Yenma Yenmalalibyila

AUGUST 2021 | VOL. I

Y ENMA YENMALALIBYILA Let's Walk Together...

With Weeklies, Walkabouts, and pathways

Our Contributors NESS SONG

IS THE FOUNDER OF YEMPOWER AUSTRALIA, A YOUTH MENTORING ADVOCACY SERVICE. HER PASSIONS LIE IN HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE ON THEIR PATH TO SELFACTUALISATION.

MA TI S J EV FO FL RU EM Y E'S TT H

IS A YOUTH ADVOCATE AND FEATURED ENTREPENUER, WRITER AND YENMA FOUNDER. MATT HAS A WIDEARTICLES: RANGE OF CAREER AND SOCIAL EXPERIENCES INFORMING HIS CREATIVE APPROACH.

An Intro to Yenma

1-4 IS A DETERMINED YOUNG ACTIVIST Defending and WHO HAS A PASSION FOR WRITING. SHE IS A CO-FOUNDER OF Extending Empathy YEMPOWER AUSTRALIA, A HOST OF THE PODCAST, WHEN STRONG WOMEN TALK, IS STUDYING A Living in AND a SOCIAL SCIENCE AND POLITICS Leadership DEGREE. SHE STRIVES IN Vacuum EVERYTHING SHE DOES TO CHANGE THE WORLD FOR THE BETTER. TALLULAH WATSON-MOYLE

PHIL JEFFREY

IS A SENIOR TECHNICAL CONSULTANT AT A SOFTWARE CONSULTANCY IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. HE GRADUATED WITH A COMMERCE DEGREE FROM UNSW WALES IN 1991, AND A DEGREE IN SCIENCE FROM MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY IN 2020. HE HAS A KEEN INTEREST IN THE FIELDS OF GENETICS, NEUROSCIENCE AND HUMAN BEHAVIOUR.

Contents WARNING

1

THE SCIENTFIC METHOD: A NATURAL PROGRESSION OF HUMAN EVOLUTION

AN INTRO TO YENMA

2-4

MATT JEFFREY

THE PATHWAYS

THIS VOLUME'S FEATURED TH E WEEKLIES

17-21

PHIL JEFFREY

22

5

ARTICLES:

THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE

TO TRANSFORM

5

NESS SONG An Intro to Yenma

22-36

NESS SONG

1-4

Defending and

THE WALKABOUTS

Extending Empathy

LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP

6

OUT!

Living in a

DEFENDING AND EXTENDING

Leadership

EMPATHY

MATT Vacuum JEFFREY

VACUUM: ...AND HOW TO GET 36-45

MATT JEFFREY

6-11

IN MEMORIAM

46

CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC: DANGER LOOK

MATT JEFFREY

11-16

EULOGY ADAPTATION

46-47

TALLULAH WATSON MOYLE

PAGE 1 - WARNING

Warning

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER READERS ARE ADVISED THAT THIS PUBLICATION CONTAINS IMAGES AND VOICES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED.

YENMA IS AN INTEREST-BASED INIATIVE OF OUR BLOC COMMUNITY STUDIO.

FOR ALL ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:

MATTWITHOURBLOC@GMAIL.COM

PAGE 2 - AN INTRO TO YENMA

AN INTRO TO YENMA!

by Matthew Jeffrey In its beginning, it is that which requires a single step now and forward. Welcome all readers to the first volume of Yenma Yenmalalibyila. This piece is to serve as an introduction to the publication, and provide the 'why?’ behind its creation.

To go for a walk can oftentimes feel hard. There are

Coupled with the perception

many comforts with you at home. Your home is your

of the evility of human nature,

home and it is a sacred, giving, and nurturing space.

this barrage of keeping you

There is bed, food, tv, and the universe of the internet

working,

all right there at home. The world could hurt if you

and working tired, lathered

step outside. You do not know for certain what will

with a sensory whiff that our

happen if you cross the threshold of your front door.

government

So sometimes to walk, to step, to throw ourselves up

systems are at a standstill

and fall and catch ourselves again, one already

would make taking a single-

walking must encourage us.

step

out

working

shameful,

and

of

societal

your

house

revolutionary. A single-step of They could be a partner, a friend, an acquaintance, a

appreciation and action could

guru, a teacher, or a post officer. They could be an

be

ancestor or a descendant.

monumentally

comprehended

as

impossible

within our hearts eye. It is Taking these first steps is a vulnerable courage. It has

currently so for many who

been beaten into us that wondering, and wandering

live

are aimless. At best wonderers and wanderers are

around the globe.

here

in

Australia

and

idealists, fools and layabouts, and at worst? Vagrants and

criminals.

With

so

much

brute

force,

and

So some of us do flock to...

subsequent subtler prisms of control, our society’s systems

can

seem

impenetrable,

forever-holding,

unchangeable, standing-still or stepping backwards, immovable,

unphaseable,

unapproachable,

illness-

ridden and stifling.

These systems breaking our hearts seem too old to change or replace. So old as if they were birthed as the Earth was delivered. If with our vision and with our senses we are bombarded with non-truths of our Earth by our tellers and leaders of truth - our journos, our pollies, our managers, if they obfuscate enough, if they beam a spotlight that the nature of humanity is utterly evil, we may just start to believe they are so.

"These systems breaking our hearts seem too old to change or replace.

So old, it's as if they were birthed as the Earth was delivered."

PAGE 3 - AN INTRO TO YENMA ...comforts conceded to a decreasing majority of Australians. With these passive comforts, our needs are somewhat given and some of our conditioned and unconditioned wants placate us. Some humans have received a message, a memo, their entire lives that they cannot change their hearts, their community, their state, the country they stand on or the world.

For decades they have toiled in arrangements building things for others. Some fought extremely hard to win concessional needs, to end outright slavery, to bring in

a

standard

8-hour

working

day,

universal

healthcare and so forth. But still, we remain labouring

Annie Williams - Wodi-Wodi Woman

and toiling on a stolen continent, knowing deep-down that nine of the ten fruits of our creation are going to

...orate, feel, grasp and fruit a

one person, our wage owner, and one to us to feed,

healthier tree, a society totally

home and clothe ourselves and our loved ones. Deep

envisioned by us! This new path

in the pit of our hearts and stomachs we churn the

forged together out of the belly

butter understanding the immensity of the imbalance

of a young beast will see us all

occurring each hour we trade away.

thriving.

This

conversation.

will

This

take

will

take

If the totality of us flock to inner passive comforts

mediums to share messages. This

conceded to us, after this unequal energy exchange; if

will take tandeming and tangoing

we cannot move a leg and move it again to give food

with those you may feel like you

and conversation to a resident who lives a rich and

cannot or should not dance with.

wonderful life two-metres behind our beds headboard where we lay ourselves to rest each night - the

In learning to understand the

injustices

finite nature of this lifetime and

will

deepen

again.

We

will

lose

the

concessional needs that our ancestors died by and for.

the

Our descendants may know a life harsher than an

diverse families and people that

ancestor did. We ourselves may find a life harsher and

met and met again and again to

harsher in the decades we age if we do not act.

eventually create me as I know me

infinite

-

I

feel

wisdom

of

empowered

the

and

If the majority, or better yet totality of us flock to

impassioned in launching this

passion,

medium,

purpose,

regeneration,

present-moment

this

publication

for

awareness, gratitude, developing and bettering our

good. In honour of an ancestor I

relationship with past traumas, and to stepping

share with many others, for you

outside and outside ourselves - together we could

Annie

again foster a society where we feel connected, loved,

woman of the Yuin, I sense your

appreciated, and more. We could take self, family,

guidance

community, regional, state, and national collective

and write with you behind me.

decisions and actions to change the motives within

In...

the extremely young Australia state and her systems.

With collective will we can all pen, sing, dance...

Williams, and

WodiWodi

encouragement,

PAGE 4 - AN INTRO TO YENMA ...honour of the Irish immigrants, Scottish immigrants, convicts

Sicillian and

immigrants,

settlers

I

British

sense

your

encouragement and write. In honour of all the families

who

emigrated,

togethered

who

were

themselves, original

who

aboriginal

peoples - you all walk with me while we write.

In honour of my grandmas and grandpas, and in honour of my mum and dad, I feel your encouragement while I write. All ancestors stand here at the precipice with me, finding others to write, inspire and contribute.

...Yenma monthly

Yenmalalibyila journal

submissions.

is

a

open

Please

for

email

any

submissions or queries to us at: mattwithourbloc@gmail.com.au Yenma is comprised of three main sections.

"Weeklies"

explore

smaller timeframe news stories... that do not get the coverage they deserve - as well as creative pieces.

"Walkabouts"

explore

and

wind

through larger cultural and societal issues. "Pathways" advocate timetied solution routes for the big picture issues facing Australia.

Grandpa Jeffrey (Sicilian-Australian) and his fruit truck. ...honour of the Irish immigrants, Scottish

"Yenma

immigrants, Sicillian immigrants, British

Yenmalalibyila.

convicts

and

settlers

I

sense

your

encouragement and write. In honour of all

Let’s Walk

the families who togethered themselves,

Together! Reader

who

emigrated,

who

were

original

aboriginal peoples - you all walk with me while we write. In honour of my grandmas and grandpas, and in honour of my mum and dad, I feel your encouragement while I write. All ancestors stand here at the precipice with me, finding others to write, inspire and contribute.

Yenma Yenmalalibyila. Let’s Walk Together!

Reader and Writer! Let us explore, let us restore, and let us devise what is next in store.

and Writer!

Let us explore, let us restore, and let us devise what is next in store!"

PAGE 5 - TO TRANSFORM

THE WEEKLIES

Let's Walk Together...

TO TRANSFORM

by Ness Song What can we learn from the whisper of willows, Soft yet loud, quiet but powerful.

I hear secrets whispered in kind, Across generations, even through time.

That there is so much more to life than we’ll ever find, In a mirror so black, we leave ourselves behind.

I feel the quiet whisper brush against our being, A sonnet, a song, a truth we’re not yet seeing.

A hope beneath hurt, accrued over lifetimes, Flowing from ancestors, to grandparents, and parents, Flowing and pooling, like a river at your feet.

It’s time to wake up and claim your keep, To recognise you are divine, And that life gives and receives in kind, To those who recognise the immutable truth, That we are each other, And each other is truth.

And there is no fruit, success, or reprieve, Unless we take our bandages off and allow our wounds to breathe.

In the light of truth, that we hold in each other, A shared experience of heart and wonder, The chance to see, feel, heal, and never hurt another.

PAGE 6- DEFENDING AND EXTENDING EMPATHY

THE

WALKABOUTS Let's Walk Together...

DEFENDING AND EXTENDING EMPATHY

by Matthew Jeffrey “Empathy is connecting to the emotions that underpin an experience.” - Dr. Brene Brown.

When we empathise with another, we unearth: the other’s experience, story, emotions or events, a deeper, better, more rounded understanding of how to connect with other human beings, and the opportunity to unearth the happy and painful points of our own experience.

Sometimes in dealing with empathy we can give too much of our own personal energy; only healing the

"Sometimes in dealing with empathy we can give too much of our own personal

other for a temporary period of time before all too

energy; only healing

soon they come back and back and back and back with

the other for a

the exact same situational experiences.

The first few times we help them it feels good, we give and we receive wisdom, learnings and understandings, and leave the situation feeling empowered. The following set of eight times we converse and deeply empathise with the other in this example, however, we are giving everything and receiving nothing. When the other leaves, and as they do, we can feel like our energy has been depleted, drained, or even vampired from us. If your empathy falls into this place for...

temporary period of time."

PAGE 7 - DEFENDING AND EXTENDING EMPATHY ...certain people, you are empathising without personal boundaries. These personal boundaries can include time you give, preparation, resources you prepare, share, or seek and more.

