Mystical Elements Research Articles

Inclusion and exclusion: two modes of Daoist mysticism

ABSTRACTOn the basis of etymological exploration, the essay analyzes Daoism through the lens of mysticism, studying both what we might term its religious and philosophical dimensions. The essay identifies mystical elements in both philosophical Daoist traditions and religious Daoism and notes some of their distinct features. It endeavors to show that the concept of mysticism affords a unique and instructive perspective from which to understand these traditions and explicates two modes of mystical expression and thinking – the inclusivist and exclusivist – that it asserts are represented by philosophical and religious Daoism respectively.

Rational Mysticism: Hegel on Magic and China

Hegel’s conception of a universal history of reason is usually interpreted as a Eurocentric project that is dismissive of the genuine contributions by other cultures. In contrast to this assumption, his views concerning Chinese philosophical traditions evolved significantly in his late Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion. Hegel increasingly acknowledges a unique contribution of Confucianism and especially Daoism. While Confucianism is depicted as a natural religion of magic in which the emperor governs as the supreme magician, Daoism revolts against the emperor’s nepotism and turns to the Dao to elaborate a speculative philosophy of reason. The paper argues that the search for a rational form of mysticism is the basis for increasingly valuing the Chinese contributions to a conception of reason that incorporates mystical elements.

SERAT PAMORING KAWULA GUSTI Perwujudan Islam Kejawen

Serat Pamoring Kawula-Gusti is a form of elements of Java Islamic mysticism. The book contains points of doctrine of Islamic mysticism or Sufism processed and adapted to the Javanese thoughts. The book is often called suluk when in the form of poetry and called wirid when in the form of prose. The largest and richest book of suluk with elements of Sufism, namely Serat Centhini, while the books of famous wirid Serat Wirid Hidayat Jati and Kitab Kunci Swargo. The books are the books of Java sufism enriched and refined with elements of mysticism and the teachings of nobility. Serat Pamoring Kawula-Gusti is a crowning invaluable achievement of Javanese culture. Javanese culture is progressing brilliantly during its rise since the kingdom of Kartasura. Main ideas taught by R. Ng. Ranggawarsita in the book is an expression of the basics of Islam to the Java language and lifestyle in accordance with the teachings of Islamic mysticism (Sufism). Mystical teaching of Islam expressed in the language and lifestyle of Java is that life in this world is not a destination, but a journey towards a more perfect life to the afterlife or in union with God again.

SUPERNATURALISM AND MYSTICISM IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S PLAY HAMLET

William Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist in the world. He has produced a lot of literary works especially play or drama. Some of his plays still exist until now such as Julius Caesar, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, etc. Even, one of his plays Romeo and Juliet has been translated into several languages in the world. He produces two types of plays, namely comedy which usually talks about love and tragedy which talks about sadness. In tragedy plays, Shakespeare always puts supernatural and mystical elements such as in Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, etc. The supernatural and mysticism elements are usually marked by the appearance of apparition, witch, fairy, etc, and the elements can determine the fate of main characters. This article tries to describe how Shakespeare puts supernatural and mystical elements in one of his tragedy plays Hamlet.

