The Neues Museum in Berlin is famous for its ancient Egyptian treasures. I had arrived early. So early that it wasn’t open yet. I stood by the door, waiting. Another woman was there too. She was American, from New York. We got talking about everything from ancient history to the history of this city where we found ourselves and the Second World War, about the strange and awful paths humanity can take when tolerance gives way to fanaticism and hatred.

When the doors opened she told me she wanted to go straight upstairs to see the famous bust of Nefertiti, uninterrupted by the crowds that would soon flood the museum. As we walked through the doors she turned to me and said, “Do you want to come with me?”

We hurried up staircases and through galleries, talking, talking all the way.

Suddenly, there she was in front of us. In a round darkened chamber she stood, serene, untouchable, whispering the secrets of ages.

We drew closer in awe, the woman from New York and I, and we looked at her in silent appreciation, together.

We didn’t speak anymore.

It was just us, and Nefertiti.

And in those moments, time seemed inconsequential. Looking at her, cat-like beautiful and so regal, the millennia of human history seemed so real, and so close.

Afterwards, we walked back downstairs to get maps and audioguides and make our way through the rest of the museum. We hugged each other from the heart as we said goodbye and went our separate ways. I couldn’t help thinking how amazing it was that even though we came from opposite ends of the earth, even though we had never met before and would probably never meet again, we had shared a profound moment together, and our souls had connected with something ancient but still so alive in those short minutes we’d been in each other’s company.

It was then that I remembered anew why I had so passionately wanted to travel the world.

Want to know more about the Bust of Queen Nefertiti? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nefertiti_Bust

   by  dalbera 

The post A Story of Berlin & Ancient Egypt – Visiting the Nefertiti Bust appeared first on Angela Little.

This poem was written by my Facebook friend TOM FAOLAN PRZBYLA. He invited me to check out some of his poetry, and this one just made me stop and catch my breath.

I thought of the magical half-light we experience as creative people; suspended somewhere between dream and reality; at one with our spirit and with nature.

If you want to see more of Tom’s poems you can visit him at www.facebook.com/TomasFaolanPoetry

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The word ‘Sraddha’ has two slightly different forms, and two different meanings, depending which form is used.

In one form (sraadha or shraadha), it is a Sanskrit word which describes a Hindu ritual performed for one’s dead ancestors, particularly one’s parents. It is a prayer for their peace, and it is a way of honouring them, and of showing gratitude to our ancestors (both immediate and those in the distant past) for giving us life and helping us become what and who we are.

In another form (sraddhaa, shraddhaa, saddha), it is a word significant in both Hinduism and Buddhism whose translation sits somewhere between ‘faith’, ‘insight’, ‘understanding’, and ‘conviction’, and, in particular, it can be used to describe the conviction or confidence that one develops as a result of their own experiences.

In my case, rather than choosing one meaning, I chose to try to honour both by simply calling my collection of songs SRADDHA. I did this because SRADDHA is a collection of music that arose in response to a great personal loss. In the beginning, it was an expression of personal grief, but over time, I realised that what I was feeling spoke to something much deeper than my own circumstances. The process of coming to terms with the loss of life of someone who was dear to me led me to an acknowledgment of the past which is always with us, and a desire to seek meaning from the endless cycle of life and death to which all of humanity is bound.

Ultimately I realised that what I’m expressing relates equally to both of the interpretations of the word; in a literal sense, this collection of songs is like a ritual I am performing, a cathartic expression of the emotions I felt as, over time, I dealt with the sudden and unexpected death of my father.

In a deeper sense, this collection of songs is also a reflection of something else; the realisation that through this personal suffering I had somehow gained a deeper understanding of the paradox of Life; it is fleeting, but it is constant; it is ever in decay and yet ever in renewal – and the keystone of my discovery was the ability to live with this paradox and to find hope and purpose in my existence and relationships despite the promise of their eventual end.

I also came to understand that a single life is but one expression of something much greater – after all, we may be a tiny grain of sand, but we are still part of the bedrock of a vast ocean that will continue to ebb and flow long after we are, personally, gone. This, strangely, I found very comforting. Being able to accept this paradox of the significance and insignificance of a single life was for me the key to accepting death. Because where we shall end, more shall continue. And while we are here, may we pave the way for them with courage, compassion, and fire in our hearts.

SRADDHA will be released one song per month, from the 1st of September 2014 to the 1st of June 2015. The songs will be made available as a digital download on iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp and selected streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer on the first day of each month. Join my mailing list to get access to secret videos about each song of SRADDHA and email updates about the release of each song.

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Watch the Baz Luhrmann Medley at 2014 AACTA Awards

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I did the string arrangement for Track 7: Miles & Miles (Acoustic + Strings)

He’s an amazing singer and it was a real privilege to work on this track for him -

Check out “Irons in the Fire” by Matthew Mayfield on iTunes

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