Setting

up

an

internal

framework

for

our

empathise most with, can be difficult. But in and

practising

them

we

environment

with

those

vulnerability

and

accountability.

foster

closest

society

learn

to

'boundary'

other groups of humans and animals into fenced areas of

interactions with those we love most, those we creating

Some groups of humans in their

to

us

We

an of

begin

practicing a culture, a structure of accountability and earnest vulnerability and growth. Beginning from one person to another person, family-to-

non-empathy. The rest of the farm

you

are

‘allowed’

to

empathise with. If you do not go through

a

great

unlearning

period during your lifetime, in many societies on Earth you will find

you

actually

have

a

majority of humans placed into a 'boundaried', fenced off area.

family, family-to-friend, and eventually friendto-stranger.

"If you do not go through

Once a person frees themselves from giving until

a great unlearning period

they go into an energetic, spirit and body

during your lifetime... you

oblivion, once they practice a set of personal boundaries

in

their

empathetic

ways,

they

will find you actually have a majority of humans

actually improve their ability to converse and empathise with many more people.

placed into a 'boundaried', fenced off area."

However, something deeper and more insidious can halt our ability to empathise with others.

These

are

external

boundaries.

External

boundaries are named as such because they are a

A great dialectical issue arises

taught framing of the world that establishes who

here, wherein most people are

does or does not ‘deserve’ our empathy.

not taught to setup and practice personal boundaries in everyday

situations

of

empathy-

sharing, but are instead taught a set of external boundaries that they should apply to their empathy-sharing abilities. From places of great fear of the other comes educating

the of

rallying these

boundaries through...

IMG Credit: Ness Song "Apathy to Empathy" Series 1/4

and

external

PAGE 8 - DEFENDING AND EXTENDING EMPATHY

...social settings, schools, workplaces, recreational settings, and even at home.

These learned external boundaries can be placed upon anything from sexuality, to class and age, to cultural

backgrounds

presentation

of

the

and

practices,

individual.

and

They

even

can

be

reinforced by the largest of institutions, say a government, or the closest of institutions like a family.

By holding many external boundaries, we may begin

IMG Credit: Book Covers, Paul Bloom "Against Empathy" & Rutger Bregman "Humankind"

to spotlight those we are closest with, enabling and perhaps even eventually approving and abetting dangerous and harmful behaviours. This is the main criticism of empathy and recently many social commentators gravitate towards pushing an end to empathy altogether. However, this kind of empathy is only one its forms or zones. The aim, as I will explore, for any given society is to gravitate towards a zone of empathy, void of external boundaries and clear on personal boundaries.

Within this mentioned spotlight effect, we may become excellent at practising empathy for and with our grandparents, our partners, our friends, and our role models but we may find it extremely difficult to even converse with someone who fits a ‘description and definition' of a ‘boundaried’ group of people who we then exclude from our empathy.

Contact, and repeated instances of meaningful contact, is a great solution to unlearn these external boundaries we place people into.

People, some credentialed, are pushing back at empathy in general. They lay at the responsibility of empathy, humanity’s greatest misdeeds. Within the last five years, there has emerged a litany of literary works,

speeches,

TEDTalks,

and

Newsmedia

opinions, all rallying behind a curtailing of our personal use of empathy. While there is a certain correctness to the notion that the spotlight zone of empathy may bring great harm, the other zones of empathy practice hold together the very fabric of social health worldwide.

“You can’t hold empathy for 7 billion

people”,

commentators

utter,

these and

murmur without evidence. They look to the Dunbar Number to arrest these kinds of comments out of the aether. The kind of empathy they are truly pushing back at are those that practise in the zone without personal boundaries and many external boundaries. In this zone, these people give all their energy to those that vampire it, and may be more likely to engage in an act of evil with them, while at the same time disparaging the beggar on the street on which they live; looking down on them as a 'boundaried', fenced off group of people who are simply not worth their time.

I agree; this can be dangerous.

But the claims by psychologists, psychoanalysts, and journalists that state...

PAGE 9 - DEFENDING AND EXTENDING EMPATHY that the remedy for this group of people is to stop

...engage

practising empathy altogether is altogether too

relationships of groups larger

simple and impotent. It needs to be remedied with

than 150 people. In navigating

guidance and teachings. Falling into the trapping

and

in

networks

developing

and

meaningful

of the debunked ‘Broken Window’ theory in

relationships,

discussing empathy practice is the real broken

empathy is almost a required

window. If we continue on this path of resisting,

skill;

suppressing, and removing empathy, we run it at

explicitly

our own personal perils.

practising empathy is required to

practising

something

unmentioned

by

develop

Bregman. and

If

maintain

Someone who has not developed, learned, or built

meaningful relationships, and to

a set of personal boundaries are unlikely to stop

connect well in groups larger

being empathetic to those who they give the

than 150, why does Bregman

majority of their empathy to by being asked to

continue...

stop altogether. They are unlikely to stop fencing groups of humans into the non-empathy stead by being asked to stop altogether.

"Stopping the practice

These books and speeches against practising

of empathy altogether

empathy are misguided. In humans’ practice of

heightens division,

empathy, we need to move more people to the zone of adequate personal boundaries and zero

inequities,

external boundaries (or as close to as possible).

inequalities...

Stopping heightens

the

practice

division,

of

empathy

inequities,

altogether

you name it!"

inequalities,

unsustainable practices, gossiping; you name it.

In Rutger Bregman's impressive HumanKind: A Hopeful

History,

prey to the likes of psychologist

hunter-gatherer

Paul Bloom, author of an entire

societies, and therefore humans of today, could

book titled, Against Empathy.

meaningfully...

Bregman

that

graciously

humans

of

accepts

to ending empathy? He’s fallen

and

evidences

he

on to dedicate an entire chapter

echoes

Bloom,

“we

simply can’t hold empathy for seven billion people at once," “empathy is useless at scale,”, and so on. It may be true that while at any given time a human heart and mind may be unable to imagine seven billion people at

once

empathy

and for

hold every

a

deep

singular

point of human experience on the planet, the sheer beauty of

IMG Credit: Ness Song "Apathy to Empathy" Series 2/4

good in the... .

PAGE 10 - DEFENDING AND EXTENDING EMPATHY system

of

relationship

Bregman

...Indigenous Australians are

evidences, pre-agrarian humans had/have is that

the first bakers of the world.

imagining 7 billion is not necessary. As one arrives, so

They

do all eventually, they are accepted through a series

townships, planted fields, and

of

built

person-to-person

management

accountability

moments

in

had

villages

and

storehouses,

meetings of empathy and vulnerability as a new friend

constructed 18-hectare wide

or new group relative.

mega-traps, and more. Even more narrow is his view, in

I hope Rutger and Paul can empathise with me here ,

fact, that in his application of

especially

empathy practice he fails to

for

Rutger,

when

I

say

how

wildly

dangerous it is to feed into this word game. They

mention

the

practice

of

argue rational compassion is what we need more of,

empathy between a human

but this compassion is an empathy at its core; free

being and another living or

from external boundaries and with plenty of personal

non-living being; an animal...

boundaries in place. By mincing word games, their works may serve to impress on readers and TEDx watchers that empathy is bad, when in actual fact it underlies all that to which Bregman supposes allowed our evolution and ability to communicate.

Bregman, by implication too, supposes that nonagrarian societies are the only examples of societies in which an individual human can hold more than 150 meaningful relationships at once. This is a narrow view

of

evidenced

humanity by

the

and many

demonstrably groups

of

false,

as

Indigenous

Australians, and in fact Indigenous peoples the world over, who have lived in agrarian civilisations for upwards of 80 thousand years. New evidence coming to light has shown that for the time being...

IMG Credits: ABC - "Old Tom and the Yuin Whalers".

plant, or earth feature like a river. The Yuin peoples of Australia individually enjoyed and continue to enjoy deep human relationships with as many as 2000 people, whilst at the same time cultivating particularly deep, symbiotic and empathetic relationships with local whales, numbering at times, in the hundreds. The Yuin too were an agrarian society for at least 60,000 years!

That

is

a

human

connected to at least 2250 living many

IMG Credit: Ness Song "Apathy to Empathy" Series 3/4

beings; as

15 living

times

as

beings

psychologists like Bloom and historians

like

conclude we can...

Bregman

PAGE 11 - CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC relate with within our lifetimes. While not seven

A note from

billion in number, the Yuin’s system of social inclusion is similar to Bregman's described social inclusion systems of hunter-gatherer societies. In this, the Yuin group alone are an example of a (Western lens termed) agrarian civilisation that has the capacity to allow newcomers, live in perpetuity with the Earth, and is blessed with a generational system of oral

YEmpower is a proud partner organisation, patron & supporter of Yenma and helping her reach a wideA Note From audience.

knowledge transfer.

The case for empathy is strong.

Cut

down

foundational

empathy social

and

you

cut

accountability

at

the

very

instances

that

YEmpower is a youthmentoring and advocacy community designed to help young people find paths for themselves that are fulfilling, passion driven and full of love and empathy.

prevent domination and exploitation of humans, other living beings, plants, and land.

Guide

the

understanding,

unlearning,

and

development of certain boundary systems in empathy practice, and you invite the enhancement, growing, and bettering of human relationships with each other, other living beings, plants, and the land.

Find out more @ www.yempower.com.au

With empathy, you quite literally change the presentday meaning of leadership and connection, and therefore change the world.

providing human ancestors the ability

to

sing

and

orate

in

different ways previously unable

CLASS & CLASSICAL MUSIC: THE

to us. Genre as noted by Cairns (1972) began orally, far, far before

MOST DANGEROUS GENRE ON

its

study

and

its

supposed

EARTH

invention by the Ancient Greeks

by Matthew Jeffrey

like Aristotle, yet its study in musicological history is centred on just 0.1% of its known time-

Introduction

frame. Genre was active orally far,

far

before

the

anglicised

In analysing the historical and sociological conditions

system of globalised music genre

that

positioning

influence

reformation

of

the a

creation,

musical

genre,

formation, we

must

and

offered

to

people

first

today. Therefore in this essay, I

understand some underlying questions at play. What

argue through a new dialectic,

is a genre? Who defines it? For what purposes is it

not that of dialectic materialism,

defined? As Cohen penned 35 years ago in History and

but one of more similar vein to

Genre, “genre has a history, and history is a genre.”

historical

Generic history is long, perhaps millions of years old,

through historical and cultural

with the biological advent of a dropped voice box

materialism that;

sociology

emerging

PAGE 12 - CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC Not only is classical music as a genre term

Valentine both remarked on the

extremely dangerous,

immense power of naming or

And not only is classical music inextricably tied to

categorising. “Naming gives the

the social elite,

power to impose recognition of

but almost its entire study and discourse is at the

one’s identity upon another, the

hands of that same social elite or the aspirational

power to impose the other’s

elite social class.

identity upon them, and the

This study of classical music, music and genre in

power

general, is predicated upon the premise of ‘playing

others.” (Valentine, 1998, pp. 2,

a civilisational catch-up’ at the hands of the almost

Bourdieu 1986: pp. 480 - 481)

to

deny

names

for

obliteration of genre itself, where genre was in action (and still is) for the majority of our human history, in oral societies, And that this almost obliteration of genre history has been carried out largely by the same elite or aspirational

elite

within

written

and

usually

Western societies.

And so today, we are here, too, studying genre as part of this elite or aspirational elite in a Western society that helped to destroy almost all of its history.

In the case of First Australians, this

The Core Questions and Understandings

the

introduction.

Genre

by

its

most

foundational definition in the Oxford Dictionary, is a definition of something notoriously hard to define; art. A definition is synonymous with a category or a name. French philosopher, Bourdieu and American sociologist, James

studying as part of the aspirational elite in a western society that helped to destroy almost all of its (genre) history."

be

Australian nations hold an oral history

and

present

that

informs our relationships with each other and country, most widely

known

Dreamtime.

as

Colonisation

the of

Australia resulted in four key approaches custodians;

"We are here today

cannot

understated. Most Indigenous

To begin, we will answer the core questions posed in

power

assimilation,

to

its

first

genocide, integration,

and

mass incarceration (Schimmel, 2005).

