CHAPTER 1:
Prelude to a Journey |
Disillusionment with the "American
Dream"--Is the "ideal" of American society merely an
illusory promise, one glorified by our insatiable desire for more. Theme: Who am I and Where am I going? |
CHAPTER
2: USA "The essence of life is found in the struggle" | What molds our character, creates our essence?--Breaking free of programmed behavior & confronting the "struggle." It becomes the basis for life; that is, learning and growing. |
| Opposing Forces of Life and Body: Metaphors of Grand Canyon and Vegas come to represent the experience of life itself as well as our place in it as human beings. The duality of Man--the opposing forces within us or the yin and yang. |
| No Risk, No Gain--Bet in Vegas becomes a metaphor for the entire trip and exemplifies the theme for spiritual growth. The beginning of our spiritual journey begins ironically in the most material of material worlds. |
CHAPTER
3: Cook Islands "No man can sing a sweeter tune in life than 'no regrets'" | Developing "perspective" is imperative to achieving "happiness"--We must seek contrasts, seek out the differences to gain depth to our experience, and likewise, to our personal growth. "Happiness" is a state of mind integrally related to our perspective of the world around us. |
| Confrontation of personal "demons" and fear is crucial to understanding your inner self--encounter with sharks on dive. First of many lurid confrontations with the inner doubt and fear within, those "corrosive toxins" which crush our positive state of mind and create a vortex of disillusionment. |
| American Dream: Does this ultimate goal in American society haplessly induce one to be led by LIFE, rather than the individual leading it. Do the same motivating ideals of the American Dream trap us as human beings? |
| Cross-Island Trek: Biblical reference to the opening chapters of Genesis--the "Fall of Man." Second metaphorical reference to American society's overt desire to seek "results" over the "means" and giving in to the ignorance of our primitive temptations. Finally, reference to the trials of the journey around the world and continuation of Grand Canyon metaphor--this journey is a giant metaphor for life. |
| What creates happiness, how do we manifest it in our lives? A heightened sense of perspective helps us appreciate our world and its contents, and with this comes a state of mind conducive to "happiness" |
CHAPTER
4: Fiji "Will we allow our morality, our faith, our commitment, be dictated solely by our pocketbook, or worse, by our fear" | How do we know that "life" is real and not illusory?--Theme begins as the first step toward spiritual growth. After the "Fall of Man," (the Trek in Rarotonga) the struggle upward commences. |
| Does simplicity breed happiness?--Boat ride with Aponu, a simple islander, who exemplifies the purity of simplicity and facilitates a positive state of mind. He represents the purer form of "love"--and that within this state of mind, "happiness" becomes therefore a natural by-product, not contrived. |
| What is one's responsibility to an overly invasive fellow countrymen? Is a sense of duty owed? Does such a relationship exist amongst members of any nationality? |
| Vietnam: Introspective discussion on this, the beginning of the end, did this event precipitate the deterioration of American Society? Did it crush the American Way of perseverance and determination to "fight" for freedom? Did it suck the "faith" from our society, our philosophical way of life? |
| Search for "Faith," search for America's heart and direction--Within a torrential storm I search for direction; first, through faith to extinguish the void within, and second, within America from its ever-growing void. |
CHAPTER 5:
New Zealand "We have become enslaved by that which we've blindly built" | Nature vs. Man: What is more real--the sense of freedom experienced in the Tropics or the sense of oppression and programming experienced within the city? This prominent theme begins...and coordinates metaphorically with the natural ebb and flow of human life. |
| Have we truly progressed as human beings? The effect of technology on society. Does the prodigious advents of technology truly advance the cause of Man or does it rip us away from the elements of our humanity? |
| What is "being" human? Is it an experience, a state of mind, a host of emotions, or are we just a complex web of cells? Swimming with dolphins helps to answer that question and becomes symbolic of one "feeling" a sense of immortality. How can dolphins generate selflessness in a Darwinian Environment and we cannot? |
CHAPTER
6: New Zealand "Because of this blackness, this suffering, I exist with meaning; because of Nature, I exist because I am" | Amongst the raw untamed force of nature are we most alive? Does nature sing an enticing melody that naturally rejuvenates the human spirit? The dolphins represented this aspect of Nature, and within it, we unexpectedly discovered a sense of "selflessness" emanating from Nature. Is this the element of rejuvenation? |
| How do we move forward and grip the hand of progress?--A vision of an "ideal" is necessary to establish a collective direction. It fortifies the collective and serves as a spiritual rudder to guide and unify. Nature is this ideal--in its untarnished beauty and purity. |
| What is the meaning of this "collective"; what is the meaning of this oneness? Indeed, what creates this oneness? Amongst the "Pancake Rocks," discover that technology does little to answer these questions and in fact, it isolates us from the answers. |
| Does Nature guide us, does it naturally pull us in a direction, do we get swept away in its violent peaks and tides? If we heed this magnetized guide within earth will we become "aware"? Fight between Bren and me accentuates Man's impingement upon Nature, and I realize that we will always suffer in the presence of Nature for we can never be equal to its perfection. It is within this suffering, the confrontation of the "struggle," that one first becomes an "aware" entity. |
