Working with toys is one of the most exciting and creative thing. Behind each design and project it is moving a vibrant mixture of all the qualities enclosed into a child himself. Infact toys are directed to children and they are created for their evolution and wellbeing, fun and growth. Nowaday the attention towards children’s positive maturation is becoming bigger and bigger. All parents and educators want to put their best effort to give a life of great quality to their children. What is great quality? The answer is easy. Like the seven basical musical notes do re mi fa sol la si do create wonderful melodies and songs, at the same way these seven qualities create a wonderful lifepath.
And to have them expanding from inside out will enable anybody to develop the best stuff for any child.
innocence
creativity
dharma
love
collectivity
balance
joy
Last year i experienced a couple of seminars in toy exhibitions directed to foster connections between all kinds of folks involved in making toys at different levels, also from different countries. When listening to their speeches i was wondering how truly childlike is their nature.
It is not too difficult today to reach balance. Just following these simple advices from Laotsi – the Chinese primordial master- will make it even simpler. We are reaching a point in society where we dont miss anything material nor spiritual, everything is so clearly disclosed in front of our eyes and the minds work much more open than before (but if you get meditative you go faster) . Now if desires are kept on a low level it will happen something incredible that there are no words to explain it. i dont even know how to write it. But this is the key for any kind of policy today. the only requirements are the right men. They have to be brave and cool; they have to belong to some sort of another race, another kind of personality which is different and it is not really easy to find, but they exist for sure. Because now we have everything and everyOne on this planet. It’s Amazing.
Laotsi’s proposal is really interesting and original, it’s not just something empty or meaningless or old. It’s so modern and can meet a win-to-win elaboration. Very smart application. Very new and so useful.
If those who are excellent find no preferment,
the people will cease to contend for promotion.
If goods that are hard to obtain are not favored,
the people will cease to turn robbers or bandits.
If things much desired are kept under cover,
disturbance will cease in the minds of the people.
Two things were told to us: one was to be thankful, so we built nations around it, and you can do that. And the other thing was enjoy life. That’s a rule, a law. Enjoy life. You’re supposed to. You can only do as much as you can do and then when you do that, you’re supposed to get outside and enjoy life.
…And an extract of his speech at UN in New York in 1993
Our societies are based upon great democratic principles of the authority of the people and equal responsibilities for the men and the women. This was a great way of life across this Great Turtle Island and freedom with respect was everywhere. Our leaders were instructed to be men of vision and to make every decision on behalf of the seventh generation to come; to have compassion and love for those generations yet unborn. We were instructed to give thanks for All That Sustains Us.
Thus, we created great ceremonies of thanksgiving for the life-giving forces of the Natural World, as long as we carried out our ceremonies, life would continue. We were told that `The Seed is the Law.’ Indeed, it is The Law of Life. It is The Law of Regeneration. Within the seed is the mysterious force of life and creation. Our mothers nurture and guard that seed and we respect and love them for that. Just as we love I hi do’ hah, our Mother Earth, for the same spiritual work and mystery.
We were instructed to be generous and to share equally with our brothers and sisters so that all may be content. We were instructed to respect and love our Elders, to serve them in their declining years, to cherish one another. We were instructed to love our children, indeed, to love ALL children. We were told that there would come a time when parents would fail this obligation and we could judge the decline of humanity by how we treat our children.
We were told that there would come a time when the world would be covered with smoke, and that it would take our elders and our children. It was difficult to comprehend at the time, but now all we have to do is but to walk outside to experience that statement. We were told that there would come a time when we could not find clean water to wash ourselves, to cook our foods, to make our medicines, and to drink. And there would be disease and great suffering. Today we can see this and we peer into the future with great apprehension. We were told there would come a time when, tending our gardens, we would pull up our plants and the vines would be empty. Our precious seed would begin to disappear. We were instructed that we would see a time when young men would pace back and forth in front of their chiefs and leaders in defiance and confusion.
There are some specific issues I must bring forward on behalf of our Nations and Peoples.
It is such an exageration of this materialistic minds scattered all around toy industry today that electronic lightning rattles are beneficial to a child development. It is fine for a kid to have one electronic toy ever year, just to have some taste of this light-flashing, spinning-sounds environment a lot of us are plugged in, and with them plenty of modern families too. But it is really eveident that these toys are not at all crucial for the development of the core values and qualities that a child requires in order to be a good and wise gifted man or woman in the future of their real life. Recently, when during a medical conference here in Poly University of Hong Kong i had the opportunity to share some insights from a psychological and evolutionary point of view with the lecturing doctor about these toys , i was not surprsed at all when he said that these tools can have damaging effect on the optical chiasm of the little brains. It means that their development will proceed in a slower not balanced way: the opposite of what many managers in toy industry trust nowadays.
