Eye on Faith

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Geronimo: Interfaith wisdom

(Portrait of Geronimo in 1905 by Curtis)

Geronimo was not the actual name of the famous Chiricahua Apache warrior. His original Chiricahua name was Goyaale, transliterated as Goyathlay or Goyahkla (meaning “one who yawns” or “intelligent, shrewd, clever” when given a slightly different accent). Allegedly, he was first called “Geronimo” by Mexican soldiers who were calling out to St. Jerome to save them from this mighty warrior.

Goyahkla was raised in the ways of the Bedonkohe band of the Chiricahua sub-tribe. According to Apache tradition, he was rolled towards each of the four directions (east, north, west, and south) at birth. He continued to perform this ritual later in life - each time that he returned to his birth place, and even when in danger. On the fourth day of life, he was placed in a cradle (tosch) prepared by a medicine man and the elders with “prayers and rituals.” When he first walked, another celebration was held. There was “singing, praying, dancing and feasting.” Not long afterwards came another ritual - the ceremonial cutting of Goyahkla’s hair.

Tribal worship was directed toward Usen, the “super-god Life Giver.” Usen disliked interceding in human disputes; therefore, prayers from one person against another were not acceptable. Humans were expected to settle their own quarrels – even with vengeance, if necessary. The eating of snakes, frogs and fish was forbidden because Usen did not intend for this to occur. Eating bears was also forbidden since bears were considered to be Apache ancestors. All of this was taught to Goyathlay by his mother before his sixth birthday.

Years later, Geronimo was asked about the Bedonkohe views concerning life after death. According to Wikipedia, he replied: As to the future state, the teachings of our tribe were not specific, that is, we had no definite idea of our relations and surroundings in after life. He had stated this two years after converting to Christianity in 1903. Wikipedia reports that he had also advised his people to study Christianity because it was good at “enabling people to live right.” At the end of his life, he seemed

to honor both Apache and Christian traditions.

Resources

http://www.aaanativearts.com/apache/apache_culture_Geronimo.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo

Friday, May 6, 2011

Amygdala: 'Almond joy' in six soothing steps

By: Horst Frank

If you feel like you’re "going nuts,” it might just be those almond-shaped clusters of nuclei hidden deep within your brain. Otherwise known as the amygdala (right, left, or both), they have been linked to the rise and fall of many emotional states.

For example, the Associated Press recently reported that a woman who lacked a working amygdala was unable to feel fear, even within threatening situations. Conversely, amygdala enlargement and/or amygdala hyperactivity has been found to be associated with intense emotional conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and bipolar disorder.

What’s an amygdala-laden individual to do under such tenuous circumstances? Wikipedia reports that “Buddhist monks who do compassion meditation have been shown to modulate their amygdala…”

This Buddhist meditation is otherwise referred to as “the cultivation of loving-kindness” (aka metta or maitri). It is an “unclinging” form of love – much more synonymous with the ancient-Greek concept of agape than with that of eros. Buddhism teaches specific practices for cultivating metta. These include tonglen (the breathing in of suffering, and the breathing out of happiness), and the contemplation of the

four immeasurables (benevolence, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity).

According to Wikipedia, Buddhism also teaches a six-step compassion meditation which is designed to progressively cultivate loving-kindness towards: oneself; a good friend; a “neutral” person; a difficult person; all four of these equally; and then (gradually) the entire universe.

Important pointers for successively (and successfully) practicing these six meditation stages include carefully choosing whom you wish to meditate upon. For example, sexually-charged relationships are not ideal to begin with. Neither is an emphasis upon those who have already passed on from this world. For the “difficult person” stage, it is best to pick a challenging focus, but not one that is so immediately

overwhelming as to crunch the amygdala before they can even begin to recover.

Resources

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40812113

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_words_for_love

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Beltane: Faeries of the Otherworld

Beltane, the Gaelic beginning of summer which corresponds to the month of May, is traditionally thought of as a time of year when the veil between worlds is quite thin. Therefore, it would also be a time of year when the Otherworldly spirits can easily appear.

This Celtic Otherworld is sometimes described as a parallel universe. Denizens of this Otherworld are said to invisibly live alongside of humans, on Fortunate Isles in the Western Ocean, and/or within earthen (sidhe) mounds. They have been called by various names: aos si (people of the mounds), daoine sidhe, or Tuatha; wee folk, good folk, fair folk, or people of peace; and fairies, fae, fay, or faeries.

Back in 1691, Scottish Reverend Robert Kirk described them in this manner: Fairies … are said to be of middle nature between Man and Angel, as were Daemons thought to be of old; of intelligent fluidous Spirits, and light changeable bodies (lyke those called Astral) somewhat of the nature of a condensed cloud, and best seen in twilight… They have often been depicted as tiny winged humanoids - but have also been portrayed as tall radiant beings, shape-shifting animals, and shriveled trolls.

Wikipedia presents a number of folk beliefs about the origin of faeries. They are sometimes thought of as spirits of the dead, i.e. the Irish banshee that has been described as a female ghost. Students of alchemy have described them as elemental “spirits of the air.” Some think of them as rebellious angels that were

banished from heaven, but were not quite evil enough for hell. However, many during the Puritan era thought of them as outright demons. The Tuatha De Danann are said to be ancient gods and goddesses who, after being repeatedly defeated, retreated to the mounds to live as faeries do. Celtic lore also describes faeries as living humans – “a race of diminutive people” that has been driven into hiding by invaders.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aos_S%C3%AD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Otherworld

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Restorative justice: Peace be with all

(Resurrection Appearances of Jesus)

This past Sunday, in churches throughout the land, the lectionary story within John 20:19-31 was told.

This story tells us that on the evening of the “first day,” many of Jesus’ disciples were meeting behind a locked door “for fear of the Jews.” (These last five words have been tragically generalized to include all Jews for all time, whereas those (Jews and non-Jews

alike) who were involved in the crucifixion of Jesus were a very specific historical group.)

Suddenly, the resurrected Jesus stood among them. The very first thing he said was “Peace be with you.” The very next thing he said was “Peace be with you.” Shortly thereafter, he again said: Peace be with you. (There is a “three-times” rule in mediation circles –

whatever is repeated three times is especially worth noting.)

The great rabboni (“teacher” – see John 20:16) did not just leave it like that. Jesus then taught them how to achieve this peace. In John 20:21, he said: As the Father has sent me, so I send you. This has been interpreted to mean that peace is not just an internal affair. Just as God sent Jesus to teach peace to the disciples, Jesus was now sending the disciples to share peace with the larger community. Immediately afterwards, Jesus breathed on them (as God breathed Spirit into Adam) and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. Peace, therefore, seems integrally related to the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ instructions then became very specific. He could have explained any number of peace-generating

“techniques” at this point, but he only chose one. It therefore seems as if this one is foremost – and perhaps even all-inclusive: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

This one great dictum is the foundation of restorative justice. Rather than focusing upon “an eye for an eye,”

restorative justice instead focuses upon forgiveness. Victims and perpetrators are safely and volitionally

brought together within a structured environment in order to better understand - and perhaps to eventually

forgive – one another and/or themselves. A recent program on the Oprah Winfrey Network told the story of a woman whose son was killed by the recklessness of an intoxicated driver. Seven years after this lethal accident occurred, a first-time meeting was arranged between the mother and the driver. An extremely skillful facilitator had assisted both to ready themselves for this arduous event. Both agreed to meet in order to begin the long – but crucial – journey of forgiveness.

Why forgiveness? Why not the more common path of anger, hatred – and often vengeance?

It concerns liberation – not only from Pharaohs and terrorists – but mostly from the chains of our own making. As Jesus said: If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. Not only do you then carry the burden of your own sins, but you also carry the burden of those that you tenaciously collect from others.

Resources

http://www.restorativejustice.org/

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+20&version=NIV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restorative_justice

http://www.textweek.com/

http://www.oprah.com/own

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurrection_appearances_of_Jesus

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Bin Laden's death: Cause for ding-dong celebration?

In one of cinema’s most famous scenes, denizens of Oz are joyously proclaiming: Ding dong the witch is dead!

Scenes flashing on news screens across the planet after Bin Laden’s assassination look all too much the same. Whether or not Bin Laden deserved what he got is not the issue here. Whether or not ding-dong celebrations are appropriate is.

Although it is possible that some people are intrinsically and hopelessly evil, what would that say about God? Another alternative is also possible – that we are all God’s children, and that there is goodness and hope available to everyone. If that be the case, Bin Laden’s self-imposed drama is a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions - as far from gleeful as terror is from love.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and Martin Luther King’s nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, personally

bore the brunt of two horrible (are there any other kind) wars: Indo-China and Vietnam. When he was 16 years old, Hanh was accosted by a French solider who demanded that Hanh give him all of the monastery’s rice. At first this greatly angered and upset Hanh. However, the more he meditated upon the fate of that solider, the more he realized that this young lad was suffering as greatly as he.

