June Wellbeing Recommendations

As things start heating up in June, this month’s recommendations are all about catering to the deeper human need for creative expression. All children are natural born artists, but many of us lose the connection to this side of ourselves as we mature and focus on the more ‘serious’ things in life. The art of play is about tapping into whatever brings you flow, freedom and joy - just for the sake of doing the thing itself. But it’s also about harnessing the imagination, which is exactly how we create the world in which we live.

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Recommended Read

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The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy is a timeless classic that artfully paints a humorous, wacky and rich view of the universe - to better illustrate our place on Earth. Protagonist Arthur Dent lives a constrained existence until his cosmic adventures fling him into wonders he had no clue existed, making it hard to grasp how ‘utterly insignificant’ our little blue green planet might or might not be.

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With over 40 years of parody and predictions to its name, the themes of the book have hardly dated. Ecosystems, evolution, and unruly AI - the Universe continually reveals it’s a lot more complicated than we thought, and Adams’s creation and its deadpan surreality never seem to fade.

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Before he died in 2001, the 5 books had between them sold more than 15 million copies. The scientific community teemed with fans, including the late theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who provided the voice of the titular Guide in a 2018 radio reboot of the story. Like all the best science fiction, The Hitchhiker’s Guide says more about our times than about the distant future.

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As science advances, allowing us to imagine black holes for the first time and to explore the manifestations of quantum weirdness, our perspective grows apace. We can’t predict what unimaginable features of the Universe the next 40 years will reveal, but perhaps that’s for the best.

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As Adams noted: “There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.”

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Purposeful Podcasting

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Between Art and Science is the podcast from the Leonardo Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology. They aim to create a community of trans-disciplinary practitioners and to amplify their ideas and their work. In this podcast, you can expect to hear from the creators, makers, thinkers and artists who exist in the liminal spaces in between!

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Positively-Impactful Product

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The Intùiti Creative Cards are a compass to the intuition. The mind is a marvel, but one we rarely explore enough. This tool for creativity is used by over 30,000 creatives around the world - blending a synthesis of Design, Tarot and Gestalt Psychology. It represents a new way of living the subject of creativity, an issue that is often superficially tackled. Instead of forcing the user to find an idea, as happens with some techniques like brainstorming or the mind map, Intùiti invites you to sit calmly and to feel what one has to give, remembering that creating must be a source of joy and satisfaction.

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Virtuous Visits

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The Magic Circle Museum is the Magic Society’s intimate HQ, with theatre, library, museum and club room, hosting shows and events. Witness perception-bending sleight of hand, while learning about their fascinating history and how you can become a part of it. Founded in 1905, the purpose of The Magic Circle is to promote and advance the art of magic.

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Magicians have to prove their skill to gain entry and give their word to abide by our Latin motto (Indocilis private loqui) which translates as “not apt to disclose secrets”. But while they keep secrets, they are not a secret society. Far from it – their wonderful headquarters near Euston are open to the public on a daily basis.

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With over 1,500 members worldwide including many top magicians, like David Copperfield, Dynamo, Jamie Raven, Fay Presto, Richard Jones, Debbie McGee and Magic Bones. Their famous names extend beyond the top professionals to include the Prince of Wales, Stephen Fry, Nigel Mansell - and Sooty the bear. Members come from all walks of life and are all brought together by a passion for the mind and its magic.

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Rewarding Recipes

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Taking the humble rice bowl and spicing it up Korean style, Bibimbap is both delicious and nutritious, coming packed with vegetables, proteins and sauce. Easy to make and perfect as a light summer dish, mix it all up into one big tasty mess, then dig in!

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Ingredients

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-Meat and Sauce

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• 100g / 3.5 ounces beef mince (or other cuts)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp minced garlic
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-Vegetables and Others

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• 250g (0.6 pounds) seasoned spinach
• 350g (0.8 pounds) seasoned bean sprouts
• 100g (3.5 ounces) shiitake mushroom
• 120g (4.2 ounces) carrots (1 small)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (1/4 tsp each will be used when cooking shiitake mushroom and carrots)
• 3 to 4 serving portions of steamed rice
• 3 or 4 eggs (depending on the serving portion)
• Some cooking oil to cook the meat, mushroom, carrots and eggs – I used rice bran oil.
• Some toasted seasoned seaweed, shredded (long thin cut)
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-Spicy Dressing

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• 2 Tbsp gochujang
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp sugar – I used raw sugar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp vinegar – I used apple vinegar
• 1 tsp minced garlic
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Method To The Madness

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1. For the meat, mix the beef mince with the meat sauce listed above. Marinate the meat for about 30 mins while you are working on other ingredients to enhance the flavour. Add some cooking oil into a wok and cook the meat on medium high to high heat. It takes about 3 to 5 mins to thoroughly cook it.
2. Mix the bibimbap sauce ingredients in a bowl
3. Cook the spinach and bean sprouts until soft
4. Rinse, peel and julienne the carrots. Add some cooking oil and 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt in a wok and cook the carrots on medium high to high heat for 2 to 3 mins.
5. Clean and rinse the shiitake mushrooms and thinly slice them. Add some cooking oil and 1/4 tsp of fine sea salt in a wok and cook the mushrooms on medium high to high heat until they are all cooked. (It takes 2 to 3 mins.)
6. Make the fried eggs (while sunny side up is common, you can make them per your preference.)
7. Put the rice into a bowl and add the meat, assorted vegetables, seasoned seaweed, bibimbap sauce, and the egg on top of the rice, mix to your preference and serve!
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