Johan de Smidt

<hr><h4><span style="color:#702999;">JOHAN DE SMIDT</span> is a journalist and photographer from Cape Town, South Africa, who visited the Heartfulness Headquarters at Kanha Shanti Vanam before COVID-19 struck, and documented some of the activities. Here he showcases the kitchen, which since March has been supplying meals to up to 50,000 disadvantaged people per day in the wake of COVID-19.</h4><p style="text-align:justify;">&nbsp;</p><hr><p>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">To find the secret ingredient in the kitchens of the Kanha Shanti Vanam ashram, you have to start your hunt before dawn. That is when the cooks are adding spice to their day with a Yoga wake-up routine. “They are a bit dull when they arrive, so we are boosting them, waking them up,” says the kitchen manager, Mr. Moganty Adinarayan.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">On the morning that we visit the kitchen, a Russian volunteer Yoga instructor is guiding the cooks through their <i>asanas</i> at 5 a.m. This dose of waking up will certainly come in handy, because the kitchen has suddenly been informed that they have to cater for many more than the 2,500 people they expected for Sunday meditation. But this is par for the course for Adinarayan and his team of workers – every day brings its own surprises and they are used to changing plans at short notice. To be effective, they have to remain flexible, and the meal planning has to be spot-on. It is also of utmost importance to have close communication with the main gate officials who constantly update them with the latest attendance figures.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">It is no mean feat to cook three meals a day for over 78,000 people, as the kitchen staff did for the inauguration of the Kanha Shanti Vanam meditation hall in February 2020, and still be able to hit the ground running when work starts at 4 a.m. every morning. In one stretch, the kitchen can provide food for 30,000 people. On this Sunday, after most of the people have left, they are still cooking for more than 2,500 people. “We always cook for 100 more than expected,” Adinarayan says. On the breakfast menu today there is idli, sambar, rice and banana chips, and if the scale of the cooking is awe inspiring, the quantities of ingredients used is even more mind boggling. Just for today, a total of 100 kgs of raw rice will be required to satisfy the visitors’ appetites. Apart from planning for the large quantities of ingredients, there is the added challenge of getting the menu right to please the diverse palates of people from all over India, as well as from abroad. This is enough to give any kitchen boss a case of indigestion. “We have the difference between north and south of India. People from the north prefer wheat, they will have roti for breakfast, lunch and dinner if they can help it, while those from the south eat more rice,” Adinarayan says.</p><hr><h3><span style="color:#702999;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/kitchen_love2_2377253183.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:42:58.797Z"></span></h3><hr><h4><span style="color:#702999;">Divine Food for Thought</span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">As far as approach is concerned, the biggest difference between this ashram kitchen and others catering to big numbers is that food here is made in constant divine thought, and handled by devoted practitioners. “It is mandatory for kitchen staff to attend the 7 a.m. group meditation and have weekly individual sessions too,” says Adinarayan. “Only Heartfulness practitioners work here. They come to work praying and leave praying. There is a lot of love and devotion, and willingness too. They put their hearts into their service, so the results are good. That is the main reason we are eating in divine thought. While cooking, they have the thought, ‘This is divine food.’”</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Adinarayan takes pride in their work, and such is his confidence in the quality of the food, that some of it is sent daily to the house of Kamlesh Patel, the Heartfulness Guide, who is fondly known as Daaji. “We expect it to be good enough for our Guide,” he says. Offering Yoga classes is not the only way in which other volunteers can contribute to the kitchen work. Daaji has invited all visiting international practitioners who attend training programs to cook in the kitchen, too. He has suggested that they be taught one dish of Indian cuisine and, in turn, they teach one dish of their cuisine to the kitchen staff.