How to stop the fighting

So last week, myself and some friends were thinking of taking a trip somewhere. But the problem was each of us has already seen different places, and the weather still isn't warm enough to fully enjoy places like Sardinia or Croatia. The only place we could think of that none of us had visited, which would still be fun at this time of year was Istanbul.

We started to do some research, look for possible travel dates and prices. It all seemed to be going quite well, until one of our Cypriot friends (there are a lot of Greeks and Cypriots in Leicester) was telling us about his absolute hate of Turkey and all things Turkish. What history tells us is that Turkey invaded the Northern half of Cyprus, forcing all of the inhabitants to relocate. There was a war, many people lost their lives, others became refugees in their own country - are we seeing any parallels to Palestine yet? Our friend's father had to leave his home, his city, and move to the south of Cyprus...all because of the Turks. There's still a lot of resentment because of that - and he made that quite clear when he said "Just remember, when you go to Turkey, you are essentially helping to fund the guns that kill Cypriots". Great.

Now I know he was exaggerating a bit to make a point. It's not like there's still a war going on between the Cypriots and Turks. But what he's trying to say is that by spending money in Turkey, we are helping to fuel their economy, and sustain their occupation of Cypriot land. I mean it's the same thing when we go to the US, right? We buy all the really cheap stuff and feel so good about the savings we made, but what is that achieving on a bigger scale? Well, it's helping to maintain their economy, their "war on terror" and the over 655,000 Iraqi civilian deaths. There's a lot of people who refuse to travel to the States for this very reason. Technically, you could find issues like this in every country. The fact that I am living in a country that has colonized the 3 countries that make up my heritage says something. But I guess what I'm wondering is, when you KNOW the consequences of your actions, does it become more of a responsibility to act accordingly? Whenever we get in trouble for doing something wrong, what's the first excuse we use? "I didn't know!" We see lack of awareness as a good defense for wrong-doings. In this case though, I can't use that defense. I guess technically it doesn't really matter anymore because plans fell through due to scheduling conflicts, but hypothetically speaking, what's the solution?

On a small-scale level, the best I can come up with is to make sure when I travel to these places, I make some kind of charitable donation to the other side worth the same amount as what I spent in the country. So if I were to go to Turkey, I'd try to find some NGO (non-government organization) that has peace-keeping efforts between Cyprus and Turkey and donate my time, money or other goods to them. Or just make sure I visit Cyprus in my lifetime as well and spend a good amount of coin there too! That way I haven't contributed anything more to one side versus the other.

On a large-scale level, I would say we need to start keeping the peace more. We all think these wars are about oil, money, power or religion. What I truly think it stems from more than any of those things is narrow-mindedness. The inability to accept belief-systems or values that are different from your own. Why do we always do that? We are so focused on trying to be unique, to stand out in a crowd, we see that as the mark of a successful person. But what is wrong with recognizing that we are all the same? We are all divine beings. My soul isn't any lighter than yours - it's all the same. And I understand that not everyone is a religious or spiritual person. My best friend is Agnostic and if we were any closer we'd be the same person. That's cool to have that perspective (see how easy it was to be open-minded?). But even on a scientific level, we can see how slight our DNA changes to result in different races, features, etc. I believe it's less than 7 % of genetic differences can be explained by belonging to one race or another. Whether you're comparing our divine source or our genetic source, you have to reach the conclusion that we are more similar than different. And I personally believe that it's dangerous territory to start aiming to be individual, separate from everyone else. Because that's where you develop these notions of superiority. I'm right, you're wrong, and that's it. That time you spent trying to separate yourself from the world could've been used to unite yourself with the world. We become so wrapped up in developing our individuality, that we are completely blind to our equality. We come into this world with nothing, and we leave this world with nothing. That is the ultimate truth.

And it's easy to look at bigger examples like imperialism and say "that's not right for one country to impose its values on another" but much harder to put into practice in the everyday. Try next time you're talking to someone not to judge them. Not to think that they've got it all wrong and you've got it all right. Making these tiny changes in the way we treat one another is what will have the greatest impact, collectively. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive for excellence in school (for example) because we're all the same and we should all follow the same pattern and just be average. That's dumb. Strive for excellence in everything you do - but don't do it so that you can be better or distinguish yourself from everyone else. Do it because you aspire for greatness, regardless of what everyone else is doing. And the best way to figure that out is to ask yourself: "if everyone was doing what I was doing, would I still be happy, would I still want to do it?". When you earn a certain salary every year, are you happy with what you make because it's more than what most make? Or are you happy because you feel like you deserved that much money for the effort you put in? It's a simple question, with a very profound answer.

