The Spirit of the Great Heart... Asimbonanga

Embarking on a journey to find your true self… your core… your destiny… your inner soul… the mythical being inside you… your reason for being on this earth… the dream for your life… your purest desire… All these themes are probably just ways to ask whether you are really being true to yourself. Not the easiest journey, but a journey that continues to be one of the most profound, personal experiences I could ever imagine….

The world is full of strange behaviour

Every man has to be his own saviour

I know I can make it on my own if I try

But I'm searching for a Great Heart to stand me by

Underneath the African sky

A Great Heart to stand me by

I'm searching for the Spirit of the Great Heart

To hold and keep me by

I'm searching for the spirit of the Great Heart

Under African sky

Sometimes I feel that you really know me

Sometimes there's so much you can show me

There's a highway of stars across the heavens

The whispering song of the wind in the grass

There's the rolling thunder across the savanna

A hope and dream at the edge of the sky

And your life is a story like the wind

Your life is a story like the wind

- Johnny Clegg and Savuka (Spirit of the Great Heart)





A very important part of my journey over the past few years involved accessing the will of the universal soul… finding the spirit of the great heart by looking deep inside and defining my innermost desires. Looking for, choosing and immersing myself in archetypes and symbols that most closely matched my intentions. These “reminders of inspiration” turned out to be the keys to my true and ever unfolding destiny…



Many people have inspired me over the years, most of them still do… It is extremely interesting to seek the most inspirational characteristic in people and friends around me… and they all have it… we all have magic within us. I can surely say that I have only encountered two people in my lifetime that I have experienced as being evil…(the Christians are giving poor ole Satan way too much credit - the "blame the devil" - mentality) Yes, I have met a few people whom I did not like, but even they had some kind of beauty within them… I consciously also try not to label people… the minute we do that we become stuck… like a butterfly in a jar….



Archetypes are more than just people… they are the “bigger than life” mythical figures we talk about around the campfire… the legends… the heroes... So, over the past three years I visited the places where I could get close to the lives and history of my archetypes. I spent many hours researching, reading and finding out as much as I could about these mythical beings that inspired me so much.I wanted to feel what they felt... see what they saw... smell what they smelt...



I must confess that quite a few historical figures really tickle my inner being… Kafka, Cleopatra, Dali, Mozart, Jung, Nietzsche, Tutu, Ataturk, Tutankhamen, Batman (Yes, I've been to Hollywood), The Joker, Goya, Michaelangelo, Donnie Darko, Sitting Bull, Nefertiti, Gaudi, Steve Biko … and I visited all the places where they have spent their lives or parts of it… still need to visit China and India to learn about Taoism and Gandhi.



My favourite archetype took me to a temple site at Ephesus in Turkey during April 2009. The only temple in the world where a pillar of one of the ancient seven wonders of the world is still in existence. The temple is named after a beautiful woman.

She is a nonconformist, the wild one, the rule breaker, the fearless warrior who fights for what she believes in. She is ARTEMIS, the twin sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus. The goddess of wild animals and birds. 

Artemis had a beloved companion, Orion. He then boasted that he would slay all the beasts of the earth. Gaia (the earth) sent forth a scorpion to slay him, and when he fell, the grief stricken Artemis placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Orion. Orion is one of the most conspicuous and most regonizable constellations in the night sky and visible throughout the world. Orion is also a very useful aid in locating other stars.



The inherent message from Artemis to me: Create stars that will be visible throughout the world.

The second archetype reminds me of the wife of Lot in the Bible… this poor woman only looked back and turned to stone. (The vicious Guy in the Sky does not sleep according to Christian mythology!)  My archetype MEDUSA is to be found in Istanbul. In October 2009 I flew off to Turkey once again with the purpose of exploring the mystery legend of the snake headed woman.


Medusa, one of three sisters in Greek mythology known as the Gorgons, had a destructive effect upon humans. In many myths, she appeared as a horribly ugly woman with hair made of snakes, although occasionally she was described as being beautiful. In both forms, Medusa's appearance was deadly: any person who gazed directly at her would turn to stone.

