peter mumme
Regional-arts .. new views
morning after rain
I would like to offer a few thoughts about our new emerging 'arts' and restitution projects here in australia
This recent submission concerns the revitalisation of our 'regional arts' organisation currently underway ..
RAA-PM submission
We have access to probably the most comprehensive model of regional arts possible here, within this continent and its regions .. some (still existing) 250+ unique local eco-system enviro-communities .. tropical, mountain, desert, mangroves, rain-forest and river systems, places of wonder .. some 50,000+ years of living with mother earth
The country welcomes us ..
to acknowledge, respect and enjoy .. there is no differentiation between earth, her peoples, all inhabitants and habitats .. the myriad interlinking diversity of uniique regions - which are named and known, within this, our oldest-culture continent in the world
Our arts - our expressing our relationships with ‘all of life in place’ - are based on the same languages (the 'songs' - the aural energy-stories) that imbue earth-life .. the songs are the spirit of place
We are all participants (not mere observers) in life’s living, expressing, engaging, responding, walking, mediating, enjoying and appreciating as an opportunity to live all these in this continent
we try do everything well
everything is inclusive, of coming together and sharing
this is why we so respond to ‘liking/loving being in (this) place
Welcoming is shared, is our common (spirit) ground of connecting (‘mother earth’)
The place and forms of our life-stories are of crucial importance, as they have become in need of reform, of re-imagining, of re-considering and re-assessing
Our arts tell the stories we live with .. thru’ these stories we express our individual versions of living life here and now
We all create stories, arise from stories, are these stories .. the stories we tell ourselves, imagine, live by and thru’
The form of a story - the taste, feeling, sound of .. are all intrinsic, they are the arts of life
I like to assist in bringing this process into public efficacy
Critiquing dominant language use
Our continent’s dominant (english) language ..
is constructed/constricted to describing our world and life in terms of physical objects - being observed by separated subjects .. and is reducing life energy spirit to simplistic quantifications of stuff we can get, own, attain status and wealth with, accumulate ..
Energy is not physical, is not material, is not owned nor private ..
energy is universal, is continuity, ever changing, ever transforming, often formless - as idea, intuition, feeling, bliss, dream ..
Basing our own lives on these qualities - more so than the current materialist quantifications, would appear to assist our opening our minds to hitherto hidden socially beneficial possibilities
Thru’ a process of ..
creating new stories to begin bridging the gap between relationship and materialist-only views of life
via our continent’s indigenous cultural wisdom, new physics and plain logic ..
to critique literal-only view in obvious and fun ways - and re-imagining and revitalising education, media, governance and hierarchies ..
We may better appreciate the opportunity afforded by accepting that we need change, that we can change and that we are already doing so
Acknowledging
#1 .. our care for country
realising that we are totally dependent upon ‘mother’ earth .. for birth, life, sunshine, air, water, stars, clouds, community, language, song, joy, connecting, sharing, love ..
#2 .. clarity - life and social capability realised and developed (human arts)
knowing the causes of our own dis-satifactions, anxiety and fears - and begin dissolving
'looking local' - sorting our-selves out first .. thence into domestic, community, region ..
adapting ‘known and beneficial’ social and enviro aspects for ‘here and now’
# 3 .. education and children - broader new ’stories’ that enable/imbue ‘joyful life’ .. looking - with ‘old’ (indigenous) wisdom-culture - into sharing, mediation, kinship, responsibility ..
we do not need ideologies nor 'fixed systems of thought' nor 'gods' .. to appreciate this; physical-mind logic will suffice .. logic based on direct evidential experience
Background
We have two different views of life co-existent in the continent
Old’ view is all about story, song, creation, spirit, relationship .. kinship, totem, moiety .. ceremonial sharing, initiation, food, life/living, mediation, meeting - a common (‘life’) view adapted to our particular (regional) ‘languages’ (the songs, sounds, geography, seasons etc)
Our main (settler) problems lies in (trying - or presuming to) express/explain culture, country, life relationship view in (english) separated ’subjects and objects’ constructs .. we ‘simply’ cannot
Categories and lists - of names, places, dates - do not allow any real appreciation of the reality - the ‘life-energy’ base - of culturally inclusive living .. we cannot begin to ‘name and/or objectify’ that that is not - and was never - separating people from life
Alternatively, we can look to the source - the living base - of the culture - not various interpretive efforts (however clever or intellectual
As traditional culture is all based on relationship - the interwoven life of all peoples, country, ‘mother’ earth, ancestor stars and nature - so we have the opportunity and availability to all so engage with country, people, dance, song, ceremony .. directly (without layers or words or theories)
We do, generally, respond to our birds, animals, country, vistas, special places, skies, seas, ‘ulurus’ ‘proms’ etc - without needing any being told that this is ‘good or real’ - or ‘impediment’ .. it is here
We just respond
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