Chartres Cathedral

In class we watched a video about some of the ancient cathedrals. One of the most important we saw was known as the Chartres Cathedral. It was build almost 1000 years ago. This cathedral is a representation of faith in God and bands the community, where it’s located, together. It was one that set the standards for future cathedrals. It has become famous for its 25,000 square feet of stained glass portraying biblical characters and stories. While watching this film I remember this cathedral the most. Its immaculate beauty was shown through the dedication of the people who worked so hard to build it. It is neat to think about how much some appreciate this now, even when it was built so long ago for whatever reason we aren’t sure. It would be very cool to see this cathedral in person.

-Katherine Schmidt

Chants

Chanting is a form of worship or communication with the divine. In “A Time Before Deception”, chanting is characterized using repetition. You are to repeat the chant until one or more of three conditions are met. The singer fully contemplates and experiences the meaning of the words; he is no longer distracted by the environment; or he ascends to higher levels of bliss and awareness. I don’t every remember being a part of any sort of chant; however I have participated in repeating the Lords prayer at church, or responding to the pastor using the same words. I would be curious to see what others experience when involved with a chant, either in a group or solo.

-Katherine Schmidt

Sacred Dance

In the textbook “A Time Before Deception” one of the chapters talks about indigenous forms of communication. Some include names, body tattooing, song, and poetry. One of the most interesting to me is the form of dance. Dancing is something shared throughout all cultures just expressed in different ways. Dance in the indigenous fashion featured structures and essences such as variations of worship, greeting or a narrative. Human emotion is very common in dances, especially in Native dances. Dangerous props are sometimes used such as flaming sticks or knives. Women perform dances about love, beauty, domestic responsibilities and nature.

-Katherine Schmidt

Landscapes and Nature as Sacred Places

I think that landscapes are one of the most important mediums in communicating with God. If I find myself in a serene and peaceful place I find myself to be closer with God. The mountains are probably the most sacred place for me. I grew up in Alaska, and was able to hike all around with my family. I was able to climb on glaciers and go on a ride-along with the sled dog racers. I love nature and feel closer to God when I am in it. The environment is one of God’s most precious gifts to us and we should respect it and want to be a part of it as much as possible.

-Katherine Schmidt

Baptism

On Sunday morning over thanksgiving break, I went to church with my family as usual; however this week happen to be one of my favorite weeks of the year. Every once in a while when a new baby is born into the church we celebrate with a baptism. This is one of the seven sacraments of Christianity. It is personally one of my favorites. To see a tiny child, a creation of God, with their family and loved ones surrounding them, all dressed in white is one of the most precious sights to me. Our pastor does a wonderful job with the babies and it is always emotional for me, even if I don’t know the baby personally. Baptism is one of the most sacred rituals of Christianity still today.

-Katherine Schmidt

Nonverbal Communication as Sacred

The idea of silence is a scary thought, especially to me. I feel as though our society is put off by silence. It is seen as awkward and creates tension. In the ancient culture however, silence was revered and more common than it is today. In all of my communication classes there has been some mention of the fact that nonverbal communication is more important than the verbal communication. We read into body language and “listen” to it more than what people are actually saying to us. The nonverbal is a powerful thing. I think our society would be a lot more peaceful if we experienced more silence in our day.

-Katherine Schmidt

Visions Quests

The Native American culture has always been something I have been interested in. I find their practice of the vision quest to be especially fascinating. To have that amount of faith and perseverance is foreign to me. My life has never brought me into a situation where it calls for that amount of patience. I can’t imagine having to go on a multiple day quest, sometimes even a week, without food or water, clothes or any other possessions, and just sit, pray and wait for a vision. This happens during the time of puberty. During puberty for me my biggest problem was acne. I never had to feel the pressures of honoring your family by bringing home a visions and an animal guardian to protect you for the rest of your life. It is very cool to see the down to earth, patience and persistence of a culture such as the Native Americans.

