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MANIFESTO
or notes and fragments of constantly evolving thoughts
It is the basic philosophy, that is to say, what we believe in, that which guides our actions.
1- CHANGE Nothing is ever the same. Everything flows and life is constantly changing. It is difficult to accept because it is tiring to always question everything: it requires energy and continuous attention. And it is destabilizing.
Often we project what we are onto others (and often we ourselves are the reflection of someone else because we live according to the rules dictated by others that we have accepted uncritically)
Stability and repetition reassure us because they do not require reflections or decisions, they require less energy and do not expose us to errors, we simplify our reasoning using patterns and statistics, but the reality is more complex. There is always an X factor: the unpredictable.
2-EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
Everything is connected because in the end everything is energy.
Learn the methods and conserve them because sooner or later everything all will come in handy: interconnection and interdisciplinary.
The ability to know where to look for the connections, how to recognize them, connect them to discover, in the entangled mass, the persistent guideline.
3-TIME
Time is precious because it flows, it is limited and irreplaceable. It should be lived to the fullest. You cannot do everything, you have to make choices, but this requires you to take decisions.
We do not always choose what we really want. We do not always want to decide because every decision implies responsibility. Not everybody is ready to take responsibility for their own actions.
4-LIFE
Life is made up of moments and the sum of these are seen at the end.
It makes no sense to wait for the right time because it never comes. That time does not exist.
Life as an opportunity. We all have the right to be happy.
We are all winners at birth, the mere fact of being born makes us so. Life gives us the opportunity to continue to be winners according to our possibilities and our talents. The purpose of life should therefore be the discovery of our own talents (or what we like to do) and practice these in order to grow and improve. Curiosity as the engine to growth.
Growth and sharing as the ultimate goal. We come from nothing and return to nothing and we will be only the memory of our actions...
Life is to be celebrated: no guilt, penance, hell, sin, karma nor any need to sacrifice.
When we do what we like doing, we feel satisfied and we are happy.
We are not always able to do what we want because others also exist. To what extent should we allow others to influence us?
To select means also to be wrong. It is not important. The aim is to learn. Try again. The real winner is the person who picks himself up after falling. Let's look back only to get a running start. Feelings of guilt are toxic. Drop those thoughts. If we have good intentions, then every decision we take is always the best that we could take at that time.
There are things that depend on us and others that do not depend on us.
Confidence in ourselves and in our instincts.
Instinct as the infallible compass and well-being as the supreme goal.
Be human.
5-EVIL
Evil exists. It is a form of negative energy that destroys any attempt of growth.
Potentially it lies within each of us. Our will is the only weapon we have to keep it at bay. It is a continuous battle, one which lasts a lifetime because life is made of conditions and circumstances change constantly.
When the negative energy in a person prevails over the positive, they become toxic.
Toxic people are those with a narrow vision who care only about their own interests, they are opposed to humanity's progress and to our personal growth. They are people who criticize to destroy and subvert, who do not offer anything constructive, those who do not accept changes and are not open to new experiences, who do not admit nor respect diversity and who propose absolute certainties. Toxic people take energy from those around them.
Narrow minds have always rejected what they do not understand. The world holds those who create and those who destroy.
A change that leads to growth always implies a change of perspective, and a change of perspective occurs when those who create meet those who believe in them. The number of makers increases, reaches a critical mass and suddenly the perception is transformed and a new reality is born. Enlightened minds serve as a lighthouse, but alone they are not sufficient to bring about change: the union of minds is important. Individually we are weak, our union brings us strength.
A universal consciousness is an idea which has the potential to transform the world if exploited. Indifference makes us the accomplices of evil.
Evil as emptiness or lack of thought. Evil is not only opposed to good; it is also a lack of reflection on the consequences of our own actions. Lack of thought in the sense of lacking an inner dimension of ethical consciousness. Inability to process the meaning of his own actions - "why do I do it?" - and to answer for his own actions (a silent conscious).
Emptiness and lack of critical thinking expose to manipulation and give free rein to negative energy.
6-EQUALITY
We are not all the same. Is equality really a value? Equality compared to what? Diversity equals wealth.
Meritocracy. "One is for me ten thousand, if it is the best" (Heraclitus).
Everyone has to find his own group to belong to, because it is within this group that the person will be understood, appreciated and will grow.
