Ooom-shaka-laaka...

Out and about in Melbourne town and surrounds!

2009-06-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

In honor of time well spent in the lovely city of Melbourne, I thought I'd share some of my favourite places and happenings in and around Melbourne! Here are places and activities that tingled my ooom-shaka-laaka vibe when I lived there...

Let's start with some of the places that enriched my mind!:

Check out Borders bookshop in Carlton. Yes. I know I'm plugging a chain bookstore and that this might be unappealing to some (particularly Black Books fans!), but I found this bookshop in Carlton to be a peaceful place to hang out just before a film, a great place to meet up with friends and just super-good for book-browsing fun!
CAE (College of Adult Education) on Degraves St in the city, where you can pick a course, any course, expand your thinking and have some fun meeting new people while you do it!
Hares and Hyenas: A luscious queer bookshop in funky Fitzroy where you can pick up great dvds, books and free queer street-press too! They now serve beverages too!
Check out wonderful documentaries in 3D at the Melbourne Museum Imax Theatre, where I found not only my eyes, but also my mind, widening to the stunning footage I watched! Whilst you're wandering in and out of the theatre be sure to soak in the architectural splendor of the World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building, just across from the entrance to the Imax!
Cruise into OUT Video in St Kilda where you can hire and/or buy groovy queer flicks and pick up free queer street-press while you're at it!
Relax your mind and see to the heart of what truly matters with regular meditation, teachings and other activities at the Tibetan Buddhist Society's Peaceful Land of Joy Meditation Centre: Enjoy the bliss of the beautiful temple and rose gardens!
Pop into The National Gallery of Victoria for inspiration and sensory stimulation! A highlight for me was most certainly the Andreas Gursky photography exhibition: stunning!

Places that were good, oh so good, for my palette:

The queer friendly Bistro Vite and the Bluetrain Cafe at Southbank are both well worth visiting for the nice ambiance and hearty feeds!
Brunetti's Cafe: Feast your eyes on the heavenly and abundant array of sweets, then settle in for a decadent indulgence :-)
Cafe Trevi (294 - 296 Lygon Street, Carlton): Another relaxed eating place in Carlton which I found was perfect to visit with small children as the service was professional and the tables big enough for little munchkins to sprawl all over!
Cake shops on Acland Street in St Kilda: Don't miss these delights! Press your nose up to the glass and indulge your sight, if not your tummy, in the visual feast before you!
Mambos (Shop 8, Sunshine Marketplace): A great place to meet up with friends and have heart-to-hearts! The pizzas and milkshakes were gooood too! :-)
Michel's Patisserie (Shop 12, Sunshine Marketplace and Barkley Square, Brunswick) for spinach & cheese rolls with chai for lunch in Sunshine, or banana bread and chai for brunch with newspapers in Brunswick! Yes. I am a sucker for the chain outlets: there's something about the comfort of familiarity and the professional service that I found at these two outlets that worked for me!
Muffin Break (Sunshine Marketplace): Just because the staff are so smiley and friendly!
Mule cafe (146 Sydney Rd, Brunswick)-wonderful for brunch in Brunswick!
Starbucks in the City (Swanston Street Walk): Yep, I know it's another chain outlet, but I really enjoyed sipping on chai, munching on banana bread and reading papers whilst watching the passers by on Swanston Street from this location!
For super-professional, friendly and fine service, nowhere I went to in Melbourne beat The Granary for me! A little oasis in Sunshine: this was my venue of choice for regular chai, avocado, cheese & lettuce sandwiches, smiles and yo-yo biscuits! Do it!
The Vegie Bar: Another funky Fitzroy location where you can find a menu full of fabulous droolerific vegetarian options...YUMMMY!
Tomodachi Japanese restaurant at Melbourne Central where the food is yumm yumm yummmmy and the teas are tasty!
Don't go past Trotters on Lygon Street, in Carlton, for a relaxed and casual meal with buddies!

Places that were a great source of assistance with the practical needs of life!:

Barkley Square Shopping Centre in Brunswick is tops for essentials shopping (the Kmart there is good too!) then relaxing with chai, newspaper and banana bread! Yum! The vegetarian cannelloni in the food court is yumiliscious too! Top it all off with a great massage and you'll be smiling all the way home too!
Cocca (105 Station Street, Fairfield, Ph: 03 9481 4265): Get a haircut from Vince-the guy has an amazing gift when it comes to "Wow!-I-like-your-hair!" factor haircuts and can make anyone laugh with his stories!
Kathmandu: Oh my gawsh, who can pass up the wonderfully practical and spunky clothing and knick knacks available from Kathmandu (both a retail store and factory outlet are within walking distance of each other on Smith Street, Fitzroy, or duck into the Bourke Street store for a browse!)
Check out Vegan Wares in Collingwood for very swish looking shoes, belts and wallets made from non-animal products!
W.E Automotive: A lovelier, more sincere and caring mechanic than John has got to be hard to find!

