The Art of Life

A documentary about the art of living outside of conventions,
in deep integrity with one’s essence.

Documentary, 38 minutes, streaming only.
Produced by: Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo (SAND co-founders) and Caroline Harrison

Zaya and Maurizio went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and, on a remote beach, met Michael. After a short while it become apparent that Michael was not an ordinary man… We spoke about quantum physics, Buddhism, spirituality, art and he then invited us to his house after he made sure we had “good enough shoes”…

Soon after we parked the car on a remote road we understood why…

Michael lives in the middle of a thick jungle, 20 minutes from the road in a plot of land he cleared.

He brought all material on his shoulders, and built an amazing garden based on sacred geometry. An amazing place devoted to beauty and impracticality…

The house has no inside running water, only a shower outside and no electricity.

Michael recently bought a small solar panel so he can continue his research and communicate via his computer with other mathematicians and the world.

In that jungle mosquitos are so ferocious (ALL day and night) that the only temporary relief is to take a shower outside and run around to get dry… But I am not spoiling any more of the story…

It was an honor and a joy to go back and shoot this film and we hope you enjoy it.

Available with subtitles in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, and Turkish.

As a rising star in the field of abstract mathematics, Michael discovered that he could see beauty and pattern where others could not. But his path was not to be inside academia, or even inside society. He went on a grand adventure to unify his Buddhism with his ability to see an expanded view of reality. He created beauty in a place where nobody else would.

Read an article from Michael on Buddhism and Quantum Mechanics

#115 Remembering Nature’s Ways

Podcast with

In this live SAND Community Gathering (January 2025), SAND co-founders Maurizio and Zaya Benazzo welcome Darcia Narvaez, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss her interdisciplinary research on evolved morality, child

On Refugia: Kathleen Dean Moore

Article by

"Refugia": places of safety where life endures

Florece Desde Adentro

Article by

Indigenous Mayans want their sacred cenotes to have personhood status

Awe: The Remedy for Apathy

Article by

These are tenderizing times

Why do you pretend

Poem by

Why do you pretendto be a teacher?

#114 On Grief, Belonging & Intimacy

Podcast with ,

Exploring the tender territories of grief, belonging and rest.

Remembering Elisabet Sahtouris

Article by

It's with a heavy heart that we remember frequent SAND speaker and contributor, Elisabet Sahtouris (1936-2024)

On Grief, Belonging & Intimacy

Video with ,

In this intimate conversation with poet and philosopher David Whyte and his wife, cultural architect Gayle Karen Young, explore the tender territories of grief, belonging and rest.

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