Deep Dreaming Australia

A CONTINENT FOR COMPASSION

Of course a continent for compassion couldn’t be dreamed into being without the essential inclusion of Indigenous Australians and we are very grateful to our Indigenous Advisor Al Harris. Al is a member of the Bibbulmann clan from the Noongar tribe of Western Australia. With his sons they use many aspects of Aboriginal culture, including dance, music, song, art and history, to bring Indigenous people into the hearts and minds of their audiences. Al, the patriarch, is well known for didgeridoo playing, and is equally at home performing the traditional songs of his homelands as he is speaking to the world’s corporate leaders about inclusion, reconciliation and leadership. He has shared the stage with the likes of U2, and performed for the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela. With his sons Tristan and Azlan Harris, Western Creation have toured the depth and breadth of this land they call home.

As the Australian Compassion Council, Deep Dreams Australia: A Continent for Compassion, we are working with Tyson Yunkaporta, author of Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World, to integrate his five mind sets into the ongoing work of the Charter.

Bringing Indigenous Thinking into The work of the Charter through five mind sets:

Kinship Mind

Relationship and connectedness – ‘nothing exists outside a relationship to something else’

Story Mind

Role of narrative in memory and knowledge transmission

Dreaming Mind

Use of metaphors including images, language, culture, and rituals in knowledge transfer

Ancestor Mind

Deep engagement, connecting with a timeless (not linear) state of mind

Pattern Mind

Seeing entire systems and trends and the patterns within them to find holistic solutions to complex problems

(from Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the Worldby Tyson Yankaporta)