peter mumme

The acknowledging and recognising of the truth of 'australia' .. does matter, enormously .. not ‘just’ to ‘old Gondwana’  but perhaps even more to ‘new 230 year Australia’

 

Thinking about our 230 yr colonial adventure seems, to me, to indicate that the imposing of the social, legal, governance and life paradigms of 19th C. Britain onto this continent has presented us with a mystery that continues to this day

 

Constantly debating ..    

whether or not Indigenous 40-60,000 years experiential-life wisdom ‘counts’ for much in a mainstream ‘utilitarian’ society, or whether there are aspects of settler life that might prove to be of lasting benefit to all peoples .. 

might not represent the best approaches 

 

If we work from where we actually are ‘up to’ in the world, now, we might encourage a ‘better’ process of gradual change (in the ways we view and live in the world) to quietly emerge and carry (some) degree of wisdom and lasting well being for peoples and country

 

We can broadly recognise that .. 

- yes, we do have problems in our world - for all peoples and country, struggling governments, businesses, social constructs, languages, living and life 

 

- yes, we do need to seek and develop more beneficial ways to re-vitalise our views of life from a deeper (causal) perspective .. a bigger and broader view 

 

- yes, we do have a unique opportunity to undertake this process in Australia

 

Then, as some clarity and analysis does develop, does make sense and is understandable in logical language .. so we might all begin to realise that we all can benefit from the opportunity afforded to all who live here ..  

 

An 'opportunity' ?

in Australia, we have two co-incident views-of-life  

- one spiritual, old, ignored, dismissed, life-totality, big-minded including

- one physical-only, 230 yo, materialist and utilitarian, dominating, small-minded excluding

 

we can see/experience the (increasingly) obvious effects of the second .. we are ever seeking ‘better’ ways to live - but generally, are only able to perceive ‘better’ in the terms of the (dominating materialist) ‘secular’ paradigm

 

a small view can be easily incorporated within a big view mind, but the opposite (as now) cannot work

.. this seems (to me) to lie at the heart of the inability of new settler culture to fathom ‘old’ indigenous experiential culture .. and the disinterest (quietly expressed as ‘childishness’) by old black-fellas witnessing white-fella

rushing-round business

 

We have an existent spiritual culture here, that did - and might yet - provide an ’umbrella’ for all kinds of community and individual lives

we have copious materialist technique available 

we have the need to reduce the ‘separating’ - of dominant materialist life-style from (dismissed) spiritual life 

we have communicating media (Internet, ABC radio, SBS) with which to connect people and ideas so to present background ideas, ways to change, methodologies, experiences and discussion

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If we do really feel that we (all) need an updated 'constitution' - one that does assist with our re-imagining a revitalised, more independent, more inclusive 'spiritual' (interconnected) country, perhaps we create a broad recognition statement .. one that places the adventures of the past 230 yrs in context - that is, that old gondwana had developed a quite remarkable and unique society here, over millennia, a society that did sustain itself, did not fight itself too much, did develop 'big picture' paradigms of natural law and mediation, the truly amazing kinship relationship system, plus knowledge of the 'replication' aspects of cosmos/stars, people, place and event

 

The offer is still being made to 'share' with all who would partake !

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Can we recognise .. 

that 'resource' (by definition) has more to do with the qualitative wisdom aspects (of reliance, tolerance and capability) of people to cope with changing circumstance than merely of how much stuff we can dig up and sell for $s - ie the whole country is truly 'resource-rich' in spiritual terms .. and these are the long term life aspects that do last, and are of benefit to all peoples and planet

 

that white-fella-business in australia is causing too much trouble - for people, country and life 

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the countries health, its well-being (in being able to support-diversity-life) is being severely compromised

 

that black-fella culture - as an ‘isolated and self-dependent’ entity - has finished, but its' depth and comprehensiveness has allowed it to survive and (still) amaze many 

 

that diversity in culture, people and earth is, as in nature, of critical importance

broadest life views and experience ‘at the top’ bring tolerance (of peoples and situation) to local communities - and then to the individuals living within them .. how to deal with - and (continue) to prosper - with all the changes inherent and normal in (real) life .. call it bio-diversity, gene pool, relationship, relativity, gurrutu 

 

that black-fella culture is relationship based, is universal and spiritual - and lasts

 

that ‘australian culture’ is, essentially, ‘australian’ aboriginal culture

 

that ‘australia’ - as place, as ‘life spirit’ - the ‘why I like being here’ feeling, its landform, flora and fauna, pathways (both physical and ley-line), relationship life - is traditional Indigenous 

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‘Nitmilluk is not a wilderness, it is a human artifact constructed through the ceremonies, kinship ties, fires and hunting of countless generations of our people’ .. (‘wilderness’ is both physical and mental) 

 

that we have a continent-wide mapping of our regional (self sustaining) local areas - that could well act as model for possible future governance systems

 

that to be proud of ‘old spirit’ and its interconnecting spiritual capabilities .. is joyful, valid and provides a (much) needed ‘model’ (once recognised !)

