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The Greek meaning of the word "ecstasy" is "outside oneself", and most of us understand the ecstatic state as being some kind of altered or trancelike condition allowing us to transcend ordinary consciousness and reach a heightened state of awareness. Scholar Coleman Barks puts it well in reference to the ecstatic poetry of the famous Sufi mystic Rumi when he says:
“Rumi’s ecstatic poetry is trying to get us to feel the vastness of our true identity ... Like the sense you might get walking into a cathedral ... What Jesus referred to when he said, ‘the Kingdom of God is within you.'”
In this episode of Global Spirit, host Phil Cousineau explores the ecstatic state - a global phenomenon found in all kinds of spiritual, religious, and wisdom traditions. Cousineau is joined by guests Sobonfu Somé, author and teacher of African spirituality, and Andrew Harvey, a British scholar specializing in the works of Rumi. The discussion is interwoven with video segments taking the audience on a journey inside different cultural expressions of “ecstasy”, asking why and how ecstatic trance is practiced around the world, and why so many people today are fascinated by it.
This episode includes unique video footage of a sufi Zikr ceremony in Turkey – the practice of “remembrance” that brings participants to an ecstatic connection with Allah - along with powerful scenes of traditional and modern day trance rituals which uncover the altered state experience which people seek through dance, trance and spirit possession. The program features Orisha priestesses from Nigeria and Brazil, and shaman healers from the Kalahari and Korea, all pulsing to a provocatively similar beat with thousands of young people “losing themselves” at an all-night techno dance party in an Australian forest.
LEARN MORE:
Global Spirit Series Website
Visit Andrew Harvey's website
Visit Sobonfu Somé's website
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