MYSTICAL ASPECT OF EDITH STEIN'S ANTHROPOLOGY: FROM PHENOMENOLOGY TO THOMISM

The aim of the study is to find mystical elements in Edith Stein's anthropology as a connecting principle between phenomenology and Thomism. Relying on methodological definition of philosophical mystic, as a matching of theological and philosophical doctrines, based upon reflection on experience of ecstatic unity with the Absolute, it was shown that phenomenology is implicitly directed towards research of real structure of immediate experience which in all its limits approaches to mystical experience. Not the mind and not the faith, but will (that directs knowledge to mystical unity of immanent subject and transcendental object in finding the truth) is defining for the mystical character of Stein's creative method. Stein, being a bright representative of phenomenology, gradually disagrees with Husserl at some points: 1. Stein considers the world as an immediate contemplation on the entity that transcends the identity of being and thinking; 2. In her opinion, phenomenology neglects the ontological Absolute. As a result, there is misplace of the Absolute by structural-cognitive aims, that, in its turn, was a reason for amalgamation of onthology and epistemology, according to Stein's views. 3. Stein strives to overcome epistemological rationality and achieve a sphere of philosophical mystic where ontological object and epistemological subject are identical in the act of mystical contemplation. 4. Lack of metaphysical elements in phenomenology leads Stein to Thomism in which she potentially seeks a way out of metaphysical limits and the way which leads to the level of transpersonal states of mind. 5. Stein reproaches transcendentalism in loss of the world and she ignores the changes in Husserl's world outlook, his transcendental turn and genealogy of the trustworthy acquaintance with the world. An empathy, as a model of extrapolation of the principle (of to be get used to the experience of the Other) onto mystical act of overcoming of subject-object opposition of transpersonal content and an intuition, as a movement inside the self, an ability to complete an integral image refusing the subjectivity and bringing back generic, spiritual subject, are considered to be key-constructs of the Edith Stein's evolutionary views development on her way to philosophical mystic. At the same time, mystical does not drop out of the phenomenological series but fills it with new existential meaning. The novelty of the study is in its showing up the productive meaning of philosophical mystics in the creativity of Edith Stein, who enriched contemporary anthropology by metahistorical content of moral and existential meaning on the basis of synthesis of philosophy of mind and Thomistic metaphysics.

Mysticism and the reformation: a brief survey

A number of influential theologians over the past two centuries have denied that Protestant Christianity has a place for mysticism understood as the mingling of the divine and human natures. Today a more adequate understanding of the mystical element of Christianity as a deeper awareness of God’s presence in the life of believers suggests a new evaluation of the relation of Protestantism and mysticism, beginning Martin Luther, and continuing with figures like Johann Arndt, and a number of the “Spiritual Reformers,” such as Andreas Karlstadt, Sebastian Franck, Valentin Weigel, as well as the theosophical Lutheran Jacob Boehme. This essay is designed to reopen the question of the relation between Protestantism and mysticism.

Daoism in Management

The paper concentrates on the Chinese philosophical strand of Daoism and analyses in how far this philosophy can contribute to new directions in management theory. Daoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy, which can only be traced back roughly to about 200 or 100 BC when during Han dynasty the writers Laozi and Zhuangzi were identified as “Daoists”. However, during Han dynasty Daoism and prevalent Confucianism intermingled. Generally, it is rather difficult today to clearly discern Daoist thought from other philosophical strands as in the same period also Buddhism, Mohism and Legalism shaped contemporary thinking. Furthermore, there is a difference between the religious practice of Daoism in the sense of popular religion and the theoretical basis of Daoist thought presented in Laozi and Zhuangzi. The religious practice in contrast can have very mystical elements, which are linked to superstition. Moreover, there is also the question of in how far Daoist thought and practice is still prevalent at all in Chinese society today. Hence, the picture of Daoism is heterogeneous, first, regarding the question of what can be defined as the “original core” of Daoism, second, the difference between thought and religious practice, and third, the question of the prevalence of Daoist thought in China today. This paper offers a broader discussion regarding the potential ways of application of Daoist thought today over five parts. First, it illuminates the most important values taught under the name of Daoism. Thereby, it focuses on the Daoist thought and leaves out the actual religious practice together with its mystical elements. Second, these values are then put into the management context to analyse in how far Daoism can broaden our contemporary understanding of management in general and different management styles in particular. Third, Daoism in a management context is then contrasted with the comparably rigid Confucian doctrine also applied in a business context. Here, the application of Daoist and Confucian thought in the fields of leadership, management and corporate ethics is presented and compared. Fourth, insights into the real business practice in China regarding Chinese philosophies like Daoism and Confucianism in fields like management, strategy or corporate ethics are provided. Fifth, an outlook is presented where Daoism is discussed in the context of contemporary debates on sustainability and CSR. Here, the proposed paper illuminates in how far the philosophy of Daoism can also contribute to a more holistic understanding of sustainability and CSR today, thereby contributing to more innovative solutions in management.

