yoko's chair

Apparently Yoko chatted with an elementary school teacher right here in IL and it resulted in all kinds of project-play and collaboration. Students made a video and Yoko sent a thank-you. In the end, the teacher made a spot in the class for students to go, return to peacefulness, and think about solutions.

Next year, my "cool-down corner" is going to be Yoko's Chair. And I will learn to play the guitar.

how to smile

I told you to smile when you are feeling down.
However, there are steps you should know.

First you go to the mirror and smile to the mirror in anyway you can.
You probably will not feel any different.
Smile a few times that way.

If that is not enough, smile a few times every morning when you see the mirror.
That won't do much, either, right?
Because there is a way to smile and change not only your mood, but make your body healthy and young, and change your life for the better!

1) Smile just by twisting the ends of your mouth up.
That doesn't get you anywhere, I bet.
But that's a start.

2) Smile with your eyes and mouth.
That's better.
Your smile will make somebody feel good, maybe.

Add a little giggle, and they will either think you're crazy or like you for it.

3) If you really want to smile so it will make yourself feel good as well -
you have to smile from your heart and your lungs.

Don't worry, if you are ending the smile with a quiet sound like ummm.

4) The next step will make you feel still better.
Smile from your solar plexus.
This has an added benefit of making your solar plexus healthier, and active.

5) The next step is to smile right down from your stomach.
When you do this, make sure to breathe deeply and pull your stomach muscles in as you smile.

6) The next step - yes, there are more steps! - you should smile from your knees.
Again, ju st pull your knees in - as you pull your stomach in.
At the same time you use your lungs, heart and solar plexus.

You'll see that by then, you are smililng with your whole body.
You won't forget to smile with your eyes and mouth at the same time.
It will happen anyway.

That's how you will get the true benefit of smiling.
How about giving a smile to others?
Should we forget that?

Don't worry.
They'll notice your smile.
Only, this time, you'll feel good, too.
Very, very good!

I love you! yoko

Yoko Ono
24 July 2009
via smiling face film

peace event for john lennon

This is going to need a little bit of background, so bear with me. It was created by Yoko Ono, a fluxist artist who, regardless of what she may have destroyed, is a very talented artist. The Fluxus movement, which began in 1963, is generally simple, diy, and anti-art. Much of it relates to the idea that the viewer completes the art through some form of participation, thus the art is not complete without some kind of interaction.


If you have had the misfortune of living near me during this last semester then you have probably heard me talk about Cut Piece excessively. Ono sat on stage in her best clothes and invited the audience to cut them off. Ironically, at the beginning audience members were hesitant and uncomfortable while approaching her but by the end, when there was very little cloth left, people came right up to her and cut off large sections of her clothing. One man even jokingly threatened her with the scissors, but Ono did not move the entire time. Cut Piece demonstrates the role of aggression and sacrifice in the relationship between audience and artist.


Ono recently reenacted Cut Piece in the name of world peace. She has always used her art to advocate for peace - she is afterall a product of the 60s. This work is something that can be done by anyone, anywhere. It is easy, free, and simple. Rather than producing an object that can be bought and sold, she produced instructions that anyone can carry out:

Peace Event for John Lennon

This is a call for all countries and their people who wish for World Peace. You, the carrier of good tidings, be proud, swift and wise. By being in peace, you are already part of the peaceful world.

A: VIP (Visit In Peace) Event

Visit:
Visit the Middle East.
Visit Asia.
Visit Africa.
Visit countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
Visit countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

Take:
Take photos of your friends who wish to make the trip but cannot.
Take music and/or an instrument from your country.
Take one thing you wear often and give it to somebody
you meet there.
What you give could be
As small as a handkerchief.
As useful as a T-shirt.
As pretty as a necklace.

Watch:
a) Watch the sunrise and compare it with the ones at home.
b) Watch the sunset and compare it with the ones at home.
c) Watch the moonlight and compare it with the ones at home.

Stay:
a) Stay until you find a friend to talk to.
b) Stay until you start to appreciate the country.
c) Stay until you start to feel love for their children.

Wish:
Make a wish and hold it in your heart.
Deliver a wish and see it unfold.
Send a wish and ask it to be shared.

Bring:
Bring back something you bought there.
Bring back memories.
Bring back a smile.

B: HIP (Home In Peace) Event
For those who cannot make the trip:

Visit:
In your mind
In your heart
In your dream

Pen pal:
Make pen pals in countries you've never been to.
Ask your friends to do the same.
Make pen pals in troubled countries.
Ask your friends to do the same.
Make pen pals with people of different religion and beliefs from you.
Ask your friends to do the same.


Map:
Pin a world map on your wall.
Start putting flags on the countries you have pen pals in.
Take a photo of your map every month to record the increase of the numbers of flags.

Imagine:
Imagine all the people holding hands.
Imagine all the people hugging each other.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.

Listen:
Listen to the heartbeat:
a) your own
b) your mate's
c) your child's
Listen to people.
Listen to animals.
Listen to the planet.
Listen to the Universe.
Listen to the Earth turning.

C: DIP (Dance In Peace) Event

When you are feeling bad
Do one thing a day
To make your heart dance.
It could be a simple thing like looking up at the sky.
If you can't manage even that
Do something for somebody
To make his/her heart dance.
It could be a simple thing like giving a call.
Do this for awhile and
Your life will change in a big way.
One day we'll all dance together.
Alright? y.o.

Reading through it makes me smile. Ono says that we can make a difference just by "being in peace" and then she uses her words to lighten your day. It makes me wish that creating peace were that simple. I would like to believe that if we all followed these instructions the world would be a little bit better off, or at least a little less ignorant. What I find so captivating is that it only exists when you do it. There is no room for commercialism or aggression.

I hope that as many of you travel to other parts of the world you will share your peace events with me. I absolutely want to know how the moonlight here compares to the rest of the world.