You could assume that

all these colonial approaches happened

throughout

Australia’s history one after the other in a linear, chronological fashion, as it was taught to us in the New South Wales Primary School Syllabus between 20042010. This syllabus was signed off by the elite social class enacting a regime of 'bankingeducation.' It was designed to see children as 'depositories' of "raw...

PAGE 13 - CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC ...materials for the creation of adults," (Freire, 1970, Walters,

2012)

subsequently

where

teachers,

syllabus of

course,

writers,

and

“accepted

the

"...it is clear to see this dangerous

veracity of the documents of the ruling class” of 20thcentury Australian state and federal leaders about the Indigenous evidence

‘’problem’’, from

“without

the

seeking

subordinate”

other

undoubtedly

tripartite of names, academia, and the

“confusing chronology with causation” in a fashion

social elite in

emblematic of the majority of Australian academia.

the term,

These efforts attempted to render the four coloniser approaches

completely

finished,

as

“an

absolute

'Classical Music'

truth... perceived as something static” in our young child hearts and minds, ultimately “satisfying the interests of the elite.” (Kennedy, pp. 17, 1989, Freire,

...names upon them like “black-

1970, Theocharis Kromydas, pp. 1-6, 2017).

dog, animal, dole-bludger”,

.

dehumanisation and for the first

What assuredly is regarded as an absolute truth is

time class formation became the

that these four approaches are all happening today,

norm. Through re-education

as are their effects. Genocide, cultural genocide,

camps on missions, Indigenous

language extermination, dispossession of land, stolen

peoples were beaten or killed if

generations,

the

disproportionate

they spoke their first language.

majority

kids

ten

Dehumanisation has been

of

overwhelmingly as

young

as

and

adults

incarcerated today, all serve as a disempowering

recognised the world over as an

cocktail.

important tactic wielded by the social elite of a given society to

In returning to the power of naming, we see that the

carry out genocides or wars. This

name given to Australia by its British colonisers, 'terra

is the inherent danger of names,

nullius', served as the basic rationalisation for a mass-

academia, and the social elite

scale genocide of many hundred classless, agrarian

class.

civilisations on this land.

In returning to the term and

Over

130

Indigenous

languages

have

died

since

genre,

'Classical

Music',

it

European arrival in 1788, which is more than half of

becomes apparent that as a music

the known languages spoken on this continent for

group identifier it is an outlier.

upwards of 100 000 years.

The word classic in English means high quality, outstanding of its

This is the true power of names. In the case of

kind,

Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples, names

curiously,

is

are used to live in harmony with the Earth for

education

that

millennia.

Greek

We

practised

the

action

of

genre

in

of

established

or

a

value,

subject

studies

Latin

or in

Ancient

(Western)

thousands and thousands of years of corroboree

literature. From our own English

where thousands and thousands met and still meet

definitions of the term and an

today to sing and dance. Our classless society has all

already somewhat explored case

but been replaced. In the case of the colonisers of

of the power of names, it is clear

Australia,

custodians

to see this dangerous tripartite of

recognition of itself and its harmony by destroying

names, academia, and the social

the peoples and languages, then, secondly, imposing...

elite in the term, 'Classical Music'.

firstly,

denying

the

first

PAGE 14 - CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC Further, if you look at the naming, the categorisation

return on their investment.

of other music genres positioned to the globe today

The beginning of the term,

you will come to understand that 'Classical Music' is

'Classical Music,' begins with

not like the others. Hip-hop, RnB, Rock and Roll, Jazz,

an

Bluegrass, Blues, EDM; they all tell you in some way

carried out by the social elite

what is occurring in the music. In English, they are all

to

somewhat onomatopoeic, or in the case of EDM,

timely that the social elite in

directly spelt out to the individual. 'Classical Music',

the class society of Victorian

however, does not tell you. It does tell you that it is

England

seen as “valuable”.

emergence of a new class of

advertising fill

theatre

campaign seats.

enjoyed

peoples,

the

It

is

the

Mercantiles,

We have perhaps already answered the 'who' question

otherwise

known

posed earlier, but directly spelling out the 'who' will

middle-class

help us to uncover the 'why' behind its naming. What

elites, to exploit. The same

purpose is it being defined? As outlined, genres like

kind of aspirational

or

as

the

aspirational

EDM are defined purely for identifiability for the listening population. Classical Music, however, is not.

The term, 'Classical Music', supposedly, today refers to 1500 years span of time; roughly stretching back to its Medieval period from 500 CE, to its Renaissance period from 1400 CE, to Baroque from 1600 CE to its Classical Period from 1750, to its Romantic period from 1830, to its modern eras from 1900. It is interesting to note that the term ‘Classical Music' first surfaced in the late 1820s in England with its first documented entry into the Oxford Dictionary in 1829.

In plain terms, the Victorian England social elite were

elite Australia has that was

building many new theatres, operatic houses, and

taught

outdoor playing venues, and so forth and were in dire

Indigenous

need of ticket-buyers to

Aspirational

to

dehumanise Australians. elites

are

targeted the world over by the social elite of class-based

"The beginning of the term, 'Classical Music' begins with an

societies to enact the true elites interest, often to the extreme

detriment

of

the

aspirational. They use many different cultural marionettes to

enact

this

will,

in

advertising campaign

education, music, art, media

carried out by the

For those first aspirational

social elite to fill

England, they were hooked in

theatre seats."

century earlier in the 1700s

and news media, and sport. ticket-holders

in

Victorian

by a nostalgia for a time a that...

PAGE 15 - CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC ...their families were not actually a part of. The known-the-world-over

musicians

of

Beethoven,

"Historians (usually

Mozart, and Bach did not even know they were creating 'Classical Music'. How funny that they were a

Western, aligned to

part of the most valued period, the classical period, of

the social elite)... go

the most valued and only music genre in English to have value built into its name, 'Classical Music'. Here

into the past of other

we can find its original purpose, to sway a peasantry

societies to ascribe

turned middle-class into buying-tickets as means of

where value is and

entertainment guided by superiority. Here we can uncover its further purposes.

value is not."

So why would historians go back? The immense value given to the term, 'Classical Music' spans back to 500 AD. (I mean, apart from a half-attempt to purport it, is the longest running musical genre still listened to today?) There are many reasons to retrospectively align past events. To take credit. To misplace or displace credit. To create a historical narrative of what I call ‘Western Betterment’, birthed again only from the documents of the elite.

called the Medieval Period of Classical Music, was the advent of a new universally intelligible system of music notation with the express ability to transcend language barriers. However, the inbuilt structures of this musical notation system we still use today could represent

harmonics

but

failed

to

accurately represent rhythm. Too, and bluntly, the notational system was dispersed around the world to help assist in the dispersal of Christianity and its messages. In many classless societies or societies recently class-made at this time, the expression of music were and are incredibly rhythmic. When your written

notational-system

does

recognition of self destroyed.

Historian Analysis Historians, usually Western and aligned to the social elite, do not just go back into Western history to ascribe value. They go into the

One important creation from what would later be

accurately

cultural pursuits of music and

not

accurately

represent the whole of music creation, it could be argued that intended or not, when institutionalised across new societies and countries, it inherently robs some of the ability to express. If music created expressly for and from that notational system comes to be immensely valued by the social elite of classsociety, then what follows is opportunity, financial or learning is given to those who use the system. If, as in the case of many Australian Indigenous groups and indigenous peoples the world over, you are at the same time being genocided, from two angles are your

past of other societies to ascribe where value is and value is not.

These historians have ascribed the valued-loaded name 'Classical Music' to other societies around the

world;

usually

to

denote

music listened to and valued by the social elite of those societies.

Klasik of Afghanistan was born from the invitation of the leader of Amir Sher Ali Khan to Indian artists to play at the royal court.

It

has

been

denoted

as

the

'Classical Music' of Afghanistan by English historian couple, Veronica Doubleday

and

John

Baily.

Andalusian classical music was allegedly born in the Cordoba Royal

Court,

of

present-day

Spain, by the Iraqi-born, Ziryab. It has been dubbed the 'Classical Music'

of

Andalusia

by

Carl

Davilla. Nhã nhac, the classical music of Vietnam was dubbed so by

English

ethnohistorian,

Barley Norton for its seven...

Dr

PAGE 16 - CLASS AND CLASSICAL MUSIC ...century long ties to the Vietnamese Royal Court.

'classic’. It names itself such to

The 'Classical Music' of Thailand, Piphat, is used to

appear superior, foundational,

perform self-described 'high-class' compositions and

legendary.

the genre terming continues this way. In analysing

foundational and legendary is

what historians have named in English the 'Classical

the

Music' of a society, all are from class-based societies,

practice

with 15 out of 18 being entrenched with the social

unscouted. Not the 0.01% of

elite as court music or similar. Rather, more than 83

'Classical Music' purported to

percent of music genre identified and classified as

be so by 0.01% of the world's

'classical' by mostly Western academia is deeply

population.

rooted in serving the elite social class of class-based societies.

It, thus, makes sense as to why a genre like 'World Music' exists. Class-based colonialism has us ‘playing civilisational catch-up’, trying to grasp at the majority of the history of genre; our oral shared histories that it almost destroyed. Into the genre of World Music, goes all the music we have not been bothered to study, and allowed to destruct. Some of it may be lucky to be re-appropriated for social elite value, only devoid of its original meaning or purposes. The only purposes today’s classical music chases are grandeur and money. A term itself born from a marketing campaign to make more money, all concurrently rationalised by a few dozen academics and dispersed as truth.

Conclusion It is from these analyses, I conclude the term “Classical Music” as the most dangerous name for a musical genre. It denies other genres the power of being

99.99%

What of

is

truly

music

genre

discounted

and

PAGE 17 - THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD generations. For example, the gene that codes for the protein

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD: A

DNA NATURAL PROGRESSION OF HUMAN

polymerase

–

which

is

involved in transcribing DNA strands – is common to every

EVOLOUTION

organism on the planet; it has

by Phil Jeffrey

been conserved in the genome since our last universal common

Evolution is the change in an organism’s genome over generations. Over long periods of time, genomes can change through a variety of ways, such as random gene mutations, horizontal gene transfer and viral infections.

Around

eight

percent

of

the

human

genome comes from ancient viruses.

Genomes

are

comprised

of

genes

–

discrete

sequences of the nucleotides A, T, C and G – and the constitution of genes for a particular organism is known as its genotype. Some of the genes – “coding” genes - provide the instructions to build proteins.

Proteins

perform

many

different

functions

that

comprise the phenotype – the physical manifestation of the genotype, such as blue eyes or a thick beak.

“works” – that is, what phenotypes successfully adapt the

environment.

This

is

known

as

natural

selection. How does nature select? Through death, or more

accurately,

death

before

replication

or

reproduction. Genes that result in phenotypes that cause the organism to die before it can replicate or reproduce, will not make it through to the next generation. Eventually, those genes will cease to exist in a population. Conversely, the genes that do survive through generations either produce proteins better suited to the organism’s environment, or, like the gene for eye colour, may have little effect on survival at all, and just come along for the ride.

the genotype of a particular organism is not random.

The genes that comprise the genotype of an organism are

the

result

of

millions

of

years

of

reproductive success. Such genes are said to be “conserved” – they have survived through many

evolutionary

process is not simply natural selection,

but

cumulative

natural selection – subsequent generations

building

on

the

successes of their ancestors.

Over hundreds of millions of years,

evolution,

cumulative

through

natural

selection,

has resulted in the organisms that we see today. Early on, genes that coded for receptor proteins,

that

allowed

organisms to sense and respond been advantageous. Much later, nature

selected

genes

that

coded for proteins that built brains to coordinate responses to

various

stimuli

–

visual,

aural, chemical, electrical, and so on. The evolution of such sensory and motor functions – and the brain to coordinate

them

organisms

–

allowed

to

start

communicating with each other using

signals

pheromones,

such

gestures,

as sonar,

and voice. Nature has decided

While genes might be subject to random mutations,

today

The

to their environment, must have

The process of evolution is that nature decides what to

ancestor.

that communication works.

