Frammenti di un tempo sconosciuto | Luca Bollero | TEDxAgliè

Quick Overview

Luca Bollero recounts his personal journey of overcoming the fear of time, using the example of the ancient Indian text 'Yoga Vasistha' and its concept of time as a creation of the mind, which he found challenging to grasp initially but which ultimately guided him toward a more profound sense of presence and self-awareness, contrasting the linear, Western perception of time with an Eastern, circular view.

Key Points: Luca Bollero found an image in a book about Indian thought, specifically the Yoga Vasistha, describing time as a stylized black dragon, which deeply impressed him. The ancient text describes time as an entity that moves backward and forward, an instantaneous flame that envelops everything, yet only lasts for an instant. Bollero relates this ancient concept to his own life, noting that he struggled with the idea of time being constructed by the mind, contrasting it with the linear time model prevalent in Western culture. He references the work of Russian director Yevgeny Grotovsky, who, despite his fame in the 1970s, left theater to work on the 'self' (body, mind, emotions) and the search for a 'Yo-Yo' time perception. Bollero concludes that true awareness comes from realizing that time, as we perceive it, is largely a mental construct, and that recognizing this allows one to escape the fear of its passage. He emphasizes that the ancient Indian philosophical view of time as circular and tied to consciousness is a powerful tool for understanding existence beyond mere linear progression.

Context: Luca Bollero, introduced as an actor, director, professor, and school administrator, shares a personal reflection stemming from reading an ancient text, the 'Yoga Vasistha,' which profoundly impacted his perception of time. This talk, delivered at a TEDx event, contrasts the conventional, linear understanding of time with a more circular, consciousness-based concept rooted in Eastern philosophy, exemplified by the image of a dragon representing time's dual nature of instantaneous yet eternal movement.