Smells and Bells

In The Spell of the Sensuous, Abrams discusses the role of nature and how different indigenous groups establish their relationship with nature. Abrams begins the section "Of Tongues in Trees" by quoting Socrates. Socrates held the claim that trees have nothing to teach. We all know how much of a bold statement this was, and obviously Socrates couldn't have been more wrong.  Abrams writes,  "In indigenous, oral cultures, nature itself is articulate; it speaks. The human voice in an oral culture is always to some extent participant with the voices of wolves, wind, and waves". This quote is really insightful and paints a strong mental image directly linking everything together. Abrams goes on to elaborate,  "There is no element of the landscape that is definitively void of expressive resonance and power: any movement may be a gesture, any sound may be a voice, a meaningful utterance".  Although Abrams does a successful job at explaining what he me

Ariel Glucklich discusses how pain is experienced, registered, and communicated with our own bodies and each other in her work "Sacred Pain and the Phenomenal Self". Essentially, the author provides many explanations as to how pain is felt and perceived, and how emotional/mental pain can be just as valid, painful, and difficult to handle as physical pain. This is because of the wiring in our bodies that registers emotional pain and manifests these traumas as sometimes psychological experiences; even in the absence of sensory input (deprivation tanks).  I especially was interested in the "Pain and Communication" section;  "The symbolic and experiential efficacy of pain derives from the way it bridges "raw" sensation with the highest qualities of human beings in a community of other human beings". This section stood out to me because communication is one of the most effective methods in coping with pain. At least in my personal experience, whe

The Hindu use of the sense of sight to cultivate and encourage certain specific kinds of religious experiences. The role that vision plays extends beyond simply just observing an image. Eck writes that images of deities are everywhere in India, not just temples and homes.  This differs from other religious practices, such as Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Some other religions even view the use of idols/images as a sin, because they view it as worshipping a created item instead of the creator itself.  Greek philosophy views sensory perception alone as shallow and holds the perspective that things are seen with the mind alone which reminds me of the mind/body problem. The perspective of the Greek philosophers would be described as idealism- only the mental world exists and that is the mode of connecting with deities. Eck goes on to explain that the use of idols is a sensory experience and the way they see these images has changed over time. She says som

Anne Rasmussen's book Women, the Recited Qur'an, and Islamic Music in Indonesia successfully demonstrates how the role of women in Islamic practices extends far beyond stereotypes and challenges western perceptions. Despite how much social progress we have made, there are still many issues and gaps in knowledge and understanding of other cultures and religious practices that are often perpetuated by a lack of education in this country. I grew up in a very diverse community and yet still, I knew about the stereotypes given to those dedicated to Islam. I remember thinking that it was a religion that sometimes stifled women and did not give them "rights" before I actually learned about it, This reading shows the truth and shares how valuable women are to the practice and points out how Westerners often project their own standards onto people from different parts of the world - which is very problematic; “...progress as construed by Western feminism is not always cons

Elizabeth Pérez Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions by Elizabeth Pérez discusses the practices and culture of the Lucumí, an Afro-Cuban religion. Pérez draws many comparisons and contrasts between the Lucumí and other religions to illustrate how the role of cooking heavily influences the culture, societal practices, and manifests in individuals themselves. In religions such as Christianity, those subscribed to that faith present their religion by attending church at least once a week, and maybe attend a few other times for holidays and special occurrences.  I feel as though Pérez successfully showed how the Lucumí practices are deeper than just attending a once a week ritual, and the practices of the Lucumí become how their culture functions. It is not as simple as preparing certain foods or spending time in the kitchen. The one who prepares these foods for the orishas [gods, higher beings, spirits] have a respected role, "

Deborah Green's The Aroma of Righteousness elaborates on scents and their biblical origins and significance. In chapter three titled "Election and the Erotic: Biblical portrayals of Perfume and Incense", Green discusses the biblical origins and importance of rituals which inherently require and incorporate spices and incense. Two of which Green uses as examples are frankincense and myrrh. "The two spices that most often appear together in the text are frankincense and myrrh. Widespread use of these spices is well attested in the ancient world and long predates the Israelites. Egyptians used myrrh extensively for perfuming and embalming, while other civilizations, such as Mesopotamia, used myrrh for incense in cultic rituals, as a medicine, and as an ingredient in perfume."  The author explains that frankincense (or levonah) is associated with "white" since it is harvested in autumn when it is white in color. (Green 67). Myrrh derives fr

Dr. Deshawnda Williams, a Wheaton graduate who double majored in Sociology and Religion visited Wheaton and held an event titled "Urban Expressions: Mental, Physical, and Spiritual Health Disparities in US Urban Communities". Her stories were motivating, compelling, and full of emotion. I think it is important to include that I am a person who was born with inherent privilege since I am white- so listening to these types of events and educating myself constantly about these disparities that communities of color face are valuable and insightful experiences. Deshawnda Williams  Dr. Williams began by laying a foundation for her personal journey, giving the audience a brief outline of her perspective and how that perspective reflects that of her community. She talked about how we have an urge to understand why the universe came into existence, and a deep impulse to understand our world. The way she solves these sorts of questions is through her spirituality, the importanc

Out of all the experiences described in Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses, one in particular many readers can probably relate to. In the subsection "Prodigies of Smell", Ackerman discusses how scents are associated with certain environmental factors and events such as the coming of storms.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/perry-pics/4881703714 "Other individuals have been able to smell changes in the weather, too, and, of course, animals are great meteorologists... Moistening, misting, and heaving, the earth breathes like a great dark beast.  When barometric pressure is high, the earth holds its breath and vapors lodge in the loose packing and random crannies of the soil, only to float out again when the pressure is low and the earth exhales" (Ackerman 44).  Ackerman dedicates a huge portion of this subsection to detailing how Helen Keller experienced the scent before a storm. People without the disability(disabilities) or challenges Kelle