Next Wednesday will be my final day (for now) in Vale do Capão... I am feeling somewhat anxious to conclude the research that I have been trying to focus on typing these past days. At the same time, I realize that I have been introduced to so much throughout my weeks living in this community, in this valley. Naturism (not the nudist kind;) is a new topic that is really interesting me, and at that, one which I have begun practicing. Have you ever had a medical doctor read your irises to see what is going on inside your body and emotions? I experienced this last week and was something of astounded. Energy therapy is practiced a great deal here, also. The health is practiced and viewed as holistic, encompassing all dimensions of the person and her or his spirit... Every Tuesday, too, I have participated in the Grupo das Gravedas - a group of pregnant women who practice natural birthing methods for preparation for their own birthing processes. The wind here has been picking up, as winter really gets strong in August. With this has come the rain... not too much, but enough to make the skin feel cold. I had my first visit with a chiropractor today and am starting to see more the importance of knowing the body´s structure... my body´s specific structure...
ALright, here are my tid-bits for now while I can...
Fortaleza will be such a change but with this will come refreshed perspective.
Much love.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Getting out and in touch
When I have gone on walks here, I cant even believe that I´m in Brasil many times... For example, this afternoon I went walking and it was misting out... gently thick clouds fogged the surrounding mountains over... I came upon a smaller path to my left that was just big enough for a car to fit through... I knew I only had an hour or so before dark would come, and i didn´t have my lantern, so I decided to explore that unknown path which ended up bringing me closer and closer to Morro Branco, one of the famous mountain peaks here that easily forms cachoeiras (waterfalls) when it rains here... I spun around many times with my arms outspread and I breathed in deep more times than I could count... really I was so touched from nature, feeling something such as disbelief at how land is formed and powerful but graceful and calming all at the same time....
I just wanted to share this with you... I am trying to take pictures and videos here to bring back some pieces to share.
I just wanted to share this with you... I am trying to take pictures and videos here to bring back some pieces to share.
Friday, May 15, 2009
I just wrote down that film title (´The Business of Birth´) - I am getting more and more interested in natural birthing processes and preparations, especially on a cross-cultural bases. I have been here in Vale do Capão for a little over a week, and I will be here for a week and a half more. This is my research time, but in all reality I have been doing more self-focus and nature-integration time. What I have written down for this ´pesquisa´ (research) is very little. But I believe there are many things that come to us without awaiting them, and this time and these experiences have definitely served as examples of just that. This is my time... within this community... So throughout these vivencias, experiencias, that are becoming engrained in me--- through this I will try to make my research into something tangible and somewhat academic.
We shall see, ay....
But this is said with a positive (and a tid bit nervous) heart;)
Those 10 days in Salvador were some of my favorite. The ambiance is definitely unique, as well as the lifestyle in many ways. I did feel a more comfortable sense in Salvador. In many aspects to me, the life in Fortaleza seems very industrial and not as varied. But, I have found some great gems in Fortaleza, too, which cannot be dismissed.
So the focus now--- read about different caring-healing theories, shamanism, meditation, and to write down the different forms of healing I have witnessed and experienced here through the community´s (and valley´s) alternative/natural health options....
Maybe in the future I will be on my way to being a partera!
I am really hoping I can whip something quite good up...!!! It is so unknown right now, but I have got to embrace this wonder, no..?? I want what I write down and present to encompass the sacredness that exists in practice and community here... including spirituality, coexistence and participation with nature, transforming health and healing...
We shall see, ay....
But this is said with a positive (and a tid bit nervous) heart;)
Those 10 days in Salvador were some of my favorite. The ambiance is definitely unique, as well as the lifestyle in many ways. I did feel a more comfortable sense in Salvador. In many aspects to me, the life in Fortaleza seems very industrial and not as varied. But, I have found some great gems in Fortaleza, too, which cannot be dismissed.
So the focus now--- read about different caring-healing theories, shamanism, meditation, and to write down the different forms of healing I have witnessed and experienced here through the community´s (and valley´s) alternative/natural health options....
Maybe in the future I will be on my way to being a partera!
