Afton Reed
Space is expansive and place is enclosed.Both space and place have postive and negative qualities. Space consisits of freedom and threat. Freedom provides excitement, and a feeling of limitlessness. A free space is open and boundless.However, space can also be a threat. People are afraid that they will be lost in space. If the space is too large you felt swallowed up in it.There is no end and that can be frightening.Place also has a positive and a negative. The positive side is comfort. For example,the myths of a small town. predictability,and stability are comforting things that a small town can offer. Having things that are familiar. People you know by name, who know you by name can be a very reassuring thing to have. But a place can also be constricting.It can make you feel suffocated. It is unexciting and routine.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Kim Robinson - outside reading # 4
On another day when I was reading for my religious studies class I was reading about Japanese religions. This time the section was highlighting specific Shinto practices and one was able to catch my attention. It was the practice of misogi which is believed to purify one’s self by standing under a waterfall. This caught my attention because I began to think how that same practice is done throughout the world, specifically here in the United States. You have Southern Baptist churches who baptize their new members by submerging themselves in a river or body of water. The water is said to wash away the past sins. Also even in my church, St. Georges Episcopal Church, which George Washington attended when he lived in Ferry Farm, uses water to purify the one being baptized. The simple act of using water to form a cross on the forehead can relate back to the Japanese practice. It’s interesting to see how such a simple thing can translate into different cultures and religions.
#2 Cold Fever and the four axioms
Afton Reed
In Cold Fever,Hirata, a japanese business man, is forced to go to Iceland instead of a vacation to Hawaii. His is obligated to perform rituals at the place where his parents died 7 years ago. Along the way he encounters many strange things.He never would have suspected that he was trekking across a sacred place. However, Iceland's sacredness is revealed throughout the film. Let's see if it fits into Lane's view of sacred place by applying the 4 axioms, shall we? "Sacred place chooses, it is not chosen." Hirata obviously did not choose the place to be sacred. It is sacred because of circumstance. The place where his parents died evokes strong emotions. It is a place where he feels connected to them, as this was the last place they were, while on earth. Secondly, "sacred place is an ordinary place made ritually extraordinary." The river where Hirata's parents died is seemingly ordinary, but because of the events that happened there, rituals must take place there,making it is sacred. Hirata performs many rituals at the river. He lights candles and sends them down the river, he pours wine into the river and he prays at the river. All of these things are done because the place has meaning to Hirata, and because of that, the place is sacred. Thirdly, "sacred place can be tread upon but not entered." Hirata doesn't know anything about the sacredness of Iceland. This is evident when he rides by the fairy stones, that Icelandic people believe to be the home of fairies, and has no idea that they are something out of the ordinary. It is not until he is told about them that he can know of the sacredness, and truly enter the place. And lastly, "Sacred place is both local and universal." The rituals Hirata performs at the river are recognizable rituals. It is local, but it is also universal because someone else has a place that they hold sacred, where they perform similar rituals.They recognize his place as being sacred to him, because of their sacred place, and therefore it is universal.
In Cold Fever,Hirata, a japanese business man, is forced to go to Iceland instead of a vacation to Hawaii. His is obligated to perform rituals at the place where his parents died 7 years ago. Along the way he encounters many strange things.He never would have suspected that he was trekking across a sacred place. However, Iceland's sacredness is revealed throughout the film. Let's see if it fits into Lane's view of sacred place by applying the 4 axioms, shall we? "Sacred place chooses, it is not chosen." Hirata obviously did not choose the place to be sacred. It is sacred because of circumstance. The place where his parents died evokes strong emotions. It is a place where he feels connected to them, as this was the last place they were, while on earth. Secondly, "sacred place is an ordinary place made ritually extraordinary." The river where Hirata's parents died is seemingly ordinary, but because of the events that happened there, rituals must take place there,making it is sacred. Hirata performs many rituals at the river. He lights candles and sends them down the river, he pours wine into the river and he prays at the river. All of these things are done because the place has meaning to Hirata, and because of that, the place is sacred. Thirdly, "sacred place can be tread upon but not entered." Hirata doesn't know anything about the sacredness of Iceland. This is evident when he rides by the fairy stones, that Icelandic people believe to be the home of fairies, and has no idea that they are something out of the ordinary. It is not until he is told about them that he can know of the sacredness, and truly enter the place. And lastly, "Sacred place is both local and universal." The rituals Hirata performs at the river are recognizable rituals. It is local, but it is also universal because someone else has a place that they hold sacred, where they perform similar rituals.They recognize his place as being sacred to him, because of their sacred place, and therefore it is universal.