Sure, we might speak different languages, or eat different foods or have different income levels, but these are all social constructions of man to make us feel separate from one another. We need to stop focusing on all these little things that appear to distinguish us from one another and start looking at the more important factors that unite us from within. There's a very popular Sanskrit greeting we hear and say all the time, and some of us use it without realizing it's true meaning. One of my favorite authors, Wayne Dyer, ends every book he writes, every lecture he gives, with this word. I feel like it's probably fitting to end this post with it, because of the topic, so:

Namaste. (I honor the place in you, where we are all one)

Another uneventful week in Lesta...

I know, I'm a tad behind schedule with this week's blog. I blame it entirely on the trifle. See, I had this craving for trifle today, so I decided to make some (which by the way on my first attempt came out pretty darn good)...and where there's trifle, there's company! But now I have a few moments (finally) to give you all a quick update on what's been going on this week.

Thursday I finally got around to attending the Sai centre for their weekly bhajans (prayers/devotional singing). The people were all so friendly and welcoming. One lady told me to just think of them as family, and all the youth girls brought me to sit with them and talked to me. It was nice to see the differences and similarities with how a non-Canadian Sai centre operates. This centre spends a great deal of time at the beginning providing updates on Swami and what activities took place at Prashanti Nilayam over Christmas and New Years - along with a slideshow of pictures taken at each event. They really try to maintain that connection between Prashanti and Sai devotees in other parts of the world.

I don't know how many of you will remember this but several summers ago in Toronto, when the SARS epidemic hit, many musicians came together to perform at what we unofficially called SARS-stock or SARSapalooza - a benefit concert to improve tourism in Toronto. Some of my favourite bands were playing: AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, the Guess Who, Sam Roberts - it was the biggest concert in Canadian history. All of my friends bought tickets, and made sure to get me one as well. Unfortunately, due to certain parties exercising their parental discretion, I was not allowed to go at the last minute. In their defense though, as parents they were just looking out for my well-being. I mean, the all-knowing media was predicting deaths, heat-strokes, trampling and massive hysteria - an overall disaster (ahh, gotta love the media). Sure, nobody actually ended up dying, and sure, the whole thing went off like clockwork...but I can't really speak (or write) from experience. My ticket sits with its stub intact in my 'memories box' while my only memories of that day are from the clips I caught on Much Music.

I don't believe in having regrets because I try to remind myself that every choice, every act, every consequence bears some kind of important meaning to your life. BUT, if there was ever a moment that I could say I regretted something, it would probably have been never going to that concert (sad but true). Anyways, there is a point to this story which I'm getting to right now. On Friday, Z reminded me that one of our favourite bands, Radiohead, will be touring the UK and other parts of Europe in the summer. So we immediately checked the tour dates and ticket prices and decided to purchase tickets for their show in Manchester at the end of June! We are so excited to go see them. British rock in general is probably what I listen to the most. Everything from the Beatles to Led Zeppelin to Coldplay, I love it all. And Radiohead is one of the most revolutionary bands to ever hit the scene (in my opinion at least). It may not be SARS-stock, but I'm healing...one concert ticket at a time...

Oh and one final bit of news: I'm going to Paris next month! Turns out February is a pretty slow time of year for travel. Especially right after Valentine's Day. So my girlfriend Nilufa and I decided to book a trip to Paris. Neither of us have ever been before - so we're both really excited to see the Louvre (which our Hotel is steps away from!), the Eiffel Tower, les champs d'elysees, etc etc. I also can't wait to go and practice my French - all these years of classes and finally I get to go to the land where it all started! I've seen the Paris of the East (Budapest) and now I get to see the real deal.

Last term there was this poster sale on campus. Z and I thought it would be a great idea to get a world map and hang it in our living room - so that we could see all the countries in Europe and check off all the places we visit throughout the year. Sometimes I just look at it though, and I am in complete awe of how vast and at the same time, how insignificant this world is. There's so many places I've never seen before, so many things I haven't experienced. My ignorance makes me feel anxious sometimes - I want to travel ceaselessly until that hunger for worldly knowledge has been completely satiated. And yet we're all so connected these days, through technology, globalization and modernity - we've become this little 'global village' as McLuhan would say. Reduced to a tiny spec within the entire universe.

Anyways, no good can come out of all this philosophical thought at 2 in the morning. Hope everything on that side of the pond is going alright for you! Until next week!

She's baaaaack!

Sometimes I truly believe there's no better feeling then after perfectly crafting your original piece of writing, you print it off, staple the pages, and shove it into the submission box! Even when you get back your mark, and you do really well - it's too instantaneous a joy. There's something much more exciting about prolonged happiness. Anyways, the important thing is that I never have to write another 3000-4000 word paper for this program again! It's two 2500 word papers and a 15,000 word dissertation...come to think of it, my current completion 'high' will be very short-lived.

