Aviv: Another way to look at the orchestra is that we are the orchestra of all the people that we’ve interacted with, and certainly all the people that influenced us: parents, brothers, sisters, other people that shaped us in our upbringing. And the point of your story is, do you let that part of the orchestra run on autopilot? Or do you actually make a choice? Who do you choose to be, in all these characters?
Kyriaki: I was thinking also about the practicality of why do we have to develop many lives? I think one life can enhance the other life. Let's say our body’s tired. So the voice of our body says we are really tired. But if the voice of our inspiration comes in, or if the power of our vision, or if the fertilization from our passion and love about something comes in, then the stamina, the potency,
the strength is multiplied. The same with a trauma, let's say we have a trauma, but then we acquire some wisdom in our life and that can heal this trauma. Or if we have a fear, then our logic, or our wish, can overcome that fear. And we can dare to go out and play, and have our say, and not be shy.
So I was thinking how these lives can have synergy and can help one another. Whilst if we think we are only one thing, it's really like you have a Porsche and you drive it like it's a Volkswagen.
The empowering part of it is that you do not need to be stuck in what the world has turned you out to be. You don't need to be stuck even in who you think you are. You probably are a better dancer, you're probably a better singer, you probably have more creativity than you would give yourself credit for - so I think that's very liberating.
Kyriaki Nikandrou
I am seeking to be in conversation with others in search for keys, for tools of understanding and application and for the real questions, the ones that become portals to contemplative journeys, leading to uncharted territories that feel like home.
I believe we are on a trajectory of multiple and unpredictable changes; it is up to each one of us to rise to the challenge of our times. Now, more than ever before, is the time to be true to ourselves and fulfill our potential.
Patrick Summers
Early on I used to enjoy sitting in certain churches after the service had ended and sensing what felt like fine, special atmospheres. Something was around I could feel but couldn’t see. The same with walks in nature and wilderness. The serenity and sense of healing felt connected to something deeper and finer in the earth.
I also began to sense what might be called the special places within, the inner lives and capabilities that can help us perceive and connect to finer sources of light and healing and knowledge all around us. Across the planet and into the universe; we’re all connected.
So many journeys of discovery. Shall we proceed?
Aud Wilken
It has always moved me deeply that the human can process such a myriad of life, so many things, and in so many ways.
To be in charge of the sensitive machinery that can feel, think, listen, absorb, know, and create. To come to know Life more intimately. To offer response - perhaps with music or poetry - to what is being felt and witnessed. How to best tune oneself to accurately translate and be with all of this without shrinking it? To offer it one’s best, with great trust in the senses and by practicing often - alone, and with others - to give voice to Life as it moves in and through and between us all.
Many small offerings, so more beauty, more truth and more goodness can land and grow.
Aviv Shahar
Aviv is the Founder of Aviv Consulting, helping leaders unleash strategic innovation, and is the author of Create New Futures: How Leaders Produce Breakthroughs and Transform the World Through Conversation.
Mona Martin
I have always been attracted by the mysteries of what I did not know, what’s been lost, what’s been hidden.
It drove me to set my feet on a path to find out how things work, what caused them, how are they connected…
How did they happen, what does it mean for the human being, how did we get to where we are today - and where exactly are we today?
…… a delightful pathway of discovery that does not end.
Bernie Doyle
I’ve traveled to over 40 different countries across 6 continents and I feel like I am just beginning to understand about human life.
The world is a big place and life has so many expressions, it is amazing to believe that I am part of such an amazing experiment. I love the fact that human beings exist and that we collectively have a universe of evolution before us.
Don Giuliano
I have been a perennial student at the University of Living. As long as I can remember, I’ve been in awe and fascinated by the nature of things, their relationship to other things, and to their causes. I’ve wondered about – and still do, as it is a work in progress – and am in the pursuit of, the discovery of the part I play in this Great Mystery.
Rita Lampen
Growing up in the Finnish countryside, immersed in the ever-varied life of the seasons and the elements, was a fortuitous beginning of deep intimacy with the planet that hosts and supports us, and a rich interactive affair of being human in this big picture within an even bigger picture. I recall the awe and wonder looking up at the stars as a small child, feeling an inexplicable longing for home beyond the tangible family home.
Visual art, movement and music have been recurring cyclic themes in my life over the years, on a journey of living in several countries practicing a variety of occupations in aspects of arts, crafts and well-being.
Life can be an ever-moving adventure of "shedding skins" that have become outdated and constrictive, and growing new ones that are – hopefully – refining to be more resilient, fluid yet strong, better serving the purpose of this ongoing journey of discovery.
So – what next….?
