.PH ERA

I have been thinking a lot about my human relationships, especially the long-lasting ones, and trying to find patterns in my new ones. One that I have given a lot of thought to is my childhood best friend. I have come to the conclusion that an important factor that made us so close is that he loves to win and I love to play. It has been great having him around for the past 27 years (in which he has not admitted I am his best friend too). Reminiscing on those times has allowed me to reflect on the way I play and how that has impacted my life.

Growing up, I think my parents, being very career-driven people, were shocked by seeing how okay I was with losing. How I wouldn’t engage in group sports or how I was okay handing in a rolled-up piece of paper as homework. I really didn’t show much sign or interest in competition until much later in life. A couple of weeks ago, I was playing “cambio” with my friends at 1 AM in a McDonald’s, and I kept revealing my cards, showing them to the friend behind me, and trying to destabilize the game for the two friends who were playing to kill. That is when it clicked! I love playing when I am able to change the rules of the game; that is what gives me a rush!

One of the games that I left behind was pursuing a professional photography career. There was a point in my life where I really thought I was going to be a photographer. It was an art form I really admired, and since I was a teen, I started following photographers on social media. I was playing the whole "follow for follow" game in the photography scene; when I was in university, I started doing a minor degree in photography too. Maybe all of the “social” aspects of pursuing it professionally were what turned me away from it. I am glad I learned it as a discipline because even though now I don’t take the role of the photographer, I have a great admiration for it as an art form. But with even further reflection, I think that the main reason I lost interest in it was because I started really craving an expression of my inner world. I am not saying photography can’t do that for you; it is different for every creator. But I was craving something that would allow me not to depend on the “observable” phenomena of physical reality or going on “nice trips” to get good shots.

Personally, I feel that one of the biggest hiccups we have in actual society is pretending that we all live under the same “reality.” I think this has to do with the heavy adoption of Baconian and Newtonian principles that has made our collective experience focus on “the observable and provable” occurrences in reality. I believe that this has made us become out of touch with other senses and beautiful and unique talents we have as sensitive beings. I know that a lot of creatives don’t share my enthusiasm with AI, and there is a fear that we will “lose our humanity,” especially in the arts. I can still see this as a silver lining because it will push us to reconnect with aspects of ourselves that have been left out of conversation (mainly due to religious groups being gatekeepers and using such topics for control and domination). But I really think it’s time to re-engage in conversations about our souls and what we can do with our “extra-sensory” talents.

The people around me know that this is a topic that I have heavily focused on in my life during the past years. I have dedicated this time of my life to acquire knowledge that has helped me understand the complexity and beauty of my experience as a living soul in this world. I have studied many sources of ancient wisdom such as Hermetism, Kabbalah, and Astrology. The path has been extremely rewarding but at the same time frustrating, especially when understanding how groups who have seized power have focused so much on trying to eradicate this knowledge from the access of the average human and ridicule what’s left, but have managed to still wield it against the masses to gain control over humanity.

A common key that these ancient philosophies share is the concept of:

"balancing your ego and raising your energy to higher levels of vibration. "

This way, you can break free from being programmed and, for a change, you can start controlling your own reality and path. Not being a slave to “observable reality” controlled by some, and actually being able to define and change the rules of your own game. Sadly, it is the complete opposite of what they would teach you in any “prestigious school” or institutions where competition and self-serving advancement is rewarded and regarded as the way to success. It is a way to trap your ego in this loop of high productivity, low resistance towards authority, and you will get claps at the school assembly or promotions at the company, turning you into a “yes person.” Once they get a hold of your ego in this way, you are no longer walking the dog; the dog is walking you, and you are not really its owner anymore.

“But that is just how society works!” is something that I am told when I bring up this topic. In my perspective, I do blame the “heads” of universities or academic institutions I’ve been to for this. These institutions are more than just places where you get education; institutions are reflections of society, and as a whole, they are actors in keeping or shaping the matrix (society). I sometimes get this unnerving feeling that they get the best, and we get the rest. Don’t get me wrong! They will do a good job educating you with the rules of their game, but they won’t teach you the wisdom to create your own rules or your own game.

This is a topic that makes me sad and angry! And I know I am not the only one who cries in the mirror when remembering the great loss of the Library of Alexandria. That is why I have started to infuse my work with the ancient wisdom that I am studying. In the hopes that others will join me in this path and through creativity and art we can share what has been taken from us, and together we can change the rules of the game to a less ego-driven and more focused on the soul approach. There are other ways of learning than sitting down in a classroom. And they are definitely not going to teach you this there.

Time to change the rules of the game!

In the words of the great Janet Jackson:

“It's nice to laugh but don't be the joke. To get over, get better. Try to be the possessor. Of the one thing we all need in life. To succeed take my advice. Get the knowledge (that you really want).”

- Till next time!

Geronimo

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