Monday, December 17, 2012

MILDRED'S DEATH

MILDRED'S     DEATH



In 1988 my mother died. It was a five week hospital death. I was with her much of that time.
These are some of the things that I learned.

1. Ask the dying person quesitons and wait for verbal/nonverbal responses, i.e. " Should we stop this medicine?
What do you need? " (I didn't always ask my mother's opinion and now wish thst I had.)

2. LISTEN. LISTEN. LISTEN.

3. See if they have unfinished business that they want to work with, i.e. unexpressed thoughts, feelings
wishes, etc. ( My mother said, "I wish I had written a book,' knowing that U would hear her and do it for her.
I have.)

4. If they prefer, let them leave consciously, alertly, with awareness. ( Because one medicine was
stopped, she became comotose. I didn't know that would happen and missed saying goodbye because of that.)

5. If they agree, play nature tapes in the hospital room. It creates a no panic atmosphere. ( I played one
and the nurses used to come in the room because it felt, "good in here.")

6 .Help the way they need to be helped, not the way you need. ( ONce I was chanting, praying, laying my hands
on her abdomenm teaching her to breathe and my mother, always the comedienne, opened her dying eyes,
looked at me with an Imogene Coco look and said, " Linda, PLEASE!")

7. Confess by their bedside. (Clear your heart but do it telepathically. Tell everything you need to tell. Do
unfinished business without their hearing. Sotto voce.)

8. If the person is on heavy pain meds, they might change their behavior toward you, positively or
negatively. Be ready! ( My mother became a hippie on morphine. She pulled me close to her, tried
to show me my aura, touched the peach fuzz on my hceeks. We re-bonded.)

9. Get counseling yourself from either friends, 24 hour telephone hotlines, Hospice volunteers, etc.
I talked with a Hospice volunteer for 4 years on the phone while my mother was dying. ( Hurray
for Hospice! )

10. Know what patients rights means and use the information appropirately. ( I asked on nurse
" If this were your mother would you allow a nurse to take blood and do "vitals" while
your mother was comatose and had only a little time left? The nurse said, " No." I said, "Then
please do not take blood and stop all orders at the desk.")

11. Be prepared for each family member and close friend of the dying person to take a
completely different response to everything. Emotions are close to the surface; everyone's
death anxiety button is being pushed.

12. Use TV, VCR's, Cd's, DVD's as teaching toolds. ( When my mother wanted TV on I turned to
cartoons. The flying image from MY LITTLE PONY did wonders for her attitude and actually
distracted her from her pain.

13. Inconspicuously breathe together. ( Match your breathing pattern to theirs.) Gently sound
the exhalation. ( Steven levine teaches this technique. It's Tibetan and comforting for
both the patient and caregiver.

14. Whisper messages near an ear. Keep messages positive and in words they need to hear.
(When I said, " Relax Ma, Mitchell and Karl will take good care of you," she responded positively
because these were friends who were dead and whose company she loved.

15. Go as far as you can with the process in the end. ( Those last 15 hours she was comatose, I felt
a need to meditate, give her space, not touch her as much. Check out yoru own situation, it will be different.

16. After the death, participate in the process as much as you can given place, circumstances etc.
Help wash the body, close the eyes, etc. ( I didn't see the spirit or soul leave. Some people do.)

17. Never , ever judge how you or anyone else mourns or deals wiht death.
(I demolished and rebuilt an abandoned building for two years after she died. I told Ma, "I don't know
how to cry but I know how to sweat."

18. Be watchful for messages, dreams, synbolic visits. (She comes as a butterfly or sometimes as a wave of
feeling. I continue a dialogue with her. )

19. Daily, prepare for your death in your own way.

20. Your comments:



Saturday, December 8, 2012

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FOR A.R.

Linda Mary Montano
THE ART/LIFE INSTITUTE
9 John Street
Saugerties, NY 12477
November 3, 2012
To Whom It May Concern:
In the summer of 2011, I met Angelika Rinnhofer when I was looking for an artist to assist me with a performance art project. Nicolas Dumit-Estevez, a mutual friend who had previously been Angelika’s mentor, recommended her to me and indicated that she would be an incredible assistant. And after a summer of working together, I got to know Angelika as a dependable and motivated artist.
Because my focus is to eliminate the borders between life and art, Angelika and I were able to live/work as collaborators and co-artists while we scanned interviews for a book of mine. That is, we made ART/LIFE as we walked, meditated, worked, cooked and talked about our life histories. We successfully combined life and art.
I challenged Angelika each time she came to my house to create a performance in addition to our mutual scanning of documents. Her themes were: her relatives in Germany and her upbringing in a religious family; a short video about her mother and issues concerning gender; Catholicism and it's mixed messages; and personal mourning.
Angelika’s final project during our informal summer residency related to the history of Saugerties, the small village where I was raised. I helped Angelika find volunteers to pose for her camera, while they held a loaf of bread, a blanket, some yarn, a piece of cloth, and a shirt, which immigrant settlers traded with the resident Indians as "payment" for the town of Saugerties! I encouraged her to develop her concept further by involving her students in her project “Selling America”. It took her vision as a creative visionary from Germany to see the injustice and greed underneath this early transaction because it is a fact that we who live here in Saugerties, accept as a given until the truth is exposed as art.
I believe that Angelika is an ideal candidate for a PHD program because she is mature, generous, capable, extremely personable and able to interact with others enthusiastically and intelligently. She has already demonstrated her continued interest and willingness to grow as an artist, and her decision to support and further her ideas by conducting research and writing about her findings illustrate to me her seriousness and sincerity toward her life as an artist.
In ART/LIFE,
Linda Mary Montano

Thursday, December 6, 2012

COMPILED LOOK AT 35 YEARS OF LIVING ART

Dear Reader,

BACKSTORY 1:
With all due respect to time and memory, I will regress to 1984 and tell you some things about 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART, my chakra endurance. Let's begin at the beginning.
I was raised very strict Roman Catholic and became enamoured of transformation via spiritual rituals/visions/incense/chanting and intense mysteries. I even entered a convent to continue this research but left after 2 years to become a full fledged hippie artist and wild tantrica.

BACKSTORY 2:
In 1971 I met my husband to be, photographer Mitchell Payne and my spiritual guru, Dr. RS Mishra. The ecstasy of knowing that I was loved by my husband and spiritually nourished by both of these beauties, opened my creative flood-gates and I began an intense yoga practice which infused/inspired my performances. I am forever grateful to both of these heart teachers/friends.

BACKSTORY 3:
During my 5 years daily association with Dr Mishra's ashram, I was learning Hindu theology and Gurugi told us that there are 7 powerful and mystical centers inside the body and each had a color, sound association, bija mantra and I became so intoxicated with this knowledge that I wanted to understand it more deeply.

BACKSTORY 4:
Mitchell and I divorced, and a year and a half later he was murdered. I moved to a Zen center for two years and then came out in the early 80's to make art that would engulf me in it's passion. The healing that I was receiving from Eastern theologies, and the martial arts( karate high green belt) catapulted me into wanting to hide and heal inside the monastery of my own art/life.
This is what I created:

7 YEARS OF LIVING ART 12/8/84-12/8/91

AN EXPERIENCE BASED ON THE 7 ENERGY CENTERS OF THE BODY

PART A. INNER: ART/LIFE INSTITUTE

Daily for 7 years I will:
1. Stay in a colored space ( minimum 3 hours)
2. Listen to one pitch (minimum 7 hours)
3. Speak in an accent(except with family)
4. Wear one color clothes associated with the color of the chakra

PART B: OUTER: THE NEW MUSEUM

1. Once a month for 7 years, I will sit in a window installation at the New Museum and talk about art/life with individuals who join me,.

PART C: OTHERS: INTERNATIONAL

1. Once a year for 16 days, a collaborator will live with me.
2. Others can collaborate in their own way wherever they are.



THE CHAKRAS, QUALITIES AND PARTICULAR DISCIPLINES OUTLINED:1984-1991

FIRST CENTER: sex, red, B pitch, tip of coccyx,1084-85

SECOND CENTER: security, orange, C pitch, pelvis, nun accent, 1985-86

THIRD CENTER : courage, yellow, G pitch, navel, jazz accent, 1986-87

FOURTH CENTER: compassion, green, D pitch, heart, country western accent, 1987-88

FIFTH CENTER: communication, blue, A pitch, throat, British accent, 1988-89

SIXTH CENTER: intuition, purple, E pitch, third eye, slavic center, 1989-90

SEVENTH CENTER: peace, white. F pitch, top of head, normal accent, 1990-91  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

FROM 1991-1998, I CONTINUED THIS PROCESS BUT WENT FROM WHITE  TO RED

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Reader,

This is the outline and format and now I will now share a few journal entries from each year.
 You can also go to my webpage, www.lindamontano.com, for images from this endurance.
 Look for the entry: CHAKRA STORY and  ART/LIFE STORY.

__________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL; RED YEAR: 1984-85

"The sex chakra is eliciting sex! I am drawing people but more important am feeling "sex" myself. I want it, they want it. It's inevitable. That's what this chakra is about. I need protection and hope that I wont be pushed in the wrong way.

The piece is portable. I string my red cloth like a tent (vow to stay in a red room 3 hours a day) duplicating my upstate red room which I painted.The sound (from a hand held oscillator which I listen to 7 hours a day) especially travels well (it is small and portable). I wear earphones in the city and walk jubilantly  down the streets listening to  B, watching trucks drown it out, and listening to it return, wondering what everyone else is listening to?

My clothes get dirty and there are just so many red things in my repertoire. I have not broken the dress code yet and always wear red even if I am cold (and dont have a red winter coat).

I felt last night that if I didnt get up, out of bed immediately, that i would get so overstimulated and sick from the red room, red clothes, sound, that I would fall aprt. I considered calling FAMILY(phone counseling hotline)! I am beginning to worry about the consequences (of this piece). Will I go crazy?

Red attracts bulls. It is vitality, roots, chinese weddings. It is passion, energy. I wear a uniform again like a nun. Red socks, underwear. Third world people respond positively to me and red. They smile and understand!"

_________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL: ORANGE YEAR: 1985-86

"Eleanor (my aunt) lived and died half way through the second chakra. I  did the sex center(death) and security with her...thought that I had actually "created" a lump on my uterus and breast that year...realizing that when you work on the chakras, you attract many things and symptoms as you clean out the body/mind debris, conditioning and belief systems. Taking care of E. for 9 months during this performance has been a trip! Caregiver Chakra Art!

So Eleanor was a good guide for me also, someone who had worked all of her life (physical security), had a house (financial security), and was dying (lack of security).

.....the piece is about forgiveness and about my inabilty to keep committments. .....it is a psychological ploy that I had unconsciously set up to cure myself of  guilt that I had let the church(self) impose on me as a child.

I danced mightily to Celia Cruz records, made believe that i was  Latin and guilt free and in general lost my breath at the beauty of the orange."

____________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL: YELLOW YEAR: 1986-87

"Physically I resemble Doris Day in drag, Dinah Shore after a  chicken commercial, or Cory Aquino giving a tour of Manila. Dressed entirely in yellow, both I and all viewers are forced to smile, respond, see me, comment. I am clean cut looking ( nobody wearing all yellow can be that bad). I am the sun, I am radiance, I am summer days."

_________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL: GREEN YEAR: 1987-88

"I and my heart are opened by default. Everything shifted in 1988 and because I intended to "open the heart", I asked life to send me everything I needed in order to do just that. I stripped down the piece to those basic elements of intentionality (open the heart) and I reminded myself of the intention by keeping my vows ( green clothes, colored room, ART/LIFE COUNSELING, listening to one pitch, speaking in an accent).

My brother in law, my dog and my mother died in the green year. My heart opened."

________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL: BLUE YEAR:  1988-89

"I am beginning to gain a perspective on the project and see it all as a giant experiment in re-programming and re-parenting. ...that I am giving myself time and a structure and a chance and an invitation to fill in the blanks and iron out the wrinkles of my past.

I asked how else I can open the throat and communicate when the idea to go to the Newman Center(Catholic center on university campuses) and talk to a priest about how I felt betrayed by the Catholic Church came into my mind and I did it and opened my throat center....
And when I felt it was a perfect time for singing lessons, I took them and opened my throat center...
And when I thought that I should have a doctor look at my throat, I did that....