It is important to surround yourself with positive energy. Positive people are those who enrich us, feed us. They are energising.
Culture has again underlined the differences between men and women in an attempt to create a clear separation between the roles initially repressing and now promoting competition in the interests of the domain. As I see it, men and women do have different characteristics but these aim for complementarity. The real strength lies in exalting and channelling these differences toward a common goal.
And when we finally all manage to think in terms of the person and not gender, humanity will make a quantum leap.
7-ANTIDOGMATISM/ NOT SYSTEMATIC THINKING
Nothing is absolute and everything can be improved. There are no dogmas nor absolute truths.
All knowledge acquired must be open to corrections and contributions from new experiences.
Attained positions should always be a starting point for the search for new results.
Skepticism and the questioning of any deep conviction is essential. Solving problems is more important than being right. Intellectual honesty.
The importance of critical thinking or processing and the continuous monitoring of the meaning of action, rejecting dogma and pre-packaged truth.
8- BEAUTY
Anything which emanates positive energy and enriches us is beautiful. Positive energy as a force that increases as opposed to negative energy which destroys. We see as a result that beauty will save the world and that it is important to cultivate and defend it.
9- ART
The art I like is one that contains a message.
Frida Kahlo maintained that art, like the Bible, indicates paths... when we take the path to awareness, we inevitably ask ourselves questions which are not easy to answer... art can therefore represent a source of inspiration and a way to search for answers.
I like to think of art, just as I do with philosophy and science, as a discipline that seeks to find answers for artists as well as for others who seek different paradigms...
We like to think of the figure of an artist as a rebel who rejects society and who refuses generally approved patterns which the artist does not recognize as his own. The interesting question at this point is: is the artist's role only to contest and make known the rigidity of the patterns, or should an artist also try to propose new alternatives?
I like to think that artists, philosophers and scientists have in some way a triple role:
1. as iconoclasts to highlight the risks of the over-generalization and rigidity of commonly accepted patterns
2. as trailblazers, scouts whose task is also to open or discover new roads, new paradigms
3. as guiding lights, to help others to orientate,promoting reflection, thoughts which stimulate a comparison of ideas, feelings and experiences. Sources of inspiration without dogmatic ambitions. Roles of guiding star not of navigator.
It is my impression that the rules imposed by consumerism and the market which feeds it have in many cases made artworks the mere objects of desire, lacking in meaningful messages. How is the greatness of the artist evaluated today? On what do we base our judgements and evaluations? What aspects of an artist increases art prices? Is it the number of exhibitions held? The gallery that represents him? The critic who praises him?... or the message that the artist is pursuing? Is being represented by the largest gallery in the world sufficient to make an artist significant? When we evaluate an artist, do we rely on parameters established by others, which we take as a dogma, or do we use our critical thinking and our personal value systems? What does being an art expert really mean?
An artist's work is often a lonely job. A solitude which is necessary but counter-productive if not balanced by moments of exchange.
An artistic work is enriched with meaning when it is the result of a positive relationship, even affectionate, with those who benefit from it. There should be sharing and "human" exchange, otherwise the work is without fruit. Extreme sensitivity. Key attention to detail. Respect.
In art, I tend to associate repetitiveness with a lack of ideas unless it is an obvious step necessary to assimilate a concept. I believe that knowledge is unlimited, and therefore, to those who want to, it offers the possibility of equally infinite research. It is absurd to be faithful to a style only to be recognizable. Is it more important to be recognized or to explain a message?
Is the work a function of the artist or the artist a function of the work?
My works are not just objects; they represent a filtrate of my inner experience. They are the result of reflections and experiences, experiments and thoughts. They are like the many pages of a diary. I find it difficult to identify with a work especially because I love change, to explore and evolve, and this aspiration knows no limit. The works produced each represent a stage of my journey.
You never stop when you are a nomad in your soul.
10- RELIGION
The term religion causes enormous confusion, often desired, the very meaning of the term is manifold.
Personally, I prefer to distinguish between the sense of the divine, the Church and God.
The sense of the divine is for me that feeling that makes us feel part of something bigger, that feeling that often surrounds us when we raise our eyes to the night sky. You cannot define it but it is there, it is perceived. It is a feeling that can arise in anyone and has probably been present in humans since ancient times, long before there were codified religions.
Then there is the Church.