And for all over relaxation, fun, recreation and healing:

Cat's Body Crafts: Lovely massages from a lovely "switched on" lady!
Check out the relaxing environmental park, Ceres, a great, nature-infused place to wander and enjoy a hearty brunch in the healthy on-site cafe!
Tram or train it into the City and soak up the vibes (preferably in the day-time) in Bourke Street Mall, Federation Square and Southbank...lovely!
Pick a counsellor, any counsellor, at Counselling rooms on-Line, where you can step into the flow of healing the blocks and barriers to a better you, whilst feeling supported in letting go of what doesn't work for you: Tony Talevski was my pick as regular counselor extra-ordinaire...find one that works for you and get onto it!
The Japanese Bath House: Luxury! Scrub, soak and steam in a traditional Japanese bath house, then wander upstairs in your kimono for a divine shiatsu massage-deliriously blissful!
Massage your ears with affirming sounds from Joy FM ("Australia's only gay and lesbian radio station") and minimal-ad-interrupted groovy music (Eg: plenty of Kylie and Madonna!) on Mix 101.1.
The Melbourne Aquarium, was the best Aquarium I ever visited: I swear the fish even looked happy to be there!
Get in early to buy your mega passes to the annual Melbourne Queer film Festival (MQFF) as sessions filled up fast this year and most of the movies I saw were super!
Riding over the Westgate Bridge as part of the Melbourne Summer Cycle to raise funds in the battle against Multiple Sclerosis was a massive buzz for me! If you're in Melbourne, grab some friends together and have a go next year: it's for a great cause!
Check out the most delicious viewing pleasures of Nova cinema on Lygon Street, Carlton, where you're bound to find your senses stimulated!
Relax with the views and walks along Point Addis Beach. If you're feeling like making the most of being there, book in on-line for a surf lesson before you get there, then simply arrive and enjoy catching gentle waves whilst surrounded by beautiful cliff faces and the clear blue sky!
De-stress and process hard-core work days with gentle walks around Princes Park!
St Kilda Pier is a marvelous place to wander and wonder...check out a sunset from the esplanade and feel the contentment within you surface!
The Sun Theatre in Yarraville-including the nearby bookshop and cafes are a groovy weekend escape-perfect for catching up with friends and enjoying hearty laughs!
Check out some fun fitness opportunities with the Ace Girls: Social tennis for Melbourne's gay gals!

So that's my Melbourne infomercial done for now! But wait! There's more! Last, but certainly not least, the very very best things about Melbourne for me were the wonderful friends, old and new, in and around Melbourne, who loyally embraced my heart when it was both hurting and happy, by loving me, holding me, understanding me, laughing with me, adventuring with me, chai latte-ing with me, celebrating with me and treasuring all of me, the whole time I was there. True friends who helped me to heal and grow with their loving acceptance of me, and who let me love them right back.

These friends truly made Melbourne a wonderful place for me to be :-)

I hope you too find the places, people and happenings that stimulate your ooom-shaka-laaka vibe, next time you're out and about in lovely Melbourne :-)
xxGalijan

A Precious Gift

2009-05-24T03:21:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine rang me the other night to tell me that there was a program on TV about the notorious boys' home that he had been sent to as a child: Kinchela Boys' Home. This friend and his siblings had been stolen from their parents in the 1950s as part of the Australian Government's assimilation policies, whereby Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their parents and fostered out to white families or institutionalized in homes to learn "white ways" (See also the Australian Human Right's Commission's: "Bringing them Home", and a Sydney Morning Herald Article from May 2002: "Tears Flow for Sorry Time at Boys Home").

I've known this friend for almost ten years, having been very fortunate to have met him whilst on a long bus trip from Canberra, on my way to Ayers Rock to celebrate the New Year of 2000. I'd wanted a "spiritual" journey into the new millennium, and that's exactly what I got, in a very unexpected way. On that bus trip we had talked and talked, held hands, cried and hugged. It had been a very powerful meeting between a young, proudly lesbian, white woman and an older, heterosexual, Indigenous man. After hearing his stories, amidst thunder and lightening flashing outside of the bus, I had felt compelled to say sorry to him for the trauma he had experienced as a result of policies of the Australian Government of the time, and at the hands of white, Australian-identifying, people like me. The lightening stopped when I said sorry.

Since then we've kept in contact by handwritten letters, phone calls and more recently by regular text messaging. Every now and then we visit each other or meet up when we're in the same place. He is a proud Aboriginal man with a beautifully tender heart, who drives a flash car with the Aboriginal flag on display and plastic figurines of Aboriginal warriors on his dashboard (figurines that look a lot like him, I have to say!). My sexuality has never ever been an issue to him: he's told me more than once that he admires the "Dykes on Bikes" in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade and he has not hesitated to gently tease me about my love life when he has sensed that I've needed some lightening up about it. We have both been able to laugh at "the agony and the ecstacy" (as he puts it) of romantic love! Over the years I have also witnessed some of this friend's rage, fear and pain in both negotiating life amidst predominantly "white-fella" populated cities of Australia, and in dealing with the legacy of having been forcibly separated from his family as a child. I've witnessed some of his heart-ache at still not knowing the whereabouts of one of his sisters, despite efforts to locate her. More than anything though, I have continued to witness his beautiful humor, his forgiveness, his joy for adventure, his wisdom, his honesty, his resilience and his calm strength. His generosity, grace, tenderness and acceptance towards me when my imperfections have been in full-view and when my own heart has been more than a little bruised, have been humbling to say the least.

