This is a group of community practices that link to other practices
Community Story telling: In your group, tell a story about a concern or issue that is going on for your group. One person will start with "Once upon a time" and then each person in the circle will continue with either "and then …" or "but before that …" or "meanwhile, back at the ranch." One member of the group should be a recorder. Go around the circle several times, depending on the number of people. People can choose to pass if they don't have anything to add at that moment. Each turn is just a sentence, although it can be a complex sentence.
This is a safe way to get the issues out on the table, and to have all voices heard. It is a creative process to cover the history and to build vision together. (from Charles Olsen's essay in The Hidden Spirit: Discovering the Spirituality of Institutions)
Testimony: Reflect on your own story, and then with a partner or two or three, for four uninterrupted minutes tell the story of a turning point in your life, or. Your partner group will ask clarifying questions for a minute. Sit together in silence for a few minutes, as the group absorbs your story. If you want, tell your story again, and feel and hear how it changes from the attention and reflection.
This is clearly a practice of reflection and also of attention, but of getting attention. But testimony is a spiritual practice that goes by other names, and each of our stories connects us to the greater whole. National Public Radio is collecting people's stories in a wonderful format in their Story Corps.
It can also be turned into a practice of discernment if the group were to become a modified clearness committee. (See the description of a full Clearness committee here.)
Witness: Think about someone you know (personally or through reading) who has challenges or obstacles or injustices in their life. Think about either what they have done to overcome those challenges that you find inspiring, or the ways they are hurt or stuck or put down, and tell a story of what they did and how you or we could respond, i.e., bear witness on their behalf.
Read aloud the poem "Ring-Worm Boy" by W. Dow Edgerton (Volume 45, Issue 2, July 1988 issue of Theology Today. (Browse to find the volume and poem). Reflect on this poem as spiritual reading and what you might do in such a case, and discuss what witness you can bear today and how.
Showing posts with label creating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creating. Show all posts
Monday, October 8, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
Creating: The medium doesn't matter
It really doesn't take too much material to be creative. Mostly it takes letting go and being in touch with your own inner creator. The person who says "I'm not creative" is uttering blasphemy.
Crafts: make a small investment in a packet of pipe cleaners, clay, crayons, construction paper. Create things. Decorate your desk, computer, office, refrigerator.
Do origami--see the earlier post on Forgiveness rituals for links.
Arts: paint, draw, sculpt
In "Saved from Freezing: Spiritual Practice, Art Practice" Zoketsu Norman Fischer makes the case that art practice can be a saving spiritual practice.
Creating can also be temporal and just of the moment. Creating can be a wonderful communal or community spiritual practice.
Dance: do a hand dance—put on a piece of instrumental music, and just moving your hands, interpret what you think the music means. Watch and focus on your hands. Discover all the ways you can move your hands. Do this with a partner, and have your partner watch and at the end, interpret and describe your dance. Then, both of you do a hand dance and see what is different when you create together.
Music:
Ah: in a group, sing an "ah" together, starting on a unison note and then change notes as you like. Continue breathing and singing. Listen to what is happening, and what happens with harmonies, dissonances, and sound.
Tell Stories: share a story, or make up a story by alternating telling each sentence of the story. This is a wonderfully playful exercise with children. You might start with some traditional story, but in dialog you have the power to create an entirely new story.
With a little more structure, I have used a shared group story telling for planning and visioning, or just getting on the same page at the workplace. Start with “once upon a time,” and continue with either “and then” or “but before that.” Tell the story of what is important, what is your shared vision, what are the dependencies, what is your history. [Adapted from Charles M. Olsen's work, found in Transforming Church Boards into communities of spiritual leaders, p. 64.]
Other creative ventures:
Gardening, Cooking without a recipe ...
What are your creative outlets? Post a comment...
Crafts: make a small investment in a packet of pipe cleaners, clay, crayons, construction paper. Create things. Decorate your desk, computer, office, refrigerator.
