Thursday 21 January 2010

Play and ritual


“Every time a gathering of people, under the protection of Spirit, triggers a body of emotional energy aimed at bringing them very tightly together, a ritual of one type or another is in effect.”

Using that definition, one could describe some Fun Fed sessions as implicit rituals.

“Ritual is a place of safe ecstasy, but with no undesirable side effects. This is one of the reasons why indigenous people love ritual.”

“There are two parts to ritual. One part is planned: people prepare the space for the ritual and think through the general choreography of the process. The other part of ritual cannot be planned because it is the part that Spirit is in charge of. The unplanned part of ritual is a spontaneous, almost unpredictable interaction with an energy source.”

“It is gathering with others in order to feel Spirit's call, to express spontaneously and publicy whatever emotion needs to be expressed, to create, in concert with others, an unrehearsed and deeply moving response to Spirit, and to feel the presence of the community, including the ancestors, throughout the experience.”

Some describes his first experience of a Western wedding.

“To me, the crowd's attitude was most strange. That passivity of those present made me wonder if anyone cared about the bride and groom. People seemed more responsive to appearances, drinks and partying than to the sacred commitment of the two getting married.” p144

“The problem with these cermonies is that over time they begin to lose their attraction, since they happen in the same way year after year. They do not have the essential ingredient, spontaneity, which to indigenous people speaks of the presence of Spirit.” p145




No comments:

Post a Comment