And so the other night when he rang, I didn't get to see the TV program that he wanted me to, but I did get onto Google and looked up Kinchela Boys' Home. From what I read, it was as horrible a place as he had described to me. My Googling also lead me to find archived pages from a magazine ("Dawn") that had been published between 1952 and 1975 by the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board. A bit more Googling later and I was able to find references to my friend and to one of his sisters (who is now deceased and who had been sent to the girls' equivalent of Kinchela: Cootamundra Girls' Home). I found these references in a children-oriented page of Dawn called "Pete's Page" and in other parts of the magazine, which I've been able to read out to him over the phone. I've since found more archived references and photos, which I will print out and mail to him. This is not easy for him as it brings up pain and difficult memories for him, yet he wants the information; perhaps there is some comfort in knowing that aspects of his life, and that of his family, are documented...and perhaps hope for further clues to the whereabouts of his missing sister. I truly hope that these historical documents bring him more peace than pain.

I love my friend and am so grateful for his love in my life. Soul-mate friendships like this one teach me so much about humility, acceptance, grace and "keeping it real".

xxGalijan

Snippets (1)

2009-05-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Housemates

The sand was warm on her feet. Babooshka was testing a new ginseng and sand remedy on her house-mate, Kate. Babooshka had emigrated to Australia from Poland in the '80s with her husband. Their relationship had ended after twenty years and for the last five years Babooshka had been on a mission to re-discover herself with the aid of the New Age movement. She had moved in with Kate, an affable university student, and Kate had often found herself the guinea pig to Babooshka's healing experiments. Tonight was one such experiment.

“Zis vill enliven your feet and enable you to find your place in zee vorld Kate!” enthused Babooshka whilst gently pouring the warm sand into Kate's Ugg boots.
“Just relax Kate, just reee-lax. Zee ginseng will open your crown chakra and zis special Villiamstown sand vil ground you on your vun true pass in zis vorld!”
“Okay Babooshka,” whispered Kate, somewhat nervously from beneath the layers of silk scarving that Babooshka had tightly wrapped around her fully naked, ugg-booted body. The scarves were to enable the universe to smoothen her flow through present-day reality, Babooshka had told her.

Sometimes Kate thought about moving out.
---

One of the activities that gave me a definite ooom-shaka-laaka buzz in the Melbourne-based creative writing classes that I recently attended involved using "starter sentences" to write short pieces of fiction. The class would be given a number of short opening, or starter, sentences to choose one from, and then a brief time to write something following the chosen starter sentence. It was a great opportunity to tap into creativity quickly, to discover and share my own personal creative writing style and to enjoy the spontaneous writing of others. "Housemates" is a spontaneous snippet I wrote, during one of these exercises (the starter sentence was: "The sand was warm on her feet"). I hope it gave you a giggle :-)

Cartoonize your love

2009-04-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Not too long ago, my much loved 4 year old nephew very unexpectedly called out to me across a room:

"Aunty, I have hearts coming out of my head for you!"

Realizing what a beautiful gift I had just been given, my eyes moistened as everyone in the room smiled. Later that afternoon this same nephew asked me why my teeth were always out "like that":

"Because I love you so much that I can't help smiling a lot whenever I see you!"

Love is most excellent. Go on...share some of yours today!

:-)
Galijan

Moving forward in positive ways...

2009-04-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

As someone who became particularly frustrated by the "it's all bad/racist" perspectives and associated fear-mongering related to the Australian Federal Government's Intervention in Northern Territory Indigenous communities, I was pleased to read Professor Francesca Merlan's article, "More than Rights" (published on Inside Story).

Professor Merlan's paper articulates some of the complexities associated with the Intervention and critiques some of the more popular arguments against the Intervention. In particular she offers a challenging critique of the applicability of a universal human rights model to diverse cultural contexts, such as Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Her article is a call to move beyond limiting and unhelpful oppositional rhetoric, towards more constructive thinking about how Intervention measures might actually be collaboratively enhanced to build greater social capacity within Indigenous communities.

Have a read and see what you think!

Homework

2009-03-23T04:12:00.000-07:00

As my remaining time in Melbourne gently ticks down, I've been squeezing in as many wonderful people, beautiful places and fun activities as I can. There's this creative writing class in the heart of Melbourne that I've been attending and really enjoying. We get homework. Our first assignment was to write an autobiographical poem, so I wrote one.

An Autobiographical Poem

I started writing about chai.
Then I took a deeper look inside,
and saw there was a lie.

The I is a lie.
That's what I saw inside,
when I asked "Where am I?"

Beyond thoughts of chai,
When I looked inside,
I could not find the I.

