Matthias Ruff

 

Das 2 Minuten Interview

Matthias Ruff describes himself as an initiator and catalyst for transformation projects. Let’s translate: Matthias is cool and does fantastic things. His latest coup being the Forever Now Festival, which is all about self-perception, self-fulfillment, mindfulness and fitness and will take place for the first time this autumn at Neue Heimat in Berlin. The best yoga teachers, mentors and media will be gathering. Forever in the moment, forever now. Find out here about what else he does when he’s not smuggling revolutionaries from Egypt or cooking children’s meals. And, of course, it goes without saying that we also asked him about the meaning of life. ;)

 

Name: Matthias Ruff
Age: 48
Location: Berlin-Mitte
Occupation: artist, yoga and meditation teacher, process moderator
Shoe size: 43
Favourite thought: The moment has its special significance, particularly due to its timeless dimension.
Contact: matthias@forevernow.eu

 

 Transformationsfestival/Neue Heimat
Who or what inspires you?
Good art. I last came across some during the Gallery Weekend at the Ngorongoro exhibition in Berlin-Weißensee.

 

When was the last time you did a good deed for someone and what was it?
I try to do good everyday. Today, I was there for a friend and colleague and just listened to her for half an hour.

 

And when was the last time you did something good for yourself?
I try to do that everyday, too. My daily yoga and meditation practice treats me to something good and valuable every day.

 

Tell us your favourite magical place!
The Sinai. This mountain desert in Egypt has a magical power.

 

What is the meaning of life?
It is important to find the meaning of life again and again, to keep redefining it over and over. I can only answer the question on an existential level — and not with concepts of philosophy or the financial world’s motives for profit. For me the meaning of life is the reality of being and becoming, of space and form. It’s the differentiated experience of this deep creative power of connectedness, unity and love — and letting it unfold its full impact.

 

If you could change the world over night, where would you start?
I would immediately start changing the food industry. We throw away about 50% of food in Germany while people are starving in other parts of the world. In my opinion that is the No.1 scandal. And it’s caused by the system.

 

What is your generation’s greatest problem?
Unfortunately many are at a standstill and to this day, sticking to approaches from the nineties.

 Which book, film and record should everyone have read, seen and listened to?
The underground techno record „The Rings of Saturn“ by X-102 has stuck with me for many years. Gilles Deleuz’ book „Negotiations“ has had a lasting effect on me. It is extremely rich in content — it’s practically the complete twentieth century squeezed into one book. The film „Pride“ has recently touched me. It is also a very funny film about transformation.

 

You will be reborn as what?
I’ll stick to Franz Beckenbauer and his legendary interview in the BILD paper: I’d like to be reborn as a woman.

 

With which celebrity (dead or alive) would you like to have a yogi tea?
With Rainald Goetz. But I’d prefer an after-work beer.

 

If we came to visit you at home, what would you cook for us?
Chicken wings with mashed potatoes. It’ll sort of be like a kid’s meal.

 

What are you afraid of?
Not getting enough sleep.

 

What should no one know about you?
About how we brought an injured and traumatised revolutionary from Egypt to Germany.

 

Which question should we have asked?
What is so exciting and sexy about silence and meditation?

 

Last Words:
Partial solutions are not real solutions. Anybody who wants to make a difference must see things in their entirety. That is why our festival consists of really quiet and very loud moments alike.

 

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