At the ashram (Ananda Ashram, Monroe NY) I start blossoming creatively and Guruji (DrMishra) has me read alot (spiritual hubris) and my voice comes from the earth and I find that I can call the spiritual authors into myself, beceome them (usually) and channel the information as them even though i'm reading. A trick I call, getting out of my own way.

DREAM: I'm in front of Guruji (meditaion teacher) and a big wad of phlem comes out of  my nose and mouth. I am healed and scream in the dream."

___________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL: PURPLE YEAR: 1989-90

"Severe headache as if some vein or artery or nerve is damaged. It travels from in back of my eye to the top of my head on the left side. I am alarmed, go to an internist who counsels me on my personal life and says that I am in need of right living.

I see that the body is impermanent and changes: menopause, physical changes, wrinkles, cellulite, fibroids are alarming.

I see that I need communal life for awhile, that living alone is detrimental so I invest in lving at the ashram for 2 years so that I can come and go.

I see that I can receive and need nurturing and reparent with an Indicna couple, 2 ayruvedic doctors living at the ashram during the summer."

_________________________________________________________________________________

JOURNAL: WHITE YEAR: 1990-91

no entry.......about 10 years ago I burned 70 journals. All records lost.

______________________________________________________________________________


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ANOTHER 7 YEARS OF LIVING ART: 1991-1998

Reader,

After the first seven years was completed, I could hardly stop the process. I kept going and did it again with the same colors but starting from the head (white) and going down to the first center (red).

This time, I appeared once a month ASTRALLY OR REALLY  at the United Nations Chagall Chapel and let myself be, let myself feel and was taught by the chakras. I stopped pushing for success, I stopped wanting to do, DO DO!

My will was broken. My need for superwoman actions was depleted. My art was becoming more life- like and human. I taught for 7 years at  UT, Austin.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Reader,

When that growth spurt of loyalty and vow to the 7 chakras was over and I didnt get  tenure, I was concurrently hearing a voice inside saying: GO AND BE WITH YOUR FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 That meant that I would leave Texas and come back to upstate NY to take care of my father for 7 years. That was reality and life but it became so incredibly intense and  complicated emotionally (he had a stroke and needed 24/7 care) that I called it  DAD ART, hiding behind my video camera because the fire of intensity, watching my Dad dissolve, was too much for life.
 Art became my veil once again.

I was also back in the real world, wanted to "teach" so  I created my own  UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL, ASHRAM under the auspices of  THE ART/LIFE INSTITUTE. It is free of rules, regulations, grades, faculty meetings and salaries.
 In 2019, ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART will complete a 35 year cycle of paying attention to art as life via the chakras (now translated as  glands).



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART (1998-2019):
LINDA MARY MONTANO

MISSION STATEMENT: ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART
(1998-2019) is art that compassionately practices an
appreciation for life and is a durational continuation
of my exploration of the art of consciousness. The
artist/lifeists invited to this experience,
ecumenically choose their own unique methodologies and
explore their work while remaining in virtual/internet
communication with each other throughout their
practice of compassionately transforming their life,
via art. It is based on Linda Mary Montano’s endurance:
7 YEARS OF LIVING ART + ANOTHER 7 YEARS OF LIVING ART
= 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART, 12/8/1984—12/8/1998.

www.lindamontano.com
www.vdb.org http://lindamarymontano.blogspot.com

DESCRIPTION: “When I finished 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART,
an art experience-endurance based on the 7 chakras, I
became so enamored of working with time that I wanted
to share that joy with others, and so I designed
ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART. I felt that other
artists could become virtual/internet art family and I
would feel as if I were in good company, with
like-minded friends, doing work based on time, the 7 glands,
endurance and with reference to my past work, but
interpreted by each artist according to their
discipline, practice and personal aesthetic. I am
proud and honored to be in the company of the
following life-artists in this Scholl of ART/LIFE.”
Linda Mary Montano

PARTICIPANT IN THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF ANOTHER 21 YEARS
OF LIVING ART: 1998-2005:

BETSEA CAYGILL: LIVING LIFE ARTFULLY.

PARTICIPANTS IN SECOND SEVEN YEARS OF ANOTHER 21 YEARS
OF LIVING ART: 2005-2012


MICHELLE BUSH: SEVEN YEARS OF POSITIVE OBSESSIONS,
12/8/2005-12/8/2012. I obsess on one
sentence/statement and colour in relation to the
chakras producing collaborative or interventionist and
performance pieces each year.

BARBARA CARRELLAS: EIGHT NEW/ANCIENT SACRAMENTS OF
PLEASURE AND CHANGE, 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. I create
chakra-based rituals which I celebrate on the eight
natural holidays (solstices, equinoxes, etc.) that
explore and celebrate the paradoxes between the fixed
commitments/initiations of the seven sacraments of the
Catholic church and the ever-changing, fluid realms of
intuition, pleasure and nature. EIGHT YEARS OF LIVING
ART, www.barbaracarrellas.com

SC DURKIN: SEVEN YEARS OF MUSIC, 12/8/2005-12/8/2012.
I endeavor to learn one musical instrument a year for
the next seven years. SEVEN YEARS OF MUSIC,
www.scdurkin.com

KOOSIL-JA HWANG: 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. www.dancekk.com

VERNITA N'COGNITA: 7 MORE UNTITLED YEARS OF WHEREVER
MY ART LEADS ME, 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. www.ncognita.com


ESTHER K. SMITH: THEIR HOUSE IS A MUSEUM,
12/8/2004-12/8/2011. Seven years in other people's
houses. EK SMITH MUSEUM, www.purgatorypiepress.com

KRISTA KELLY WALSH: SEVEN MIRRORS, 2006-2012. My work
is based on the Cabalist system of reading the will of
the seven planetarty spirits in the seven mirrors that
are made of seven metals and associated with the 7
days of the week, seven planets and cooresponding
themes. Each year I will make a corresponding mirror
and wear a bead of the same metal, make projects and
performances based on the themes of that metal.


SATELLITE PROJECT:
The satellite project is an ongoing congruent program
of artists/lifeists within ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING
ART.


PARTICIPANTS IN THE SATALITE PROJECT:

STEVEN REIGNS: S(T)EVEN YEARS, 1/12007-1/1/20014. I
intend to explore the connection between art, life,
and spirituality through writing practice, public
writing workshops, and publishing chapbooks. S(T)EVEN
YEARS SANCTUARY, www.stevenreigns.com

VICTORIA SINGH & KURTIS CHAMPION: SON/ART—CHAKRA COLOR
RITUALS, 7/7/04-7/7/11. Kurtis celebrates the chakra
colors of each 'year' with art projects on the 7th day
of each month.

ELIZABETH STEPHENS & ANNIE SPRINKLE: LOVE ART
LABORATORY—7 YEARS EXPLORING LOVE AS ART,
12/8/2004-12/8/2011. We make art about love. LOVE ART
LABORATORY, www.loveartlab.org

PARTICIPANTS IN THE THIRD SEVEN YEARS OF ANOTHER 21
YEARS OF LIVING ART: 2012-2019

EK SMITH: From December 8, 2012-2019, my project will be:
CLEANING/SINGING/DRAWING

I will divide my living/working space into 7 sections.

Each year, for 7 years, I will clean and organize my space,
singing as I work, and documenting my experiences
with an ongoing series of drawings.
NELLS FASTY:"Seven Years of Forgetting" is a 7 year performance, 2012-2019.
I will choose a new number everyday based on trying to forget the previous
day's number that had been chosen.
Each year, the numerical results will be turned into a musical composition
using computer software to interpret the data.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


 








Tuesday, November 27, 2012

INDIA WORKSHOP WITH HIMALI SINGH&LINDA; MARY MOPNTANO

INDIA: ART AND LIFE


A PERFORMANCE ART EXPERIENCE WITH HIMALI SINGH IN COLLABORATION WITH LINDA MMM

THE PERFORMANCE ART OF EVERYDAY LIFE
THIS EVENT WILL EXPLORE

1.IMPERMANENC

2.SERVICE

3.RECEIVING

IN INDIA UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ARTIST-WRITER HIMALI SINGH AND PERFORMANCE ARTIST LINDA MARY MONTANO, WE WILL EXPERIENCE:

1. IMPERMANENCE  ;WE WILL BEGIN IN BENARES(VARANASI) AND STAY 3 DAYS EXPLORING ORIGINS AND ENDINGS IN THIS CITY OF CREMATIONS AND HOLY DEATH.


 2. SERVICE:AS A GROUP, WE WILLVOLUNTEER AT A PLACE CHOSEN BY THE PRESENTERS  SO THAT GIVING CAN BE EXPERIENCED.  3-5 DAYS.

3. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE JOURNEY WE WILL GO TO SOUTHERN INDIA AND  RECEIVE AYRUVEDIC TREATMENTS  SO THAT THE CONCEPT  OF RECEIVING/HEALING CAN BE EXPERIENCED.

THE  JOURNEY WILL INCLUDE LECTURES BY HIMALI SINGH ON INDIA/ITS CULTURE/ITS HISTORY .

MONTANO WILL EXPLORE PERFORMANCE CONCPTS AND GIVE SUGGESTIONS FOR PERFORMANCES THROUGHOUT THE EXPERIENCE.

Monday, November 26, 2012

GLANDETTE STAGE DIRECTIONS FOR 7 GLANDETTES AND MY OVERNIGHT PERFORMANCE

GLANDETTE PERFORMANCE
1. VIDEO 1: WATER ANGELS AS PEOPLE ENTER

1. 2 GLANDETTES GO THROUGH AUDIENCE WITH SAGE AS PEOPLE COME IN

MAYBE OTHERS HAVE WATER AND SPRINKLE WATER ON PEOPLE? NOT SURE

2. INTRO: MENTION THE VIDEO CREDITS FOR MOTHER TERESA TAPE HERE(MARK SHAW AND NAME THE GUARDIANS)

3. ALL GLANDETTES COME IN WITH ME WALKING SLOWLY......REVERENTLY

4.  INTRO ME AS GLANDETTE MOTHER, I SAY HELLO

5. ALL GLANETTES INTRODUCE SELVES INDIVIDUALLY BY READING FROM A CARD , SMALL , THAT YOU MAKE WITH THIS INFO ON IT: PLACE A HAND ON THE PLACE IN BODY YOUR GLAND IS . SLOWLY READ FROM A CARD THIS INFORMATION:

MY NAME IS: (NAME), I AM THE FIRST CHAKRA, THE MULADHARA CHAKRA;I AM THE OVARIES &TESTES GLANDS;I AM LOCATED IN THE LOWER PART OF MY BODY; I AM THE COLOR RED; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT BAPTISM; I AM GAIA IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM INTIMACY AND LIFE FORCE

MY NAME IS : (NAME); I AM THE SECOND CHAKRA, THE SVADHISTHANA CHAKRA; I AM THE PANCREAS GLAND;I AM LOCATED IN THE UPPER PART OF MY BODY; I AM THE COLOR ORANGE; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT COMMUNION; I AM YESOD IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM SECURITY

 

MY NAME IS : (NAME); I AM THE THIRD CHAKRA, THE MANIPURA CHAKRA; I AM THE ADRENAL GLANDS; I AM LOCATED IN THE BACK OF MY BODY;I AM THE COLOR YELLOW; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT CONFIRMATION; I AM HESOD IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM COURAGE

 
MY NAME IS : (NAME); I AM THE FOURTH CHAKRA, THE ANAHATA CHAKRA; I AM THE THYMUS GLAND; I AM LOCATED IN MY CHEST;I AM THE COLOR GREEN; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT MARRIAGE; I AM TIF'RET IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM COMPASSION

 
MY NAME IS : (NAME); I AM THE FIFTH CHAKRA, THE VISHUDDHA CHAKRA; I AM THE THYROID GLAND; I AM LOCATED IN MY THROAT;I AM THE COLOR BLUE; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT CONFESSION; I AM HESED IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM COMMUNICATION

 
MY NAME IS :(NAME): I AM THE SIXTH CHAKRA, THE AJNA CHAKRA;I AM THE PINEAL GLAND;I AM LOCATED IN MY BRAIN; I AM THE COLOR PURPLE; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT HOLY ORDERS; I AM HOKHMAH IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM INTUITION

