Solving the yoga mysteries, slowly
Posted on May 18, 2023 Leave a Comment

The yoga mysteries:
How some poses take days to improve, and others take YEARS.
The gomukhasana clasp: I wanted to be able to do it. I started practising, focused. Got there FAST. So satisfying.
The wide-legged forward bend: One should think this was super basic. I mean, how long can it take before I see improvement, at least? Years, apparently. Years. I still feel like a beginner in this pose. A beginner that has just run a marathon.
Luckily, I have done so much yoga by now that I no longer feel annoyed by this apparent lack of progress. More …intrigued.
I’m definitely not a patient person in all areas of life. I like things that move swiftly. I like progress and results. But people looking at my artwork will consider me to be e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y patient. And yoga has definitely taught me new levels of this skill.
And that’s one of the many reasons I have found it so meaningful to print my paintings onto the yoga mats. They remind me that things take time and that all the work will grow into a big pattern, eventually. They are also very entertaining to look at while practising, which is great for people with lively brain activity.
The print on this yoga mat is an acrylic painting I made after a (very yoga-filled) journey to Bali. Inspired by the fractal-like rice fields, the sound-healing pyramids, the temples, the surfboards and the electric sunsets. It’s my own favourite mat (currently) and it motivates me daily.
Get your own! Have a closer look at https://chriszka.myshopify.com
Turn your mousepad into a cyberdelic portal
Posted on March 10, 2023 Leave a Comment
Why settle for something boring and black when you can access the internet with your VERY OWN HAND-PAINTED PSYCHEDELIC PORTAL?! – made by me?

This is a mini version of my WipeOut painting, cut into a circle and printed onto a mousepad to make your daily trips into cyperspace a but more sci-fi and a lot more artistic.
Remember: “The PC is the LSD of the 90s”, Timothy Leary said (in the 90s). Let’s use it for exploration, not distraction.
The painting on the mousepad is inspired by light machine experiences, psytrance and rave visuals, playing WipEout in virtual reality and the amazing power of our brains.
(Hot tip: If you acquire mouse arm syndrom through all the clickety-click on the www, get yourself a yoga mat to fix it! I can provide.)
Link to the mousepad upgrade: Circular mousepad: WipeOut

Current painting I’m working on: The Phoenix
Posted on February 2, 2023 Leave a Comment



This acrylic painting is inspired by the Boom Festival in Portugal and other events of 2022; events of heat, transformation, travel and mind expansion. Its work title is ‘The Phoenix and the Toad’. It has taken me 87 hours of work so far and it’s teaching me new lessons every time I get in front of the canvas.
I have never made a painting that has required this many sketches. I have to sketch and sketch and sketch again before putting actual paint on the canvas, trying out new ideas constantly. And even though this painting, at its current stage, looks a lot like my very first original pencil sketches (although a lot more colourful, obviously, since the first sketch was made with a grey pencil), the painting keeps surprising me, taking me in new and unexpected directions, still.
I expect to work on the piece for at least another 20 hours or so before it’s done. Deep and interesting process, for sure.
Ravers Are the Experts: Big Smiles and Extreme Happiness
Posted on December 24, 2022 Leave a Comment
This has to end with an explosion of emotion, every year.

Enjoy this collection of feel-good snapshots of moments in the past (and the very recent past) where you were all clearly TRULY happy.















Intermezzo: Read some of Tim Driver’s insights about rave culture right here: My first big raver experience.




Intermezzo: Enjoy some more pics from THAT night here: How to be a Junglist: Camouflage












Want more?
In 2015, JUngLEkalenderen finished with Jungle Feelings: The Love, Hugs and Kisses Extravaganza
The third season finale was a very long list of junglists celebrating their birthday on the 24th (of some month), climaxing with Mugge, the predator, and all his darkside fish: The 24th Surprise

DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
December 21st: Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver
December 22nd: How to be a Raver: The Conversationalists
December 23rd: Ravers Are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives – part II
Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives – part II
Posted on December 23, 2022 1 Comment
Let’s get back to how it all started out this season: With slowing down. On purpose. Here’s another sweet selection of ravers slowing down in the middle of everything.























– Read more about the ‘slowing down in the middle of everything’ skill here: 5 problems only ravers know about
– Here’s some family fun for the Christmas days: The DIY Test: Is my Child a Junglist?.
DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
December 21st: Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver
December 22nd: How to be a Raver: The Conversationalists
Find all seasons here (long scroll): JUngLEkalenderen.
How To be a Raver: The Conversationalists
Posted on December 22, 2022 2 Comments
Back in 2016, I had a JUngLEkalender conversation with fellow junglist Sofus about our first many years at raves. And how we always always always had to be the last person standing on the dancefloor. How important that was.

