By Kelly Rae Mathews

Sophia Nali Allison wrote in the New Yorker, that people of African descent, even through slavery in America, believed they could fly, as a spiritual freedom. Creating this spiritual space of joy helped keep her people moving forward. Artist Brittany Trambitas brings themes of the souls flight to freedom through joy to Spokane in her fantastical and exuberant art.

An example of this is the portrait of a beautiful woman that looks like the cover of a science fiction magazine, or a metaphysical place. The woman looks of divine, cosmic origins. One half of her looks warmer, imbued with the light of a single sun, the other side of her is full of an entire universe of stars.

Kelly: When I first saw your paintings, I felt such joy clearly emanating through them. I felt they were very spiritual. But do you, the artist feel there is a spiritual component in your work?

Brittany: I want to create joy and space for brown women. We need a space to just be joyful. My mom is Catholic. Dad not really. Mom didnt want to force it or for my belief to be fear-based. I had thought maybe I was an atheist.As I got older, I did more research. I felt connected to something greater than myself. Im spiritual, but not religious. Im not an atheist, but Im hesitant to refer to God. What society has done with it, is made God Singular. I feel God is more of a vast expanse than that. I connect on a universal plane.

Kelly: When I look at your art there is to me a theme with women connected to the divine feminine of the universe.

Brittney: My work is very connected to female presence. Women and the feminine are not getting recognized for the power they have. My art is an ode to female presence. Theres an aura, that is otherworldly. I like to dig deeper to express my spirituality. Perhaps Im bordering somewhere on Pagan. I like to pick and choose. I connect on a certain level to Wicca. I dont follow all of that. Some people just want you so badly to say, I am this. I think people are more complicated than that. It all comes together in this weird ball of Brittany. I feel there is a strong female connection to nature. Representation of personhood connects to more than one spirituality.

Kelly: I noticed at FemFest 2019 there were a few artists who seemed Wiccan. Some of these were part of the Shades of Me Art Collective of which you are a member.

Brittany: There was a nice mix. There were artists with heavy Baptist background open to discussing crystal work and Tarot cards. There was also a little clashing of beliefs. Shades of Me is about art work no matter your background.

Kelly: Tell me about your first art Show with Shades of Me.

Brittany: I really loved it. I had so many women come into my booth. There was, however, one woman who asked me why there werent any paintings of white women. I grew up in Spokane. Ive heard all the things, been called all the names. I was still surprised. Shades is an event explicitly put on by and for women of color. A painting of a white woman at that event would be me apologizing for taking up space as a brown woman at an event that was explicitly for us. People will enjoy your cultures food, fashion, and music, but deep down, they are not interested in the core of your culture.

Kelly: Its the mindset of the colonizer. Im sorry for that. I see there is some ambiguity in your painting. Women have green and blue skin as well as brown.

Brittney: Painting the women green and blue with the features of brown women was a way of me removing color to see how people perceive the paintings and women in them. Representation is less of a theme, and more of a foundation in my work.

BriOn Nov. 10 Brittany Trambitas will be featured at Dinner with Shades: A Bridge to Intimacy.

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Spirituality as Joy the Art of Spokane's Brittney Trambitas - spokanefavs.com

Marc Gellman Published 9:49 a.m. CT Nov. 1, 2019

Every year you are stuck with so much leftover Halloween candy you don't know what to do with, here are some creative ways to get rid of it. USA TODAY

The cycle of holidays during the year includes three distinct categories:

Category I: Sectarian Holidays

Of course, the year is filled with totally and purely sectarian holidays like Christmas and Easter andPassoverandRamadanand last week's Diwali, which are only intended as celebrations for the believers of a certain faith. They are not universal or universalizable (OK, maybe chocolate Easter bunnies are acceptable to all). They are for the faithful holidays and they are beautiful.

Category II: Secular Holidays

The next category of holidays are those secular holidays that are for everyone but are not really spiritual. National holidays likeIndependence DayandNew Year's Dayand, yes,Super BowlSunday are examples of secular holidays. They provide unity for a national culture and they do not require sectarian beliefs. Some want to include Christmas as a national secular holiday, but I am not buying it. Christmas is a holiday celebrating (for Christians) the birth of Christ. Santa is an imposter.

Category III: On the Fence Holidays

Marc Gellman(Photo: Tribune Content Agency)

Finally, there are those holidays that might once have had religious origins, but over time they have been secularized and are now acceptable for people of all or no faiths. The best of this bunch isThanksgiving. It probably began its life in the 17th century as a Pilgrim celebration of the Jewish holiday of Tabernacles (Sukkot), but it has become a national celebration of thankfulness (and turkey and football) that brings all families together for a meal with almost the identical menu throughout the country. Other once-religious-but-now-secular holidays areValentine's Day(not really St.Valentine's Dayany longer) andHalloween.

Halloweendefinitely mixed religious and pagan elements in its beginnings. It may well have originated as a pagan Celtic harvest festival called Samhain. In the Christian calendarHalloweenis the evening before All Hallows Day, which is a holiday celebrating saints and deceased righteous ones. However, the religious elements ofHalloweenhave by now been washed clean in a shower of chocolate peanut butter cups.

Though I do not agree with it, here is the best case againstHalloween:

Sugar. It is a vile addictive substance that causes obesity and tooth decay. The sugar jag caused byHalloweenhas sustained generations of dentists.

Demons and Witches. Why should we dress up like or allow our kids to dress up like ghouls and witches? Why encourage a trip to the dark side?

Tricks. Whatever dental damage is done by trick or treat candy pales into insignificance when compared to the shaving cream, egg throwing, toilet paper tossing and assorted vandalism that accompanies the holiday. If kids would be satisfied with treats it might be fine, but the tricks can be costly, dangerous and stupid.

SexyHalloweenparties. For the post-candy age population,Halloweencan include drunken parties with provocative and outrageous costumes. In a PC age these parties can be offensive and even abusive.

OK, that's the best case againstHalloween, but it is ultimately unconvincing to me. I loveHalloweenand defend it, and this is why:

Community. One of the ways my friendships were cemented in my childhood was by going out trick or treating with my pals. We ran from house to house, screaming and scarfing up piles of candy. I am old now and I remember that in the suburbs ofMilwaukeein the '50s my parents did not have to accompany us on our prowl. Now it is different but there is still a powerful bond formed by the trick or treat youth corps. Let me ask you, when other thanHalloweendo you really get to wave hello and smile at your neighbors? In fact,Halloweenis better for the middle class than for rich folks. In communities with large homes, it is too far to efficiently walk between houses. The ideal territory for trick or treating is in more modest communities with smaller houses that are closer together.

Dressing up like someone else is occasionally spiritually necessary.Europeis filled with holiday celebrations that include costumes and parades.New OrleanshasMardi Grasand we all haveHalloween. The point of all this costumery is that religion and life tend to push us to observe fairly strict rules of behavior and occasionally, likeMari GrasandHalloween, it is good to have social and religious sanction to go a little crazy and dress up in a way that might be inappropriate on other days. And one does not need to succumb to commercial pressures to buy expensive children's costumes that are mostly licensing plays from movies and television. The ghost costume I wore for an entire childhood of Halloweens was a sheet with two holes for eyes. Frugal and effective.

So, I am okay withHalloween. I love the way it brings us together, creates childhood memories of joy and ... cavities.

Send questions and comments to The God Squad via email atgodsquadquestion@aol.com.Rabbi Gellmanis the author of several books, including "Religion for Dummies," co-written with Fr.Tom Hartman.

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The spiritual value of Halloween - The News Star

Director Kasi Lemmons on set. (Credit: Focus Features)

Director Kasi Lemmons spent seven months unearthing little told details about Harriet Tubman to rework a screenplay that had lain dormant and direct it into the first major film about her life. After years of delays, audiences across the country will get to experience on the big screen Tubmans painful and hasty journey 170 years ago, starring Cynthia Ervio, Leslie Odom Jr. and Janelle Mone.

In an interview with Urban Faith, Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with the film Eves Bayou (1997), shared some insights on how she crafted the storytelling to introduce the Moses of her people to audiences in 2019.

UF: In this first theatrical treatment of Harriet Tubman, what did you hope to accomplish?

KL: Really to get her story out there and to add to images that we had of her as an older woman and really give a context to her work. She was a young woman when she was doing these incredible feats of heroism. She loved, and she was loved, and she was passionate. One of the things I think that makes the story so accessible and not at all abstract in terms of her as a hero is that she was motivated by love of her family and love of her husband. And thats why she originally went back. It was for her family.

UF: In the event that some say set her on the path to divinely led life as an abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, around age 13, was hit in the head with an iron weight. Many films that explore slavery capture the audiences attention by opening with a scene of violence, but your film doesnt. Why not?

KL: I really wanted to speak in the movie to the separation of family rather than the violence to the body. Definitely, its an important part of our history and understanding slavery, but also, what is the violence of separating families? It was in the news and it was very much on my mind and its very much a part of her story. She was haunted by the image of her sisters being taken away.

The thing that stopped most people from running away, if they chose not to, is they wanted to stay with their family. That can be missing at times in stories about slavery. When visiting or shooting at plantations where people have been enslaved you feel the horror, but you also feel the kind of sacredness, the kind of hallowed ground where these people lived and loved and had children and worked and suffered. They led lives. Sometimes the brutality, I feel, can kind of get in the way of you really seeing that these were people with lives.

UF: You show a lot about Harriet Tubmans character through her dialogue with others. How did you find these words to put in the mouth of Ms. Tubman?

KL: The way that I write is the way that I write for fiction and nonfiction, which is I start with character. But when youre writing something about someone who has really lived, you start with the research. Its a character, but youre starting with the research.

Harriet did one-woman shows for groups of abolitionists to raise money. So we have her own words because she would talk about her life to abolitionists who found her absolutely fascinating. She was entertaining. She would sing Go Down Moses. She would tell her own stories.

Sometimes Im using the words that she actually said. For instance, she said, There I was with a suit and no husband. Because I know that she said that one sentence that way that tells me something about her and how she talks. So I used actual authentic quotes of hers. And I start to hear a rhythm. I can feel where shes humorous or ironic. I can feel her intelligence and then a southern cadence, which is very important to me. What is that cadence like in Maryland? What is the regional specificity of it? And once I get into the research and start to look at it that way, I hear characters as if theyre talking in my ears and then I write down what they say.

An expert speaks about the role of spirituality in Harriet Tubmans work.Video courtesy of Cassie Chew

UF: Where do you think Harriet got her resolve? Who were her role models?

KL: Her father was a role model. She and her father were very connectedspiritually connected as well. They were bonded in that way. But also her mother was very fierce. I Iooked at the story that comes from her childhood, where they were going to sell her brother and her mother intervened and fiercely stood up to her master and was like, Im going to break your head open if you try to sell my son.

So I look at that fierceness that comes from her mother and I say thats part of Harriet. We tend to not think of enslaved people as quite human until we examine all of these things and then you say, of course, she had role models. We know that Reverend Green was a very complex character who was very important to the underground railroad. He became very important in her life. So he would have been a role model as well.

UF: Even though plantation owners used Bible passages to convince their workers that a life of slavery is what God wanted, the slaves were able to parse through that definition of spirituality. But that was instrumental in Harriet Tubmans success.

KL: They so underestimated the enslaved people who worked for them and lived on their plantations and farms. They so underestimated them that they completely missed it. It was a whole language going on and a form of communication that, as we know, started with the drums and then became a coded language in spirituals as well. They were coded messages for those that were ready to hear them. There were coded messages in most of the spirituals. There were coded messages in the scripture as well and as it was interpreted into spirituals by the African American community.

