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central altars at parties
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phobium
Phobium
Started Topics :
14
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718
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 00:49
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On 2005-09-22 00:03, gatsby wrote:
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On 2005-09-21 23:59, biberFreund wrote:
Yes, the one with the golden Skazi-Statue 
Seriously: No, never seen one in a party in Switzerland. (if you mean central Stages...)
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No I mean an altar with religious statuary, flowers, incense, malas, sacred imagery. It could be a table or just a box covered with cloth.
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A dj booth?
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Takuan"the pickled radish"
Started Topics :
5
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225
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 01:08
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I guess those who have not been to events in sf would not understand the intention behind the altar religious ? bad wording religion is cold and I have never felt any cold religious energy through any altar we have had infact it is a popular thing @ parties around here people lovem few dont but who cares everyone will find something to bitch about so do what you do the way you do it enjoy it and if its real and not just a spectacle or "deco" than people will notice and appreciate it . |
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mubali
Mubali
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71
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Posted : Sep 22, 2005 01:29
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It's always been my impression that the altars are used to help guide the energy and vibe of a party. True there are many people that are not a member of any religion however there is something to be said about understanding other's spirtuality. Where I am not a practicing member of any organized faith, it does intrigue me to see altars where the hindu deities are represented.
For some the music and the entire subculture has an essence of spirtuality that has been presented in a way that is different to many other forms of religion that tend to be forced on others. Some people view these altars as just statues, and others feel that these altars are channelling the energy being shared at these events. It's very much a hippie thing, but you'll be surprised what an altar can do for a vibe of the party at times... It's also given me an interest into the hindu culture and given me a practical opportunity to try and understand what it means to have these statues here and why the connection between this music and a sense of spirtuality exists.
There are some especially in my neck of the woods that expect to see altars there with candles and incense and the lot, but there are others that don't even pay that any attention. To each their own. And I repect those that create and appreciate the altars just as much as I respect those who choose not to have such things present at their events.
An Eagle may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. |
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colon
Started Topics :
1
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58
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 01:31
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i've sometimes spotted (little) altars as well at parties and belgium, although it's been a while ago already since the last time |
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
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178
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 01:48
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We usually have 2 stages at our parties, a psy stage and a chill stage.
Increasingly the altar is becoming the visual focal point for the chill stage. At one the altar was up at the dj booth, at another it was on a wall opposite the dj booth. It tends to be a magnet and a comfort for those in an altered state of consciousness.
It is kind of a ritual to have the altar there. It is also a good place for incense and candles and all statuary. |
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Surrender
IsraTrance Team
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506
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Posted : Sep 22, 2005 02:15
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takuan, ive been to events in sf and i still dont connect to the true meaning of the altars. i enjoy them as a visual deco piece, but as soon as i process the fact they are religious (its not a bad word, just an identifying one) artifacts, i begin to disconnect from wanting to enjoy them. it is something that i agree with mubali, has to do with spirituality, but for me is often consfused with religion and i'm not a big fan of that (any religion).
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It is kind of a ritual to have the altar there. It is also a good place for incense and candles and all statuary.
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gatsby, the word ritual has religious overtones as well to me... and regarding putting candles, that would make sense no? isnt that what one would put in those to communicate/please whatever deity youre having the altar for...
please dont take my words as disrespect to the people who are into this, i mean non, just when i think about it in an analytical sense, this is where i come to in my conclusions.
"On the other hand, you have different fingers."
http://myspace.com/gadimon |
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HandA
Inactive User
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9
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890
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 02:40
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Long live Goa Gil and his little mobile Alter! |
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mubali
Mubali
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2219
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 03:03
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From a completely analytical standpoint it was the feeling of spirituality without being locked into a religion is what really attracted me to the psytrance scene, and it seriously took a full blown spiritual experience for me to fully get the fact that you can have a spiritual experience without it being connected to any religions. Here's a bit of my personal background.
