[singlepic id=17 w=320 h=240 float=left]Artist: Donna Raymond
Title: Pacha Mama and Pacha Tata “The Sacred Union”
Medium: Acrylic on hemp
Contact: www.InfinitusArt.com
FEATURE ARTICLE
I Just Love My Toys And Gadgets, But Should I?
Recently, I replaced my mobile phone with a more powerful new model. I was impressed by how much the technology had advanced over the years. Even when I didn’t have anyone to call or SMS, I kept fondling my new phone, and experiencing its wonderful new features. I was infatuated! I’d been similarly infatuated with the old phone too, but over the years the bloom had faded from our relationship – yes, I had outgrown the relationship. I had also outgrown a similar relationship with my camera, my laptop, my lawnmower and my TV! Of course, my relationship with all these things was entirely one-sided … I don’t think any of those items felt sad about the waning of my love for them. It was a one-way love affair – but is that possible?
What caused me to even think about ‘upgrading’? It’s those damned advertisers. You’ll note how often the word ‘sexy’ is used to describe late-model gadgets, and how marketing tantalises consumers – people like me – to develop a new relationship with a wide variety of appliances and gizmos, which ask for nothing, yet give everything. Happiness is promised, and unfailingly delivered. Well, mostly. Sometimes they infuriate and confuse me, because I just don’t understand them, so complex, so mysterious – I find that I need to spend hours in their company to achieve a modicum of satisfaction and fulfilment.
Are these things a substitute for involvement with other human beings? Do they starve us of time spent communicating with real people? Do we reduce our effort, and simply withdraw into the world of our PED (portable electronic devices)? Even when we are surrounded by people at the dinner table, do we bother to lift our gaze and look at someone, anyone, in the eye?
Take Facebook, with its millions of devotees, where ‘to like’ is an action that you perform with your computer mouse – no touching necessary. After the click, where does the intention go? Does it reach into anyone’s heart? Where’s the return button?
Does anyone really care? What I think applications like Facebook and YouTube do, is enable us to be even more narcissistic than we might already be. We star in our own movies, we photograph ourselves incessantly, we give everyone who bothers to tune in a blow-by-blow description of the minutiae of our daily lives. We keep clicking the mouse and a machine confirms our sense of mastery!
Dealing with the toys, gadgets and apps is safe – there’s no rejection. We live in an anesthetised dream of self-sufficiency, reaching out only when we want to, and only for as long as we want to. Our goodies just keep serving, until one day they just die, sometimes inexplicably; and then we march off to the shop and replace them with a sleeker, more enhanced model.
And that’s the difference between connecting with real people, or even real animals – there’s a very real danger you might love some of them, and who knows what might happen to you then? You might realise that love is about bottomless empathy, revealing that another person is every bit as real as you are. You will probably be vulnerable with people, unlike your association with a machine. And yes, there might be pain along the way, but to have lived life painlessly is not to have lived.
Go on, put them down, put them away, discard the toys, the gadgets, the apps, all the technology. Look for real, breathing, loving human beings: you might just discover a whole new world, just like our parents and grandparents experienced, and you might start really living and loving again.
Mike Friganiotis, Community Education Officer, Relationships Australia FNQ. Need help with your relationship? Contact Relationships Australia, FNQ, at 125 Grafton Street, Cairns or call 1300 364 277.
REGULAR FEATURE
ASTROLOGY
The Uranus-Neptune Breakthrough
As Uranus finally crosses the zero Aries point for good and begins its next 84 year cycle; and as Neptune finally settles into its home sign, Pisces, a very potent Astro-cycle, kicks in. This is of primary importance to 18-20 year olds, but it’s relevant to all of us.
Going back a few years there was an exact conjunction of Uranus and Neptune, sliding in and out of exactness from April 1992 to January 1994, and flowing between 17° to 21º Capricorn.
A little bit more technical stuff: Slow moving outer planets Uranus and Neptune meet on the same zodiac degree (a conjunction) once every 171 years. Last time around in 1821, was the industrial revolution; monarchies were falling, industrialism, trade unions, romantic poetry, music and literature, political independence – quite a list. This conjunction was also in Capricorn (early degrees) and led the platform for this time around.
The conjunction during 1992 – 1994 brought a similar time of torment, breakdown and active idealism. This time around, also, Pluto was in Scorpio, seeding the generation who would, on maturing, blow away all the remnants of their previous generations’ destructive obsessions. That’s Pluto in Scorpio, dudes!
So now this Uranus/Neptune/Pluto generation are 18 to 20 years old, and guys, we are looking at you! There is a golden band of 18 to 20 year olds around the planet who are bound together like electrons around a nucleus: moving at incredible speed and circulating information continuously via the micro networks. They are intent on getting to the very bottom of this pile of detritus they’ve inherited and undergo the greatest disposal – recycling operation – in our history. Right on time!
They are now coming of age and they are what 2012 is all about. On a deep Scorpio level they understand this perfectly. On a Capricorn level they are preparing the ground for the foundations of the global community and they will set out the guidelines.
Guys, you rock! When Pluto settles on the Capricorn position of the Uranus-Neptune conjunction, March 2016 – Dec 2019, the power will be in your hands! You will be then in your mid-twenties and the old paradigms will be oh-so gone. What do you want? What kind of world? Now is the time to get clear on that. And to the parents and others: look to these children of the sky gods, they are the vanguard and the spearhead. Uranus and Pluto do not step lightly and Neptune can sacrifice all in devotion to the truth.
Here’s a little symbolism to ponder: each degree of the Zodiac has a powerful symbol, the Sabian symbol, to give the essence of its particular energy. Have a look at these symbols.
18º Aquarius: ‘A Man Unmasked’ – penetrating the deeper mysteries of human nature.
19º Aquarius: ‘A Forest Fire Quenched’ – relaxing after an extraordinary co-operative effort to balance the elements.
20º Aquarius: ‘A Large White Dove’ – the message bearer bringing transcendental wisdom; inspiration, and peace. ‘Grace’.
21º Aquarius: ‘A Woman Disappointed and Disillusioned’ – it ain’t over yet! Mother Earth and Earth Mothers still feel the pain and distress we have caused.
Interesting symbols, eh? Now it begins for real. We can all join the golden Bandwagon for this ultra- cleansing and reinvigorating of our world and for those brave souls born 1992 – 1994 leading the way, again: ‘Guys you rock!’
Rob Hart is the resident astrologer/tarot reader at the Heritage Markets in Kuranda and can be contacted for readings on 4093 0218.