A friend sent me the link to a page of the website of Van Cleef & Arpels, a French luxury jewelry, watch, and perfume company. The page is about their vision of Poetic Astronomy® with planetarium wristwatches. They write about the “Midnight Planétarium watch“:

“…the Midnight Planetarium watch captures Earth and five of its neighbors in the solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) as they revolve around a rose gold Sun. Each planet, represented by a meticulously fashioned ornamental stone, moves at its true pace relative to the Sun: Saturn will take over 29 years to make a complete circuit of the dial, while Jupiter will do the same in just under 12 years, Mars 687 days, Earth 365 days, Venus 224 days and Mercury 88 days. The wearer of the Midnight Planétarium watch can also choose his lucky day: on the selected date, Earth will move to a position directly below the star engraved on the sapphire crystal.”

The website is very well done, with poetic video presentations, even if the prices of the astronomic watches probably will be “in the stars” for you – and me. The two pictures are from their videos (copyright Van Cleef & Arpels) And have a look at their videos – excellently done.

Such watches might also be spiritually understood not just a beauty accessory but as visualising the macrocosm reflecting in the microcosm, and keeping the relation visually present. It is the Science of Correspondences which is at the basis of our relation to the universe.

At irregular intervals, I share via a “Friends List” some “digital gifts” – things I have come across on the web over the last months. In time for Christmas – here are some digital gifts found in the last 5 months:

Best Christmas Campaigns 2019 – some commercials are really well done (only if you want to spend time…..)

The little baby dragon named Edgar.

Give those who give from the heart…

Cookies! … nice

A sweet little bear (Bärenmarke)

Samsung Galaxy 🙂

Homesick (Ikea)

Amazon: Singing parcels

Zalando – Christmas – being together

McDonald – playing with a reindeer

Christmas for young and old children

Mimi the owl learns to fly – Migros Switzerland ;-))

The most important ingredient is Love (Edeka Germany)

Other things:

Very nice: Bird Song Opera – Mozart’s Magic Flute ‚Papageno/Papagena Duet‘ as an audiovisual bird song aria.

Infinite Patterns – a short Animation by Cristobál Vila
See also his website and the Lux Eterna (Eterna Light) – excellent

Interesting:

There’s Growing Evidence That the Universe Is Connected by Giant Structures

Something mysterious is syncing the movements of galaxies across the universe.

If you like Hang music: The Secret Kissing of Sun and Moon

For old Beatles fans: Jimmy Fellon and Ringo Star playing with classroom instruments: We are all in a Yellow Submarine…

Photographer removes our smartphones to show our strange and lonely new world

Yesterday, a friend from Germany rang me up and enthusiastically told me about Ecosia, a free search engine that uses its profits to plant trees. Their business model: “You search the web with Ecosia. Search ads generate income for Ecosia. Ecosia uses this income to plant trees.”

I first was a bit sceptical – it sounded interesting but what is behind and how does it perform?

I looked up in Wikipedia: “Ecosia is an Internet search engine based in Berlin, Germany, that plants trees by donating 80% or more of its surplus income to non-profit organizations that focus on reforestation and conservationism. Ecosia considers itself a social business, is CO₂-negative, claims to support full financial transparency, protects the privacy of its users, and is certified by B-Lab as a benefit corporation. The website maintains a running total of the number of trees planted. According to their website, as of 14 August 2019, the search engine had been responsible for the planting of more than 64 million trees.”

I wondered how they can manage to present a search engine powerful enough in the competition with the big data octopus Google, which has gone far away from their earlier motto “do no harm”. But they have a strong partner- the search results for Ecosia are provided by Microsoft Bing, the second largest search engine in the US, after Google, enhanced by the company’s own algorithms. By the way, when you search on Ecosia “xxx #w”, it directly gives you the related Wikipedia article.

Other questions of mine were answered in their FAQ section: Ecosia’s servers run on 100% renewable energy, and every search request removes 1kg of CO2 from the atmosphere (also Bing is carbon neutral). They don’t sell the user data to advertisers, have no third party trackers and anonymize all searches within one week. They even publish their monthly financial reports, so you see exactly where the income from your searches goes.

So, I have now changed to Ecosia in my browers and bookmarked it. If you are using Android devices, you might have difficulties of setting Ecosia from 2020 on, as Wikipedia informs:

“As of 21 August 2019, Search Engine Land reported that Ecosia will not participate in the “search-choice” auction to appear on Android devices led by Google. This means that in 2020 European Android phone users will not have the option to set Ecosia as a default search engine. Christian Kroll explained the boycott decision saying: “We’re deeply disappointed that Google has decided to exploit its dominant market position in this way. Instead of giving wide and fair access, Google have chosen to give discrimination a different form and make everyone else but themselves pay, which isn’t something we can accept.” Applications to participate in the “search-choice” auction are due in mind-September.” (2019)

It is certainly not the purpose of the Lufthansa commercial “Dance with the Arctic Ocean” (#LifeChangingPlaces Lofoten) to stimulate pondering upon the adventure of turning inward. No, this is an amazing video to deliver the feeling of the thrill of extreme experiences. It shows the surf photographer Chris Burkard changing his old life in warm California against a new life in Norway’s ice, storms and cold. The solitude of surfing in the surge of the Lofoten at minus 23 degrees as the ultimate kick, after feeling bored with the most beautiful surf beaches at the top spots of the world: “In this moment I knew: This is exactly what I have been searching for… I came here because I didn’t want to do always the same. Now I know, I don’t want anything else.”