 
MY NAME IS: (NAME); I AM THE SEVENTH CHAKRA, THE SAHASRARA CHAKRA; I AM THE PITUITARY GLAND; I AM LOCATED IN THE TOP OF MY HEAD;I AM THE COLOR WHITE; I AM THE CATHOLIC SACRAMENT OF THE SICK; I AM KETER IN HEBREW THEOLOGY; I AM JOY

VIDEO 2 : LINDA AS MOTHER TERESA
GLANDETTES MAKE A SEMI-CIRCLE AROUND LINDA

MC;IN THE TRADITION OF CLEANING/CLEANSING/CONFESSION BEFORE CELEBRATION, WE WILL ALL CONFESS, LET GO, RELEASE AND JOIN EACH OTHER AS LINDA CHANTS THE ARTIST PURIFICATION SONG:
GLANDETTES: HUM AND DEMO HOW TO LET GO OF PAST ISSUES.( I TEACH U THIS AT THE REHEARSAL)

VIDEO 3:
MC: TAPE 3 IS A COMPILATION OF MONTANOS VIDEOS: PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COME FORWARD TO A GLANDETTE FOR AN ART BLESSING AND GLAND BLESSING. THE GLANDETTE WILL PLACE THEIR HAND ON YOUR HEAD OR SHOULDER. (GLANDETTES, ASK IF THEY WANT HEAD OR SHOLDER TOUCHED)

8 CHAIRS FACING THE SCREEN....WE FACE THE SCREEN AND GIVE BLESSINGS TO AUDIECNE WHO COMES FORWARD

VIDEO 4: ADDICTED TO LOVE
MC: WE WOULD LIKE NOW TO CELEBRATE OUR GRATITUDE WITH AN ABUNDANCE DANCE: ALL ARE WELCOME
GLANDETTES GO WILD....OR NOT ... YOUR CALL

VIDEO 5: WATER ANGELS AGAIN

AFTER ADDICTED TO LOVE WE COME TO THE CENTER, BOW FOR A COUNT OF 14 COUNTS, THEN STAND AND CEREMONIOUSLY WALK OFF
REMEMBER YOUR SUN GLASSES, SLEEPING BAG AND SNACKS.
 
 A 5 MIN AUTOBIOGAPHY FOR WORKSHOP.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

NOVEMBER EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPIES PANEL 2012

GRATITUDE FOR THE BODY AND IT'S INCREDIBLENESS
PLEASE JOIN ME IN A NON-PARTISAN, PARTICIPATORY PROCESS WHICH WILL PROVIDE THE PROBABILITY FOR A PERFORMATIVELY PURIFIED PRESENCE IN OUR ALREADY POTENT PRACTICE OF BEING PEACE.THE VEHICLE FOR THIS INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE WILL BE A SEASONALLY APPRORIATE FEELING OF GRATITUDE AND THANKSGIVING.
THE BODY:THERE ARE 60 TRILLION CELLS IN OUR BODIES .THANK YOU.
THE SKIN: IS THE LARGEST ORGAN OF THE BODY; 500 MILLION SKIN CELLS FALL OFF EVERYDAY; WE HAVE 2 MILLION SWEAT GLANDS. THANK YOU.
THE HAIR: WE HAVE 100,000 HAIRS AND LOSE 30-60 A DAY; HAIR GROWS .09 INCHES IN A WEEK; 4.75 INCHES IN A YEAR; IN A LIFETIME WE GROW 28 FEET OF HAIR. THANK YOU.
THE BONES: AT BIRTH WE HAVE 350 BONES AND AS ADULTS WE HAVE 206 BONES; AT BIRTH WE HAVE 33 VERTEBRAE AND AS AN ADULT WE HAVE 26 VERTEBRAE; WE HAVE 12 PAIRS OF RIBS OR 24 RIBS; 26 BONES IN THE FEET; WE HAVE 32 TEETH. THANK YOU.
THE MUSCLES: WE HAVE 640 MUSCLES; TO WALK WE USE 200 DIFFERENT MUSCLES; TO FROWN WE USE 400 MUSCLES; TO SMILE WE USE 15 MUSCLES.THANK YOU
THE BRAIN: THE HUMAN HEAD WEIGHS 10-14 POUNDS; THE BRAIN IS A 3 LB JELLO LIKE SUBSTANCE MADE OF FAT AND PROTEIN; THERE ARE 200 BILLION NEURONS IN THE BRAIN; AT BIRTH THE SKULL HAS 45 BONES; AS AN ADULT THE SKULL HAS 29 BONES; THE BRAIN CONSUMES 20% OF OUR ENERGY; THERE ARE 10 BILLION NEURONS IN THE CEREBRAL CORTEX; THE FRONTAL LOBE HAS THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF SELF CONTROL, PLANNING, REASONING AND ABSTRACT THOUGHT. THANK YOU.
THE HEART: HEART BEATS 70-80 TIMES A MINUTE; THE HEART BEATS 100,000 TIMES A DAY; THE HEART PUMPS 74 GALLONS OF BLOOD EVERY HOUR; THE HEART WEIGHS 15 OUNCES; THE HEART HAS ENOUGH ENERGY TO DRIVE A CAR 20 MILES PER HOUR.THANK YOU.
THE LUNGS: IF ALL OF THE TUBES AND AIR SACS OF THE LUNGS WERE LAID OUT FLAT THEY WOULD COVER A TENNIS COURT.THANK YOU. THE PANCREAS: WEIGHS 3 OUNCES; PRODUCES 2 PINTS OF DIGESTIVE JUICES A DAY.THANK YOU.
THE INTESTINES: THERE ARE 5 FEET OF LARGE INTESTINES; 25 FEET OF SMALL INTESTINES. THANK YOU. THE BLOOD VESSELS: THERE ARE 5 T0 9 PINTS OF BLOOD IN THE BODY; 62,140 MILES OF VEINS, ARTERIES AND CAPILLERIES IN OUR BODY; THERE ARE 700 VARITIES OF ENZYMES IN OUR BODY; THERE ARE 2 TRILLION LYMPHOCYTES.THANK YOU.
THE ADRENALS: MANUFACTURE OVER 50 HORMONES; FEAR AND ANGER RAISES THE HEART 50 BEATS PER MINUTE. THANK YOU.
THE OVARIES: WOMEN HAVE 60 VARIETIES OF ESTROGEN IN THEIR BODY; 400 MENSTRAL CYCLES. THANK YOU.
THE TESTES: 500 MILLION SPERM SWIM TOWARD THE FALLOPIAN TUBES AND THE EGG AT ORGASM.THANK YOU.
CONCLUSION: SHAMANS FROM HAWAII CALLED KAHUNAS, CHANT THE HO-OPONOPONO, A MENTAL CLEANSING PRACTICE OF RECONCILIATION AND FORGIVENESS, VERBALLY FORGIVING THE CHILD WITHIN, FAMILY WITH THESE WORDS: I'M SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I LOVE YOU, THANK YOU
************************************************************************

OPTIONAL OPENING STATMENTS FOR TALK:

THIS HURRICANE OF TWO WEEKS AGO HAS TRIGGERED OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES OF UNENDING PLANETARY HORRORS, SPILLS, COLLAPSES, TAMPERINGS, TERRORISMS, MORAL UPHEAVALS, MEDICAL MISTAKES, MONETARY COLLAPSES, CLIMATE DISASTERS. ETC ETC ETC. TO ADDRESS MY ANXIETY ABOUT ALL OF THESE PAST AND ONGOING NIGHTMARES, IN 2010,I MADE A VIDEO TITLED, STARVED SURVIVORS. TWO WEEKS AGO I THOUGHT, HOW CAN I PROCEED ON THIS PANEL WITH A TALK ABOUT ME, MINE, MOI WHEN PEOPLE ARE STILL WITHOUT HEAT, LIGHT AND FAMILY MEMBERS ARE MISSING A FEW MILES FROM HERE? THEN I THOUGHT, I WILL SHOW THE VIDEO STARVED SURVIVORS (ITS ON YOU TUBE, A FREE DOWNLOAD) BUT THAT WOULD BE WRONG. WE ARE IN TOO MUCH PAIN AND TOO RAW FOR THAT VIDEO'S RESPONSE TO LOSS. SO WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE NORTH EAST, I SHARE MY ORIGINAL PAPER ABOUT MY PROCESS , BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, PLEASE JOIN ME IN 1 MINUTE OF SILENT FEELING OF SUPPORT.

OPTIONAL OPENING FOR TALK HOW MY ART FIXES MY LIFE:

MY ART IS MY:
MEDICINE
HOSPITAL
THERAPIST
SCREAM
DRUG
FRIEND
PARENT
CONFESSIONAL
REFUGE
VOMIT
ER
REHEARSAL
SILENCE
MIRROR
TWIN
DISTRACTION
NURSING HOME
CRIB
PRAYER
BASINETTE
SEX
VITAMIN
DOJO
DREAM
CHURCH
SALVE
MORGUE
SHAMAN
SURGERY
SEWER
DOCTOR
PRIEST
TRAINER
BREATH
LIFE
MY ART IS MY LIFE

*******************************************************************************

HOW MY ART FIXES MY LIFE


MY ART IS A BRAIN GAME, A PRIVATE UTOPIA, A REFUGE FROM LEFT BRAIN DAILY WORRIES AND TRIALS. MY ART IS A JOURNEY TO THE SWEET ABODE OF RIGHT BRAIN PLAY. AS ARTISTS WE CHOOSE TO TRAVEL, VIA INSPIRATION, TO THE RIGHT BRAIN VIA IMAGAINATIVE GLOBAL ATTENTION(LESTER INGBER) AND ENDURING CONCENTRATION. WE DO THIS VOLUNTARILY WITHOUT NEUROLOGICALLY NEEDING A LEFT BRAIN STROKE TO CATAPULT US TO RIGHT BRAIN AESTHETIC ECSTASY. (FOOTNOTE: JILL BOLTE TAYLORS YOU TUBE EXPLANATION OF HER STROKE) WE MAKE ART TO HEAL, GET HIGH, ESCAPE, AND APPRECIATE. ART IS SCIENCE, ART IS BRAIN CHEMICALS IN ACTION, ART IS OXYCONTINED MYSTERY. ART HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY PILL, SALVE, MEDICINE, HOSPITAL AND PLACE WHERE I TAKE DAILY THOUGHTS, CELEBRATIONS, HORRORS AND TRAUMAS TO MY INNER DOCTOR SO SHE CAN MAKE MY LIFE BETTER THAN LIFE ITSELF. RECENTLY I HAVE HAD TO INTENSELY TEST AND USE MY ART MEDICINE BECAUSE 7 YEARS AGO I DEVELOPED A STRANGE BODY PHENOMENA; MY HEAD AND ENTIRE BODY TWISTED AND TURNED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. ALTHOUGH I DID ASK, I WAS TOLD THAT I DIDNT NEED AN EXORCISM BUT THE DOCTOR NEUROLOGIST SAID THAT BOTOX INJECTIONS EVERY 3 MONTHS IN MY NECK WOULD BRING A 70% RELIEF. MY RESPONSE WAS TWOFOLD:1. LIFE: GET THE INJECTIONS AND 2: ART. SO I MADE PERFORMANCES AND 3 VIDEOS TO SELF MEDICATE AND AESTHETICALLY CURE A MEDICAL CONDITION:
VIDEO 1 : MIRROR MEDICINE: ONE DAY, BENT OVER AND SPASMING, I HEARD A VOICE INSIDE SAYING TO ME: "LINDA, YOU LOOK JUST LIKE MOTHER TERESA, ALL BENT OVER AND OLD." VERY SOON AFTER I TOOK THAT MESSAGE AND IMPERSONATED MOTHER TERESA AND BY DOING SO I RECYCLED PHYSICAL PAIN AND PRESENTED IT AS ILLNESS ART. THE VIDEO YOU ARE CURRENTLY SEEING IS BY MARK SHAW AND THE GUARDIANS ARE ANDREA DOMINQUEZ, MISS TONI SILVER, ZEAH HEINMAN AND LEAH ARON.
VIDEO 2: MYTH MEDICINE; THE AMA TREATS CERVICAL DYSTONIA WITH BOTOX INJECTIONS WHICH I RECEIVE EVERY 3 MONTHS. I CANCEL OUT THE GORY DETAILS OF NEEDLES AND PAIN WITH A HALLMARK CARD-LIKE CHILDREN'S FAIRYTALE , TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE LAW OF OPPOSITES BY USING SWEET TO NEUTRALIZE SOUR.
VIDEO 3: MIRTH MEDICINE: IN THIS VIDEO I USE ENDURED LAUGHTER TO INVITE AND TEACH OTHERS TO BRING THEIR DISTRESSES OUT OF THE CLOSET OF ISOLATION SO THAT WE CAN ALCHEMIZE IT WITH ENDURED FOOLISHNESS. I WILL SHARE A FEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF MY PROCESS AND DEMONSTRATE HOW I SCULPT ART FROM THE MATTER OF MY LIFE:

MY LIFE: 1942 BORN MIDDLE OF WINTER , MY MOTHER'S PREGNANCY DIDNT SHOW AND SHE REPORTED:" LINDA, EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED WHEN YOU WERE BORN BECAUSE NOBODY KNEW I WAS PREGANANT."
  MY ART FIX: 1980'S I LIVE INSIDE, IN FULL VIEW, A CANAL STREET WINDOW FOR A WEEK 24 HOURS A DAY. I WAS BLINDFOLDED, ALONE AT NIGHT, USED A CHEMICAL TOILET AND SHOCKED MYSELF VIA MY ART.