Миф о забвении в романе Бориса Виана “Красная трава”

DOI 10.18522/2072-0181-2015-159-164 The purpose of this article is to research the essential motives Boris Vian novel “The Red Grass” in their relations with myths and various forms of the grotesque. The methodology of work is determined by the tradition of historical and literary research. The fi ctional novel’s world is considered in the context of grotesque and absurdist pataphysical aesthetics, of Surrealists experience in the language and thinking, of “consciously creating literature-games” idea. It is shown that the innovative mythical archetypes interpretation is necessary for author in his attempt to comprehend the absurdity of existence and at the same time to show the desperate searching of human absolute. Mythological pretexts transmit the author creative thoughts, help to show the attempts of the person to define himself in the world, more precisely in one self’s acceptance in the world and acceptance of the world, the Universe in one self. It is revealed that mythological images are used to create the deep layer of the works associated with the fundamentals of existence and non-existence. The twentieth century human drama, showed by Boris Vian in the novel “The Red Grass” on the Wolf`s example consists in the fact that the person is not able to identify itself. The author emphasizes the protagonist existence absurdity due to the loss of life reasons. The hero feels form and life dualism, masks extremity, inner aspiration for the authentic existence and it`s impossibility. Myths of the peoples of the world are full of stories about oblivion. Vian modernizes them: the symbol of oblivion is not natural or mystical elements, but the result of human creation – machine invented by Wolf. In the novel the oppositions of life and death, top and bottom are opposed to the common notion, which found its expression in many myths and in the Dante`s poem. If the Dante`s “Comedy” has a profound, optimistic sense, refl ects the author`s aspiration for the world harmony, the Vian`s novel is anti-utopia. There is no place for any new ideas, there is no way to Heaven in it, “oblivion” is not the path to the memory of good deeds. Wolf’s oblivion means death and emptiness. The second birth of the hero, his reincarnation is devoid of the memory of last life experience psychiatrist Jaquemort (novel “Heartsnatcher”), hungry for new content. Because of the past oblivion of himself, in his new incarnation he will catch carrion from the river memory by his mouth, remembering and digesting the human shame, fi lling by it, endlessly suffering and repenting for the somebody else’s sins.

Mysticism in Tagorees Gitanjali

Mysticism categorically lacks an authority and anything and everything that is related to God is put under the term mysticism. This research paper focuses Gitanjali which is classified under mystic poetry. The endeavor here is to look for the mystical elements in the poem and how it qualifies to be a mystical poetry. An analysis of words and ideas reveals that it is the love for nature and God that made Tagore enter the realm of mysticism. However, his mystical experiences are quite different from those of the experiences of enlightened saints of India. Saints’ mysticism is a result of the union achieved through deep meditation, but in Tagore’s case it is only love and desire for the union. As a result of this, his Gitanjali can be considered as Nature Mysticism rather than Soul or God Mysticism only which enlightened saints and poets like Kalidasa or Auribindo can achieve.

The problem of subject within the dimension of philosophical mysticism

The article explores the possibility of reconstruction of the concept of subject out of the discourse of mystical experience. The novel forms of philosophical theories are proved to be homogeneous to the mystical elements of the general structure of religious systems. Postmodernist trends of contemporary philosophy promoting weak phenomena of human world provide the epistemological background for new vision of religious mysticism, which was always dominated by collective forms of religiosity and disqualified as too individualistic and esoteric. Apophatic morphology of speculative mysticism resembles the conceptual apparatus of deconstruction or negative dialectics. Therefore it can be effectively reinterpreted as philosophical locus of religion, which is congenial to absorb the novel philosophical forms and translate them into religious discourse. The mystical experience cannot be subjective, because subjective implies either privateness or disorder. We cannot say that mystical experiences are either ordered or disordered, because they have no parts to be compared and contrasted with one another or with the order of the natural world - only sequences of experiences can be ordered or disordered. But mystical experiences must be something, so if they are neither objective nor subjective, we have to create a new category - transsubjective - for them. Mystical intuitions about subjectivity without Ego are considered as preceding attempts of phenomenology, fundamental ontology and deconstruction to conceptualize the dynamics of becoming of subjectivity out of certain primordial form of subjectity. The necessity of new synthesis of philosophical and religious conceptions of subjectivity appears from the harsh controversies of contemporary world, which is losing the common order of meaning, very likely to face the demise of some common system of laws and rights. To reconstruct a mystical subjectivity by the means of today's philosophy is to hope for reconciliation of scientific ratio with religious fidelity in terms more appropriate to the reality we are living in.

