicate with you because I accept you as an equal and I realise that I cannot move 'with you' unless we move in 'unison'. For that we both need to agree. 

The reason why international law is not actually working and why there are stil so many armed conflicts in the world, is because in the end, when all communication fails, we perceive that we can use violence and force, and because we perceive that we already have an advantage anyway. Why would we give up our advantage? 

The realisation that communication and equality are the only way forward, has still not matured within humanity. It is essential to maintain one’s inner calm and integrity when things around us seem to spin out of control. Fear and panic only lead to a more consequential outcome – stay calm, use common sense. You can see it in a person when they are possessed with fear. In a way they are ‘lost’ – they are out of touch with themselves, with life, with reality. Just breathe.

Humanity must learn to take ‘self’ as a startingpoint: I am here – I am responsible for me – I forgive myself. When self starts to take responsibility for self and starts caring for self – that is when change is actually possible and real. But you cannot ‘force’ this change in another. You walk your own process unconditionally – and the gratefulness you experience for you changing yourself is yours alone. 

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For more information about writing, self-forgiveness and applying self-change, visit: http://desteni.org

For the Free online writing and self-forgiveness course, visit: http://lite.desteniiprocess.com

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