I am really hoping I can whip something quite good up...!!! It is so unknown right now, but I have got to embrace this wonder, no..?? I want what I write down and present to encompass the sacredness that exists in practice and community here... including spirituality, coexistence and participation with nature, transforming health and healing...
Saturday, May 9, 2009
research and something like it
Vale do Capão is gorgeous and every morning I have woken up and been greeted by the presence of the large surrounding mountains... Lothlorien is a sacred place that has a rich history of people passionately dedicated to community, alternative/natural health and healing, spirituality, and community involvement/integration. It was started as a community in 1984 by two Brasilian couples enrooted in such lifestyles and now has grown, through the épocas, to be a community in spirit and a location of heath, healing, and spirituality. The history of this nucleus of people has formed the valley as a whole greatly and now today the valley is, although with a small population of approximately 1500 people, an area that offers and emphasizes alternative/natural health and healing (encompassing not only physical health, but furthermore emotional, mental, and spiritual health). Throughout my times traveling these past years and living specifically in Latin America, I honestly say that this open focus on and prioritizing of such elements of health is incredible for a small rural community. There are so many rural areas, and also of course urban areas, where mental, emotional, and spiritual health continue being plagued by tabus and/or people do not have access to such outlets. Now I do not disregard the vast and different sacred indigenous practices that take place in many (specifically rural) locations, but the problem of non-attention and non-access is widespread regarding such themes.
So this is a new emphasis that i think my research is going to take on...
The people living in Lothlorien are genuinely caring and they have a way of reaching different elements of people in sentimental and human ways.
My second day here I hiked with two new Brasilian friends to a waterfall called Rio Preto and we swam there among the water-encompassed rocks. The water felt so refreshing and just good --- a good that I couldn´t remember before feeling in water. ..
Mom--- Thank you for your selflessness and attention and care and help and on and onnnnn that you have specifically put into the OGC housing application. It was beautifully written and your voice sounded as I read the words...
Belleza you are. In all ways sem dúvida.
The internet actually isn´t so hard to get to here. So I will email again in a few days.
Much of the life here is so relaxed in such a way that I am even fully used to. This is a little ´dangerous´ for getting work done... for example, when I ask people when I could interview them, a set date and time is never set... ´ a gente se fala depois ... ´ (oh, we will see one another later and talk... maybe today... maybe tomorrow... maybe that would be better... we will see...;) seriously though! But there is soul in this, you know. I do not say this in a mocking way... It is just unique here... But I did have a good, uplifting talk with my advisor today. She has been at Lothlorien since the beginning and is the only remaining founder living here.
So this is a new emphasis that i think my research is going to take on...
The people living in Lothlorien are genuinely caring and they have a way of reaching different elements of people in sentimental and human ways.
My second day here I hiked with two new Brasilian friends to a waterfall called Rio Preto and we swam there among the water-encompassed rocks. The water felt so refreshing and just good --- a good that I couldn´t remember before feeling in water. ..
Mom--- Thank you for your selflessness and attention and care and help and on and onnnnn that you have specifically put into the OGC housing application. It was beautifully written and your voice sounded as I read the words...
Belleza you are. In all ways sem dúvida.
The internet actually isn´t so hard to get to here. So I will email again in a few days.
Much of the life here is so relaxed in such a way that I am even fully used to. This is a little ´dangerous´ for getting work done... for example, when I ask people when I could interview them, a set date and time is never set... ´ a gente se fala depois ... ´ (oh, we will see one another later and talk... maybe today... maybe tomorrow... maybe that would be better... we will see...;) seriously though! But there is soul in this, you know. I do not say this in a mocking way... It is just unique here... But I did have a good, uplifting talk with my advisor today. She has been at Lothlorien since the beginning and is the only remaining founder living here.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Bolivia
Evo Morals is off his hunger strike. What will happen now? Was this act by Morales really a form of ´blackmailing´ as opposers claimed? Was this necessary of Morales, being that he is the leading force as president?