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">After digesting all these magic ingredients that go into making the ashram food, we part with a 5 a.m. invitation from Adinarayan to be at the kitchen the next day to witness the almost alchemical making of 12,000 idlis, the steamed, soft pillows made from rice and dal, and eaten with coconut chutney. The batter for this is ground the day before and left to ferment overnight before being scooped onto huge stainless steel moulded pans and cooked in a massive steam oven. But of course, the magic ingredient is Yoga. And for that you have to rise before dawn.</p><hr><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/kitchen_love4_aa39343451.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:45:28.144Z"></p><hr><p>&nbsp;</p><h4 style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:#702999;">Cool as a Cucumber</span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">The kitchen floor area is an impressive 46 m x 24 m. To keep the kitchen staff comfortable, happy and cool in an otherwise hot situation, much thought has been given to the layout and ventilation of the huge space, which is 8° to 10° C cooler than the outside environment. This is accomplished through cross-ventilation provided by the side windows, elevated work stations, double-walled pots and an 8 metre high ceiling with a 2 metre wide canopy extension right at the top. Each row of six pots is positioned on a concrete slab that is about 1 metre above the floor, which ensures that steam from the pots rises from above head-height straight up to the roof, where it evaporates through the canopy. “That way the cooks don’t sweat,” Adinarayan says, and that is evident as they coolly go about their business.</p><h4 style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:#702999;">Steaming Hot</span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">To speed up cooking time, a diesel-powered plant outside the kitchen generates and delivers steam at 80° to 90° C to the double-walled stainless steel pots, in which the temperature is increased to 130° to 150° C. The preheating of the steam maintains a constant temperature in the cooking pots and reduces the cooking time of rice from half an hour to just 10 minutes; lentil dal is cooked in 30 minutes and vegetables in 15 minutes. The closed nature of the system ensures reduced heat loss, and therefore, efficient energy consumption. The double-walled structure ensures very little heat is lost from the sides of the pots; indeed, we stand right next to it and feel very little heat radiating.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">When frying is required, to make a curry or sambar, it is done at floor level in moveable 800-liter pots, which can be easily wheeled onto gas cookers, and to the base of the doublewalled pots, from which the liquids are tipped into the frying pots. Vegetables boiled in the pots are mixed together to make curry, and lentils are added to the curry to make sambar. With the ongoing current threat of the coronavirus in the air, the focus is on boosting people’s immune systems. “We add jeera (cumin), white pepper and turmeric to boost the immune system and keep people healthy,” Adinarayan says. “Food is medicine.”</p><hr><h3><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/kitchen_love3_1bcf47cab2.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T04:48:41.652Z"></h3><hr><h4 style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:#702999;">Leftovers</span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">At Kanha, special efforts are made to ensure minimal food wastage by reusing leftover food, feeding the rotis to the ashram cows, or making compost with it as a last resort. On the day we visited, leftover idli from the previous day was chopped up and fried with spices to make idli upma for breakfast. Leftover rice is added to milk to make curd rice, while leftover curry is immediately put in the fridge at night for making other dishes in the morning. While they make every effort to reuse leftovers, food that was made for breakfast or lunch is easy to manage, however, leftover food after dinner is problematic, according to Adinarayan. That is when the leftovers end up being fed to the cows, or put in the state-of-theart compost maker.</p><hr><p style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Article and photographs by JOHAN DE SMIDT</h4><p style="text-align:center;">&nbsp;</p><hr>