-Katherine Schmidt

Myths

In one of my communication classes we were talking about the idea of myths. Linda Seger writes in her article Creating Myth, “Myths are common stories at the root of our universal existence”. This idea of what truly is a myth made me think of our class and all of the sacred myths told today from years ago. When I think of a myth I think of storytellers in Native American tribes who use the oral tradition as a form of passing down information through generations. Myth can be just a tall tale, however at the same time it has some truth to it. Myths can be stories with a moral at the end, teach us lessons, and pass down rites and rituals through the years. Myths are still part of our culture today and will continue to be forever.

-Katherine Schmidt

“Australia’s Twilight of a Dreamtime” Aboriginal Art

In the film “Australia’s Twilight of a Dreamtime” we watched in class it talked about their lifestyles, their traditions and rituals, and their art. Art for them is one of most important mediums of communication. They believe that their art tells stories. It has many functions. It tells old stories and traditions that have been passed down for generation to generation. It depicts animals that they hold in high regard. Their art is one of the most sacred traditions. I think it is really neat to see art being so revered in a culture. Our society today forgets how sacred art can be. We are so wrapped up in technology that we don’t stop and find time to appreciate other things in life. I went downtown to the Art Gallery in DC over thanksgiving break and found myself immersed in the beautiful exhibits. We saw the photography section and it was so peaceful and comforting to just take my time walking through and taking a deep look at each of the works of art. I wish I had been exposed to this type of culture more growing up, especially living so close to the city and all of the museums. I am definitely going to take advantage of that more over the summer.
-Katherine Schmidt

Gregorian Chants

The day we talked about music in class and listened to Gregorian Chants and other old chants was really interesting. I have always found music to be a very spiritual experience for me and has always been a kind of prayer. I really enjoyed listening to the different types of music and their history. I especially liked the music video we saw of the monks singing to Evanescence’s song. It made the song completely different. All along I had only thought of that song as a love song. I had never thought to interpret it in a religious way. I liked the tone of the Gregorian Chants as well. The smoothness of their voices made it all the more powerful!

-Katherine Schmidt

Drum Circle at Mystic Moon (Norfolk)

For an ethnography project for a communication class I had to observe another culture. We observed the group PESO. We attended a drum circle in Norfolk at a Pagan supply shop called Mystic Moon. It was an interesting experience. I had never been to a place like that before and through the people we talked it turned out to be very informative. We observed the drumming, the dancing, and communication between everyone. I was surprised at the amount of talking outside of the circle. At the drum circle at the Lions Bridge we did in class it was an absolutely silent ritual where as at Mystic Moon the people on the outside of the circle were all talking and laughing with each other. I was even distracted as an observer. It was really cool to see the dancing that we didn’t see at the Lions Bridge one. The way they communicate is through music and dance. They all took it very seriously while having fun at the same time!

-Katherine Schmidt

Footbinding

I am in the middle of reading a book called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan a book about the Chinese tradition of Foot Binding. It is the story of one particular young girl who goes through this process. It is a horrible tradition where the feet of young women are bound in hoped to keep them small. The idea of small feet is seen as erotic to men. It is an extremely painful experience. The bones of their feet are broken and curve over to where eventually they are actually walking on their toes. Some cultures still practice it to this day. Some women even die from this ritual caused by an infection from not keeping up with the bandages. I can’t imagine going through something as excruciating and horrific as that.

-Katherine Schmidt

Drum Circle at the Lions Bridge

I attented the Drum Circle at the Lions Bridge. I found it to be very interesting experience. Since I couldn't stay the whole time I observed because I didn't want to leave in the middle. I wish I could have participated to get the whole effect. It was neat that there was no talking. Everyone had an istrument and you at one point or another made a connection with your instrument. Once the beat got going it was fun to watch the people who were drumming and see them change up the beat, look to others for ideas for beats, and see the speed of the drumming. The leader, I think his name was Kelly, talked about how in drum circles the people who partake believe that they are one with the earth and that the connection between them and the drum is real because all of their drums come from materials that make up the earth they are standing on. It was neat to have him come and talk to the class too about the actual circle and have everyone share their thoughts and ask any questions they might have!

Katherine Schmidt