MY LIFE; 1950'S . I SPEND EVERYDAY WITH MY 350 POUND ARTIST, OUTSIDER , COWGIRL, NON VERBAL GRANDMOTHER AND VISITED MY NON ENGLISH SPEAKING ITALIAN, IMMIGRANT CATHOLIC GRANDMOTHER.
MY ART FIX: 1975: I SIT IN FRONT OF A VIDEO CAMERA FOR A YEAR AND INTERVIEW MYSELF AS 7 DIFFERENT PEOPLE, SOME FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO TEACH MYSELF HOW TO TALK. VIDEO: LEARNING TO TALK.

  QUESTION: HOW DID YOU CREATIVELY CELEBRATE AND FIX YOUR CHILDHOOD?

  MY LIFE: 1962: I LEAVE THE CONVENT WEIGHING 80 POUNDS, NONVERBAL.
ART FIX:1976; I INTERVIEW MYSELF AND 5 OTHER WOMEN WITH EATING DISORDERS. VIDEO:ANOREXIA NERVOSA

MY LIFE:1970'S: I MEET MY HUSBAND, MITCHELL PAYNE AND MY MEDITATION TEACHER, DR RAMAMURTI MISHRA.
MY ART FIX: I BEGIN ENDURANCE LIKE SITTINGS AND DANCING DRESSED AS A MORPHED ANGEL/CHICKEN/CATHOLIC SAINT/SCULPTURE SO THAT I CAN PRACTICE STILLNESS PUBLICALLY AS ART AND LEARN HOW TO BE AT PEACE WHEN NOT SUPPORTED BY AN AUDIENCE.

  MY LIFE: LATE 70'S: MY EX HUSBAND IS MURDERED.
MY ART FIX: LIVE IN SILENCE FOR 2 YEARS, NO FIX BUT MAKE THE VIDEO MITCHELLS DEATH.

MY LIFE; 80'S : I RETIRE TO EASTERN MEDITATION ASHRAMS.
 MY ART FIX: COME OUT OF MONASTERIES AND PERFORM A 14 YEAR CHAKRA EXPERIENCE WEARNING ONE COLOR CLOTHES EACH YEAR, SEEING PEOPLE ONCE A MONTH IN THE NEW MUSEUM WINDOW FOR 7 YEARS AND OFFERING ART/LIFE COUNSELING ......WHY? TO CREATE MY OWN VERSION OF MONASTERY.

QUESTION: HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE OR FIX YOUR CURRENT LIFE?

  MY LIFE: LATE 90'S: HAVE 7 YEARS TO GET TO KNOW MY FATHER.
 MY ART FIX: I BECOME A DAUGHTER AND PERFORM LIFE AS ONE FOR 7 YEARS.

  MY LIFE: CURRENTLY:ORGANIZE, PACK UP, ARCHIVE, LET GO.
MY ART FIX: A DAILY JOURNEY TO THE REALITY OF IMPERMANENCE.

QUESTION: HOW DO YOU CREATIVELY PERFORM IMPERMANCE?

LET'S ADMIT IT SOME OF US ARE ARTISTS OF ART AND OTHER ARE LIFEISTS OR ARTISTS OF LIFE BUT WE ALL ARE SOME OF THESE:

REPETITION REPEATERS
SYSTEM CREATORS
ANXIETY REFRAMERS
O-CDERS
COMMUNITY BONDERS
LIFECRISIS FIXERS
  TRUTH KEEPERS
MIGHTY FOCUSERS
SYMBOL SEEKERS
MYSTICAL SCHMOOZERS
SCAM SMELLERS
  WORSHIP LOVERS
  CHARMING HYPNOTIZERS
TRAUMA RE-ORGANIZERS
PURIFICATION ENACTERS
  HOLY HAZERS
CONSCIOUS PERFORMERS
ECSTASY TRANCERS
SPIRITUAL MINISTERS
RIGHT BRAIN ADDICTORS
SECURITY STRUCTURERS
BODY MORPHERS
ENERGY NEUTRALIZERS
  DEPRESSION PREVENTERS
  ZEALOUS PASTORS
ROBOTIC REPEATERS
SOCIAL BONDERS
COMPULSIVE ENACTERS
MORAL RESTRAINERS
  DEMON EVICTORS
DEATH DE-CONFIGURERS

VIDEO 2: (EXPLAIN BY READING THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE.) I NEED 3 VOLUNTEEERS TO AGREE HOW LONG WE CHOULD SEE THIS TAPE.

VIDEO 3: (EXPLAIN BY READING THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE.)

 MY CURRENT WORK IS ABOUT THE AGING PERFORMANCE ARTIST'S BODY AND IMPERMANENCE. IF I AM PERCHANCE TO END UP IN A NURSING HOME BEING TAKEN CARE OF BY A NURSING ASSISTANT, I WANT TO CLEAR OUT MY OWN NEUROTIC HOSTILITY NOW, SO THAT I DONT INFLICT UNNECESSARY NEGATIVITY ON MY CNA. I WILL SING THE CNA SONG ALONG WITH AND ON TOP OF THE DYSTONIA VIDEO. DOUBLE FUSION MEDICINE.



 A REAL LIFE SONG: PRAY FOR MY CNA (CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT)

PRAY FOR MY CNA, O LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA , OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA


SHE COMES TO THE HOME EVERYDAY
45 OF US TO LOVE
SHE BRINGS US LIGHT, WE NEVER PAY
SHES A GIFT FROM UP ABOVE

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

WE CALL AND SHOUT NURSE NURSE COME HERE
FOR EVERY BODILY NEED
I'VE GOT THE BEDPAN DEAR DON'T FEAR
AND THEN 45 MOUTH'S I'LL FEED

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

SOME SCREAM AND SHOUT EVERY NIGHT
IN SWEATY HALLUCINATIONS
MORALS, TEETH, AND HAIR ARE GONE
THE DARK STEALS TREPIDATION

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD,
PRAY FOR MY CNA

SHE WHEELS US TO OUR MEALS ON TIME
WHERE WE DROOL AND SPILL
PRESSED SPAM OUR ENTRES
BLOW OUR MINDS
AND MAKE US VERY ILL

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA

TWICE WEEKLY BATHS ARE A DRUDGE
WATERS EVERYWHERE
ONCE FAMOUS LAWYERS, CHEFS, A JUDGE
OUR NURSES THEY DONT CARE

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FRO MY CNA OH LORD
PRAYFOR MY CNA

TIED TO CHAIRS AT NURSES STATIONS
A TRAPPED MEDICAL DAZE
JELLO FALLS FROM TOOTHLESS MOUTHS
BUT NONE OF US ARE FAZED

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA


BODIES NOW BONES
PORES ARE STINKING
HOLOCAUSTED INTO SLIME
MY DEATH SKULL ROARS
THERE IS NO MORE
GOODBYE OH GHOST OF TIME!!!!!

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD,
 PRAY FOR MY CNA

THERE ARE NO WORDS TO THANK YOU ALL
FOR LOVE YOU DAILY SHARE
WE DIE IN FEARLESS PEACE AND JOY
WITHOUT AN EARTHLY CARE
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA





********************************************************************************

ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART: LINDA MARY MONTANO 1998-2019

ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART (1998-2019): LINDA MARY MONTANO

MISSION STATEMENT: ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART (1998-2019) is art that compassionately practices an appreciation for life and is a durational continuation of my exploration of the art of consciousness. The artist/lifeists invited to this experience, ecumenically choose their own unique methodologies and explore their work while remaining in virtual/internet communication with each other throughout their practice of compassionately transforming their life, via art. It is based on Linda Mary Montano’s endurance: 7 YEARS OF LIVING ART + ANOTHER 7 YEARS OF LIVING ART = 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART, 12/8/1984—12/8/1998. www.lindamontano.com www.vdb.org http://lindamarymontano.blogspot.com

DESCRIPTION: “When I finished 14 YEARS OF LIVING ART, an art experience-endurance based on the 7 chakras, I became so enamored of working with time that I wanted to share that joy with others, and so I designed ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART. I felt that other artists could become virtual/internet art family and I would feel as if I were in good company, with like-minded friends, doing work based on time, endurance and with reference to my past work, but interpreted by each artist according to their discipline, practice and personal aesthetic.

I am proud and honored to be in the company of the following life-artists in this Scholl of ART/LIFE.” Linda Mary Montano

PARTICIPANT IN THE FIRST SEVEN YEARS OF ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART: 1998-2005: BETSEA CAYGILL: LIVING LIFE ARTFULLY.

PARTICIPANTS IN SECOND SEVEN YEARS OF ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART: 2005-2012

MICHELLE BUSH: SEVEN YEARS OF POSITIVE OBSESSIONS, 12/8/2005-12/8/2012. I obsess on one sentence/statement and colour in relation to the chakras producing collaborative or interventionist and performance pieces each year.

BARBARA CARRELLAS: EIGHT NEW/ANCIENT SACRAMENTS OF PLEASURE AND CHANGE, 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. I create chakra-based rituals which I celebrate on the eight natural holidays (solstices, equinoxes, etc.) that explore and celebrate the paradoxes between the fixed commitments/initiations of the seven sacraments of the Catholic church and the ever-changing, fluid realms of intuition, pleasure and nature. EIGHT YEARS OF LIVING ART, www.barbaracarrellas.com

SC DURKIN: SEVEN YEARS OF MUSIC, 12/8/2005-12/8/2012. I endeavor to learn one musical instrument a year for the next seven years. SEVEN YEARS OF MUSIC, www.scdurkin.com

KOOSIL-JA HWANG: 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. www.dancekk.com

VERNITA N'COGNITA: 7 MORE UNTITLED YEARS OF WHEREVER MY ART LEADS ME, 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. www.ncognita.com

ESTHER K. SMITH: THEIR HOUSE IS A MUSEUM, 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. Seven years in other people's houses. EK SMITH MUSEUM, www.purgatorypiepress.com

KRISTA KELLY WALSH: SEVEN MIRRORS, 2006-2012. My work is based on the Cabalist system of reading the will of the seven planetarty spirits in the seven mirrors that are made of seven metals and associated with the 7 days of the week, seven planets and cooresponding themes. Each year I will make a corresponding mirror and wear a bead of the same metal, make projects and performances based on the themes of that metal.

SATELLITE PROJECT:
The satellite project is an ongoing congruent program of artists/lifeists within ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SATALITE PROJECT:

STEVEN REIGNS: S(T)EVEN YEARS, 1/12007-1/1/20014. I intend to explore the connection between art, life, and spirituality through writing practice, public writing workshops, and publishing chapbooks. S(T)EVEN YEARS SANCTUARY, www.stevenreigns.com

VICTORIA SINGH & KURTIS CHAMPION: SON/ART—CHAKRA COLOR RITUALS, 7/7/04-7/7/11. Kurtis celebrates the chakra colors of each 'year' with art projects on the 7th day of each month.

ELIZABETH STEPHENS & ANNIE SPRINKLE: LOVE ART LABORATORY—7 YEARS EXPLORING LOVE AS ART, 12/8/2004-12/8/2011. We make art about love. LOVE ART LABORATORY, www.loveartlab.org

PARTICIPANTS IN THE THIRD SEVEN YEARS OF ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART: 2012-2019

EK SMITH;CLEANING/SINGING/DRAWING I will divide my living/working space into 7 sections. Each year, for 7 years, I will clean and organize my space, singing as I work, and documenting my experiences with an ongoing series of drawings.

