Poetry, Songs & Prayers

Songs and poetry open us up to worlds unreachable by reason or logic. The marginalisation, and even demonisation, of the arts and spirituality  (if you cannot make money out of it) is a danger we need to constantly struggle against. The world out there is much richer than the disciplinary streams humans have artificially created, "the arts and the sciences". We need to constantly go beyond. And, students need to be constantly exposed to the rich imagination behind great works of art and literature. (For now, only the ones in the English language will largely be curated here.)

A Message from the Corona Virus to Humanity: "We will help you if you listen ! "

While Covid-19 is causing great suffering to many, it has also done something that most believed to be impossible - stopping the global economy in its tracks. What might we learn from this experience? (Another version, animated: https://www.ccanimationstudio.com/kristin-flyntz-an-imagined-letter-from-covid-19 ). 

We may have problems with COVID19 but the Mother Nature is helping heal the biosphere so that life may be nurtured. Of course, it also offers many opportunities to disrupt and transform. Bu will we do it?

A Message of Hope. 

Hope in the time of the pandemic (2020). Imagining a new language and a new way to be.

The Earth Song 

Michael Jackson explained: "I remember writing 'Earth Song' when I was in Austria, in a hotel. And I was feeling so much pain and so much suffering of the plight of the Planet Earth. And for me, this is Earth's Song, because I think nature is trying so hard to compensate for man's mismanagement of the Earth. And with the ecological unbalance going on, and a lot of the problems in the environment, I think earth feels the pain, and she has wounds, and it's about some of the joys of the planet as well. But this is my chance to pretty much let people hear the voice of the planet. And this is 'Earth Song.' And that's what inspired it. And it just suddenly dropped into my lap when I was on tour in Austria." (https://www.songfacts.com/facts/michael-jackson/earth-song)

"We Need No Education..."

Part 2 of The Wall album is about the alienating and dehumanising character of factory-based educational system. "According to the band, the "wall" is the self-isolating barrier we build over the course of our lives, and the "bricks in the wall" are the people and events that turn us inward and away from others." (See https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Another_Brick_in_the_Wall)

Imagine (Music for Hope)

Through these lyrics, John Lennon was asking us to imagine a place where things that divide people did not exist. The song covers the violence issue we have in this world. We are surrounded by hate, cruelty, murder, war and racism. The world that he sings about tells us how we should want the world to be. In the song there is world peace and everyone is living together as one; sharing the world. It was written to show us that there is another way out there to live our lives; that we don't need to hate and kill but to learn to live in peace and harmony with each other. It's so pleasant to imagine that everyone is sharing the world, instead of fighting for the imaginary boundaries. These are all fantasies that can never come true and he is dreamer, he knows that there are many other people like him who dream of peace, love and equality -"You, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one." He hopes that someday everyone will have the same dream and so it won't be a dream anymore, it will become reality and then we won't be separated by our countries or beliefs and we'll live together as one. - "I hope someday you will join us, and the world will live as one." (https://www.lyricinterpretations.com/john-lennon/imagine)