Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1
Built environments and leisure phenomena: an integrative holistic system analysis
Dr. Henry J. Moller, MD © 2014
Prepare
2
“The importance of culture is taken for granted, yet culture is inescapable” Yi-Fu Tuan, Space and Place “I don’t care about your goal, as long as you’re taking my soul.” David August, Times
Introduction
The built environment has enjoyed a continual evolution of understanding by
scholars investigating leisure phenomena. In this review, using an integrative
holistic model of knowledge inquiry based both on my medical practice and
research orientation, I will endeavour to make sense of this phenomenology to
clarify the role that Space and Place has had over Time in creating Leisure.
Following a brief introduction of how built environments have been variously
understood (and at times, misunderstood) by researchers, I will hone in on my
own interpretative use of this term throughout this paper. This will include a
brief exploration of naturally existing physical environments and the interplay
between human activity and these, through the primacy of space, place and
authenticity in mediating conscious and unconscious experiences I will then
similarly look towards a definition of "leisure", and where I am ontologically
placing it in this phenomenological research exploration. I will discuss Leisure's
roots, as researched by dedicated scholars of leisure phenomenology and built
environments in ancient civilizations around the world, and bring to light the
importance of geography, psychology and spirituality in mediating culture. I also
will touch on selected works of highly regarded, though not commonly quoted
leisure thinkers, artists and writers such as Georges Seurat, Paul Tillich, Graham
3
Hancock, Jose Arguèlles and and Carolyn Christov- Bakargiev to create a
background scaffolding and context for this exploratory work into a
phenomenology and discipline I knew little about as recently as five years ago. As
I recall, relevant “built environment” research to me at that point in time time
meant road design for optimal pedestrian and cyclist wellbeing in Toronto
(Moller, 2010).
I will present a selective but quite complex historiographical and cross-‐cultural
review of theory related to built environments and leisure phenomena in early
civilizations, with a focus of theosophy. I will highlight the roles of individuals,
communities, and world-‐at-‐large as all being vital components in the synthetic
alchemy of built environments promoting wellbeing and, more importantly,
species survival through leisure, possessing awareness that some of these may
also be informed by my clinical and research interests as a medical doctor and
psychiatrist.
Rather than analyzing the comprehensive phenomenology of Leisure in its
entirety as it is understood in the current age, I will position a troubling
dilemma that concerns built environments vis-‐à-‐vis leisure, with respect to
sustainability, equity and cross-‐cultural wellbeing aspirations of humans, at
least in the context of those known to me as writer with specific experiences,
expectations and goals. Much of these concern optimal praxis-‐related use of
built environments for improving the human condition, and a moral/ ethical
4
mandate set to me by my Hippocratic medical oath.
This will lead into an exploration of the subject of Psychogeogra phy, and the
opportunity to fill an apparent gap in the theory and praxis of Leisure Studies.
T h i s w i l l e a d i n t o a j o u r n e y t h r o o u g h t i m e a n d s p a c e t h a t
i s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y g o v e r n e d b y t h e c o n s t r a i n t s o f o u r
c o n v e n t i o n a l p e r c e p t i o n o f h i s t o r y o r g e o g r a p h y . I will allude
to the potentially promising avenue of synthetically created man-‐made
environments in a very particular stream: the development, production and study
of technologically mediated immersive embodied experiences, using standardized
(and therefore in a sense, ritualized) controlled multisensory environments
intended to enhance wellbeing, while retaining a coherent meaning-‐narrative
craved by humans in conscious as well as subconscious states.
I should briefly note that I may use some language that may be archaic or
outdated, to be authentic to its original intended use. For example, references to
"Man" should generally signify "Humanity". L i k e w i s e , I a d m i t t h a t
a n y c o mm e n t s o n t h e p r a x i s o f o t h e r c u l t u r e s i s b a s e d
b y a l w a y s s t i l l i n c o m p l e t e k n o w l e d g e b a s e , a n d
s u b j e c t t o c h a n g e , b a s e d o n f u r t h e r
e x p e r i e n c e . . Furthermore, research of possibly controversial views by
scholars regarding the cultural practices of ancient civilizations do not imply
that I fully understand or agree with all aspects of scholarly writings on these
5
topics. To use a biomedical metaphor, aspects of my knowledge journey are
"exploratory surgery" to authentically get to the heart of a concept that I
originally had intended to investigate in a far more impassionate and pragmatic
approach. To this end, as in my medical practice, where I am almost to a fault
reluctant to promise miracles of healing, my intent is actually quite modest: to
press on with science, i.e. knowledge acquisition, digestion and transmission,
knowing that this is a life-‐long task. To maintain my orientation of integrative
and holistic medical doctor critical or pure dogma in a biomedically dominated
field, it is a privilege to explore writings related to leisure studies, in their full
temporal, spatial and intellectual diversity and to contribute to enlightenment
with humility. This is what research and academic freedom is about to me.
Defining Leisure
Leisure is the study of intense research, with scholars from unimaginably
varied backgrounds such as sports and recreation studies, healthcare,
psychology, ergonomics, philosophy, environmentalism, musicology,
anthropology, computer science, planning and geography, tourism and
marketing as well as theology, providing diverse views on a definition. It is
agreed amongst these scholars that Leisure is a universally highly sought after
goal by individuals throughout the recorded history of humanity. In a sense,
"the pursuit of happiness", an ability to exercise choice and agency freely, in a
self-‐directed, intrinsically motivated fashion is the definition I favour, congruent
with the Neulinger (1981) Leisure State of Mind model as it holistically frees its
6
exploration beyond the constraints of individual subdisciplines, while
preserving potential integration of individual concepts into a unified whole.
Classic Leisure Studies textbooks such as Ruth Russell's Pastimes: The context of
contemporary leisure (2013) emphasize that leisure helps shape us as human
beings, "expressed throughout our lives and revealed in our growth, health,
motives, feelings and actions" (p.1) , conferring benefit of happiness, freedom,
pleasure and spirituality, also understood as Wellbeing by some Leisure
scholars. (e.g. Blackshaw, 2013). To this end, Leisure can be understood as a
feeling of freedom, and moreso “freedom to” move towards such environments
and phenomena that create wellbeing than “freedom from” to move away from
such environments and phenomena that diminish capacity to possess such states
(Russell, 2013, p.28).
To further illustrate my definition of leisure, I will give some thought to one of my
longstanding personal favourite visual arts study of leisure and built
environments. Georges Seurat's famed post-‐impressionism period piece "Un
dimanche après-midi à I’Île de la Grande Jatte « (1884) is a quintessential and almost stereotypical vision of optimal leisure phenomena. A group of upper-‐
class recreationists engage in a variety ofleisure activities, many of which are
oriented towards nature, including (tame) animals, lush nature including trees,
water and sun. A sense of serenity and bliss are intimated.
7
Without delving into academic debates around intended social commentary of
the French leisure class, nor of a modernist European culture prizing
existentialism, it is apparent that the group in the picture are worshipping
nature in a variety of ways, and clearly enjoying a wellbeing experience
phenomenologically. To this end,« Godless » worship of nature can still be
understood as a sacred ritual, if practised mindfully . In an integrative holistic
systemic framework of leisure, which I will discuss later, such nature-‐based
ritualistic communal activities (e.g. taking a pet for a walk, meeting friends for
conversation, sports and relaxation in the park) could be considered as a
somewhat Eden-‐like ritualized worship of a meta-‐God endowing wellbeing upon
Man-‐in-‐Society. Partially significant in this artistic interpretation of Leisure, I
note the central role and commentary on leisure phenomena inherent in light.
