 Happy Eloha Friday and welcome to Perspectives on Global Justice Think Tech Hawaii program. This is your host Beatrice Cantelmo. We are living under trying times politically with much divisions, fear and anger around this country and around the globe. Many people are feeling overwhelmed and depleted. How do we replenish ourselves, our hearts, hopes and dreams day after day in an environment like that? How do we live in and create a sustainable world where peace and love are common practices? To help bring additional context to today's show, I want to share a quick story that I heard from Pima Sholdram, a Tibetan Buddhist nun a few years ago. There is a story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking down, she sees that there are tigers below her as well. And then she notices a mouse in a knowing way at the vine to which she's clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her growing out of a clump of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse and then she looks and takes the strawberry, puts it in her mouth and enjoys it thoroughly. Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment in our life it might be the only strawberry we'll ever eat. We could get depressed about it or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life. I want to welcome our guest, Tamara Barrilla. Her gentle spirit is like a cool and sway gentle breeze from many people's hearts and spirits. Tamara is the founder of Aloha O'ahu Namaste, an organization that's solely devoted to teaching and promoting peace and love in many forms, starting with him. Tamara, welcome to Perspectives on Global Justice. Thank you so much. You're very welcome. So to tell a little bit of your background to our viewers, you know, where do you come from Tamara? Well, yeah, my country is Chile. I born in Chile. In a city that is called Punta de Enas, really close to the South Pole, mean I am a penguin. A penguin in Hawaii. What a wonderful change to have you as a lovely penguin in Hawaii. And so you were raised in Chile and then moved to Hawaii. And what is your background professionally? What have you been up to since you moved to Hawaii? Well, I create this project, the Aloha Namaste Network. And I start, well, I am yoga instructor and teaching senior student too. And I start to, I try to build a community close to my home in Inakoa Park and another parks around the area. And nothing happened that keep me growing in this aspect. And at that time I think was time to do something. And I start to wear different signs in my back, like this one that say peace and love is you. And, yeah, I start to take attention of the people and people come to me and I was a different aspect that start to awake, you know. And from there I jumped to the highway. And when I jumped to the highway was really beautiful, beautiful the response of the people, beautiful the support of the community. And I think at that time I really realized how much can mean a little gesture in the middle of the day for every single normal, simple person. So wait a minute. When you said you started to go into the highway, describe that. What do you mean by going into the highway in the middle of the day? Well, I locate different points to be with the sign. And the sign was first this one, but I noticed that was the letter was no big enough to catch the attention of all the driver people. And I start to paint at night and afternoon night different signs with different message, you know, for the people. And was every single thing inspiration. And no mind, you can see these words everywhere, you know, in the book of the different masters, in sacred books. But what's my inspiration to show in the middle of the highway, in the size of the highway, and take the attention of the drivers. Yeah. In that, so how long ago did you start with the seed of love and peace on the highway? Because it started on the highway. I know it evolved. And we're going to talk about that. Well, I started in 72, like a year ago. But after I jumped to Pali in really cosy spot, the lookout that is after Willy Street and close to Honolulu. And was really a beautiful place because it's surrounded by nature. And believe it or not, the exhaustion of the cars, you feel it, you know, with the time. And plus, if you constantly are saying hello, how good morning or have a good day, different kind of phrases, you notice some kind of thing in your throat. And this place, this is why I keep with the lookout in Pali because it's around the nature. And it's really gentle and beautiful. Well, so many times, I think we are stranded in traffic and frustrated because we are late and it's a jam. And I mean, hope Hawaii is such a beautiful place that we don't even allow ourselves that permission to appreciate our surroundings. So I imagine that having you, this goddess of peace, popping out from the highway with, you know, loving and peace signs and beautiful paintings, which I hope we can show at the second part of the program. And it can be really something that startles people, but it puts a smile on their face. And so I know you've been teaching yoga for quite a few years and that you're very in tune with this dance of life and being in tune with the balances and imbalances of life as well. And I wanted to ask you, in today's world, with so many people coming to your classes, you know, to find the elixir, you know, for their own energy and balance, you know, what are you seeing in your practices? And what are you seeing when you're connecting with people at the highways, you know, the walks, the marches, because we've been having many in the last five months. Well, I think the most important is that no matter what