Hello Sunday Morning | Jiveny

HEY EVERYONE…I’M BACK! (Jiveny Blair-West)
10/03/11 • 1 Comment

So, it’s been a year since my original HSM. Since, I’ve explored, the scale of alcohol inebriation, recognizing that self-development is an infinite spiral staircase. Ultimately, I feel that I’ve found my balance where I tend to appreciate alcohol most in more intimate settings – particularly late afternoon drinks with mates 1-on-1, shooting the breeze, talking shit and contemplating life. And yet, having found that balance, I’m checking myself into HSM once again, for the month of March. “But whyyyyy? Didn’t you already did that?” some of my friends protest. Because I remember how good I felt – how switched on and alive I was this time last year and I want another taste of it. I also want to save money for another overseas trip To build my self-confidence in group settings To detoxify (I’m also doing 30 days of bikram yoga ha-ha-ha) And to remind myself that I [...]

LEARNING TO DETACH – Jiveny Blair-West
29/07/10 • 3 Comments

I’ve been a bit apprehensive about posting these thoughts. But at the end of a day, this is my truth and I hope that in offering an alternative perspective some may find solace in their own being…forgive me if you feel this is a little too ‘deep’ for mainstream media. +++ In hindsight, I’ve found that my experiences with HSM have been somewhat atypical to my own expectations. I see now how I aproached HSM from a very introspective, spiritual perspective and sometimes found myself alienated from my peers in the process. Looking back, I connected those three months of sobriety with change, personal growth, health, purity/clarity of mind and being pro-active. While these are all beautiful things to adopt in the name of evolution, as I neared the finish line I became anxious about going back to drinking and confused with how it would fit in with my new [...]

THINGS…NOT AS THEY MAY SEEM (BY JIVENY)
04/06/10 • 1 Comment

It’s been interesting, talking to people of all ages, from all walks of life about their own relationship to alcohol… I had an interesting conversation with my uni lecturer last night. He mentioned about how he had been trying to give drinking up for some time, but he finds himself justifying it too easily and that in the industry he works in (advertising/writing) there is such a social pressure, that giving up seems unreasonable. Upon reflection, I realise that as rebellious teenagers we learn to use alcohol and drug consumption as a ‘status tool’. Often, such beliefs and perceptions adopted at such an age are carried on with us into adulthood… I’ve found that during conversations such as these – with both adults and peers – most people are ‘over’ alcohol. They know it’s bad for them, they know they drink too much and too often, but hard as they [...]

THAT WHICH YOU SEEK YOU ALREADY OWN – JIVENY
02/06/10 • 3 Comments

I don’t really drink anymore. Putting it simply: I just don’t feel that it adds anything to my experiences at this stage in my life. But for the sake of those who may choose to take my choice personally let’s be clear: I still hold nothing against those who enjoy alcohol. I’ve enjoyed alcohol before and I hope to develop a more balanced relationship with it in the future, but for now: I’m cool without it. I finished my HSM stint a month ago, and I apologize for not blogging much since – I know I’ve been reluctant to post recently – pretty much because I’m over analyzing, justifying and explaining why… And so I offer this instead: I know you’re reading this because you’re curious… A part of you gets it. That you don’t need alcohol; that you don’t need to binge drink to have fun. That you’re only [...]

Wow, so by chance I stumbled across this interview with Lesley Arfin (you may know her from her book Dear Diary, her column in RUSSH, her contributions to Vice Magazine, her blog, and her 2c worth published in magazines like i-D, Nylon, Jalouse, Purple etc. etc.) Cut to the chase; she’s a cool chick with a flair for writing. And I would never have guessed it; but it turns out she’s a non-drinker. You can read the interview here.