The Rise and Fall of a Songwriting Partnership

The working relationship of two novice songwriters is examined in this ethnographic study, which highlights the importance of common goals and values in a songwriting collaboration. Stemming from this core there are a number of sub-themes: the pair saw a popular song as consisting of melody, harmony, and lyrics; they played on the strengths and offset the weaknesses of each others songwriting skills; both writers valued originality; and they believed songwriting had a mystical element to it. Finally, it will be shown how conflict in their status as writing partners resulted in the demise of the collaboration. The difficulty of being a participant observer researcher when only two people are being observed is also discussed.

Метаморфозы еврейской мистики в «Белой гвардии» Михаила Булгакова

The article analyzes the elements of Jewish mysticism employed by Mikhail Bulgakov in his The White Guard and aims to trace the sources of motifs used to create a sense of mystery in the novel. The author enumerates multiple uses of Jewish mystical elements in the depiction of the characters. Mikhail Shpolyansky is both an image of the evil and refers to the Messiah. According to Jewish beliefs, the Messiah must suffer from disgusting open fester wounds. Likewise, Shpolyansky suffers from a repugnant disease but his ailment is unknown to the public unlike that of the Jewish Messiah. The disgust caused by the Messiah’s wounds is meant to verify the scale of humaneness and the capacity for mercy in the ones for whose sake the Messiah must descend to this world. If Jews can overcome the disgust they feel when looking at the Messiah’s wounds and help him, demonstrating benevolence and compassion, God will heal the Messiah’s imaginary diseases and send him to people where he will rule in God’s name and usher in a time of peace and eliminate all suffering. The author questions whether the use of Jewish sources was a conscious decision made by Bulgakov, when he interpreted the Messiah’s diseases and gave gory details of them. The question is that if Bulgakov emphasizes disgust caused by the patient and by his demonic nature, why he did not consider the motif of the repugnant wounds of the Jewish Messiah then. The author describes the writer’s digression from the traditional Jewish interpretation of Abaddon used by Bulgakov to refer to Antichrist who symbolizes the Demon of Darkness and Destruction. The elements of Old Jewish sources extensively used by Bulgakov when describing the supernatural, mystical and demonic quite often possess a meaning uncharacteristic of the one used in the Jewish original and are quite often presented inaccurately. It is likely to have been caused by the fact that while creating the mystical background of the novel, Bulgakov relied on the data on Jewish mythology he could find in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. However, it does not reflect the original meaning of Jewish mythology but gives a distorted picture of it. Despite the discrepancies, Bulgakov managed to create an atmosphere filled with Old Jewish mystical beliefs and do it convincingly for the reader.

Decolonisation and mysticism in William Butler Yeats's The Celtic Twilight and The Secret Rose

Yeats's responsibilities as one of Ireland's most prominent artists commenced with his aspiration to make Ireland a nation. His writings incorporate the three phases of development that Frantz Fanon posited for all new nations. Although Fanon described his three phases of decolonisation well after The Celtic Twilight and The Secret Rose were compiled, Fanon's framework elucidates Yeats's writings. Yeats's use of mystical elements embodies Fanon's idea of the colonial binary, the negritude binary, and transnational consciousness. Yeats discovered the answers to decolonisation in mysticism. His insights about folklore when coupled with imagination brought about many mystical revelations that linked Ireland to mysticism of global dimensions. Yeats's insights moved Ireland beyond binaries and solely nationalistic thinking to encourage Ireland to develop a transnational consciousness, transcending postcolonial binaries to achieve nationhood.

Congruence Between Near-Death and Mystical Experience

Near-death experiences, altered states during a brush with death, may include mystical features like a sense of sacredness and divine union, timelessness/spacelessness, positive mood, noetic quality, and ineffability. We quantified mystical elements in near-death experience by comparing responses on the Mysticism Scale of 292 near-death experiencers and 34 persons who had come close to death without near-death experiences. Two thirds of near-death experiencers reported mystical experiences during their brush with death, compared to none of the comparison survivors. Near-death experiencers scored higher on the Mysticism Scale than did nonexperiencers; they endorsed noetic quality, positive affect, and unity most often and ego loss, timelessness/spacelessness, and ineffability least often. Depth of near-death experience was correlated highly with scores on the Mysticism Scale, but factor analysis of features during the brush with death yielded two distinct factors representing mystical and near-death elements, suggesting that near-death experiences have commonalities with, but can be differentiated from, mystical experience.