Holistic Health & Healing: Alternative Practice at Lothlorien
Health and healing based off the ontological caring competencies (self-reflection, cultivating stillness, receptivity, imagination and reverie, focusing attention, energetically creating space, recalling the sense of compassion or agape, and centering and expressing intention through touch/energy work)1 provide a base for creating a new reality, a refreshed world view. These unique realities and world views derive from Martha E. Rogers’ theory of the “Science of Unitary Human Beings.”2 The healing arts,3 as Doctor Cecilia Wendler calls them, (such as the ontological caring competencies) are enrooted in history, yet the connection of holistic healing and health to society is fractured and perplexing. Despite this there continues to exist a “holistic, unitary nature of human beings and their environment.”4
This research will investigate and analyze how the alternative community of Lothlorien, located in Bahia’s interior (Vale do Capão), supports the philosophy of the Science of Unitary Human Beings through its methods of practicing holistic5 health and healing. How does Lothlorien embody an alternative6 reality? In what ways does Lothlorien promote a distinguished world view? How are interconnections of health and healing made in Lothlorien’s coexistence7 with nature? A further focus will be upon the ways in which meditation, nature, communal living, and natural birthing8 are transformed as healing arts. Ethnographic methodology will be used throughout the research to conduct principally informal interviews (approximately 15 – including one group interview) with Lothlorien’s guests and leaders, participate in communal activities such as daily meditation and weekly natural birthing classes, and work as a volunteer for the community - fulfilling any farming and/or administration needs. Participatory observation will be used more than interviewing. No tape recorders will be utilized. When interviewing, interviewees will be asked why they chose to live in Lothlorien, how they view and experience health and healing at Lothlorien, and how communal living (with others and nature) has affected their (well) being.
Despite the worldwide existence of differing alternative communities, there is a need for a furthered academic vision encompassing the ways in which health and healing can be uniquely explored within these communities. This alternative outlet provides the potential for health and healing to not solely be medical, technological matters, but further linking them to nature and defining them as experiential, energy-requiring processes in which space is created through caring relationships in a process of expanding consciousness, resulting in a sense of wholeness, integration, balance, and transformation…9 As the increasing extinction of natural resources occurs, it is vital to learn how different communities are living with and amongst such resources in sustainable, peaceful ways – offering not only natural health alternatives but also emphasizing conscious connections with mind, body, spirit, soul, and earth to foment an alternative meaning for progress and an interesting contrast to everyday society.
-Ethical Issues: The primary ethical issues with my research regard community members’ boundaries, specifically dealing with respect for space. Since Lothlorien bases upon communal living, it will be important not to impose an overly-professional dynamic into the space – where people could feel they are not being recognized for the wholeness of their being. I will work to prevent this potential issue through my participation in community activities, as if I were an average guest. Informal interviewing will also allow greater flexibility that will acclimate to the mood of the environment as well as people’s needs and wants. Additionally, before attending the natural birthing class permission shall be received from each participant to allow my presence, and it will be voiced beforehand that I can be asked to leave at any time throughout the sessions if necessary. Prior to each interview and/or research interaction, participants will be informed of my study’s focus in addition to the goals I have set, allowing questions to be asked.
- ISP Format: The format to encompass the whole of my research will be a combination of art and formal writing (a formal paper). The method/type of art used will depend on what I experience and what resources I encounter at Lothlorien.
-Bibliography:
Cowling, Richard W., Smith, Marlaine C., Watson, Jean. “The Power of Wholeness, Consciousness, and
Caring: A dialogue on Nursing Science, Art, and Healing.” Advances in Nursing Science. Vol. 31,
No. 1, pp. E41-E51. 2008. Wolters Kluwer Health; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Dias, Maria Djair. “Histórias de vida: as parteiras tradicionais e o nascimento em casa.” Revista
Eletrônica de Enfermagem, v. 09, n. 02, p. 476 – 488, 2007.
http://www.fen.ufg.br/revista/v9/n2/v9n2a14.htm
Villoldo, Alberto. “The Four Insights: Wisdom, Power, and Grace of the Earthkeepers.” Hay House, Inc.
2006.
Villoldo, Alberto. “Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of
the Americas.” Harmony Books. 2000.
Wendler, Cecilia M. “Understanding Healing: A Conceptual Analysis.” Journal of Advanced Nursing. 1996,
pp. 24, 836-842.