Do origami--see the earlier post on Forgiveness rituals for links.
Arts: paint, draw, sculpt
In "Saved from Freezing: Spiritual Practice, Art Practice" Zoketsu Norman Fischer makes the case that art practice can be a saving spiritual practice.
Creating can also be temporal and just of the moment. Creating can be a wonderful communal or community spiritual practice.
Dance: do a hand dance—put on a piece of instrumental music, and just moving your hands, interpret what you think the music means. Watch and focus on your hands. Discover all the ways you can move your hands. Do this with a partner, and have your partner watch and at the end, interpret and describe your dance. Then, both of you do a hand dance and see what is different when you create together.
Music:
Ah: in a group, sing an "ah" together, starting on a unison note and then change notes as you like. Continue breathing and singing. Listen to what is happening, and what happens with harmonies, dissonances, and sound.
Tell Stories: share a story, or make up a story by alternating telling each sentence of the story. This is a wonderfully playful exercise with children. You might start with some traditional story, but in dialog you have the power to create an entirely new story.
With a little more structure, I have used a shared group story telling for planning and visioning, or just getting on the same page at the workplace. Start with “once upon a time,” and continue with either “and then” or “but before that.” Tell the story of what is important, what is your shared vision, what are the dependencies, what is your history. [Adapted from Charles M. Olsen's work, found in Transforming Church Boards into communities of spiritual leaders, p. 64.]
Other creative ventures:
Gardening, Cooking without a recipe ...
What are your creative outlets? Post a comment...
Creating: Write a poem
Reading poetry feeds the soul. So it stands to reason that writing poetry as a creative practice will be very powerful. But of course many of us think of a dozen reasons why we couldn't possibly write a poem.
I was introduced to this Chinese poetry style while in a class with theologian Kwok Piu-lan, and she managed to convince 25 of us that we could be poets with this simple but elegant framework. Try it!
This Chinese poetry style has 3 horizons: the objects—how well does the poet talk about the object, usually of nature; the feeling described; what kind of atmosphere you create.
Its form is in four lines.
Start line 1 with: "I dream …."
Start line 2 with: "And …."
Start line 3 with: "For a moment …. "
Line 4 finishes in free form: …
Example:
I dream of people singing
And shouting hosannas.
For a moment, I thought that love had wrapped us round
And we will always sing.
Post yours as a comment....
I was introduced to this Chinese poetry style while in a class with theologian Kwok Piu-lan, and she managed to convince 25 of us that we could be poets with this simple but elegant framework. Try it!
This Chinese poetry style has 3 horizons: the objects—how well does the poet talk about the object, usually of nature; the feeling described; what kind of atmosphere you create.
Its form is in four lines.
Start line 1 with: "I dream …."
Start line 2 with: "And …."
Start line 3 with: "For a moment …. "
Line 4 finishes in free form: …
Example:
I dream of people singing
And shouting hosannas.
For a moment, I thought that love had wrapped us round
And we will always sing.
Post yours as a comment....
Creating: Play/Holy Play
"The most delightful – and revolutionary – action of all is play.
We are not just creature, but creator."
Holy Play by Kirk Byron Jones
If we are created in God's image, and God is a creator, then one of our first and primal callings is to create. But we forget how. Or we just forget to. As children we knew how to play and create. Try this exercise to remind yourself and to remember:
You'll need a blank piece of paper (or several) and some crayons or fat colored markers.
Can I Come Out and Play? From Spiritual Doodles and Mental Leapfrog by Katherine Revoir
"Here is an exercise that allows you to be present for your inner expressive child. Have a conversation with him or her. Your dominant hand speaks as the "adult you" and your non-dominant hand speaks as the child. With your dominant hand, write out a question for your expressive child, like "what do you want to do today?" Then without think, let your non-dominant hand answer, in words and/or pictures. Allow the child's voice to flow, without controlling or monitoring it. Ask what he or she wants to be called. Then see what the picture or words have to tell you. You can use this approach to be in touch with your inner creative child any time."