A perceptive viewer feels the magical power endowed in the Sun's infinite
kaleidoscopic energy fields, thus completing the picture to make it come alive
transformatively. The development of this visual theme was presaged by Seurat
in a painting completed shortly before, Bathers at Asnieres, (1884). While the
bathers in that earlier painting are doused in light, almost every figure on La
Grande]atte appears to be cast in shadow, either under trees or an umbrella, or
from another person.
Inspired by the illusory effects and perceptions inherent in the color theories of
French and other European leading minds in the arts, Seurat adapted this scientific
8
research to his painting. Originally calling his methodology divisionism, though it
would ultimately become world renowned as pointillism, he believed that this form of
painting would make the colors more brilliant and powerful than standard brush
strokes (Herbert, 1968). For some time, this piece was misunderstood and criticized
as depicted a mechanical, mathematical and even robotic society by Marxist social
scientist Ernst Bloch and other subsequent social scientists preoccupied with their
interpretation of the overt social class phenomenology (Burleigh, 2004). Such critical
theory misses the obvious yet hidden raison d'etre of this painting, which is actually a
deconstruction of a cultural meme: the peaceful communal celebration and worship
of Being in nature, (albeit within a civilized space and place modernity), brought to
light trough colour and elemental patterns. The primacy of light is also of interest to
me, as I will ultimately discuss the role of nature, including the guiding light of stars,
moon and sun for built environments built on Earth in early civilizations in a broader
universal but central context, rather than focusing only on the "final product" i. e.
Man-‐made built form.
The hermeneutic ability of the skilled artist's praxis as shaman, magician and
transformer to tum the profane into the sacred are illustrated by the impressive,
though not equally glorious depiction of modem-‐day leisure activities in this same
Parisian park near theLevallois Bridge crossing the Seine River in Paris. It is possibly
the structural aspects of this painting that also appeal to me based on my integrative
and holistic approach in research and praxis, which allows a unified whole to appear
from its parts with effort, authenticity and care.
9
"Un dimanche apres-‐midi à l'Ile de la Grande Jatte » -‐-‐ 1884 -‐ Georges Seurat (Google Cultural Institute,. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons) "Levallois3" Tcouery at fr.wikipedia -‐ Transferred to Commons by User:Bloody-‐libu using CommonsHelper .. Licensed under CC BY 1.0 via Wikimedia Commons -‐
Historical Notes: The Origins of Built Environments in a Leisure Context
Many leisure and philosophy textbooks, including those of Russell and Crotty
(1998) which served as my introduction to the field, acknowledge ancient
historical ideals of leisure, for example in early Judeo-‐ Christian or even Greco-‐
Roman pantheistic contexts. Yet, surprisingly little paleohistoric literature
appears in most classic Leisure Studies volumes. It therefore clearly needs to be
acknowledged that the phenomenon of human desire for leisure exists
probably at least as long as the mysterious emergence of our unique
consciousness emerged for our species. It would be by way of this shift that a
key evolutionary advantage was conferred that would allow humans to leapfrog
evolutionarily over other species via culturally mediated consciousness memes
that have become increasingly complex and sophisticated through to our
present Age.
10
To get to this point, I will consider how consciousness, meaning-‐making, and
human interaction with environment in space and time might be considered
philosophically.
In ancient cultural/historical frameworks, much of leisure activity prioritized
spirituality-‐which in this context I conceptualize as in-‐the-‐world-‐meaning-‐
making related to the phenomena of Heideggerian Dasein, or "Being in the
world" (Heidegger 1977, 1996). As described by Steiner & Reisinger (2006),
such Being states also create imperatives for the leisure and tourism industries
in the current Age that is respectful to the sustainability of the human need for
authenticity to feel complete and whole. This allows opportunities for built
environments to invite transformative and nurturing meaning-‐making, rather
than exploitive or chiefly consumptive experiences. Specifically, there may be a
need and demand for initiation/induction into local cultural models in third
world or former third world countries, i.e. for the “civilized world” learn more
about other ways of Being.
Further, in multicultural societies such as ours throughout much of Canada,
many recent immigrants or even those with roots abroad seek to reconnect,
network or interface with their past lives. There may very well always be a
demand for the connection of one's self with one's roots, including connection to
ancestry and ancestral land, and it is this intrinsic demand for rootedness yet
connection to a greater whole that almost paradoxically drives the freedom-‐
11
desiring liberation impetus of leisure.
This model, described as existential authenticity refers to "a state of Being, rather
than an essentialist, objective quality" (Steiner & Reisinger, 2006, p. 299 ) . As a
result, research that has engaged with the concept of space/place has focused on
emotions, sensations, relationships, and a sense of self with development of
ideas about experienced Being vis-‐à-‐vis space, time and spiritual wellbeing
explored by Martin Heidegger (e.g. Heidegger 1977, 1996). The connections
between place and experience have been highlighted recently by Rickly-‐Boyd
(2013) and others previously (e.g. Tuan 1975,1977). Belhassen et al (2008)
have even specifically highlighted the religious/spiritual ritual of the pilgrimage
as representing a magical attraction related to the inherent human need for
authenticity and meaning-‐making. In this context, Rickly-‐ Jones (2012) alludes
to the invocation of "magic" in using simulated, re-‐enacted and costumed
storytelling to bring alive pioneer villages for the sake of salvaging the element
of authenticity within the experience that is being sought by tourism. I will
return to this topic in my discussion of historical "sacred site" built
environments across the globe.
Psychogeography:
Defining Built Environment vis-a-vis Leisure Phenomenology
Many recent theorizations of place draw strong connections among space, time
and meaning. In summarizing some of these, Yi-‐Fu Tuan (1975,1977) has
12
suggested that place is space made meaningful through experiences. Tuan
examines the interactions and implications of "space" and "place"-‐the "basic
components of the lived world"-‐within the perspective of experience. Some of
the interesting conceptualizations Tuan explores is "Place is security, space is
freedom. ...how the human person, who is animal, fantasist, and computer combined,
experiences and understands the world." (Tuan, 1977, 3), and “ "Place is an
organized world of meaning" (179). One might consider his writings somewhat
mystic, while congruent with an emotive psychogeographic perspective..
Tuan emphasizes the psychology of how manufactured belief system "built
environments" of individuals and collectives are imported and received since
early childhood, via varying experiences, spatial values and realities. To this
end, there is an at least partially involuntary psychogeographic colonization of
the mind that begins at, or even preceding birth, with subsequent refinement of
values, expectations, behaviours. Ongoing Weltanschauung (here, a
psychogeographic term, literally meaning "Vantage Point to the World" in
German) is informed by the ways in which people feel and think about space,
how they form attachments to home, neighborhood, and nation, and how
feelings about space and place are affected by the sense of time."
I have chosen to refine my usable definition of built environments with respect
to leisure phenomena in terms of "psychogeography", which French philosopher
Guy-‐Ernest Debord (1955) defines as "the study of the precise laws and specific
13
effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the
emotions and behavior of individuals...The imaginary is that which tends to
become real within and between ourselves", expressed in performative rituals
(p.1).
To this end, psychogeography refers specifically to the geography of human
conscious experiences, with attention to human meaning-‐making in the context
of external geospatial realities. Given the diversity of human experience in a
globalizing world, and specifically in large multicultural hubs such as my home
Toronto, it remains surprising to me that not more academic psychiatry,
politics, philosophy and other social sciences concerns itself with the study of
humanity in its full pluralism, diversity and origins. From my perspective,
Toronto could be seen as representing potential for both a Babylonian dystopic
future, or a dynamic global Metropolis of true enlightenment and libido (i.e.