Adding a couple of considerations collected on a base of three years work as game editor in Chinese toy industry and on a base of master training in developmental and educational psychology and on a base of past two years teaching at primary school. It is all connected
Educationally motivated societies now like to stress enlightenment contents as their curriculum. Electronic learning games today are so much lacking in lifting spirits of children up that they only transmit mediocre learning messages.
Love is always the master key to a fulfilling learning and educational process. I always wonder at which level is this nourishing love intentionally sent thru these products?
Mostly a tribute to flickr either because i am writing this post between home (where my pics are stored) and office and because soft copies of the pictures are only available from the last five years. I didnt follow a meaningful order, just browsing in my memory:
1. Aragonese Castle, Italy
A unique place with an awsome history connected also to Michelangelo Buonarroti’s life. It shall deserve a rich post asap. (image by me)
Even though Hong Kong and Genoa Italy aquariums are two of the biggest and most beautiful, i still loved Frisco one. why? Because you walk under real tunnels of the Bay Area!
3. Pan de Azucar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilby flickr
A combination of spirituality and cable car is the most thrilling experience for me!
4. Big Buddha, Lantau Island
This other combination of spirtuality&cable-car is really close to my home and I could potentially get the experience every weekend. Last month with a friend from Vancouver we went up for two consecutive days just for tasting the feeling to fly higher and higher into the mountains and have the majestic Buddha waiting for us on the other side! You may also want to enjoy a more accurate post about it soon. (image by me)
5. Jamaican beach
It was a lovely family tour during my stay in US. Bathing in the warm Caribbean waters every morning and chatting with the locals on the beach all day long until evening. We also met a direct friend of Bob Marley living upon discographic projects and hand making palm leaves hats for tourists. Most hospitable place. (photo flickr – my dad keeps all the real pics)
6. Havana de Cuba downtown
Harmony of colors and extreme relaxation and freedom in the streets. On our fly-route back from India e Moscow with my friend Maneesha, we took loads of pictures and then… lost the camera. Ahahahh. I just remember we were in ecstasy for the whole day spent there. A most welcoming taxi driver strolled us everywhere and gave us contact number in case we’ll be back. If anybody interested. (photo flickr)
7. Parque Chicaque, Colombia
The most vivid nature, the real “selva Colombiana”. An amazing day trekking in thejungle, few of us, completely absorbed by beauty and silence in the country Garden of the world. There is an Indian story about Shri Vishnu, He had to leave India because in trouble and went seeking refuge with Garuda precisely in Colombia, chosen because it was the only place on Earth so much rich in plants and fruits.
8. Faraglioni, Italy
Did you know it’s the Zen Garden of Italy? Have a look, it’s my home. Really.
9. Beihai park in Beijin, China
A remarkable park to understand the lifestyle of old emperors. Many of them have written lovely poems to their own mothers, whose words are often engraved on marble pillars around.
10. Elephanta caves, India
I was speechless here I was totally stunned by the grandness of majestic Lords Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu.
I just realized there are more than 10 spectacular places i’ve seen but for now i will just confine into the maryadas of this TAG. And yes you have been tagged too!Which one are your most spectacular visits… 5, 10, 15 you number them. And leave me a message below when you have done the post, and please tag more people. Let’s travel all together! Do you know something shocking about travelling? I know it cause my sis is a travel agent in Italy. Last week she spoke over the phone that Italians are so crazy about traveling and holiday that despite of the economy struggle they are paying rates for their vacation even if it’s just for few days!
Everytime i enter a modern shopping mall here in town a breeze of sophisticateness punctually blows around me. It’s not that i spend the time shopping during my visit but most of all tasting the colors, the architecture, the large space in name of the which we all sacrifice the space of our own homes in Hong Kong. Have a look from this past weekend.
