Soul of the Griffin

More than a century ago, a group of seekers of knowledge came together on this piece of earth to sow the seeds for the birth of the Promised One in a progression of the freedom of knowledge and the development of humanity.

For what it’s worth, and for lack of better words, we have come to know this energy within the VU community as the Soul of the Griffin.

As close friends of the animal races, be it the dog or the lioness, a flying feline, a variation of the fenix, was particularly suited to captain the ship of the collective soul of this Dutch institute of knowledge seekers. She has been resting on the main frame for many years, as it did not take her long to take her place in the physical dimension of the university. And now that her cycle is complete, we can expect many more appearances. Do not look at those who have not understood that the Griffin is a humble gift from the Mother, called Mithra, and those people who are still being reminded by her of a part of themselves that they cannot bring into the Universal Community.

This is what I presented to the Universal Community on the 6th of June 2022 and as a University we celebrated our inauguration with the last New Moon of the year, we called it the 21/12 PLASMA LEAP.

This means that from now on knowledge seekers associated with VU Amsterdam will have the opportunity to be supported by the Soul of the Griffin in their studies of deep space or any other kind of exploration of energy dimensions. The only condition is that you do this in peace. And for no other purpose than the peaceful advancement of knowledge. In the coming time, I’m sure you will see many lights in the skies over mainland Europe, and especially around Amsterdam, as the celebrations will attract visitors from all over the space span.

Our request to the defence forces of the governments and armies of the nations is that they stop spending taxpayers’ money on childish assaults on these travellers of the universe who have come to pay their respects and join in the celebrations. Frankly, it’s becoming embarrassing.

My final request to you is that you sign the World Peace Treaty, sign it with your pen, but really sign it with your soul.

“We/I as citizen(s) of the Earth from this moment on accept to lay down all tools of aggression and war, we/I shall never think about getting involved or incite war or develop or use any tools of war on this planet or in space, and to this we/I all agree and swear with our/my Nation, territory, council, religion, city, town, body(-ies) and soul(s).”

Galib Gedik General councillor usr.galib.gedik@vu.nl

A selection of the topics that the USR is currently considering or negotiating.

• Menstrual products. Free menstrual products will be provided by FCO in the near future.

• Sports discount. Study associations and Faculty Student Councils will be given up to an 80% discount at the sports center at VU Amsterdam.

• Education free week. We’ve been working on ensuring that Faculties follow the education free week programmes they’ve signed up to.

BY NICOLE SANTÉ PHOTO CYNTHIA VAN ELK

Why is it so important to form communities?

“I believe that the connection with others is the greatest motivation for people. You want to not only be connected to someone who inspires you but also feel understood by a certain group - that you are not alone, you can fall back on something. Without communities, climate fighters would give up much sooner for example. Communities create a sense of togetherness, security and connection. And feeling a part of something gives energy.

With the sustainability network at VU, I try to help people find each other so they can join forces more easily. At Young.VU we try to organise activities where you get to know other young employees because you have different conversations with your peers.”

How do you get people involved?

“By having personal conversations with them and by listening. People like to be heard. In addition, I think it works well to express appreciation.”

What is wrong with society in its present form and how can we make it better? “That’s a difficult question. There’s not necessarily more polarisation than in the past, but social media makes us much more aware of each other’s opinions. If we were to broadcast our opinions less and focus more on overlap and agreement - meeting in the middle - we would get further. I also think we lack the courage to make important decisions. You can never please everyone.”

Are you more top-down or bottom-up in your decisionmaking? “That depends on the subject. I think important decisions like ending ties with the fossil industry should be taken top-down: I’ll leave that to those who actually understand it. Bottom-up you can create much more support for issues that require change from all of us. If we all want a more sustainable university, that will happen automatically through the things we propagate, do, feel and want. Creating that desire for sustainability can be approached much better from the bottom up.”

Which part of your job appeals to you the most and why? “I am responsible for the sustainability network at VU. One of its components is the Green Ambassador Programme, in which I set up sustainability teams at all services and faculties. I now come across many people who are intrinsically motivated to be more concerned with this topic in their work, which is great to see. Because this is a new role, I have a lot of freedom in shaping projects and I learn what works and what doesn’t.

My role at Young.VU is more voluntary: it mainly involves organising fun things with and for other young employees. I wanted to do something socially relevant and that’s what I’m doing in both roles. I especially enjoy being able to connect.”

Do you believe in the intrinsic goodness of people? “Yes, but I also believe that your experiences cause you to do bad things or see no other option than to do bad things. Listening to another goes beyond hearing what someone is saying. It is essential to understand why people act the way they do; questioning behaviour can help see that intrinsic goodness beneath the surface. Anger can also come from a place of good intentions. As a psychologist, I’m finding digging into behaviour and the ‘why’ all too fun and interesting.”

What does your ideal society look like? “A lot of happy people. When you work on your own happiness, you have room to give and to do something good for someone else. Social wellbeing is therefore extremely important and the basis for getting other things done. The world is what we make of it ourselves, but you need stable, happy people. The best investment is the investment in your own wellbeing. Undoubtedly, in the future we will have to compromise on what we have now. But if we don’t rely on external things for our happiness, that should not be a problem.”

28

September 2022 - now Sustainability

Community Manager, VU Amsterdam

September 2021 - now

Board Member Young.VU

September 2021 - now

Programme Manager Social Campus VU

September 2021 - now Management Trainee, VU Amsterdam

2019

Master Economic Psychology, Tilburg University

2014-2018

Bachelor Psychology, Tilburg University

VU offers management traineeships of twentytwo months. Trainees work at a certain department or faculty for one year and then switch to another with the goal of improving VU Amsterdam’s business operations.