The essence of communication is that there are at least two organisms involved – one to communicate and the other to

PAGE 18 - THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD understand the meaning of the communication. Going

generations. In more recent

back to our discussion of evolution and cumulative

history, information can now

natural selection, we can see that the concept of

be recorded using still and

meaning, while not itself a physical concept, has

moving imagery.

evolved from the cumulative natural selection of genes that code for proteins that build the organs and

Languages,

tissues that support communication. The intangible

evolve. And words, like genes,

ability to understand is the phenotype derived from

are

the tangible “communication genes” of the organism’s

evolution. Like genes, words

genotype.

exhibit

the

like

units

organisms, of

language

cumulative

natural

selection – words that are How does the receiving organism understand the

useful

and

continue

to

meaning of a communication? Through learning –

provide meaning to human

either by communication from others, or by trial and

brains will be passed down to

error. The piece of communication might be a simple mating call of a seagull, or the more colourful display of a peacock’s train. To convey many different types of messages, humans have evolved more elaborate means

of

communication.

Language

has

allowed

humans to communicate love, friendship, feelings, opinions, stories, and ideas with each other. Early in human evolution, language needs were simplistic, and the brain had enough capacity to learn the concepts necessary

for

survival.

Important

concepts

were

passed down through generations, but being in oral form, the messages were susceptible to errors in translation and memory. Later, as populations grew

the next generation of brains

and communication needs became more complex,

and continue to exist in the

humans developed the ability to convey and store

language. Words that become

their messages in written form, allowing for greater

irrelevant to a generation will

accuracy in the transmission of information through

not be passed down to the next

"Languages, like organisms evolve.

And words, like genes are the units

and

will

eventually

become

extinct.

Consequently, we now have words that, like the woolly mammoth of the biological world,

exist

only

in

the

history books. How amazing would today’s conversations be

if

we

still

referred

to

politicians as “snollygosters”.

of language

Like genes, words can mutate.

evolution."

different spelling or different

A

culture

can

introduce

pronunciation, which is then

a

PAGE 19 - THE SCIENIFIC METHOD passed down to the next generation. After many

inventions.

Granted,

generations and many word mutations, the language

have been some successful

has evolved a new dialect – much like descendants of

inventions

a common ancestor. And like human

discovered by pure accident –

genomes can integrate genes from viral and bacterial

the

genomes, languages can integrate words from other

Alexander Fleming’s petri dish

languages.

that had somehow blocked

that

blob

there

have

of

been

mould

in

the spread of bacteria became For humans, the simple sounds that make up words

the antibiotic penicillin. But

mean little without context. Words become sentences,

for humans to truly realise

and sentences become ideas, opinions, speeches,

the benefits of their ideas, we

stories, and conversations. In his seminal 1976 book

needed to create a formalised

The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins invented the word

method

“meme” (long before it was used to describe witty

works – or what is true.

to

find

out

what

musings of a grumpy cat) to refer to these bits of information that emanate from a human brain. Much like genes are units of biological evolution, and words are the units of language evolution, memes are the units of social evolution. Memes, like genes and words, evolve through cumulative natural selection.

The ideas, opinions, speeches, and stories that are most relevant to a generation will be passed down to the next. Memes that maintain popularity will be conserved through many generations.

Like genes, there are memes that help us adapt to our environment. These are the idea memes that lead to inventions. How does an idea meme become a successful invention? Like the way a gene becomes a successful protein – trial and error through repetitive cycles, while building on the success of previous

Why

is

truth

Truthful

important?

information

allows

us to make decisions to better adapt

to

our

environment.

Our own senses evolved to receive multiple stimuli, and our brain evolved to process the

information

and

coordinate a response. The brain also evolved to store previous might

information

come

is

useful

that for

future decisions. As a discrete organism we respond based on the information we are given, but if our “evidence” that a piece of information is true is based solely on our own experience, bias occurs.

We do the best we can – but

PAGE 20 - THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD we could respond and adapt a lot better if we had

"Unlike

more information, and more accurate information.

mathematics, In

And so, with the evolution of the organs and brain regions to support communication, we can now get a

the sciences, we

lot more information from others – but is it accurate?

School

education,

parents’

wisdom,

friends’

cannot ever know

anecdotes, “old wives’ tales”, daily news – a lot of information to process, but which memes are true?

if something is

Which memes will help us adapt? Which memes

absolutely true."

should we cumulatively select to pass on to the next generation? Which memes work?

Unlike mathematics, In the sciences, we cannot ever know if something is absolutely true. The word science comes from the Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge” – but how do we know? We can provide evidence that something is true - and the more overwhelming the evidence, the more likely it is to be true. But evidence of what? And how is that evidence gathered, analysed, and presented? If any discipline wanted to be taken seriously as a fountain of knowledge, it would need to formalise its process to show whether an outcome is definitive evidence that a specific hypothesis is true. And so evolved the ultimate meme of all – the scientific method. A meme to test the accuracy of other memes. A meme that, like natural selection, shows us what works.

has

contributions

evolved from

over

such

generations,

luminaries

as

with

Aristotle,

Galileo, Descartes, Isaac Newton, and more recently Karl Popper. Cumulative selection has taken the best bits of the scientific method over the centuries, to evolve into what we have today. Essentially, the scientific method, in testing memes, loosely mirrors the process nature takes in selecting genes, but with added layers of human inquiry. Scientists will initially pose a question they wish to answer. Nature doesn’t ask whether a gene mutation will work – physical forces

will

cause

the

mutation

to

mutation out there and see what happens to the population. The scientist will make observations, analyse the results, and form a conclusion.

Nature:

happen.

The

scientist will do research to find scientific studies (successful memes) related to their question, like nature accumulating successful genes in an organism over generations. The scientist will then form a hypothesis and conduct an experiment. Nature is a bit

population

less likely to survive? Conclusion: mutation probably didn’t work.

Over billions of years, nature has followed a process to select genes that help an organism adapt to its environment, keeping the most successful death

genes

and,

before

eliminating

Like all memes (and words, and genes), the scientific method

more gung-ho - it will just put the

Through

reproduction,

the

the

through

deleterious.

accumulation

of

successful genes and the proteins they

encoded,

developed

nature

sensorimotor

has beings

that not only respond to external stimuli

but,

through

the

development of brains, are able to communicate with each other and give

meanings

to

those

communications. Brains allow the beings to think, contemplate, and develop ideas, or memes. The scientific method, a meme itself, is

a

formalised

whether

way

scientific

to

memes

test are

true. And now, we have come full circle

-

scientists

can

modify

genes of organisms to benefit

PAGE 21 - THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

humankind, such as improving crop yields. Nature has evolved the genes that allowed the evolution of memes that allow the modification of genes.

The scientific method, whilst successful as a means of finding evidence for what is true in the universe, is not the end game for evolution, for there is still much about the universe we do not know. The process of discovery will lead to new information, new memes, and refinements to the scientific method, like any good cumulative natural selection process will do! Development of artificial intelligence may allow some parts of the scientific method to be farmed out to robotics – the human scientist will pose a question, and AI will do the research, conduct the experiment, and return a conclusion. The evolution of memes will not only increase exponentially but will be extraordinary!

PAGE 22 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE

THE

PATHWAYS

Let's Walk Together...

THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE

by Ness Song

Have you ever looked up at a tree and really taken the

routine when I was able to.

time to observe all the parts that make up its whole?

Do you see the texture or peeling of its bark? A small

Without gratitude, I would be a

ant defying gravity and hurrying along the trunk’s

completely

surface? Do you see the carvings made by human

than the one I am today.

different

person

passersby? Or are you looking up at the litany of different greens that sway and bend with the wind?

We

often

don’t

pay

much

Do you feel the wind?

attention to the small things, or as I like to call them “the bits”,

If you answered no to any of the above, that is totally

often ignoring them altogether.

okay. I was never really one for observing, being still

But what of small things that

or quiet either. However, successive lockdowns, a few

make up a whole, without which

core-shaking experiences and well-placed mentors

this reality wouldn’t be as easily

were

dismissed. The seed is made up

the

best

and

sometimes

the

harshest

of

of many components, grown in

teachers, in what it means to truly live and be.

the soil made up of even more Right before the first Sydney lockdown, one of my

components and the sun that

greatest

book

shines - that the seed relies on

which spoke of the magic of gratitude. This was my

to grow and the water that

first foray into the world of the infinitely small and

holds the codes to life itself. All

mundane. Fast forward to today, a year and eight

coming together to create the

months later and I have written (give or take a few),

symphony that is life itself. We

around six thousand things I am thankful or blessed

live

for in my life. There were definitely days where I

dimension

wanted to give up, days that I missed, days where I

objective of the systems and

was too busy or sad to write, but I was kind to myself

structures of control and power

physical

teachers

recommended

a

and slowly integrated it into my morning practice and

in

a

time, whereby

place

and

the

sole

PAGE 23 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE over around us is to prevent us from being observant of the little things. Therefore preventing us from noticing the magic that exists in the mundane, the magic that also exists within us.

When I try to explain the immensity of the mundane, my attempts are often met with an unconvinced or sceptical response. To which I am also thankful for because it means I have your attention!

I’ve been asked “Are/Were you high?” (possibly) but I don’t believe that devalues the sensation within the core of my being that felt like every piece I’ve been putting together slowly over the last few months of my life, were starting to click into place. But I digress, because a truth felt, is not the same as a truth

able to destroy our planet and the rights of everyone else on the planet while we aren’t looking. I am working with the following

model

observed

of

I

have

interaction,

support and control between each individual structure.

In the first system of control, corporations have reached a capacity

wherein

acting

they

as

governments

are

shadow (Uhlin

1988,

Ketchell 2018). The globe's

explained.

I can, however, explain the circumstances that keep us blind to the truth and the magic that lies within it. I am speaking from my own lived experience here, on what I have seen, what has frustrated me and I offer solutions on how I imagine our world would look if we all took the time to get to know ourselves a little

I am speaking from my own lived experience here, on what I have seen, what has frustrated me and I offer solutions on how I imagine our world would look if we all took the time to get to know

better.

ourselves a little better.

There is an interlocked triangle of disinformation and control that lives and breathes through our systems and structures. It keeps us feeling stuck, desperately lonely and divided; fighting amongst each other whilst the beneficiaries of our conflict and distraction are

wealth

concentration

sits

squarely within the CEOs and big bosses

of

multinational

companies (Oxfam 2021) that rely on disinformation and conflict in order to thrive and exist without scrutiny.

(The

Transnational

Institute, 2014). Decisions made based on corporate greed and apathy affect the whole planet and these decisions rely upon the assistance

and

compliance

of

political operators and legislators who look the other way, whilst media

and

social

media

organisations use their platforms to distract people into conflict one another or exhaustive apathy that makes us look the other way.

IMG Credit: Ness Song

PAGE 24 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE Corporations

have

made

our

lives

easier,

more

...society to be something other

convenient, and less mobile, but at what cost? Most

than

corporations

from

capitalists, we need to empathise

environmental degradation and human exploitation to

with them and bring them onside

the

our

too). Instill different, maybe a

relationship with ourselves, our environment and the

multiple-set of present moment-

food production process.

to-moment

have

production

a

of

hand foods

in

everything

that

desecrate

money

(and

do

tell

actionable

the

and

balanced economic motives like Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental

harmony, safety,

activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and

(Vandana Shiva) anti-globalisation

author.

She

expenditure is starkly evident. speaks

about

the

importance of food in our experience of life on this planet; “food is the currency of life”. She explains how in the Vedas, everything is drawn back to food.

and our bodies. A review of 21 studies from 10 different countries “found that a healthful dietary pattern — characterized by high intakes of fruit and vegetables, was associated with a reduced risk of depression. Whereas a Western-style diet pattern involving a high intake of red and processed meats, and sweets - was associated with an increased risk of (McGrane

2021)

At

the

same

time,

spending on marketing fast foods and confectionery exceeds $5 billion a year. Marketing spending for vegetables and fruits reaches $275 million a year, 18x smaller than spending on junk foods. (UCONN Centre for Food Policy and Obesity, 2019, Statista, 2020) In Australia, the results of the drastic difference in

to

the

Australian

Divisions of General Practice (2011), 99 percent of TV Food advertisements

broadcasted

during children shows were for

Food is essential in paving the way back to ourselves

depression.”

