Travelling to Alice Springs

I was feeling a bit unwell today but took it easy. The Stuart Highway is long and straight. So you don’t really need a GPS. There was very little traffic on the road. One aspect that did stand out for me was the amount of burned grass, hilltops it didn’t feel to me as a natural phenomenon. I wondered how these fires are starting. Another aspect that seems as a regular occurence was the amount of abandoned cars. The indigenous people get the cars and run them until they stop. So you often see cars just abandoned in the middle of nowhere or along the road.

I drove on and then noticed Amatjere and on a hill a giant aboriginal man with a spear. I then saw a giant statue of a woman, a child and a lizard. They were very large statues and very striking. There was a Art Gallery there. So I thought I would go in and have a look. I love the aboriginal art, particularly the dots in the paintings. I found out that the dots in circular form are an aspect of looking down on a gathering. I suggested to the art gallery owner that the dots were more like the salt lakes I saw from the plane when flying over the centre of Australia. I believe they leave their body and were able to look down and see the salt lakes. He said he didn’t disagree with that idea. I don’t know much about the dream-time, but my feeling is that they were mystics and were able through ritual to leave their bodies. I feel knowledge and wisdom is embedded in the dream time. Certainly there is an idea that this life is the dream. We are dreaming up our world. I find this very interesting. I have a book on Sacred Australia and will pull it out. There is also a UFO connection in Aborignal history. Believe it or not when I bought this book I randomly opened it and found reference to other star people. I also found out in New Zealand when talking to a Maori that they had a star connection. In Mexico same thing and also suggestions in the Celtic tradition. I am sure the UFO link is embedded in humanity’s history, but at this point it is not discussed.

I had a long conversation with the Art Gallery proprietor and he informed he had been in this business for 32 years. He stated that he had seen the best and worst of people. He spoke of those who were deceptive. He said he didn’t have a rosey view of indigenous. He had been ripped off by them but had also met some really wonderful ones. He was balanced in his assessment. I agreed to look at people as who they are. I am not romanticising them but I feel a spiritual link that I find fascinating. I feel some of them are lost right now, but I see that in western culture. In fact if you look across the world many indigneous people’s are suffering from alcohol abuse, violence and the feeling of being an underclass. Their traditions viewed as primitive and they are not considered reliable or hard workers. Yet this is the ignorance of European/western culture which is motivated by the protestant work ethic, that has within it, the concept that decent people work hard. Those that don’t work are bludgers on the system. Yet I would regard a civilisation as a reflection of how it treats those perceived as most disadvantaged.

I think the void or distance between these cultures is enormous and it requires a willingness to venture into the other culture and experience the people. In our humanity we are very similar yet in our cultural behaviours we are very different, with a range of ethics applied to living certain ways. So in that respect we do not understand each other.

This guy I was speaking to had studied psychology and focussed on values and beliefs. I mentioned to him the difference between ethics (culturally defined) and values (intrinsic). He grappled with that a little but he could see through my example that values are deeper. He and I spoke of wisdom and what it is. I said it is knowledge applied. In respect of through our experience we learn to look through situations more clearly. For example when I was 20 I may have seen a conflict in terms of right and wrong, whereas today I look past the conflict into the person. I explained to him that I see people as inherently good. Yes there are layers, but at the core people are good. He had a stronger belief in right and wrong. I said by looking through right and wrong it doesn’t mean I condone violent actions or violations that harm people, but my feeling is not so black and white. I tended to filter my world through my feeling rather than my thoughts. I explained as a clown how I make up the clowning as I feel it. I also try to feel where the children are at and I may change my program mid stride. I am quite flexible. I am not going at it with thought as the dominant, it tends to be the servant to my inner feeling which is based on love in my work in peace. So whatever manifests out of that, is what I reflect to the world. We had a nice conversation on virtues and it was encouraging to see a person who had deeper feelings about these subjects. He first came over as a bit abrupt but I feel deep down he is a romantic actually who has become somewhat disappointed at the virtues in others.

So hopefully our time together was positive. I certainly enjoyed meeting this man with a profound interest in history and spirituality.

I left this place and headed for Alice Springs. On arrival in Alice Springs I saw streets lined with gums, it reminded me of Canberra (bush capital) and I noticed the houses were pretty modern. What really blew my mind was the MacDonnell Ranges. They are a spectacular range of Mountains.

I found my way to the Campire at the Heart, to find myself in the heart of great people. I was prepared to set up a tent and thought the price was $22, but the lady only had cabins and they were $50 plus. It was way out of my price range. She said to me to pay what I can afford. How kind is that? I was so touched as I am unwell today and so exhausted. It seems I will get a good sleep tonight. I am here for a couple of days and will explore Alice Springs.

I’ve been reflecting on making a big change in my route. I am thinking of heading down to Adelaide. I haven’t been that way before then over to Perth. I may skip Darwin and the North West of Australia. I have been there. What has changed my direction is the 1,600 km drive up to Darwin. There isn’t a great deal to see, and I am feeling I’d like to see Woomera and Coober Pedy in South Australia. The beauty about being free, is I can go anywhere.

Life is great.