  NELLS FASTY:"Seven Years of Forgetting" is a 7 year performance, 2012-2019. I will choose a new number everyday based on trying to forget the previous day's number that had been chosen. Each year, the numerical results will be turned into a musical composition using computer software to interpret the data. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LINDA MARY MONTANO: ANOTHER 21 YEARS OF LIVING ART 1998-2019

Thursday, November 1, 2012

PURIFICATION SONG

BIG PURIFICATION CHANT/SONG


BITTER BARGINER
ADDICTED SUFFERER
  FRIENDLY FAKER
WORLD SAVER
SELF LOATHER
ATTENTION DEMANDER
HISTRIONIC VISIONER                           
 BOGUS TEACHER
TROUBLE MAKER
PARASITIC IMITATOR
PATHOLOGICAL CONFESSOR
FRIEND REVENGER
EMPATHY AVOIDER
NEIGHBOR FEARER
  ATTENTION HOARDER
NEUROTIC MISER
SELF MYTOLOGIZER
   COLLEAGUE EXCLUDER
TRAUMA ENHANCER
  MIND REGULATOR
  PAIN PARTAKER
SOCIAL NORM TASKMASTER
COMPULSIVE REPEATER
TIME TORTURER
SLOPPY PERFORMER
CROWD INFLUENCER
INGRAINED HALLUCINATOR
SHADOW TRACKER
  CONSCIOUS REVENGER
LOVE STARVER
SUBCONSCIOUS SURFER
  CULTURE CANABALIZER
ANCHORITED LONER
APPLAUSE HOARDER
SHY RETREATER
WORD SILENCER
EGO INFLATER
CYNICAL DECONSTRUCTER
PAST RECYCLER
OBJECT DUPLICATER
DYSFUNCTIONAL CONCEALER
TRUTH AVOIDER
WORLD SAVER
PERSONA CREATER
HOODED ENDURER
MANIPULATIVE SCHMOOZER
DEADBEAT SOCIALIZER
  INFORMATION NON-SHARER
  ARROGANT EXCLUDER
SYMPATHY BEGGAR
  BITTER BEGINNER
CULTURE MONGER
  WISDOM RENEGOTIATOR
  KINDNESS IMPINGER
BEASTIAL BULLIER
SPIRITUAL RECONTEXTUALIZER
ADULATION NEEDER
ANXIETY TRANSFORMER
SILENT TRANSLATOR
CLASSLESS WORKER
  PROFESSIONAL SUFFERER
 GAME FIXER
  GRAVITY FEARER
JOY DISTRACTER
   ATTENTION STEALER
  BREATH STINKER
RIGHT BRAIN ADDICTOR
RULE BREAKING ENABLER
ADVANTAGE TAKER
MONEY LOVER
POWER SHIFTER
  SELFISH HEALER
TRUTH TWISTER
GOD COMPETER
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMODIFIER
PAIN INVITER
DIVA DEMANDER
AGE DEFIER
DARKNESS AGGRANDIZER
HUBRIS HUNTER
  SCHIZOPHRENIA MAKER
PSYCHOLOGICAL RECONFIGURER
 ARROGANT LIAR
  SUBCONSCIOUS TRIPPER
GUILT GATHERER
  MATTER MANIPULATER
    DREAM SELLER
GIG DEMANDER
  PURILE PRANKSTER
HOPE SCAMMER
FOOD DEVOURER
  LEFT BRAIN AVOIDER
ART TRICKSTER
SYMBOL REGURGITATOR
NOURISHMENT WITHHOLDER
  RULE REVERSER
SLEEP WALKER

PERFORMANCE PR FOR JACK OVERNIGHT: LOCKED IN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LINDA MARY MONTANO , ALEC DUFFY AND THE 7 GLANDETTES Contact: Alec Duffy at 646-734-8985 or aduffy@jackny.org


Celebrated performance artist Linda Mary Montano leads an interactive experience followed by a 12-hour lock-in for selected participants. Ticketing info: $5, to benefit JACK’s teen programs.
No advanced reservations available.

 For more info: www.jackny.org. Location: JACK, 505 1/2 Waverly Ave. between Fulton and Atlantic, Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.C or G train to Clinton-Washington ___________________________________________________________

HEROES SERIES: Interactive Artist Talk/Performance by Linda Mary Montano, Alec Duffy and the 7 Glandettes, followed by a 12-hour lock-in with selected participants Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012

Artist Talk/Performance at 8 pm.
 Lock-in at 10 pm with the 7 GLANDETTES:
PATRICIA FAOLLI, MEGAN MARZEC, KRISTIN GREY, GETE BERHE, DOMINIC BRADLEY, ALEXA WILSON AND LILY BENSON

  Tickets: $5, to benefit JACK’s teen programs (no advanced purchase available) (Press invited for 8 pm event.JACK is open to inquiries about covering the lock-in)

Join groundbreaking performance artist Linda Mary Montano , Alec Duffy and the 7 GLANDETTES for an interactive performance experience at JACK, the new arts space in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. The evening will feature a talk/performance by Montano, which will include a screening of Mark Shaw’s video, Linda Mary Montano Celebrates Mother Teresa’s 100th Birthday at the Empire State Building, documenting Montano’s 2010 public performance as Mother Teresa with four "guardians" (Andrea Dominquez, Miss Toni Silver, Zhen Heinmann and Leah Aron). She will also present two other videos, STARVED SURVIVORS,  and  WATER ANGELS,  edited by video artist, TOBE CAREY.

 A 12-hour lock-in will follow, for which Montano has selected seven participants from a pool of applicants. The group will stay the night together, with Montano leading participants in a workshop, as well as eating and resting. Linda Mary Montano is a pioneer in performance art. Since the 1960’s, she has explored how artistic ritual, often staged as individual interactions or collaborative workshops, can be used to enhance a person's daily life, to create the opportunity for attentional spiritual energy states, to encourage inner silence and to alter the cessation of art/life boundaries. Montano's work can be viewed at www.lindamontano.com, as well on her blog and on YouTube. JACK is a new arts venue in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, with a mission to provide radical access to the arts by presenting adventurous performance work and by involving as many members of the surrounding community as possible in the art we create.
 Theater-maker Alec Duffy is the Artistic Director of JACK and OBIE-winning theater company Hoi Polloi is the resident company. www.jackny.org.
This event is the first in JACK’s Heroes Series, in which artists who have influenced the space are invited to present work at JACK.
Future events in the series are currently in development. .


3 SENTENCE RESUME

SHORT RESUME Linda Mary Montano is a pioneer in performance art.

Since the 1960’s, she has explored how artistic ritual, often staged as individual interactions or collaborative workshops, can be used to enhance a person's daily life, to create the opportunity for attentional spiritual energy states, to encourage inner silence and to alter the cessation of art/life boundaries.

Montano's work can be viewed atl

www.lindamontano.com as well on her blog and on YouTube.

HOW MY ART FIXES MY LIFE ; WITH OPTIONAL OPENING STATEMENTS



OPTIONAL OPENING STATMENTS FOR TALK:

THIS HURRICANE OF TWO WEEKS AGO HAS TRIGGERED OUR COLLECTIVE MEMORIES OF UNENDING PLANETARY HORRORS, SPILLS, COLLAPSES, TAMPERINGS, TERRORISMS, MORAL UPHEAVALS, MEDICAL MISTAKES, MONETARY COLLAPSES, CLIMATE DISASTERS. ETC ETC ETC. TO ADDRESS MY ANXIETY ABOUT ALL OF THESE PAST AND ONGOING NIGHTMARES, IN 2010,I MADE A VIDEO TITLED, STARVED SURVIVORS. TWO WEEKS AGO I THOUGHT, HOW CAN I PROCEED ON THIS PANEL WITH A TALK ABOUT ME, MINE, MOI WHEN PEOPLE ARE STILL WITHOUT HEAT, LIGHT AND FAMILY MEMBERS ARE MISSING A FEW MILES FROM HERE? THEN I THOUGHT, I WILL SHOW THE VIDEO STARVED SURVIVORS (ITS ON YOU TUBE, A FREE DOWNLOAD) BUT THAT WOULD BE WRONG. WE ARE IN TOO MUCH PAIN AND TOO RAW FOR THAT VIDEO'S RESPONSE TO LOSS. SO WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO THE NORTH EAST, I SHARE MY ORIGINAL PAPER ABOUT MY PROCESS , BUT BEFORE I DO THAT, PLEASE JOIN ME IN 1 MINUTE OF SILENT FEELING OF SUPPORT.

OPTIONAL OPENING FOR TALK HOW MY ART FIXES MY LIFE:

MY ART IS MY:
MEDICINE
HOSPITAL
THERAPIST
SCREAM
DRUG
FRIEND
PARENT
CONFESSIONAL
REFUGE
VOMIT
ER
REHEARSAL
SILENCE
MIRROR
TWIN
DISTRACTION
NURSING HOME
CRIB
PRAYER
BASINETTE
SEX
VITAMIN
DOJO
DREAM
CHURCH
SALVE
MORGUE
SHAMAN
SURGERY
SEWER
DOCTOR
PRIEST
TRAINER
BREATH
LIFE
MY ART IS MY LIFE

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HOW MY ART FIXES MY LIFE

MY ART IS A BRAIN GAME, A PRIVATE UTOPIA, A REFUGE FROM LEFT BRAIN DAILY WORRIES AND TRIALS. MY ART IS A JOURNEY TO THE SWEET ABODE OF RIGHT BRAIN PLAY. AS ARTISTS WE CHOOSE TO TRAVEL, VIA INSPIRATION, TO THE RIGHT BRAIN VIA IMAGAINATIVE GLOBAL ATTENTION(LESTER INGBER) AND ENDURING CONCENTRATION. WE DO THIS VOLUNTARILY WITHOUT NEUROLOGICALLY NEEDING A LEFT BRAIN STROKE TO CATAPULT US TO RIGHT BRAIN AESTHETIC ECSTASY. (FOOTNOTE: JILL BOLTE TAYLORS YOU TUBE EXPLANATION OF HER STROKE) WE MAKE ART TO HEAL, GET HIGH, ESCAPE, AND APPRECIATE. ART IS SCIENCE, ART IS BRAIN CHEMICALS IN ACTION, ART IS OXYCONTINED MYSTERY. ART HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY PILL, SALVE, MEDICINE, HOSPITAL AND PLACE WHERE I TAKE DAILY THOUGHTS, CELEBRATIONS, HORRORS AND TRAUMAS TO MY INNER DOCTOR SO SHE CAN MAKE MY LIFE BETTER THAN LIFE ITSELF. RECENTLY I HAVE HAD TO INTENSELY TEST AND USE MY ART MEDICINE BECAUSE 7 YEARS AGO I DEVELOPED A STRANGE BODY PHENOMENA; MY HEAD AND ENTIRE BODY TWISTED AND TURNED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. ALTHOUGH I DID ASK, I WAS TOLD THAT I DIDNT NEED AN EXORCISM BUT THE DOCTOR NEUROLOGIST SAID THAT BOTOX INJECTIONS EVERY 3 MONTHS IN MY NECK WOULD BRING A 70% RELIEF. MY RESPONSE WAS TWOFOLD:1. LIFE: GET THE INJECTIONS AND 2: ART. SO I MADE PERFORMANCES AND 3 VIDEOS TO SELF MEDICATE AND AESTHETICALLY CURE A MEDICAL CONDITION: 
 
VIDEO 1 : MIRROR MEDICINE: ONE DAY, BENT OVER AND SPASMING, I HEARD A VOICE INSIDE SAYING TO ME: "LINDA, YOU LOOK JUST LIKE MOTHER TERESA, ALL BENT OVER AND OLD." VERY SOON AFTER I TOOK THAT MESSAGE AND IMPERSONATED MOTHER TERESA AND BY DOING SO I RECYCLED PHYSICAL PAIN AND PRESENTED IT AS ILLNESS ART. THE VIDEO YOU ARE CURRENTLY SEEING IS BY MARK SHAW AND THE GUARDIANS ARE ANDREA DOMINQUEZ, MISS TONI SILVER, ZEAH HEINMAN AND LEAH ARON.

