There are several nuggets from this Bake Off that I will briefly summarize here:
Heidi proposed a one time book discussion group which could be
conducted either at her home, or at the Mindfulness Center. She would
like to do it on August 6, but there is concern that a significant
number of members of the group would not be able to get the book read by
that time. The book is entitled "The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out
of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson. Apparently it has
recently been in town as a movie but is not currently. One member of the
group has started the book and feels at least the early part of the
book which he has read presents some rather deep considerations of aging
and our society's handling of this time of life. Heidi will collect
some responses to see how many would be interested in doing this on a
Thursday morning or whether it should be a separate time with only those
interested in getting the book read by early August. We will vote on
this on July 9, 2015.
There was a comment on
memory since some of our more recent discussion have centered on that
topic. Studies have suggested that people who exercise have less
Alzheimer's disease. But this may not be cause and effect but rather a
selection bias. Those who exercise may have other lifestyle
characteristics that contribute to a reduction of that disease.
Certainly walking releases stress and clears the mind -- that has been
shown in studies. Sleep also seals in learning and memory and it has
been shown that those who exercise also practice other good habits such
as 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Diet may also play a role.
Sky announced that Meridith has recently come back from a Brazil trip
and will be making another lengthy trip there in a couple months.
Meridith explained that there will be a blog which will show some of the
work that he will be doing there. That blog site has been emailed to
you all by Sharleen. The blog will likely have three parts: 1) A section
will consider syncretism of African spiritual and ritualistic practices
with Brazilian Catholicism .2)There will be two videos of 2 different
baptisms which are unusual Brazilian practices. 3) The third part
explains and deals with dancing, drumming, and celebrations in a context
of the spiritual.
Some members of the group
indicated some question about the word syncretism. The definition of
this word is usually stated as follows: the combining of different,
often contradictory philosophies or religions. It is the reconciliation
or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion,
especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous.
Examples of syncretism have occurred throughout history and throughout
the world cultures and religions. One of the most well known examples to
us is Halloween which contains both Christian and pagan components.
Often syncretism occurred when a people was conquered and the conquerors
blended sacred days and practices from the indigenous population's
religion with that of the conquerors, partially to encourage the
practice of the conquering religion. This often occurred with variable
degrees of success and trust.
I refer you to the Wikipedia article on syncretism at the following link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism
You will be surprised at the number of historical and even modern
syncretic belief systems which we are somewhat familiar with eg. Ba'Hai,
Unitarian Universalism, , the Druze, some forms of Sufism, the Native
American Church, and even the Theosophical Society may be classed in
this group. Meridith has been studying particularly the syncretism that
occurs in Brazil called Candomble, Vodou and others where Yoruba and
other African deities are analogized to the Roman Catholic saints.
Usually in those practices Meridith studies, it is St. John who is
analogized. There is even a church in Milwaukee, called "Our Lord of the
Good End" in which Jesus is analogized with Oshala, an African deity.
They conduct a mass to Oshala. This is carefully not called fetishism.
But usually the analogy is with Saint John.
One
member of the group wondered about the image we all know of Moses coming
down from Mount Sinai and finding the golden bull that was constructed
by his people in his absence. Interestingly, in application in Brazil,
the ox is the symbol of St. Lucas and also a symbol of aspirations of
the priesthood. There is Juno the bull, but rather the ox ground all the
sugar cane in South America so he stood for endurance. And he was the
ally of the slave.
Sharleen wished to share her
enjoyment of and to recommend the movie "In and Out" which is an
animated film with various characters representing several emotions.
These characters live in and run the brain of a child by the name of
Riley. It appears that the character Sadness really runs the show. One
member requested that at some time we might do a meeting considering and
grouping or categorizing the various emotions. Someone commented that
many times there are too many names, and too many concepts for the
various emotions. Sometimes simplification is helpful in understanding
what we are feeling. In therapy, often these complex emotions are
summarized into just a few: such as mad, sad, glad, afraid, or hurt.
One member asked if the group could come up with one word to help
eliminate general anxiety. The group came up with three words actually:
community, and a slower pace. It is important to find connections, there
is no doubt. But there is concern that media and contacts only online
are destroying community. Though millenniums (those from this time
period) do often seem to gain connection from social media and phone
texting, there is just a question about the quality of these
connections. We do not know if they really work as well as human
contact.
Some words about the emotion of fear:
Fear is never rooted in the moment. It has to do with things that
happened when we were in the flight or fight mode. It is not about
reality, what is here and now. Rather it is about things that are old
but are in your head still. It helps to label them as such. Meditation
can help. Associating with happy people can help. Even just to smile has
a neurochemical impact. Thich Nhat Hanh has always said this: Just
smile.
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