UF: Your earlier work, Eves Bayou, included a fictional character who saw visions. How did that work inform your writing on what some people consider divinely led visions that led Tubmans work as an abolitionist?

KL: The two films are in conversation with each other. I come from a very southern family and Mozelle was based on my aunt. So to me, thats something very familiar to mesomething thats been a part of my family. Its been a part of a lot of families that I know and its part of Harriets life. When I realized from doing the research that this was such a big part of her life, Im like Oh, this is speaking my language. I know this language.

UF: Why has it taken so long for a major film project on the life of Harriet Tubman?

KL: Its hard to get any film made. But its been hard to get a film made with a female protagonist, not to mention a Black female protagonist. You know what I mean? And this is like recently were able to say, Oh a film could be viable with a woman as a protagonist.. And so the idea that a Black woman can carry an adventure film in the title role is still a relatively new ideayou know people have had the idea before, but you were told that that might not be viable or that Black dramas were not viable or that dramas starring women in period pieces were less viable than dramas staring men.

I think that we are seeing the industry change and theres lots of reason for optimism. I do believe that we are beginning to see more representation, more films with women protagonists, and honestly, it really has to get diverse behind the camera. The storytellers and the gatekeepers of storytelling have to be diverse because were the ones interested in it.

UF: What do you look for in a script?

KL: I try and just look at an overview of the story and see if its a story that I like and if its a character that I like. Im very interested in character. Its really the way that I approach a story. So for me its like, is the story interesting? Are the people interesting? Do I want to spend the next two years, maybe three years, maybe four years of my life involved in this story? A story has got to be so compelling because it takes a very long time to get movies made and you have to sustain the passion that happens. I have to have a love for a project before I agree to sign on as a writer/director.

UF: Do you think this film might add to calls for Harriet Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill?

KL: I absolutely hope so. I cant really think of anyone more deserving. The funny thing about those men on the bills is that most people dont know very much about them. So what they really should do is look into Jackson. You know, look at the history of him and everything he did and was responsible for and look at Harriet and everything she did and was responsible for and you tell me who is more deserving to be on the $20 bill.

Hes very problematic as many of those guys and yet they are still commemorated. I think that its time to really commemorate Tubman and give her a place in history. I think shes a really essential and important American hero. And people do. If you ask people who are the most admired people that have ever been Americans, her name is going to come up. Shes kind of like essentially an American herothis idea of live free or die, give me liberty or death, thats very American. She deserves her place in history and she deserves her place on the currency as far as Im concerned.

Video Courtesy of Smithsonian Channel

With the peculiar institution of slavery entrenched in Antebellum life, Harriet Minty Ross Tubman, in 1849, learns that the Brodess family, who have owned her since birth, are about to sell her in order to pay off debts from running their small farm in eastern Maryland.

With her older sisters sold to plantations in the Deep South and never heard from again, Minty has no time to waste. She goes to the field where her mother is working. She sings a spiritual in her mothers earshot. Then she goes back to her slave cabin grabs a knife and begins tucking it into her skirt. But Minty pauses, draws out that knife and takes some of her precious few moments to use its pointy blade to draw a heart on the dirt floor.

In these moments from Harriet, director Kasi Lemmons hopes to communicate to audiences how painful this hasty departure 170 years ago must have meant for the woman who would become known as Harriet Tubman after making a remarkable decision to leave her husband, parents, and siblings to be free or die.

Despite the odds, the five-foot Tubman, who also was prone to sleeping spells, makes it 100 miles away to freedom in Philadelphia. As a young woman in her mid-twenties, she finds work and creates a life for herself. But her longing for her family is so strong that she does the unexpected.

Tubman makes a risky decision to go back to the plantations of Marylands eastern shore to get her husband and then, again and again, to lead other family members and friends out of slavery. She eventually makes a name for herself asone of the most successful conductors of the Underground Railroad.

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"Harriet" Director on the Film's Themes of Spirituality, Love, and Family - UrbanFaith

Photo by Nelson A. King

RN Hopina Quammie-Samuel (3rd from left) receives a plant from executive members of the Caribbean American Nurses Association, Inc., Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester Chapter.

Stating that the spiritual aspect of health is often times neglected and ignored, among other things, a founding member of the Caribbean American Nurses Association Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester Chapter (CANA-BMW) says that spirituality has become a greater concern to her over the years.

Registered Nurse Hopina Quammie-Samuel, the Vincentian-born former CANA-BMW president, lamented on Saturday that spirituality has not been given the same attention as physical and emotional health, and that it is not documented when rendered.

Spirituality was not part of many nurses curriculum before or after graduation (in the past), said Quammie-Samuel in delivering the keynote address at CANA-BMWs 24th Annual Vernese Weekes Scholarship Luncheon, at Eastwood Manor, on Eastchester Road in the Bronx.

Many people only focused on spirituality during times of crisis or set- backs, added Quammie-Samuel, an active member of the Creston Avenue Baptist Church in the Bronx, where she is founder and president of the Health Ministry.

She expressed concern about increase in work place violence and mental illness, including emotional instability on a whole, and the rise in the suicide rate among professionals, stating that the time is now to speak on it (spirituality) since everyone has a need to maintain his/her spiritual health.

Everyone can provide spiritual care to a point, Quammie-Samuel said. However, (one) needs to know when to get specialized help.

She noted that many organizations address the topic of spirituality in the US, pointing to, as an example, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO-2001) that establishes mandates that specifies requirements in addressing spiritual needs and practices.

According to Quammie-Samuel, JCAHO recommends, among other things, that a spiritual assessment be conducted on all patients; health care organizations (HCO) define the content and scope of the assessment; individual performing the assessment be qualified; assessment include at minimum the patients denomination, beliefs and spiritual practices; and that health care workers (HCW) demonstrate respect for patients values, religion and philosophy.

In defining, spirituality, according to Oxford Scholarship, as ones relationship with God, deity, supreme being or higher power, Quammie-Samuel said spirituality is reflected in our everyday lives, expressed through a framework of values, practices and beliefs.