According

fast food and junk food.

Meanwhile, only one percent of food

advertisements

vegetables

or

fruits.

featured In

our

current global system, food that increases the prevalence of lifethreatening

mental

health

conditions and decreases our quality

of

life

is

valued

monetarily 18x more than food that decreases the prevalence of

life-threatening

mental

health conditions and increases our quality of life. The Cartesian manner in which we think about

PAGE 25 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE our body and our mind, our existence and our soul is

that

could

no longer sustainable or feasible for our futures or the

generations

future of our planet.

infinite

We as individuals are looking for freedom; freedom to

world’s

live

currently

lives

in

the

way

we

want

to.

Our

into

a

future realm

possibilities

futures. our

lead

The

way

of and

that

the

Governments

are

operating

is

understanding of freedom as it currently stands is

something I like to call politics.

purely atomistic and materialistic. Freedoms like

As someone who has worked at

ordering an Uber when you need one are great, but

almost

freedoms like not being able to choose from hundreds

Government,

of takeout options while other human beings on the

obsession

other side of the globe starve because they don’t have

power and politics that often

every I

with

level

of

observed

an

the

of

game

enough food to eat, is not my idea of freedom. Is freedom truly freedom, if the chance birth you have been blessed with is what grants you that freedom?

What is deep freedom and what does it mean in a truly interconnected world? Are we content with the tiny freedoms that distract us from self-actualisation, our true nature and communitarianism? Freedoms that are fed to us by corporations, approved by politicians and cold-dripped into our minds from almost every source of media we turn to. led to the blatant disregard for I make the very important differentiation between

the

politics as it currently operates and systems and

representatives were there to

structures of Government that are designed to help

represent, serve and “hold the

people and sustain life on this planet. Governments

best interests of. I bought into

have the ability to be truly representative, to create

the game. I write this with little

sustainable social change and environmental change ”.

judgement

people

that

elected

because

I

understand how the allure of respect, gainful

external

validation,

employment

changemakers completely

and

guise

reconfigure

a can

your

values system if you exist for long enough in a low vibrational plane of living and surviving. Of which I spent my fair share of time in. I got involved in politics because I wanted to be a part of a

community

that

made

a

difference. Unbeknownst to me at the time the baggage I was carrying into it was incredibly heavy on me and those around

PAGE 26 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE me, and it included an incredibly unstable home life

to create change both in their

and accompanying insecure living conditions. Which

own

was only exacerbated by the systematic inefficacies of

communities.

the political game that led me to seriously struggle

we place value on as a society

with substance and alcohol abuse and a very serious

are incredibly skewed - we

relapse in an eating disorder I had developed in high

place

school. I was stuck in shame and silenced by my own

monetary success and gain,

fear of being seen. According to compassion fatigue

power

expert Francoise Mathieu (2012), as much as 85%

control.

percent

to

compassion, community and

someone with unrecognised or unprocessed trauma

empathy are considered “too

can experience vicarious or secondary trauma. I was

feminine”

surrounded by traumatised individuals and my own

strongly for but we need to

trauma but I had no way of truly knowing or

have

identifying that until my mid-twenties.

discourse about our values

of

people

with

long-term

exposure

I wanted to help others but I was truly lost and operating out of my most traumatised self; my hurt inner child, and I was hurting others more than I was

lives

and

so

in

The

priorities

much

and

value

brute

Other

on

force

values

to

a

their

like

advocate

frank

and

bold

I was surrounded by traumatised individuals and my own trauma

helping. Leaving politics was the best thing I was able

but I had no way of

to do for myself, even though I couldn’t see it at the

truly knowing or

time.

identifying that until So many of us are operating out of our most hurt

my mid-twenties.

selves and the current global context reflects the overall status of our collective unresolved pain and trauma. We are a global community of hurt people,

and our future and what we

hurting each other and being led by even more hurt

want

people. We are facing so many global crises, our

includes shifting the profit-

oceans are rising, inequality is rife in every corner of

based motive that underpins

our planet and people feel less empowered than ever

almost

it

to

look

every

structure

like.

This

system

in

our

and global

society.

It also includes a conversation about

the

attached

to

connotations masculine

and

feminine traits. I encourage you to see the ‘traditionally feminine’

softness

gentleness greatest

as

one

strengths

and of

the

we

can

foster in the world at the moment.

It

takes

more

strength to soften in the face

PAGE 27 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUDANE of ego, conflict or hurt than to respond with the same

corporations maximize profit. The

frequency of reactive energy, (Moore, 2015, Liu, 2015).

labour

of

cultural

exploited Trauma is one of the most insidiously unaddressed

for

workers

private

is

gain.”

(Mirrlees, 2012)

realities of our society. The need for trauma informed schools and education, health systems, therapy and

To begin to illustrate just how

psychology frameworks, and penal systems is glaringly

concentrated

obvious when analysing each system and the flaws

(that

inherent

newspapers, radio stations and TV

in

each.

Flaws

that

serve

to

further

traumatise individuals and therefore uphold apathetic

is

traditional

physical

media

and

digital

stations) is in Australia, I have

In 2011, Australian democracy ranked third worst in the world for traditional media concentration and press freedom, (Evershed, 2020).

included

Media Interest Snapshot - ACMA (2020) and damaging systems, through unconsciousness and unawareness. Whilst it may seem like Everest, it is not impossible and this journey is one we need to take as a global community if we are to survive as a human race. If we are to succeed on this journey, we need to break

free

from

the

blindness,

conflict

and

disorganisation that the media thrives on, by snaking its tendrils of misinformation, sensationalism and relentless churning of its negative portrayal of our world.

We need to imagine a better future because the Murdochs and tech giants of the world won’t do it for us. The humans (kind) at the centre of creation in this system are played a foul-hand by media corporations.

As Tanner Mirrless points out (2012), “cultural workers sell their labour to media firms for set periods of time in exchange for a wage or salary. By paying cultural workers less than the total amount of money they accumulate through the sale... media

ACMA’s

“Media

Snapshot” - which features just 11 key players.

In

reality,

the

concentration

media

picture

in

Australia is even smaller than what

is

portrayed

here.

Traditional media, as in daily or weekly

newspapers

“set

the

story agenda” (Carson 2016) for repetition on television, radio and increasingly social media.

In the state of QLD, Murdoch owns more than 90 percent of print and digital newspapers.

Traditional media players like Murdoch’s

News

Corp.

and

SkyNews have extended their reach

into

the

social

media

sphere as well. As of December 2020, videos on SkyNews,

PAGE 28 - THE IMMESNITY OF THE MUNDANE Youtube Channel had been viewed “500 million times,

that

more than any other Australian media organisation.”

supported

(Wilson, 2020).

public broadcaster to not just stay

“Just three corporations – News Corp, Nine, and

90%

of

Australians

funding

level,

but

for

to

the

actually

increase.

Seven Media Holdings — collect 80% of Australian free-to-air and subscription TV revenues, with News

In 2011, Australian democracy

Corp picking up 40%, almost double that of channel

ranked third worst in the world

Nine.” (Minter, 2021)

for

traditional

concentration Murdoch received $30 million from the Federal Government

for

Foxtel

programming

in

media

and

press

freedom, (Evershed, 2020).

2020,

meanwhile, his Newscorp posted record profits in 2020, and just this August it launched a 24/7 news channel on regional free-to-air-TV. This station is unrivalled in the free-to-air landscape, save for the public broadcaster that our Federal Government is cutting $1 billion dollars from over the next three years. (IA, 2020 , Minter, 2021) In 2020, the MEAA carried out a survey to ascertain the Australian public’s opinion of media concentration in Australia. They found that “more than 92% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that Australia’s media ownership is too highly concentrated, and 94% agreed or strongly agreed that this was bad for democracy.” (Press Freedom,

2021).

In

a

sharp

contrast

to

the

Government’s view of the ABC, the survey also found

Since 2011, the global context has

simply

worsened

and

I

believe media concentration is a key causal factor.

It is not just media powers, but current

government

powers

rendering journalism ineffective

Around the world in 2020, the United Nations tracked 331 killings of human rights defenders in 32

- with AFP raids on journalists houses, and secret trials for those who exposed war crimes of the Federal Government, all

countries and territories, an 18%

helping foster a coerced apathy

increase since 2019. A total of 62

community.

journalists were killed in 2020.

within the Australian journalist

Around the world in 2020, the United killings

Nations of

tracked

human

331

rights

defenders in 32 countries and territories, since

2019.

an A

18% total

increase of

62

journalists were killed in 2020.

PAGE 29 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE This centralisation of media power and influence is a

black mirrors?

core inefficacy of our modern democracy. How can we truly be democratic when the majority of the voting

I believe social media has the

public is being lied to, blinded, confused, misinformed

ability to be used for good,

and misdirected? And those who try to inform us or

and

warn us are forcibly disappeared or killed.

communities use social media

in

many

cases

to stay connected. Charities Knowledge is power and the only way to salvage our

can use it to speak about their

democracies

transparency,

causes, and awareness can be

accountability and impartial reporting on reality, not

raised via platforms, you can

politics. Political polarisation is at an all time high, it

also mark yourself safe during

has become clear that politics is not something that

a natural disaster.

is

to

demand

we will be able to organise around or agree on. The conversation now has to be centered around the following

question:

“What

are

some

However, more often than

irrefutable

universal truths we can agree on?”. I believe some good suggestions to be Truth (veritas), Equality, Empathy and Ecological and personal freedom.

Social media is a failed exercise in ‘globalisation’.

Rather than connecting the citizens of this planet to one another, it has operated under a profit motive that ensures each citizen is able to create their own self-affirming version of reality and ensuing collective

How much are we consuming, intentionally and unintentionally? Is the content we are consuming benefiting us as a collective or sensationalist in nature? How reliable is what we are seeing on our black mirrors?

chaos. Nobody can agree on anything and more often than not, even that is contentious. As digital and global citizens we need to ask ourselves a few

not, you have to sift through

questions: How much are we consuming, intentionally

advertisements,

and unintentionally? Is the content we are consuming

tailored

benefiting us as a collective or sensationalist in

states

nature? How reliable is what we are seeing on our

questions about the efficacy

posts of

hyperand

altered

reality.

Raising

of our information and our efforts when the content we are served and the causes we care about are so inherently linked and related. (Zhang & Lin, 2018) If we draw the discussion

back

to

our

universal truths and decide whether

or

not

the

information we are delivered fits within what we can agree on, we might be able to make inroads.

Each platform has its own

PAGE 30 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE intention and motives. Facebook was created as a hook-up circle jerk and most other

I

am

therefore

proposing

the

ensuing platforms are created to cater to the

alternate tri-intersecting circles of

ever-fleeting attention span of the human

freedom and sovereignty :

mind and it’s need for dopamine rewards.

Where else can we find the community and dopamine we seek from platforms that often end up exploiting us, our information and attention in return?

We

could

create

our

own

social

media

platforms, or

IMG Credit: Circles of Freedom - Ness Song The

traditional

human nationalise existing platforms. We can also change the algorithm’s motives and incentives to peel back from a profit based motive and create one that serves humanity (Ndegwa,

understandings

motivation

Abraham

as

Maslow

of

ascribed

by

1943

are

in

undeniably tried, tested, outdated and in

fact

stolen

framework.

A

from

an

large

Indigenous

part

of

the

2021).

solutions and ideas we are proposing

There are wonderful functions of social media

draw upon the wisdom and knowledge;

in this and future issues of Yenma,

that exist, the ability to platform communities and causes, creatives, and content creators, and the ability to connect with people from across the globe. However, we need to take a serious look at the ways in which we rely on these platforms and tech giants to live and survive and develop alternative pathways and methods to counter the empathy deficit being bred into our consciousness at every level of control.

