Omega West Dance Company participated in the 2015 Parliament of World Religions and performed “Beyond Words – an Interfaith Dance Ritual.” One of the dancers, Karin Jensen, shares her impressions:
------------------------------------------------
Being mixed race, I come from a diverse background and have diverse friends and family. Although I have chosen the Christian path for myself, I respect all paths that value life and seek the sacred. So an event like the Parliament, which brings together people of different faiths in a spirit of intentional harmony, appealed to me.
I found myself fascinated, mystified, fatigued, and enriched all at once. I was at times overwhelmed to be with so many people intensely interested in the life of the immortal spirit and to absorb their many different approaches. For instance, as one who receives spiritual refreshment from creating physical beauty, I confess it is not easy for me to understand the tradition of many religions of diminishing one’s beauty as a path to greater spirituality. I would not be able to shave my head and don the garments of the ascetic as the Buddhist monks and nuns do! Yet I was also frequently touched by the teachings of their faith. “Wisdom is like water,” said one of the monks who participated in our ritual. “It flows. When we neglect the soul, we become like ice – cold and brittle. We must apply the warmth of compassion for ourselves and for others to melt this ice and flow again.”
From the Sikhs, I recovered the gift of eating mindfully. There were some 10,000 participants in the Parliament, and the Sikhs offered to feed us all according to their tradition of Langar, which is designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people. We sat on the floor, side by side, with our heads covered and our feet bare in an attitude of reverence and thankfulness for what we were about to receive. They served delicious Indian food from buckets, and I found myself really tasting the food and being aware of the moment when I was full. This is how my mother taught me to eat. Yet somehow, when I became a mother myself and began rushing my eating to look after little ones, I somewhat lost the skill. After eating with the Sikhs, I remembered it for every meal afterward for the duration of the Parliament.
From the Hindus, I enjoyed the warmth of the Divine Feminine, which is so evident in their stories, in their art, and in their dancing. A painting of Krishna playing his flute and taking pleasure in the beauty of the goddess Radha really spoke to me -- the god and the goddess together as equals.
From Native Americans, I received the gift of trust. I resonated with one of their speakers: “Our old people trusted the Spirit World, but in today’s culture it’s like we have to control it – [people] don’t trust the Spirit World at all.” I was also inspired by a young man executing the most amazing dance in a perfect balance of precision and utter abandon. When it was our turn to perform, I was sad to miss a pose, yet I was able to trust that there was something greater at play – the beauty of the setting, the stream of light coming through the window like a divine spotlight, the unexpected catch in my throat when I looked up to see a fellow dancer’s radiance, the beautiful reading of sacred texts, and the sheer joy of worshipping with our whole bodies. All this moved me and moved the audience. I am grateful for the experience.
------------------------------------------------
Being mixed race, I come from a diverse background and have diverse friends and family. Although I have chosen the Christian path for myself, I respect all paths that value life and seek the sacred. So an event like the Parliament, which brings together people of different faiths in a spirit of intentional harmony, appealed to me.
I found myself fascinated, mystified, fatigued, and enriched all at once. I was at times overwhelmed to be with so many people intensely interested in the life of the immortal spirit and to absorb their many different approaches. For instance, as one who receives spiritual refreshment from creating physical beauty, I confess it is not easy for me to understand the tradition of many religions of diminishing one’s beauty as a path to greater spirituality. I would not be able to shave my head and don the garments of the ascetic as the Buddhist monks and nuns do! Yet I was also frequently touched by the teachings of their faith. “Wisdom is like water,” said one of the monks who participated in our ritual. “It flows. When we neglect the soul, we become like ice – cold and brittle. We must apply the warmth of compassion for ourselves and for others to melt this ice and flow again.”
From the Sikhs, I recovered the gift of eating mindfully. There were some 10,000 participants in the Parliament, and the Sikhs offered to feed us all according to their tradition of Langar, which is designed to uphold the principle of equality between all people. We sat on the floor, side by side, with our heads covered and our feet bare in an attitude of reverence and thankfulness for what we were about to receive. They served delicious Indian food from buckets, and I found myself really tasting the food and being aware of the moment when I was full. This is how my mother taught me to eat. Yet somehow, when I became a mother myself and began rushing my eating to look after little ones, I somewhat lost the skill. After eating with the Sikhs, I remembered it for every meal afterward for the duration of the Parliament.
From the Hindus, I enjoyed the warmth of the Divine Feminine, which is so evident in their stories, in their art, and in their dancing. A painting of Krishna playing his flute and taking pleasure in the beauty of the goddess Radha really spoke to me -- the god and the goddess together as equals.
From Native Americans, I received the gift of trust. I resonated with one of their speakers: “Our old people trusted the Spirit World, but in today’s culture it’s like we have to control it – [people] don’t trust the Spirit World at all.” I was also inspired by a young man executing the most amazing dance in a perfect balance of precision and utter abandon. When it was our turn to perform, I was sad to miss a pose, yet I was able to trust that there was something greater at play – the beauty of the setting, the stream of light coming through the window like a divine spotlight, the unexpected catch in my throat when I looked up to see a fellow dancer’s radiance, the beautiful reading of sacred texts, and the sheer joy of worshipping with our whole bodies. All this moved me and moved the audience. I am grateful for the experience.
RSS Feed