This exercise can free you to hear your playful self, your first creative self. It also can be used in a reflective way to explore feelings that are otherwise hard to express. Remember that your child might use pictures rather than words.
If you are interested in some of theories about creativity check out this website by author David Ulrich. "Picasso said: 'Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.' Creativity is a way of life and is not the exclusive domain of artists, writers, and scientists. It is the birthright of every human being."
We are not just creature, but creator."
Holy Play by Kirk Byron Jones
If we are created in God's image, and God is a creator, then one of our first and primal callings is to create. But we forget how. Or we just forget to. As children we knew how to play and create. Try this exercise to remind yourself and to remember:
You'll need a blank piece of paper (or several) and some crayons or fat colored markers.
Can I Come Out and Play? From Spiritual Doodles and Mental Leapfrog by Katherine Revoir
"Here is an exercise that allows you to be present for your inner expressive child. Have a conversation with him or her. Your dominant hand speaks as the "adult you" and your non-dominant hand speaks as the child. With your dominant hand, write out a question for your expressive child, like "what do you want to do today?" Then without think, let your non-dominant hand answer, in words and/or pictures. Allow the child's voice to flow, without controlling or monitoring it. Ask what he or she wants to be called. Then see what the picture or words have to tell you. You can use this approach to be in touch with your inner creative child any time."
This exercise can free you to hear your playful self, your first creative self. It also can be used in a reflective way to explore feelings that are otherwise hard to express. Remember that your child might use pictures rather than words.
If you are interested in some of theories about creativity check out this website by author David Ulrich. "Picasso said: 'Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.' Creativity is a way of life and is not the exclusive domain of artists, writers, and scientists. It is the birthright of every human being."
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Forgiveness rituals
I was reminded after today's discussion of the power of ritual to heal, and thought of a couple of personal rituals that you might do to let go of hurt and anger. You could also ask friends to join you in these rituals.
Write what hurt you on a small piece of paper. Go to a body of water (running water if possible), wrap the paper around a rock, say a prayer asking for release, and throw the rock in. Use newspaper or newsprint as being most biodegradable.
You could instead take the piece of paper that you've written on, and mindfully, prayerfully, get out a plate, light candles and then fold and light the piece of paper on fire (mindfully, carefully) and put it on the plate, so that your hurt or anger goes up in smoke. Then wash the plate to cleanse away the ashes of what remains.
What other variations can you think of?
We also need to think about setting limits because forgiveness is not forgetting or consenting to be a doormat. You could also use an origami paper box as a way of framing your limits--write them inside what will be the folds, and then fold up your hurts inside those limits.
You could also write what you want to let go of on a piece of paper that you fold into a boat and then you could set it floating away. Perhaps we'll combine some of these things when we get to the practice of creating and fostering creativity.
A perhaps apocryphal, but wonderful, origami forgiveness story is about the young girl from Hiroshima who folded a thousand peace cranes in a quest for peace.
Write what hurt you on a small piece of paper. Go to a body of water (running water if possible), wrap the paper around a rock, say a prayer asking for release, and throw the rock in. Use newspaper or newsprint as being most biodegradable.
You could instead take the piece of paper that you've written on, and mindfully, prayerfully, get out a plate, light candles and then fold and light the piece of paper on fire (mindfully, carefully) and put it on the plate, so that your hurt or anger goes up in smoke. Then wash the plate to cleanse away the ashes of what remains.
What other variations can you think of?
We also need to think about setting limits because forgiveness is not forgetting or consenting to be a doormat. You could also use an origami paper box as a way of framing your limits--write them inside what will be the folds, and then fold up your hurts inside those limits.
You could also write what you want to let go of on a piece of paper that you fold into a boat and then you could set it floating away. Perhaps we'll combine some of these things when we get to the practice of creating and fostering creativity.
A perhaps apocryphal, but wonderful, origami forgiveness story is about the young girl from Hiroshima who folded a thousand peace cranes in a quest for peace.
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