Reflections on Aside 11, 31 October 2015
Reflections on Aside 11 @ the Red Room
I remember watching my dad meditate when I was young. I tried to imitate him, but I just couldn’t keep myself from fidgeting, my mind from racing. As I grew older, meditation, as well as the spiritual benefits it offers remained beyond my reach. I struggled to understand spirituality. What does connecting with the world on a “spiritual level” entail? How can anyone know if they are on “their spiritual path”? I couldn’t tell. Attending the eleventh Aside @ the Red Room, allowed me to explore those questions and provided possible answers to the questions I’d wrestled with.
Tina Ma opened the night by welcoming Red Roomers and newcomers to the space with sage and blessing words. As sage smoke drifted through the air, Ma posed a question to us “What is our purpose?” she asked. This question has caused many people some stress and uncertainty, but Tina Ma uttered her answer with serenity. “Find your power and share your story…so we can learn, laugh and love together.” Finding a purpose doesn’t have to be a large or complicated endeavor, just as sharing your story doesn’t require a large audience or polished compositions. Tina Ma found purpose in many things from spending time with her elders, to learning about new cultures, to collecting feathers for a headpiece she wore that night. Pulling each feather from the hat, she told the story of how she found them. As she pulled the last feather from her headpiece, she told us that though it was dilapidated and lacked aesthetic beauty, it still had a purpose. It had a story to tell, and so do all of us. Our purpose is as simple as telling our own stories and being respectful of others’, whether they are human, animal, or plant, stories. We don’t need to do anything greater than that.
Neo Young expanded on Tina Ma’s question and assured listeners that finding their spiritual path doesn’t require ceremony or pomp. In fact, assessing whether we are on ‘our spiritual path’ can be accomplished by asking four basic questions when encountering problems or opportunities. The first question seeks to aid us in self-growth. “Are you expanding or being limited?” Neo asked the audience before urging them to “get rid of self-limitations” and pursuing our dreams. Second, we should reflect on our choices to learn if addressing all possible opportunities and solutions by asking if our choices are “inclusive” or “exclusive.” Next, we should ensure our actions are ethical by asking if we are “choosing our highest choice.” Finally, he instructed listeners to apply their knowledge and their own unique experiences to whatever they face.
When an audience member asked him how they might move beyond their fears of failure he advised them to forgive themselves for past failures then to “fully choose and let go [of doubt]”, telling them that [they are] stronger than whatever [they] think is hard.” Growth or success need not be immediately apparent or tremendous. If you are expanding, including all opportunities, following your “light” and applying what you know then you can “master your own consciousness” and move forward with your goals.
Stefano Lodola provided evidence of the joy one can find when following their spiritual path through sharing his own story. He confessed he “was never meant” to find his path, but managed to stumble onto it while working as an engineer in Japan. After years of dedicating himself to the pursuits society encouraged him to follow, he abruptly ended his career in engineering and began following his own path. He studied music, opera specifically. The stories and richness in opera engendered in him both passion and contentment. He felt liberated and empowered to explore that which had been denied to him by societal norms. He cast off much of his material possessions and began traveling, sharing his story and his music wherever he went.
Charles Haines and Thomas Bellmore revealed the value in sharing another’s story during their live performance of Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven’. While Thomas provided a stirring reading, skillfully balancing anger and despair, Charles’s skilled brush revealed the objects of Poe’s longing and his torment, his lost love Lenore. Both performers accentuated the story through their interpretation and revealed how a story can be shared through different mediums and still be impactful.
At the end of the night An-ny Lee masterfully wove both stories and listeners together through dance and meditation. All of us, through participating in the experience, learned to embrace all aspects of ourselves. It is through embracing ourselves and loving ourselves that we feel full enough to love others, to share that love. We can find joy through a connection to ourselves in meditation and through sharing that connection and wisdom with others through dance. Listeners spent the end of the night leaping around the room, hooting and laughing. They pulled faces at one another, grinned, and reeled all under An-ny’s guidance. After a short, but delightful, time blessing one another, An-ny called us back to re-center and look inwards. While we all breathed and chanted together she guided us to find our own wisdom, and to observe and sustain self-love.
I left that night feeling refreshed and less uncertain about my purpose or my ‘path’. Sometimes spirituality means pursuing what you love, in spite of what society might tell you. Other times it means re-centering through meditation or reflection. Still other times it means sharing joy and knowledge with others. Our spiritual path is never set, or certain. We forge our own path through the choices we make every day and through the stories we choose to tell.
By Leah List
Editor for the Red Room News
Leah List is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s Political Science and International Studies program. She is an aspiring writer, researcher, human rights advocate and a believer in the importance of storytelling. She currently resides in Zhongli, where she teaches English. In her free time, she can be found at the Red Room where she volunteers.