Few but useful Airport check in counters inside the mall:
Tonight we had our usual dancing class in Soho, in a new stage center of a very exclusive and stylish club house. This part of the city is a real meltin pot of modern and old, trendy and old fashioned, hills and plane roads, plenty of narrow streets which i had to cross before reaching the MTR=underground train on the main street “at the feet of the mount”.
this one was the starting point, the gallery of Mr. Tagore the grandson of the most legendary and auspicious Nobel of India. Work in progress inside, it was close and they are installing a new exhibition.
Soho is always busy and crowded and at night time it represents the drink/chat place for many people workin and living in the dowtown. However some streets are very quite and almost deserted with just one shop still shining.
We ‘ll look up so many interesting details and neon lights, fashionable items and cute little shops for foodies, lifestyle, wellness and beauty. A collection of colors and ideas
Somebody is still working on the street….and somebody is still shopping at almost midnite (…i got a beautiful “casacca” with geometrical designs). one of the best fun for me is bargaining in Chinese with these local folks: sometimes running into a sweet uncle or a screamy auntie, sometimes into a young girl. i always wish that these people will go to the foundation of the economy in their own country and at the most important meaning for exchanging goods.
Late at night you can meet the usual auntie who cleans up all the road of its cartoons, pack and pile them up diligently and carry them to some receptacle-place. Or simply she cleanse the city of the daily wasted plastic bags. She is the one who knows Mother earth problems and tribulations better than anybody else and better than any philosopher and wiseman.
Finally you can also get a floreal taxi to the MTR if you dont want to walk anymore. The driver can be a close relative of the auntie above. He very possibly enjoys drinking and smoking with his friends if not on due and very possibly does care very little in his central nervous sytem about the cycles and messages of Mother earth. But he knows how to drive well in the city jungle and will bring you to destination.
friend: this thing is …
me: ?
friend: not cool
friend: i mean
friend: the toy
me: yes
friend: no words
me: i know
friend: why do they have to make it
me: i posted in my blog and left coments to the others
me: but it shows how they are making all kinds of experiments
friend: ya
me: without knowing anything for real
me: that s the main point actually
friend: ya
me: they are trying and trying
me: in the maze of their mind
friend: this will take them nowhere or perhaps somewhere
friend: it proves the capacity of brain waves
me: we dont know where, we just know where we are going for sure eheheh
friend: ya
At the recent Toy Fair 2009 in New York a company presented this head belt which is supposed to covert the mind energy (the tester said “vibrations”) into movement of the ball you guide with an hand remote control. They are doing a lot of experiments in Toy industry, some of them are quite fun and thoughtless / mind blowing, others a big waste of skills and talents; i want to give you some updatings in the next post since at my office our team is focused on electronic game designing. Cool stuff!
We are definitely getting closer now and do not need to sit down together for a dinner to feel this closeness. It is just happening, some people may still not be aware but this beautiful & colorful train is spinning to such a velocity where even the stars are collaborating. We are now able to feel the universe with all its problems and all its wonders! One of the most excellent training to this ability was certainly given by Mahatma Gandhi and the creation of the Sevagram Ashram during his lifetime. “People, he felt, should not tolerate each other and their differences, but learn to respect, understand, accept and appreciate each other.” – writes Arun Gandhi grandson.
It is exactly what it is in town for example where people are no more tolerating each other because they now want to connect and embibe the goodness of other cultures: it is a different process which can transform oneself into a new personality sometimes very different from before.
You realize it when you leave in a fast city and your subtle system is healthyly pending on the right side. Doors open and fresh opportunities arise for you. Fast learning is a beautiful gift which usually shows up in children already at tender age. Their eyes are shining and they seem to adapt easily to different people and daily patterns of life.
Celebrity worshipping is one of the train stops in this Trend Blend map for the new year. How true is it? After noticing the word “HAPPY..” in the set up message of the chat with my sister I immediately thought “oh wow she’s wishing Happy Chinese new year to everybody” when scrolling the full sentence appears “Happy birthday Vasco”: her favorite singer whose songs she listens with no interruption almost. She also went to his concert joining a crowd of thousands of thousands last year. Is it the kind of worshipping we are talking about today? Probably yes~! It’s like a battle in the human mind. We follow whom we like. But usually the aspects of the celebrities to catch mostly our attention are simply frivolous and unreal, like they last for some years; maybe also for 20 years but then they leave the place to other celebrities just depending on which side of our ego or superego we would like to worship better. It is more related to an internal oriented worshipping.
What do we do to defend ourselves from these celebrity-attacks? Are we still completely ourselves even though we are very much dragged into their creations and trends? Until which point is our attention independent and pure? Until which point we depend on these sort of gurus thru their music and art instead of depending on the guru within ourselves? How much does our centered balances still hesitate?