The kitchen of love

Johanna Vilhjalmsdottir

<h4 style="text-align:justify;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>JOHANNA VILHJALMSDOTTIR</strong></span><strong> and </strong><span style="color:hsl(210,75%,60%);"><strong>SYLVIE BERTI ROSSI</strong></span><strong> offer us a glimpse of this year’s Spirit of Humanity Forum’s retreat in Iceland. They also share insights from some of the participants on the final day.</strong></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">The 2023 Spirit of Humanity Forum was held from 31 May to 3 June in Reykjavik and Hveragerði, Iceland. One hundred and twenty leaders from 27 countries and diverse fields came together to explore the theme “Healing a World in Crisis – Leading with Authenticity and Love.”&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">After ten years of existence, this sixth edition of the forum moved away from the usual panel discussions to embrace a retreat format, offering us all a unique and transformative experience that had a lasting impact on our lives. The commitment, confidence, and courage of the group to embark on a profound journey surpassed the expectations of the organizers and made their dream a reality.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The opening reception was hosted by the City of Reykjavik at City Hall, and an atmosphere of authentic sharing was established, fostering unity among participants from all corners of the world. Over the next three days, the retreat provided an opportunity to set aside roles and titles and engage at a purely human level.&nbsp;We delved deep into the exploration of authenticity, love, and healing. We cultivated trust, exploring authentic dialogue, the art of listening, and moments of silence, creating an atmosphere conducive to personal growth and collective transformation.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">One of the highlights was an online interview with the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, who spoke on spirituality, self-reflection, and the importance of care in governance, and her words resonated with the participants, highlighting the significance of personal experiences in leadership.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The emphasis on love and compassion as essential elements for a better world was prominent throughout. Guðni Thorlacius Jóhannesson, the President of Iceland, stressed the importance of genuine care for one another in restoring peace globally. His message catalyzed many to share their experiences and perspectives, reinforcing the notion of a shared humanity and the hope for a brighter future.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The forum concluded with “The Language of Peace,” a public event organized in the Fríkirkjan church in Reykjavík, where some of the participants shared their reflections.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As we approach the International Day of Peace on September 21, we invite you to listen to some of these touching voices from different continents, cultures, languages, and professional backgrounds. Each voice speaks of peace in their own way, through a poem, an experience, an encounter, an action, a life situation, or a reflection. But they all carry the same hope in their hearts: that a more peaceful world will come.</p><h4 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>LYNDA LEOGAH FORKWA</strong></span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">A typical crisis situation reveals a disconnect at all levels. What do I mean by this? Political disconnect (we can see that all over the world), economic disconnect, social disconnect, cultural disconnect, and sadly, spiritual disconnect.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The big question is, how do we encourage the language of peace in our current situation? How do we co-create a regenerative future for all? How do we enable a peaceful coexistence on Earth for all Earth’s citizens? How do we create a global atmosphere where all cultures are respected in their diversity?&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">In my own little way, I encourage the language of peace by tapping from within; tapping into my inner values, tapping into my inner home. What about you? What are the differing levels of contributions to this Earth? How do you intend to make a gesture for others to follow? If you’re unsure about how to go about it, I invite you to join me on the <a href="https://www.homeforhumanity.earth/onehomejourney">One Home Journey</a>, a course that intends to connect cultures, to build a regenerative future for all. We need a new framework for the future, to save the future, save citizens, and shape the future of our children, our children’s children. The time to act is now.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace2_196e7364d4.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>NOOR BALFAQEEH</strong></span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">This is the first time I am speaking in a church. Coming from an Islamic background, it’s really an honor, and I can’t describe in words how proud I feel of being here with you today in this Forum.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">I would like to share a quote from a book I read at the beginning of the year, <i>The Secrets of Divine Love</i>. It is written by a Muslim lady, A. Helwa, who tried to redefine Islamic teachings in a very unique way. I’ll share a quote about love, as love is what we’ve been talking about for the last few days.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">“We polish our heart to unveil the interconnectedness of creation, to embrace the places within us where love lives and compassion flourishes. And to see that beneath all outward defenses we all originate from a single seed of divine vibration. When we fully face Allah [and Allah, by the way, is how we call God in Arabic], we become like a holy mirror that contains the entire world within our love. After all, our journey here is not to just connect with the Divine in worship. But once we do this, to return to that creation as a sign of Allah’s unending love on Earth. You are not just a pottery fashioned from dust and water. You were sent to be Allah’s eyes on Earth. You were sent as a reflection of love and compassion for all those with hurting hearts. You were sent to reflect Allah’s mercy upon the entire universe.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">“As the 9th century Persian mystic, Iman Junayd said, ‘A Muslim is like Earth. Even if impurities are thrown on it, it will blossom into a green pasture.’ We are called to be like a date tree so rooted in the love of Allah that when people throw stones at you, you reply with food that tastes sweet.”&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Thank you.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace3_b95359e1d2.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>MARTIN FRICK</strong></span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">When I was invited to speak about the language of peace, the first thing I thought about was food because when there is no peace one of the starkest consequences of war is hunger. Today we have 350 million people who are acutely hungry. Despite Covid, despite climate change, the biggest driver of hunger is still war. And hunger is what you get when everything goes belly up with international cooperation. In the end, it’s always the same people going hungry.