Rumi Dances Under the May 18th Moon

13 May 2013 2 Comments

by Eva the Dragon in Food for the Mind - Books, Island Tales - Expatriate Living Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Rumi at La fontaine May 18

For all you Rumi fans out there!  A Rumi movie.

According to the the movie promoters, Rumi is America’s best-selling poet. Apparently, his popularity as the number one, daily, Facebook quote has helped him leap beyond the previous favorite, Lebanese- American, Khalil Gibran.  That, and the fact that his copyright expired several hundred years ago.

Poor Natasha Tretheway,  probably few of you have even heard of America’s 2013 Poet Laureate.  She has 1,861 Likes versus the Persian’s million plus.  Just give her another 800 years to build an audience.

raise your words not your voice rumi

Don’t get your tailfeathers in a tinzy, dear roosters.  Just having a little Rumi fun.  I LOVE Rumi.

Amazon, helpful reviewer, Nicholas Croft, wrote about the film,

“The first fifteen minutes of the video relate the biography of Rumi, who was born in Afghanistan during the year 1207. Rumi’s family moved to Turkey, where his father became the head of an Islamic Sufi learning community. Upon his father’s death, Rumi took his place as the head of this ancient community of prayer.

Rumi eventually met with a desert mystic named Shams of Tabriz and mentored under him for a number of years. The grief that Rumi felt, upon the death of Shams, led to the birth of his poetry of longing and also to the creation of the Whirling Dervish dance tradition.

The story of how Coleman Barks came to his decades-long project as translator of Rumi’s Persian texts is then revealed. We witness recording sessions where Mr. Barks reads from his acclaimed translations of the poet. These sessions are often accompanied with musical instrumentation such as the oud, harmonium, dotar, tabla, violin, ney and sarod. Video talks by the various scholars, which were often shot within beautiful natural settings, are interspersed among the studio sessions. All of these elements combine to suggest both the tone and the meaning of Rumi’s poetry.

Rumi – Poet of the Heart is a devotional work that gently guides viewers through an introduction to the life and spirit of one of America’s most widely read poets. Join with Coleman Barks and company to explore Rumi’s compelling inner secret world. You will be transformed through their intoxicating spirit of contagious enthusiasm.”

Saturday, May 18th is the quarter moon.  Where? La Fontaine Centre for Contemporary Art, of course.  This should be one of those beautiful nights we can be outside before the weather gets too hot.

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One Billion Dance to Break the Chain – February 14 2013

13 Feb 2013 Leave a comment

by Eva the Dragon in Island Tales - Expatriate Living, Where the Corn Grows - Iowa Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

OBR-fbcover2

Fill your Valentine’s Day with love for all people on the earth.  There are at least, two opportunities tomorrow February 14th in Bahrain to teach your children the power of dance.  Join one billion other people in the world move towards freedom from violence and rape.  Dances are being held everywhere including Ames, Iowa and several in Des Moines.  You can find a dance near you by checking out the map at One Billion Rising.

8:45-11 World Beat Fitness is holding a dance workshop featuring African djembes, Egyptian belly dancing and a dance by internally-recognized, multi-cultural choreographer, Valli Batchelor.  The event is BD 10 for non-members and BD8 for members.  The proceeds will go towards a local center for victims of abuse.

2 pm the Rugby Club has a dance instructor-led event for those that enjoy afternoon activities.  The suggested donation is BD 5.  The proceeds will also go to a local charity dealing with women affected by abuse.

It is half-term for the schools on the British curriculum.  And a great opportunity for us mothers to show our daughters that even while having fun we can help BREAK THE CHAIN and change the world.

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Would Jesus Dance with Women or Stand on the Sidelines and Call Them Prostitutes?

08 Feb 2013 8 Comments

by Eva the Dragon in Healing - Self and the Earth Tags: , , , , , , , ,

by Lewis Williams

by Lewis Williams

Peter said to Mary, “Sister, we know that the Savior loved you more than all the other women.  Tell us the words of the Savior that you remember, the things which you know that we don’t discuss because we haven’t heard them.”
Mary responded, “I will teach you about what is hidden from you.”

– The Gospel According to Mary

Dan Brown revealed to the world what the Catholic Church already knew – Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute.

In 1969, the Catholic Church revised 1,378 years of church doctrine to disassociate Mary Magdalene from being a prostitute.  It was during the Dark Ages when a man gave Jesus’ most beloved disciple that label.  In 591AD, “The Great” Pope Gregory combined the three Marys mentioned in the New Testament into one person.  That was where the idea was born.  Pope Gregory’s sermon spread and inflicted pain on women.

Icon-Mary-Magdalene telling the disciples

It seems it was Mary Magdalene who held the answers and teachings the other disciples were not privy to.

Yet despite this “revelation” I ask myself, why is it that many people still call Mary Magdalene a prostitute?  Do these men actually fear that women may have inherited Mary’s favored place among Jesus’ disciples?

I wonder who from Princeton will be standing at the corner of Alexander Road and College Road on February 14th?  Will they help re-tell Mary’s story, so women will no longer be viewed as deserving of violence or abuse simply because they are women?

My feeling is, on Valentine’s Day, Jesus will be dancing with the women, the spiritual teachers who still practice  compassion despite being betrayed and brutalized.  They have proven themselves worthy to transmit his teachings.  Although we might not recognize him, his spirit will Rise and Lead the dance.

As we dance, I think we should take careful note which male clergy from all denominations, all over the world, use their power to state rape and violence is not acceptable behavior.

Ed Bacon Jr, the rector of All Saint’s Church in Pasadena, will be dancing.  If you are in the Los Angeles area, you can join them for V-Day.

As a woman, I can say, with certainty, Mary would have taught the other disciples that inflicting Rape and Violence on women was not part of Jesus’ teachings.

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