-Timetable:
Week One:
--Activities: Settle in, explore Lothlorien and its surroundings, volunteer work 3 hours/day, 1 natural birthing class, daily meditation class
-Conduct five interviews (specifically one associated with the natural birthing class)
--Goals: Learn community history and philosophy from leaders, observe functioning systems of community (who does what, what are demographics of community members, how is daily rhythm, etc.), develop a personal base with community members
--Participatory observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon (for approximately 1.5 hours) and every other day records will be organized by the categories of: events, observations, feelings/thoughts
-Additional reflections of the day will be recorded before bed
Week Two:
--Activities: volunteer work three hours/day, 1 natural birthing class, daily meditation class, participation in any additional events offered visit surrounding community (weekend stay?)
-Conduct ten interviews – one of those being a group interview – (with guests, leaders, a different participant of the natural birthing class, and a gardener and/or farmer of the community)
--Goals: Learn a greater extent of community members’ life stories from their time at Lothlorien, come to deeper understanding and wider perception of how Lothlorien embodies the word alternative, explore various ways in which nature is used in healing (medicine, meditation, exercise, etc.)
-- Participatory observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon (for approximately 1.5 hours) and every other day records will be organized by the categories of: events, observations, feelings/thoughts
-Additional reflections of the day will be recorded before bed
Week Three:
*All interviews finished
--Activities: volunteer work 3 hours/day, 1 natural birthing class, daily meditation class, participate in any additional events offered, complete any unfinished obligations/wants, wrap-up conversation/s with (advisor) Sônia
--Goals: Spend much time with specific community members whom I have most connected with throughout prior two weeks, compare and contrast answers from research/interview questions – look for patterns
-- Participatory observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon (for approximately 1.5 hours) and every other day records will be organized by the categories of: events, observations, feelings/thoughts
-Additional reflections of the day will be recorded before bed
Health and healing based off the ontological caring competencies (self-reflection, cultivating stillness, receptivity, imagination and reverie, focusing attention, energetically creating space, recalling the sense of compassion or agape, and centering and expressing intention through touch/energy work)1 provide a base for creating a new reality, a refreshed world view. These unique realities and world views derive from Martha E. Rogers’ theory of the “Science of Unitary Human Beings.”2 The healing arts,3 as Doctor Cecilia Wendler calls them, (such as the ontological caring competencies) are enrooted in history, yet the connection of holistic healing and health to society is fractured and perplexing. Despite this there continues to exist a “holistic, unitary nature of human beings and their environment.”4
This research will investigate and analyze how the alternative community of Lothlorien, located in Bahia’s interior (Vale do Capão), supports the philosophy of the Science of Unitary Human Beings through its methods of practicing holistic5 health and healing. How does Lothlorien embody an alternative6 reality? In what ways does Lothlorien promote a distinguished world view? How are interconnections of health and healing made in Lothlorien’s coexistence7 with nature? A further focus will be upon the ways in which meditation, nature, communal living, and natural birthing8 are transformed as healing arts. Ethnographic methodology will be used throughout the research to conduct principally informal interviews (approximately 15 – including one group interview) with Lothlorien’s guests and leaders, participate in communal activities such as daily meditation and weekly natural birthing classes, and work as a volunteer for the community - fulfilling any farming and/or administration needs. Participatory observation will be used more than interviewing. No tape recorders will be utilized. When interviewing, interviewees will be asked why they chose to live in Lothlorien, how they view and experience health and healing at Lothlorien, and how communal living (with others and nature) has affected their (well) being.
Despite the worldwide existence of differing alternative communities, there is a need for a furthered academic vision encompassing the ways in which health and healing can be uniquely explored within these communities. This alternative outlet provides the potential for health and healing to not solely be medical, technological matters, but further linking them to nature and defining them as experiential, energy-requiring processes in which space is created through caring relationships in a process of expanding consciousness, resulting in a sense of wholeness, integration, balance, and transformation…9 As the increasing extinction of natural resources occurs, it is vital to learn how different communities are living with and amongst such resources in sustainable, peaceful ways – offering not only natural health alternatives but also emphasizing conscious connections with mind, body, spirit, soul, and earth to foment an alternative meaning for progress and an interesting contrast to everyday society.
