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There we were, cruising the streets of Be'er Sheva looking for Sudanese refugees to photograph and interview; yet lost as two farts in a perfume factory; when we drove past this huge wall of junked cars. Got me thinking about doing a project on pollution in the promised land.

Cars

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I've been practicing this as part of my perception therapy -- instead of seeing "car" or "cellphone" or "television," I practice perceiving only shapes and colors. Like a camera.

I decided to adopt this approach to the world following a discussion I had with a photojournalist friend of mine about overcoming the horrors one sometimes encounters as a photojournalist. Example: I was caught up in a terrorist attack and, together with about 10 other photojournalists, simply stood my ground and photographed the dead and dying around me without flinching. I felt apart from it. My friend concurred. "When the camera is in your hands you only think about the image, you don't think about what is going on in front of you."

So that's one goal in my self-administered therapy: To be able to come and go at will from the world of symbolism, to let my chains fall away; open the door to my cell; and relate to the world from a place of power and clarity.

Was the day the earthquake struck in China - talk about bad karma.

A harsh lesson in compassion.

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I had a blast celebrating Israel's 60th independence day, down at Kikar Rabin in Tel Aviv.

Sadly, the rest of the world didn't seem to care. The global mainstream media chose to focus instead on  the arab "catastrophe" (nakba) without placing it in context - on the day Israel announced her independence and asked her neighbours to live in peace with her, the answer she received from the surrounding Arab states was a declaration of war with the stated aim of driving the Jews into the sea and destroying the fledgling state.

The reason it was a catastrophe for the arabs is because they didn't succeed.

Just thought I'd share a recent experience I had while walking through the old city of Jerusalem while wearing a "Barack Obama for President" T-shirt. A gift from a friend, I am probably the only person in Israel who has such a shirt. I'm not American and I hold Israeli citizenship, but I'd support the candidate who would be "good for Israel". So I decided to wear it and see what reaction I would get...

In the Jewish areas I was met by indifference and light criticism; but in the arab quarter I was suddenly overwhelmingly welcome. Thumbs ups everywhere for Obama; smiles of welcome in restaurants, and top notch service.

The comments tended to go along these lines:

"Barack Obama! Barack Obama! Cool man!"
"Obama! Barack Obama! You vote him? He's good!"
"Obama - I love him, man!"

All this stood in sharp contrast to the times when my Israeli girlfriend and I walked through the same streets and ate at the same restaurants: we were met with surly, simmering, indifference. Service was grudgingly given and while we may have been smiled at in welcome, a sudden about-face showed those same waiters glaring at us with hatred.

Makes ya think, doesn't it?

The head of the UN nuclear monitoring agency on Friday slammed the US for not giving his organization intelligence information sooner on what Washington says was a nuclear reactor in Syria being built secretly by North Korea.

Under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, America is obliged to disclose any suspicious information to his agency without delay.

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei also chastised Israel for bombing the site seven months ago.

"The Director General views the unilateral use of force by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the nonproliferation regime,'' said the office of Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency. He did not criticize North Korea or Syria in his statement.

I think it's very telling how Mo has angry words for the US and Israel, yet has nothing bad to say to Syria or North Korea, even though Syria signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty and the latter has promised to come clean on, and stop, its own nuclear weapons programme. Mo behaves more like a supporter of Islamic nuclear terrorism, instead of somebody hired to prevent it.

More here

I started going to therapy again last week. After the session I felt so relaxed - the most I have been in years.

An I Ching reading prompted this - the Oracle noted I had become like a "Dry Well"; that blessings had been bestowed on me (the new job, my Tel Aviv apt, etc) and that I was being foolish not to accept them.

Methinks it's time to work on my body as well. A couple of weeks ago I was at work, walking towards my desk and I looked up to see my reflection in the window in front of me. Bouncing along as I approached my desk and I suddenly asked myself why I was bouncing? I know it’s because my feet are flat but hey, why not do something about it? So I have begun noticing my self. My body. How I walk. How I talk. How I breathe. How I look at things. And there’s a lot to work on. So now I am concentrating on walking and breathing correctly. It’s strange to see the effect it has - all of a sudden I walk slower and pay attention more, step step breathe, step step breathe.

I’m also trying not to use my specs as much. I make a point of taking them off and suddenly I noticed that my eyes are trying to observe the world around the frame of the specs. Years ago I read that one can exercise one’s eyes so that they become less dependent on specs - glasses are a crutch, yes.

Work-wise I am greatful to have a decent job with a real salary. The +2 years I spent at my last job took a tremendous toll on my creative and personal life. Never again.

I woke up this morning realising an encounter I had had with synchronicity.

Eh, wot?

In January I wrote how much I enjoyed riding the trail along the river near my apartment and how cool it would be to ride the same trail to work .... only I wasn't working at the time. A week later I was called in to an interview with the company I work at today.

A perk of my new job is that while I can take a company car I have opted to cycle to my office though the park that's near my flat. A 45-min ride though green fields and shady lanes while hugging the banks of a nice river. Road rage no more!

And then this morning I realised that this is exactly what I had asked the universe for.

Nice.

Now I am going over all my old blog posts to see what else I asked for.