Terror. Then relief rippled through all parts of the I,
as from the inside, peace merged with the all,
totally melting away the lie of a separate I.

The I continued to sip on its chai,
with a warm, knowing smile.
Enjoying
the completely sweet truth of the I.

:-)
Galijan

Putting out the flames.

2009-03-01T04:50:00.000-08:00

Many many people in Victoria, Australia, have recently suffered extraordinary losses due to the bushfires. My social work colleagues and I have been privileged to join with many others in providing assistance to those who have been affected.

And so I wanted to write something about loss and grief, about devastation, about heartache, pain, anger and upset...about trying to understand when it just doesn't make sense...about accepting reality and crying things out, talking things out and working things out, about true love and the many forms through which it reveals itself...about forgiveness and the incredible resilience of the human spirit.

Loss naturally entails a new process, a journey, and everyone has or will experience such a journey in life, whether loss occurs by choice or by circumstance.

Authentic connections and compassion are the ground from which humans gain the strength, courage and patience to face loss and grow through it. The world's compassion in response to the Victorian bushfire losses has been a healing balm for many.

Healing through loss (at a personal, community, cultural or global level) also happens through opening ourselves to our shared human vulnerability. Ideally this process of revealing our human pain (and its protector: anger) occurs in a safe environment with people who have done the work of meeting and accepting themselves, and who consequently have the capacity to respond to raw human emotion with a measure of understanding, love, tenderness, empathy, acceptance, stability, authenticity, commitment and courage. Such exchanges can yield more real, more connected relationships between individuals, who are in fact strengthened through having opened to the pain of their own and others' losses. This is because sharing the pain of loss ultimately reveals and releases love.

There is much, much love in Victoria at the moment.

May you treasure the love and the authentic human connections in your life. Stay awake and present to these and remember: true love is always present and available to you.

Don't give up, no matter what.

Galijan

Getting it right

2008-12-17T03:36:00.000-08:00

It felt so good reading the opinion piece by the courageous and inspiring High Court Judge, Justice Michael Kirby, in Melbourne's The Age newspaper today. I love that he "gets it", that he has the courage and skill to publicly articulate the truth of his heart and I of course love that his truth resonates with what I know to be my truth: it seems we both share the same view about what the most important thing in life is!

http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/the-truth-about-life-20081216-6zro.html

Ooom-shaka-laaka Sir Kirby!

:-)
Galijan

A good debate stirs some NT memories...

2008-12-16T03:31:00.000-08:00

I just found this:
http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/1193

It's a great debate between Marcia Langton and Clare Martin regarding the Northern Territory Emergency Response - filmed in Melbourne in August 2008.

I worked as a social worker in the Northern Territory both prior to, and during, the Government's Emergency Response, where my work for two years consisted of listening to, counseling and assisting countless Indigenous women and children survivors of horrific domestic/family violence, as well as working individually and systemically to assist people to overcome the debilitating effects of alcohol addiction, trauma and systemic neglect, throughout the Katherine, Katherine remote and some Top End communities of the Northern Territory.

I have to say that in watching the debate mentioned above, Marcia certainly has my vote as someone who "gets it" :-))) By "it" I mean a profound and deeply felt understanding of these and many other issues that remotely located Indigenous Australians live with on a daily basis, a subsequent passion to redress these inequalities and a balanced approach to working through the complexities associated with achieving this goal.

In watching the debate, I also couldn't help but wonder if the Community Cabinet's women's forum that the former Chief Minister referred to a few times during the debate was the same one that I attended in Barunga (where I met her), well before the 2007 Emergency Response was announced, and where (as a representative of the Federal Government at the time) I was put on the spot by her to respond to local women in the forum who had asked her Territory Government to take decisive action to link carers' welfare payments to children's school attendance.

I remember responding at the time to the full meeting of Indigenous women (and NT Government politicians) that it was a complex area and that many factors contributed to poor school attendance (alcohol abuse, domestic/family violence, overcrowding, lack of food...etc) and that all of these issues needed to be addressed rather than just withholding people's payments.

I remember being very conscious that my professional social work, and personal, values regarding the importance of working to enhance people's rights to self-determination, and my cultural sensitivity associated with the consciousness I held of the trauma inflicted on Indigenous people through past destructive Government social policies, had all felt confronted by the strong voices of Indigenous women during that meeting; the strongly articulated request, by Indigenous women, for help in the form of greater Government intervention/control over the lives of Indigenous people who were seen to not be doing the "right thing" regarding children in their community, created an ethical tension, and questions, in my brain. I remember discussing the ethics of the issue with C. Martin after the meeting, and I also remember a media person taking a photo of us at that point; a picture which later appeared in a NT Government newsletter...I think I still have a copy of that photo somewhere!

And that was all well before the intervention (and it's associated ethical tensions) commenced via a press release to those of us working with Indigenous people in the NT at the time.

Ahhhh the memories of it all.