| Man vs. Nature--Part 2: Queenstown becomes the antithesis of Man's intrusion upon Nature, and that with every step in that direction, we naturally lose a precious piece of ourselves as human beings. This becomes the metaphor for my own inner struggle, my imperfection within a world of perfection. My gross intrusion into this link to the divine, merely because Man perceives "control" over Nature. Within the suffering in this imperfection, I find meaning; within this Nature, the light, I find that I am "aware." |
| Have we given into the path of least resistance? Is it now evident in our societal slouch toward conformity? Have modern relationships merely become another sign of our fear to confront the "struggle" and to so consistently slide away from those situations which cause us pain. |
CHAPTER
7: Australia "Apathy now controls us, it's our plague; it will devour America's soul." | Has it become necessary to review and possibly alter the U.S. Constitution to conform more to today's standards? Has it become necessary to forcefully impart the social "change" that’s necessary into the fading scene of politics? Does apathy blind us to the path of our country? |
| Have "we the people" given control to a "mindless" few, thereby rendering democracy ineffectual? Have we subverted the sacred principles of Justice, Democracy, and Family? Are we going to judge our growth, our advancement, as a nation by only an economic standard? |
| Does the growth of interpersonal relationships have much to do with "love"? Or as you "suffer" to grow together does "love" become a natural by-product? Fight with Bren highlights our path together, the painful side to interpersonal relationships--my struggle with the bestial side of being human. Personal decision to confront my Darwinian nature and conquer my innate impulses and primal desires. |
| Discussion with Edel (restaurant owner) on WWII from an Aussie perspective. America comes to the aid of the Aussies and a friendship is born not only between countries but also between its people. |
| Is our purpose here to learn from this nature, to be selfless in giving back to the collective? What is our responsibility to each other as human beings? Specifically, what is our responsibility, as human beings, to understand the atrocities committed by our country against other human beings? Within these questions, another is answered for, as one becomes "aware," one naturally feels a sense of "responsibility" for that awareness. |
CHAPTER
8: Australia "We are all the same first, and different second" | Haunted Hotel: Metaphorical "ghosts" cast a haunting vision of the world around us. Run into Jim Morrison-type apparition, who warns of our future. A foreboding sense of the world as it wallows in this distorted vision. |
| Racism in America and OZ: Does America personify the problems of race for the entire world--and if we can resolve them, so can we all? Personally confronting the demons of racism. |
| Is America Deteriorating from Within? Has America become soulless? A personal pinnacle moment of truth, I am beginning to "see" America in a state of reality, and it's painful. This pain is resounding and forces me to another cross-roads: to avoid this reality or bear the pain to confront it. I realize that a large piece of the "significance" in being human lies in this lurid confrontation...for us all. |
| Are we as humans causing or at least contributing to the decay of the Environment? Do we care so little for our own planet and in particular, the devastation to the rainforests--"Cassowary Effect" we ignorantly alter habitats and eco-systems. Taking individual responsibility for this effect, I understand that to grow is to suffer, to bear the pain and confront the oft-times horrid actions of human beings and/or the dark inner self. By confronting both, my life develops naturally a sense of meaning, a depth, and purpose--it develops significance. |
CHAPTER
9: Australia "We are all One" | What is Destiny? Red Rock of Uluru becomes a metaphor for "meeting one's destiny." The experience emotes a raw mixture of feelings as one stands before this magical crossroad. |
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How Facing your fear fosters growth It shapes the character of your being and establishes your direction in life. "Fear and doubt are the corrosive toxins which prevent and inhibit personal growth." Exemplified exponentially as we climb the Pemberton Tree in an attempt to conquer our fear of heights. |
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Are we, as humans, dancing along a devolving path? Are we minding a futureless Way? What will happen when we painfully realize that we had placed so much of our "faith" into technology and materialism when the situation called for us to peer inside for the strength to move upward? |
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What is it to live in or experience freedom? Search for Whales becomes a metaphor for search for ultimate freedom of the soul. This "freedom" of human expression is part of the significance in being human. Introduction to spiritual side of journey--and foreshadow of future of trip. |
| Do coincidences exist? Run into couple previously met in NZ, 4,000 miles away and in a remote location. Understand that life holds very few coincidences and from this we are inspired into a magical spiritual connection. Is this further evidence of our interconnectedness, the oneness of our entire planet? Are our rivers to the sea often intertwined with other rivers? |
| What is the significance in being human?
3 elements stand out within a state of hyper-reality (an intense feeling of
inner self) that creates an interlocking matrix of
"awareness": 1) Different aspects of our life are
interconnected--facing our fears and demons therefore becomes crucial
(Sharks and Pemberton Tree); 2) No coincidences exist, for all of us
are intertwined with one another (Aponu, Jay and Lisa); 3) Man is connected
inextricably with Nature (Red Rock, Wave Rock, dolphins, and Whales).
All is One. |
*** End of Book I ***
BOOK II: THE SEARCH FOR "FAITH"
CHAPTER 1
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