All people example clergy, priests, nurses, presidents are all in need of spiritual care, no matter their beliefs, she said, adding that the beliefs should be respected.

As a country becomes more diverse, she said that health care providers (HCP) encounter religious and cultural challenges while planning and providing care.

In reviewing the literature and conversing with many of her colleagues, Quammie-Samuel said she discovered that about 80 percent of health care professionals perceive religion and spirituality as an important aspect of care.

Few nurses felt that they effectively addressed clients spiritual needs and reported some barriers, she said, listing some of the barriers/challenges as lack of time due to the nursing shortage; inadequate education about the topic; uncomfortable talking on the topic; different religious beliefs and practices; inability to identify clients need for spiritual care and those in spiritual distress; the role should be played by a priest, chaplain or spiritual leader, rather than by professionals; and the need for support and guidance in addressing spiritual issues.

Alluding to the School of Health and Promotion, Quammie-Samuel said there are eight dimensions of health/wellness, with nine in the making, namely sexuality.

She said the eight are: Physical the most effective way of achieving good health, regular movements, nutritious diet, adequate sleep, rest and practicing safe behaviors; Emotional positive attitude, ability to express a wide variety of feelings in appropriate manner; Social positive interpersonal relationships, sense of connection and belonging; Financial money management; Occupational engaging in meaningful, enjoyable work; Environmental lifestyle that is committed to sustaining nature; Intellectual seeking to expand knowledge, skills and creative abilities; and Spiritual the most neglected dimension of wellness.

Quammie-Samuel said spirituality is the ability to establish peace and harmony in our lives.

It is achieved when you feel at peace with life, she said. One is able to find comfort and hope in the hardest times. It (spirituality) can help to support you as you experience life completely.

Becoming spiritually means striving for consistency, with our values and beliefs, she added.

Quammie-Samuel gave suggestions to help better equip nurses become more confident in dealing with spirituality.

She urged that they do a self-spiritual needs assessment; attend related retreats, ongoing related educational workshops; utilize myriad personal resources at work and in local community groups; interact with colleagues. chaplains, spiritual leaders and social workers; read relevant literature; address unresolved and spiritual issues in their lives, such as unforgiveness, guilt and biases; seek help after a sentinel event or crisis from employee assistance and help healers heal program; become active listeners; meditate and pray daily; Spend time in quietness/solitude; become part of a social network; be grateful; and pray for a servants heart.

These have proven to help many of my colleagues personally and professionally, Quammie-Samuel said. A persons health and well-being benefit when his or her spiritual needs are met (referring to Koenig, 2004).

Quammie-Samuel received a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration and certification in Community Health from St. Josephs College, and a Master of Science degree in Health Education from the City University of New York at Lehman College.

Her extensive clinical experience spans adult nursing, maternal, newborn and womens health nursing, pediatric nursing and community health.

She has held positions as instructor, nursing care coordinator, certified lactation consultant, and is currently employed as an assistant director of nursing at an unidentified hospital in the Bronx.

Posted 4:55 pm, October 31, 2019

2019

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Bronx-based nurse speaks on 'Spirituality and Health' - Caribbean Life

Not too long ago, a movie came out based on a book by Garth Stein titled,The Art of Racing in the Rain.The storysmain character, a dog named Enzo, narrates the story. According to Enzo, the canine existence is an apprenticeship to becoming human. If the dog finishes their years having evolved enough, they will return to a new life as humans.

This is not a spoiler alert, for I will not reveal any other parts of this great story. But, although the story is fictional, its premise supports Doctor Wayne Dyers belief that;

We are not human beings in search of a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a temporary human experience.

Do living things evolve and advance to a next phase?

This is the existential question about human life. While Quantum Physics can support the probability that living things evolve and advance to a next phase, it can also support the premise that living things begin and end with just one life, period. Since no living being has ever returned from death to prove either theory, we must accept both premises as conjecture. This means we have the freedom to choose the one that best fits us.

Life, Death, Soul, Heaven and Hell

With the Catholic Church as the foundational teacher of my religious beliefs, I learned human beings are born with a soul that our deathsets free to live in heaven or burn in hell. Each person determines their souls fate by theirability to live in accordance to Gods law.

This idea that our human acts govern our spiritual fate seems flawed to me, for it does not take into account the effects nature or nurture have on an individual. The church contends it is each persons responsibility to find his/her souls salvation. This is the same whether one grew up in an affluent family with well-educated, loving parents or under the influence of drugged out parents who ran a crack house.Therefore, this is the theory that our human existence stumbles through life in search of the right spiritual truth and then we can ignore it or committo follow itto save our souls.

This belief may have served early humans well, for it helped societies reach agreements and establish laws that would protect communities and define nations. But I dont thinkthis serves us well today because it counts on ego consciousness to judge whatis right or wrong. Relying on our ego, we set out to compare ourselves with others to measure our righteousness and modulate our behavior with fear, guilt, violence, punishment and revenge. It also forces us to see ourselvesunworthy of Gods love because we have been convinced that we were born imperfect and, therefore, must spend our lives trying to earn Gods eternal approval.

This idea we are here in search of a spiritual experience does not work for me. It is the philosophy that the cup of our life is always half empty. Fortunately, the view of spirit has evolved beyond this.

Spiritual beings having a temporary human experience

All spiritual teachings contend we originated from a Higher Consciousness or spirit we call God. For example, this is what the first chapter of the Book of Genesis addresses. Modern physics and metaphysics support the premise that everything originated from an original being. This means that all living organisms are spiritual beings because they all have this essence in them.

Using our surroundings to guide our thinking, we can see that everything is part of a never-ending cycle of birth, evolution, transformation and death. But endings are never final, for they lead to new beginnings and forms.

It makes sense then that this cycle we witness daily in the material world is the perfect metaphor for what happens in the spiritual world. Just ponderabout our own spiritual evolution through the many endings and beginnings in our lives.

