[world_ view]

Let us remember "the central revelation of anthropology, and that is the idea that the world in which we live in does not exist in some absolute sense, it is just one model of reality, the consequence of one particular set of adaptive choices that our lineage made, albeit successfully many generations ago...there are different ways of being, thinking and orientating yourself..."

-Wade Davis

I feel as though I experienced a revelation this past weekend. For weeks, months, years, I have been turning some thoughts over in my mind...reading about veganism, ethics, various religions, philosophy...of course, everything you do, think and say, becomes subtlely woven into one's personal fabric and over time, as more threads are added-we begin to not only feel, but to physically notice a greater change in ourselves.

For so long, I have been searching, reaching almost blindly for something intangible and elusive. I feel I have come to a point where I am more firmly rooted. The impact from some recent events; seeing the Dalai Lama speak, making small changes in my daily life to be more mindful and equinimous, spending time with certain exceptional individuals, practicing yoga, and a phone call from a friend this weekend have all been simmering in my mind, the cacophany of flavors and aromas mixing and mingling...

The result...I feel more firmly rooted in ahimsa, or non-harming. I feel compelled to live a life of service, devoted not necessarily to a certain faith, but to being kind, compassionate and humble.

The Dalai Lama spoke of the importance for eductation to encompass both inner space of the self and outer space (ie. western science & eastern philosphy). Inner disarmament will lead to outer disarmament. In order for there to be non-violence, and world peace, we must have inner peace. We must educate humanity warmth and compassion.
Destruction of the enemy is destruction of yourself. Dialogue is necessary- respect and the spirit of compromise. Reconciliation. He spoke of different religions and began by saying " I am a simple monk, no different from you-we are all the same"
If someone practices a certain religion, they should practice their faith, allowing their faith to be strong and deep, but with respect for others.

For non-violence between peoples of different cultures, faith and status- there must be dialogue. And for there to be dialogue there must be respect. For there to be respect there must be compassion, for there to be compassion there must be self-confidence. For there to be self-confidence, there must be affection.
So compassion and affection are the roots of non-violence, the roots of peace, both inner and outer...

War photographer, James Nachtwey is an inspiration. His mission to strive for peace by illuminating social issues, is one I feel aligned with and I agree with him that "on a higher plane, the press is a service industry, and the service it provides is awareness...every story is not to sell something, there is something to give."

With these things in mind, [Ahimsa Photo] was created. This is only the beginning, and this trip to Viet Nam is only the first step. Here are two more quotes that have affected me deeply, (thanks alan, for sharing the last one...)

"Sometimes I can stand before the world. I want to say this; transformation is a difficult and slow process. Sometimes I can stand before the world and say, my name is Chris Abani, I have been human six days...but only sometimes. But this is a good thing. It's never going to be easy, there are no answers...Truth be told, there are no essential Africans, most of us are as completely ignorant as everyone else about the continent we come from, and yet we want to make profound statements about it. I think if we can just admit that we're all trying to proximate the truth of our own communities, it will make for a much more nuanced, and a much more interesting conversation.
I want to believe that we can be agnostic about this, that we can rise above all of this...the cause of all of our trouble is the belief in an essential, pure identity...religious, ethnic, historical, ideological..."
-Chris Abani

"If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are -- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time......Now, I came to this idea of bliss because in Sanskrit, which is the great spiritual language of the world, there are three terms that represent the brink, the jumping-off place to the ocean of transcendence:sat-chit-ananda. The word"Sat" means being. "Chit" means consciousness. "Ananda" means bliss or rapture. I thought, 'I don't know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not; I don't know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not; but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being.' I think it worked."

-Joseph Campbell

Om Shanti,
eva