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shrines_house_spirit [2021-02-18 16:39] rasashrines_house_spirit [2021-07-09 08:45] (current) rasa
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-This page is a trace of the research and creation by **Rasa Alksnyte** with close involvement from **Pieter De Wel** and her beloved dog **Billy** about characters and personalities of House Spirits, their summoning and Shrines to care and worship them. This ongoing trajectory is supported by **wp Zimmer**, **FoAM Zenne** leading towards the final result to be presented at the Zwalm 2021 festival curated by **Croxhapox**+This page is a trace of the research and creation by **Rasa Alksnyte** with close involvement from **Pieter De Wel** and her beloved dog **Billy** about characters and personalities of House Spirits, their summoning and Shrines to care and worship them. This ongoing trajectory is supported by **wp Zimmer**, **FoAM Zenne** leading towards the final result to be presented at the **Zwalm 2021** festival curated by **Croxhapox**
  
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-<blockquote>This, in fact, is the power of the imagination, which, combining the memory of gold with that of the mountain, can compose the idea of a golden mountainUmberto Eco+<blockquote><fs x-large>The magicians work incessantly, even when they are relaxing. This is indeed very nearly the simple truthBrothers Strugatsky</fs> 
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 <fs large>Shrines are places or containers of spiritual presence. One of the main features of spirituality is that its objects do not "exist" in the ordinary sense of the word. Deity, spirit, soul, ghost and other familiar categories of believes lie outside the realms of everyday objects in time and space. However, human beings across multiple cultures experience the presence of these creatures in relation to material objects. Much of the purpose of shrines is to provide habitat for sacred presences within the everyday life. Shrines may be seen as sites of spiritual realities, places where meanings take on specific, tangible, and tactile presence. <fs large>Shrines are places or containers of spiritual presence. One of the main features of spirituality is that its objects do not "exist" in the ordinary sense of the word. Deity, spirit, soul, ghost and other familiar categories of believes lie outside the realms of everyday objects in time and space. However, human beings across multiple cultures experience the presence of these creatures in relation to material objects. Much of the purpose of shrines is to provide habitat for sacred presences within the everyday life. Shrines may be seen as sites of spiritual realities, places where meanings take on specific, tangible, and tactile presence.
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 +<fs large>Spirituality is not necessarily linked to a specific religion. Ancient tribes and “primitives” had their own beliefs that helped to explain unknown aspects of their surroundings and make sense of their being on this earth. Godly beings, spirits, ghosts and other creatures had a place in their lives, accompanying them in joys and sorrows. Rituals worshiping them provided stability and helped to deal with life challenges. Some of these beliefs grew into larger religions, others remained on the level of folktales and myths. Before landing on the paper these tales traveled from place to place or from generation to generation following small or big changes made by each storyteller just like a public shrine. </fs> 
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 +<fs large>Now, when more and more people don’t find their ways to the churches because of rigid old-fashioned doctrines or disputable history’s, many still seek the spiritual fulfilment elsewhere. It happens by joining various therapeutic sessions such as mindfulness, yoga, ritualistic retreats or by attending events in theaters and museums that engage and talk about the humanity and purpose in life. This trend only shows the importance of having time and places to express and experience something else than just daily activities. Such spirituality is vital to us as community and individuals. 
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 +<fs large>Different religions accentuate that you don’t get to paradise without suffering. Or, you have to behave according to certain rules and forget about yourself, to be rewarded later. But when is that later? This doctrine is deeply imbedded in our lives as if it is carved in our bones. We are so preoccupied with all those amazing things that will happen after... you’ll graduate, you’ll build the house or earn lots of money, you’ll get kids or kids will leave the house or … you die?...We wait for the weekend to do fun stuff, we book expensive holidays with expectation to be happy then. We plan and plan and plan and live in the state of constant expectation that those short moments of relief will make us happy and reward us for all tiredness, misery, hardness we experience now. Just like now we are waiting for covid restrictions to be lifted with an idea that then we will live again. But what about Now? Can we be happy now even if the times or circumstances are not perfect?</fs> 
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 +<fs large>**Why Shrine?** 
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 +<fs large>There is something attractively collective and democratic about public shrines. There is no author, director or designer of it. Only the initial form, frame or/and basic rules of action gets created by a person(s). What happens after is beyond control. Informal participation of passersby, spontaneous rituals create everchanging visual aesthetics and energetical charge. Respect for what is already there and negotiation where your contribution finds its place builds dialog. The constant accumulation of various objects adds strength and intensity to the experience. 
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 +<fs large>**“Anything but the weevil"** is a shrine for all invisible, imperfect, insignificant yet diverse and precious creatures (dead or alive) we are surrounded by everywhere and every day. These creatures, no matter how common and scruffy it might seem to be, have hidden powers of guiding us into the world of magic. This shrine invites you to take a moment to look around and search for what you might find precious, beautiful and worthy exactly on the spot that you are standing on. Is it the color of the grass, a shadow of the leaves, a weird bug or irregularities of the tree bark? Once you do find it, you can contribute to the shrine to celebrate and worship your insignificant element of beauty. This growing shrine is our growing tale of what we appreciate most nowadays. Because when we talk about folklore, we forget that also now we are creating our own tales, traditions, rituals. And, based on those tales’ future generations will interpret how we lived with each other and what sense we made of our surroundings and environment.
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 <fs x-large>**Different aspects of shrines:**</fs> <fs x-large>**Different aspects of shrines:**</fs>
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 <fs large> **-Presence of body parts in a shrine as an association with the physical remains of spiritual creature.**  <fs large> **-Presence of body parts in a shrine as an association with the physical remains of spiritual creature.** 
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 As an example: The bones and teeth of the body of the Buddha that remained after his cremation have become objects of great veneration because they enable the devotee to link the meaning of the Buddha's message with the trace of his physical presence in the world. Also, it is understood to be magnets for transformative power from which you may charge up for various life-enhancing purposes such as health, wealth, and success in the ordinary world.</fs>  As an example: The bones and teeth of the body of the Buddha that remained after his cremation have become objects of great veneration because they enable the devotee to link the meaning of the Buddha's message with the trace of his physical presence in the world. Also, it is understood to be magnets for transformative power from which you may charge up for various life-enhancing purposes such as health, wealth, and success in the ordinary world.</fs> 
  
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 <fs large>** -Shrines at intersection of nature and culture.**  <fs large>** -Shrines at intersection of nature and culture.** 
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 <fs large>** - Shrines as a trajectory for movement.**  <fs large>** - Shrines as a trajectory for movement.** 
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 <fs large>** -Street shrines as artefacts of visual culture.**  <fs large>** -Street shrines as artefacts of visual culture.** 
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 +<fs xx-large>**Abandoned ideas**</fs> 
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  • shrines_house_spirit.1613666375.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2021-02-18 16:39
  • by rasa