This issue is 75 pages, (currently) bound with shiny fuschia cord with a baby pink/silver star bow (this may change as I’m almost out) and has a blue cobweb paper pre-title page. It features conversations with: John Joseph from the Cro-Mags/Bloodclot; Noah Levine the author of Dharma Punx & Against the Stream; Mike Park owner of Asian Man Records; Robert Ehrenbrand from Boysetsfire (who I’m stoked are back together doing a few shows in Europe); Dr Know guitarist for Bad Brains; Louis Posen owner of Sub City/Hopeless Records; and Jonah Matranga solo artist and the man behind Onelinedrawing/Far/Gratitude/New End Original.

Here’s what it looks like:

Photography in this issue is by the following wonderful folks: Oliver Wilke (Germany) – www.oliverwilke.com; Hiro Tanaka (Japan) – www.flickr.com/photos/29615125@N03/; Kate Hiltz (US); Silvere Teutsch (France) – www.photostudio108.com; Jonah Matranga (US) – www.jonahmatranga.com

To order a copy contact me directly at: conversationswithbianca [at] gmail [dot] com. Remember they are limited edition. As of yesterday I sent out the last copies of Conversations with Punx #2/12 ‘Courage’. I only have a handful of CWP #1/12 ‘Truth’ and about 17 copies of CWP #3 ‘Love’. So make sure you get in early to avoid disappointment! :)

In other CWP news the Australian National Library (Australia’s largest reference library) recently got in contact and is purchasing the entire Conversations with Punx limited edition zine series for their collection! They ‘recognise them as an important part of contemporary culture both for their content and design’!

Also within the coming weeks copies of CWP will feature in Dharma Punx author, Noah Levine’s Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society lending library located on Melrose in Los Angeles! After working in libraries for so many years it’s such an honour that my work, along with the thoughts, ideas, words of some of my favourite punkers that have inspired me in life, as well as the art of photographer friends from around the world will be preserved in such an amazing collection for years to come. I’m super stoked, excited and proud.

Thank you for all the support, encouraging emails/correspondence, of sharing your stories with me and reaching out. Every day I feel like one of the luckiest people in the whole world!

Create Forever!

If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when? ~Rabbi Hillel

We tend to define ourselves by the roles that we play in life and base our decisions on the expectations associated with those roles.

We define ourselves by our relationships (e.g. I am a loving daughter/son, I am a single mother/father, I am a wife/husband, I am a best friend), groups we are a part of (e.g. I am a Buddhist, I am a New York Yankees supporter, I’m a punk, I’m a hip hopper), our geographical location (e.g. I’m an Australian, I’m a Californian, I’m a New Yorker) and by our practices (e.g. I am vegetarian/vegan, I’m a golfer, I’m a painter). While these things all represent different aspects of us they are not who we are at the ultimate core of our being.

You can change your job, you can move cities, change relationships, your ideas, your wants (desires) but who you are at your core is perpetual without beginning or end. It’s the one thing that is with us for life. You can’t get away as much as you try (ha!) I believe that who you are at your core can never be lost completely… despite how much we try to bury ourselves under ‘stuff’ or activities we distract ourselves with.

I came across an exercise in one of my favourite books: The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga by my man Deepak Chopra which has helped me get to the core of it all, of myself. It’s helped me think about and understand who I really am and what I really want. It’s helped give me a solid platform, a starting point to take off from whatever the destination.

Deepak asks us to ask three questions that are essential to ask ourselves:

1) Who am I?
2) What do I want?
3) How can I serve?

I thought I’d share the exercise with y’all here. Hope it’s helpful! Here goes:

Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed for a few moments. Sit down, close your eyes, start with some slow deep breaths, and settle into the awareness of your heart area. At around 15 second intervals ask yourself, who am I? Who am I really? At first you may get answers like the above mentioned. Keep asking yourself over and over until answers arise for deeper within. Then repeat the exercise asking the other two questions.

I’ve found that this exercise has help raise my awareness on so many levels. It’s something super easy that anyone can do regardless of religion, cultural background etc. I dare you to try it ;)

“My philosophical belief in life is that we have a meaning and a purpose for being here. All of what we do is important to drive towards that purpose. That comes from a spiritual place. It’s not necessarily a God or set of laws that’s in a scripture. We have an obligation to do our best and reach our goals that were meant for us… Everything I do is part of my purpose or meaning in life. That’s what guides my decisions.”
~Louis Posen, Hopeless & Subcity Records (book extract).

Please take the time to check out the Take Action Tour that Louis has helped create. His work has raised over 2 million dollars and has been donated to over 50 non-profit organizations. We CAN make a difference!

Happy exploration!

[comment]