VIDEO 2: MYTH MEDICINE; THE AMA TREATS CERVICAL DYSTONIA WITH BOTOX INJECTIONS WHICH I RECEIVE EVERY 3 MONTHS. I CANCEL OUT THE GORY DETAILS OF NEEDLES AND PAIN WITH A HALLMARK CARD-LIKE CHILDREN'S FAIRYTALE , TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE LAW OF OPPOSITES BY USING SWEET TO NEUTRALIZE SOUR.

VIDEO 3: MIRTH MEDICINE: IN THIS VIDEO I USE ENDURED LAUGHTER TO INVITE AND TEACH OTHERS TO BRING THEIR DISTRESSES OUT OF THE CLOSET OF ISOLATION SO THAT WE CAN ALCHEMIZE IT WITH ENDURED FOOLISHNESS. I WILL SHARE A FEW OTHER EXAMPLES OF MY PROCESS AND DEMONSTRATE HOW I SCULPT ART FROM THE MATTER OF MY LIFE:

MY LIFE: 1942 BORN MIDDLE OF WINTER , MY MOTHER'S PREGNANCY DIDNT SHOW AND SHE REPORTED:" LINDA, EVERYONE WAS SHOCKED WHEN YOU WERE BORN BECAUSE NOBODY KNEW I WAS PREGANANT."
MY ART FIX: 1980'S I LIVE INSIDE, IN FULL VIEW, A CANAL STREET WINDOW FOR A WEEK 24 HOURS A DAY. I WAS BLINDFOLDED, ALONE AT NIGHT, USED A CHEMICAL TOILET AND SHOCKED MYSELF VIA MY ART.

MY LIFE; 1950'S . I SPEND EVERYDAY WITH MY 350 POUND ARTIST, OUTSIDER , COWGIRL, NON VERBAL GRANDMOTHER AND VISITED MY NON ENGLISH SPEAKING ITALIAN, IMMIGRANT CATHOLIC GRANDMOTHER.
MY ART FIX: 1975: I SIT IN FRONT OF A VIDEO CAMERA FOR A YEAR AND INTERVIEW MYSELF AS 7 DIFFERENT PEOPLE, SOME FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO TEACH MYSELF HOW TO TALK. VIDEO: LEARNING TO TALK.

QUESTION: HOW DID YOU CREATIVELY CELEBRATE AND FIX YOUR CHILDHOOD?

MY LIFE: 1962: I LEAVE THE CONVENT WEIGHING 80 POUNDS, NONVERBAL.
ART FIX:1976; I INTERVIEW MYSELF AND 5 OTHER WOMEN WITH EATING DISORDERS. VIDEO:ANOREXIA NERVOSA

MY LIFE:1970'S: I MEET MY HUSBAND, MITCHELL PAYNE AND MY MEDITATION TEACHER, DR RAMAMURTI MISHRA.
MY ART FIX: I BEGIN ENDURANCE LIKE SITTINGS AND DANCING DRESSED AS A MORPHED ANGEL/CHICKEN/CATHOLIC SAINT/SCULPTURE SO THAT I CAN PRACTICE STILLNESS PUBLICALLY AS ART AND LEARN HOW TO BE AT PEACE WHEN NOT SUPPORTED BY AN AUDIENCE.

MY LIFE: LATE 70'S: MY EX HUSBAND IS MURDERED.
MY ART FIX: LIVE IN SILENCE FOR 2 YEARS, NO FIX BUT MAKE THE VIDEO MITCHELLS DEATH.

MY LIFE; 80'S : I RETIRE TO EASTERN MEDITATION ASHRAMS.
MY ART FIX: COME OUT OF MONASTERIES AND PERFORM A 14 YEAR CHAKRA EXPERIENCE WEARNING ONE COLOR CLOTHES EACH YEAR, SEEING PEOPLE ONCE A MONTH IN THE NEW MUSEUM WINDOW FOR 7 YEARS AND OFFERING ART/LIFE COUNSELING ......WHY? TO CREATE MY OWN VERSION OF MONASTERY.

QUESTION: HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE OR FIX YOUR CURRENT LIFE?

MY LIFE: LATE 90'S: HAVE 7 YEARS TO GET TO KNOW MY FATHER.
MY ART FIX: I BECOME A DAUGHTER AND PERFORM LIFE AS ONE FOR 7 YEARS.

MY LIFE: CURRENTLY:ORGANIZE, PACK UP, ARCHIVE, LET GO.
MY ART FIX: A DAILY JOURNEY TO THE REALITY OF IMPERMANENCE.

QUESTION: HOW DO YOU CREATIVELY PERFORM IMPERMANCE?

LET'S ADMIT IT SOME OF US ARE ARTISTS OF ART AND OTHER ARE LIFEISTS OR ARTISTS OF LIFE BUT WE ALL ARE SOME OF THESE:

REPETITION REPEATERS
SYSTEM CREATORS
ANXIETY REFRAMERS
O-CDERS
COMMUNITY BONDERS
LIFECRISIS FIXERS
TRUTH KEEPERS
MIGHTY FOCUSERS
SYMBOL SEEKERS
MYSTICAL SCHMOOZERS
SCAM SMELLERS
WORSHIP LOVERS
CHARMING HYPNOTIZERS
TRAUMA RE-ORGANIZERS
PURIFICATION ENACTERS
HOLY HAZERS
CONSCIOUS PERFORMERS
ECSTASY TRANCERS
SPIRITUAL MINISTERS
RIGHT BRAIN ADDICTORS
SECURITY STRUCTURERS
BODY MORPHERS
ENERGY NEUTRALIZERS
DEPRESSION PREVENTERS
ZEALOUS PASTORS
ROBOTIC REPEATERS
SOCIAL BONDERS
COMPULSIVE ENACTERS
MORAL RESTRAINERS
DEMON EVICTORS
DEATH DE-CONFIGURERS

VIDEO 2: (EXPLAIN BY READING THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE.) I NEED 3 VOLUNTEEERS TO AGREE HOW LONG WE CHOULD SEE THIS TAPE.

VIDEO 3: (EXPLAIN BY READING THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE.)

MY CURRENT WORK IS ABOUT THE AGING PERFORMANCE ARTIST'S BODY AND IMPERMANENCE. IF I AM PERCHANCE TO END UP IN A NURSING HOME BEING TAKEN CARE OF BY A NURSING ASSISTANT, I WANT TO CLEAR OUT MY OWN NEUROTIC HOSTILITY NOW, SO THAT I DONT INFLICT UNNECESSARY NEGATIVITY ON MY CNA. I WILL SING THE CNA SONG ALONG WITH AND ON TOP OF THE DYSTONIA VIDEO. DOUBLE FUSION MEDICINE.

A REAL LIFE SONG FOR YOUR CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT

PRAY FOR MY CNA, O LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA , OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

SHE COMES TO THE HOME EVERYDAY
45 OF US TO LOVE
SHE BRINGS US LIGHT, WE NEVER PAY
SHES A GIFT FROM UP ABOVE

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA PRAY
FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

WE CALL AND SHOUT NURSE NURSE COME HERE
FOR EVERY BODILY NEED
I'VE GOT THE BEDPAN DEAR DON'T FEAR
AND THEN 45 MOUTH'S I'LL FEED

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD OH LORD PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

SOME SCREAM AND SHOUT EVERY NIGHT
IN SWEATY HALLUCINATIONS
MORALS, TEETH, AND HAIR ARE GONE
THE DARK STEALS TREPIDATION

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

BODIES NOW BONES PORES ARE STINKING
HOLOCAUSTED INTO SLIME
MY DEATH SKULL ROARS THERE IS NO MORE
GOODBYE OH GHOST OF TIME!!!!!

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

GRATITUDE FOR THE BODY

GRATITUDE FOR THE BODY AND IT'S INCREDIBLENESS

PLEASE JOIN ME IN A NON-PARTISAN, PARTICIPATORY PROCESS WHICH WILL PROVIDE THE PROBABILITY FOR A PERFORMATIVELY PURIFIED PRESENCE IN OUR ALREADY POTENT PRACTICE OF BEING PEACE.THE VEHICLE FOR THIS INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE WILL BE A SEASONALLY APPRORIATE FEELING OF GRATITUDE AND THANKSGIVING.

THE BODY:THERE ARE 60 TRILLION CELLS IN OUR BODIES .THANK YOU
THE SKIN: IS THE LARGEST ORGAN OF THE BODY; 500 MILLION SKIN CELLS FALL OFF EVERYDAY; WE HAVE 2 MILLION SWEAT GLANDS. THANK YOU.
THE HAIR: WE HAVE 100,000 HAIRS AND LOSE 30-60 A DAY; HAIR GROWS .09 INCHES IN A WEEK; 4.75 INCHES IN A YEAR; IN A LIFETIME WE GROW 28 FEET OF HAIR. THANK YOU.
THE BONES: AT BIRTH WE HAVE 350 BONES AND AS ADULTS WE HAVE 206 BONES; AT BIRTH WE HAVE 33 VERTEBRAE AND AS AN ADULT WE HAVE 26 VERTEBRAE; WE HAVE 12 PAIRS OF RIBS OR 24 RIBS; 26 BONES IN THE FEET; WE HAVE 32 TEETH. THANK YOU.
THE MUSCLES: WE HAVE 640 MUSCLES; TO WALK WE USE 200 DIFFERENT MUSCLES; TO FROWN WE USE 400 MUSCLES; TO SMILE WE USE 15 MUSCLES.THANK YOU
THE BRAIN: THE HUMAN HEAD WEIGHS 10-14 POUNDS; THE BRAIN IS A 3 LB JELLO LIKE SUBSTANCE MADE OF FAT AND PROTEIN; THERE ARE 200 BILLION NEURONS IN THE BRAIN; AT BIRTH THE SKULL HAS 45 BONES; AS AN ADULT THE SKULL HAS 29 BONES; THE BRAIN CONSUMES 20% OF OUR ENERGY; THERE ARE 10 BILLION NEURONS IN THE CEREBRAL CORTEX; THE FRONTAL LOBE HAS THE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS OF SELF CONTROL, PLANNING, REASONING AND ABSTRACT THOUGHT. THANK YOU.
THE HEART: HEART BEATS 70-80 TIMES A MINUTE; THE HEART BEATS 100,000 TIMES A DAY; THE HEART PUMPS 74 GALLONS OF BLOOD EVERY HOUR; THE HEART WEIGHS 15 OUNCES; THE HEART HAS ENOUGH ENERGY TO DRIVE A CAR 20 MILES PER HOUR.THANK YOU.
THE LUNGS: IF ALL OF THE TUBES AND AIR SACS OF THE LUNGS WERE LAID OUT FLAT THEY WOULD COVER A TENNIS COURT.THANK YOU. THE PANCREAS: WEIGHS 3 OUNCES; PRODUCES 2 PINTS OF DIGESTIVE JUICES A DAY.THANK YOU.
THE INTESTINES: THERE ARE 5 FEET OF LARGE INTESTINES; 25 FEET OF SMALL INTESTINES. THANK YOU. THE BLOOD VESSELS: THERE ARE 5 T0 9 PINTS OF BLOOD IN THE BODY; 62,140 MILES OF VEINS, ARTERIES AND CAPILLERIES IN OUR BODY; THERE ARE 700 VARITIES OF ENZYMES IN OUR BODY; THERE ARE 2 TRILLION LYMPHOCYTES.THANK YOU.
THE ADRENALS: MANUFACTURE OVER 50 HORMONES; FEAR AND ANGER RAISES THE HEART 50 BEATS PER MINUTE. THANK YOU.
THE OVARIES: WOMEN HAVE 60 VARIETIES OF ESTROGEN IN THEIR BODY; 400 MENSTRAL CYCLES. THANK YOU.
THE TESTES: 500 MILLION SPERM SWIM TOWARD THE FALLOPIAN TUBES AND THE EGG AT ORGASM.THANK YOU.
CONCLUSION: SHAMANS FROM HAWAII CALLED KAHUNAS, CHANT THE HO-OPONOPONO, A MENTAL CLEANSING PRACTICE OF RECONCILIATION AND FORGIVENESS, VERBALLY FORGIVING THE CHILD WITHIN, FAMILY WITH THESE WORDS: I'M SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME, I LOVE YOU, THANK YOU
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LIST OF WHAT WE ARE AS ARTISTS