I am convincedwe are spiritual beings experiencing a temporary human experience. This makes the example of Enzothe hero of our aforementioned storypossible. This may not just apply to dogs; it is plausible that every living thing serves as a phase of learning and evolving for a next and higher being.

Seeing ourselves as spiritual beings on this earth temporarily to grow and evolve fills me with hope, serenity and gratitude. This belief converts my life into a wonderful package of experiences and people meant to teach me important lessons on how to express the divine spirit that is part of me.

We can, of course, adopt the traditional view of the relationship between God and ourselves, salvation and eternal damnation. But these beliefs have fueled great divisions and tribalism among human beings. We still argue over whose god is the one true God and who are the true believers and infidels. These beliefs dont allow us to see our connection to each other and to our world.

Considering ourselves as spiritual beingshere to learn and grow give every life meaning and value. This does not judge our experiences and people as good or evil, butas essential elements in our individual life curriculum. It also sheds light on the important value and purpose each person, animals, and every living thing contributes to our world.

Adopting this perspective has brought great joy and significance to my life. Knowing the people and experiences in my life were there to help with my spiritual development defuses my anger and desire for revenge and fills me with gratitude for them. It gives the full span of my life meaning and purpose and gives me the energy and openness to accept new challenges for as long as I live. I have never been so content and thankful for my life nor have I ever felt so comfortable inside my skin as I do now. I am a spiritual being learning from this temporary existence and getting ready for the next transition.

Remember, paying gratitude for your life forward will bring you great joy and contentment.

Previously published here and reprinted with the authors permission.

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Are Humans Here in Search of a Corporeal or Spiritual Experience? - The Good Men Project

Bodhidharma, by Luo Pin, collection of Tianjin Museum. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The xieyi style of classic Chinese ink painting is more than a technique that features a reduction in detailed brushstrokes. Essentially it describes a philosophy of Chinese culture to emphasize freedom, spirituality, individuality and expressiveness.

Figure paintings drawn in the xieyi style emerged the third century and reached its peak in the 13th century.

The creation of xieyi-style figure paintings further diversified in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties to cater to the taste of the upper-middle-class and the interest of a rising group of city dwellers, boosted by commercial prosperity.

An ongoing exhibition at the Art Museum of Beijing Fine Art Academy reviews the booming scene of xieyi-style figure paintings. The exhibition through Dec 15 shows works by prominent Ming and Qing artists, drawn from the collection of eight museums across the country.

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Classic ink paintings on show reveal the spiritual 'xieyi' style - Chinadaily USA

While we tend to wear sunglasses all year long (especially with that 4:30 p.m., right-in-your-retina winter sunset), part of us still associate this accessory with the summer or, rather, summer relaxation. Even now, we can vividly picture ourselves sliding on a pair of shades while louging on a beach. And Garrett Leight wants to take that feeling to a whole new level.

The eyewear brand is currently selling a 30-piece, limited-edition Olinda collection, which promises spiritual healing properties for those who wear them. This is all thanks to the crystal details included in the sunglass frames, with each stone holding a different type of power. The light pink pair, Lomita, features rose quartz, meant to calm the mind. A darker, Black Shell pair is accented with onyx, which is said to stop negative thought patterns. Lastly, a tiger eye stone sits in the warm yellow-brown pair, and is supposed to help with clarity and creativity.

Elena Doukas, the head designer at Garrett Leight, explained the inspiration behind the collection, which stemmed from a visit to the South West specifically, Taos, New Mexico.

"Taos in known for ornate jewelry," she said via press release. "My family would get the most beautiful gemstone gifts when we would drive down there from Colorado. The tourist stops along the path from Arizona to New Mexico always have amazing finds. They sell gemstones at every store as well as petrified wood pieces. Ive always been enamored by the power of these stones and there is something about this particular place that feels incredibly peaceful and serene.

The sunglasses are being sold on garrettleight.com for $595. They'll no doubt make the perfect holiday gift for that busy someone in your life, or, at the very least, be a calming essential as you visit family during the holiday season.

To Buy: $595, garrettleight.com

To Buy: $595, garrettleight.com

To Buy: $595, garrettleight.com

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These Sunglasses Have "Spiritual Healing" Properties Thanks to a Tiny Detail on Their Frames - Yahoo Lifestyle

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Festival takes care of mental, physical and spiritual health - Cyprus Mail

Wong, 26, also participated in those protests, but over the course of the 79-day occupation grew disillusioned. When the protests ended, he founded Hong Kong Indigenous, a party championing self-defense, more radical means of protest, and our unique identity as Hong Kongers, he told me. It fell into the localist movement, a group of political parties and activist groups holding a spectrum of ideas on Hong Kongs autonomy. The beliefs of some of these groups have at times veered into the xenophobic, with members demeaning mainland visitors as locusts invading Hong Kong.

In the past, Leung has described his idea of localism as rooted in the safeguarding of a Hong Kong identity distinct from that of mainland China, to preserve our own narrative on the past, present, and future of Hong Kong. This idea, of keeping Hong Kong from becoming just another Chinese city, protecting it from Beijings control, has come to drive the current protests. Polling from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in October showed that the number of people identifying as localists has more than doubled since March. Yet it is the most radical of Leungs beliefs, one that still remains fringe, for which he is most notorious: advocating for independence. It might be very unrealistic; it might be nearly impossible, he said, but in terms of politics, in terms of rational calculation, independence is the only way to leave this authoritarian regime, a reference to the Chinese government.

Read: Hong Kongs protesters are outfoxing Beijing worldwide

When Wong met Leung after the Umbrella Movement ended, Leung was again struggling, even contemplating suicide. Then, in July 2015, Leung took the stage at an annual protest and delivered a speech that, Wong recalled, impressed all of our members. Hong Kong Indigenous, which had focused on street-level activism that included haranguing mainland tourists and sometimes violent protests targeting small-scale day traders from China, made the decision to formally enter mainstream politics by contesting elections.