From

profit-at-all-costs

driven

corporations, to do-first-ask-later politicism, and hyper sensationalism and misinformation from

our

systems

of

media

and

communications. We need to shift and we need to do it now.

the cultural perpetuity of Indigenous cultures

and

systems

that

were

successful prior to colonisation. The basis of this model has been derived from the ‘Tipi’ model of the Blackfoot Tribe, an Indigenous tribe native to the Saskatchewan Saskatchewan

River in

Valley

Canada,

and

of the

upper plains of the United States. Of which Maslow stole his ‘hierarchy of needs’ and shifted the needs truest to our human nature to ones that better supported consumerism.

Self actualisation sat at the

PAGE 31 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE bottom of the Tipi model. The amendment I have

have services and products for

made to this model includes a de-prioritisation of

this end that they rely on to

each intrinsic need because in this current global

feed

climate, I believe all are crucial to achieve true and

citizens into low paid, insecure

deep freedom and human sovereignty over themselves

working conditions. The work is

and the forces that seek to control them.

cut out for us.

Corporations are working actively to hinder the

A

personal and spiritual freedoms of individuals and the

bodies, our souls, has driven a

collective at large. Whether that be through the food

disconnect

that they are mass-producing, harming us with and

According

wasting at sickening rates or the maze of small

trauma

individual freedoms they use to distract individuals

Mate, this is the marker of

from the broader truth of themselves at hand.

collective trauma. He elucidates

Conscious global citizens who are happy and content

the treatment of the Earth to a

with their inner worlds and spiritually fulfilled, are

hatred

largely not as profitable as unconscious unhappy

reflection

citizens who struggle with self-esteem, seek external

inflicted by hurt people who

validation through material objects or who blame

hurt other people and therefore

their unhappiness on their unhappy neighbours. We

the Earth around us.

unhappy

and

disconnection

from

from to

our

our Earth.

physician

specialist

of

divided

‘The of

Dr.

and Gabor

Mother’, the

a

trauma

are a society that operates largely out of our egomind, and whilst our ego is vital in protecting us at times, we live in an age of ego-exploitation, whereby corporations have learned to hack our insecurities, our shame, and our egos.

Unhappy citizens find the auto-pilot function easy to continue on a cycle of numbing, consuming, and external validation. All of the globe’s corporations

I have spent plenty of time as an unhappy

citizen,

before

my

journey into self-actualisation. I am

slowly

working

towards

becoming the truest version of myself; the knower and observer of my thoughts and impulses, habits and behaviours, and the appreciative magician of my own reality.

I

am

committed

to

constantly learning, relearning, adapting and flowing with the truest version of who I know myself to be. It is something

PAGE 32 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE that I will be doing for the rest of my life. It doesn’t

everything is made up of “the

have to be huge drastic changes in your life, twenty

bits”. From the smallest things

minutes here and there to start off with - and if you’re

to

anything like me, you’ll get addicted to the true

metaphysical concepts.

the

most

intangible

happiness that emanates from the centre of your being.

Self

realisation

according

to

Paramahansa Yogananda is “the The real and only work lies in self-actualisation and

knowing in all parts of the body,

realisation. Some of us realise before our death that

mind and soul that you are now

what we’re here to do isn’t necessarily the cookie

in

cutter memo set out for us by generations of unhappy

kingdom of God. That you do

citizens (through no fault of their own). Yemi Penn in

not have to pray for it to come

her book titled “Did you get the Memo (because I

to you; that God’s omnipresence

fucking didn’t)” says “Perfect is an urban legend

is your omnipresence; and that

created to confuse the masses - From a sweet little

all

the

possession

of

the

family to having a satisfying job, to owning the latest gadgets, the idea of perfection is constantly drilled into our heads”. She goes further and calls it “the

Yemi Penn in her book

status quo of our times. It offers a rigid and stifling

titled, 'Did you get the

inheritance of this unproven memo called life”.

Memo (because I fucking

I have come to realise that matter is the tangible,

didn’t)', says “perfect is

microbes, amoebas, atoms and molecules. That all that

an urban legend created

surrounds us is built on levels of all of these things.

This is something I have been able to fully appreciate

to confuse the masses."

through gratitude, But what of the space in between matter? What of our energetic body? The substance of our soul? You will often hear me exclaim excitedly about “all the bits” that make up everything. It excites me because through the understanding of feeling, both the good and the bad, I have come to realise that

you need to do is improve your knowing”. I am well aware of the attachments that

and

are

associations

tied

to

the

understanding and acceptance of God, particularly thanks to the

efforts

religions

of

most

in

major

creating

geographical and metaphysical distance between humans and God. Thankfully, humans are masters of language, with 97% of the human

brain

dedicated

to

understanding language. In this context,

I

ask

individuals

reading this piece to choose whichever word they feel most comfortable with and

PAGE 33 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE apply it to the quote above. Some people say Source,

Stay with me here.

the Universe, the Divine, energy. Many religions have their different names, but at its core it is the same

Our interconnectedness can be

energy, the same omnipresence that exists in all things and in the space between all things.

Take time to

An equal respect for all things is founded in the re-

watch, observe,

sacralisation of ourselves and the nature and habitat that surrounds us. Lockdown provides a chance to

listen, feel with all

become intimately acquainted with the local flora and fauna in your neighbourhood. Take time to watch,

your senses and all your being.

based in this understanding that we are all Divine consciousness undergoing

a

human

experience;

However

furthermore to that I would like to raise the theory that we are refractions of that same Divine consciousness, convinced of our observe, listen, feel with all your senses and all your

separateness. A large part of

being.

this actualisation process is the joy

and

enjoyment

of

the

The reality is the way back to ourselves and it needs

journey of coming back home to

to be re-sacralised. We need to realise that even the

ourselves. Coming home to each

smallest of events or actions we take can be made

other.

sacred. Eating or preparing food, waking up in the morning, stretching, having a shower, taking a walk,

The syntax of coming home to

observing nature in all her immensity. To do so is to

each other is coming back to

create space for the Divine within us and around us

what most of us truly yearn for,

and realise the freedom that is available in the

the support, love, guidance and

mundane, available to us right now. That we have

nurturing of a community. It is

always been worthy of unconditional love, we were

why so many of us seek out the

never unworthy, like some religions would have you

communities of family, friends,

believe, and above all, life is not a test to get into

religion and some of us, even

some higher place. This is the higher place.

politics. It is so inherent to our human

needs,

desire

and

We live in Wonderland surrounded by magic and

survival. To be looked after and

magnificence, down to the smallest microbe. We are

to look after one another, to

Divine energy incarnate in human form here to

share; interests, conversations,

experience the mundane, the small, and the infinite in

values and food.

it all. We are ultimately an experience of ourselves.

PAGE 34 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE I am proposing a new understanding of community,

achieved through the truth, the

one

whole truth and nothing but the

that

is

geographical

not

bound

location,

or

predicated

religion,

diaspora,

upon gender

truth.

identity or even interest, a global understanding.

There is a place for some of these specifications, but

The

the broader global community is a mindset shift we all

proposed model is based on the

need to make for the survival and sustainability of the

Blackfoot’s

Tipi

human race and it needs to be one that is considered

cultural

perpetuity,

with deep ecological freedom at the center of this

extending it further to include a

shift. During the 2010 Earthquake and Tsunami in

modern

Talcahuano, a port city and commune in the Biobio

information

Region

happens faster than most of us

of

Chile,

organisation,

local

resilience

capacities,

knowledge,

social

including

third

principle

lens

of

the

concept

of

of but

media

and

exchange

that

networks,

cooperation, trust and participation were crucial to cope. Despite the destruction, community actions revealed not only the power of people to deal with natural disasters but also the inherent resilience capacity in existing communities, (Moreno, 2018). The reality is, that as the global situation worsens, the need for strong communities will only continue to grow.

The self actualisation journey of each and every

can keep track of. It means

individual

a

creating a consistency of truth,

sustainable and strong global community that is built

a shared history that is based

on the consensus and harmony of irrefutable universal

on reality and facts, not the

truths we all choose to value as human beings, as a

politics of who wins and who

collective consciousness. A statement of Who We

gets to write the victor’s tale.

Truly Are and who we want to be. This can only be

This

is

the

catalyst

to

the

creation

of

trickles

down

to

an

educational level, where we are committed

to

educating

our

children on the whole story and

There are more species of

allowing them to be the judge of

fungi, bacteria and protozoa

themselves, so we don’t keep

in a single scoop of soil than there are species of plant

what future they choose for repeating the same mistakes of the past.

and vertebrate animals in all

We

of North America, according

a profit based motive and write

to Paul Stamets in Mycelium Running (2005).

need

to

write

healthy

algorithms that peel back from algorithms

that

serve

humanity’s goals based on the universal truths we mutually agree on. If this can’t be done, then nationalising the existing

PAGE 35 - THE IMMENSITY OF THE MUNDANE platforms and giving the global collective control of what the platforms are designed to do.

almost

This coupled with a greater balance between the collation of quantitative and qualitative data and construction of methodology and communication strategies.

Encouraging

a

broad

spectrum

of

storytelling and sharing in the same vein that oral story

sharing

is

implemented

by

context, the political circle is

Indigenous

traditions around the world and through history.

and

entirely

supplementing

subsisting

circle,

the

the

corporate

media

supplementing

circle

the

political

circle. Separating the three and dismembering within

the

them

structures

structures

into

smaller

and

providing

alternatives for each is the path

Nature and Mother Gaia as a Divine being has so many more answers and abundance than we care to attribute to her. There are more species of fungi, bacteria and protozoa in a single scoop of soil than

forward. model

Much

like

proposed,

the

the

first

second

model can be built up from the “bits”. Organising these

there are species of plant and vertebrate animals in all of North America, according to Paul Stamets in Mycelium Running (2005). He speaks of the shift

Take time to start

from random selection as the dominant force for human evolution, to the political, economic and

noticing the little

biotechnological policies that determine our future.

things and the magic of

If current trends continue, some forecasts claim that half of the current species could disappear in

the Universe will

the next hundred years. Communitarianist action,

unfold right before

self actualisation and veritas is my proposed path to a

sustainable

future

and

you.

collective

interconnectedness.

The first model for control and power over as it exists in the world, can be broken down into “the bits”.

Systems

of

control

are

reliant

on

the

existence of the other circles to continue to exist.

In an Australian

efforts communitarily is the path forward, understanding and selfactualising other

is

Committing

yourself the to

and

path the

each

forward. truth,

the

whole truth and nothing but the truth is the path forward.

Commit to yourself, invest your free locked-down time to your Self-Actualisation and long term growth. Fight the maze of shortterm gratification that leaves us lost, confused, hurt and angry with one another. A little bit of gratitude everyday also goes a long

way.

Take

time

noticing the little things

to

start

PAGE 36 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM (or “the bits” that make up everything) and the magic of the Universe will unfold right before you.

Ness Song is the Founder of YEmpower Australia, a youth mentoring organisation dedicated to helping young Australians aged 17-27 find paths for themselves that are fulfilling, passion driven and full of love and empathy. Her passion lies in helping young people on their path to Self-Actualisation.

Support Yenma; Support Community Media Share us with your networks and get them to read our work - encourage them to contribute!

LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM: TRAUMA, EMPATHY AND HOW TO GET OUT!

by Matthew Jeffrey (This piece was written in response to George Megalogenis' Quarterly Essay, 'Exit Strategy: Politics after the Pandemic', but, unfortunately, was not selected for submission.)

mentions value systems and the beholden of the political parties of Australia; the why and the who

We are living in an empathy vacuum, where good is

behind our society’s machinations.

hoovered up by a Dyson designed with a built-in

The strategy (or lack thereof), and

expiration date that we put on it. What is to expire is

the innovators, implementers, and

us, unless we decide differently - and now.

exploiters

pushing

us

toward

realising many different existential Despite this, your essay, George, only briefly

threats at the same time.

