The idea here is to create a starter exploration to inspire the idea that a human is not one thing, but an orchestra, and many things in one.
So, if we think about it, all the great works of art, all the great works of creativity, of innovation, of leadership, they all expressed this symphonic potential, because they’re always to do with connecting different paths that were not connected before, which is how they create the unique, novel composition that they bring, whether it's in the arts, or whether it's in the sciences, or whether it's in innovation, or whether it's in philosophy and thought, and really any and every space.
So I suppose we are very interested in the music - and here I use
music in the metaphoric sense to represent anything the human can produce. We're very interested in the idea that if the human is an orchestra, then what is the music that you choose to play?
I want to become unstuck from the past, and be sort of neutral in the moment, and actually learn how to trust my orchestra - if that makes sense. So, trust that whatever is going to be needed in the moment, I can do. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, good or bad. Whatever is happening in the moment needs me, and I need to be focused, and aware, and conscious.
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….?
