In February of 2017, the Linking Awareness Adventures Team organised a project spanning two separate locations in Indonesia, exploring an expanded awareness regarding the “Conscious Observer” effect. This project has been named “Popping the Bubble of Doubt”, and is the most recent iteration of the Practitioner Development concept that grew out of the Linking Awareness Youth Team/Orphanage Projects in Indonesia.
The first phase of the project took us back to the familiar ground with the elephants of Way Kambas, while the second phase broke new ground at Borneo Orangutan Survival’s Samboja Lodge.
Those of you who have followed and/or have joined us over the past few years will be familiar with the magic and mystery of Way Kambas National Park in Lampung Province, southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The park covers 130,000 hectares. It consists of swamp forest and lowland rain forest, becoming a reserve in 1972. It has long been known for being home to a significant population of Sumatran Elephants, some Sumatran Tigers, Sun Bears, and Malaysian Tapirs, and numerous bird species. In the 1990s, it was revealed that the park was also home to a little-known or seen population of around 40 Sumatran Rhinos – one of only three surviving populations in Indonesia. Click here for a look at “Dances with Elephants”. Way Kambas is also the location of the Elephant Mystery School Project. Click here for a look at the 2015 project which led to the 2016 Bogor Agricultural University Veterinary Project.
Popping the Bubble of Doubt was an entirely organic outgrowth of these projects. There was no pre-arranged plan or research outline. The concept was to bring together a number of diverse and advanced practitioners to explore the role of the observer and the surrogate, particularly in relation to working with animals.
To this end we were fortunate to have the ongoing support of staff and management at Way Kambas Elephant Sanctuary. We were also blessed to have gained access to the BOS facility at Samboja Lodge through the hard work and persistence of Rhama Budhiana and Andy Hiroyuki in arranging the details of our stay.
The Borneo Orangutan Survival (B.O.S.) facility at Samboja Lestari is located about 38 kilometers from Balikpapan, in East Kalimantan. The land at Samboja Lestari is owned by the BOS Foundation and is the location of their forest rehabilitation program. The main activities at Samboja Lestari include orangutan rescue, translocation of orangutans from areas of conflict to areas of secure and protected habitat, the provision of welfare and healthcare, rehabilitation, reintroduction and forest restoration activities. In addition to orangutan rehabilitation and reintroduction,there is a sunbear sanctuary at Samboja Lestari, with around 50 sunbears currently under care.
The following video illustrates the underlying concepts and outcomes as the project developed and introduces the main team members.
This video was first released to the public at the 2017 International BodyTalk Association Members Conference in Clearwater Florida. We have included the entire presentation below.