-Ethical Issues: The primary ethical issues with my research regard community members’ boundaries, specifically dealing with respect for space. Since Lothlorien bases upon communal living, it will be important not to impose an overly-professional dynamic into the space – where people could feel they are not being recognized for the wholeness of their being. I will work to prevent this potential issue through my participation in community activities, as if I were an average guest. Informal interviewing will also allow greater flexibility that will acclimate to the mood of the environment as well as people’s needs and wants. Additionally, before attending the natural birthing class permission shall be received from each participant to allow my presence, and it will be voiced beforehand that I can be asked to leave at any time throughout the sessions if necessary. Prior to each interview and/or research interaction, participants will be informed of my study’s focus in addition to the goals I have set, allowing questions to be asked.
- ISP Format: The format to encompass the whole of my research will be a combination of art and formal writing (a formal paper). The method/type of art used will depend on what I experience and what resources I encounter at Lothlorien.
-Bibliography:
Cowling, Richard W., Smith, Marlaine C., Watson, Jean. “The Power of Wholeness, Consciousness, and
Caring: A dialogue on Nursing Science, Art, and Healing.” Advances in Nursing Science. Vol. 31,
No. 1, pp. E41-E51. 2008. Wolters Kluwer Health; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Dias, Maria Djair. “Histórias de vida: as parteiras tradicionais e o nascimento em casa.” Revista
Eletrônica de Enfermagem, v. 09, n. 02, p. 476 – 488, 2007.
http://www.fen.ufg.br/revista/v9/n2/v9n2a14.htm
Villoldo, Alberto. “The Four Insights: Wisdom, Power, and Grace of the Earthkeepers.” Hay House, Inc.
2006.
Villoldo, Alberto. “Shaman, Healer, Sage: How to Heal Yourself and Others with the Energy Medicine of
the Americas.” Harmony Books. 2000.
Wendler, Cecilia M. “Understanding Healing: A Conceptual Analysis.” Journal of Advanced Nursing. 1996,
pp. 24, 836-842.
-Timetable:
Week One:
--Activities: Settle in, explore Lothlorien and its surroundings, volunteer work 3 hours/day, 1 natural birthing class, daily meditation class
-Conduct five interviews (specifically one associated with the natural birthing class)
--Goals: Learn community history and philosophy from leaders, observe functioning systems of community (who does what, what are demographics of community members, how is daily rhythm, etc.), develop a personal base with community members
--Participatory observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon (for approximately 1.5 hours) and every other day records will be organized by the categories of: events, observations, feelings/thoughts
-Additional reflections of the day will be recorded before bed
Week Two:
--Activities: volunteer work three hours/day, 1 natural birthing class, daily meditation class, participation in any additional events offered visit surrounding community (weekend stay?)
-Conduct ten interviews – one of those being a group interview – (with guests, leaders, a different participant of the natural birthing class, and a gardener and/or farmer of the community)
--Goals: Learn a greater extent of community members’ life stories from their time at Lothlorien, come to deeper understanding and wider perception of how Lothlorien embodies the word alternative, explore various ways in which nature is used in healing (medicine, meditation, exercise, etc.)
-- Participatory observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon (for approximately 1.5 hours) and every other day records will be organized by the categories of: events, observations, feelings/thoughts
-Additional reflections of the day will be recorded before bed
Week Three:
*All interviews finished
--Activities: volunteer work 3 hours/day, 1 natural birthing class, daily meditation class, participate in any additional events offered, complete any unfinished obligations/wants, wrap-up conversation/s with (advisor) Sônia
--Goals: Spend much time with specific community members whom I have most connected with throughout prior two weeks, compare and contrast answers from research/interview questions – look for patterns
-- Participatory observations will be recorded daily in the afternoon (for approximately 1.5 hours) and every other day records will be organized by the categories of: events, observations, feelings/thoughts
-Additional reflections of the day will be recorded before bed
It has been too long
Hello dear people!!!
Recife, Pernambuco, greets you along with me as I am here in a dark internet cafe on an unknown street that has ´Better Together´ by Jack Johnson playing on the stereo... Oh good language connections through music.
