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To All Relations: The Art of Weaving Faiths | |
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By Grace Lee Boggs Michigan Citizen, Apr 2-8, 2006 In early February I participated in a transformative weekend that I wish could be experienced by people of all faiths, walks of life, cultures and ages, everywhere in this country and the world. The occasion was a Retreat at the Senshin Buddhist Temple and the Omar Ibn Al Khattab Mosque, two sacred spaces within walking distance of one another in South Central Los Angeles. It was conceived and led by my old friend, Nobuko Miyamoto, an artist whose songs, theater works and dances have opened boundaries between people of different cultures for over thirty years. As the artistic director of Great Leap, a Los Angeles-based group, Nobuko conducts workshops, seminars and lectures. The invitation to this workshop was also a challenge. "We are living in a world of divisions and violence that touches each of us. How can we as people of faith help to create peace, harmony and understanding? Perhaps it best begins within ourselves, with those closest to us, and then taking a step beyond our own boundaries to share with strangers.” About 25 people of diverse faiths and cultures responded. They included Americans of African, Asian, Arab and European descent, and Muslims, Buddhists and Christians. Among many other things I learned that there are over a million and a half Muslims in California, half of whom are African American. Nobuko’s son, an African American Muslim, was one of the guest leaders. We were guided by Nobuko and guest leaders through activities that deepened our awareness of ourselves and our interconnection with others. Through physical and spiritual exercises that were also enjoyable, our hearts opened, stories flowed and we each created and recreated our individual identities in a group context and thus began to bridge the cultural, racial and economic chasms that divide us. For example: --Periodic breathing exercises reaffirmed our connection to Mother Earth and Father Sky and the indivisible connection between our bodies, souls and minds. --By performing our names, key events in our lives and how particular objects acquired special and sacred meaning for us, we not only introduced ourselves to one another but discovered new and old things about ourselves. --Writing haiku and creating posters together, our individual journeys became a group journey. --Together we prepared our lunches from food that we had brought and cleaned up afterwards.
Nobuko is a recent recipient of the “Leadership for a Changing America” award. Since 1997 she has been conducting “To all Relations” residency projects in diverse communities throughout the United States, including Phoenix, Watts, San Jose and Detroit. In these projects Nobuko and other Great Leap artists work with residents to share and perform their stories, perceptions and memories. Participants include members of the many different ethnic and faith communities that now make up our cities. In 2000 Nobuko and Great Leap artists started spending a few days every summer in Detroit, working with Detroit Summer and Matrix Theatre youth on urban gardening, mural painting and story gathering. Out of these visits came the “I Dream a Garden” Harvest Dance on August 3, 2002 when hundreds of Detroiters came together at Genesis Park, on the corner of Mack and E. Grand Boulevard, to dance the tribal dance created by Nobuko, with moves rooted in ancient Japanese, African and native American cultures and the Temptations, while the Genesis Church choir sang “Come into the circle, circle of life/Come into the Dream of Paradise.” Back to "Art of Weaving Faiths" Main Back to Home Page
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