Utopian Visionaries Dostoevsky & Le Guin

Utopian Visionaries
Dostoevsky & Le Guin

February 10 2024

After the last post about Biosphere 2, I would like to linger a little longer in utopian realms of thought. These two visionary tales are written hundred years apart, under very different conditions by very different authors yet they make a great match.

I’ve previously shared these two short stories in the newsletter, but I think they deserve a post, so people can discover them when browsing the archive.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

Fyodor Dostoevsky
1877

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

Ursula K. Le Guin
1973

Bernard Durin
Beetles and other Insects

There’s a whole earth community that has nothing to do with human beings.

The Last Honey Hunter
of Nepal

Deep and dark, this film glides through a misty world of forest spirits, dreams, and psychotropic honey.

Metamorphosis
Chaos, Creativity and Imagination

A trialogue on chaos and the world soul, featuring Terence McKenna, Rupert Sheldrake, Ralph Abraham – three brilliant minds sharing their views on life and the structure of reality.

Lloyd Kahn
Shelter not Cabinporn

Lloyd Kahn is arguably the most influential pioneer of the DIY building movement that emerged in the 1960s.

Emil Bisttram
And the Transcendental Painting Group

These seekers of the inner spirit in outer things, wanted to carry painting beyond the appearance of the physical world.

Terence McKenna
Opening the Doors of Creativity

I feel like there’s a shortage of Terence McKenna here. He opened a huge door into new realisations for me and I’m so grateful for that.

Pedro Friedeberg
Architect of Patterns

Pedro Friedeberg and Frida Kahlo were the only two Mexican artists recognized by Andre Breton as part of the Surrealist movement.

Moebius
Black & White work

When it comes to Moebius aka Jean Giraud (* 1938 — † 2012) it’s hard to make a choice what to present. His body of work is huge and versatile. My selection focuses on his early black & white work.

Entheo:Genesis
Awakening the Divine Within

The film examines the re-emergence of archaic techniques of ecstasy in the modern world by weaving a synthesis of ecological…

Moebius
The World of Edena

A cosmic drama featuring the two interstellar repairmen Stel and Atan who rediscover humanity’s true state of being.

Kirlian Photography
The blaze of the force

Kirlian believed that images created by Kirlian Photography might depict a conjectural energy field or aura, that surrounds all living things.

Makishi
Death dances for living people

The western culture is devoid of meaningful rituals that help you grow through the stages of life. I think that’s the reason why I’m so fascinated when I find it in other cultures.

Ben Tolman
Detailed views on inner landscapes

Ben Tolman’s ink drawings reflect the fact that there is a subtle world we only perceive in non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Jonathan Zawada
Metamathemagical

On these grounds, all perception is a gamble. A meta-level is always just around the corner, and Zawada’s hyperreal imagery is a vivid glimpse into an expanded perceptual bandwidth.

Breath of the Gods
The origins of modern Yoga

The documentary investigates the origins of modern yoga and presents especially Krishnamacharya’s life and teachings.

Ashtanga Yoga
Mysore Style

The term Mysore Style means you practice a memorized yoga sequence without being led by a teacher. The role of the teacher is to guide as well as provide adjustments or assists in postures.

Lebensreform
Monte Verità

I want to tell you about the Lebensreform movement in the early 20th century. The problems back then were the same like today.

Alexandra Duprez
The eternal metamorphosis

French artist Alexandra Duprez mentions Australian Aboriginal art as her main inspiration to take up painting.

Daehyun Kim
Moonassi

Daehyun Kim’s Moonassi series is his life-time project. He draws to meditate on himself and others. And the others again can use the drawings to contemplate as well.

Gerhard Riebicke
Ways to Strength and Beauty

Gerhard Riebicke’s photography paved the way for the awakening of the Lebensreform movement in the early 20th century.