you practice, yoga is special for me, for too many people. I really feel like it's not about equipment to do yoga. It's about really to start to feel and to be more connected, to start to know more your body, how to work your body, and take stuccin out of your body. That, I think, is the meaning of yoga, integration, no unity in your body, in your mind, in your spirit. But this one requires practice, you know. But any practice that you do, I think, in some moment, put you in the present moment. And when you are in the present moment, you are content. It's our man who always plays between past and future, fear and anxiety, gain and loss. And it's always in this duality. But I really believe that peace and love is the essence of all human beings. So how do we foster peace and love within to begin with? Because it all starts with within. In times of dualities that we live in, because life is really this discovering phase of fear and not living in fear, anxiety, angst and being more at ease. And how do we get there? How would you advise someone who is like patrified with, let's say, the fear, which for a lot of people is very real, of a government that may impact, you know, their very basic right to exist. For example, healthcare reforms on its way, if it's best it will impact a lot of people, or a loss of income as a result of funding cuts for the state, very basic mundane things, but that directly translates into heightened people's fears. What would you tell someone that you encounter that would say, I'm really scared, Tamara, I don't know what to do with the message of love and peace? Well, I think the first question is really, I think every single one of fear is part of what one of them driving energies, the fear and the desire that is the two currents that drive the behavior of the human. The thing is how the system manage this current is how the people go from one way to another one, right? Definitely any person who suffers is because believe what is happening, and not necessarily is the reality. I bumped a few times some people that they were crying for different reasons, and I talk with them, I make space for them, I hack them, and I think that is the way that people release the fear and feel safe again. And when you feel safe again, you can have another point of view, another perspective. It's the moment of fear that they have to go through could be in a place of safety or with somebody that can contain. And from there I think it's more easy to see with another perspective. Now, related to the thing that is happening now, all these cutting rights that takes too long for people to get it, right? Well, I think it's important for people to wake up and be part of the system, of the community. I think what happened now is a reflection of our own could be commodity, could be the thing is to put in hands things that we have to take responsibility, because we have responsibility in this society, we have responsibility with other human beings, we have responsibility with Mother Earth, we have responsibility with all the animals, we have responsibility to be in this plane of existence with every single thing that is surround us. And if we don't care, if we are indifferent to what happened, yeah, things will be more and more, I think, complicated or complex for the human being. So, the song that comes to mind as you speaking is that love is in need of love, not only today, but moving forward. So we're going to take a quick break and then we're going to jump right in with the theme of love in need of more love. And it's so perfect. I look familiar. He calls himself the Ultra Fan, but that doesn't explain all this. He planned this party, planned the snacks, even planned to coordinate colored shirts, but he didn't plan to have a good time. Now you wouldn't do this in your own house, so don't do it in your team's house. Know your limits and plan ahead so that everyone can have a good time. Welcome back to Perspectives on Global Justice. I think the Hawaii program, this is your host, Beatrice Cantamal, and I am back with Tamara Barria. So Tamara, we were talking about love being in love, in need of love, not only in today's world but also within ourselves and the importance that it is for us to be in tune with our own feelings, noticing what we are noticing, but also noticing that part of this imbalance and the fear and the anxiety that we are living may be a result of this lack of synergy. So how do we touch base with Aloha Namaste Foundation to bring us back to that place of balance? Well, I think Aloha Namaste come to the world now because Aloha, of course, the breathing, the primordial force that permeates every single thing, the prana or the mana that is called. And Namaste, I see the divine in you. I recognize as divine, you know. And I think it's important to have these perspectives in life in these times because we are really, we are sharing a plane of existence for a moment, no? A moment that we call life. We don't know the rest. It's hard to know. And why we don't share with kind? Why we don't share with love? Why we don't share with more patience and with more tolerance? But we have to reflect in ourselves first. And Aloha Namaste basically come to the world to show like a little simple gesture can change your entire world, your entire day, your entire moment. You can be afflicted for something, but if you see love is always present, you will change because it's a really it's a really a simple gesture that can give you the open heart for the rest of the day. Absolutely. I since I was very young, I've always liked to smile. And I've noticed that, you know, I always make that intention of looking to people's eyes and with