Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tania Pessoa de Lima.pdf: 2676947 bytes, checksum: b1a9278774fce6fc13e279ac8cc2f601 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present research is aimed at reporting the testimonies of the participants of the Sacred Circle Dances of Findhorn regarding the experience of the sacred, and defines the role of this experience for the individual and for contemporary culture. Sacred Circle Dances of Findhorn is the name given to the practice of the dancing in round formation and other group dances, whether traditional or recently choreographed, which are held according to a movement started by Bernhard Wosien, with the spirit of the group work proposed by the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, where they started, developed, and spread to many countries. In Findhorn, such dances achieved status of ritual and were focused on the experience of the sacred, although several purposes are accepted. However, studies conducted so far have not been dedicated to the basic focus, which is the path we choose to follow. The theories of Carl G. Jung and Roy R. Rappaport were used as theoretical support in what concerns the conceptions of sacred and ritual, besides taking into account some analysis on the overview of the way of being religious in contemporary times. The method used was qualitative, and data were gathered in the work field which the researcher participated. The research was performed in a group formed especially for this purpose and conducted by the researcher, in fifteen weekly meetings of two hours each. The reports were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were organized and handled by building the technique of Lefèvre s Discourse of the Collective Subject. It was revealed that the sacred was experienced in the group studied as a process consisting of three elements. The first refers to the experience of two states of existence, that is, one that connects to the everyday life and the other to a wider order. The second deals with the experience of meeting a large body which the participants feel they are part of, as if attached to a greater being configured as an experience of comprehensive unit. The third element was present through the arrangement awareness of learning the meanings posed by living, and elaborations on their own life can be extracted from it, thus guaranteeing greater awareness. For the individual, the experience of the sacred can enable the perception of another personality, different from consciousness, with glimpses of the experience of wholeness and unity, and some relationship with the self, which are important aspects for the process of individuation. As for contemporary times, and with no necessity of joining some religion, this kind of experience can mean the removal of the sanctification or projection of the non-flexible context sacred, the replacement of the sacred in what is central and unifies humanity in the sense eternity and truth. This scenario favors the ecosystem adaptation that is essential for the continuity of human life. The Sacred Circle Dance Findhorn is related to the round formation dances from communities far from urban centers, probably born of sacred and religious elements. The operation is in connection to the characteristics of the religious way of being in contemporary times and in large cities. Practices of circle dances aimed only at numinous states, mistakenly interpreted as if sacred, would lead to the understanding that the sacred is something trivial and does not require some work of consciousness. In this manner, and packed by late modernity trends, the sacred term may be used imprecisely / O objetivo principal da presente pesquisa é revelar nos depoimentos dos participantes das Danças Circulares Sagradas de Findhorn a vivência do sagrado e situar o papel dessa vivência para o indivíduo e para a cultura contemporânea. Danças Circulares Sagradas de Findhorn é o nome dado à prática das danças de roda e outras formações de danças em grupo, sejam elas tradicionais ou coreografadas na atualidade, e que acontecem conforme o movimento iniciado por Bernhard Wosien, tendo como espírito a proposta de trabalho em grupo da Fundação Findhorn, na Escócia, onde foram lançadas e obtiveram crescimento, e a partir de onde foram difundidas para diversos países. Em Findhorn, tais danças ganharam formato ritual e foco último na vivência do sagrado, embora acolham propósitos diversos. Contudo, as pesquisas realizadas até então não se ativeram ao foco principal, caminho esse escolhido nesta pesquisa. As teorias de Carl G. Jung e de Roy R. Rappaport serviram de suporte teórico no que se refere às concepções sobre o sagrado e o ritual, além de se levar em conta algumas análises sobre o panorama relativo ao modo de ser religioso na contemporaneidade. O método utilizado foi o qualitativo, e os dados foram obtidos por meio do trabalho de campo do qual a pesquisadora participou. A pesquisa foi feita em um grupo formado para esta finalidade e conduzido pela pesquisadora, em quinze encontros semanais, de duas horas cada. Os relatos foram gravados em áudio e transcritos. Os dados foram organizados e tratados pela técnica de construção de discursos do sujeito coletivo de Lefèvre e revelaram que o sagrado foi vivido no grupo pesquisado como um processo composto por três elementos. O primeiro se refere à vivência de dois estados de existência, ou seja, um que se liga à vida cotidiana e outro a uma ordem mais ampla. O segundo trata da vivência de reunião num grande organismo do qual o participante se sente fazendo parte, como se unido a um ser maior, configurando-se como uma vivência de unidade abrangente. O terceiro elemento se fez presente pela disposição da consciência de apreender os sentidos suscitados pela vivencia, podendo extrair dela elaborações relativas à própria vida, portanto com ampliação da consciência. Para o indivíduo, essa vivência do sagrado pode possibilitar a percepção de outro centro da personalidade distinto da consciência, com vislumbres da vivência de totalidade e unidade e algum relacionamento com o self, aspectos importantes para o processo de individuação. Para a contemporaneidade e sem que seja preciso se filiar a uma religião, esse tipo de experiência pode significar a retirada da santificação ou projeção do sagrado de contextos não flexíveis, a recolocação do sagrado no que é central e que unifica a humanidade, no sentido de eternidade e de verdade. Isso favorece a adaptação ecossistêmica, fundamental para a continuidade da vida humana. A Dança Circular Sagrada de Findhorn está relacionada às danças circulares das comunidades afastadas dos centros urbanos, provavelmente carregadas de elementos sagrados e religiosos. Seu funcionamento está afinado com características do modo de ser religioso na contemporaneidade e nas grandes cidades. Quando o consumo de práticas de danças circulares tem como objetivo apenas os estados numinosos, interpretados equivocadamente como se fossem o sagrado, poder levar à compreensão de que o sagrado é algo trivial que não necessita do trabalho da consciência. Nessa situação, e embalados por tendências da modernidade tardia, o termo sagrado pode ser utilizado de modo impreciso