Oh and don't worry, I won't go on talking about the content of this paper - I think there's been enough patriarch-bashing for one blog...but I will share the title with you (just because I was so proud of myself for coming up with such a creative heading): Mommies, Mall-Rats and Mistresses: Miss. Representation in the Media. Isn't it great? Alliteration, double-entendres...gotta love those literary devices. Hope it goes over well with my professors. Sometimes academia gets this awful reputation of being elitist, needing to sound so formal and complicated all the time. It's only a good theory if it's a complex one is the idea. But I've always thought that academics needs to be more accessible to the public. To me, it shows more skill and intelligence if you're able to explain your ideas simply. I mean think about it logically, the theories that scholars develop and write about are meant for society to adapt. Well if you're offering solutions to people's problems, why are you coding it in language that nobody will understand (except for your colleagues of course)? It's like there's this gap between the academic world and the real world. It's too bad really, because there's a lot of great ideas out there that never get implemented because they're too theoretical and no one understands them.

Which is why I've always preferred writing in a more casual, un-pretentious tone. Sometimes you have the unfortunate experience of a very traditional professor marking your paper - who believes that the harder it is to understand, the smarter the writer. Luckily that trend is nearly out-dated, and once you become a post-graduate student, people are much more accepting of creating your own writing style. So it's been a very liberating experience to finally have the freedom to express myself without compromising my grades.

I just wanted to take a moment to say how appreciative I am to have spent time with all my friends and family at home over the past break. I know there were a few of you I didn't get to see, and I’ll have to make that upto you next time I’m in town (sorry!). It was especially encouraging to know that so many of you actually follow up on my weekly posts, and are interested in what I have to say. Sometimes I'm not sure if my writing is falling on deaf ears (or blind eyes in this case) so it truly motivates me to maintain my blog when I know that someone's reading (besides my mom :p ).

So in my last entry, I posted a link to a youtube clip about the creation of a North American Union (similar to the European Union) that would be part of a goal by a group of elite men to have a one world government, where every citizen is chipped with an RFID implant (that's Radio-Frequency IDentification) which will control every aspect of life. All new American passports already have these tags embedded in them, and families have already volunteered to be inseminated with these tags as a safety precaution. So if it sounds like it could never happen: it already is. Eventually the entire world could run on an entirely electronic system. Paying for groceries, using the subway, all possible with a simple scan of your arm. So what would happen if you fell out of line with the government's laws? They could simply turn your chip off. Or in other words, disconnect you from the world.

What I discovered more recently about this clip, is that it's actually from a documentary called Zeitgeist (click to watch). The film is divided into three parts, each attempting to prove a theory:
1) Christianity and all world religions, are false myths based on pagan worship of the sun, and other astrological signs.
2) The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre were actually planned, funded, and executed by the American government.
3) Since WWI, the rich have been secretly manufacturing wars and other financial collapses to control the populace and become even richer and more powerful.

I know. It sounds like just another wonky conspiracy theory, right? Wrong. The truth is, that as radical as these ideas sound, for the most part, other people have been talking and writing about them for a long time. The difference is that this film neatly packages all three into a 2 hour documentary, leaving the viewer to make her/his own judgment call on whether there is a relationship between Christian ideology, International Bankers, and 9/11. The other big difference is that the website where you watch this movie (for free) has a separate references page, containing all the sources used to compile the film. From what I can tell, it all seems highly credible and logical.

I thought you would need some convincing to even watch the film let alone believe it's content. So below is a tiny snippet of what you can expect:

The biblical reference to the star in the East is in fact known as Sirius (the brightest star in the sky), which on the 24^th of December aligns with the 3 brightest stars in Orion’s Belt: also known today and in ancient times as the ‘three kings'. These stars all point to the rise of the sun on December 25^th, which is why the three kings are said to follow the star in the East, in order to locate the sunrise, the "birth of the sun" (aka God's Son). In ancient times, the sun was worshiped as the provider of life, the ultimate God. It makes perfect sense in these terms, that the sun would be anthropomorphised or personified by other religions as spiritual leaders.

The Virgin Mary comes from the sign Virgo (which means Virgin in Latin). The ancient glyph for Virgo is an altered M – explaining why the names of many religious figures’ mothers begin with an M (such as Adonus’ mother Myrra and Buddha’s mother Maya, and of course, Christ's mother Mary).

Although Zeitgeist makes a solid case to prove the myths of religion and unveil the truth behind 9/11 and international bankers, the greater point of the film, is to stop believing everything you hear. Don't blindly take what is written in newspapers and broadcasted on television for face value. Learn to do your own research - even with regards to the claims made in Zeitgeist. If you do a thorough enough job, the director believes you will reach the same conclusion he has. I know it's a lot to ask, to take the 2 hours to sit and watch this film on your computer. But after seeing it, I can tell you that it was an eye-opening experience (Sidenote: you may want to skip past the first 20 or so minutes, as it’s a continuous flash of war-related images). I've never been the most knowledgeable when it comes to History and Politics, and so for me, I learned a lot from watching this movie, and I think it's message is one we should all aim to practice:

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace" (Jimi Hendrix).