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">I also want to speak about food because it’s the most essential, human, and connecting thing I can think of. We are in a Christian church, and breaking bread is the most Christian gesture there is. In every single religious tradition food has a special meaning, because food is not a given, it’s a gift we share. If we are conscious about it, it’s actually a way out of many crises.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">For example, food connects to climate change in a very direct way. Every year we are losing three times the size of Switzerland to land degradation. If we work together to restore the barren land for agricultural use, we will improve food security, we will bring communities together, we will bring herders and farmers together, we will bring Christians and Muslims together. It is around food that we can do that.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">The most beautiful thing is actually what makes plants grow. The biggest miracle for me is carbon dioxide. Plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and use a process called photosynthesis that has been working for 3.5 billion years to bind CO<sub>2</sub> and at the same time produce food.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">So I want to conclude with hope. I’ve been involved with the climate crisis since 2007 when I framed the notion of climate justice. Equitable and fair food production can lead to climate justice. If we get it right, the climate crisis is our common enemy and nothing unites us more than a common enemy. It’s not one human tribe against another human tribe. It’s the human race against an existential threat, and that is my hope.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace4_5922e467dc.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>LUNGELWA MAKGOBA</strong></span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">I greet you all in the language of peace and love. I am immensely blessed to be here in this community where I have felt welcomed and experienced love. I would like to share a prayer from my faith tradition in my mother tongue, Xhosa, a language spoken by the majority in the southern part of Southern Africa, the tip of our continent. The language of peace is love, and that’s the language we speak here.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As I say these words, and offer you this prayer, it’s a reminder to myself that we stand on holy ground. It is all holy ground, you are holy ground; you are made of the Earth yourselves. We will all go out into the world to feed the hungry spirits and be the love that our world needs. The language of peace is love. If we get the love right, we’ll get the peacemaking right.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace5_4c36c0a725.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>LISA REEFKE</strong></span></h4><p style="text-align:justify;">Hello everyone. I have been asked many times over the past three days, “Who are you?” I’m Lisa, an international civil servant. I’ve been on a journey of inspiration and humility. I so wish I could take you all on this journey and see the incredible moments I’ve lived while traveling and serving in different conflicts across continents, talking to presidents, ministers, political opposition leaders, community elders, women, and young people. I feel deeply privileged for this opportunity. I’ve chosen two examples – one at the very onset of my career, twenty years ago, and a more recent example.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Shortly after the independence of Timor-Leste, I traveled there to see what it would be like to build a country, to work with the people. I was invited to a meeting with the President of this newly born country. You imagine presidents living in big palaces, but he did not; he was working from a palace of ashes, a burnt down building. He worked from there for years. He would sleep with the people in the park. He was the President. He was a former fighter for the country’s independence. He wanted to be close to his people. What a humbling experience.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Now I’m working in Afghanistan, and I’ve been there for a number of years. I talk to the Taliban and it’s hard. I think the place has really taken me to my limits. I feel at times frustrated, and sometimes angry, but who am I to be angry? I have spoken with some amazing women, and one of these brave young women told me, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Over the years, these and many other experiences, day-to-day, have humbled me, have made me believe in our common humanity.&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify;">As I have continued my journey, I have often asked myself, “Who am I to judge?” I keep in mind what a beloved poet, very well known in Afghanistan, said centuries ago, “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing there is a field. I will meet you there.” Thank you.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/language_peace6_e6c691cd08.jpg"></figure><h4 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,75%,60%);"><strong>ILA&nbsp;MALHOTRA GREGORY</strong></span>&nbsp;</h4><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:hsl(0,0%,0%);"><strong>An Invitation to Mirror/Mirrors</strong></span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">we are both portals and mirrors</span><br><span style="color:black;">windows to where we could go</span><br><span style="color:black;">and</span><br><span style="color:black;">reflections of where we are</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">smooth, honest, jagged, shattered</span><br><span style="color:black;">the truth of this mirror</span><br><span style="color:black;">dependent</span><br><span style="color:black;">on our hearts</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">to mirror asks us to live in our heart</span><br><span style="color:black;">in the nia that abides in each one</span><br><span style="color:black;">residing in the makeen, expansive and gracious</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">recognizing all as empty and full</span><br><span style="color:black;">the paradox of this complex life</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">can we hold this?</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">can we come as we are and reflect from</span><br><span style="color:black;">a place of pure love?</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">can we dance with the shards?</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">united in deep devotion for creation</span><br><span style="color:black;">let us be both one and many</span><br><span style="color:black;">loosening our grip on the distinctions</span><br><span style="color:black;">they may dissolve</span><br><span style="color:black;">we may flourish</span></p><p style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:black;">our beings rest in bhakti</span><br><span style="color:black;">our mirroring is devotion</span><br><span style="color:black;">in service</span><br><span style="color:black;">of the world we long to see</span><br><span style="color:black;">of the beings we long to be</span></p>