Jungian life energy) for individuals converging upon a geospatial region from all
across the planet.Fascinating diasporic human and environmental dramas will
manifest themselves within the lived experiences of my own community in
years to come, making my own geospatial environment a living laboratory of
built environments and leisure phenomena.
Space and Place: A Systematic Theory Approach to Experience
In a conventional sense, geographers have the role of studying places, and
planners the role of creating a sense of place. Experience is defined as "all the
14
modes by which a person knows and constructs reality" (Tuan, 1977) and can be
arrived at or taken with equal ease from non-‐literate cultures, from ancient and
modern oriental and western civilizations, from novels, poetry, anthropology
and psychology. The notion of spatiality within conscious experience was
academically initiated by mid-‐20th century German American Christian
existentialist philosopher and theologian Paul Johannes Tillich, regarded by
many as one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century.
Tillich's classic meditations and writings about space and place were heavily
informed by his own early childhood space/place experiences, in which his
family would intentionally exile themselves to enjoy summer leisure time along
the seemingly endless horizons of the Baltic seas of the north-‐central European
coast, away from the everyday constraints of the small medieval German town
his family lived in during the remainder of the year (Tuan, 1977). Tillich
acknowledged the clear spatiotemporal awareness that not only nature in its
vastness, but the larger body of awareness regarding the natural and built
environment the animal kingdom possesses, as evidenced by various territorial
behaviours. Yet, Tillich felt people respond to space and place in ways that are
unfathomable to animals, placing humans in a unique positions of interfacing
with the world-‐at-‐large, with the intellectual/ evolutionary, and inherent
technological capacity to interface with the natural and supernatural world
beyond ourselves given the right circumstances. Tillich developed the so-‐called
15
"method of correlation" explanatory approach to existence that correlates
revelatory insights from Christianity with the issues raised by existential,
psychological, and philosophical analysis (Bowker, 2000).
In Tillich's space/place model of built environments, existential questions of
human existence long ago created a demand for the fields of theology,
philosophy and more specifically, ontology (the study of being). Tillich argued
that a lifelong pursuit of philosophy reveals that the central question of every
philosophical inquiry always comes back to the question of Being: what it means
to Be, to exist, and to possess a finite human existence.
''..In such a state the God of both religious and theological language disappears. But something remains, namely, the seriousness of that doubt in which meaning within meaninglessness is affirmed. The source of this affirmation of meaning within meaninglessness, of certitude within doubt, is not the God of traditional theism but the "God above God," the power of Being, which works through those who have no name for it, not even the name God." (Tillich, 1951, p12).
Here Tillich outlines his famous doctrine of God as the "Ground of Being", a theme
that he elaborated further in The Courage to Be (Tillich, 1952). According to this
philosophical theory of ultimate reality, God is understood not as a being existing
beside other beings, but as Being-‐itself or the power of being in everything.
Rather than God being objectified and grammatically defined, religious
knowledge, including its roles, performative rituals and built environments is,
therefore, necessarily symbolic.
16
While literalist, syntactic and prose constructs of theosophy appear to be
abundant in modern religion worldwide, they remain crude symbolic simulations
of reality that ultimately sacrifice sensory awareness at the expense of verbal or
text-‐based sensory-‐cognitive influences. These sensory experiences suffice for
many individuals to inform their base psychogeographic colony of meaning and
reason, and ultimately, their reality expectations regarding our experienced
world. In addition, cause-‐and-‐effect of reality perception and meaning making
are related through praxis, or action, in which thoughts and intentions are
manifested into being. While it is perfectly acceptable and useful to be able to
meaningfully experience and represent being-‐in-‐the-‐world in other ways, for
example, through music, painting, sport or theatre, such activities may remain
temporary refuges from a meaningless life in a biological creature endowed with
the gift/curse of spiritual awakening without a guiding inner principle or
compass. Nevertheless, it is the praxis of performative activities representing
embodied experience that defines the Being of individuals and tribes, in the case
of the latter, whether globalized or not. The key issue to discuss now is the role
of the built environment as a catalyst/mediator to enhance spoken word, inter-‐
human contact and symbolic/textual experience.
Being by definition involves Angst, through an awareness of meaninglessness without
spiritual awakening. While Sigmund Freud wrote about Angst from the point of view
of object relations between person and environment in psychoanalytic terms, far more
interesting to me for some time have been more recent scientific writings of Harvard
17
psychiatrist and consciousness researcher John Hobson, who has been able to
demonstrate cohesive bioscientific data related to the neuropsychiatric study of sleep
and dreaming and has established a three-‐state model of sleep-‐wake-‐dreaming,
mediating what he calls “protoconsciousness” (Hobson, 2009), which I have also had
brushes with in my own research (Moller & Barbera, 2006, Moller, 2008). While in
protoconscious sleep-‐ or dream-‐states, awareness is present without conventional
meaning-‐making requirements while awake. In this sense, a global pancultural
meta-‐reality construct as favoured by C.G Jung (1973) or even better for my
generation, Marshall McLuhan’s technology embedded global village (1967, 1968).
Primordial Angst may have always served a protect ive purpose related to the
inherent existential uncertainty of the human conditions, that even our early
Earthly ancestors may have engaged in pilgrimages across the earth to seek
mechanical, performative and oral ritual traditions seeking a union with Man and
the Heavens. Such rituals have evolved in a variety of directions since this time in
cultural and geospatial regions across the globe, essentially serving a similar
mission: achievement of an inspirational personal and collective sublimation of
identity with the common purpose of collective unity, occurring via phenomena
that could not be fathomed readily without ritual guidance among skilled and
knowledgable practitioners, passed down though generations.
Paul Tillich (1951) suggested that human existence in its full experiential
phenomenology is inherently revealed through a supernatural power, with the
18
suggestion of an eternity making anthropocentric time and space irrelevant. As
well he suggests that human inner tensions required to perform on a praxis
level of Being lead to an ultimate understanding that the quest for God is
implied in finite human being.
Philosophy formulates the questions implied in human existence, and theology
formulates the answers implied in divine self-manifestation under theg uidance of
the questions implied in human existence. This is a circle which drives man to a point
where question and answer are not separated. This point, however, is not a moment
in time (Tillich, 1951 p 61)
While Tillich's thinking has been criticized by conservative strains of
Evangelical Christianity as too unorthodox to qualify as Christianity at all, but
rather as a form of existentialist-‐tinged atheism on one end of the spectrum,
and as a form of pantheism, espousing a non-‐personified/anthropomorphic
but rather an all-‐ encompassing God at the other end of the spectrum.
Revisiting the Ancients: Leisure Phenomena and Sacred Sites
In ancient cultural/historical frameworks, much of leisure activity
prioritized spirituality-‐which within this context I conceptualize as in-‐the-‐
world-‐meaning-‐ making related to the phenomena of Dasein, or "being in the
world" described earlier, in its full phenomenological spectrum of spatiality,
19
time and experienced psychospiritual self (Heidegger, 1977, 1996).
Sacred Earth, (Gray, 2007) a research volume from acclaimed anthropological
scholar Martin Gray with additional text by cutting-‐edge archeologist, writer
and civilization theorist Graham Hancock is a colourful and thoughtful cross-‐
cultural historiography journey around the word to the origins of built
environments specifically designed for the higher purpose of leisure.