The Sounds of Satyagraha: Gandhi's Use of Sung-Prayers and Ritual M.K. Gandhi's work towards Indian independence was influenced significantly by sung-prayers found in a collection entitled Ashram Bhajanavali, a collection which, in turn, gives fresh insight into the satyagraha movement. Gandhi's employment of sung-prayers, chant, and ritual has, however, gone unrecognized until this time. The Sounds of Satyagraha presents detailed information concerning how formative and how important these sung-prayers were to Gandhi and to the national independence movement. Chapter One sets forth this thesis, along with methodology, historical context, and certain terms defined. Chapter Two consists of a preliminary historical overview of the Ashram Bhajanavali, along with a descriptive summary of the sung-prayer materials found within it. (An analysis of ritual practices presented in Chapters 3 through 5 also provides additional information regarding historical context and development.) This collection of chanted prayers used by the Indian sayagraha community, has sometimes been referred to as a hymnal. However, the collection is much more than what the word "hymnal" might imply, both in the scope of its contents, and in its significance as a tool with which to understand the developments of Gandhi's satyagraha community. Chapters Three, Four, and Five examine in detail how the Ashram Bhajanavali was used in ritual contexts, and how these sung-prayers supported Gandhi and the nation in its work for social change. The ritual theory of Roy Rappaport is utilized to discover the Bhajanavali's sitz im leben. Chapter 3 discusses the use of these sung-prayers in ritual prayer meetings that occurred twice daily. Chapter 4 looks at additional ways in which these songs were used by Gandhi and the satyagraha community to achieve their purposes, as the movement grew into a national initiative. Chapter 5 considers how it is that this sung-prayer repertoire, being specifically sung and chanted (rather than spoken or read), had a significant power for India and appeal for the satyagraha communities. By placing this collection in its historical, social, and ritual contexts, the extent to which these sung-prayers influenced and shaped Gandhi's sayagraha in India becomes clear. Chapter 6 considers the life and work of one spiritual musician, Shri Karunamayee Abrol, who teaches the Ashram Bhajanavali, its melodies and its history. Shri Karunamayee's family were freedom fighters, and, as a child, she sang for Mahatma Gandhi, receiving his blessing. Shri Karunamayee represents a living tradition. Inspired by childhood experiences and her respect for Gandhi, she has a special devotion to this repertoire. As a spiritual musician, she is a "tradition-bearer" of the Ashram Bhajanavali. The chanting of these sung-prayers has been her daily devotional ritual for decades. Her teaching, which stems from both musical knowledge and Æ⁄¿‰ò™ experience, provides additional insight into satyagraha. Chapter Seven concludes with a review of the evidence, illustrating the large extent to which Gandhi was guided by the sung-prayers and principles found in the Ashram Bhajanavali collection. It also consists of reflections in an analysis of the success or failure of satyagraha. Ashram Bhajanavali offers insight into the Indian independence movement, which has not been acknowledged or identified previously. Final reflections place this collection within the on-going East-West dialogue, indicating its continuing importance in the current discussion.

This project describes the role of ritual in the basic entrainment processes of Canadian soldiers. Building on the ecological systems theories of Urie Bronfenbrenner and Roy Rappaport, this project construes human adaptation to occur within multiple interdependent planes of ordered biological, sociostructural, psychosocial and symbolic (even transcendent) meanings and interactions within integrated social ecologies or “living systems.” Rappaport’s theory supports the argument that invariant, embodied actions and impulses not encoded by ritual performers establish social order, values, motivations, competencies, dispositions and representational or symbolic meanings—understood within this project as worldview—circulating within and regulating integrated human ecologies. Ordered sequences of invariant actions and impulses have also come to be conveyed within human phylogenic and ontogenetic developmental processes. This project specifically explores the hypothesis that embodied ritual dynamics pervade the basic entrainment rite of Canadian soldiers. The analysis draws on the ritual theory of Rappaport and the psychosocial developmental theory of Erik Erikson to describe the manner in which innate social regulating impulses and liturgically ordered ritual processes are exploited, in conjunction with predictable human psychosocial developmental imperatives, to build foundational martial dispositions, a spontaneous impulse to radical solidarity and a robust, homogeneous and multivocalic worldview in Canadian soldiers. Such a worldview is adaptive to all aspects of service within the Canadian Armed Forces. The rudimentary martial worldview inscribed upon recruit soldiers and officer candidates forms the foundational background to all subsequent martial meaning and adaptation in so far as it is collectively maintained throughout the military career. This argument maintains that a ritual analysis of adaptive meaning and solidarity among soldiers has profound implications for the structure and direction of future research investigating the persistent and well documented rates of distress, maladaptation and health pathology among serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces.