Art as Meditation:Original Healing: The Aramaic Beatitudes in Body Prayer, Chant and Dance - # 61092

Instructor: Neil Douglas-Klotz        

Faculty Bio:    Neil Douglas-Klotz holds a Ph.D. in religious studies and psychology and an M.A. in somatic psychology. He is an independent scholar with a background in hermeneutics, Middle Eastern languages, and sacred movement. He is the author of the books Prayers of the Cosmos, Desert Wisdom, The Hidden Gospel and The Genesis Meditations. He serves as co-chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion.  He currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and co-directs the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning.

Objectives:

In this session participants will learn the Aramaic Beatitudes (Matthew’s version) of Yeshua through chant, body prayer, contemplation and simple circle dance.  Through Jesus' native Aramaic language, these blessings of the Sermon on the Mount reveal a profound healing and transformational journey that help cultivate a compassionate and vibrant heart.

Participants will be introduced to traditional Middle Eastern prayer practices using breathing, chant and body awareness.

Methods:

The methods of the course will be mainly phenomenological with an emphasis on the spiritual experiences of the group as it learns to chant, intone and move in rhythm to the words of Jesus in Aramaic.  Lecture and discussion will proceed out of the needs of the learning community as it forms.

Texts:

Required:

Douglas-Klotz, Neil. (1990). Prayers of the Cosmos: Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco.

Recommended:

Douglas-Klotz, Neil. (1990).  Prayers of the Cosmos: Aramaic Teaching Tape (recording for learning the Aramaic Lord’s Prayer).  Available from www.abwoon.com or Abwoon Study Circle, PO Box 361655, Milpitas, CA  95036-1655.

Douglas-Klotz (1999). The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spirituality of the Aramaic Jesus. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books

Schedule:

Session 1:         Introduction to ancient Middle Eastern concepts of healing and the use of language in powerful, transformational ways in Aramaic and Hebew.  Aramaic Christian traditions of the Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount.  Multileveled approaches to the translation of these words. Theme and Body Prayer: First Beatitude: Finding One’s Home in the Breath.

Session 2: Themes and Body Prayers: Beatitudes 2-3. 

Session 3: Themes and Body Prayers: Beatitudes 4-6.

Session 4: Themes and Body Prayers: Beatitudes 7-9.

Session 5: Conclusion. Closing ritual using all lines of the Beatitudes including movement and body              prayers.

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