One of Hanh’s key spiritual concepts is that of “interbeing.” He sees all aspects of creation as not only interconnected, but also as part and parcel of one another’s essential being. Since paper would not exist

without the sunshine and rain that nourished the trees, Hanh asserts that paper is literally made up of sunshine,

rain and trees. Since they, in turn, are composed of other elements, the beat goes on…

This concept of interbeing then leads to compassion for all. If, in fact, I “inter-am” with you, then your welfare is integral to my own. If there are zero degrees of separation amongst us, then brutality towards one is brutality towards all. When one suffers, all suffer at least some of that pain. When viewed from that perspective, dancing on graves seems quite discordant.

Resources

http://www.squidoo.com/Thich-Nhat-Hanh-1#module13498397

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_17973325?source=most_viewed

http://spot.colorado.edu/~chernus/NonviolenceBook/ThichNhatHanh.htm

http://efipaz.wordpress.com/2008/09/04/interbeing/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Witch_of_the_East

Monday, May 2, 2011

St. George: Are we still chasing the dragon?

(By: Jean-Francois Sulpice)

The tale of St. George and the Dragon may be especially relevant this year since it allegedly takes place in Libya.

The Legenda aurea (“Golden Legend”), otherwise known as the Legenda sanctorum (“Readings of the Saints”), was a late-medieval bestseller by Blessed Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa. Its popularity was most likely due to the fanciful embellishments within these stories.

Stories about St. George’s reptilian adventures had been circulating for quite some time before becoming “gold-plated” by De Voragine. Originally from the East, they were later brought to the West by returning Crusaders. By the tenth century, “official” versions of them were already being depicted. De Voragine’s version is dated circa 1260 CE.

According to De Voragine, a creature as exotic as a dragon could have only come from a country as exotic as Libya. His St. George was therefore passing through Silene, Libya (don’t bother looking for it on a map) when he chanced upon a princess decked out in a bridal gown, standing by a lake. Upon closer inspection, he noticed she was trembling. Upon even closer inspection, he noticed a dragon rising from the water.

Putting two and slew together, he realized he’d better do something heroic – and fast. Fortifying himself with the Sign of the Cross, he hurtled headlong toward the lake (horse and all). His lance hit the mark, and the dragon was seriously wounded. “Princess, hand me thy girdle,” he then declared (not as shocking as it sounds, princesses were heavily layered back in those days).

The girdle ended up around the dragon’s neck (cleverly), and it was then led back to town by this makeshift collar (dramatically). The townspeople were duly terrified by this grand entry, and quivered at the sight of the dragon. St. George seized the predictable moment by proclaiming: Convert to Christianity, become baptized, and I will slay this dragon before your very eyes!

They did, he did, and they all lived happily ever after. Or did they? Read today’s headlines and decide for yourself.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George_and_the_Dragon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Legend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobus_de_Voragine

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Quasimodo: In song and story

(Cuasimodo celebration in Chile)

Quasimodo Sunday is the Sunday after Easter, so-called because of the incipit (first Latin words) of the introit

(“entrance” chant) traditionally used by the Catholic Church on that day.

This chant begins with quasi modo geniti infantes (English

translation: “as if in the manner of newborn babes”). The full chant, which was derived from wording within 1 Peter 2:2, reads as follows: As newborn babes, alleluia, long for pure spiritual milk, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice in honor of God our helper; shout for joy to the God of Jacob.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the “newborn babes” are the newly-baptized Easter neophytes, as well as all those who are renewed through the Resurrection.

Ironically, a fictional character who was named after this historical tradition has become even more generally known than the tradition itself. Victor Hugo’s Quasimodo, after whom The Hunchback of Notre Dame was named, was an outcast from the start. Abandoned as a newborn babe, he was discovered on the foundlings’ bed at the Cathedral of Notre Dame on Quasimodo Sunday. Hugo described him as having a huge wart that covered his left eye, as well as an extremely hunched back. Wikipedia reports that, although Quasimodo was certainly named after the day on which he was found, the name “Quasimodo” also implies that he was merely “as if in the manner of” a person rather than fully human.

Quasimodo Sunday is also referred to as the Octave of Easter (occurring on Easter’s eighth day), as St. Thomas Sunday (referring to the “Doubting Thomas” scriptural passages that are read on that day), as Low Sunday (perhaps in relation to “high” Easter Sunday), and – more recently (initiated by Pope John Paul II) – as Divine Mercy Sunday (in honor of St. Faustina, whom he canonized). Pope Benedict XVI will be

beatifying Pope John Paul II on Divine Mercy Sunday - May 1, 2011.

Resources

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09400a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Mercy_Sunday#The_Feast_of_the_Divine_Mercy

http://www.renegoupil.org/chantfiles/391/