#1 Wilderness as Sacred Place: Lane's 4 axioms
Afton Reed
I guess I always thought of sacred place as nothing more than a place that someone felt connected to in a positive way. I never knew there were specific things that make a sacred place a sacred place. But, there are actually 4 axioms that characterize sacred place.These 4 axioms include: "A sacred place isn't chosen, it chooses." Which means that a place has a sacred quality that draws a person in. The place is divine and reveals itself to the beholder of the sacred.The place chooses to show itself to the person, the person doesn't merely pick it at random. The next axiom is "sacred place is an ordinary place, made extraordinary." This is pretty self explanatory. But to expand upon it, sacred place is geographically normal, nothing special, but the rituals that take place there make it sacred. The place isn't sacred without the person using it as a sacred place.The third axiom is "Sacred place can be tread upon but not entered." A sacred place can be overlooked to someone who is not informed of the place's sacred qualities. The sacred place can be physically walked on, but only when the person has the knowledge of the sacredness can they truly enter. And lastly, "sacred place is both local and universal." A place can be recognized as sacred by outsiders, because they share a similar bond with a place.
I guess I always thought of sacred place as nothing more than a place that someone felt connected to in a positive way. I never knew there were specific things that make a sacred place a sacred place. But, there are actually 4 axioms that characterize sacred place.These 4 axioms include: "A sacred place isn't chosen, it chooses." Which means that a place has a sacred quality that draws a person in. The place is divine and reveals itself to the beholder of the sacred.The place chooses to show itself to the person, the person doesn't merely pick it at random. The next axiom is "sacred place is an ordinary place, made extraordinary." This is pretty self explanatory. But to expand upon it, sacred place is geographically normal, nothing special, but the rituals that take place there make it sacred. The place isn't sacred without the person using it as a sacred place.The third axiom is "Sacred place can be tread upon but not entered." A sacred place can be overlooked to someone who is not informed of the place's sacred qualities. The sacred place can be physically walked on, but only when the person has the knowledge of the sacredness can they truly enter. And lastly, "sacred place is both local and universal." A place can be recognized as sacred by outsiders, because they share a similar bond with a place.
Kim Robinson - outside reading # 3
I’m currently enrolled in RSTD 211 or Religions of the East and right now we’re studying the religions of Japan. We’re learning about Shinto, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and so many more. It’s amazing to me how their culture has been able to incorporate a truly pluralistic view of religion into their everyday lives. These different religions have different functions when it comes to how they interact with society. Shinto is seen as the native religion of Japan even though it’s a transplant from China. Buddhism is used in the Japanese practice of ancestor worship and also as final rites during funerals. Political life is dictated by Confucian philosophy which is strongly influenced by moral and rational reasoning. Japan has created their own cultural religion using aspects from many types of religions or belief systems. It’s strange to think how they were able to do that, but what makes it so improbable. Why can’t our culture be like that? We were once considered the mixing bowl because of how many cultures were represented by the immigrants who came to America in the early years. Why can’t we become a mixing bowl once again, but instead of culture it is our religions that blend together. It has happened it some areas I know, but why not on a larger scale. Tolerance is not a quality that some in this country have learned and if religions were to mix, maybe then people would seem as equals and different from one another….
Kim Robinson - Misc. # 3
As school winds down and I realize that it’s just a few short weeks until I leave for Spain it finally hits me, I’m going to Spain for 6 ½ weeks with almost no communication with those I’m leaving back in the states. Yes, one of my closest friends is going to Spain with me, but there’s so many things that I’m leaving behind, not to mention that this will be by far the longest I go being away from those people and everything that is normal to me. But on the other hand, I super stoked to be going. When else would I get a chance like this, to hike over 500 miles through a foreign country and on something so popular, so recognizable as the Camino. It has so much history to it, and there have been millions of people that have walked the same path before me. Some will be like me, out there for the physical aspect, a sense of faith to them but not doing the Camino so much as a Christian pilgrimage but more of an adventure. Then there will be those that are there to experience God. It’ll be an interesting mix of people and there is so much to see. As much as I am excited for the landscape, you cannot go to Europe and not be excited for the architecture, especially the cathedrals. Since we are such a young country comparatively, we don’t have these monumental structures dedicated to the worship of God as Europe does. I can’t wait to walk through all the different cathedrals and see how much detail went into them and to see these old world views of Christianity and God. Even though I’m already looking forward to it, I don’t think I’ll realize how monumental this trip will be in the grand scheme of my life until much later in it, until I’ve had the time to look back on it and remember it as a once in a lifetime experience.
Kim Robinson - outside reading # 2
As I said before I read a lot over spring break and just happened to be on a Dan Brown spree. After reading Angels and Demon, I read The Davinci Code. I had seen the movie already like most people have, but I had never read the book. People try to say that both books are far out there and nothing like the events could ever happen, I think that they aren’t that far off. The premise of The Davinci Code is that the church has been hiding the secret that there was/ still is a descendent of Jesus Christ. To me, at least, I don’t understand why this belief is so unreasonable. Although Jesus was sent to this earth in order to show man how to live and to sacrifice himself for us, he was still a man. He still had the same desires as all men. I guess one reason that I’ve been reading books like this and getting out of them the question of the church’s power is because of my paper for this class. My paper focuses on how the church does not have to be the only place that one receives faith. If someone receives their own faith by believing that Jesus Christ’s descendent walks among us today then why question it. It’s interesting just to read how this could all play out if an event like this did occur. It just makes you think about all the possibilities that life holds and what questions are still out there for us to judge.
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