How to Help Everyone Feel Empowered
3/19/09 | 09:42 am
A friend just sent me an email titled "Dance of 1000 Hands". The immediate story in it is that the performers do amazing things while also being "handicapped" (deaf and mute).
The underlying story, for me, is more interesting... which I believe is the story of how important the presentation of things are to me in terms of how I am affected by it. If I had just seen the video randomly without any of the "set up" for it, I would have had a completely different experience (which is not to say that the end result wouldn't eventually be the same, but the details of how and when may not be, and therefore it would feel different).
The text of the email is the first set up... it instructs me to read the text before viewing the video. The text sets up a feeling for me... it suggests how "amazing" the performance is, and then ups the ante by revealing that the performers are handicapped. For a person like me, this is a tricky approach, because I typically am skeptical of being "led" through things... it feels like I am being told what to think and how to feel.
However, I am still interested in the approach... in that if it is able to get "under my radar", then it can be quite effective. A key factor here, I think, is that my expectations are being raised about something that actually IS amazing... all by itself. It's not just "hype" about something that is likely to disappoint me. Also, the expectations promised are not tangible ones... they can't be measured and therefore are more difficult to feel as a "loss". "It's amazing" is not the same as "It will solve all your problems". The first one sets philosophical expectations, and then perform a real "miracle" to make the philosophy feel real. The second sets a concrete expectation that, if proves untrue, can make me immediately turn off.
The truth behind being a performer who makes this experience possible for an audience, in my sense, is very different from being a viewer of it. There is very likely a lot of hard work and intense dedication to perfecting what we see as the performance. In this light, I don't find the actual performance to be the amazing part.... I am amazed by the truth of it... that those performers could be so disciplined and dedicated to something. THAT is what I find amazing. In fact, my truth is that I don't really believe what the story seems to imply... that the philosophy that the performers follow allows them to be completely at peace with themselves and also allow them to perform amazing things. What my senses believe is that their creation allows me to believe in the "idea" of a concept that is actually impossible. That is the true magic of a performance... being able to help a viewer let go of the truth (that it is not that tidy, neat and easy). The performers and crew have lives, loves, needs, pains and difficulties that change them and their group like everyone else. Being able to portray a consistent image to the outside world is the magic of their devotion to an ideal. When that ideal no longer works for them, they will move on to the next part of their life... probably consisting of the next ideal that DOES work. The real magic in what they have done is in that they did it at all... and people all over the world can continue to feel the effects of that in a delayed way that is useful long after the performers have moved on with their lives, much like stars we see in the sky that, in truth, have long since burned out and are no longer giving off light... but they are so far away that it takes a long time for viewers on earth to see that change.
When I experience something presented in this way, I get a tremendous feeling of empowerment... because the philosophy appeals to my nature, and because the experience of the performance appeals to my senses.
The full media of all I've talked about is below. Enjoy if you choose.
Love,
Cory
http://www.corydeansmith.com
http://www.corydeansmith.co.nr
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Here is the email text:
Here is the text on the YouTube video:
And, here is the video:
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The underlying story, for me, is more interesting... which I believe is the story of how important the presentation of things are to me in terms of how I am affected by it. If I had just seen the video randomly without any of the "set up" for it, I would have had a completely different experience (which is not to say that the end result wouldn't eventually be the same, but the details of how and when may not be, and therefore it would feel different).
The text of the email is the first set up... it instructs me to read the text before viewing the video. The text sets up a feeling for me... it suggests how "amazing" the performance is, and then ups the ante by revealing that the performers are handicapped. For a person like me, this is a tricky approach, because I typically am skeptical of being "led" through things... it feels like I am being told what to think and how to feel.
However, I am still interested in the approach... in that if it is able to get "under my radar", then it can be quite effective. A key factor here, I think, is that my expectations are being raised about something that actually IS amazing... all by itself. It's not just "hype" about something that is likely to disappoint me. Also, the expectations promised are not tangible ones... they can't be measured and therefore are more difficult to feel as a "loss". "It's amazing" is not the same as "It will solve all your problems". The first one sets philosophical expectations, and then perform a real "miracle" to make the philosophy feel real. The second sets a concrete expectation that, if proves untrue, can make me immediately turn off.
The truth behind being a performer who makes this experience possible for an audience, in my sense, is very different from being a viewer of it. There is very likely a lot of hard work and intense dedication to perfecting what we see as the performance. In this light, I don't find the actual performance to be the amazing part.... I am amazed by the truth of it... that those performers could be so disciplined and dedicated to something. THAT is what I find amazing. In fact, my truth is that I don't really believe what the story seems to imply... that the philosophy that the performers follow allows them to be completely at peace with themselves and also allow them to perform amazing things. What my senses believe is that their creation allows me to believe in the "idea" of a concept that is actually impossible. That is the true magic of a performance... being able to help a viewer let go of the truth (that it is not that tidy, neat and easy). The performers and crew have lives, loves, needs, pains and difficulties that change them and their group like everyone else. Being able to portray a consistent image to the outside world is the magic of their devotion to an ideal. When that ideal no longer works for them, they will move on to the next part of their life... probably consisting of the next ideal that DOES work. The real magic in what they have done is in that they did it at all... and people all over the world can continue to feel the effects of that in a delayed way that is useful long after the performers have moved on with their lives, much like stars we see in the sky that, in truth, have long since burned out and are no longer giving off light... but they are so far away that it takes a long time for viewers on earth to see that change.
When I experience something presented in this way, I get a tremendous feeling of empowerment... because the philosophy appeals to my nature, and because the experience of the performance appeals to my senses.
The full media of all I've talked about is below. Enjoy if you choose.
Love,
Cory
http://www.corydeansmith.com
http://www.corydeansmith.co.nr
-------------------------
Here is the email text:
DANCE OF 1000 HANDS...
Read the paragraph below FIRST before you watch the video
There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the internet. Considering the tight coordination required, the accomplishment of the performers is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring.
Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.
Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.
Read the paragraph below FIRST before you watch the video
There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the internet. Considering the tight coordination required, the accomplishment of the performers is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf. Yes, you read correctly. All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring.
Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.
Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from the Hubei Fine Arts Institute. The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.
Here is the text on the YouTube video:
"As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others
Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help."
A thousand hands will naturally come to your aid
As long as you are kind and there is love in your heart
You will reach out with a thousand hands to help others
Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, revered by Buddhists as the Goddess of Mercy. Her name is short for Guan Shi Yin. Guan means to observe, watch, or monitor; Shi means the world; Yin means sounds, specifically sounds of those who suffer. Thus, Guan Yin is a compassionate being who watches for, and responds to, the people in the world who cry out for help."
And, here is the video:
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