Gray begins his research journey with a meditative contemplation by Hancock:
"Human consciousness is a great mystery...perhaps ps the ultimate mystery confronting science today. We do not know what it is and where it comes from ....Reductionists argue that it is merely an epiphenomenon of brain activity-that it is generated by the brain, and when the brain dies, consciousness dies also. But it is important to be clear that this is an opinion, not a fact. .....The notion of the brain as a receiver rather than a generator of consciousness offers a completely new explanation of universally reported human experiences- namely the experiences of encounters with spirit worlds and supernatural beings that have provided the initial impetus and inspiration for all of the world's religions. Instead of being mere hallucinations, much new evidence suggests that these visionary encounters may be veridical, or genuine experiences of freestanding parallel realities that become accessible to consciousness only when the receiver wavelength of the brain is returned." (Hancock pp. vii, in Gray, 2007) Hancock suggests that early Shamanic spiritual leaders paid special attention to
the power of place, which he defines as the "repeated experience that in certain
locations, for unknown reasons, the veil between realms becomes thin, and
supernatural encounters are facilitated". (Hancock pp. vii, in Gray, 2007)
While it may seem troubling or esoteric to invoke supernatural powers, this
20
very construct is the ultimate foundation of essentially all ancient world
religions and communal cultural leisure practices. Described also in the
underground classic archeological volume Fingerprints of the Gods by Hancock
(1995), a global network of sacred sites was constructed via manmade
"synthetic" structures used for the purpose of a variety of religious and
shamanic rituals.
It is enlightening, yet in many ways, not surprising, to discover that the use of
careful study of various aspects of astronomy figures prominently in the
specific geophysical placement of sacred sites, which Hancock variously refers
to as "sacred geography" and "sacred geometry" , the latter in reference to
stereotyped mathematical patterns underlying nature on a microscopic and
cosmological nature. To this end, built environment and leisure phenomena
were understood not simply as physical (earthly) structures, but as a conduit
between this world and other less understood ones. Scholars, prophets and
shamans who were able to claim the ability to harness this portal commanded
significant power, status and respect in society, whether in Egypt and tribal
African regions, Aztec/Inca/Mayan Mesoamerican cultures or the ancient
peoples of Asia and Oceania.
Structures often were intentionally arranged in accordance with specific solar,
lunar or celestial pattern configurations, based on cultural practices such as the
equinox, solstice and harvest cycles. These ultimately served as time/space
21
placeholders for celebrations and rituals involving attempts to achieve
equanimity with elements not thought under human control, such as seasons,
weather conditions, and daylight hours, to formulate plans for collective human
activity such as harvest, hunting and migration.
John Sharkey (1975) discusses the primacy of the oral tradition and taboo of
the written word in early Celts, last of the known European tribal religions:
"Here, poets and priests had the role of inducing initiates and groups into ritualistic worship ceremonies, typically either to invoke or evoke mystical powers that could be used to solve individual or community concerns. One example of this is the "inner quest': which Sharkey describes the Celtic and pre-Celtic Shaman as "the living embodiment of the collective psyche ...the link to the ancestral spirit world ....He performs ceremonies connected with the dead, and the annual rites of renewal on behalf of the living. The age-old communal tomb, which was source of his power was the place where the heavens and earth would meet" (Sharkey, 1975, p. 76).
Similar complex historical leisure phenomena have been documented in the
Americas (more prominent in the southern hemisphere), innumerable tribal
cultures throughout Africa, within the Indian subcontinent (where Shamanic
mediators typically came from the Brahman class within the developing caste
system), and to a lesser degree, in other areas of Asia where local cultures have
variously influenced the elaboration of various religious traditions.
Hancock's scholarly accounts are also a synthesis of similar ideas that have
been expressed in the volume Earth Ascending by mystic scholar Jose Arguèlles
(1996), who has also written The Mayan Factor in relation to developing a
Mesoamerican perspective connection to built environments and traditional
22
practices in contrast to modern life community praxes. Subtitled "An
illustrated treatise on the law governing whole systems", Earth Ascending is
truly a holistic explanatory work that seeks to contain the spectrum of
scientific, philosophical and theological endeavours with a rational framework
of Tillich's systematic theology, incorporating an almost positivistic explanatory
certainty.
In fact, as I will outline, shamans across varying geospatial cultures simultaneously
possessed the unique ultimate hermeneutic authority to transmit collective
shared knowledge formally in controlled time/space environments, often in
conjunction with preceding mathematical and astronomical/astrological
calculations. While the precise phenomenology may have differed in varying parts
of the world, the similarities are actually quite striking, and beg a comprehensive
holistic explanatory (or at least exploratory) model.
In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock provides cartographic historical evidence of a
sub-‐Antarctic civilization that existed prehistorically, and refers to a "code" or
"fingerprint" that recurs throughout civilizations descending from a single
prehistoric civilization survivors, migrating to form the Olmec, Aztec, Maya and
Egyptian societies northwards from Antarctica. Corresponding "creation myths"
predating history are analogously found in the associated African and Mesoamerican
God-‐heroes like Osiris, Thoth, Quetzalcoatl, and Viracocha (see images below).
Hancock suggests that in the year 10,450 BC, a major Earth polar shift caused an
23
eventual rupture and upward displacement in the earth's crust, before which
Antarctica was farther from the South Pole than it is today, and after which it was
moved to its present location. Rather than a single cataclysmic event, this pole shift
displacement occurred through a series of increasingly chaotic earth events.
Some Antarctic inhabitants recognizing and anticipating the increasingly
inhospitable local earth environment related to the Earth crust displacement
studied and mathematically modelled the skies and stars intensely to presage
destructive environmental omens, understanding the phenomenon of procession.
(Hancock, 1985, Arguèlles, 1996, Lawlor, 1982). In this geophysical phenomenon,
the gyroscopic vibrational energy of the earth axis's rotation goes through an
approximately 26,000 year (25,776 to be exact) cycle (Hancock, 1995, p.235).
Calculation of the patterns related to this phenomenon correspond to
astronomical mathematics assigned to the classic twelve zodiac signs, with some
exceptions to this within the Mayan calendar, which continues to challenge many
archeologists due to a differing numerical notation to increase computational
efficiency (Arguelles, 1996, p.21). According to Hancock, these early survivors of
the Antarctic shift with mystic community roles employed a combination of
mathematical processional modelling and mythological tales, which incorporated
numerical patterns holding the abovementioned code.
24
On left: Aztec Man-‐God Quetzalcoatl representing priesthood as shown in the The Codex Magliabechiano and the Lost Prototype of the Magliabechiano Group, (Boone, 1983) On right: Egyptian hermeneutic Man-‐God Thoth, (in his most commonly depicted half-‐bird form) venerating the symbol of Life, to King Sethi I-‐Osiris; from the Great Temple of Sethi at Abydos, Egypt; in His left hand Thoth holds two serpent entwined caduceuses, swords entwined by snake-‐like creatures, which are icons used to designate the medical profession in modern biomedical sciences (image © http://theperpetualpilgrim.com/ category/egypt/)
These were used for communication purposes with each other and in ceremonies to
transmit knowledge. As the seven primary migratory streams emerged from the
Antarctic primordial pre-‐historic common peoples, these developed into sub-‐
populations-‐-‐ culturally different, yet also very similar-‐that are now found
throughout the Earth.
Hancock had elaborated on the role of shamanistic rituals in his preceding volume
Supernatural: meetings with the ancient teachers of mankind (Hancock, 2005).
Having explored and scientifically studied earliest forms of manufactured art in
lavishly painted Stone Age caves and rock-‐shelters of southwest Europe and
25
South Africa, which date back to the time he refers to as "the great change".
Hancock was intrigued by the recurrent iconic visual theme of seemingly
mythological, supernatural hybrid human-‐animal creatures, with heads of
animals and the bodies of humans depicted in many of the ancient paintings the
caves he visited contained.
