Rest For Just a Moment: The Life Force Made Visible
Sep 1st, 2008 | 8 responses
I saw this for the first time tonight and watched it several times in pure joy. I loved watching the people in it, I’ve always had a thing for beefy people and skinny people (yes, prob should have a shrink look at that. lol) Catch the fellow at the far right in Brisbane. Or the little children so completely on joyous fire, or the ‘give it everything you’ve got no matter who’s looking’ people throughout; sometimes even the tribal people are more stately than the moderns.
As I watched this and listened to its ‘heart music’ soundtrack, i wept. It’s an intractible time in my life. I cried because humanity in all its variations is so so beautiful, so lush, like the variety of colored songbirds flying all throughout the world. If there’s such a thing as happiness momentarily breaking into the cave of grief, it came from this little film for me tonight.
I hope the film will make you laugh in a good way. For however you are tonight, for whatever road you are on… let this be good traveling medicine for you.
———
CODA
The fellow in the film is Matt. I muse tonight how he traveled the world for weeks and months to condense all these gatherings of souls into this tiny film. Time in a bottle.
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8 Responses to “Rest For Just a Moment: The Life Force Made Visible”
Thanks for sharing, people of the world can come together to dance a silly jig, yet cannot come together for so many other reasons when we really should. Perhaps we'd be better off not taking ourselves so seriously and dance that sill jig a bit more often.
Thanks Dr E, that was pretty cool. I liked the one in India where he changed his routine for a couple moments and did the other moves. What a traveler!
Hi Clarissa,
I am currently enjoying “Women Who Run With the Wolves.” I also enjoy your articles through the National Catholic Reporter. I thank you for opening my eyes, ears, heart, mind, and soul, about my/our tradition from Mexico, which often, even we are cut off from for reasons, still unbeknownst to me. Anyhow, I have a basic question, and I do not know if you can answer it be it I am not exactly sure whether you consider yourself a 'curandera' (“healer”) or not, “How does one know and/or tell whether a 'curandera,' in the best, and literal sense of the term, is a true, wise, healer…not in her shadow/dark side/witch archetype, to use a bit of Jungian terminology, and at her best, true self? How do I know when I am dealing with a truly, wise, life giving 'Sabia,' or “Wise One” and not a bruja or witch? Thanks & Peace,
Jose
joselgut@sbcglobal.net
dear Jose
it is a good question. Las curanderas/os, healers of any sort, western medical docs, nurses, teachers, historians, scientists… so many others…I would just offer these to weigh with: Is what comes from each one meant to challenge, to grow the psyche/spirit/creative life/intellect… or to make it only cunning, poisonous, or devastated? Are the words and means offered with a love and understanding of humanity or with grudge-bearing and a fatal vision that accidentally or purposely makes 'the patient's' soul and psyche somehow smaller, more ingrown, rather than larger, more visionary? As you can see, the question is huge, and answers, many layered. Yet, these two inquiries above ought serve well. The gut also knows who is lit like a fresh candle and who is a black sun.
Texas A&M University Press will, not too far down the road here, publish a book i wrote, La Curandera, Healing in Two Worlds. The work comes from the Fay Lecture Award I received at Tex A&M a few years back. (I have to smile, they also made me an honorary Aggie, which as I understand is the very most high honor, eclipsing all else.)
I often see the comments readers leave on my weekly column at NCR Jose. Thank you. I am always grateful for readers' thoughts, even though I cant always answer. I glad you read at both places, and you are welcome at both, Jose.
with kindest regards,
dr.e
dear Leonidas
I likeyour phrase, 'silly jig'… When I saw this film, I thought, like you did, Yes, let's do that too!
I wonder if you notice too, that there really is a constant little dance going on in the body. We absolutely CANNOT stand stock still, no matter how hard we try… some pulse or breath or tiny swaying is always going on… dancibg
with kindest regards,
dr.e
Dear JSpencer
you too, like me, resting for a moment from the “Presidential wars.' lol.
I thought that was cool too, the Indian women trope… I also thought, Gosh, I wonder what all the outakes look like too; the bloopers… I noticed one poor soul rushing in to dance, fell down, sort of a 'sliding into second base' kind of falling down. I hope that didn't hurt.
I am very glad you liked the film too. I dont know what it is exactly, but when you see something that lifts your heart; it somehow isnt as good until you share it
with kindest regards,
dr.e
Thank you for this video Doc!
I've been suffering a serious “blue” time and this really helped out!
Sometimes all we really need to do is just dance, eh?
Ghost
dear Ghostdreams
I keep thinking with all the convention hype about 'going green,' what if we add our blue moods and get all teal instead. Ok, ok, very horrible attempt at joking around.
The old native groups dance so regularly; you cant help but see there's a medicinal reason for dancing. The Crow Fair just took place up in Montana; I wrote about it a bit here at TMV. We had to miss it this year. I am so sorry too. There we would be flying-dancing in spirit of crows, owls, eagles, deer
Hang in there; blue is next to violet, which is next to red in the color spectrum; a poignant meta-image for the way the cycles of moods often spiral through human beings too…
with kindest regards,
dr.e