The Quest for Wisdom as a Spiritual Exercise

The Quest for Wisdom as a Spiritual Exercise Daniel De Smet Qu’est-ce que la philosophie islamique? (What is Islamic philosophy?). By Christian Jambet . Folio Essais 547 . Paris : Gallimard , 2011 . Pp. 472 . isbn 978-2-070-33647-0 . The title of the remarkable book by Christian Jambet, Qu’est-ce que la philosophie islamique? (What is Islamic philosophy?) reflects that of Pierre Hadot’s famous essay, Qu’est-ce que la philosophie antique? (What is ancient philosophy?), published in 1995 in the same collection (Folio Essais 280). Both works not only display a similar title but also share a fundamental conception about the character and aims of philosophy in a premodern culture. As a rational reflection on humanity and the universe, philosophy cannot be reduced to a purely scholarly or academic activity, limited to the acquisition of theoretical, “scientific” knowledge. Philosophy is also a way of life based on the ideal of virtue. As it is impossible to dissociate the theoretical and practical aspects of philosophy, “the quest for wisdom” implies a spiritual exercise. Any true philosopher is inevitably a “sage,” in the Socratic meaning of the term. Therefore ethical, religious, and mystical elements occupy an important place in such a global approach to philosophy. Extending Hadot’s thesis to the realm of Islam, Jambet tries to explain, in over four hundred pages, “what Islamic philosophy is.” Hence, the author is taking for granted the existence of Islamic philosophy. Without entering into polemics, the book is undaunted in its defense of a position that opposes a general trend in modern scholarship. All too often philosophy in the medieval Middle East is restricted to falsafa (the so-called “Hellenistic” or “Peripatetic” philosophy), whereas the impact of the Qur͗ ān and Islamic religion on the teachings of its main representatives (such as al-Kindī, al-Fārābī, Avicenna, or Averroes) is largely underestimated, if not denied, sometimes for purely ideological reasons. Ernest Renan’s conceptions about the incompatibility of Islam and science and philosophy are thus still alive in our own twenty-first century. In contrast, Jambet’s approach to philosophical reflection in the medieval Middle East is much broader, extending far beyond the limits of mere falsafa. He furthermore describes the cultural and intellectual background of this philosophy as mainly rooted in Islam. He shows in a quite convincing manner how the philosophical heritage from antiquity (both Neoplatonic and Aristotelian), once it was translated from Greek into Arabic, was adopted and gradually transformed in different Islamic circles, giving rise to a wide range of intellectual traditions that accepted rational [End Page 1039] speculation, despite the critics or even the overt hostility of conservative Muslims. Jambet rightly stresses the importance of the so-called Theology of Aristotle (in fact, the Arabic version of parts of Plotinus’ last three Enneads), which was read and interpreted by Muslims belonging to very different traditions. Although the history of these successive reinterpretations of Plotinus’ thought is still to be written, the attentive reader of Jambet’s book may follow the fate of the Arabic Plotinus from the first falāsifa onwards to the Nizarite Isma͑ilis of the twelfth century and the Twelver Shi͑ite philosophers of the “School of Isfahan” in the seventeenth century. As Henry Corbin did for the first time in his Histoire de la philosophie islamique (published in 1964), Christian Jambet fully integrates Shi͑ite thought—of both the Isma͑ilis and the Twelver Shi͑ites—into the history of Islamic philosophy. This is one of the major merits of his book, as it shows how in a Shi͑ite environment an Islamized form of Neoplatonism remained alive to modern times. Furthermore, the result of such an approach is a better understanding of the way of thinking of falāsifa such as al-Fārābī and Avicenna, who, although not Shi͑ites themselves (this may not be the case with al-Fārābī, however), had certain affinities with Shi͑ism or at least were reading some Shi͑ite texts. The theoretical and practical aspects of philosophy being inseparably linked, the Greek ideal of a philosophical life devoted to both the acquisition of knowledge and the practice of virtue...