The language of peace

JFK was the 35th President of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was President at the height of the Cold War, and was an inspiration to many due to his courageous oratory, humor, charm, and youth. He was a Pulitzer Prize winner, and was instrumental in establishing the Peace Corp, the Alliance for Progress with Latin America, and the Apollo Program.

Screenshot-2022-11-01-at-1.08.56-PM.png

John F. Kennedy

Fitness@work

John Hartford

Rhythms of the universe

John Holmes

Lift people up

John Muir

Everybody needs beauty

John O’Donohue

Hidden resources at work

Your unfolding life

john-quincy-adams.webp

John Quincy Adams

Inspire others to dream

Johnathan Jena

Never forgotten

<p>Jon<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(32,33,34);"> is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He was a student of Zen Buddhist teachers Philip Kapleau, Thich That Hang, and Seung Sahn and a founding member of the Cambridge Zen Center. He teaches Mindfulness and his stress reduction program, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindfulness-based_stress_reduction">mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)</a><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(32,33,34);">, is offered by medical centers, hospitals, and health maintenance organizations around the world.</span></p>

Jon Kabat-Zinn.png

Jon Kabat-Zinn

You already belong

defualt-profile-image.png

Jonas Gahr Store

Connectivity

Jonas Jödicke, aka JoJoesArt, hails from Berlin, Germany. He has been creating and imagining fantastic worlds ever since he can remember. In 2010 he started uploading some of his artworks on the Internet and growing more and more of a fan-base. What started as a hobby has now become his profession. His works are appreciated and purchased all around the globe and have been featured on countless well-known blogs, websites, magazines and book covers.

