That's the title of the book I was talking about in my last post, subtitled: A Search for Stillness and Faith at Sabbathday Lake, by Suzanne Skees.
The author graduated from Harvard Divinity School and was agnostic for most of her adult life. All that changed when she went to live amongst the Shakers (at that time, there were still eight of them) in the last Shaker community in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.
I just checked online and found out that there are only four of them remaining, today. :(
~ ~ If you've taken MuL 15, surely you remember Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring from one of the listening cd's? Copland took the famous Shaker song, 'Tis The Gift To Be Simple, as his motif and composed some variations on it. ~ ~
It was a very good read! The author describes in great detail the Shakers' rigidity in their schedule, the Spartan way they lived, their community confessions... she even includes one-on-one interviews. I was quite entertained by the way this Western woman kept pestering the Shakers, "How on EARTH can you commit to a LIFETIME of celibacy?!?" I couldn't help but think that if she were Asian, she wouldn't really have a hard time accepting it.
She writes, of the Shaker brothers that she met: "What a waste. What a waste of glorious manhood." Haha! I know of women who say that when they meet a handsome priest. But is it truly a waste? These men & women are free to pursue their relationship with God, to focus all their energy into it, in a way that wouldn't be possible if they were married and had children to take care of. What is so bad about that?
What I liked about Shakerism is their emphasis on union, on community. I'll include a portion here, when the author is conversing with Miriam, a Reform Jew.
Miriam: "I could never be Christian or Catholic because I cannot accept the idea that someone else died to atone for my sins. In Judaism, we are taught from early on that we hold full responsibility for our actions. If some Saviour died on the cross to make up for whatever horrible, evil things I might ever do in this life, then what is the implication there? It's cause-and-effect: If you are saved no matter what, then what's to stop you from doing "no matter what?" No, this whole Jesus-Savior thing is a real turn-off for me."
The author thought of a way to achieve peace, by reminding her of what they shared in common in their beliefs. Hence she brought up the Shaker view of "Jesus as Christ-Spirit," as not being the first nor the last to embody it, and that "he was one of many including Plato and Buddha." To which Miriam the Jew replied: "Yes, I can live with that."
In the epilogue, the author writes:
"The heart of Shakerism offers, even to us who would remain in the world, the chance to see life in a new way. We can consider the possibility that the Christ-Spirit, not coming in on some distant cloud from heaven, dwells within us right this minute. The spirit, already within us even now, can be freed. It becomes love -- it IS love -- which is God.
... Shakerism beckons towards simplicity ... and offers a different way of loving, loving all people equally and seeing them as hosts of the spirit, loving from the gut rather than the mind, without judgement, without limit. Shakerism ... will change my life -- not by converting me into a celibate sister on the farm in Maine, but by fleshing out the beliefs I hold dear into a way of living them daily.
...I may never be a Shaker, but I think my journey to Sabbathday Lake may help me become a better me... Simplifying my life, absurd as that seems in my materialistic experience, can happen in small steps along the way... Keeping myself honest, speaking gently my truth to those around me and -- most importantly -- to myself, can evolve me from the pain of rigid expectations to the serenity of what really is. Sharing with others the feelings that well up from deep within, and giving testimony to the inexplicable faith I have in the unseen, can extend my own personal church beyond Sunday mornings to the weeks that follow."
~ ~ ~ ~
We're back in Manila, yay!! Our time in Baguio was really great, but like the saying goes, there's truly no place like home. Oh piano I have missed you!!
CRS results are out. I still have a missing grade in Oratorio Lit., so I can't compute for my GWA. I got all the subjects I enlisted in, but there's a catch: I have 7-8:30 a.m. classes everyday except Wednesday. Haha! I'm just grateful that I got IN those classes.
so you'll continue being an early bird this sem huh? :) welcome back ate gabi!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha apir tayo Mika! CMu Early birds RULE!
ReplyDeleteLifetime celibacy, huh? No wonder only four of them remain today, bwahahaha!!! I don't mean to be rude, but it's impossible to propagate your species and your religion without sex.
ReplyDelete(Sigh) I envy you for being such a morning person. I think it wisest for me to steer clear even of the dreaded 8:30 am classes. And no thanks to Forms and Analysis, my GWA isn't any good this sem :-(
As for you, go _____ ___ laude! =)
hahahahahahahaha early birds get the worm...hahaha mali ung quote hahaha
ReplyDeleteI think it should be: "Early birds get the best practice rooms," haha!
ReplyDelete"It's impossible to propagate your species and your religion without sex"
ReplyDelete--> The Amish took this to heart, and only marry amongst themselves. The sad thing is, there is an abnormally high incidence rate of incest/ sexual molestation/ inbreeding amongst them as a result. :(
appear!!!!
ReplyDeletehindi, diba, te early worm gets eaten by the early bird? :) hahaha
doesnt inbreeding result in deformities?
Disappear!! haha corny na.
ReplyDeleteYep, inbreeding causes genetic abnormalities :-(
hahaha interested in inbreeding?! eww! hahahaha
ReplyDelete"early birds eat worms"...hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!
One half!!!! its getting cornier!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I didn't know that! An Amish community was once featured in Oprah and they were portrayed to be such simple, content, and peace loving people. Many of them probably are, but of course there will be exceptions.
ReplyDeleteWe're human after all. And I guess living a life of deprivation (they may be better off than the Shakers, but their lifestyle is still relatively overly simplistic and exclusive) is bound to make you lust after the wrong things too much, so it eventually leads to perversion.
That's the way I see it. Same reason why priests are notorious molesters/rapists and stuff like that.
I think it's unfair to generalize the Amish as a deprived, perverted community just because of a twisted few. There are black sheep to be found everywhere... maybe it's just that the Amish got more publicity than other communities.
ReplyDeleteSomeone once told me that Faith isn't something one can inherit. These twisted few apparently haven't fully committed themselves, else they wouldn't commit such transgressions against God.
~ ~ I'm sorry if in my original comment (about the Amish marrying amongst themselves) I sounded like I was "squealing" on them... 'twas not my intention. :)
Oops, I didn't really mean to generalize. I did say that many of them are most probably what they portray themselves to be. And I do know that every religion has its black sheep. I was just bothered by how you described the incidence of molestation, incest, etc as being abnormally high, meaning it was more than having just the usual few black sheep. ;p
ReplyDelete