Great to see two strong, articulate, intelligent, passionate women debate and reflect, in a balanced way, on issues close to my heart.

xxGalijan

Poems for a rainy day

2008-12-13T02:33:00.000-08:00

Reading and reflecting on groovylicious poetry is a perfect rainy-day gift of self-love that speaks directly to the ooom-shaka-laaka frequency in me! Here are some poets and poems that I particularly like:

"Lights Out" by Edward Thomas (1878-1917) is a poem that has stayed with me since highschool. I think I've always liked it so much because it speaks to me of the omniscient "beyond", to which we are all destined; an awareness that inspires and encourages me to maintain a generous sense of gratitude, passion, respect and celebration for the precious life that I have and for the well-being of the wonderful people in it!:

Lights Out
I have come to the borders of sleep,
The unfathomable deep
Forest where all must lose
Their way, however straight,
Or winding, soon or late;
They cannot choose.

Many a road and track
That, since the dawn's first crack,
Up to the forest brink,
Deceived the travellers,
Suddenly now blurs,
And in they sink.

Here love ends,
Despair, ambition ends,
All pleasure and all trouble,
Although most sweet or bitter,
Here ends in sleep that is sweeter
Than tasks most noble.

There is not any book
Or face of dearest look
That I would not turn from now
To go into the unknown
I must enter and leave alone
I know not how.

The tall forest towers;
Its cloudy foliage lowers
Ahead, shelf above shelf;
Its silence I hear and obey
That I may lose my way
And myself.

I also love the poetry of Maya Angelou (b.1928) for her brazen honesty, her inspiring words of cultural pride, strength and resilience and for her insight regarding the power of love to lift us beyond our limitations (if we have the courage to allow it!):

Still I Rise
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Touched by An Angel
We, unaccustomed to courage
exiles from delight
live coiled in shells of loneliness
until love leaves its high holy temple
and comes into our sight
to liberate us into life.

Love arrives
and in its train come ecstasies
old memories of pleasure
ancient histories of pain.
Yet if we are bold,
love strikes away the chains of fear
from our souls.

We are weaned from our timidity
In the flush of love's light
we dare be brave
And suddenly we see
that love costs all we are
and will ever be.
Yet it is only love
which sets us free.

And being something of a softy when it comes to matters of romantic love, I couldn't go by the translated poetry of Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837), in particular his poem "I loved you once". This poem speaks to me of the intensity and grace of love and the nobility that forgiveness brings:

I loved you once
I loved you once: perhaps that love has yet
To die down thoroughly within my soul;
But let it not dismay you any longer;
I have no wish to cause you any sorrow.
I loved you wordlessly, without a hope,
By shyness tortured, or by jealousy.
I loved you with such tenderness and candor
And pray God grants you to be loved that way again.

...And for another love infusion, the poetry of E.E Cummings (1894-1962) captures for me so well the tenderness, fragility and vulnerability that exists between two open-hearted lovers. This rainy-day-suited poem was written out for me many years ago by a former lover and although I can't say i fully grasp all of the meaning, I do find the tenderness of the words and the imagery delightfully transporting:

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

Another implicitly tender one by E.E Cummings, which I love for it's description of expansive generosity, humility and loyalty to love is "I carry your heart with me". I love that this poem is a bold declaration of an unrestrained, unashamed and unselfish commitment to honoring love in one's heart (whether it be the grace of love for & from some universally spiritual force for good, or the love for & from another person) ...

i carry your heart with me
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

And one more by Maya Angelou...just because I think she's a fab poet, and because this one had me beaming with pride for the woman that she is!

Phenomenal Woman
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

***

I hope these poems have brought you some enjoyment, transported you somewhere magically inspiring and tingled at the ooom-shaka-laaka part of your soul!

And when you've had enough of all that, and the rain has stopped...I say "go surfing!"

:-)
Galijan.

Queerly I've been Ooom-shaka-laaka-rified!

2008-11-02T00:59:00.000-07:00

Here are several fabulously queer-related things that have recently brought OUT the Ooom-shaka-laaka vibe in me (including recent holiday adventures, as previously promised)!:

Finding the most appropriate answer for my four year old nephew when he asked me if my ex-girlfriend was a man: "That's a very good question: you are very smart! Sometimes girls fall in love with girls, and sometimes boys fall in love with boys and sometimes girls and boys fall in love with each other. It's all ok. It's normal - like being left handed or right handed - there's nothing wrong with it. I was in love with another woman, so no, she wasn't a man." Ooom-shaka-laaka that an astute four year old can ask such good questions!
Cuppas, chats, tears and smiles in a Canberra cafe with a lovely pal and her inspiring lesbian daughter... courage is a teenager who comes out at her Christian high school and asks the principal if she can tell the school at assembly about a support group for young same-sex attracted people like her :-) Love is the mum who comforts and supports her daughter when she rings home in tears because the principal told her he would do the speech himself but omitted to mention to the school what the support group was for. Courage is the young person who asks her principal to explain his actions to her. Love is the forgiveness she is able to feel in the face of his prejudice and fear.
Spotting flowers and clambering through the energizing Grampians in Victoria with a "Dyke. Just do it"-shirted-pal and her lovely pregnant gal!
Realising a long-held dream of visiting Turtle Cove Resort; A Gay-owned get-away nestled on a private beach between Cairns and Port Douglas in beautiful far North Queensland. Treble the Ooom-shaka-laaka effect for traveling with lovely, lovely friends and getting there during Women's Week! Hammock time with a great read and mineral water, swims in the sea, chats with new and good friends by the pool, snorkeling over The Great Barrier Reef with a smiling heart and clicking camera, cruising through the Daintree with eyes wide open and appreciating the water flow between super-large, good-vibe-charged Mossman Gorge rocks...Bliss.
Laughing at the irony of developing a mild boy-crush, during Women's Week at Turtle Cove, whilst succumbing to the loving indulgence of a healing full body, ayurvedically-enhanced, oil & stone therapy massage by the angelically beautiful and intuitive Michael!
Blending up a scrumptious, sun-lit brunch for myself and two beautiful boys: pancakes and smoothies followed by laughs and Louise Hay readings!
"Your cough means you have a desire to bark at the world hunny!: affirm after me-I may be a dirty dog, but I will cover my mouth with my hand rather than cough in my partner's face."
"Your sore hip means you need more thrusting action in your life luv!-me too! I had a sore hip last night! Let's affirm together!!!: I thrust in perfect balance. I thrust in life with ease and with joy!...oh wait-i may have slightly misread some of these!"
A surf trip to Point Leo on the Mornington Peninsular with gay gal-pals, where the waves were flat, the milk shakes tasty, magpies hungry, roses fragrantly divine and the koalas BIG and sleepy!
The warmth, humor and honesty shared between beautiful old and new gorgeous lesbian friends over Menu-log style pizza and chocolate mousse!
Open hearts dancing and laughing in the midst of a queer friendly Melbourne club for a post-grad queer Masked Ball! Complete with choreographed mask swapping amongst friends and a winged "fallen angel" dancing, smiling, blowing bubbles and giving his flouro sticks away to us all! Very funny and very Baz Luhrmann style :-) The happiness of belonging in the midst of human diversity, acceptance, fun and joy resonates with the Ooom-shaka-laaka beat of my heart!
Waking up to me with a smile!

Healthy sexuality is inseparable from your spiritual health. Celebrate your sexuality by honoring your Ooom-shaka-laaka vibe with good times, the beauty of nature, self-love, love of others, good laughs, generosity and the good company of truthful, loving people!

May your heart and mind always be open to love! Nothing else matters more.

xxxGalijan

Something to inspire you...

2008-10-21T02:55:00.000-07:00

This clip moved me, so i thought i'd share the link :-)

It's a shortened version of a lecture given by a university Professor, Randy Pausch (23 October, 1960 - 25 July, 2008). The original lecture was titled "Last Lecture". Very inspiring.

You can also watch the full version of the original 1hr+ lecture, which he gave at his University (Carnegie Melon University), in September 2007, here!

Enjoy!

Incase you missed it...

2008-10-20T03:44:00.000-07:00

The Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board released its report to the Federal Government on the 13th October, 2008.

You can have a squiz at the full report, and/or the Executive Summary, here:
http://www.nterreview.gov.au/report.htm

"It is the considered opinion of the Review Board that there is a need to reset the relationship between Aboriginal people and the governments of Australia and the Northern Territory.

The relationship must be recalibrated to the principle of racial equality and respect for the human rights of all Australian citizens.

Sustained and sustainable improvements in the safety and wellbeing of children and families in remote communities will only be achieved through partnerships between community and government.

Durable partnerships are based on mutual respect. They also require structural support. The Board considers that place-based agreements—whether regional or local—can provide a framework for more effective community development and the coordination of government services.

Other matters need renovation to build the capabilities required for place-based agreements to work. They include Aboriginal leadership and community governance, funding arrangements and the machinery of government, professional training and integrated data capture.

The Review Board’s recommendations touch on all these matters. They are indicators of the way forward.

Robust frameworks, adequate resources, functional governance and professional capabilities are necessary—but without the genuine engagement and active participation of the local community, deep seated change will not be achieved. It must be nurtured within the community. That is the lesson of the Intervention." (http://www.nterreview.gov.au/executive_summary.htm)

Seems to me that better times have arrived :-)

Galijan

25 hours in Sydney...

2008-10-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

When things change and deceptions/illusions/inauthenticities are finally and sometimes painfully revealed and released...there's nothing, besides gratitude, more precious and essential than staying true to you and seeking out authentic people, places and things that align most naturally with your ooom-shaka-laka spirit!

One thing that most certainly always stimulates the ooom-shaka-laaka vibe in my soul is quality time spent in the beautiful city of Sydney! I recently had 25 hrs to spend in this precious sun-lit, sea-side city and here's what I did!:

Shared truths and musical tastes with my much loved brother...it's amazing how wise and inspiring a kind brother can be on a road trip...

Giggled heartily as my oldest nephew spontaneously threw loungeroom items high into the air with excitement upon my arrival at his home: "AUNTY IS HERE!!!!"...and then felt some shame as he got into trouble for trashing the loungeroom...*gulp*.