LET'S ADMIT IT SOME OF US ARE ARTISTS OF ART AND OTHER ARE LIFEISTS OR ARTISTS OF LIFE BUT WE ALL ARE SOME OF THESE:

REPETITION REPEATERS
SYSTEM CREATORS
ANXIETY REFRAMERS
O-CDERS
COMMUNITY BONDERS
LIFECRISIS FIXERS
TRUTH KEEPERS
MIGHTY FOCUSERS
SYMBOL SEEKERS
MYSTICAL SCHMOOZERS
SCAM SMELLERS
WORSHIP LOVERS
CHARMING HYPNOTIZERS
TRAUMA RE-ORGANIZERS
PURIFICATION ENACTERS
HOLY HAZERS
CONSCIOUS PERFORMERS
ECSTASY TRANCERS
SPIRITUAL MINISTERS
RIGHT BRAIN ADDICTORS
SECURITY STRUCTURERS
BODY MORPHERS
ENERGY NEUTRALIZERS
DEPRESSION PREVENTERS
ZEALOUS PASTORS
ROBOTIC REPEATERS
SOCIAL BONDERS
COMPULSIVE ENACTERS
MORAL RESTRAINERS
DEMON EVICTORS
DEATH DE-CONFIGURERS

CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT SONG

A REAL LIFE SONG FOR YOUR CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT



PRAY FOR MY CNA, O LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA , OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA


SHE COMES TO THE HOME EVERYDAY
45 OF US TO LOVE
SHE BRINGS US LIGHT, WE NEVER PAY
SHES A GIFT FROM UP ABOVE

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

WE CALL AND SHOUT NURSE NURSE COME HERE
FOR EVERY BODILY NEED
I'VE GOT THE BEDPAN DEAR DON'T FEAR
AND THEN 45 MOUTH'S I'LL FEED

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD, PRAY FOR MY CNA

SOME SCREAM AND SHOUT EVERY NIGHT
IN SWEATY HALLUCINATIONS
MORALS, TEETH, AND HAIR ARE GONE
THE DARK STEALS TREPIDATION

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD,
PRAY FOR MY CNA

SHE WHEELS US TO OUR MEALS ON TIME
WHERE WE DROOL AND SPILL
PRESSED SPAM OUR ENTRES
BLOW OUR MINDS
AND MAKE US VERY ILL

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA

TWICE WEEKLY BATHS ARE A DRUDGE
WATERS EVERYWHERE
ONCE FAMOUS LAWYERS, CHEFS, A JUDGE
OUR NURSES THEY DONT CARE

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FRO MY CNA OH LORD
PRAYFOR MY CNA

TIED TO CHAIRS AT NURSES STATIONS
A TRAPPED MEDICAL DAZE
JELLO FALLS FROM TOOTHLESS MOUTHS
BUT NONE OF US ARE FAZED

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA


BODIES NOW BONES
PORES ARE STINKING
HOLOCAUSTED INTO SLIME
MY DEATH SKULL ROARS
THERE IS NO MORE
GOODBYE OH GHOST OF TIME!!!!!

PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
 PRAY FOR MY CNA

THERE ARE NO WORDS TO THANK YOU ALL
FOR LOVE YOU DAILY SHARE
WE DIE IN FEARLESS PEACE AND JOY
WITHOUT AN EARTHLY CARE
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA
PRAY FOR MY CNA OH LORD
PRAY FOR MY CNA







































 

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

WOMB OF LIGHT

WOMB OF LIGHT:A COLLABORATION WITH MAVIS GEWANT
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


LINDA IDEAS:

1. WRITE A LETTER TO YOUR WOMB

  2. CELEBRATE THE 7 GLANDS....A VISUALIZATION AND MEDITATION LYING DOWN

3. LAUGH THE 7 GLANDS/SOUND THE GLANDS......STAND AND LYING DOWN

4. PERFORM THE GLANDS.....

5. THEN PERFORM THE OVARIES.....

6. BLESS THE WOMB WITH LIGHT

WORKSHOP IN INDIA

INDIA: ART AND LIFE

A PERFORMANCE ART EXPERIENCE WITH HIMALI SINGH IN COLLABORATION WITH LINDA MONTANO

  THE PERFORMANCE ART OF EVERYDAY LIFE

  THIS....DAY EVENT WILL EXPLORE IMPERMANENC, SERVICE AND RECEIVING IN INDIA UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ARTIST-WRITER HIMALI SINGHS AND PERFORMANCE ARTIST LINDA MARY MONTANO.

1.WE WILL BEGIN IN BENARES(VARANASI)  AND STAY 3 DAYS EXPLORING ORIGINS AND ENDINGS .

2.WE WILL ALL TOGETHER VOLUNTEER AT .................(MAYBE MOTHER TERESAS IN CALCUTTA) TO EXPERIENCE SEVA AND SELFLESS SERVICE.


.3. WE WILL THEN GO TO SOUTH INDIA AND THERE RECEIVE AYRUVEDIC TREATMENTS, LEARNING HOW TO NOURISH THE INNER SELF.

THIS WORKSHOP WILL INCLUDE  LECTURES BY HIMALI SINGH ABOUT  INDIA/ITS CULTURE/ITS HISTORY ANDMONTANO WILL GIVE LECTURES ABOUT ENDURANCE THE GLANDS AND FIXING LIFE WITH ART.

DEAR MARYKNOLL SISTERS

Dear Maryknoll Sisters,

  Recently I attended an incredibly great Mission Institute and got so re-inspired about Maryknoll (having been a novice there in the early 60's) and as a Full Circle member,  I thought, "How can I be even more involved in mission there, at the Motherhouse or even on mission?" One of the sisters there mentioned Maryknoll Affiliates as a possible place for my energies and interests. When I mentioned this to another Full Circle member, my friend from Maryknoll, 1960,Carolyn Grassi, she contacted the Maryknoll Affiliates (in the East Bay California) and learned that they are "officially" sponsored by/connected with the Maryknoll Fathers and brothers, not directly with the Maryknoll Sisters. She also mentioned that, as with the Maryknoll magazine, donations are directed to the Fathers, unless specifically designated for the sisters. Of course, both the magazine and affiliates programs encourage collaboration with the sisters. This information made me stop in my tracks. Is it because I am at a late life stage of wanting Justice! Accountability! Fairness! Truth! to be present in my life? All I knew is that I felt discouraged that I could not be part of the Affiliates because my heart-loyalty is to the Sisters. And so is my pocketbook! Now our question is: is there a way that the Maryknoll Sisters can be full partners in the Maryknoll Affiliate program, that is, automatically have financial equality with any general donations. Also, it would be wonderful for the Sisters to be featured equally in the Affliates web sites, retreat events, etc. I keep asking almost daily, what is my mission? And maybe this is an alternative mission for me; that is, to write this letter and ask these questions, hoping that equality is established in this very important and timely matter as all sisters contemplate new truths.

In Mother Mary Joseph,

  Linda Mary Montano, Sr. Rose Augustine, 1960 along with Carolyn Grassi, Sr. Teresita Marie, 1960