PAGE 37 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM To begin, we will look at how humans cooperated to

"...you could say

evolve, learn and move. We hold many intelligences as humans, but none as sharp as our social intelligence -

this empathy

our ability to understand, our ability to empathise.

Among primates, our memory intelligence, reasoning

deficit is already

intelligence, and all others are half as sharp as our

being wilfully

social ability. Humans through social learning of a given culture develop varying degrees of skill in

enacted at a mass

practicing empathy. There could be many thousands

scale."

of tiny zones of empathetic understanding, but I have identified four. To brief this next section, I will also point out that people have two main boundary systems - external and internal. External boundaries are groups of people locked off from an individual's

...fenced off-group and begins

empathy practice due to external cultural

to repeatedly insult them in

conditioning. Internal boundary systems describe the

class

measures an individual takes to honour themselves

account of their accent and

and what they do to ensure they have the spirit and

appearance,

energy to continue developing their empathy muscle.

transferring hurt. If not a soul

week-after-week

on

they

are

empathises with this friend’s rage and tries to hold them 1. Sociopathy/Apathy - a person who shows a

civilly accountable - they may

complete disregard for other humans - with almost

choose

total unawareness of boundary systems.

hurt to at the same level or

2. Narcissism/Egoic Empathy - almost entirely self-

to

worse,

continue

choose

a

spread

cascading

focused, with a great number of external

downward and inward set of

boundaries, and some amount of internal

more

boundaries

traumatising responses that

more

fray

a

society

external boundaries and moderate internal

unchecked.

If

these

boundary system

people are growing in number

3. Group-Inclined Empathy - moderate amount of

4. Unbounded Empathy - no external boundaries and an expanding internal boundary system

will

hurtful,

very

due to a myriad of unjust factors and a lack of empathy and

Those who practice empathy between zone three and

if

boundary

education,

reaching such a number that

four, those free of external boundaries and adequate

they

elevate

in internal boundaries are best placed to help heal

leadership

polarisation, manufactured consent, division, and

unsustainability

hurt, as well as to teach healing. Empathy also has the

and begins the running of a

added benefit of improving trust. Nurture empathy

very

and you nurture betterment. However, our empathy

indeed.

high

one

to

position can

empathy

a -

ensue deficit

muscle may atrophy if we choose different trauma and experience responses.

To further this, you could say this empathy deficit is already

If someone in a zone heavy with external boundaries

being wilfully enacted at a

and amiss with internal boundaries, say a friend of

mass scale. There are multi-

yours in high school has placed someone into a...

property landowners...

PAGE 38 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM ...capital-builders,

billionaires,

media

and

tech

...society to be something other

moguls, and middleman platform monopolies as far as

than

the eye and heart can see. This small subsect group of

capitalists, we need to empathise

people that own the largest share in a set of an

with them and bring them onside

imaginary thing are currently receiving the greatest

too). Instill different, maybe a

wealth-redistribution of this thing to them the world

multiple-set of present moment-

has ever seen. Money, a thing imagined individual to

to-moment

individual,

balanced economic motives like

then

nation-to-nation

is

collectively

decided to be so valuable as to override living. What

money

(and

do

tell

actionable

the

and

harmony, safety,

its uses are, and how it is used is also devised by

"I ask those in the class of capital, don't you want to live to make money another day?

Wealth Inequality (Statista, 2017)

curiosity,

development,

and

individuals and small subsect groups of humans. This

love. Economy is itself derived

is an important distinction those in this tiny class of

from the Greek Oeconomicus;

people omit or ignore. We can change the collective

the management of the family.

decision on the value of money. I ask those in this class of capital, don’t you want to live to make money

Yet, inverse to western, (and

another day?

more

specifically,

Murdoch)

propaganda, what you find is If you keep at it like this, there will not be a world for

most

family

management

humans to have your jobs and your countries to have

practices

GDP. If humans perish, so too does this belief that

‘everyday collaboration’, born of

money is more valuable than life - and therefore all

motives of love, development,

the money you exploited in your life will be worth

and trust for each other.

zero.

We

need

to

push

a

shift

in

our

are

a

form

of

value

understanding. We must decide before that point of

The Australian constitution was

zero - for without action, that pointy end is coming

written, policies and platforms,

sooner than you might anticipate.

with

some

accountability,

mechanisms some

of of

We could also decide to move out of the debate of the

generosity and of trust were

value of a currency itself George and change the

decided, but decided they were

collective decision of the most valuable thing in...

with coercively the thing that we imagined as the...

PAGE 39 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM ...omnipotent, company-saving CEO sitting in the

...barely fumbles to be a gig-to-

back with his hand to society’s phone line. Money.

gig

What little empathy was borne into Australian

handsoff-ism.

khakistocratic

cronyist

Federation and has been breathed into it since by its peoples is dissipating quick-smart quick-dumb to

Underlying a political strategy or

keep the stream of life flowing into the redistribution

a potential exit strategy from

of energy and money to the already wealthiest

neoliberalism, it is important to

couple dozen humans on Earth. The mechanisms and

discuss how almost all human

conventions

being

societies have moved from either

whittled away at the behest of this great individualist

balanced or matriarchal systems

redistribution to the few who own transnational

of

corporations. Indeed, as Ted Wheelwright penned 33

patriarchal systems.

of

Australian

democracy

are

governance

to

hyper-

years ago, "the Australian nation-state" has been rendered

totally

"stateless"

at

the

hands

of

"Value extraction has

extraction and profit before globalised capitalism.

Capitalism, while an important small step away from feudalism and fiefdom, is finding better methods to mask its return to these very systems of total oppression and subjugation - and is many steps away from the balanced or matriarchal systems we have

increasingly shifted away from markets and onto digital platforms, which no longer operate like oligopolistic firms, but rather like private fiefdoms or estates"-

lived in for the absolute majority of the time we have

Varoufakis 2021

lived as humans. Look to our own backyard, to the modern-day

slavery

conditions

many

immigrant

peoples face on Australian farms - some receiving as

It is my supposition that the

little as 9 dollars a day in verified homeless positions.

hormonal shock males receive

Further, our economic and governance system bears

every two hours of every day

but a grain of resemblance to the capitalism of the

compared

past three centuries; so far removed is it that it...

during each day for females is an

to

important

a

single

factor

at

time play

contributing to the formation of society,

"Capitalism, while an important small step

culture,

and

today’s

gamut of vacuous and capitious political strategy.

When

males

get

hit

with

away from feudalism

testosterone, it doesn’t come

and fiefdom, is finding

the hit become more likely to be

better methods to

Males who have higher levels of

mask its return to

In zooming out, I believe the

these very systems."

flatly, it comes sharply. Males at physically aggressive and angry. testosterone are even more so. people of the time of matriarchy and

balance

had

a

strategy that fostered...

political

PAGE 40 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM ...empathy, so the males who were subjected to this hormonal jab recognised it in pattern as it happened and helped other males with it in their group too.

"...the LNP do boldly

Thus as means to prevent the sharing of testosterone-

go to where they have

fueled hurt and further trauma. Here I suppose is the root of today’s political apathy. Here lay the root of

gone many times

the

before, complete

following

oppressor

balancer/matriarch

switch.

The

patriarch

to

patriarch

latched

onto

imagined things of title and of money after dealing

apathy and disinterest

with so much trauma, attempting to jam shut the gate

for other humans."

of empathy, repressing and transmitting pain.

From this switch spawns a culture of boys will be boys that rough-house and traumatise others well into

...exploit,

adulthood, except today these boys play with toys of

profit and mask, a party formed

mass life destruction. Look no further than to our

on meeting and whim of Menzies

Prime

an

and Rupert Murdoch’s father; the

to

LNP do boldly go to where they

Australia, pan-shafting 100 billion taxpayer dollars to

have gone many times before -

a botched defense strategy consisting of outdated

complete apathy and disinterest

overseas submarines and jet fighters. This is an

for other humans.

Ministers’

American-style

fixation

on

transplanting

military-industrial

complex

extract,

short-term

incredible demonstration of the nose-dive descent of strategic thought in the neoliberal camp. We are at

It sure is strange George when

the point in our Rousseauin ‘elective aristocratic’

you suppose the fault of neo-

system, that the ruling party of an almost entirely

liberalism

patriarchal sociopathic duopoly is failing to get its

parliament with the misogynist

most fundamental promise of ‘security’ of us from the

Abbott in 2013 was in part due to

other right.

the

parading

“shortened

into

media-attention

span of the consumer” when your

Where in the past an empire could sway its land-

very employer and the owner of

bound peasantry with the promise of protection from

The Australian, Rupert Murodch

a neighbouring state - the neo-liberal Coalition here

began

in Australia instead intentionally distributes fear and

his monopoly, buying up regional

apathy amongst its population that a land-based war

papers and shutting them down

with our neighbour and largest trading-partner is

along with thousands of jobs and

imminent (4 out of 10 believing so), sending out

made the decision for his papers

parliamentarians to spout these very lines on radio

to

whilst concurrently holding no strategy in both the

humanely designed algorithms of

new security arena of economic and (environmental)

social media with the increasing

management and the old of armed protection. In what

conflation

narrow frame the LNP hallmark as the 12 pillars of a

journalism.

great economy - in the last 10 years they have only

Nine, the ABC, and the rest of

ascribed to improve upon a single pillar, corporate

traditional media decided to cosy

profit. The LNP have scored only 8.3% on their own

up with this inhumane artificial

test of a ‘balanced’ capitalist economy - delivering

intelligence that is guided by the

interminably

same

less

than

the

NAPLAN

pupils

they

criticise. So with no strategies excepting a model of...

vigorously

complement

of

consolidating

the

most

opinion

Murdoch,

principle

of

in-

over Fairfax,

profit

and

extraction as the LNP and the...

PAGE 41 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM ...system

of

capitalism.

of

...originally adopted planks into

extraction of traditional physical or mental labor,

its national platform in direct

traditional media decided to play with algorithms in

opposition

extracting

Our

planks were calling for “the

attention spans have certainly not shortened, and in

nationalisation of all sources of

fact, compared to a serf of the 14th century, in some

wealth,

ways, we are worse off. Our attention is extracted

producing

more

weath”

and

and

This

demanding

more.

We

time,

instead

human-attention.

are

crippled

by

both

a

to

and

capital.

all and

(as

These

means

of

exchanging

evidenced

in

bombardment of work that seems to be demanding

Australia Welfare History). This

more and more of our time outside of our signed

would entail banks too - an idea

work-hours just so that we can eat and a supposed

subsequent federal and state

‘tool’ of social media and smartphones designed by

Labor leaders Lang and...

teams of psychologists that extract our remaining mental labor during the periods of the day we are allowed to rest. Perhaps it would be fairer to attribute this kind of deadening driftwood of public policy debate

you

mention,

this

neoliberalism

turned

cronyism sphere of political strategy to the movers and shakers who first adopted the 24 Hour News cycle in the ‘80s, to the media giants who co-signed onto algorithms designed by humans to extract human attention

fluffing

the

news

with

an

Australian worker deaths under capitalism - Safe Work Australia (2018)

increasing

centralised opinion base - to those giants truly

...Whitlam would try to realise

responsible for killing your coworkers’ livelihoods

to no avail. “In less than a year

from 2013 onwards, complete with a political class of

however,

nothing more than disinterested rollover. We do

nationalisation were withdrawn

entrust our media giants and politicians to tell us the

from the platform…” and the

truth about the state and capital.

“policy

all

that

references

emerged

to

was

statism and populism shorn of The Labor Party, the other side of this duopoly...

any socialism”. “Big capitalism would develop” and the ALP

""Big capitalism would develop", and the ALP recoiled into serving it in our current duopoly, providing only "temporary respite" to the working class."

recoiled into serving it in our current duopoly, providing only ‘’temporary working

respite”

class

in

to the

the class

conflict. The ALP do know how to pull the levers of capitalism, but are increasingly being shut out of governance, and are the only party of the two with ideas.

