Jims of Wyzdom, August 10

Jims of Wyzdom for August 10, 2018

Greetings from Chautauqua, Chapter Two: Yes, here we are again…it’s pure hell but someone’s got to do it. Our theme of the week is “The Arts and Global Understanding.” In residence all week has been the Silk Road Ensemble, with a lecture/presentation on Monday, a concert Wednesday evening and another one with their founder, YoYo Ma, on Friday. I can’t say we love the warm and very humid weather, but we have had at least two Biblical downpours that usually include Biblical thunder…still waiting for that. Why Biblical? Well, let me share a brief tale…a few years ago, we were sitting in our chapel listening to the 9 AM service, when BOOM…CRASH…FLASH, there was one of those thunder-claps that must have been next door. Turned out, it was just across Bestor Plaza, striking the computers in the Ch. Daily paper office. Blew out all their computers…but, we had a paper as usual the next morning.

This place is like an OLLI on steroids. It’s meat and potatoes and dessert is all Lifelong Learning with a planned mission of religion, education, the arts and recreation. Even if you don’t work out every day, you can still re-create yourself hour by hour. Thus endeth the commercial.

I hope you Film Forum fans will not stay home today just because Bonnie and I aren’t there. Jae and/or Mike will show the film and I trust you can all discuss it after…”Into the Woods.” (Woofff!)

I had to prepare a brief Bible Lesson for our Wednesday evening service and came across this: …a more spiritual Christianity will be one having more power, having perfected in Science that most important of all arts--healing. I had not thought of the process of healing as an art, or if I did, it was long ago. But it certainly bears thinking about, no? Art embodies beauty, grace, color, inspiration, soul, etc. [Make up your own list.] Whatever your method of dealing with healing, either with yourself or a friend or relative, isn’t it valid to apply those synonyms for art to healing? I think it is wonderful that so many faith traditions are now incorporating some form of healing meditations or ceremonies. In my research into world religions, I was fascinated by the Navajo tradition known as Chantways. In this ceremony, the healer or shaman will create a sand painting on the cleaned and purified floor, incorporating all the symbols needed to cure a patient, who is present for the process. The whole thing is dedicated to healing, and they get extraordinary results. Buddhists have a very similar ceremony of meditation while making a sand mandala on a table, using it to gather in all the sickness, then taking the sand to the nearest moving water and throwing it in—healing complete.

Well, friends, a couple more days of misery here and we’ll be coming home to our two lonely and angry cats [‘why, oh why did you leave us?’]. Always nice to go somewhere but always a pleasure to return home. Until next time…

Just Jim