a smile, especially when they're looking down or, you know, like said, you know, very serious. And I would say, you know, more often than not, sometimes the person may not even be able to smile with their lips, but I see a change in their eyes. Sometimes just that simple recognition that I see you, you know, that's more in a very primal connection can really, you know, leave a positive effect in someone's life for that day, because we don't know what they're going through. Well, definitely, definitely, we don't know every single person have different journey. And for me, the experience of Pali was incredible because I recognize every single person that was passing by as me. And I didn't have this opportunity when in another time. And it was beautiful to see in different way with different struggle, with a smile, with love. The kids are incredible. I really, they are in my heart. All the people that are in my heart, but the kids really cracked me. Because they are so spontaneous. Yes. And it's so beautiful, the smile, the little hands, yeah, the little hands waving, waving back, you know, every single day. It's almost a year that I started the project and almost eight months on Pali Highway. So in some of the pictures that we've shown, you know, I've seen you've been also in different gatherings. So do you mind telling me a little bit about what these gatherings are all about? And how do people receive Aloha Namaste? Oh, they receive it in incredible way, in a spectacular way. I have already a few 11 ambassadors and probably will be 20 from to the end of the month. They receive it in great way. And I noticed at Pali that too many people take a picture about the sign. And for me, share. If you have the opportunity to share, share. So what does an ambassador of Aloha Namaste do? What is your main purpose as being an ambassador of, you know, spreading the Aloha in the Namaste? I think the main mission of Aloha Namaste is spread the loving energy, you know. That's a method of expression. Every single one is different expression. Like I say, every single one is in different journey. And it's valid. You cannot compare one to another one. It's time to validate all the expression. And I think that is my point with the project. Validate all the expression of the loving energy. And knowing that the essence of every single human being and the essence of every sentient being, all expression of life is made from love and peace. Yes, absolutely. And to not disrupt that, we need to honor it and also be vulnerable to be able to recognize it when things are not quite in sync. I think that the things I really like about yoga and about mindfulness practice is really that ability to notice what's happening in my body and in my mind at that present moment and stay with it. Knowing that sometimes it's very uncomfortable, but it will pass. But I think it's very hard in today's society. We're not giving permission, especially women, to be vulnerable or to have these spaces to be loved even in that place of vulnerability. And so I'm seeing a lot of people hurting because they feel they have to hold it together and that they have to also give that strength to others, you know, to continue to move forward, especially in the movement of social justice and global justice. But we can't do that without recognizing our own humanness and without being able to reach out and saying, you know, I gotta feel in this reservoir. It's not feeling good. And so I really appreciate, you know, this expansiveness that you have of being there. I would also come to you whatever form and shape that they come, you know, whether they're jolly, curious or scared and to just have that moment, you know, connection that is very special. Well, I think yoga definitely is a really an amazing practice to unfold in a more gentle way your journey, right? All these practices help you to unfold in a more gentle way. And we have to recognize that as a human, we contain every single thing. We contain jealous, we contain envy, we contain hate, we contain love, we contain genius, we contain all the things. The thing is the levels, how you reduce the level of the lower energy to transform in the high energy, you know, in unconditional love. And I think this practice definitely help you. You have to be vulnerable. You know, I told people, you learn more with the struggle than with the good moments. In reality, we have to struggle. This is why is the struggles in life because we can learn. You know, we cannot learn, right? We appreciate the sun because the moon, the night, right? We have these things. But of course, we have to educate ourselves. We have to train ourselves to don't react. Instead, be more gentle, be more kind with ourselves. And when we start to do this one, to ourselves, we can do with the rest of the people. And it's very true. I want to thank you, my sister, for being here today. And I hope that this is the first of many visits that you will make to our program and that we get on board with, you know, what you're all about in the community for the upcoming months. And I have to wrap up our program, unfortunately, but I want to leave you all with this beautiful message of peace and love that starts within. Everything we're going through as we move forward in this, you know, globalized society that we live in, you know, we cannot talk about sustainability and balance without love and peace. And it starts within, it starts with small actions and then big actions. So there is no rainbow without rain. And I think that that's a wonderful message to live you with for the rest of the week. Happy Father's Day to those who are fathers around the globe. And until next week, we hope.