Documentary sheds llght on the lives of Tibetans in China

Inspiring Dialogue, Not Dissent, in China
'Nowhere to Call Home' Examines Prejudices
by Ian Johnson, The New York Times, August 20, 2014

Watch this: There is a Place

From Essential Dance Film by TenduTv

Winner of the 2011 San Francisco Dance Film Festival, There is a Place combines the exquisite movement of renowned Tibetan dancer-choreographer, Sang Jijia, with the stunning landscapes of the Scottish highlands.

Museums explore the art of meditation

Om Is Where the Art Is
by Nick Earhart, ARTnews, October 2011

China's ethnic minorities rocking out

Ethnic Music Tests Limits in China
by Jonathan Kaiman and Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times, July 16, 2011

E. Gene Smith, champion of Tibet's literature, 74

E. Gene Smith, Guardian of the Tibetan Canon, Dies at 74
by Margalit Fox, The New York Times, December 28, 2010

When you're ready to move beyond Oprah...

The gorgeous, always imaginative Rubin Museum of Art is well into a series of seven Wednesday evening conversations called Tibetan Book of the Dead Book Club in association with its special exhibitions, Bardo: Tibetan Art of the Afterlife and Remember That You Will Die: Death Across Cultures. Each Wednesday, curator Ramon Prats explores the TBD from different perspectives with an expert representing a particular discipline. They inquire: Does the TBD have relevance, wisdom and practical application for us today?

This week, I attended Prats's talk with Jungian psychoanalyst Morgan Stebbins on "The Analysis of Dreams," a topic of perennial relevance. According to Tibetan Buddhist beliefs, dreams will always be relevant as long as humans exist, as long as humans remain unenlightened. Enlightened beings do not dream. They no longer have to, for to dream is to open onto an altered level of awareness in which we come face to face with avoided, unknown or normally inaccessible issues.

Stebbins discussed how Tibetan ideas and traditions around this heightened state of awareness parallels the theories and practices of Carl Gustav Jung. Jung's psychoanalytic approach, he said, represents a journey into the "totality of one's being--the Buddha nature" where one can gain information on unconscious patterns of behavior, insight into so-called symptoms that are actually "symbolic attempts to get to somewhere new." Dreams herald a shift towards liberation.

And the TBD considers this liberation through hearing, as Prats mentioned, in his intriguing introductory remarks. Why hearing, I wondered? One sentence from a TBD passage read later suggested the reason: "So, recognize what I show you without distraction." We are simply too distracted by illusion to get with reality. Like children in school, we have to be brought to attention and made to hear. The Bardo afterlife process, Tibetan Buddhists believe, first brings the soul to that required place of attention and learning before it can move on in its journey. But dreams offer powerful opportunities for growth within our lifetime.

And what of the images of deities of wrath, featured in so much Tibetan art? And what of our own terrifying nightmares?

"Psychologically speaking, nightmares are great news," says Stebbins. "Wake up! Look at this! It has a lot of energy. You have a lot of energy you're not using. Change is scary."

Upcoming TBD Book Club sessions will feature Rabbi Neil Gillman on "The Death of Death" (July 28), Brooklyn Museum curator Edward Bleiberg on "The Egyptian Book of the Dead" (August 11), medium Jesse Bravo on "Channeling the Dead" (August 18) and Roshi Enkyo O'Hara on "How to Die" (August 25)--all at 7pm. Click here for full information and tickets, and promptness--in both ticket purchasing and showing up to get a good seat--is strongly advised.

Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues), Manhattan

Directions

The Turning World (36)

Nobel Laureate Refuses Olympic Torch
NPR, April 14, 2008

The Turning World (34)

From the "You go, girl!" file:
Carrying the Olympic Torch, and Protesting It, Too
by John Eligon, The New York Times, April 11, 2008

The Turning World (24)

Violence in Tibet as Monks Clash With the Police
by Jim Yardley, The New York Times, March 15, 2008

Nadine Helstroffer: Body and Soul podcast

Nadine Helstroffer is one of dance's treasures--a poetic, luminous performer whose choreography reflects her insight into life, nature and spirituality. She has been a good friend for many years, and I'm pleased to present an interview we recorded in the summer of 2007 in the home she shares with filmmaker John Bush. Among other things, Nadine and I talked about their experiences filming in Tibet, and I urge you to follow the links for more information about all of John and Nadine's projects.

GUEST BIO

Nadine Helstroffer, French-born, has been presenting her choreography in the U.S., Canada and France since 1981. Her work includes “Clock Lock,” “Threshold” and “Earthbound.” She has taught dance and directed workshops in France, Korea and the U.S. Since 1998 she has been leading the BodyResonance Workshop which explores the link between meditation and movement. She has been presenting her workshop at the Zen Center of NYC, the New School University, New York Insight Meditation Society and Bowling Green State University.

Ms. Helstroffer obtained a doctorate in philosophy under the direction of Daniel Charles of the Sorbonne (Subject: An Innovative Approach to Dance) at Nanterre University/Paris-X, France, in 1980. Her academic interests in Eastern philosophies and her exposure to the East through her dance career have guided her toward an integration of Eastern philosophies and Western movements. She collaborated with composers Yas Jaz from Sankai Juku Company, Philip Fraser (devotee of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar) and David Hykes, founder of the Harmonic Choir.

In New York, the Rubin Museum of Art commissioned her 30-minute solo piece, “Absence Presence,” performed in the gallery of the exhibition "Handprints and Footprints of Buddhist Art" in 2005 and filmed by John Bush. She was also invited by the museum to dance her choreography as part of a performance by Hykes's Harmonic Choir.

She has worked in collaboration with filmmaker John Bush on a 40-minute dance film-- “Shimmer”--shot entirely outdoors in New York City. An excerpt--"Portal"--has been screened at Galapagos Art Space, curated by the experimental film group Ocularis, and has had a special screening at the 2006 High Falls Film Festival.

“Vajra Realm,” a dance pilgrimage with Nadine Helstroffer filmed in Central Tibet, was released in January 2007 as a special feature on the DVD “Vajra Sky Over Tibet,” the third film of the “Yatra Trilogy” by John Bush. It is distributed by WGBH Boston.

For additional information on “Vajra Realm” and all of Ms. Helstroffer's work, visit Direct Pictures at http://www.directpictures.com/.

LINK:

http://www.directpictures.com/


Body and Soul is the official podcast of InfiniteBody dance blog at
http://infinitebody.blogspot.com. Subscribe through iTunes or at
http://magickaleva.hipcast.com/rss/bodyandsoul.xml.

(c)2008, Eva Yaa Asantewaa

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