#dalaillama

Just have fun) Video: @jbunzie. Thank you #dalaillama #haveagoodday #contemporaryfashion #beautyofwomen #contemporaryphotography (at Moscow, Russia)

The Book of Joy

My friends, this year we have lost 2 energy forms that contributed almost alien and always unique art to this world that had a great #androgynous value. In that virtue, they were able to reach beyond the appeal of a single gender. But more than that, they delivered messages. Prince delivered subliminal messages in metaphor and symbols and in the mixing. Bowie was outing this world and also studied Crowley. But they brought perspective through their #androgyny to cover more ground. The broke molds with purpose. But they both left in the same year. Today, #wrestler #Chyna also passed away. Another androgynous figure who paved ways and also held a man's title belt, intercontinental, I think. Warred Ellis in Authority and Planetary, writes about generational characters who live to protect an era and Shamans of the planet who do the same. When they pass another is born and selected. That person has a power that relates to the new era. The Dalai Llama resurrects after passing and is found. I'm sad that we lost these individuals but excited to see how that energy will re emerge soon. Who will be our new #Shaman. #DalaiLlama our #Androgynous #Baphomet that brings ideas. Sure #Prince wouldn't want to be compared with #Baphomet but it's just a #SYMBOL. I'm sure Prince knew his ish. So did #Bowie

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” 14th Dalai Lama. Yesterday was a better Saturday than most. While I did have a bit of a headache (and a bit of a body ache from so much dancing), I pulled my tired bones out of bed. Hearing HHDL is definitely a once in a lifetime experience, and I was not going to let a few drinks and laughs get in the way of fully enjoying the experience.  He’s a small, soft man. When he laughs, it comes straight from his belly. His smile is warm, and genuine. He approached the microphone, and whispered to the man on his right, “What I am here to talk about?”  “....compassion?” “Ah, yes, yes. Compassion.”  The crowd erupted in laughter. Even at 80 years, his sense of humour is intact and running like a well-oiled machine.  When he begins to speak, the crowd falls silent. “We are all the same you know? The speaker and the audience. I am you, you are me. Billions of people on the earth - but we are all the same. We all have feelings, emotions, we all wish to love & be loved.” His teachings are simple. Basic guides to human life, and explanations of human nature. He goes on to describe the importance of the parent/child relationship in shaping a child’s view of compassion. He even spoke of the science behind a mother’s breast milk, and how this plays a part in the child’s emotional growth. Compassion, I think, is an often over-looked human emotion. We all have the capacity to be empathic, try to put ourselves in others shoes and imagine their pain, for instance. Compassion though, this is a more genuine emotion, rooted in both sympathy and concern. It’s something that I can genuinely admit I think I have had trouble feeling in the past. I’ve always been bogged down by my own battles. I’m always inside my own head. I have always wanted to help others, to be the best possible friend I could be, to consistently give, as a way to get out. Selfishly, I was helping others in order to help myself forget, to help block out the voices in my own head by filling them with those of other’s. Over the last two years though, I’ve come to realise that the only way to truly better myself, and in turn maybe help better the world, is to be more mindful. Mindful of others, but more so, mindfulness for myself. Learning to understand my emotions, my behaviours, my wants. When I start to understand what drives my behaviour, I can start to take more effective steps to move away from my patterns. (As a recovering bulimic/disordered eater, I have patterns that are incessantly hard to break. Lately there has been struggle, and I’ve suffered a bit of a relapse, but this doesn’t register as failure...just a small bump in a very long road.) In recent weeks, I’ve been very (dare I say it?) blessed. I’ve been able to see some of my best friends here in London, I became close to someone new - and was reminded that unadulterated honesty is the most precious gift that someone can give you, and of course I was able to hear one of the world’s most wonderful thinkers speak. Even when everything is coming up Milhouse, it’s easy to see the shadows. I think, though, even if you do falter just a little, you need to consistently remind yourself that you’re not alone. It sounds cliche, but it’s true. I’ve gotten through this last month’s hard lows by speaking with a friend who was (in most ways) on my level, but more than that, they were able to understand and appreciate candid conversation about personal struggles. All the while I have a great support system in my life, having a fresh perspective allows you to see yourself through a different lens. In this case, it was all rose coloured glass - and for that I am thankful. I think that the thing that scares me most about other people is the idea of genuine connection coupled with loss. Firstly, I know I have a wonderful judge of character. I’ve got a great BS detector. But I also, always, want to see the most beautiful parts of people - which can put the rest of my senses at a dull hum. I get so attached to the connection, that I miss the rest. I fall in love with parts of people. Their minds, their skin. Maybe not romantic love, but more so that I want to shrink this person down and keep them in a locket to look at in my dark days. All the while, this person is slowly slipping away, and I’m left with pieces of them I’ve held onto. They become words in a diary locked away on a shelf, only to be revived further down the line. They become ghosts.  To all of those I have loved and lost (you know who you are), to all of those who have loved and lost me (I know you’re still reading) - our connections are not discounted by the length of time they took to be created or by the time we spent before one of us faded away. I have taken something from you that I will use, maybe selfishly, to better myself. I will hold you in a locket or in a book, tucked away safe. I will always be thankful.

I must have spent the better part of 45 minutes completely captivated on his thoughts of the world in which we live in today. I'm going to take more of my free time to reflect on all that is going on around me, all that I'm letting get me down or bring me up, and ultimately the world in which I live in. All of this through my own eyes.