Sunday, September 02, 2007
Initiations
Last night I went to the most amazing ceremony; a group of about ten magician-priests led a crowd of hundreds in chants for hours, while the congregants rocked their bodies in unison with the rhythms of the mantras. Some engaged in orgiastic convulsion, others kept one arm aloft for extended periods in some sort of extended practice; all joined in with the most famous of the mantras as best they could. Many of the chants referred to this sect's esoteric lineages, which allegedly extend back to famed Buddhist and Daoist monasteries in the mountains of ancient China. Certain chants were dedicated to the spirits of masters of their lineage who have moved on to the next world, and offerings of fermented malt beverage were spilled on the altar while reciting the names of the fallen...
Okay, so I went to see Wu-Tang, but since I've been initiated into the cult of social science, it was hard to not see a hip-hop show as a surrogate for church attendance for secular youth who nonetheless possess the human craving for mythology, devotion to living gods, and the transcendence of developing communitas through mass recitation and repetition of phrases. I'm trying to say that I had a good time.
So, school has been good, and I'd love to spin some more nonsense, but I'm already a couple of hours behind schedule for working on this big project that's my initiation rite to my religion seminar -- I need to create a guide to the field of the sociology of religion to accompany an hour-long presentation -- this requires me to actually read the literature. It's funny when one looks forward to three-day weekends as a good opportunity to get a lot of work done. Frightening. But if I make enough progress today, I get to go for a hike tomorrow. Motivation.
Thank you to everybody for so much birthday cheer -- I have to move to the middle of the Pacific Ocean more often -- so many cards, calls, emails! We had a spectacularly successful barbecue out here -- over 50 lbs. of grilled meats, 8 gallons of beer, and 5 gallons of sake were consumed in consecration of a new home, in celebration of reaching a new year of my life, and in rejoicing in the intoxication of good company on a beautiful summer afternoon. The actual night that began the 29th year of my life was spent belting out karaoke with a couple of friends whom I met not far from the Shaolin monastery and the Wudang mountains last summer, stumbling off in that gloaming preceding dawn, grinning madly at the ways in which life's surprises arise. Alright, enough nostagiazing -- sacralization awaits...
Okay, so I went to see Wu-Tang, but since I've been initiated into the cult of social science, it was hard to not see a hip-hop show as a surrogate for church attendance for secular youth who nonetheless possess the human craving for mythology, devotion to living gods, and the transcendence of developing communitas through mass recitation and repetition of phrases. I'm trying to say that I had a good time.
So, school has been good, and I'd love to spin some more nonsense, but I'm already a couple of hours behind schedule for working on this big project that's my initiation rite to my religion seminar -- I need to create a guide to the field of the sociology of religion to accompany an hour-long presentation -- this requires me to actually read the literature. It's funny when one looks forward to three-day weekends as a good opportunity to get a lot of work done. Frightening. But if I make enough progress today, I get to go for a hike tomorrow. Motivation.
Thank you to everybody for so much birthday cheer -- I have to move to the middle of the Pacific Ocean more often -- so many cards, calls, emails! We had a spectacularly successful barbecue out here -- over 50 lbs. of grilled meats, 8 gallons of beer, and 5 gallons of sake were consumed in consecration of a new home, in celebration of reaching a new year of my life, and in rejoicing in the intoxication of good company on a beautiful summer afternoon. The actual night that began the 29th year of my life was spent belting out karaoke with a couple of friends whom I met not far from the Shaolin monastery and the Wudang mountains last summer, stumbling off in that gloaming preceding dawn, grinning madly at the ways in which life's surprises arise. Alright, enough nostagiazing -- sacralization awaits...