The group and I arrived yesterday afternoon to Recife where we dropped our luggage off and went straight to do some touring. Supposedly we saw the first synagogue to ever exist in the Americas. Recife is known as the Venice of Brasil... after hearing this, the reasoning was obvious. To the left and right water ran under bridges - homes and apartment buildings stood to each side, overlooking the rivers. Even just after being here for one full day, Recife already gives me a good feeling -- something more ´home-y´ and comfortable than the industrialized feel that Fortaleza gives off. There are more trees here, more green space in general is present to the eye.
This morning we met with a rabbi at a different synagogue. Initially I wasn´t sure why we were focusing so much on visiting a synagogue; the program has no Jewish emphasis... Then we were told that it was because the leaders wanted the group to see more how different religous groups and movements have formed communities here in the NE while still being ´minorities.´ The discussion was something of interesting... It is funny to note how many times the importance of things said can pass you by while trying to understand a different language... For example, today the rabbi was talking about eliminating hunger. He kept saying that he did not want to ´get political,´ but numerous times he emphasized how ´hunger would not exist if Israel´s neighbors would stop attacking them...´ My ears stood up seconds after processing these words. Following such comments, the rabbi went on to say something to the sort of ´There is discrimination, but in Brasil we are all one; if someone wants to do well and vencer, they can. (kind of sounds like the capitalist thought of ´pull yourself up by your bootstraps´... But what about the neoliberal politics that come in the way of such statements being true for society (especially for the marginalized)??
Hm...
Tomorrow we will be spending the day at an indigenous community. There we will see and learn about how social action is manifested among different communities.
In the back of my mind rests the knowledge that in already less than two weeks I will be going to the interior of Bahia (Vale do Capão) where I will stay three weeks by myself to do research about health and healing. I will attach my final independent research proposal to this email in case you want to get a better idea of what I will be doing.
I feel like I need some rural in me. Although, in a few days we will be in Salvador, Bahia, which is famous for its Afro-Brasilian movements and pride. So that area may be hard to leave but I think my time will be coming.
Alright, next time I won´t take so long to write.
Muito paz e abraços,
Anni/ka
Recife, Pernambuco, greets you along with me as I am here in a dark internet cafe on an unknown street that has ´Better Together´ by Jack Johnson playing on the stereo... Oh good language connections through music.
The group and I arrived yesterday afternoon to Recife where we dropped our luggage off and went straight to do some touring. Supposedly we saw the first synagogue to ever exist in the Americas. Recife is known as the Venice of Brasil... after hearing this, the reasoning was obvious. To the left and right water ran under bridges - homes and apartment buildings stood to each side, overlooking the rivers. Even just after being here for one full day, Recife already gives me a good feeling -- something more ´home-y´ and comfortable than the industrialized feel that Fortaleza gives off. There are more trees here, more green space in general is present to the eye.
This morning we met with a rabbi at a different synagogue. Initially I wasn´t sure why we were focusing so much on visiting a synagogue; the program has no Jewish emphasis... Then we were told that it was because the leaders wanted the group to see more how different religous groups and movements have formed communities here in the NE while still being ´minorities.´ The discussion was something of interesting... It is funny to note how many times the importance of things said can pass you by while trying to understand a different language... For example, today the rabbi was talking about eliminating hunger. He kept saying that he did not want to ´get political,´ but numerous times he emphasized how ´hunger would not exist if Israel´s neighbors would stop attacking them...´ My ears stood up seconds after processing these words. Following such comments, the rabbi went on to say something to the sort of ´There is discrimination, but in Brasil we are all one; if someone wants to do well and vencer, they can. (kind of sounds like the capitalist thought of ´pull yourself up by your bootstraps´... But what about the neoliberal politics that come in the way of such statements being true for society (especially for the marginalized)??
Hm...
Tomorrow we will be spending the day at an indigenous community. There we will see and learn about how social action is manifested among different communities.
In the back of my mind rests the knowledge that in already less than two weeks I will be going to the interior of Bahia (Vale do Capão) where I will stay three weeks by myself to do research about health and healing. I will attach my final independent research proposal to this email in case you want to get a better idea of what I will be doing.
I feel like I need some rural in me. Although, in a few days we will be in Salvador, Bahia, which is famous for its Afro-Brasilian movements and pride. So that area may be hard to leave but I think my time will be coming.
Alright, next time I won´t take so long to write.
Muito paz e abraços,
Anni/ka
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