INTERNATIONAL ART PROJECT
AN INTERNATIONAL ART PROJECT
Compared with the infinite size of the known universe and the distance between galaxies, the distance between person to person on planet Earth begins to seem microscopic! We are all closer than we realize! Even so, with six billion people and even billions more species, coupled with the exponential growth of technologies that increase our separation, it is easy to feel disconnected and alone...
This project, stemming from individual community art projects and growing into an International art project, is about sharing the moments when you felt connected to something greater than yourself... maybe to another person, an animal, the environment or to any possible interpretation of God. Someone on the other side of the planet wants to feel what you felt when you could have sworn the universe was closing in on you and maybe all you could do was squeeze the hand of the person next to you because there were no words to describe, or the moment when you wanted to scream, "Did anybody else just see that?!" Someone out there wants to know about the time when you caught a stranger's eye and you both just smiled.
This worldwide collection of moments of human connectivity are encouraged from ALL walks of life with no discrimination whatsoever. This project is an extension of myself and without knowing it is an extension of you too. The principle point is that I can't do it alone.
Monday, August 1, 2011
AUGUST- "... honestly, for a moment it was like looking at an adult."
When my eldest daughter Jennifer was just a toddler around two years of age, we had a most remarkable experience concerning reincarnation. Jennifer at that time could only say a few words that we had taught her -- "cat," "nose," etc. One day, I had a book about ancient Egypt open on the table, showing the death mask in gold of Tutankhamun, the Boy King. Jennifer crawled up onto a chair and, seeing the picture, put her finger on it and said "King!" This was a word we had never taught her. But the best was yet to come. I had read where very young children sometimes have memories of past lives. So I asked her, "What do you remember about Egypt?" She looked at me and said, "I knows it." Then she said what sounded like "Kim." Next, she said "bees," "honey" and "flowers." These were words we had not yet taught her. Then I asked her, "What was your name in that life?" Jennifer suddenly looked at me with an indignant expression upon her face and, honestly, for a moment it was like looking at an adult. She retorted without any hesitation (as if I should know) a word that sounded like "Tentooke." The next thing that happened was amazing. As I have always held an interest in Ancient Egypt, I said to her, "Who was your father in that life?" Then, this little two year old girl looked at me again, and said without hesitation, "Captain of the Guard...Keeper of the Grain." It was said perfectly, just as an adult would say it. Then, within seconds, those special moments were gone, and she was back to being "Little Jen" who only knew a few garbled "bubby" words. I discovered much later on that the ancient name for the land of Egypt was "Kem." Jennifer is now 40 years of age, and I have never told her about this experience of hers as a toddler. This is because every time I have a birthday (without any prompting from us) she always brings me a gift that has something to do with ancient Egypt! Once she gave me a perfect replica of a scarab beetle (which was sacred to the ancient Egyptians) and said to me, "Leave it in your car, Dad. It will protect you." Doug Osbourne, Australia Artist- Amelie Alice, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand Amelie's Flickr |
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This story brought tears to my eyes. Reincarnation fascinates me. It's too easy to forget how much energy has accumulated in one's life time. I think your daughter is fortunate to have remembered even some of it and that it has stayed with her until now.
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