Intertextuality and National Literatures in the Context of Comparative Literature Research

20th-century literary theory discovered another possible way for world literature to exist and include all national literatures and cultures: the concepts of ‘intertextuality’ and / or ‘multimediality’ mean that contacts between cultural texts work as a network and this network includes national literatures, i.e. intertextuality and / or multimediality creates world literature. All European cultures have common sources from Ancient Greece and Rome and the Bible, which means that translations have played a very important role in European culture. Authors who use other literary works also interpret them and this gives new meaning to their works. The term ‘dialogue’, in Mikhail Bakhtin’s sense, plays a crucial role in the intertextual process. If we speak of influences, dialogue is not the crucial phenomenon on the contrary; influence is a more hierarchical phenomenon. It seems that intertextuality, especially postmodern intertextuality, avoids hierarchical communication, instead working with the dialogical relationship between the author, text and reader. Intertextuality and/ or multimediality have a great potential to connect different texts and literatures in the world. The dialogical relationships between different texts and authors are significant because the postmodernist era destroyed hierarchies, or at least tried to destroy them. This means that all literatures, including small languages and literatures, have the possibility of being world literature, offering the opportunity for comparative literary research. The paper analyzes several poets and poems from different small countries. The Irish poet W.B. Yeats was an innovator in Irish poetry and drama. He combined national myths and fantasy with a symbolist style and the main pathos in his poetry is connected with the freedom of Ireland. Finnish poet Eino Leino used very old national motifs in his poetry, and there is a tension between the older romantic tradition and the contemporary styles he used. There are mystical elements and intertextual connections from the Finnish epic Kalevala, as well as from fairy-tales and folk songs, in Leino’s poetry. Leino was also influenced by the German poet Heinrich Heine. Eino Leino was also the Estonian poet Gustav Suits’ friend and he influenced Suits’ poetry. Estonian poets Heiti Talvik’s poetry represents how intertextuality makes possible ambivalence meaning, the poet uses biblical myths in the new context. The contemporary Estonian prose writer and poet Ene Mihkelson refers to the Bible in her poetry and novels. She uses one of the common sources of European culture, but at the same time she speaks of Estonian history and destiny or, in other words, she uses the Bible to describe her national culture, describing and learning via another culture. All these examples demonstrate a very important aspect of the textual relationship: text memory and the great potential to connect different texts intertextuality and / or multimediality.

Luis Alfaro’s Mojada Premieres at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago

Luis Alfaro’s Mojada Premieres at Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago Regan L. Postma During the dates July 12-August 11, 2013, Victory Gardens Theater of Chicago staged the world premiere of Mojada by Chicano playwright and performance artist Luis Alfaro. Mojada, based on Euripides’ tragedy and set in the present-day Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, completed the trilogy of Greek dramas recast in contemporary Latino/a barrios that Alfaro began over a decade ago.1 The premiere of the play in Chicago, with a mostly local cast under the direction of Chay Yew, made for a dynamic performance and Click for larger view View full resolution Medea (Sandra Delgado) and Jason (Juan Francisco Villa). Mojada. Victory Gardens Theater. Photo: Michael Brosilow. 2013. [End Page 187] spirited audience interaction both throughout the production and during a post-performance talk-back session as Mojada treated issues close to home in this city with the third largest Latino/a population in the US: migration, assimilation, intra-ethnic conflict, gender, tradition, and the effects of gentrification on Latino/a barrios. As the title suggests, the play centers on Alfaro’s Medea (la mojada), a humble seamstress who travels to the US from Mexico, following her husband Jason and his dreams of a better life. After Jason falls for his sexy Latina boss Armida at the construction company where he works, Medea kills her son Acan and Armida to keep Armida from stealing away her family. This storyline is framed with mystical elements, beginning with Tita, Medea’s indigenous friend, crying out to the gods in Nahuatl and ending with Tita walking on rooftops flapping leaves like wings (evoking Medea’s sun chariot escape in Euripides’ version). Retrospective scenes of life in Michoacán, including Medea’s killing of her abusive brother and a violent attack that Medea suffers during the perilous journey to the US, intercalate the narrative of life in Pilsen. Particularly impressive in Yew’s production were the use of sound, such as the frequent L train rumbling on the tracks, the verisimilitude of the set design with its brick walls and dusty staircases evoking the Pilsen barrio, and the visual imagery created by projection designer Liviu Pasare to represent migration scenes. Click for larger view View full resolution Jason (Juan Francisco Villa), Medea (Sandra Delgado), Acan (Dylan Lainez), Tita (Socorro Santiago), Josefina (Charín Alvarez), and Soldier (Sandra Marquez). Mojada. Victory Gardens Theater. Photo: Michael Brosilow. 2013. [End Page 188] Click for larger view View full resolution Medea (Sandra Delgado) and Jason (Juan Francisco Villa). Mojada. Victory Gardens Theater. Photo: Michael Brosilow. 2013. [End Page 189] During the particular performance this reviewer attended, the play was met with an impassioned response by a diverse audience made up of a large number of local African-American and Latino/a youth in summer programs as well as many Anglo retirees. In the talk-back session with Arts Education Director Robert Cornelius and actor Juan Francisco Villa (Jason), spectators argued over the decisions Alfaro made in adapting the ancient play to a contemporary Latino/a context. Certain spectators (retirees) suggested that the play lacked sufficient fidelity to the original, particularly noting Medea’s missing enchantress/priestess qualities, while others (students) interpreted these changes as strategic in depicting the iconic long-suffering woman in Mexican culture. Other themes such as identity, gender, economics, and intra-ethnic conflict came to the forefront. For this reviewer, the issue of gentrification in Latino/a neighborhoods such as Pilsen and Little Village was notable in the play’s critique of former Mayor Daley and second- and third- generation Latinos/as like Armida who sell property to developers in these areas, thereby raising prices and driving out newer immigrants. As can be seen in the talk-back session, perhaps the greatest success of Mojada is the way its adaptation to a distinct US Latino/a context fosters dialogue on significant issues for Latinos/as in Chicago and other US cities. If there is a critique, it might be that the play gets at so many issues that a central theme becomes difficult to locate in the multiplicity. This may be a testament to the need and possibilities for additional plays...

Love Poems to God: The contemplative artistry of Dianne McIntyre

Abstract Modern dance choreographer Dianne McIntyre has been creating dance for film, and concert and theatre stages since the early 1970s. Much of her work brings together a modern dance vocabulary, and African American movement and music to convey universal messages. A major reason that diverse peoples respond so favourably to McIntyre’s choreography is the contemplative practices that undergird her artistry. This article explores McIntyre as an artist who draws on eastern and western spiritual and cultural traditions to create dances that offer transcendent experiences to both audience members and performers. Through her use of improvisation (which can been viewed as a contemplative practice), her incorporation of spiritual themes, and the energy she brings as an individual and as an artist, McIntyre – a long-time meditator – captures mystical elements that empower people to recognize their own greatness, and work to make the world a better place.

Sufi Mysticism and Dreams in Nabil Ayouch’s Ali Zaoua, Prince of the Streets

This article examines the poetics of childhood in Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch’s Ali Zaoua, Prince of the Streets , focusing on dream culture, sea travel, and elements of Sufi mysticism. In Ali Zaoua , symbols such as eyes, a compass, Twin Towers, sea travel, and an imaginary island with two suns visualize an Islamic dream culture. Ayouch presents the cruelty of life on the streets marked by violence, filth, and concrete, yet the film celebrates a dream culture by focusing on fantasy, images of a spiritual voyage, poetry, and Sufi mysticism, which eclipse the harsh, socially realistic portrayal of the lives of homeless children.

Sufi Mysticism and Dreams in Nabil Ayouch’s Ali Zaoua, Prince of the Streets

This article examines the poetics of childhood in Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch’s Ali Zaoua, Prince of the Streets, focusing on dream culture, sea travel, and elements of Sufi mysticism. In Ali Zaoua, symbols such as eyes, a compass, Twin Towers, sea travel, and an imaginary island with two suns visualize an Islamic dream culture. Ayouch presents the cruelty of life on the streets marked by violence, filth, and concrete, yet the film celebrates a dream culture by focusing on fantasy, images of a spiritual voyage, poetry, and Sufi mysticism, which eclipse the harsh, socially realistic portrayal of the lives of homeless children.