 

awareness that our ‘old’ languages are in critical need of ‘resuscitating’, maintaining and encouraging;  their linking of people with country, with each other and the whole world is possibly without peer, it needs to survive and become respected for its intrinsic value

 

that all future ‘deals, schemes and adventures’ - proposed by external/absentee advocates - are now all discussed openly in the place, time and language of those (potentially) affected .. prior to any actions

 

that waiting for entrenched businesses (governance/corporate/media/gossip) to update or change will not happen (until the people inhabiting them change themselves) 

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New views 

'both ways' - merging of traditional aboriginal culture and 'best western' technique

is it time to view - and re-appraise - our countries (last 230yr) occupation as an experiment ?

if so, what is now needed to re-invigorate life and country in meaningful ways - for all ?

what might a ‘new gondwana’ look like ?

 

Renewing our beautiful park

Gondwana re-visited and re-awakened

Aboriginal moiety, relationship linguistics, 'creating country' 

re-visit the traditional regional nation-states

creation of a council of elders - men of high degree - to provide a calm overview of ‘how we are going’ here .. tacit and representative

 

New education

process of ‘making visible’ .. the qualitative aspects of traditional experiential life as lived here for 40-60,000 yrs

to ‘bring to notice’ - in understandable (everyday) terms - what ‘traditional life’ really looks like .. and how it now might well benefit all peoples and country 

 

wisdom, ethics, relationship, diversity and tolerance, respect for life, ‘opportunity’ aspect of (human) life, importance of and engagement with cultural stories and songs of life, creative cultivation, life arts

 

explain in ‘english business language’ what ‘spirituality’ looks like - and why it might form such a satisfactory - and satisfying - base upon which we can construct all kinds of ‘individual’ activities that are (at essence) ethical and of benefit for all peoples, country and life

 

elucidate/explain relationship, natural law, sharing culture .. use business ‘economic terms' and make it joyfully obvious

explain why ‘I am content and happy, here and now’ - in english !

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Using new media

for dissemination, discussion, linking .. develop existing programs

(Whitlam Institute: http://www.whitlam.org/about_us/mission)

ABC RN 

national prizes for 'new thinking' .. old gondwana + new australia ~ new gondwana

 

refs:

UNSW: http://sydney.edu.au/kinship-module/about/index.shtml

‘SAIKS’: Darwin univiversity (CDU)

Bruce Pascoe: Dark Emu 

Deakin Univiversity: Singing the land, signing the land

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'The comparative study of Eastern and Western Metaphysics': A perennialist perspective: Harry Oldmeadow 2007

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11841-007-0005-8#page-1  (I have a copy of this paper)

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The Mawul Rom project: An experience of cross-cultural mediation

http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/journals/IndigLawB/2004/62.html#Heading1

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Office of the Dalai Lama: 'Ethics', 'mind and life conferences', compassion and global responsibility'

Personal experiential: Yolngu, community living, listening and learning, band touring, radio, CD, DVD presentations

Summary

if this all sounds fantastic, fantasy - as in unreal - what else can we do ?

consider ..  what is truly ‘unreal’ in Australian (and world) life ?

what seems irresolvable 'unreal' in current politics, corporate, media, education, law ?

why does country and people continue to suffer the consequences (seemingly) of men’s actions ?

why should people and country have to continue to suffer the consequences of such actions/ideas ?

 

I am a 74 yo white-fella, lots experience with culture, music, song, story, relationship Yolngu family .. hope some of this may help 

 

Good luck !

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Answers to direct referendum questions:

 

.. powers to make laws for aboriginal and TSI peoples .. 

Doubtful value; 

Better to present a big-view overall picture that makes sense as a life-paradigm for all people living here .. one that provides a reliable, experiential and true (spiritual) base in which all ‘men’s individualistic’ ideas can be appropriately placed, made sense of and be so included

we cannot do the reverse - fit a big spirit view into a ‘private-men’s-business  small-mind view .. 

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.. changing constitution to stop racism .. 

don’t bother .. we cannot change a ‘cause’ by changing an ‘effect’  

the cause is a/the whole view-of-life construct, the paradigm, held by the instigators ..  

 

the whole tenor of the constitution - and its resulting systems of governance, is pitched in another time and place and was made, essentially, for the benefit of those imagining it 

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.. an indigenous voice in parliament .. 

maybe, if big view, confident, representative, logical, able to clearly put the case 

 

‘one good conversation can change your life’ .. maybe someone might hear it

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constitution sect 25 .. voting, australian states control ..

don’t bother, this is a part of bigger limited view document - which in turn is symptomatic of the limited (to material-only) view of settler business

 

PM

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