Oh my gosh, life is gettin' busy! I hate to admit it, but I think I may be getting to point of "oh no! We have such little time left here, will I get to do everything I want to do?!" I don't like this feeling! I have written a list though of things I want to do before I leave (as if that will help me do them!) - But the latest is to lead a movement/dance workshop. :) Some people in my group have been urging me to do it, and after some impromptu group dance sessions and a fabulous dance workshop yesterday - lead by an Aurovillian woman - I think I will do it!
The dane session yesterday was great. It was very eye-opening for me too. Dance communities are my academic and passionate focus in life right now, and the approach that we took yesterday was so great! She first read us a poem, "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (READ IT!), then we talked about what our biggest hopes in life are, and what is holding us back from embodying them. Then we put on music, and just danced about them! The simplicity and accessibility of this was wonderful and refreshing. Dance is for everybody! :)
Today has had quite a bit of dancing for me as well. I went to Mohanam and danced with the kids - again - whew! What a wipeout! But SO fun. In the morning when I got there, we did some chanting and om-ing together. I reflected how amazing and DIFFERENT it is for three-year-old children to be learning these inward practices in their preschools! What if American kids were taught those practices...? Food for thought!
In the village, I also was fortunate enough to witness a very personal and sacred task today. I went to the hut of a new mother- she has a one-month-old baby. This morning, the Medicine Woman of the village came over to give the baby a bath. This happens every other day for the babies in the village until they are 3 months old. It has ritual as well as physical meaning. It was pretty intense to watch- the baby was face-down, longwise on the Medicine woman's lap. She would vigorously scrub his whole body with soap, then splash hot water all over him and just as vigorously scrub it all off. The water was pretty hot, and the baby was screaming the entire time. The task had an attitude of "Oh you will be fine baby, this is to purify you, and pain is not bad. This is something you must go through, it is good for you. It is okay to treat you a bit roughly and it is okay that you are crying. This is part of the process." Watching it was a bit surprising for me, as it made me realize how differently we treat our babies in the US! We are so much more tender - generally speaking! - and less brusk. However, sometimes perhaps we are too tender- maybe the survivalist human instinct is bred out of American children because of how careful we are with them. (Often times when a baby cries, all the energy is directed towards calming them down immediately! However, isn't this an illusion- that our pain can be shushed away instantaneously? Maybe this pattern contributes to the quick-fix mentality we have in our Western materialist society.) Perhaps the village children here get instilled in them a respect for their elders through rituals such as this. Perhaps these practices contribute to the more ascetic, inwardly-connected culture of India.
Of course, these are huge generalizations! But just- food for thought. That is all.
Okay, quick update today~ I love you!
The dane session yesterday was great. It was very eye-opening for me too. Dance communities are my academic and passionate focus in life right now, and the approach that we took yesterday was so great! She first read us a poem, "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (READ IT!), then we talked about what our biggest hopes in life are, and what is holding us back from embodying them. Then we put on music, and just danced about them! The simplicity and accessibility of this was wonderful and refreshing. Dance is for everybody! :)
Today has had quite a bit of dancing for me as well. I went to Mohanam and danced with the kids - again - whew! What a wipeout! But SO fun. In the morning when I got there, we did some chanting and om-ing together. I reflected how amazing and DIFFERENT it is for three-year-old children to be learning these inward practices in their preschools! What if American kids were taught those practices...? Food for thought!
In the village, I also was fortunate enough to witness a very personal and sacred task today. I went to the hut of a new mother- she has a one-month-old baby. This morning, the Medicine Woman of the village came over to give the baby a bath. This happens every other day for the babies in the village until they are 3 months old. It has ritual as well as physical meaning. It was pretty intense to watch- the baby was face-down, longwise on the Medicine woman's lap. She would vigorously scrub his whole body with soap, then splash hot water all over him and just as vigorously scrub it all off. The water was pretty hot, and the baby was screaming the entire time. The task had an attitude of "Oh you will be fine baby, this is to purify you, and pain is not bad. This is something you must go through, it is good for you. It is okay to treat you a bit roughly and it is okay that you are crying. This is part of the process." Watching it was a bit surprising for me, as it made me realize how differently we treat our babies in the US! We are so much more tender - generally speaking! - and less brusk. However, sometimes perhaps we are too tender- maybe the survivalist human instinct is bred out of American children because of how careful we are with them. (Often times when a baby cries, all the energy is directed towards calming them down immediately! However, isn't this an illusion- that our pain can be shushed away instantaneously? Maybe this pattern contributes to the quick-fix mentality we have in our Western materialist society.) Perhaps the village children here get instilled in them a respect for their elders through rituals such as this. Perhaps these practices contribute to the more ascetic, inwardly-connected culture of India.
Of course, these are huge generalizations! But just- food for thought. That is all.
Okay, quick update today~ I love you!
First off.... I want to say thank you for the beautiful post card. I am documenting all that has been given to me by you in a shoe box.....along with some old photos. It will be fun to look through one day. I miss you dearly. It seems as though this journey has helped you grow on many different levels. I myself have been going through extreme changes that I cannot wait to share with you. It looks like mid April is my launching date for a new life in Co.I'm following that force....i suppose that's called my intuition? Anyway...
ReplyDeleteWhat you wrote above here is beautiful.... I agree that in our culture we do tend to be too "careful" for lack of a better word. I can't wait to hear more about your journey when you return. Can I write to you? Whats an address I can send you a personal letter? Love you dearly sweet Heather. Be well and beautiful.
Jessie
It sounds precious to hear you say "I like babies" 20 years after you first said that! I think that the medicine women should maybe practice the Golden Rule more with their little babies. Traumatic experiences have a way of embedding themselves for life, most especially at that tender young age, but... at least they're very clean!
ReplyDeleteJessie - you can reach Heather at...
Kalsang Tibetan Pavilion
Auroville
Tamil Nadu
605 101
India