Also twin sisters: there are so many things, traditions, mentality, ideas, visions, economy, fashion which are shared by these two countries. Watching at these three girls of a musical trio from Sichuan (the department stuck to the east border of Tibet) I cannot avoid to think about Indian movies from Bollywood, the lovely ornaments and long womanly dresses of the Home of spirituality.
India & China share a history of spirituality and character from milleniums. It is not a case they are linked by the Himalayas, which is Home to Shiva and the Shakti Parvati who reside in our hearts in form of pure spirit and pure personality. We have just started to notice these relationships between countries just now that everybody talk about globalization and things like these. The most wonderful discoveries about “twins” countries still has to come and they reside in the manifested desire of each population to understand the subtle nature of their roots and traditions.
I hope the genuine desire of the humans to grow into their most ancient and valuable traditions will awaken each nanosecond more. For India and China (but also for all the other big and small nations)I wish in this New Lunar Year that:
people with enlightened brains and hearts will start to mangae their economy
women with a sweet and adorable personality will understand their true power from inside and start to express it at higher levels
there will be dedicated more and more festivals, seminars, meetings to reckon the similarity between countries (at any level)
their attention will be shifted towards the understanding of the importance of spirituality for the sake of a bigger vision
I only prayed for these four wishes. There are more but these are among the most urgent ones.
Happy Lunar New Year to you who are reading too. May you grow in a total collective atmosphere all your life.
Working with electronic toys… I would never expect to do also this job. But now that I am used to this circle I realize that working with toys today puts you in such delicate tasks! You are dealing with the softest of the minds and the skills to really understand the world of a child are lacking tremendously. No matter you have been studying for becoming a teacher at primary school level, or as a psychologist or as infancy educators, or as animators. There are plenty of people with these majors out there but that does not mean that also the quality of understanding is playing a mature role out there.
These are quotes I collected from an email-thread pointing out resources for toys today:
…the wonderful paper ideas are fine, and needed for children over 6. Books too can be designed and printed in India, no need to worry about pleasing western publishing firms, print them for our own use, or to sell/give to children we reach.
But for little children, we need classic wooden toys and dolls, excellent control of paints, fabrics, and stuffing, i.e. organic, so they are not toxic.
How about building toys – blocks – an established way to teach math and geometry in preschool – but they don’t have to be boring they could be hand painted with all kinds of creative designs, like mendhi, or abstract, flowers, and angel faces.
Our world economy is going in dire straits. Attention has to be somehow on handicraft too, on artist creation also. All of these we can build it with a good and collective attention on the proper channel to “manufacture it”. Let’s know what you think about the local power of handicraft…???
Examples of content scripts, the basic software matrix for electronic learning products, proposed by modern companies trying to play their role to educate children on a mass level.
USE+ARROW01+INST17aUse the arrow keys tofinish building the equation.
SELECT+INST18a+ WSABERKBRDSelect a correct operation sign with the lightsaber or the keyboard.
INST19a+INST19b+NUM001+ TIME02Pay attention!Solve as many as you can in one minute!
Found in an article:
“We wanted to get away from the branding. I don’t think children should be advertised to,” says Lee, who co-founded the store two years ago with wife Danielle and sister-in-law Shelley Goldschlager. Their mission: selling toys that would encourage kids to construct, create and invent their own storylines.
Then there’s InquisitiveKid.ca, a new online store offering more than 300 minimalist playthings.
“A good toy is 10 per cent toy and 90 per cent child,” says Peter Emmenegger of Toronto, a software engineer and father of two who launched the venture last month. “The child’s imagination is the engine of healthy play.”
Some important “must have” requirements to work in this field:
To have an innocent and childlike personality
To be familiar with (after having absorbed thru background and other experiences) eradicated good values, humus for a child personality
To have an established and overflowing creativity covering at least 3 branches of art (e.g. music, painting, drama).
To have the ability to not think too much
To have the skill to simplify contents
To have an extremely flexible and adaptable character
To have an open mind and heart
To be able to seek the playful aspect of the daily life
To be extremely collective and not individualistic
Today the chances to become really professional in the toy industry (at any level) are not so high, if we give an honest glimpse around ourselves. If at least we already covered three of the above qualities we are probably on the right path to succeed…
(image by me)
