Interviewees

Gary Simon

Gary "Jagamarra" Simon is an energetic young traditional healer of the Walpiri tribe from the central and western desert of Australia, who now lives in Sydney. He is an artist and dancer who tells the stories of the Walpiri people through his work.

Videos featuring Gary Simon

  • Hold the Ketchup

    Gary "Jagamarra" Simon, a traditional healer and artist of the Walpiri tribe of central and western Australia, asks us to think, how many hands labor to bring us a single meal? Gary explains how remembering the whole creative process that goes into the products we consume expands our awareness and thanksgiving to thousands of people.

    (5 min 50 sec)

  • I Am Human First

    Gary "Jagamarra" Simon, a traditional healer and artist of the Walpiri tribe of central and western Australia, explains how human particularities are directly formed from the natural environment. To reject a culture is therefore to reject the environment itself. The key to oneness, Gary tells us, is acceptance-acceptance of oneself and of every other's right to exist.

    (8 min 52 sec)

  • Everything is a Cycle

    Gary "Jagamarra" Simon, a traditional healer and artist of the Walpiri tribe of central and western Australia, explains how oneness is a physical reality, whether we like it or not. From the water and air that sustains us to plastic shopping bags, our whole life is one with the life of the earth.

    (5 min 50 sec)

  • We All Eat, Shit, and Die

    Gary "Jagamarra" Simon, a traditional healer and artist of the Walpiri tribe of central and western Australia, tells us that it's not what we do that counts, but how we do it. The biggest gift in the world is to give-that's what brings real happiness.

    (3 min 20 sec)

  • Give Thanks

    Gary "Jagamarra" Simon, a traditional healer and artist of the Walpiri tribe of central and western Australia, tells us that the simplest way to live oneness is not to separate oneself from any other thing or person. By greeting the environment and giving thanks for its abundance, we can more easily remember that interconnection.

    (5 min 50 sec)
"A lot of people pray just before they go to bed, but we can also greet ...when you get up - greet the universe around you, greet the oxygen, the ground you're standing on, the water you drink; give it thanks."
From
Give Thanks