Hancock points out that less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no
religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. He posits that the
capacity of enlightenment and self-‐awareness unique to the human species
awoke collectively in the context of a "before-‐and-‐after-‐moment" which believes
to be the birth to the modern human mind. A further twist to his theory is that
these unique skills and qualities of Being had already been encoded with
ourselves, but during this transformative time, was bestowed on us by hidden
powers, to manifest our further destiny. In his ethnographic participatory
cross-‐cultural research, Hancock visited with Shamans of the Amazonian
rainforest.
His research quest takes him on adventurous scientific journey from the
stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain and Italy to
remote rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa where he finds a treasure
trove of extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to travel to
the depths of the Amazon rainforest to drink the powerful plant hallucinogen
Ayahuasca with Indian shamans, whose paintings contain images of
26
"supernatural beings" identical to the animal-‐ human hybrids depicted in
prehistoric caves and rock shelters. And hallucinogens such as mescaline also
produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Shamans would thus
be able to communicate with the supernatural/mythological beings, and upon
returning from such spirit quests began to depict their experience on cave-‐walls.
Hancock has proposed bold questions of fundamental relevance to the origins of
leisure phenomenology: Might it be possible, that the supernatural myth-‐
creatures first depicted in the painted caves and rock shelters were the
primordial ancient teachers of mankind? Could it be that human evolution is not
just a semi-‐random, meaningless process Darwin conceptualized, but instead a
more purposeful, intelligent and systemic procession that we have barely even
begun to fathom? Hancock's closing discussion includes contemplations about
Nobel Prize-‐winner Francis Crick's concealment until his death the astonishing
circumstances under which under the influence of LSD, he first "saw" the double-‐
helix structure of DNA, the core coding material within all biologically active cells
that forms the basis of our human being (Watson & Crick, 1953).
He also alludes to arrangement in highly stereotyped patterns and frequencies
that are inherent in deep coding of psycholinguistic patterns of all human
languages, as previously described by Shannon, (1978). In this model, language
can be understood as built (cognitive) structure and may possess "deep"
grammatical rules, with what Chomsky (1957) called "transformational
27
grammar" or "context-‐free language", which means that it often has symbolic
intuitive representation in the absence of grammatical rules. Researchers and
theorists like Hancock and Giorgio Desantillano. (Desantillano & von Dechend,
1969) appreciated the notion of a sort of "universal code monomyth" conveying
significant scientific and specifically astronomical ideas and knowledge
channnelled through consciousness-‐as-‐receiver of shamanic community leaders,
and this would appear to be consistent feature of sacred site built environment
production (Gray, 2007).
Cross-Cultural Aspects of Built Environments vis-a-vis Built Environments
My earlier research mentioned cultural, archeological and geospatial synthesis
converging in sacred sites' historical role as primordial built psychogeographic
environments. I remind the reader of the mathematical and astronomic
awareness of Hancock's primordial community leader spirit guides that allowed
them to play a role in the planning of the site building location and design. It
was this awareness, along with knowledge of the language and biological
structure of nature that allowed them to create leisure phenomena holistically
via the ability to harness the energy forces required to achieve their desired
effect in worship or invocation. It could be proposed that it is this deep multi-‐
system knowledge that also underlies realities represented and transmitted by
language, based on its ubiquity on a micro-‐ and macroscopic level. I might sub-‐
categorize these realities vis-‐a-‐vis Man Being, Man within Nature, Man on Earth,
28
Man with God, and Man with Cosmos/Meta-‐God. This is also congruent with the
authentic being in time-‐space models of Tillich (1951, 1952) and Heidegger
(1977, 1996) connecting a person with the world-‐at-‐ large to Be.
It may be convenient from a modernist perspective to dismiss ancient primitive
cultural/historical wisdoms as irrelevant to wellbeing, the pursuit of happiness and
intergenerational sustainability within current postmodern globalized context,
where societal realities have a lingua franca of rationalism and industry-‐dominated
media. Yet, I have attempted to make a case in this historical psychogeographic
review of leisure phenomena that built environments have a deep foundation that is
knowledge-‐based and has a point of origin and destination that we are still not
equipped to comprehend. This would be a topic of purely esoteric interest if it did
not also appear to directly have consequences in the health-‐and-‐ wellness medical
space and time that I inhabit. It seems to me that in cosmopolitan North America, we
inhabit a culture firmly rooted in a flawed comprehension of both scientific
principles and the basis of faith as well as sp ir i tua l health and connectedness,
yielding a medical system which elevates the "evidence" of scientific inquiry and
discounts any "evidence" emerging from the theosophical sciences. Yet, we must
recall that biomedical science, as well as rationalism as a forerunner are recent
knowledge creation frameworks superimposed on a much deeper foundation that
is important to take note of to arrive at a holistic vision of leisure vis-‐a-‐vis space
and time. The question is how we can create temporal spatiality to realize this
vision.
29
Stanford anthropology professor Tanya Marie Luhrman (2014) summed up the
dilemma provocatively in the recent New York Times op-‐ed "Where reason ends and
faith begins":
“If faith is a conjecture, or, as Soren Kierkegaard framed it, a leap into the unknown, perhaps being clear about what isfoolish makespeople feel safer about where that leap might land them....
To this end, in the absence of the advantages conferred by "authentically and
scientifically" built ancient environments, astrological measurements, awareness of
deep coding in language and other nuances only known to and transmitted by the
community overseers ofleisure and wellbeing (i.e. Shamanic potentiators), she
summarizes a modem-‐day framework for clarifying one's own scientific (i.e.
knowledge/reality) scaffolding:
“Gods are invisible, the future is inscrutable, and much of life is bushwhacking over uneven terrain. In the face of your own uncertainty, being precise about what you don't believe in can shore up your confidence in what you do." (Luhrman, 2014)
Creative destruction: Towards an enlightened view of psychogeography
Whether we as human beings like it or not, land and and memory are inextricably
intertwined and built-‐environments suffer from invasion and conquest. The
neverending tribal search for Utopia in turn leaves traces of the damage and structural
violence of colonisers as much as those of defeated rivals (Aviles & Davis, 2012, Eaton
& Wagoner, 2004). To break this down into psychogeographic terms of leisure
30
phenomena, what emerges is the struggle of power over cultural landscapes and
people’s memory.
I would now like to apply what the reader may have learned from the cultural
psychogeographic research I have thus far presented to a sobering present-‐day
perspective, ancient concepts and theories play out nicely with recent confirmed
reports of North American natives "mistaking" early airplanes in the colonization
of the United States as "Big Birds", and the significant publicity a 2014 photo of
still previously undisturbed Amazonian Aboriginals deep in the rainforest
shooting their spears and arrows at a plane intruding into their territory and
over their thatched huts deep in the rainforest of the Brazilian state Acre in the
heart of the Amazon (Wallace, 2014) .
On left: A recent authenticated photo of Kawhiva Indians appearing in a National Geographic News report (Wallace, 2014) that stunned the civilized world. On right: geospatial context of observation, Amazon Basin, Brazil.
This modern anthropological vignette draws attention to the role of
31
sustainability in culture and ecosystem preservation versus resource-‐extraction
models of progress, with all their inherent structural violence that threatens
Leisure and wellbeing. It also raises questions about the wisdoms of "primitive"
versus "modern" societies, and the “creative destruction” that accompanies
conflicts contesting culture, space and leisure access over time. Here is a stark
juxtaposition of our busy modern-‐day consumption-‐based society, where
leisure always seems to be in short supply, and an apparently self-‐sustaining
society that seems archaic and regressed to the uninitiated, yet seems to be
functioning at a high level of communal wellbeing, if left to its own devices.
Based on what the reader has learned about the apparent sophistication of our
primordial forefathers, I pose further questions: Who knows more? Who is best
equipped for the future? And to what degree are there commonalities versus
differences between ways apparently unique and separate cultures?
