Baz Lurhmann weighs in on life; And what good advice it is.

A life of unlearning.

I just finished reading this book. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do. It's the story of man who spends a lot of his life living a lie and conforming to a religion before finally having to face up to his reality in a very brutal and difficult way.

Like most books I read, I often find one page stands out more than any other. In this book, it was when the author spoke about spending his entire life unlearning all the things that were untrue in his life and the new things he found himself learning. I found it quite insightful and thought that there is probably something in this for us all.



"Looking at my life, I realised that I'd spent the last fourteen years of my life unlearning, unlearning everything I believed about myself. I had to unlearn in order to discover the truth. And this is what I discovered:

I am a good person. (embarrassingly simple but for years difficult to acknowledge).
I wasn't sick or in need of healing - there was a wholeness in me waiting to be discovered.
I wasn't broken or in need of fixing.
I wasn't an abomination to God - I was equal to every other human being who walks the planet and deserves the respect and rights that brings with it.
It wasn't homosexuality that had kept me bound but others' beliefs I embraced myself. I had learnt that homosexuality is not a curse but a blessing, a precious gift given to approximately somewhere between four to ten percent of the population - that I should celebrate.
I didn't need to change, just accept.
Being a homosexual didn't mean being tormented; as a gay man I could find peace and resolution.
As a homosexual I was not destined to a life of loneliness; reward and fulfillment come to everyone, gay or straight, who is being true to themselves.
I didn't need someone else or a relationship to make me happy; I could find happiness and completeness in myself.
Homosexuality is not an act, it's an identity.
Saying you know the 'truth' makes everyone who thinks differently to you wrong, and puts you in the dangerous position of never being open to learning anything new.
Forgiveness brings transformation and freedom.
God is unfathomable.
I had learnt that I am not a human being having a spiritual experience but a spirit having a human experience.
My great discovery is that my alienation was a precious gift of freedom. Inside the safety of the city walls it's easier not to risk embarking on a journey of self-discovery. However, when you are rejected and thrust beyond the city walls you are forced to find out who you are. What some outsiders discover on the other side is the courage to renounce self-contempt and the rules that others have made (I especially like this bit). At the moment a person questions the validity of the rules, the victim is no longer a victim.

Finally, in life's journey you are never off the path. Every detour, dead end, back alley, even road wrecks, looked at with insight are a possible part of a greater master plan."
- Anthony Venn-Brown -

A flier: Institute for Advanced Atheist Studies

Whilst running to a meeting recently (late of course), I ran by a man standing in the middle of Martin Place holding a sign that said 'God is a fairy and fairies aren't real'. I couldn't work out if he was calling God gay, or if he was saying he wasn't real. It took a couple of double takes to work it out. He was an evangelical Atheist. The first I had ever seen. By the looks on the faces around me, possibly the first they had seen as well. I politely grabbed the flier he was handing out and I must say it does ask some very interesting questions about God; whomever you think him to be. And whilst I'm not pushing any real personal agenda with this post, I think people who do have a religion or faith base, really ought to not shy away from the hard questions, but look at these with curiosity. Ask the hard stuff, because on things that make up the very core of who we are, I think I'd rather not die wondering...

In any case, here is what the flier said, verbatim.

If you believe in God or a deity, the most important thing you can do is to be honest with yourself. Ask the hard questions. Examine your beliefs. Be willing to confront contradictions and problems. You could start by thinking about these questions:
1. Why is it religion is an accident of birth? If a person is born to Catholic parents, they grow up Catholic. If born to Jewish parents, they grow up Jewish. If born to Muslim parents, they grow up Muslim. Religious belief is mostly a lottery of birth, and a lottery of time, circumstances, and place. Why aren't you Jewish or Hindu or Muslim?

2. Just as you are convinced that your God is the one true God, a believer in a different religion believes the same thing for their own religion or God. All the arguments you use, they use. So how can you possibly justify your beliefs, when they are incompatible with other religions which use the exact same arguments?

3. If you tell me that you believe in God because of divine revelation - as in, you have a personal relationship with God - why should I believe you any more than I believe the man in the psychiatric institution who believe he IS Jesus, or the man who sees fairies in his room? The people are just as serious and earnest as you.

4. If the bible is God's word - or at least divinely inspired - then why has it been so heavily edited over the centuries, and why have some books been included and others excluded? The fact is, the Bible is a multi-authored book. It may be the most published book in history, but it is also the most revised and heavily edited book in history. Are we saying editors know better than God's own words?

5. But what proof do we have that the bible is God's word, other than the various writers simply stating that? Heck, I could state that my words are God's work. Why should you believe me? Obviously, you shouldn't. Only believe things when you are presented with good reasons.

6. Why is the largest Christian Church controlled entirely by men? Why are women second-rate citizens in religion?

7. We've always - since the beginning of recorded history - been driven to understand the world around us. In the past, we needed God to help explain so much - from what happened to us when we die, to how the sun rose every day. But now, science has been able to explain nearly all the unanswered questions where we used to resort to God. In 2011 it's pretty clear that our attachment to God isn't rational - it's about emotion. We might not need the idea of God anymore, but we are scared of letting it go.

8. If you don't know how something works, if you don't know how to explain a phenomenon or, for instance, you don't know how the big bang happened - and no-one else knows, either - it's ok to say exactly that: we don't know. No need to lie about it, no need to be embarrassed by it. The bravest thing we can do is admit holes in our knowledge, and stop ourselves from latching on to the first convenient explanation. Of course we are driven to explain things, to seek answers - but the searching is the important bit. Resorting to "It is the work of God" is lazy, and doesn't help anyone.