Analysis

of

national

party

platforms for the last twentyone years shows that:

PAGE 42 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM

For 7670 days, the LNP have formulated and are guided by 16 pages of national policy and vision (written in 2002) - rounding out to be about 0.0021

"The LNP reactionarily

pages of vision per day. Or 1 page every 467 days

build out their policy in

(about 15 months.) Mind, the pages are not required to

response to...an ever-

have words on them.

decreasing amount of

For 7670 days, the ALP have formulated and are

voices holding ever

guided by 2077 pages of national policy and vision rounding out to be about 0.27 pages of vision per day.

increasing amounts of

Or 1 page every 4 days. All the while allowing

capital."

submissions from ALP rank-and-file members. This means that for every single page of vision the LNP produces, the ALP produces 123 times more. A ratio of 1-to-123!

Election policy is harder to track down - but the ALP derive their election policy from the national platform prepared almost every election cycle (usually once every three years), whilst the LNP reactionarily build out their election policies in either a response to Labors ideas or in response to who they are beholden to, an ever-decreasing amount of voices holding an ever-increasing amount of capital.

Beneath the hubbub of political donations - the ALP receive peanuts compared to the LNP’s lobsters.

Going

straight

to

representation, the ALP of the duopoly

is

very

tenuously

beholden to unions comprised of

workers

and

sometimes

intervenes for the welfare of and on their behalf (the majority of people) to keep the localised form of the global...

PAGE 43 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM ...capital system limping along while the LNP is mostly

genocide millions of life forms, or

beholden to certain industry players and persons, and

further, to end all life on the

almost exclusively intervenes for the welfare of and

planet on a continued whim of

on their behalf (the minority of people).

systems, hormone injection, invention, economy, or person.

Further, to your case in point George, the event to which you may suppose is the beginning of the Exit of

How rich is it too - that we

neoliberalism, the advent of Jobkeeper, was originally

discard and write the

architected by former Labor MP and trade unionist

overwhelming majority of human

George Combet and current ACTU Secretary Sally

"How rich is it that we discard and write off the overwhelming majority of human history off, relegating its learnings to an inaccessible cobwebbed hall within the National Archive?"

IMG Credit: Jim Pavlidis history

and

McManus, with support from Christian Porter. These

strategy

off

implementers were strangely not presented by you.

relegating its learnings to an inaccessible

human as

political

‘pre-history’,

cobwebbed

hall

From the balancer society to a hyper-patriarchal

within the National Archive, or

society resolute in its unresolving of trauma, we too

a

get a reinforcement of gender roles. Anything from

primary

absolute political-strategic gems like ‘empathy is a

history’ societies were and are a

woman's job’ to the dishevelling and degradation of

part

accountability entertainment

standards media.

within

Look

again

to

five-minute

of

snippet

school? the

These

fabric

of

in ‘prethe

news

and

environment. What is said by

the

abject

many historians (like Bregman)

treatment of women in workplaces, politics, and at

that

Parliament

their

societies were hunter-gatherers

credibility, livelihoods, and even lives meanwhile an

is now known to be evidently

alleged

paid

false as well. Many indigenous

mental-health leave, a better career switch, and a

Australian societies were, and

media megaphone to play the ‘real’ victim while

are agrarian civilisations - less

enjoying the hyper-patriarchal spoils.

the

House

perpetrator

itself. will

How be

victims

rewarded

lose with

all

these

frenzied

pre-history

death-spiral

obsession with imagined things Moving

to

other

harsh

truths,

today’s

political

of title and money. There was

strategy stakes are vastly different compared to ‘pre-

no money or currency as we

history’. Human societies never had the ability to

like to know it today.

PAGE 44 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACUUM The currency was collective work events and play events

with

collaboration.

each The

other. currency

The was

currency

was

learning.

The

"Any political exit

currency was passing knowledge on. The currency is

strategy from

the Dreamtime stories. Indigenous Australians choose

neoliberalism must

enthusiasm and empathy. One of my ancestral lines, the Yuin for example, cultivated empathetic and deep

include a reformation

symbiotic relationships with other species of animals

of our core values and

- particularly whales to hunt together for food subsequently eating and cleaning together, reducing

what should motivate

the total number of hunted animals. A political

our society."

strategy of undiluted empathy and interest in another - to the point it extends well beyond just humans.

They had and have different motives underpinning

by-design” and more. Therefore,

their oeconomicus, similar to the extended-families

any political exit strategy from

and communities of Ancient Greece.

neoliberalism discussion

These

economic

development,

love,

motives

of

sustainability

understanding, and

knowledge-

core

must

and

values

include

a

reformation

of

and

what

should

motivate our society.

sharing have thus been sent to retreat further and further inward all the way back into a nuclear family,

To bring a final point to political

all at a time where we now face a cacophony of

leadership and core values, Jared

societal existential threats, (not the least many the

Diamond,

fault

the

anthropologist who analysed 48

potential to end our million-year long symbiotic

studies of ‘pre-history’ societies

habitation with the Earth. We are currently choosing

found that to be selected as a

to run massive empathy deficits in our Western

leader “you had to be: generous,

democracies at the worst possible time, or rather,

brave,

choosing to nurture a culture of apathy. A society of

impartial, reliable, tactful, strong,

lack of interest in one another, of lack of enthusiasm,

and humble.” Dr. Brene Brown,

of lack of concern, and of lack of love. What else could

who

describe the ripping of a father, mother and their

studying people today found the

children from their Australian home to live on an

seven key elements of trust and

island prison not fit with adequate medical care at the

empathy as boundaries, reliability,

cost of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on

accountability, vaulting, integrity,

their lonesome? As stated in the Liberals 2002

nonjudgement,

national platform, they believe “the family is the

She found the strongest people

primary institution for fostering the values on which a

are

cohesive society is built.’’ Their 1930’s beliefs are

framework of internal boundaries.

struggling to be congruent with their actions are they

She found the most humilitious

not? What values are they fostering in families today,

people are those who empathise

save for desperation? They assail the concessional

and then achieve with others. She

wins of the Australian working and non-working

found the most tactful, the most

populations (i.e the empathy of unions), in our super,

creative - were those who lean

medicare, the disability support pension, humanities,

and live into vulnerability and

and arts within the educational system (critical

empathy.

of

transnational

capitalism),

all

thinking and creativity), keeping wages low

with

an

wise,

has

those

American

charismatic,

given

and with

decades

fair,

to

generosity. the

best

PAGE 45 - LIVING IN A LEADERSHIP VACCUM You know George, despite decades of an intensifying Western propaganda model, attention-extraction, and other distractions, people today are still drawn in their majority to trust in the leader with the same qualities that people living hundreds of thousands of years ago did. The marketing mask seems to be fraying off Mr. Morrison now, with business leaders in his leadership vacuum turning to Rudd to secure more vaccines for Australia. Even Murdoch seems to be catching a whiff. Some of us also have access to new technology and platforms to disperse honesty as well.

So it is a race George - between the majority of the class and the minority. Somehow it's hard to reckon 120

years

of

federated

profit-defined

Australian

indoctrination will be a match for millions of years of a selective evolution based on a system of best-match - a system of collaboration and empathy, but with algorithmic machine learning on the side of capital, we must steer a conversation of value change within our society. We must hear the Uluru Statement: From the Heart. We must seek to return to a balanced leadership system of governance.

PAGE 46 - IN MEMORIAM

IN

MEMORIAM

Lindsay ‘Bill’ Gordon Crossley Moyle 1930 - 2021 Bill Moyle was born in Burnie, EULOGY ADAPTATION

Tasmania in 1930. One of five

by Tallulah Watson Moyle

kids in the Depression, he saw how hard the world can be.

When I interviewed Grandpa for

"Life is mostly froth and bubble,

a university assignment, I asked

Two things stand like stone,

him

Kindness in another’s trouble,

Depression

Courage in your own."

said it made him want to change

if

living

through

changed

him.

the He

the world; gave him a drive to That is an excerpt from a poem written by Adam

reform things. And so, he joined

Lindsay Gordon and was very dear to Lindsay ‘Bill’

the Commonwealth Bank when

Gordon Crossley Moyle, my Grandfather. He would

he was 17 years old. Through

recite it to me whenever he got the chance; over his

literally creating roles out of

cornflakes that he would cover in spoon after spoon

thin air for himself, he worked

of sugar, in his seat on the chesterfield looking out

his way up to become the CEO

the window with tears in his eyes, or when we were

of the State Bank of Victoria.

taking in the expanse of salty blue, sand in our toes.

After he retired, he received an

Those words, I carry with me. I can hear him saying

AM; something that little me

them even now, with such reverence in his voice.

was bursting with pride about.

This sentiment was not something that Grandpa

As my Mum so aptly put it, it

simply mused; he lived it. When I oh so traumatically

was in his last years of life that

found out about Santa Clause’s inexistence, the first

Grandpa believed he made the

person my-kid-self called was Grandpa. And he took

most

me seriously, never made a joke, never laughed at my

to the world. His life was an

reaction, and sat on the phone to me for what was

example of reconciliation, itself,

probably way too long, talking me through it. That’s

said

what he was always like. No matter what, he was

tracking

always there for me. Always there for those he loved.

family history, he decided to go

Mulling over their issues, even after the conversation

to university and learn about

had finished.

the world in a way he never had

meaningful

Mum.

before.

After

and

contribution

successfully

recording

our

PAGE 47 - IN MEMORIAM He

completed

a

Bachelors

and

Honours

as

an

octogenarian. It was very impressive; a fact that was not lost on Grandpa. ~~~~~ That was taken from the eulogy I wrote for my Grandpa’s funeral. Grandpa would have been so supportive of the creation of Yenma. He would have been so absorbed by it; possibly writing several emails or thought pieces on his many ideas he would have inevitably had. He loved discussion about the world

"Once it was

and consistently supported pushing the envelope;

explained to me

something that Yenma intends to do. For this reason, when Yenma’s chief editor and founder reached out to

that Yenma is partly

me about adding memoriam for my Grandpa in the

about honouring

first edition, I was deeply honoured. Grandpa would be honoured too.

Once it was explained to me that Yenma is partly

our ancestors, it became clear how

about honouring our ancestors, it became clear how

fitting this is.

fitting this is. Grandpa lived a rich and interesting life;

Grandpa lived a rich

one that cannot be succinctly summed up by anything I write. But that does not mean that I will not try. I

and interesting life;

will tell my Grandpa’s story evermore.

one that cannot be

A wholehearted thank you to Matthew for having such

succinctly summed

a personal piece in the first edition of Yenma. It

up by anything I

means so much to me. I want to also extend this thank you to Ness, a Yenma contributor and much more, for

write. But that does

supporting my every move in this time since my

not mean that I will

Grandpa’s passing. You both have been such a strong support.

My Grandpa was a testament to the importance of family love. His family was the most significant influence in his life, and he continually paid respect to our ancestors. My Grandpa is now watching over me and I am comforted to know I have him as a spirit guide. Hug your elders tight when you have the chance. Life is so beautiful but so fleeting.

not try. I will tell my Grandpa’s story evermore."

Credit: Ness Song "Apathy to Empathy" Medium: canva collage

GRATITUDES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

by Matt Jeffrey I would like to personally thank all who contributed to seeing the realisation and actualisation of this publication. The contributors, those who gave their words, arts, ideas and time to this project. I would also like to extend gratitude to you the reader and supporter of Yenma and its vision.

In the spirit of reconciliation and voice Our Bloc

acknowledges the

Traditional Custodians of country of the land in which this publication is produced, the Gadigal Peoples of the Eora Nation.

We also extend this acknowledgement to

all

traditional

custodians

throughout Australia and recognise

I share my gratitude to those mentors and guides in our lives that inspired this work for good.

their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and

I would also like to thank my partner Ness Song, and my house-mate and friend Tallulah Watson-Moyle for dedicating hours to editing and formatting. Here's to many more volumes of us all walking together!

Published 19.08.2021 by Our Bloc.

Torres Strait islanders today.

We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. We acknowledge the Uluru Statement: From the Heart.

Always was, always will be.