The partys positions, as well as its youthful and at times boisterous members, put it at odds not just with pro-Beijing politicians. It also clashed with the traditional pro-democracy camp, who it felt was overly willing to compromise and did not take sufficient action. The feelings of dislike and distrust went both ways.

I thought he was arrogant, full of himself, the pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo said of her first impressions of Leung. Her feelings, she told me, softened over time, and she has visited Leung in prison on multiple occasions, most recently in September. This summer, after protesters stormed the building housing Hong Kongs legislative assembly, lawmakers were given a tour to see the damage. Inside, Mo said, was a spray-painted message calling for Leungs release. I knew then he had become an icon, she said.

Link:

Meet the Spiritual Leader of the Hong Kong Protests - The Atlantic

Sometimes life appears incomprehensible, of another world. The supernatural has been evoked in many cultures and religions as a way to make sense of the thresholds of mortal and immortal worlds through images and stories.

For some, the supernatural can help make sense of the irrationality of life. For others, it gives context for the textures of grief. And for others still, it provides continuity in the afterlife.

Japan supernatural, a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW, surveys the complex, playful and inventive ways Japanese culture has visualised these themes from the 1700s to today.

Defining the supernatural is a difficult task reflecting our contested mortal and moral understandings. Japan has a compelling history of bringing the mystical to life from the evocative woodcut prints of scholar, poet and artist Toriyama Sekien (171288), to the powerful storytelling of Hayao Miyazaki (of Spirited Away animated film fame) and the superflat popular character reinventions of Takashi Murakami.

In Japan informed by Shinto beliefs around notions of animism a soul (reikon) lives within all existence and phenomena. Everyday things from objects to plants to mountains can be defined as kami or deities.

This connection between the natural and spiritual worlds creates a complex understanding and respect for the everyday. Cups can be vessels for long lost ancestors. Would you throw out a cup if it could contain the spirit of your long lost grandmother?

Indeed, both personal and global lessons can be learnt from the animism appreciation of the environment in the face of current Anthropocene challenges.

The Japan supernatural exhibition begins from the Edo Period (16031868) and spans three centuries to contemporary manifestations. Stories highlighting the enduring power of the supernatural to understand the limits and potential of humanity are included.

Concepts such as ykai which in English translates roughly to monsters, goblins, demons and spirits often take the form of everyday animals or objects. The prolific and prescient work of Sekiens 18th century prints and books gives ykai a creolised character face that manages to inspire both delight and fear.

In Japan, the ykai have long been deployed in art and culture as a way to reflect upon morality and mortality. As anthropologist Komatsu Kazuhiko notes in the exhibition catalogue, the ykai has gained long overdue scholarly attention in recent decades.

Japans ykai culture is extraordinarily rich, he writes. One aspect of ykai culture relates to religious and spiritual history, another to the arts, including literature, the visual arts, theatre and popular entertainment.

Japanese supernatural forms frequently change and transform. Only some of these transformative concepts translate into English: bakemono means changing thing, mononoke means things that transform, and yurei is the Japanese word for ghosts.

Yet art can unlock different cultural perceptions and understandings of otherworldly shapeshifters that go beyond language.

The haunting presence of the spectral across the centuries creates and curates a different sense of time throughout this exhibition.

The work of Seiken can be found in director Isao Takahatas woodblocks for the 1994 Studio Ghibli animation Pom Pok. And the exhibition includes key masters of the Ukiyo-e Period from the 17th to 19th century, such as Katsushika Hokusai who is famous for the timeless print The Great Wave.

The supernatural in Japan is all-pervasive, playing out in curious ways. For instance, anthropologist Anne Allison has been exploring the emerging Shinto-inspired death industries in Japan.

Funerals and cemeteries for people without families are emerging. Elderly Japanese people are meeting the strangers they will be buried near some moving across Tokyo to live with their grave friends in this lifetime.

This continuity with life, death and afterlife could teach us plenty about the supernatural in our everyday lives; how to better understand one another, the environment around us, and perhaps even to comprehend the incomprehensible.

Japan supernatural runs 2 November to 8 March at the Art Gallery of NSW.

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In Japan, supernatural beliefs connect the spiritual realm with the earthly objects around us - The Conversation AU

Kasi Lemmons expected every kind of criticism about her film Harriet. The filmmaker told me as much in September during the Toronto International Film Festival, where Harriet held its world premiere and where Lemmons laid out her feelings about the numerous reactions to her latest feature.

Her general feelings? It is what it is.

Perhaps best known for making the 1997 cult classic Eves Bayou, Lemmons is considered one of the patron saints of Black female directors, up there with trailblazers including Julie Dash and Cheryl Dunye. Eves Bayou is largely regarded as one of the most important Black films ever made, a Southern Gothic drama steeped in magic and the dark cloud of family secrets. But while Lemmons has made several movies since the release of Eves Bayou (the most recent being Black Nativity in 2013), Harriet has probably been one of her most-talked about films since, being the first feature film on the big screen about the life of Harriet Tubman.

The movie, in theaters Friday, has been haunted by controversy since it was announced in 2017 that actress Cynthia Erivo was poised to star as Tubman. For one thing, there has been criticism that a Black British actress of Nigerian descent shouldnt be playing such an iconic African-American role. There has been even stronger criticism of Erivos involvement in the movie giventweets she made prior to her casting that mocked Black Americans. A hashtag, #HarrietDeservesBetter, was even created this past summer in protest.

Lemmons is aware of these concerns. When I asked her about the critiques of the movie and its casting, she acknowledged that they are important. But she also believes deeply that the film, once seen, can change minds.

We do need to talk about it, but the point of this movie is we did it for Harriet, Lemmons said.

And so people will say and do with it what they will, but this is our offering to Harriet. That was the mission we were on, she said. Thats the way we looked at it. We put ourselves through all kinds of things to try and bring Harriet to the audience. And I think we did it right and I think we did it with the right person.