With the help of the goddess Athena and a group of nymphs Perseus cut off Medusa's head in one swipe and put it in a bag. The drops of blood that fell from the head turned into Medusa's two sons—Chrysaor and Pegasus

My personal message from Medusa: We as humans destruct ourselves and turn to stone when we look around and see what is happening to the earth. Why does this happen?Why can't we all not get involved to save the earth by taking little actions that will leave behind an earth we can be proud of? … we all have wings like Pegasus…we must just use them. (Ons moet nou nie ‘n klomp klippe wees nie, man!!)



Atlanta, the city of MARTIN LUTHER KING, was also on my list. I arrived there in September 2009 to learn about this great hero.

"All I'm saying is simply this, that all life is interrelated, that somehow we're caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. You can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality".


— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.


Striking words! My personal learning from Martin Luther King:


- Follow your dreams and do what you need to do…
- We are all connected - allow one another to be...
- All people of all countries are interdependent ... we are all world citizens

To find my next two archetypes was quite easy… I just had to return to South Africa… and having had the privilege to experience the miracle of the great change from Apartheid to a democratic society, I could learn firsthand from the greats: NELSON MANDELA and DESMOND TUTU. I can honestly recommend a visit to the Apartheidsmuseum and Robben Island. Many books and articles about these two great leaders are available everywhere…



As you know, I am not impressed with religion. Everywhere I look, religion, their leaders and most of the followers send a message that divide people … the psychological, emotional and physical killing fields in the name of religion is there for all to see. Yuk! But... One man, Rev Desmond Tutu rises above this petty arrogance… and earns respect of people worldwide. (Can the Pope please recruit Rev Tutu for a consulting job in humanity ?)

Rainbow Nation is a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa, after South Africa's first fully-democratic election in 1994.


The phrase was elaborated upon by President Nelson Mandela in his first month of office, when he proclaimed: "Each of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld - a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world."


The term was intended to encapsulate the unity of multi-culturalism and the coming-together of people of many different nations, in a country once identified with the strict division of white and black.

Tutu spoke of the 'Rainbow People of God'. As a cleric, this metaphor drew upon the Old Testament story of Noah's Flood, and its ensuing rainbow of peace. Within South African indigenous cultures, the rainbow is associated with hope and a bright future (as in Xhosa culture).

Whether the rainbow has Newton's seven colours, or five of the Nguni (i.e., Xhosa and Zulu) cosmology, the colours are not taken literally to represent particular cultural groups. The implied rhetoric avoids direct reference to colour in the sense of race (especially when acknowledging that natural rainbows have neither white nor black, the two race-associative colours). The colours are simply said to symbolise the diversity of South Africa's usually unspecified cultural, ethnic or racial groups. And we should be working hard to SHOUT against the red stuff on our flag. Why are such a small number of anarchists keeping all the good people captured?

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu

My learning from Desmond Tutu:


- As South Africans we have a miracle to sell to the rest of the world… the concept of sustainability is not just a “green” issue… it is a rainbow issue … we need to get all the people in the world to take hands and take care of this planet.
-… and stop using religious excuses and religious self righteousness as a barrier to divide the nations of the world


For me, the most touching words by Nelson Mandela is to be seen in the following clip:



“It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world… and at peace with myself…” – Nelson Mandela



My core learning from Nelson Mandela:

- Music and Art brings peace to the world... and to the self
- After climbing one hill, there are many more hills to climb…
- Simunye… We are one … ubuntu



Learning from my archetypes created the philosophical foundation for the Istart2 initiative. In my next blog I will complete the picture with a focus on the main symbols connecting my archetypes and the symbols that resonate within my soul.

“ Da’s ‘n sterriekie inni gaaikie inni mirrel funny c”

In the words of Nelson Mandela:”It always seems impossible, until it is done" 
We have only just begun...