by Knowles Tivendale, Friend of the Greater Dandenong Interfaith Network
I believe we should live in peace, and in harmony with nature.
Diverse opinions are the essence of creativity. True knowledge comes from scientific approaches, shared wisdom, and genuine two-way engagement.
I’ve recently been reading about Songlines.
Songlines are an ingenious way that indigenous Australians store and retain knowledge ensuring survival of Australia’s many cultures over more than 40,000 years.
Songlines are more than just maps to different places, although they can perform that purpose. To western thinking Songlines provide the equivalent of holding a Google search engine in your head – without all the conspiracy theories and other junk.
They are like a sophisticated version of the way a good blackjack player remembers cards, and they already help all of us remember important pieces of information for ever (like the alphabet or times tables).
By encoding information into mnemonic devices based on places we are familiar with, we can all improve our ability to remember things.
Songlines go further to incorporate unimaginably large amounts of information that can easily be remembered through songs, dances, ceremonies, stories, landscapes, the stars, the gaps between the stars, and artworks.
This method of storing and teaching information is much more helpful and fun than just writing in a book, storing that on a bookshelf and forcing a few people to read it.
There is a new set of books being released about the First Knowledges contained in Songlines so that uninitiated people can read and explore the depth of insight contained within them.
They will cover six topics starting with an understanding of the memory system. This will help all of us store and access our knowledge in a more efficient manner.
Having an effective memory is very powerful, and exercising the most powerful memory systems can help us use and retain our brain power for longer.
Making good decisions today and avoiding dementia later in life, both rely on memory systems that leverage the environment we inhabit.
Using Songlines will help us all to understand and learn from those who know all about the Country and climate we live in, and will help each of us, live happier lives.
I encourage everyone to seek out the knowledge from our local Bunurong Songlines and find the depth of knowledge we need to protect our Country, live in harmony with nature and each other.
Enquiries about the Interfaith Network: executive@interfaithnetwork.org.au or 8774 7662