This is a bit of the conversation:
Sofus: “Now, it’s a lot easier for me to leave a party or a rave when I feel tired. But back then, I stayed ’til the last drop of blood – every time . It wasn’t exactly like doing sports, but it was something like it, and you felt super cool and kind of like a cyborg and definitely very future-like!”
“I know exactly what you mean!”
Sofus: “Sometimes I had these inner struggles on the dancefloor where I was really tired and had to sit down for a bit, but I always got up again. I had to stay on the dancefloor until the very end. […]There’s something euphoric about it, the fact that the body can just keep going. It’s a meditative quality, almost shamanistic. All of us doing this tribal dance together. A collective consciousness. You are actually doing it for the community. You don’t just go home, you stay and dance until the end.”
“Exactly!”
“And afterwards you feel really proud and sore in all your muscles for days and days afterwards.”

Obviously, when you do important work for the community on the dancefloor, talking to people has to wait.
(That’s what afterparties are for. We talk about this as well. You can read the interview here: Jungle Confessions: I had to stay on the dancefloor until the very end.
Buuuuuut sometimes all your shamanistic movements bring GREAT insights into your brain that you just HAVE to communicate with words to your fellow raver next to you! Immediately!
These snapshots are dedicated to those moments.








Intermezzo by Dancing Sofus:
“When you’re at a rave with a lot of people you don’t make a lot of conversation – you use your physical body to express your feelings and the sounds in the music. We don’t use our language but the bodies and the rhythm and pulse of the music instead. And you start to recognize eachother when you’ve experienced a thing like that together. You feel connected. There’s a poetry of the body – a compassion and inner knowledge that we’re all in tune with each other. When you get home from the raves, you feel that there has been a bond, that we turned into a tribe. That’s why afterparties are so popular for ravers. It’s hard to let go of that bond. And all the things you didn’t get to say while dancing… You get to say all that at the afterparties.”









Do you want more to talk about? Jump into 5 problems only ravers know about
If you prefer less talk and more action, jump to How to be a Junglist: Body Language.
DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
December 21st: Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver
Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.
Blasts from the Past: The Well Dressed Raver
Posted on December 21, 2022 3 Comments
Dressing for the dance floor is not an easy task. You need to be comfortable, flexible AND possibly in for the (very) long haul at the same time. But you also need to entertain your fellow ravers. Elements of joy, sensuality and surprise are welcome.
We all have different strategies. Let’s have a look.





























Do you want more absolutely fabulous clothes? Go to Blasts from the Past: The Dressed-Up Junglists.
DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
December 20th: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.
How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special – part II
Posted on December 20, 2022 4 Comments
Days couldn’t be much darker than they are RIGHT NOW here in Scandinavia, and we need to add our own lights to the situation, so let’s enjoy another round of pics from brighter days in the rave-o-sphere.

























DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
December 19th: Ravers are the Experts: We Love Machines
Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.
Ravers Are the Experts: We Love Machines
Posted on December 19, 2022 5 Comments
Ravers love machines, more than most people, and we are really, really good at it. We are probably the best on the planet at loving machines, because we get such incredible amounts of fun out of them.
You could argue that gamers are just as good as ravers at having fun with machines. I have more than 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, and the game-o-sphere is EXCELLENT at squeezing fun out of technology, for sure.




If you haven’t read my article describing the similarities between the gaming world and the rave-o-sphere, you absolutely have to: Gamers and Ravers: The Amazing Similarities Between the Two Worlds.
Yes, go on. Read it!

And I recommend that you watch my video of ravers at Boom having fun with machines at nighttime (or maybe it’s the machines having fun with the ravers): Boom festival 2022: Out playing with the night animals





















Intermezzo: If you are confused about ravers loving BOTH nature AND machines with such intensity, dive deep into that confusion and find the small computer hero that Chriszka has hidden deep inside her drawing ‘The Garden’ (2017):













Info from the internet robots
To end this selection, I got some interesting information from the internet robots today, and it seems like a perfect time to share it:
The most popular post from all the seasons of JUngLEkalenderen ever is…. drumroll… The 13 Best Darkside Jungle Tunes Ever. People just keep reading that one. Darkside jungle lovers from all over the planet, unite! 🙂
DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
December 18th: How to be a Raver: The Power of the Hands
Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.