Early reviews have varied. Harriet has been described as a stunning achievement by some critics, while others have criticized it for hyperfocusing on the superhero elements of Tubman rather than her humanity by playing up Tubmans spirituality. This latter critique is interesting, given the fact that Lemmons (who also co-wrote the films script) says that the production of the film was a deeply spiritual experience. This filmmaking as near-religious experience, as a calling, a testimony, seems to permeate every facet of how Lemmons approached the movie.

On the first day of shooting, Lemmons and Erivo embraced each other in what the director describes as the longest hug ever. That hug was the starting point of a grueling three-month shoot during which the director says she felt deeply connected not only to Erivo, but also to the spirit of the films subject.

The director says she prayed directly to Harriet during the making of the film, saying Harriets name to herself early in the morning before going to set and right before she went to bed.

I would wait to be able to see her and feel her. And then once I could see her and feel her, [I would ask,] Are we on the right path? Is this OK? Is there something I should do? Something I should know? she said. So it was very spiritual. And what was amazing was Cynthia from the first moment she came on set, [I could feel] she was emotionally prepared, physically prepared and spiritually prepared. We could feel it in each other.

Glen Wilson / Focus FeaturesCynthia Erivo stars as Harriet Tubman in "Harriet."

Theres a moment in the movie where Harriet has finally arrived to freedom in Philadelphia after a harrowing first escape from enslavement in Maryland. She is welcomed by the black abolitionist and historian William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.), who asks her to give an account of her life and escape for the detailed records he keeps of the newly free. Harriet explains to him that once, as a child, a former enslaver threw a metal weight at her head, splitting her skull open and leaving her in a coma for two months. When she awoke, she says, she began to receive visions and prophecies directly from God.

Still smiles, nods politely. The camera cuts to a close-up of the page on which hes recording her account. Possible brain damage, he scribbles.

This moment of skepticism is a set up to an underlying arc in Harriet. The son of her enslaver tells her that God doesnt answer the prayers of black people. Harriet then prays for his father, the owner of the plantation she works on, to die, and the next day he does. Later, a group of runaways whom Harriet is guiding to freedom refuse to follow her across a dangerous river which she says God has told her is the way to safety. They then watch as she, miraculously, makes it to the other side without drowning.

The narrative, as well as Erivos highly principled, dutiful, and no-nonsense portrayal of Tubman, work to enforce this idea that people who wrongly question or doubt her spiritual connection to God are always proven wrong in the end. It must be said that Tubman did believe she saw visions and prophecies. The incident with her enslaver dying after she prayed for God to smite him is one recounted by Tubman herself. So the criticism about the spiritual elements in the film are interesting, given how Tubmans spirituality was inextricably linked to her humanity.

But what is perhaps more interesting is the connection between the spirituality within the context of the film and the spirituality on Lemmons set. It seems the spiritual experience Lemmons and Erivo had in the making of the movie has served, in a sense, as a kind of inoculation for them against some of the criticisms of the film, particularly regarding Erivos past tweets. Lemmons seems to have chosen to treat it magnanimously, ultimately believing the criticism will all be irrelevant.

In the past, theres been a natural resistance to depictions of slavery on-screen. Movies like 12 Years A Slave and the ill-fated Birth of a Nation have kicked up similar debates about casting, about the Hollywood establishments apparent delight in so-called trauma porn, and about the right way to tell the story of slavery on-screen, or whether there should even be any more.

For Lemmons, there was a deep desire to provide a cinematic record of Tubmans life, despite the idea some have that there are too many Black prestige films about slavery. To that, Lemmons challenged, Name me five movies about slavery.

I can name you five about the Holocaust. I can name you 15 about Vietnam, she said. Extremely traumatic history needs to be examined, which is why there have been so many films about the Holocaust. Because its so difficult to process it. So slavery is one of those very complicated things that were obviously still needing to unpack.

With Harriet, its intriguing to consider what the conversation would be if Erivos presence in it was not the main story. What is this movie without the apparent controversy and backlash swirling around its periphery? In other words, is it good? Is it worth it?

There are two ways to look at Harriet. Theres the movie that exists in the hearts and minds of its director and star, a spiritually charged labor of love literally guided by the hand and spirit of Harriet Tubman herself. This version of the film is, in Lemmons words, entertaining and very, very watchable, a movie made to uplift, provide a record, and do cinematic justice to a subject whose life story has never been told on the big screen before.

And then there is the film that exists in the hearts and minds of many Black people across social media as an artistic slap in the face to those descended from enslaved Africans. This version, to them, is perfectly competent at best, rotten at worst. It is an unwieldy creation which not only disrespects Harriets memory but flattens her human complexity in the process.

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Help us tell more of the stories that matter from voices that too often remain unheard.

Link:

Kasi Lemmons And The Spiritual Journey of 'Harriet' - HuffPost

Do therapy groups exist for grumblers? Alcoholics Anonymous is a well-known program of support, but I dont think Grumblers Anonymous is a thing.

Does this indifference reflect the fact that grumbling, complaining and bellyaching are rarely witnessed in our world? Is it that grumbling spawns no physical or psychological ill effects? Certainly not. I suspect the reason is that grumbling is so systemic to the human experience as to hardly attract notice. It seems as natural and necessary as blowing ones nose.

For that matter, whos complaining about complaining, anyway? Bellyaching is no crime. Complaining causes no harm. Grumbling is no sin, to be sure. So who on Earth cares?

By way of qualification, it is certainly necessary to air legitimate concerns. We must at times object to circumstances, decry unjust laws and policies, call out corrupt leaders and contend against harmful ideas. The species of discontent we channel toward positive change does not typically qualify as grumbling.

Grumbling expresses discontent with what we cannot change or have no right to. It is complaining that scowls and whines simply because if feels good to do so, given the circumstances. Grumbling is a means by which to lash out against authority, complain about circumstances, glower in self-pity, object to people who do, say, or believe what we find detestable, or in some other way to vent discontent.