Cuddled my nephews incessantly whilst repeatedly telling them how much I adore and love them!

Made my way to Newtown where I gratefully reunited with the tantalizing energy of King Street, before settling on miso soup and dumplings for dinner...hubba hubbba!

A train and bus back to more nephew cuddles, my oldest nephew's self-described "fantastic imagination" and toy car action!

A drive to Maroubra in the morning where i surveyed the newly developed Mall and inspected my own private piece of Maroubra (a long-held post office box!), followed by a much anticipated visit to the ocean.

McMahon Pool, Maroubra's rock pool, ranks as one of my most favourite places in the entire world! Nothing beats the soothing serenity of contemplating life whilst perched in nature on the solid rocks surrounding this divinely inviting rockpool. Temperature permitting, a free dip in the oceanic pool is as rejuvenating as any commercially available chakra balance and auric cleanse that one might be tempted to invest in!

Further along the beach, brunch-time spent with newspaper in hand whilst savoring some deliciously warm banana bread, chai tea and a fresh squeezed orange juice in the Pavillion Beachfront cafe overlooking the ocean...the perfect place for observing the sea and meditating on the moves of the brave Maroubra surfers!

See you later Maroubra, and a quick fang through Coogee beach to sample the comparative vibe of a more touristyficated beach... Maroubra remains my favourite!

A stop in at Broadway Shopping Centre for a fab neck and shoulder massage and a pleasantly anonymous wander through the bustle of a mall frequented by funky Sydney Uni types and other non-wanky, real-time Sydney groovers...

A meander along Glebe Point Road where perusing through gorgeous bookshops provided ample food or the soul...don't miss a soothing lap of the Rising Phoenix bookshop if you get a chance!

A drive back to where i was staying for a glorious swim, steam-room session then an invigorating dive back into a refreshing pool...feeling all of the work-related tensions and concerns diminish and be replaced by arising feelings of joy and gratitude for what is. Observing the birth of thoughts containing exciting future possibilities; More joy and gratitude! Ooom-shaka-laakaaa!

A brief cuppa-tea-catch-up with my sister-in-law, followed by a fang into the CBD for more nephew cuddles, enthusiastic "I love yous!", sad "I don't want you to go Aunty" and hearty "see-you-again really soons" near my drop-off point at the edge of Hyde Park.

A power walk to Central Station for a super-quick cup of spiralifically decorated hot chocolate with a true mate. If i could have thrown my arms around and hugged the entire big, beautiful Central Station building, I would have. The comforting and enduring solidity, openness and familiarity of Central Station inspires my smiles always. Strong, warm and abundant shelter is a beautiful thing. My mate was good for a hug and the heart-to-heart was a good thing too!

Et puis voila!...I'm learning that where-ever you align your ooom-shaka-laaka vibe with honesty/authentic presence, struggles dissolve and there exists nothing but true contentment, peace and love! Who was it who said "Follow your bliss"? :-)

Be well and stay tuned for more holiday adventures soon!

:-)
Galijan

What if it's just not there?

2008-08-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things aren't so ooom-shaka-laaka-tastic...

How do you get that ooom-shaka-laaka spirit back when you're just feeling burnt out, tired and over it?

What if you can't remember when you were last ooom-shaka-laakarified, or what if your ooom-shaka-laaka vibe feels more like an ooom-shlaka-kaka vibe?

What if your ooom-shaka-laaka vibe has decided to hide under a doona of discontent, whilst some relentlessly proud cockatoo has taken control of your thoughts and actions?

What then?

Change jobs, change cities, change the channel, change your relationship status, change your thoughts, change your habits, change your undies...change change change...
But can change ignite your ooom-shaka-laaka vibe again?
Sometimes.

At other times, waiting it out can work too.
Do nothing.
Be.
Let the cockatoo-of-kakadom wear herself out. Let the doona of discontent get boring.
Don't try and change anything: leave yourself in peace.

Whichever path you choose, eventually the kaka time does stop.
You may start to feel a tingle, then an urge, and then perhaps even the inspiration to CREATE!

Before you know it, you'll be bouncing up and down again, shaking off the shackles of kakadom, whilst boinging on a bed of babbling joyfulness! Eagerly bounding about, reunited with your ooom-shaka-laaka vibe again, you'll be singing silly songs to everyone you know and BEING true to you again!!!
(Note: the ooom-shaka-laaka vibe manifests itself uniquely in each individual-discover what works for you and allow it to be!)

And if pain persists, then ofcourse find someone skilled who knows how to dive beneath the doona of discontent, without getting lost, stuck or kakafied themselves, to explore your truth with you (or truths, if you happen to be of the post-modernist persuasion).

Most of all, trust that the kaka never lasts...it may just recur every now and then.

Having your say...

2008-08-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

I was super-glad to have spotted an advertisement in The Weekend Australian newspaper calling for public submissions to the Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board...

"The Northern Territory Emergency Response Review Board has been established to conduct an independent and transparent review of the NTER" (The Weekend Australian, August 2-3 2008, p. 17).