CATHOLIC NUNS ADDRESS AT THE NUNS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Navigating The Shifts- LCWR Presidential Address POSTED AUGUST 11, 2012 In her Presidential Address to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Sr Pat Farrell reflecting on the changes and challenges of our time spoke about the Gospel image of the mustard seed: ”We live in joyful hope, willing to be weeds one and all. I hold forever in my heart an expression of the dying and rising of Jesus from the days of the dictatorship in Chile: “They can crush a few flowers but they can’t hold back the springtime.” Full text…. Navigating the Shifts Pat Farrell, OSF Presidential Address, 2012 LCWR Assembly The address that I am about to give is not the one I had imagined. After the lovely contemplative tone of last summer’s assembly, I had anticipated simply articulating from our contemporary religious life reflections some of the new things we sense that God has been doing. Well, indeed we have been sensing new things. The doctrinal assessment, however, is not what I had in mind! Clearly, there has been a shift! Some larger movement in the Church, in the world, has landed on LCWR. We are in a time of crisis and that is a very hopeful place to be. As our main speaker, Barbara Marx Hubbard, has indicated, crisis precedes transformation. It would seem that an ecclesial and even cosmic transformation is trying to break through. In the doctrinal assessment we’ve been given an opportunity to help move it. We weren’t looking for this contoversy. Yet I don’t think that it is by accident that it found us. No, there is just too much synchronicity in events that have prepared us for it. The apostolic visitation galvanized the solidarity among us. Our contemplative group reflection has been ripenening our spiritual depth. The 50th anniversary of the Vatican II approaches. How significant for us who took it so to heart and have been so shaped by it! It makes us recognize with poignant clarity what a very different moment this is. I find my prayer these days often taking the form of lamentation. Yes, something has shifted! And now, here we are, in the eye of an ecclesial storm, with a spotlight shining on us and a microphone placed at our mouths. What invitation, what opportunity, what responsibility is ours in this? Our LCWR mission statement reminds us that our time is holy, our leadership is gift, and our challenges are blessings. I think It would be a mistake to make too much of the docrinal assessment. We cannot allow it to consume an inordinate amount of our time and energy or to distract us from our mission. It is not the first time that a form of religious life has collided with the institutional Church. Nor will it be the last. We’ve seen an apostolic visitation, the Quinn Commission, a Vatican intervention of CLAR and of the Jesuits. Many of the foundresses and founders of our congregations struggled long for canonical approval of our institutes. Some were even silenced or ex-communicated. A few of them, as in the cases of Mary Ward and Mary McKillop, were later canonized. There is an inherent existential tension between the complementary roles of hierarchy and religious which is not likely to change. In an ideal ecclesial world, the different roles are held in creative tension, with mutual respect and appreciation, in an enviroment of open dialogue, for the building up of the whole Church. The doctrinal assessment suggests that we are not currently living in an ideal ecclesial world. I also think it would be a mistake to make too little of the doctrinal assessment. The historical impact of this moment is clear to all of us. It is reflected in the care with which LCWR members have both responded and not responded, in an effort to speak with one voice. We have heard it in more private conversations with concerned priests and bishops. It is evident in the immense groundswell of support from our brother religious and from the laity. Clearly they share our concern at the intolerance of dissent even from those with informed consciences, the continued curtailing of the role of women. Here are selections from one of the many letters I have received: “I am writing to you because I am watching at this pivotal moment in our planet’s spiritual history. I believe that all the Catholic faithful must be enlisted in your efforts, and that this crisis be treated as the 21st century catalyst for open debate and a rush of fresh air through every stained glass window in the land.” Yes, much is at stake. Through it all, we can only go forward with truthfulness and integrity. Hopefully we can do so in a way that contributes to the good of religious life everywhere and to the healing of the fractured Church we so love. It is no simple thing. We walk a fine line. Gratefully, we walk it together. In the context of Barbara Marx Hubbard’s presentation, it is easy to see this LCWR moment as a microcosm of a world in flux. It is nested within the very large and comprehensive paradigm shift of our day. The cosmic breaking down and breaking through we are experiencing gives us a broader context. Many institutions, traditions, and structures seem to be withering. Why? I believe the philosophical underpinnings of the way we’ve organized reality no longer hold. The human family is not served by individualism, patriarchy, a scarcity mentality, or competition. The world is outgrowing the dualistic constructs of superior/inferior, win/lose, good/bad, and domination/submission. Breaking through in their place are equality, communion, collaboration, synchronicity, expansiveness, abundance, wholeness, mutuality, intuitive knowing, and love. This shift, while painful, is good news! It heralds a hopeful future for our Church and our world. As a natural part of evolutionary advance, it in no way negates or undervalues what went before. Nor is there reason to be fearful of the cataclysmic movements of change swirling around us. We only need to recognize the movement, step into the flow, and be carried by it. Indeed, all creation is groaning in one great act of giving birth. The Spirit of God still hovers over the chaos. This familiar poem of Christopher Fry captures it: ”The human heart can go the length of God. Cold and dark, it may be But this is no winter now. The frozen misery of centuries cracks, breaks, begins to move. The thunder is the thunder of the floes. The thaw, the flood, the up-start spring. Thank God, our time is now When wrong comes up to face us everywhere Never to leave until we take The greatest stride of soul that people ever took Affairs are now soul-size. The enterprise is exploration into God…” Christopher Fry – A Sleep of Strangers I would like to suggest a few ways for us to navigate the large and small changes we are undergoing. God is calling to us from the future. I believe we are being readied for a fresh inbreaking of the Reign of God. What can prepare us for that? Perhaps there are answers within our own spiritual DNA. Tools that have served us through centuries of religious life are, I believe, still a compass to guide us now. Let us consider a few, one by one. 1.How can we navigate the shifts? Through contemplation. How else can we go forward except from a place of deep prayer? Our vocations, our lives, begin and end in the desire for God. We have a lifetime of being lured into union with divine Mystery. That Presence is our truest home. The path of contemplation we’ve been on together is our surest way into the darkness of God’s leading. In situations of impasse, it is only prayerful spaciousness that allows what wants to emerge to manifest itself. We are at such an impasse now. Our collective wisdom needs to be gathered. It germinates in silence, as we saw during the six weeks following the issuing of the mandate from the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. We wait for God to carve out a deeper knowing in us. With Jan Richardson we pray: “You hollow us out, God, so that we may carry you, and you endlessly fill us only to be emptied again. Make smooth our inward spaces and sturdy, that we may hold you with less resistance and bear you with deeper grace.” Here is one image of contemplation: 1 the prairie. The roots of prairie grass are extraordinarily deep. Prairie grass acutally enriches the land. It produced the fertile soil of the Great Plains. The deep roots aerate the soil and decompose into rich, productive earth. Interestingly, a healthy prairie needs to be burned regularly. 2 It needs the heat of the fire and the clearing away of the grass itself to bring the nutrients from the deep roots to the surface, supporting new growth. This burning reminds me of a similar image. There is a kind of Eucalyptus tree in Australia whose seeds cannot germinate without a forest fire. The intense heat cracks open the seed and allows it to grow. Perhaps with us, too, there are deep parts of ourselves activated only when more shallow layers are stripped away. We are pruned and purified in the dark night. In both contemplation and conflict we are mulched into fertility. As the burning of the prairie draws energy from the roots upward and outward, contemplation draws us toward fruitful action. It is the seedbed of a prophetic life. Through it, God shapes and strengthens us for what is needed now. 2. How can we navigate the shifts? With a prophetic voice The vocation of religious life is prophetic and charismatic by nature, offering an alternate lifestyle to that of the dominant culture. The call of Vatican II, which we so conscientiously heeded, urged us to respond to the signs of our times. For fifty years women religious in the United States have been trying to do so, to be a prophetic voice. There is no guarantee, however, that simply by virtue of our vocation we can be prophetic. Prophecy is both God’s gift as well as the product of rigorous asceticism. Our rootedness in God needs to be deep enough and our read on reality clear enough for us to be a voice of conscience. It is usually easy to recognize the prophetic voice when it is authentic. It has the freshness and freedom of the Gospel: open, and favoring the disenfranchised. The prophetic voice dares the truth. We can often hear in it a questioning of established power, and an uncovering of human pain and unmet need. It challenges structures that exclude some and benefit others. The prophetic voice urges action and a choice for change. Considering again the large and small shifts of our time, what would a prophetic response to the doctrinal assessment look like? I think it would be humble, but not submissive; rooted in a solid sense of ourselves, but not self- righteous; truthful, but gentle and absolutely fearless. It would ask probing questions. Are we being invited to some appropriate pruning, and would we open to it? Is this doctrinal assessment process an expression of concern or an attempt to control? Concern is based in love and invites unity. Control through fear and intimidation would be an abuse of power. Does the institutional legitimacy of canonical recognition empower us to live prophetically? Does it allow us the freedom to question with informed consciences? Does it really welcome feedback in a Church that claims to honor the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faithful? In the words of Bob Beck, “A social body without a mechanism for registering dissent is like a physical body that cannot feel pain. There is no way to get feedback that says that things are going wrong. Just as a social body that includes little more than dissent is as disruptive as a physical body that is in constant pain. Both need treatment.” When I think of the prophetic voice of LCWR, specifically, I recall the statement on civil discourse from our 2011 assembly. In the context of the doctrinal assessment, it speaks to me now in a whole new way. St. Augustine expressed what is needed for civil discourse with these words: “Let us, on both sides, lay aside all arrogance. Let us not, on either side, claim that we have already discovered the truth. Let us seek it together as something which is known to neither of us. For then only may we seek it, lovingly and tranquilly, if there be no bold presumption that it is already discovered and possessed.” In a similar vein, what would a prophetic response to the larger paradigm shifts of our time look like? I hope it would include both openness and critical thinking, while also inspiring hope. We can claim the future we desire and act from it now. To do this takes the discipline of choosing where to focus our attention. If our brains, as neuroscience now suggests, take whatever we focus on as an invitation to make it happen, then the images and visions we live with matter a great deal. So we need to actively engage our imaginations in shaping visions of the future. Nothing we do is insignificant. Even a very small conscious choice of courage or of conscience can contribute to the transformation of the whole. It might be, for instance, the decision to put energy into that which seems most authentic to us, and withdraw energy and involvement from that which doesn’t. This kind of intentionaltiy is what Joanna Macy calls active hope. It is both creative and prophetic. In this difficult, transitional time, the future is in need of our imagination and our hopefulness. In the words of the French poet Rostand: “It is at night that it is important to believe in the light; one must force the dawn to be born by believing in it.” 3. How can we navigate the shifts? Through solidarity with the marginalized. We cannot live prophetically without proximity to those who are vulnerable and marginalized. First of all, that is where we belong. Our mission is to give ourselves away in love, particularly to those in greatest need. This is who we are as women religious. But also, the vantage point of marginal people is a privileged place of encounter with God, whose preference is always for the outcast. There is important wisdom to be gleaned from those on the margins. Vulnerable human beings put us more in touch with the truth of our limited and messy human condition, marked as it is by fragility, incompleteness, and inevitable struggle. The experience of God from that place is one of absolutely gratuitous mercy and empowering love. People on the margins who are less able to and less invested in keeping up appearances, often have an uncanny ability to name things as they are. Standing with them can help situate us in the truth and helps keep us honest. We need to see what they see in order to be prophetic voices for our world and Church, even as we struggle to balance our life on the periphery with fidelity to the center. Collectively women religious have immense and varied experiences of ministry at the margins. Has it not been the privilege of our lives to stand with oppressed peoples? Have they not taught us what they have learned in order to survive: resiliency, creativity, solidarity, the energy of resistance, and joy? Those who live daily with loss can teach us how to grieve and how to let go. They also help us see when letting go is not enough. There are structures of injustice and exclusion that need to be unmasked and systematically removed. I offer this image of active dismantling. These pictures were taken in Suchitoto, El Salvador the day of celebration of the peace accords. 4 5 That morning, people came out of their homes with sledge hammers and began to knock down the bunkers, to dismantle the machinery of war. 6 4. How can we navigate the shifts? Through community Religious have navigated many shifts over the years because we’ve done it together. We find such strength in each other! 7 In the last fifty years since Vatican II our way of living community has shifted dramatically. It has not been easy and continues to evolve, within the particular US challenge of creating community in an individualistic culture. Nonetheless, we have learned invaluable lessons. We who are in positions of leadership are constantly challenged to honor a wide spectrum of opinions. We have learned a lot about creating community from diversity, and about celebrating differences. We have come to trust divergent opinions as powerful pathways to greater clarity. Our commitment to community compels us to do that, as together we seek the common good. We have effectively moved from a hierarchically structured lifestyle in our congregations to a more horizontal model. It is quite amazing, considering the rigidity from which we evolved. The participative structures and collaborative leadership models we have developed have been empowering, lifegiving. These models may very well be the gift we now bring to the Church and the world. From an evolved experience of community, our understanding of obedience has also changed. This is of particular importance to us as we discern a response to the doctrinal assessment. How have we come to understand what free and responsible obedience means? A response of integrity to the mandate needs to come out of our own understanding of creative fidelity. Dominican Judy Schaefer has beautifully articulated theological underpinnings of what she calls “obedience in community” or “attentive discipleship.” They reflect our post- Vatican II lived experience of communal discernment and decision making as a faithful form of obedience. She says: “Only when all participate actively in attentive listening can the community be assured that it has remained open and obedient to the fullness of God’s call and grace in each particular moment in history.” Isn’t that what we have been doing at this assembly? Community is another compass as we navigate our way forward. Our world has changed. I celebrate that with you through the poetic words of Alice Walker, from her book entitled Hard Times Require Furious Dancing: The World Has Changed The world has changed: Wake up & smell the possibility. The world has changed: It did not change without your prayers without your determination to believe in liberation & kindness; without your dancing through the years that had no beat. The world has changed: It did not change without your numbers your fierce love of self & cosmos it did not change without your strength. The world has changed: Wake up! Give yourself the gift of a new day. 8 5. How can we navigate the shifts? Non-violently The breaking down and breaking through of massive paradigm shift is a violent sort of process. It invites the inner strength of a non-violent response. Jesus is our model in this. His radical inclusivity incited serious consequences. He was violently rejected as a threat to the established order. Yet he defined no one as enemy and loved those who persecuted him. Even in the apparent defeat of crucifixion, Jesus was no victim. He stood before Pilate declaring his power to lay down his life, not to have it taken from him. What, then, does non-violence look like for us? It is certainly not the passivity of the victim. It entails resisting rather than colluding with abusive power. It does mean, however, accepting suffering rather than passing it on. It refuses to shame, blame, threaten or demonize. In fact, non-violence requires that we befriend our own darkness and brokeness rather than projecting it onto another. This, in turn, connects us with our fundamental oneness with each other, even in conflict. Non-violence is creative. It refuses to accept ultimatums and dead-end definitions without imaginative attempts to reframe them. When needed, I trust we will name and resist harmful behavior, without retaliation. We can absorb a certain degree of negativity without drama or fanfare, choosing not to escalate or lash out in return. My hope is that at least some measure of violence can stop with us. Here I offer the image of a lightning rod. 9 Lightning, the electrical charge generated by the clash of cold and warm air, is potentially destructive to whatever it strikes. 10 A lightning rod draws the charge to itself, channels and grounds it, providing protection. A lightning rod doesn’t hold onto the destructive energy but allows it to flow into the earth to be transformed. 11 6. How can we navigate the shifts? By living in joyful hope Joyful hope is the hallmark of genuine discipleship. We look forward to a future full of hope, in the face of all evidence to the contrary. Hope makes us attentive to signs of the inbreaking of the Reign of God. Jesus describes that coming reign in the parable of the mustard seed. Let us consider for a moment what we know about mustard. Though it can also be cultivated, mustard is an invasive plant, essentially a weed. 12 The image you see is a variety of mustard that grows in the Midwest. Some exegetes tell us that when Jesus talks about the tiny mustard seed growing into a tree so large that the birds of the air come and build their nest in it, he is probably joking. 13 To imagine birds building nests in the floppy little mustard plant is laughable. It is likely that Jesus’ real meaning is something like Look, don’t imagine that in following me you’re going to look like some lofty tree. Don’t expect to be Cedars of Lebanon or anything that looks like a large and respectable empire. But even the floppy little mustard plant can support life. Mustard, more often than not, is a weed. 14 Granted, it’s a beautiful and medicinal weed. Mustard is flavorful and has wonderful healing properties. 15 It can be harvested for healing, and its greatest value is in that. But mustard is usually a weed. 16 It crops up anywhere, without permission. And most notably of all, it is uncontainable. It spreads prolifically and can take over whole fields of cultivated crops. 17 You could even say that this little nuisance of a weed was illegal in the time of Jesus. There were laws about where to plant it in an effort to keep it under control. Now, what does it say to us that Jesus uses this image to describe the Reign of God? Think about it. We can, indeed, live in joyful hope because there is no political or ecclesiastical herbicide that can wipe out the movement of God’s Spirit. Our hope is in the absolutely uncontainable power of God. We who pledge our lives to a radical following of Jesus can expect to be seen as pesty weeds that need to be fenced in. 18 If the weeds of God’s Reign are stomped out in one place they will crop up in another. I can hear, in that, the words of Archbishop Oscar Romero “If I am killed, I will arise in the Salvadoran people.” And so, we live in joyful hope, willing to be weeds one and all. We stand in the power of the dying and rising of Jesus. I hold forever in my heart an expression of that from the days of the dictatorship in Chile: “Pueden aplastar algunas flores, pero no pueden detener la primavera.” “They can crush a few flowers but they can’t hold back the springtime.”