I am not sure we all appreciate how unusually special are existence is and what a great fortune life is over never being born. As we all make ourselves busy with the minute obsessions of everyday living I think we tend to miss out on the pure awe of being here and being alive. It is a fascinating situation to say the least. But what strikes me the most when looking out over the world, is how creative yet conformable we all can be.

Last I checked – I do try to remind myself – life is incredibly short. Think of the age of the universe, the nearest star, planet: comparably, you are a fleeting spark, and in a century or less, who knows if anyone will remember you. Perhaps someone will remember at least your name and a few simple facts passed on through family. Still the endurance of a person’s legacy is often a reflection of the amount of creative energy a person puts outward in their lifetime. People are remembered for their commitment to their communities, their accomplishment of extraordinary feats, and the ingenuity expressed in their lives.

One thing that has always stood out to me in my small observations of the world is the seeming narrowness of living. We are creatures of habit, cultures of familiarity, and to reach outside of the comfortable norm and stake out a new vision of possibility takes a herculean effort. We are complex beings with brilliant minds and with human expression virtually limitless it feels somewhat dissatisfying to witness a tidy conformity and predictability ruling over life. Culture lays out a well designed script, allays us of anxiety, fills everyday life with meaning, but we shouldn’t forget that all that culturally “is” was once the product of choice and someone’s clever creation. As consumers we are naturally passive and we live comfortably in a world of regurgitation, but I am excited beyond anything else by expressions no matter how small or large of originality. It was once said, that “all good things are the fruits of originality.” The great experiences, works of art, film, and language, were all born out of the creative process. Every expression reflecting a rebellion against the ordinary and creating something fresh and new to offer. I don’t dream to transform the world by any vast measure, but I hope to breathe more life and excitement in to my own and perhaps a few others.

The Life Arts Laboratory is a space for me to carve out my own life masterpiece. To develop myself and to design new experiences and cultural moments. I started this project to experience the world and its fullness and I want to engage life in unique and refreshing ways.  I’m here to view the world differently, invent novel interactions with the people around me and to share with fellow artists and imagineers.

If you look up the word “genius” in the dictionary maybe one day you will find a picture of yourself. It is something to strive for at least if nothing else. I haven’t done anything remarkable enough deserving any high accolades, but it is a starry-eyed fantasy of mine to one day accomplish a feat of great significance. It does make for a good daydream on a long Sunday afternoon. Nevertheless, I have always had an attraction to the idea of genius. What is curious about the idea is how people think of geniuses. When they do, they often think of someone who is extremely brilliant, with an incredibly sharp mind, and awkward tufts of hair. Still I think it can be argued that most geniuses were people simply not willing to ignore a really good question. Moreover, geniuses are often inquisitors and people often obsessed with viewing a problem from a ridiculous number of angles. Looking back it seems most of the world’s brilliant achievements started with a very simple process of discovery and radical inquiry.

Questioning and inquiry are states of mind I have tried to cultivate in myself and encourage in others. To be inquisitive means for me to have a specific kind of attention towards the world. It means to gaze or wonder about life’s circumstances and to break out of habitual ways of seeing. If we view the facts of our lives and take meaning and purpose to be rigidly defined, we definitely have lost some value in our experience. I am of the position that as Heideggar once put it, “questioning is the piety of thinking.” To purely adopt beliefs without critically engaging them is to dash out opportunities for personal growth and deeper understanding. To exercise our natural power of introspection and to examine the world more intensely, opens up the opportunity to see with more complexity what is truly astonishing about it. The life arts laboratory thrives on this “sacred” idea of inquiry and radical attention.

All people have the immense power to think free and epic ideas. We are, by our very nature, designers of life and creators of anything culturally possible. My hope with this website is to share in a community that bravely carves out new experiential frontiers and is invested in the creation of culture over the passive consumption of it. What do you think? Are you with me? Are you with me? It’s never too late to join.