Check out http://www.nterreview.gov.au/ for more information. You'll find a bunch of questions on the web page that the Review Board are seeking input from the public on.

The time is now to have your constructive feedback heard; It seems the Government are listening. Consultation rocks-get into it! Ooom-shaka-laaka!!!

Submissions close Friday 15 August, 2008.

Pilgrimages...

2008-07-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Recently I took a week off from work and went on a road trip.

I saw some friends, family and a funeral in Canberra.

I walked along a blissfully empty beach near Batemans Bay. I gently and gratefully spooned my life with my mind, as I sat on a rock overlooking the sea.

I drove to Sydney and happened to be there at the same time as the Pope. We just missed each other in Darlinghurst... perhaps.

I didn't hand out condoms with the "No to Pope"-ers, and I didn't frolic with the World (Catholic) Youth Day folks.

I sent out a wish for everyone's well-being, happiness and enlightenment (including my own), picked up my very much loved surfboard from a friend, praised the ocean and then drove home to my Bulanjdjan.

Peace rocks... wherever, however and whoever you find it with.

Ooom Shaka Laakarify yourself

2008-07-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

It's easy when you know how...

Try riding a bicycle very quickly down Swanston Street, and through the heart of Melbourne city, on a sunny-licious Saturday afternoon.
Pause to hear Bob Brown address a climate change rally at City Square.
Remove your bike helmet and shake out your new fab, funkyficating haircut.
Devour a delicious, queer-friendly, French lunch with your love-her, on the banks of the Yarra.
Catch a train home with a full belly, your bike and your dyke.
After the briefest of brief reposes, go out again for a Japanese banquet dinner, with all of the Filipino lesbians that you know in Melbourne (two of them), on Sydney Road in Brunswick.
Spend Sunday recovering on the couch with episode after episode of Absolutely Fabulous.

Et puis VOILA. You are Ooom Shaka Laakarified.

Ten Train-Related Things to be Afraid of in Melbourne:

2008-06-22T00:24:00.000-07:00

Walking across a train line and getting stuck.
Driving across a train line and getting stuck.
Riding across a train line and getting stuck.
Skate boarding across a train line and getting stuck.
Squeezing your Brunetti-enhanced (Melbourne-ized) bod through crowded train doors, only to find yourself stuck amongst a throng of Ipod-ized (auditorily-entranced) commuters.
Being stared at by someone who is stuck-up and vain, whilst on a train.
Becoming aware that you are staring at yourself, and have become stuck up and vain, whilst on a train.
Becoming stuck between rapidly closing train doors, as you attempt to disembark a train... in the rain.... "Oh the shame".
Falling asleep on a train then waking up with sticky drool leaking from your mouth, a bruise on your forehead from where your head hit the inside of the train window, and a landscape that you do not recognize outside of the window.
Getting stuck trying to convince a skeptical train inspector that ordinarily you are a law abiding citizen (except in situations where the law discriminates against same-sex, mutually-consenting love, of course), that you hadn't realized that you were supposed to validate a daily ticket that is purchased on the same day that you use it, that it's your first day catching a train to and from work in Melbourne, that all day you'd been finding yourself scared of getting stuck in strange situations such as this one and that you sympathize with Sir that his job must be a very difficult one...all whilst struggling to wipe drool from your chin, establish the size of the bruise on your forehead and simultaneously shake off your disorientation and try to figure out what time it is and where your train has taken you to while you were sleeping.

Yes, adjusting to life in Melbourne, with trains, takes courage. I heard this thing the other day about fear: F.E.A.R = False Evidence Appearing Real. It takes courage (and comfort) to overcome scary expectations (wherever they may occur) and to face reality as it is - courage to muster that "Ooom Shaka Laaka" joyful vibe in your soul and use it to move confidently through your icky-sticky fears.

Popular author, Eckhart Tolle, writes that Now is the time. No one else can do it for you. Connect with your Ooom shaka lakaa vibe and join me, as I drive confidently, and quickly, over the next train line that I encounter :-)

May you be at peace with the icky-sticky scary train issues of your life.
:-)

There's good sense in moving to Melbourne…

2008-06-15T01:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first ever blog post :-)

Here are seven things that I loved about being in Melbourne today:

The sound of a choir singing with joy in the Bourke Street mall.
The view of resplendent Southbank from the Princes Bridge.
The smell of exquisite flowers emanating from a flower-stall on Swanston Street.
The taste of a delicious custard-filled donut and soy chai latte whilst reading The Melbourne Age.
The touch of my girlfriend first thing in the morning and last thing at night…and every other time.
The idea that I could go ANYWHERE (in Melbourne) with a Sunday Saver public transport ticket!
The sense that I contribute something significant to the world when I actualize the dreams that bring me the greatest joy.

Starting this blog has come from a sense of wanting to contribute something enjoyable to people, with something that I have to give - my words. What better way to contribute, than to create! So here I am in the blogosphere!

See you next time and, for maximum effect, stay close to the "ooom shaka laaka" of your heart :-)