MagicInc.
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Accessing Indigenous Wisdom in an Emerging World -- IndieGoGo
Our Story The Berkana Institute works in friendship and partnership with people around the world who are discovering that there is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about. We name ourselves pathfinders , people discovering the new in the midst of the breakdown of the old, making our path by walking it. We choose not to deny or flee from our global crises.Magic, Inc. is an intentional community , "educational think tank ," and non-profit organization in Palo Alto , [ 1 ] California co-founded by David Schrom to explore and promote the application of scientific principles to questions of value, or Valuescience . It has received recognition for its conservationist, community service, and educational contributions, and Stanford University has provided a course in Valuescience through Magic since 1979. [ edit ] History
Magic, Inc. (organization)
Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American mythologist , writer and lecturer , best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion . His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience. His philosophy is often summarized by his phrase: "Follow your bliss." [ 1 ]
Joseph Campbell
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published in 1949 ) is a non-fiction book, and seminal work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell .
Transnational Transcendence : Edited by Thomas J. Csordas
Introduction Modalities of Transnational Transcendence The rhetorical force of religious moods and motivations in contemporary society and human experience may be as compelling today as at any period in history. In the first half of the twentieth century, the thoughtful appreciation of religion was still perhaps best summarized in Freud's ([1928] 1957) phrase "the future of an illusion," expressing an anticipation that enlightened rationalism and sober secularism would render religion obsolete. By the second half of the century, the scene on the horizon was already much better captured by Peter Berger's (1969) phrase "a rumor of angels," anticipating a resurgence of religious sensibility and a revitalized appeal of the transcendent. Indeed, the present global situation calls into question an understanding that the world is undergoing a progressive and irreversible secularization (Asad 2003) or disenchantment (Gauchet 1997).The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World is a nonfiction social sciences and sociology book by sociologist Paul H. Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson, first published in 2000 . [ 1 ] The authors introduced the term "Cultural Creatives" to describe a large segment in Western society that has recently developed beyond the standard paradigm of Modernists or Progressives versus Traditionalists or Conservatives . Ray and Anderson claim to have found that 50 million adult Americans (slightly over one quarter of the adult population) can now be identified as belonging to this group. They estimated that there were an additional 80–90 million Cultural Creatives in Europe as of 2000. [ edit ] Two types Ray and Anderson divide Cultural Creatives into two subdivisions:
Cultural Creatives
Cultural Anthropology/Ritual and Religion
[ edit ] Ritual, Religion and Myth According to Cultural Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition; by Emily Shultz and Robert Lavenda, a ritual must fit into four categories. These four categories are that it must be a repetitive social practice, it must be set off from the routines of day to day life, it must follow some sort of ritual schema, and it must be encoded in myth. Ritual often has its roots in myth and religion, tying itself to ancient practices between the divine and humans. However, a ritual does not have to be religious in nature; graduation ceremonies and birthday parties are rituals as well. [1] Religion can be defined as concepts or ideas and the practices associated with them. These practices hypothesize reality beyond that which is instantly available to the senses.
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by the traditions of a community , including a religious community . The term usually refers to actions which are stylized, excluding actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers. The field of ritual studies has seen a number of conflicting definitions of the term. One given by Kyriakidis (2007) is that a ritual is an outsider's or " etic " category for a set activity (or set of actions) which to the outsider seems irrational, non-contiguous, or illogical. The term can be used also by the insider or " emic " performer as an acknowledgement that this activity can be seen as such by the uninitiated onlooker.
Lesson Plans - Weeping Camel: What is a Ritual?
Grades 3-5 Overview: Ritual has been an integral part of human life in every civilization and every historical era, and the rituals of all cultures have common characteristics.
A rite of passage is a ritual event that marks a person's transition from one status to another. Milestones include transitions from puberty , year 7 to high school, coming of age , marriage and death . Initiation ceremonies such as baptism , akika , confirmation and Bar or Bat Mitzvah are considered important rites of passage for people of their respective religions. Rites of passage show anthropologists what social hierarchies , values and beliefs are important in specific cultures. [ edit ] History The concept of rites of passage as a general theory of socialization was first formally enunciated by Arnold van Gennep in his book The Rites of Passage [ 1 ] to denote rituals marking the transitional phase between childhood and full inclusion into a tribe or social group.
Rite of passage
The five rites are birth , adulthood , marriage , eldership , and ancestorship . A rite is a fundamental act (or set of rituals) performed according to prescribed social rules and customs . Each of these rites are a key component that are a part of traditional African cultures.
THE FIVE MAJOR AFRICAN INITIATION RITES
10 Bizarre Rites of Passage
Rites of passage in adolescence are a cross-cultural phenomenon. They have existed throughout human history and may be a significant factor in the development of a stable adult personality. In Western culture, we are familiar with such rites as the Bar Mitzvah, Sweet 16 parties, and Quinceañera. In tribal cultures, coming of age ceremonies are, in many cases, much more elaborate and can be truly terrifying. Algonquin IndiansAt the heart of the modern crisis of manhood is the extension of adolescence, a boyhood which is stretching on for a longer and longer period of time. Once thought to end in a man’s 20s at the latest, men are extending their adolescence into their 30′s and in some especially sad cases, their 40′s. But in some ways it’s not their fault.