The anthropological volume Us against them: How tribalism affects the way we think
(Rozenblit, 2008) lays out a comprehensive observational pan-‐cultural study of
leisure phenomena. Its methodology is described as a rationalist investigation
using the philosophical inquiry of induction/deduction. Rozenbilt’s premise
regarding the limits of knowledge with respect to culture-‐bound leisure
phenomena is reminiscent of Angst-‐driven Being and seeking:
"These are phenomena that we just don't have the ability to observe, but that doesn't stop people from trying to expand human knowledge and understand them" (p.3, Rozenbilt, 2008).
32
He also expresses concerns about the collapse of social behaviours with the
collapse of the rule of law, whether through non-‐democratic dictatorships, or
globalized trade industry deregulation “Markets cannot enforce the principles of
fairness (a key aspect of leisure and wellbeing) and trust that are components of
morality” (p.122). Yet he is also critical of Biblical morality, suggesting: “The
“me’ predates the “us’. Maybe this is what ancient Biblical scribes were referring to
when they wrote of the “original sin” (p 123). To this end, he suggests that
underlying survival “us” motivations for a collective is a “me”. Rozenblit
suggests that the awareness of an all-‐knowing, all-‐seeing “Eye of God” is the
ultimate built environment structure that houses morality and belief systems in
most cultures: “One must behave, because there is nowhere to hide” (p.123). If
band structures, cultural ceremonies, sacred sites and leaders in whom the
community has placed their trust create a second layer to the built environment
of leisure, which as I have defined early on, implies “freedom”, integrated
alchemically in all its forms-‐political, economic, emotional, spiritual, relational,
and infinite other phenomena, to form a holistic consciousness experience.
As with the endangered Amazonian Indians, we feel threatened personally and
collectively when our built environment, in the cultural holistic sense is under
threat. To this end, the 9-‐11 targeting of Manhattan’s twin towers, the defining
meme of my generation may have also had a symbolic other than political/
economic or even chaotic rationale: it was a strike on the built environment
representing what was considered "sacred" to the Western corporate Judeo-‐
33
Christian world, perceived as soul-‐less “other” beings lacking connection to the
greater power they worshipped so intensely, that depiction of personified iconic
God beyond the word “Allah” is forbidden. It is humbling to make an analogy to
the Amazonian Indians, yet on a macro-‐level, the iconic symbol of a plane
intruding violently into the sacred built environment of a cultural community or
tribe is remarkable. One cannot help but to be disturbed by the notion of
identicide, i.e. an assault not just of physical space and resource capital, but also
on the very fabric of Being, by forcefully removing objects of worship—the 911
Twin towers may very well be the best-‐known such idol topplings exercised
under the Taliban’s direction. Yet to some degree a far more significant and
perplexing preceding omen was the Taliban’s willful dynamiting and
destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in northern Afghanistan close to
Kabul on March 6, 2001, six months before 9-‐11, under the direction of leader
Mullah Mohammed Omar, after the Taliban government declared that they were
idols. (Rathje, 2001) The complex reasons for this were decrypted several
weeks following by Prof. W.L Rahje of the Stanford University Archaeology
Center:
“In the Diamond Sutra, the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni (whose lifetime crossed the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.), says to a disciple: "Thousands of lifetimes ago when my body was cut into pieces by King Kalinga, I was not caught in the idea of a separate self or life span. If, at that time, I had been caught up in any such idea, I would have felt anger and ill-will against the king." Now, that's Buddhist tolerance!” …. “For centuries, Bamiyan lay at the heart of the fabled Silk Road, offering respite to caravans carrying goods across the vast reaches between China and the Roman Empire. And for 500 years, it was a center of Buddhist cultivation. The myriad caves that pockmark Bamiyan's cliffs were also home to thousands of Buddhist monks and served as a kind of Holiday Inn for traveling merchants, monks, and pilgrims. Today those
34
open, cold caves are used primarily by refugees from Afghanistan's brutal, internal war.” “The great statues remained community-identity symbols even though the Bamiyan community is now Muslim rather than Buddhist, and vandalism aimed at foci of community identity is easy to find in the past. Remember the Byzantine "iconoclasts" (who gave their name to that kind of vandalism and desecration), later Christians, the Communists, and then the non-Communists. Every one of them tore down key symbols of community identity. But why are the Bamiyan Buddhas targets now, after surviving more than a thousand years at a crucial node on the Silk Road? Simple. First, Buddhism is an easy target for fundamentalist Muslims. …"Although Islamic law offered protection to 'peoples of the Book,' namely Christians, Jews, and by some interpretations Zoroastrians, the early Muslims were generally hostile towards Buddhists. They referred to Buddhists as 'idol-worshipers,' which had unfortunate associations with the portrayal of the Prophet's Meccan enemies in the Qur'an. This probably, at least in part, accounts for the unabatingly harsh treatment Muslims reserved for the Buddhists they encountered in the course of their conquest." So, even though the Buddha stood against idolatry, the Taliban have a tradition to uphold on the Silk Road. Second, Bamiyan was a base of the Taliban's opposition — Northern Alliance's "rebel" forces led by ousted Afghani President Borhanuddin Rabbani. How could the Taliban better humiliate the locals than to destroy their heritage? An earlier attempt to destroy the Buddhas came when the Taliban took control of Bamiyan in 1998. Then, the local Taliban governor talked the military commander out of the atrocity. Third, and probably most important, the Taliban government for more than a year has been requesting international humanitarian aid for a country ravaged by drought, earthquakes, and war. No aid is forthcoming as long as the Taliban harbor international terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, an anathema to key voting members of the UN Security Council, including the United States, Russia and China. As the Taliban see it, the UN and others (such as New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, Taiwan's National Palace Museum, and even such Taliban friends as Iran, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) will give millions of dollars to save un-Islamic stone statues but not one cent to save the lives of Afghani men, women, and children. It doesn't help when a Japanese parliamentary delegation offers humanitarian aid in exchange for moving the statues out of the country. As journalist Hebah Abdalla wrote on March 2: "There was no 'worldwide horror' or 'international outrage' when UN officials announced Friday that more than 260
35
people have died in displacement camps in northern Afghanistan, where an additional 117,000 people are living in miserable conditions. … Perhaps the only consolation in all of this is that these refugees may never know how much the world cared for two statues and how little it cared for them." “It is fitting that in his previous lives, as recorded in Jakata Tales, the Buddha often sacrificed himself, becoming food for a tiger and her cubs, for instance, and for a hungry hawk chasing a pigeon. But while the Buddha had learned to accept impermanence, most archaeologists have not.” (Rathje, 2001)
At the time of this writing, an initiative supported by the local community, with the
assistance of financial and human capital from the international continues to rebuild
the Budhhas, and of particular interest to me is the role of the independent
philanthropic and Western arts community associated with the 13th incarnation of the
internationally reknown politically as well as artistically cutting edge dOCUMENTA
art festival in Kassel, Germany, (http://d13.documenta.de ) which held an
unprecedented parallel exhibition “Kabul Dokumenta” , based on the artistic aesthetic
idea of of curator Carolyn Christov-‐ Bakargiev regarding showcasing leisure
phenomena vis-‐à-‐vis the opportunities and resoponsibilities of an individual in
engaging with and interacting with a (sacred) site rather than engaging in passive
consumption:
. The four conditions that are put into play within the mental and the real spaces of the project are the following: 1.- On stage. I am playing a role, I am a subject in the act of re-performing. 2.- Under siege. I am encircled by the other, besieged by others. 3.- In a state of hope, or optimism. I dream, I am the dreaming subject of anticipation. 4- On retreat. I am withdrawn, I choose to leave the others, I sleep. These four conditions relate to the four locations in which dOCUMENTA (13) is physically and conceptually sited - Kassel, Kabul, Alexandria/Cairo, and Banff. These places are phenomenal spatialities that embody the four conditions, blurring the associations that are typically made with those places and conditions, and which are instead constantly shifting and overlapping.
36
(Christov-‐ Bakargiev, 2012)
German cultural scholar Ingo Arend summarizes the immediate effects and praxis of
the Bamyian project within dOKUMENTA (13):
What many feared did not happen: the Kabul exhibition was not an act of cultural imperialism, but the result of an aesthetic development program. In Kassel, the dOKUMENTA (13) tried to expand the boundaries of art in the name of ecology and natural science. In Kabul, it was once again the medium of reflecting on existence. Two years before the opening, documenta artists had also already worked together with Afghan students in the Afghan Seminar. In the empty stone caves of Bamiyan, Michael Rakowitz had young sculptors recreate small-format copies of the Buddha statues the Taliban destroyed in 2002. The 22-year-old art student Zainab Haidary, of Kabul, summarized the feeling of encouragement that Bakargiev’s credo gave her: "I come from a poor country struggling with the effects of war. But I am rich. Because I can paint." (Arend, 2012)
In 2012, I visited dOKUMENTA (13) in Kassel, a north-‐central German
town that had been fairly badly left damaged by Allied Forces in World
War II, and had founded a recurring exhibition festival of cutting-‐edge art,
Kultur that mattered and was relevant for the current time, and a return
of this type of art since since banned by Hitler as “degenerate art” or a
“moral threat”. Having no advance expectations other than to see great
and challenging art to engage with, I was immediately impresssed with
the theme of destrtuction and reconstruction on a visceral as well
asaesthetic level to apply to my praxis. I left the experience satisfied,
inspired and enlightened. This was not my plan; the geospatialsocial
37
situation I ended up in was the most compelling teacher. It is nice to close
the loop on this experience now by remembering it, formally documenting
it, and sharing it. It was always in me, but just needed the right time and
space.
Concluding thoughts: Being in Leisure
I have learnt much in this knowledge journey. The built environment is
much more complex and nuanced than I could have ever imagined. To
achieve wellbeing and leisure, I believe we can Be better.
In discussing Leisure, wellbeing and the built envirronment, one wonders what
truths the status quo is not being able to receive into their consciousness, in a
Hancockian sense discussed earlier on.
In a fascinating, thought provoking interview I highly recommend to the reader,
Matthew Fox, a priest an theologian formerly in the inner circle of of the Roman
Catholic Church, states wisdom and taste are inseparable: “It is about tasting and
trusting experience, before institution and dogma” (van Gelder, 2005 ) .
Fox nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
Some 500 years after the “radical breakaway cleric” Martin Luther pounded his
own (original) theses on the door of the same church not far from Berlin to lauch
the Protestant Reform movement, in the trail of multiple previous theological
scholars, who had been interrogated, tortured imprisponed, or executed as
38
heretics.
New theories are often rejected because they challenge the power structures of
current authorities. It often takes multiple generations, even martyrs, e.g Galileo
(challenged the Vatican’s Earthocentric view of the cosmos) ...Established
pronouncements of the Vatican were shown to be incorrect. And while this
revelation, an admission of error for the Vatican, was suppressed, as it is written,
“Truth Will Out”.
The party line seems to be the orthodoxy . Yet, there is also an
optimization/degradation push-‐pull of the built environment based on its
placement in specific sites, based on culturally guided patterns. ...until there is
the sufficient critical mass needed to create resonance and a shift in consciousness,
meaning-‐making, and subsequently, behaviour, as our humanity’s destiny is
unlocked, piece by piece, often in small incremental shifts, but sometimes in
collective or global shifts.
There is, however, some discordance (disharmony, or "dysresonance" if you will)
required within individuals and the collective to create these shifts.
Within a rationalist, democratic western model, shifts are ultimately political and
power-‐ based, requiring consensus, or reasoned actions by agents or power-‐brokers
(whether publically assigned or dictatorial) overseeing a collective. Shifts are
enacted via legislation, policy agendas and economic action.
39
Within a primordial model of consciousness, as described in the “ 100th monkey
theory”, (Stein, 1983, Tsumori, 1967, Amundson, 1985) shifts occur enigmatically,
intuitively, spontaneously, and almost coincidentally, yet probably also through a
perceived dysresonance in those who begin to think and behave differently than the
previous communal/societal status quo. As observewd by animal behaviour
researchers in Japan (Tsumori, 1967) one day, a monkey engaged in a novel
behaviour, i.e. washing food before eating it.. Before long, a number of monkeys
started doing the same thing. Around the same time, monkeys around the world
began to engage in similar behaviours, essentially enacting a mass collective shift in
consciousness which quite amaxingly seems to demonstrate that the innate capacity of
a living creature is not necessarily limited to its present circumstances or apparent
abilities. I suppose it even opens up possiblities of ascendence in other species in ways
we cannot imagine.
Within a not necessaruky opposing pre-‐tribal and early civilization model, these shfts
appear to have been similarly regulated, through knowledge skills of individuals and
communities to relate to one another and the world at large through thoughtful and
very likely , more soulful guidance of the greater-‐than-‐large built environment, the
sacred sites employed to harness this energy to create and celebrate Leisure, in all its
liberating forms.
Built environments may include not only bricks-‐and-‐mortars buildings, but also
incorporate "invisible" structures such as an oral history traditions and deep
codes that may be operating cohesively on multiple systemic level structures to
40
engender embodied, experiential scaffold knowledge, and therefore ultimate
reality, i.e Being.
My praxis from here will be to continue to explore the role of leisure phenomena
and built environments with respect to individual and collective wellbeing (Moller
et al, 2014). While this will continue to involve not only physical built
environments, I would like to focus as well on what I have learned in this quite all-‐
encompassing research endeavour, to be mindful of the integrative and holistic
nature of Being.
Our dreams, as unlimited virtual experiences, allow an opportunity for reconstruction
of both past and present worlds. In a sense, without limits. Certainly without those
imposed by the laws of society or even physics inherent in a natural built
environment. I think that is a hopeful message for those who believe in Leisure as
value.
To close, an interactive experience “says” it all. Or a microcopic drop in the bucket
at least, I hope.
(FORGIVE ME IF I BLEED ) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPt6533WYgE )
That is my word. (*)
41
Research References Amundson, R. (1985)17l The Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon. Skeptical Inquirer vol. 9, I 348-‐356. Arend, I. (2012) Documenta 13 in Kabul, Nafas Accessible on interweb: http://universes-‐in-‐universe.org/eng/nafas/articles/2012/documenta_13_kabul Arguelles, Jose (1996). Earth ascending: an illustrated treatise on the law governing whole systems. Bear & Co. Rochester, VT, USA August, D. (2014) I don’t care about your goals. Audioredording, from Times, Dynamic Recordings, Hamburg, FRG August, D. Zhou, Y. (2013). Forgive me if I bleed (video edit). Published April 27, 2013 on Youtube. Audioredording, from Times, Dynamic Recordings, Hamburg, FRG Aviles, M.A.R, Davis, JC. Utopian moments: Reading utopian texts. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. Belhassen, Y, Caton, K, Stewart, W.P. (2008) The search for authenticity in the pilgrim experience, Annals of Tourism Rearch 35(3), 668-‐689. Blackshaw, R. ( 20 13)Routledge Handbook of Leisure Studies, Routledge , NY, NY. Boone, E.H.(1983). The Codex Magliabechiano and the Lost Prototype of the Magliabechiano Group Berkeley: University of California Press Bowker, J., (Ed.) (2000), "Tillich, Paul Johannes Oskar", The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Oxford University Press, UK. Brown, L. (2013) Tourism: A catalyst for existential authenticigty, Annals of Tourism Research,40 (1), 176-‐190 Bruce, S (2008). Three early modern utopias: Utopia, New Atlantis, and the Isle of Pines (2nd Ed), Oxford University Press, NY. Noam Chomsky (1957). Syntactic Structures. Den Haag: Mouton. Cloonan, Michele V. "The Paradox of Preservation", Library Trends, Summer 2007. Christov-‐Bakargie, C. (2012) Curators Statement, dOCUMENTA (13) Accessible on interwebdOKUMENTA (13)
42
Desantillano, G, von Dechend, A.H. ( 1969)Hamlet's Mill: An Essay Investigating the Origins of Human Knowledge and Its Transmission Through Myth Harvard University Press Falser, M. (2011) "The Bamiyan Buddhas, performative iconoclasm and the 'image' of heritage". In: Giometti, Simone; Tomaszewski, Andrzej (eds.): The Image of Heritage. Changing Perception, Permanent Responsibilities. Proceedings of the International Conference of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee for the Theory and the Philosophy of Conservation and Restoration. 6-‐8 March 2009 Florence, Italy. Firenze 2011: 157-‐169. Richard M. Eaton, R. M. & Wagoner, P.B. (2014) Power, Memory, Architecture: Contested Sites on India's Deccan Plateau, 1300 - 1600. Oxford University Press, UK Fetterman, D. M (2010). Ethnography: step-‐by-‐step (3rd Ed). SAGE, Thousand Oaks, CA Graham-‐Harison, E. (2012)Stone carvers defy Taliban to return to the Bamiyan valley The Guardian UK (16 May 2012) Available on interweb: http:/ /www.theguardian.com /world /2012 /may/16/stone-‐carvers-‐taliban-‐ bamiyan Gray, M., Hancock, G. (2007) Sacred earth: Places of peace and power. Sterling, NY. Hancock, G, Strassman, R (2005) Supernatural -‐ Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind Disinformation Books, NY, 710pp Hancock, G. (1995) Fingerprints of the Gods, Crown, NY.
Heidegger, M. (1977) Phenomenology of Spirit Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Heidegger, M. (1996) Being and Time. Albany: State University of NY Press. Herbert, R. (1968) Neo-Impressionism, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, Library of Congress Card Catalogue Number: 68-‐16803 . Jung., C. G (1973)Memories, Dreams, Reflections. (Jaffe, A. Ed) New York, Random House, Kartte, S. (1998) : Wasser für die Seele. In: Der Spiegel Spezial, 1. November McLuhan, M. (1967) The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. NY,Random House. McLuhan (1968) War and Peace in the Global Village New York: Bantam, NY
43
Moller, H.J., Barbera, J, (20https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPt6533WYgE06) : “Media Presence, Dreaming and Consciousness” Chapter 5, pp 97-‐123. In: Riva G, Anguera MT, Wiederhold BK, Mantovani F (Eds.), From Communication to Presence: the integration of cognition, emotions and culture towards the ultimate communicative experience. IOS Press, Amsterdam,. Accessible on interweb: http://www.neurovr.org/emerging/book7/9_5_Moeller.pdf Moller H.J. (2008) Neural correlates of "absence" in interactive simulator protocols. Cyberpsychology and Behavior. 11:181-‐7. Moller, H.J. (2010) Promoting Health through Active Transportation. Research Report for City of Toronto Transportation Services/ Toronto Public Health. Pp1-46. Luhrmann T.M (2014) Where Reason Ends and Faith Begins. New York Times, Sunday Review July 26th, 2014 Available on interweb: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/opinion/sunday/t-‐m-‐luhrmann-‐where-‐reason-‐ends-‐and-‐faith-‐begins.html?_r=0 Neulinger, John (1981). To Leisure: An Introduction. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Ramiro Aviles, M.A., Davis, J.C. Eds (2012) Utopian Moments: Reading Utopian Texts . London, UK , Bloomsbury. Rathje, W. L. (2001) "Whythe Taliban are destroying Buddhas". USA Today, Science. 22 March 2001. Accessible on inter-‐web: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news /science/archaeology /2001-‐03-‐22-‐afghan-‐ buddhas.htm Rickly-‐Boyd, J.M. (2013). Existential Authenticity: Place Matters. Tourism Geographies: An International Journal of Tourism Space, Place and Environment. 1-‐ 7 , DOl:l0.1080/ 14616688.2012.762691 Available on interweb: http:/f dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2012.762691 Rickly-‐Boyd, J.M. (2012) "Through the magic of reproduction: tourist's perceptions of authenticity in a pioneer village, Journal of Heritage Tourism, 7(2), 127-‐144 Rozenblit, B. (2008") Us against Them: How Tribalism affects the way we think. "Transcendent Publications, Kansas City, MO Schama, S (2004) Landscape and Memory, Harper Perrenial, London, UK Sharkey. J. (1997) Celtic mysteries: the ancient religion. Thames & Hudson, London, UK
44
Tillich, P. (1951), Systematic Theology Vo/1, University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL. Tillich, P. (1952) The Courage to Be. New Haven: Yale University Press. Tsumori, A (1967) Newly acquired behavior and social interactions ofJapanese monkeys. In Social Communication Among Primates. Stuart Altman, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Shannon B. (1978) The genetic code and human language. Synthese , Volume 39 (3) 401-‐415. Stein A (1983) The "Hundredth Monkey" and Humanity's Quest for Survival. Phoenix journal of Transpersonal Anthropology, 7: 29-‐40. Tsumori, Atsuo. 1967. Newly acquired behavior and social interactions of Japanese monkeys. In Social Communication Among Primates. Stuart Altman, ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Van Gelder (2005) Holy Impatience: an interview with Matthew Fox. Published on-‐line in Yes magazine, Oct 31`, 2005, Accessible on interweb: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/spiritual-‐uprising/holy-‐impatience-‐an-‐interview-‐with-‐matthew-‐fox Wallace, C (2014) New Photos of Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Stir Uproar. National Geographic News. April 3, 2014. Available on inter-‐web: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140403-‐brazil-‐peru-‐amazon-‐rainforest-‐uncontacted-‐tribes-‐finai-‐i l legal-‐logging-‐world/ Watson, J.D., & Crick, F. (1953) A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. Nature, 171, 737-‐738 Watson, Lyall (1979) Lifetide. New York: Simon and Schuster.
West, J.A. (1993) The Serpent in the Sky. Quest, Wheaton, IL. .
45
Acknowledgements: I thank Josef Peideslstein, a wonderful Human Being for enlightening input and feedback , and also have found inspiration from my late brother Felix for which I am grateful. Front cover Image credits Eye on the World, Allan Watts http://awakeningfromdualitythewhite.blogspot.ca/2013/07/road-‐to-‐peaceful-‐revolution-‐4rth-‐of.html Nataraja shiva turquoise and coral statue, Available for Sale on-‐line, $625 at “The Buddha Shop, on-‐line” (Accessed 10/01/2015) http://www.buddhashop.com.au/contents/en-‐us/d52_Shiva___Nataraja.html Miko Maciaszek Where Reason Ends and Faith Begins Published on-‐line ©. New York Times, Sunday Review July 26th, 2014 The Liquidrom Sanatarium Spa, Berlin, Germany. Published © http://www.liquidrom-‐berlin.de/en/ Back cover credit. Author at Liberty Bell, Philadelphia, PA, USA, August, 2013
46