Grumbling may appear on someones I have the right; leave me alone list, but it is unlikely to appear on anyones list of virtues. We like to grumble. We dont like it nearly so much when others do. But is complaining a vice or a morally neutral, blow-ones-nose sort of habit?

The answer depends on your view of why life is what it is. If you draw your conclusions from a secularist or atheistic perspective, life just stinks sometimes. There is no ultimate reason for anything that happens. Survival is as much a reason as may be posited for why life unfolds as it does.

So grumble as much as you and others around you can stomach. It makes no difference (although you may want to check that conclusion against your medical doctors opinion and seek a close friends assessment of how endearing they find your grumbling).

For the theist who believes in a supreme god of some sort, grumbling takes on a different hue. This is particularly true of believers who serve the sovereign Lord who providentially works all things together for his glory and for the good of his people (Isaiah 45:5-7; Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11).

From this perspective, complaining and grumbling constitute some degree of moral resistance, if not insurrection, in that our problem is never ultimately with the unfair, frustrating, inconvenient or discouraging circumstances themselves. Our problem is with the God who permits those difficult people or troublesome circumstances to disrupt our lives. In so many words, our grumbling announces that God is not good, although he is (Psalm 84:11; James 1:17).

This means, then, that grumbling is never just about grumbling. A complaining spirit reveals the spiritual condition of my heart. Grumbling reveals that Im failing to see God for who he is.

As God revealed his nature to ancient Israel, grumbling proved a major roadblock in Israels spiritual awareness. God delivered the nation from bondage in Egypt by means of 10 miraculous plagues that left Egypt wrecked and Israel free. God continued to miraculously provide for the nation in the wilderness of Sinai and Paran as he shepherded them toward the land he promised to give them.

But Israel found the accommodations of their makeshift encampments in the wilderness unacceptable and complained to the management.

After all he had done, despite all he had promised he would do, Israel deigned to charge God with doing them wrong (Number 11:1). They even conjured the audacity to complain that life was better under Egyptian slavery. Soon, their grumbling approached mudslide proportions careening toward the suffocation of all joy and the erasure of all reason (Numbers 11:2-5).

Among other lessons, Israels experience warns us against fueling complaint with sanitized memories. Grumblers love to look backwards to a day when things were better. In doing so, their complaining spirit airbrushes that picture so that it looks better than it was.

Israel languished under harsh Egyptian rule and pleaded for Gods deliverance (Exod 2:23-25). But under the deprivations of the wilderness, nostalgia scrubbed their memories. Then, in a sleight of hand, they read their present trials in the comparative light of that imaginary past (Numbers 11:4-6; 20:3-5).

Whatever the scheme, we must know that God takes grumbling seriously. He also offers to grumblers grace and forgiveness as they seek it in him (John 3:14-16), rejoicing to turn our natural grumblings into joyful praise (Romans 8:18-30; 11:33-36).

Rev. Dan Miller is a pastor at Eden Baptist Church in Burnsville and can be contacted at http://www.edenbaptist.org. He is one of several area pastors who write for Spiritual Reflections.

Original post:

Spiritual Reflections: Grumbling, for many, is never just grumbling - SW News Media

It was 3 a.m. on a typical Saturday in Geneseo. UHots was closing and there was nothing to domy alumni friend was visiting, so we trudged through the rain back to my place for an early morning catch-up. His life is a lot more exciting than mine, so I listened intently as he told me of his post-grad misadventures.

Did I ever tell you about the time I was almost recruited into a cult? he said casually. No, he had not. I listened intently as he told me of a private subreddit he had been added to and the pseudo-intellectual who ran the page, inviting people who had like-minded views to join.

This got me thinkingthis subreddit cant be the only page like this on the internet. Since then, I have uncovered similar communities and ideas (i.e. places where spiritual thought meets modern politics and personal musings) grasping for meaning in the digital age. I believe the new frontier for religious thought lies not in the worship spaces of yesteryear, but in online forums and other digital spaces where one can make their beliefs heard and gain a following.

Spiritual groups born and bred online occupy a space somewhere between absurdism and grave sincerity. There is a whole spectrum of those who believe, dont believe or are simply curious about a given sect of online spiritual thought.

In conducting research, I came across the website for The Church of Google, a parody religion founded in 2009 with the goal of creating commentary about the sophistication and increasing symbiotic relationship that technologies like Google play in our lives. I also came across online forums such as MySpiritualgroup, which is self-described as an online spiritual group which seeks to gather all genuine truth seekers from around the world and focuses on metaphysics and esoteric thought.

Additionally, there are countless Reddit forums, like the one my friend joined, focused on the interplay between religion and psychedelics, anarchy and the alt-rightto name a few topics that have been brought into the conversation via dedicated subreddits.

One of the most intriguing online spiritual movements is one called H+, or Transhumanism. According to H+pedia, an online Wikipedia-esque transhumanist encyclopedia, transhumanism can be defined as a belief or movement in favour of human enhancement, especially beyond current human limitations and with advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, life extension and nanotechnology.

While prescribers to the philosophy might describe themselves as post-religious, there is something fundamentally spiritual about their way of thinking, which combines the concept of human transcendence with modern technological advancement. I may add that transhumanists are the same people in favor of gene modifying and strong AI technology, as well as proponents of the concept of technological singularity.

The internet is chaos, and so it only makes sense that spiritual communities that have formed from the internet are chaotic as well. The wide range of content, from intellectual to idiotic, underscores the wide range of beliefs being vocalized. Not only have we been ushered into a new age with technology providing platforms to express opinions, but the very opinions themselves have also been altered and shifted due to the emergence of the internet and what that means for human development.

As spiritual discussion online continues to mold the worldviews of many internet users, it is important that we attempt to broaden our understanding of this emerging intellectual discourse in order to better understand its real-world implications.

You can call Hayley Jones a metamorphosis rock because they do well under pressure!

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Religious and spiritual online forums consist of chaotic, impactful ideas - Lamron