How to be a Raver: The Powers of the Hands
Posted on December 18, 2022 6 Comments
JUngLEkalenderen loves the hands of skillful dj’s and anything made by hand, really. We like vinyls picked by hand at the record shop and mixed by hands on the decks.

I have written hundreds of articles on electronic music, but the ONE article that I keep jumping back to is the article on Son Kite, describing the dark side of digitalization: The loss of our physical connection to the vinyls (and the stressful implications of the endless abundance in the digital realm – you can read it here): The illusions of the big machinery.

I have also written hundreds of articles on computer games, but I have returned to one indie game in particular several times, writing articles on it in both Berlingske and Weekendavisen: The computer game ‘The Dream Machine’ (a masterpiece), built entirely by hand by two dedicated Swedes. (I will post the article at the end of this, after all the pictures).

And then there’s all the hand signs
Anyone who has followed JUngLEkalenderen through the seasons (this is the fifth season) will know about its big interest in body language and hand signs.
The first collection about the secret world of hand signs is from the first year of JUngLEkalenderen, 2014: How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special

The year after, the How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special part II followed.

Aaaaaand then: How to be a Junglist: The Hand Signs Special Part III.

With all this in mind, let’s go deeper, again:
Earlier this year, I met the writer Tine Frellesen at at social event at my yoga studio. We started talking, and it turned out she had just published a book called “Håndkraft”. Obviously a title that I was immediately very excited about.

So let’s dive back into our beloved world of hand signs, looking at it through this new lens:



Another chapter in the Håndkraft book is about speaking with your hands. An expertise area for JUngLEkalenderen.










The hand horn signs are used so often by ravers that I made an entire How to be a Junglist: The Hand Horn SpeciaI collection. But after reading Håndkraft I feel inspired and have decided that I will try to introduce the Hawaiian Shaka sign just for the sake of variation – extending the thumb and the little finger instead. Yes, it’s the ‘I will call you’ sign, but also the Hawaiian sign of friendship, love and a relaxed lifestyle.















Creating things by hand and from scratch grant us a deep partnership with the objects in our surroundings. And being active and creative with our hands prevents depression. Yes, these are quotes from Håndkraft.

Phew, this collection was hard work and my hands need to fold themselves around a warm cup of something to spoil my 20.000 finger tip receptors. The miracle of the Merkel cells, the Meissner’s corpuscles, the Ruffini endings! (Yes, it’s all in the book. Read, and re-read JUngLEkalenderen with new eyes).
See you tomorrow where things take a very surprising turn, of course.
(Here’s the short extract from my article on The Dream Machine, the hand-built (and also quite psychedelic) indie game (highly recommended)):
“Obviously you can create some really beautiful things with all our digital tools, but they are often completely soul-less with their smooth commercialized vibe. Physical objects, like a wooden spoon made carefully by hand, seems to give you so much more, because someone has spent time and put some love into making it. A commercial doesn’t give you anything, it just wants to squeeze itself into your head and take up space”.

Here’s a link to The Dream Machine on Steam (the two first chapters).
And here’s a link to the book Håndkraft.
If you want more psytrance, go to Trance Tales: The Ozora Adventures
(also known as: 10 ways to recognize a psytrancer).
DID YOU MISS A DAY OF JUngLEkalenderen? Go here:
December 1st: Ravers are the Experts: Slowing Down in Fast Lives
December 2nd: How to be a Raver: The Sunglasses Special
December 3rd: Blasts from the Past: Birthday Bash Edition
December 4th: The 7 best things about being a raver
December 5th: How to be a Raver: Flags and Balloons
December 6th: Jungle Feelings: Stuff that Glows in the Dark (remix)
December 7th: Ravers Are the Experts: Dancefloors Everywhere
December 8th: How to be a Raver: The Mad Hatters
December 9th: Ravers are the Experts: Party Animals
December 10th: How to be a Raver: Food of the Gods
December 11th: Jungle Feelings: The Weird Faces Special – Extended Mix
December 12th: The Jungle Diaries: the Meaning of Life
December 13th: Blasts from the Past: The Babyface Special – Extended Mix
December 14th: How to be a Junglist: The T-shirt Special – Extended Remix
December 15th: How to be a Raver: Hands in the Air
December 16th: Ravers are the Experts: Our Natural Habitats
December 17th: How to be a Raver: Nectar of the Gods
Find all seasons of the calendar here: JUngLEkalenderen.
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