9. It's often said that there are no atheists in a foxhole - meaning that when we face death we tend to grasp at the idea of God and eternal existence beyond our human life. But isn't fear of death the worst reason to believe in God? Humans are... human. We get scared, we don't want to die. God is a nice idea that helps make that fear go away. But is it better to be truthful to ourselves, or just go with whatever feels good? (side-note: I'm not sure I entirely agree with this point. I quite like the idea of the easy path here...)

10. Most of us grow up with a set of beliefs similar to our family and friends and teachers. But, eventually we start to find our own way. You might vote for a different political party to your parents, or you might disagree over the policy on refugees. My challenge is to go back and start from scratch. Don't start with belief in God, after which you proceed to build justifications against atheists and other nay-sayers. Be bold and brave: start by asking yourself, what reasons are there for me to believe in God, and work from there.

Why I'm brave enough to still support Labor (even though I voted Greens)

Politics by and large are about values. When looking at political parties we make a decision mostly on the basis of what we as individuals agree is the best way forward. We look at a few of their policies and decide whether we believe they are the 'right' thing to do.

Unlike governments, our values don't change over time. I suspect this is why we find large numbers of people who will be loyal to their political party time and time again.

Today we will probably witness one of the largest losses the Labor government has ever had in it's history (that's the prediction). We have been bombarded with all the awful and costly failures of a 16 year Labor government on our TV's, in our newspapers and through our radio. I find it fascinating that our largest government parties have avoided positive campaigns but rather opt for a more negative approach by attacking the opposition. By doing so their argument tends to be 'vote for us, because they certainly aren't very good' as appose to 'vote for us, because we know what is right and believe in the same things as you do'.

The Labor government never intended to do a bad job in government. Underneath a group of pretty incompetent politicians are the values of a fair society. A society which gives people a fair go at work; a secure retirement; and low pollution for our future generations. These are values worth remembering well after the Labor government falls from power today.

As much as the Coalition government tells us that Labor has failed (and in recent times, they are probably right), I think it's important to reflect on a government which has been instrumental in building a great state. Labor opened the Opera House, put on the best Olympic Games the world has seen in 2600 years, cleaned up our iconic Harbour, built the Powerhouse Museum, the Conservatorium, the Wharf Theatre, created the New Year's fireworks, the Byron Bay Blues Festival, the extension of the Sydney Festival to the Western Suburbs, the Premier's Reading Challenge, the Eastern Suburbs railway, the Chifley Scholarships for trade apprentices, and declared 100 National Parks.

Under successive Labor governments, NSW became the most literate state, the second best educated, and Sydney the second best city to live in on earth. Quite an amazing record of achievements if you ask me.

It's fair to say that in recent times they have lost their effectiveness to govern NSW and we all look forward to the new government getting us back on the right track; but when I reflect upon the Labor government, I do support what it stands for and why it exists.

Today I voted for the Greens. I believe the Greens have similar values to that of the Labor government in wanting the best future for our country and I believe my values best align with them for now, but I have every faith in the Labor government finding their feet again and unlike a lot people in NSW I certainly haven't written them off.

Sixth Sense

This could change the way we do everything! Well... eventually.

But how exciting is it! I promise to get over my Ted obsession very soon, but in the meantime, check out the latest in technology that Apple will probably release in the next 6 months (probably right?).

I can't wait to go shopping with this sucker.

Being mindful about Television

I've just completed a bit of a social experiment. Being disappointed with the amount of mindless television I manage to absorb within a week, I decided for one week only, I would only watch my favourite shows and actually turn off the television when they weren't on. Usually I would have the TV on as 'background noise' (or so I seem to justify it to myself).

Below are some things I noticed on my week of mindful TV watching.

Day 1
I feel surprisingly productive today. I went to bed at 10ish last night and woke at 6am for a morning walk. I then came home and ate a proper breakfast and read some more of my current book. I went to work and then came home (the long way, another nice walk) and started preparing dinner while listening to music. Then I read my book and watched 'brothers and sisters' (don't judge me). So far so good, I don't feel like I missed out on anything and I feel proud to have done so much with my Monday, a day I typically HATE!

Day 3
I've missed exercise in the mornings two days in a row (not really a morning person it turns out). But that's ok because I haven't had a mindless TV agenda at night time so I have substituted it for night time exercise and that's worked well. I nearly slipped last night and almost watched the fat family show on after Packed to the Rafters (don't judge me... again). But quickly remembered and turned it off. I've also noticed I'm paying a lot more attention to music this week.

Day 5
Turns out it's easy to substitute TV with computer and internet. There is so many interesting things to read about and learn on the net. Still though, probably as pointless as TV. I think next weeks challenge might be to add computer in the mix with TV.

Conclusion:
1. I didn't miss the other shows that I used to sit through at all.
2. I didn't feel ripped off, because I still got to see the shows that I love.
3. When I did watch TV, it felt more interesting than normal (I didn't even play with my iPhone when watching, uni-tasking!).
4. I managed to exercise everyday because I wasn't stupidly tired for watching TV to ridiculous hours to view shows I don't care about.
5. I managed to spend time reading, writing and doing other things that I genuinely enjoy doing.

Turns out being mindful about TV could be very worthwhile.