We are mountain people. Born in the alpine, our souls soar with the eagles and our hearts are clear and run with the purpose of cascading creeks. For us, the season of winter is a gift, blanketing everything anew like a canvas, which calls for an interaction with the slopes of the world.

In winter, snow is our purpose for existence. Like the bubbling stream, it is our source of water- our source of life. The health of our forests, and our happiness is intertwined with it. Driven by stories of the mythical “Deep Snow Awesomeness!” of Niseko Japan, The Life Cosmic Project went in search of the wonderful. What we discovered was a fountain of youth, a prayer answered endlessly.

This film is our totem to that spirit.

About the Flow Riders:

Aaron Lebowitz  created The Life Cosmic Project as a collective of mindful individuals focused on our relationship with the elements. His favorite medium is the snowboard, of which he explores an intimate connection with mountains. His lines are a conscious calligraphy upon the snow-covered slopes.

Lefteri Alexander (Alx) is a third generation photographer and teacher of consciousness through a multidisciplinary and dimensional lens, transcends the literal and allegorical, weaving spiritual exegesis into the practice of spiritus itself, the thread of the many garments into one.

We wish to thank Niseko United for the hospitality and plenty of fresh “Japow” for us to explore. Thank you to Taro Tamai of Gentemstick Snowsurf Designs for sharing with us the consciousness of creating a life honoring our relationship with nature through the lens of snowboarding. Special thanks to Sweetgrass Productions for inspiring our own dreams with their film Signatures 4 years ago.

Respect to the spirits of the snow, mountains, and forests of Japan. We hold you in reverence.

And to everyone we met along the way…We carry you in our hearts- Thank you.

The Life Cosmic Project is dedicated to the exploration, cultivation, and perpetuation of “Stoke!” as a virtue by which happiness is experienced and shared.

http://www.lifecosmic.com/
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The Life Cosmic Project has been exploring the Fukai Yuki Sycho (deep snow awesomeness) of Niseko United in Hokkaido Japan and cultivating much stoke! From our massage therapist, ya that’s right, who has just learned to snowboard and is now shredding, to our expedition leader connecting with his hero Taro Tamai, designer of GentemStick Snowsurfers and pure Flow Rider, and riding the Rocket Fish in overhead powder…. Smiles have been all around. Here are a few pictures of our trip so far.

The Life Cosmic Project is founded on ridership of flow. The flow rider is one who embodies a challenging task in motion where body, mind and spirit are enacted and performed with grace. We are collective of visionaries, innovators, and artist, dedicated to exploring the experience of “Stoke!” and sharing that experience in various art forms through the local communities we represent.

The Life Cosmic Project will be traveling to Japan to intimately explore the winter environment of Niseko and translate this experience through art to the local snowboard, meditation, and climate change communities in Missoula, Montana and Toronto, Ontario. We will be sharing these experiences through a variety of mediums of artwork and donating the proceeds generated to the A-ROB Plant A Seed Project through our Fundrazr page ”SHARE THE “STOKE!“. The Project will provide the experience of snowboarding to underprivileged children along with the opportunity to discover the exhilarating feeling of “Stoke!” through a snowboarding based mentorship program.

PURPOSE OF CAMPAIGN: In support of the A-ROB Plant A Seed Project, the Life Cosmic Project wishes to create rider inspired artwork in Niseko, Japan through the medium of film, photography and poetry. Our story will weave together three elements of snowboarding – the expression of the physical, the spiritus of meditation, and the environmental experience of winter. This project expands the activity of snowboarding to a level of artistic expression. The first element will entice the imagination of local snowboarding communities in both Canada and the United States to reach beyond North America. We intend to portray a parallel of snowboarding at the same latitude but at opposite sides of the world, and how the experience of snow connects us. The second element is based upon the practice of meditation. Through the act of snowboarding, the internal condition of flow is extended to a variety of activities. We will be focusing on enacting a Japanese perspective and “surf style” of snowboarding. Surf style is about blending with the energy of the mountain. This predominant expression from Northern Japan is a type of calligraphy upon canvas, in essence, a dance with the mountain. Our visual images of one in oneness, draws the audience to an inward experience of “Stoke!” Or as the Japanese say “Sugoi!” and “Saiko!” The third element focuses on the oral history of the winter experience in Niseko. As the winters grow shorter, the effects of climate change are seen near and far.

We will be conducting interviews, based on interactive and interpersonal stories of winter.  This oral history will be connected to similar histories from North America at the same latitude. The stories are intended to compliment scientific research based on global climate change, and human interactions with the environment. Through our portrayal, we will be demonstrating the how and why it is important that we interact with the spirit of ourselves and the environment. Like us on FaceBook: The Life Cosmic Project.