Probably today when we speak of religion we mean, in most cases, those practices governed by rituals and dogmas and implemented through a priestly clergy (Church) in which the priest acts as an intermediary in the relationship between man and divinity.
The way I see it, the church as a hierarchical institution is a human invention: a pyramid designed organized by man (mostly male) which establishes a system of absolute ethics defining what is good and what It is wrong, arguing that it is wrong according to God's authority. This provides a set of ready-made and indisputable moral rules that must be followed. The Church with its doctrine provides a meaning and a purpose, or an earthly life to be conducted according to certain rules in preparation (meaning) to something higher (purpose) and is useful to all those who do not feel able to find it for themselves, or do not have the tools, and therefore feel the need of a guide.
History teaches me that all this has, more often, very little to do with God, but a lot with the power. I have always had the distinct impression that the God proposed by religions is a God manipulated for the consumption of men and I find it hard to approve those for whom the fear of God consists of using that fear and guilt as a lever, and whose purpose make it unbearable, in the name of God,their neighbour's life, judging, punishing and blaming pleasure, curiosity and imagination. All this based on a single, arbitrary truth, not always exhaustive and which imay not be questioned... Shouldn't respect, spiritual development and helping others be more important than dogma?
And then there is God.
Who is God? What is God?
A person, a being, a principle, an idea, or something else? Personally, I like to think of God as energy and more specifically as mental energy.
It is written that God created us in his image and likeness. Where is the resemblance? I believe our mind is the part that is similar to God. It is the divine spark that everyone carries within. The power of the mind And that is the great gift. We wait for God, but God is already within us.
It is as if this huge amount of energy, which for simplicity's sake we call God, were divided into many small pieces and it has touched each of us at birth. It is as if God were the ocean and we the water droplets, but the ocean exists thanks to the drops that gather.
It has been proved that the mind is capable of great things and perhaps the purpose of life is to discover and develop this potential, not to obtain a final reward but to create something new that can help us grow and improve, not in anticipation of a future life but of this life. This, in my opinion, is our purpose. We come from nothing and return to nothing, and from this point of view, life is a chance to develop the potential we have. There are two directions in which we can channel our energy: creation, which leads to a growth, and destruction. It is up to us to choose. Free will and individual responsibility. We are imperfect beings and therefore subject to error. This is our nature and must be accepted. The important thing is to learn from mistakes so as to improve because the ultimate goal is to increase our growth and contribute to the growth of humanity. And the more who join in working towards this common goal, the greater will be the result. The important thing to do is share. As individuals we are weak but we have strength in numbers.
Improvement means acquiring awareness. There are various degrees of awareness.
Awareness as a change of perspective. Often awareness arrives as a result of an extreme experience.
Everyone has their own path to awareness but too often we are distracted by what we are taught and what is instilled in us. This makes us forget who we really are and becomes the cause of our unhappiness. Most of us live their lives unaware of our own potential, we act as if we were puppets, without desires or aspirations which are really ours. We need to discover who we are and realize that we are not alone but that kindred souls exist who must be sought. We are also continuously sent messages (intuitions, coincidences, deja vu, dreams) that we should learn to pay attention to because they signal the direction we must take.
Our potential is to be creators but from an early age we are "taught" that we are defenseless beings at the mercy of the God who made us. We are frightened and made to feel guilty and the image of God that is transmitted to us is that of a higher being who does not accept contradiction. This is why we turn to God begging for forgiveness, help, protection.
Would not the idea of a benevolent and enveloping deity be more comforting, one connected to nature, synonymous with life, one which encourages us and helps us in our process of continuous renewal and development?
When we realize that God is not against us but with us and in us and that we were really created in his image, then we will begin to understand that we can and we must be creators. Active not passive beings. When we come to understand this, the doors of human potential will burst open.
It has already been shown that the mind can generate an energy that is able to transform material. Atoms react to our thoughts. This means that thoughts have the power to change the world. Perhaps this is what we must become conscious of. It has also been shown that the power of the human mind increases exponentially in relation to the number of people sharing the same thought: more minds working in unison exponentially increases the effects of thought. The idea of a universal consciousness, when used positively, has the potential to change the world.
A network of interconnected minds... is not technology going in this direction?
God is positive energy and is the union of many, not in one.
A better world is possible, but will require the cooperation of most people so that the positive (creative) energy is quantitatively greater than the negative (destructive).
