As far as I understand the goals of meditation, it is to reach some state of unmediated awareness. Of course, one often uses a focus on breathing, a syllable, etc to promote this state so some form of mediation remains, at least as a means to an end. Perhaps the quest is more important than the attainment?
Another example of "News from Nowhere"?
________________________________
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu on behalf of Mike Cole
Sent: Sun 2/26/2006 11:55 PM
To: Andrew Jocuns
Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] chat analysis of ritual
Hi Andrew-- Sounds like that is a very useful example for my student.
Thanks!
Here is something else to think about. Someone commented on the whole issue
of what "unmediated" could
mean in human affairs which is sure a good question:
And how can prayer ever NOT be considered a mediational element in a
relationship with G-d? How can one juxtapose the words unmediated and
participation?
All worth thinking about, in concert, if that is arrangeable.
mike
On 2/25/06, Andrew Jocuns <andyjocuns@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Actually I did a paper on some fieldwork I did in Indonesian Borneo
> concerning ritual using mediated discourse analysis a la Scollon. The
> 'mediation' issue there was that before ritual could be performed alcohol
> had to be consumed along with it. So before a story, or poem, or any type
> of ritual that had to do with 'adat', alcohol had to be consumed. The issue
> was that the Protestant Christian missionaries imposed a restriction upon
> alcohol consumption. It was an interesting case where so-called
> 'modernity', Protestant Christianity, was having an affect upon how
> adherents to this religion practiced. Those who were not Christians drank
> alcohol before the ritual, those who were touched it to their lips in a
> symbolic sort of way, and were somewhat chatised for not adhering to
> tradition.
>
> I don't know if that helps, but I did use a form of CHAT. Someone who has
> done a lot with ritual from a semiotic perspectic -- mediation! in the
> Peircean sense -- is Rick Parmentier. It would be interesting to see
> someone link the Peircean sense of mediation to the CHAT notion.
>
> andy j.
>
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