This sounds like the words of someone who has overcome all bodily limitations and experiences the Yogic state of bliss; whose thoughts and desires have been burnt in the inner fire and who is in deep inner peace. Yogis too, are sometimes living in extreme climatic conditions without being touched by them – their path is just a tiny step ahead of the search of extreme sportsmen and photographers.

The inner journey, however, goes deeper than the thrill of ecstasy brought about by all kinds of extreme experiences which many are searching for today. Maybe the craze of high performance sports with their celebration at the Olympic Games or football championships is just a preparation for the ultimate step towards oneself and from there to the One Source.

Photo: Lufthansa video #LifeChangingPlaces Lofoten (c)

Recently a friend remarked, “Why are there only few people interested in the wisdom teachings and in group meetings? Why don’t you do some activity in the public to attract more people?” Some time later, another person asked, “Do you do any get-to-know events or meditation retreats?”

I knew that behind the answers I spontaneously gave there is much more than some short remarks can explain. It is about discovering your path. And about understanding what is your inner urge and that of others.

I told the first person, “Spreading the wisdom teachings cannot be done by propagating them but by way of one’s own inner transformation. And to talk about it, there has to be a searching soul showing a deeper intent.”  Curiosity might be a starter but it needs perseverance.
The second person I wrote about some possibilities of coming into contact, and there was no further reaction. There are many such ephemeral contacts. Opening doors for non-entrants?

For a long time, I thought that it is mainly a matter of informing people to arouse an interest so that they find “the spiritual path”. And with my enthusiasm for the path I was going I wanted to get others interested in it. I identified the path with the movements I was associated with for a while. And in a way I thought  that this path I was going was the right direction also for others. However, quite a number of times I discovered after a while that I needed to change my course and left movements.  With each change, temporary co-walkers stayed behind and new ones came.

It took a long time until I really deeply realised that “the path of the soul” and “the teachings I feel associated with” are two different things. And shifts in my inner orientation need not cause, from my side, shifts in outer associations. On the other hand, changes with the path of friends or close ones need not result in shifts in my inner orientation. This realisation caused some profound changes in me. It happened about 3-4 years ago. Now, when people come to me complaining about things – in society, with others, with the teachings – I inwardly check, does it touch my association with what I am doing or my path? I can respond in a friendly way without taking their viewpoints – and without feeling a need of explaining mine.

The wisdom teachings help me understand myself and clarify my understanding of others and of the greater nature. But if I don’t relate them to myself they are like straw and not corn. Trying to “market wisdom” is like distributing straw or giving food to people who don’t want to “eat”. And what is food for others might not be the same for me.

It needs lot of discrimination to realise what is nourishing for your soul and what you better leave off. And not to leave off the right thing because of what others think. It does not matter whether there are many people interested in the things that are good for me, or for you.

Aquarian energies don’t need to be consciously understood. They penetrate all life on our planet. They are linked to the element of air. They bring about expansion into space and make visions come true.

Here is a nice commercial of the South American LAN Airlines which is certainly not realised to illustrate principles of the Aquarian age. But you can easily see these qualities in the video. It is about Mariela, an indigenous girl from Peru dreaming to sing in the clouds – and her dream comes true for her and some friends with the help of LAN…

Photo from the video (c)

It is a commercial but well done, and the message is spiritual: “We are greater than I”.

The description of the video spot of Samsung created in partnership with the World Surf League says: “It shows how we are all connected, intrinsically co-dependent, and tied together for better and for worse.” And further:

“No individualism here, no ego, no celebration of one hero. In surf, as in technology, one cannot reach the next level alone. Without the people around us, without “We”, without “Us”, “I” is nothing. Together, we make each other better. Together, we push, we inspire, we challenge and redefine each other. We Are Greater Than I.”

May it be so with Samsung, the surfers and with all of us: no ego, no celebration of one hero… And not a side-blow to a competitor who uses “i” in the names of his products.

This viral video got over 5 million views within a month.

(C) Samsung, from the video

A very well done German commercial that won a gold lion (I think 2007) under the film category in the 54th edition of the Cannes International Advertising Awards. The video from Epuron has given a character to something as invisible and plain as the wind. It intends to raise the awareness for the use of wind energy. You find many versions on the web, here it is with German subtitles. Enjoy.

By the way, if you are interested in the subtle qualities of air and wind, have a look at the book on the Maruths (Lectures on Secret Doctrine, Vol. 3), where Dr. K. Parvathi Kumar explains the Eastern occult wisdom concerning Vayu, the cosmic intelligence of air, which details into the seven winds called Maruths. They are the intelligences which conduct movement.

Photo from the video (c)

A touching commercial as a viral video about an “Unsung Hero” (more than 6.6 million views). The “Good Story” by Thai Life Insurance is about good will and selfless sharing without seeking to get attention. Well done!

A pic from the video (c)

A nice way of creating attention in the public are flashmob performances. I blogged about the Ode to Joy in Sabadell, Spain, and for the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Here is a “shopera” performance in a London grocery store, where one afternoon five secret opera singers disguised as casual shoppers and store staff presented the Italian classic Funiculì, Funiculà in the food aisles. Enjoy this mixture of culture and marketing.

Photo (c) from the video