Jonas-Jödicke.jpg

Jonas Jödicke

<h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#c28515;">AN ART ESSAY</span></h3><h4><span style="color:#c28515;">JONAS JÖDICKE</span> has been creating and imagining fantastic worlds ever since he can remember. What started as a hobby has now become his profession. Here he shares with us what art means to him, and offers a poem associated with each work of art.</h4><p style="text-align:justify;">Art has always been a crucial part of who I am. It’s as though art chose me, not the other way round. Pablo Picasso once said, “Painting is stronger than me, it makes me do its bidding.” I can only attest to that. The urge to let my inner feelings and thoughts become reality has always been very strong, especially growing up in a creative family with six siblings, two of which are also full-time artists.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">When I turned 14, I stumbled upon a video on YouTube of someone painting on their PC. I was immediately hooked and asked my parents to gift me a graphic tablet and a student version of Adobe Photoshop for my birthday. Digital Art quickly became my favorite medium.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">After finishing high school I decided to go on a two-year missionary trip with my church, which was a crucial time of self-discovery and spiritual growth. I think the spiritual dimension I added to my fantasy art after that journey really struck a chord with many people, and within a year I was able to fully sustain myself as an artist.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">I choose animals as the subject of most of my pieces because, weird as it may sound, I feel it is easier for us to relate to the depiction of animals on an emotional level than it is to relate to the depiction of humans. Unconsciously we tend to judge people by their looks, skin color, proportions, gender, and so on, which can prevent us from focusing on the essentials. I give my animals slightly human traits such as deep, emotional eyes, and it almost makes the viewer feel as though they are looking into a mirror. It makes them realize that they themselves are divine beings.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">I am especially fascinated by the interconnectedness of light and dark, portraying the bipolar relationship between the forces that govern our universe: cold and warmth, day and night, good and evil, body and spirit. Portraying both sides of the spectrum in one piece of art creates a tension that the viewers can feel inside of them.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">In my ‘Symbols of Life’ series, these two poles, represented by animals, are actually bound together in a mix of affection, love, necessity, and also pain. My belief is that each of them cannot exist without the other: stars could never shine without the dark of the night. The same applies to relationships between humans. We may be as different as day and night, but still we can and ought to be bound together in love.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Many of my pieces also evolve around the theme of guardians, those heavenly beings who watch over us. I believe in God, and through my art I try to express what His presence feels like to me.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Art is more than a hobby or a profession to me. It is a means of giving voice to the thoughts, feelings and truths I carry inside, which can’t be expressed any other way. It helps me access the peaceful space of divinity inside myself and all around me. When I create, I feel as though everything but me and the piece I am working on disappears for a while, almost like during meditation.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">I believe we were all made to create in one way or another. Whether it is through art, music, cooking, writing or photography, being creative connects us to our deeper consciousness and to our fellow human beings. It brings the unconscious to the surface and teaches us a lot about ourselves.</p><p style="text-align:justify;">Many of my pieces have helped me better understand certain issues I was having at the time I was working on them. They contained messages that were meant for me. But when others looked at them, they saw something totally different and interpreted them in their unique, personal way. That is the magic of art – one and the same piece can tell a million different stories to a million different people.</p><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#c28515;">Brotherhood</span></h3><h5 style="text-align:center;">We may be as day and night,<br>as different as black and white,<br>yet there is no reason here<br>to fight a war because of fear.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">Cause you’re just you and I am me,<br>come, open up your eyes and see,<br>that no matter how different,<br>it’s love that binds us in the end.</h5><p style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life2_bbaab83652.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:34:43.273Z" alt=""></p><hr><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#c28515;">Yin and Yang</span></h3><h5 style="text-align:center;">Balance is a state of opposition,<br>a state of two forces facing each other.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">There is no light without darkness,<br>no peace without pain.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">It is our choice which way we face<br>and in the end that choice</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">…determines our eternal destiny.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life3_438cd5346d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:35:52.980Z" alt=""></h5><hr><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#c28515;">Eternal Bond</span></h3><h5 style="text-align:center;">We live, we die,<br>we laugh, we cry,<br>we’re low, then high,<br>we fail and try.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">We hope, we doubt,<br>we breathe, we shout,<br>we’re soft, then loud,<br>we’re meek and proud.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">Eternity is meant to be<br>a never ending harmony<br>of dusk and dawn,<br>nor split nor torn,</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">for as we die,<br>we’ll be reborn.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life4_20857089d4.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:36:59.995Z" alt=""></h5><hr><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#c28515;">Circle of Life</span></h3><h5 style="text-align:center;">In life we face both low and peek,<br>we fail and sometimes we succeed<br>to gain fulfillment, joy and peace,<br>until we find that missing piece:</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">Someone to hold, someone to feel,<br>someone, who makes our joy so real,<br>a lover, friend, a child, our God,<br>someone we can truly love.</h5><p><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life5_b2c04a7c8f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:38:05.112Z" alt=""></p><hr><h3 style="text-align:center;"><span style="color:#c28515;">Peace</span></h3><h5 style="text-align:center;">Is war the answer,<br>is hate the way?<br>Is life just a game<br>of predator and prey?</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">Give me your hand,<br>feel my heart beat,<br>put down your weapons<br>and let us make peace.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;">For we both know,<br>we can’t hide,<br>we might die together,<br>if we chose to fight.</h5><h5 style="text-align:center;"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/symbols_of_life6_b08cb2cb69.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:39:37.750Z" alt=""></h5><p><span style="color:#c28515;">https://www.instagram.com/jojoesart/</span><br><span style="color:#c28515;">https://www.facebook.com/JojoesArt/?ref=settings</span><br><span style="color:#c28515;">https://www.youtube.com/user/PeeGeeArts</span></p><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Art, poetry and article by JONAS JÖDICKE</h4><hr>

Symbols of life

Home› Contributors