I was raised in a decidedly non-religious immediate family with grandparents on both sides who were ministers. There were times while visiting my grandparents where religion was pretty much forced upon me, and subsequently I began to shy away from all religions completely. I thus became very analytical to all belief stuctures and found it difficult to even relate to anyone who actively wore their faith on their sleeve. I have always been tolerant of other's faiths as long as I really didn't have to deal with it... Out of sight out of mind. The first couple of events I went to where there was some sort of an altar, I really didn't understand the concept of spirituality and regarded all to the imagery to the hindu religion as "hippie bullshit". After that first trance out experience, I was on a mad dash to determine the history of this culture and why it was different than the raves that I went to previously... It was then that I had uncovered the roots of Goa Trance and it's direct connection to India and the hippies that were there... Then I watched the movie "Dogma" (IMO Kevin Smith's best film) and one line from there really hit home. Selma Hayek's character was discussing religions: The most important thing isn't what you have faith in, it's the fact that you HAVE faith.
I personally believe that it is very possible to have a sense of spirituality and not directly associate it with any particular religion, and there are some that feel that if it has anything to do with the unexplainable, it's going to have religious connotations. Sometimes once you label something, you limit it's capabilites and therefore exert a sense of control on it... There are many things in this world that I do not understand, yet I do accept the fact that it is not for me to understand, just to acknowledge it's presense and respect it for what it does for people.
I can understand your perspective Gadi because we live in a land where religion and religious imagery has permeated our senses to the point where the sight of any religious symbol is enough to make a person become an Atheist, so it is very easy to regard spirtuality and religion as one thing... Personally I feel spirituality has yet to be defined and as such is open to many possibilities where as religions can only go as far as the doctrine used to define it.
An Eagle may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. |
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Surrender
IsraTrance Team
Started Topics :
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Posted : Sep 22, 2005 03:31
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as always, good words gregg. i recall the party we met at had some altars as well... i did enjoy them and i agree they give an energy off to the floor because people are drawn to it. im glad youre able to disconnect spiritually from religion.
"On the other hand, you have different fingers."
http://myspace.com/gadimon |
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
17
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178
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 05:22
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On 2005-09-22 02:15, Surrender wrote:
takuan, ive been to events in sf and i still dont connect to the true meaning of the altars. i enjoy them as a visual deco piece, but as soon as i process the fact they are religious (its not a bad word, just an identifying one) artifacts, i begin to disconnect from wanting to enjoy them.
it is something that i agree with mubali, has to do with spirituality, but for me is often consfused with religion and i'm not a big fan of that (any religion).
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It is kind of a ritual to have the altar there. It is also a good place for incense and candles and all statuary.
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gatsby, the word ritual has religious overtones as well to me... and regarding putting candles, that would make sense no? isnt that what one would put in those to communicate/please whatever deity youre having the altar for...
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I spend most of my time in the North America board, so I apologize if I am bring up an excessively beaten horse by talking about spirituality and trance.
All these IMHO are just tokens . . ."ritual", "God", "deity", "religion", "spirituality". They are just symbols which meaning varies from person to person.
I come from a vaguely irreligious family where religion was not beat into me, so for me the terms are easy to use without negative overtones. I wish we had a metalanguage where we could talk about this from a higher, supercultural context.
What I mean about spirituality is my connection to the Universe. I have no association with any religion though some of what I have experienced is derived from mystical or occult systems, some from Wicca, some from ideas about Gaia, some Taoism, some Tibetan Buddhism, some Hinduism and yoga.
For me the altar is a kind of hyperdimensional technology. These "places" or 3-dimensional objects at a party can be, in my feeling, imbued with the energy of the dancers and the music. It becomes an anchor for Chi and energy flows within the party, to help sustain the energy of the party and help people direct it to more beautiful shapes.
Further as a practical thing it is a good counterweight to the dj booth, and seems to be comforting to most people experiencing some level of altered consciousness.
It is OK to be uncomfortable with my language, I hope you can understand these ideas at least in part from a secular viewpoint.
It is hard I think to accept that any approach to issues of our connection with the Universe is different, when you have had bad experiences with a narrow-minded, dogmatic religious framework and power hierarchy. But I think at this time in the 21st century we ignore our part in the flow of Life to our peril. Instead of abandoning the quest to find answers to these ancient questions, we may need to devise new systems or approaches to understanding our existence and the nature of manifestation, and our connection to the Universe and life on this planet. |
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EYB
Noized
Started Topics :
111
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2849
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 05:40
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Interesting.
Someone could put there a altar with some statues of unknown evil gods and people would say nice spiritual stuff here
I don't like the idea that the party is directed into a pseudo religious event by putting there religious symbols.
The idea of an hypertechnology energy focus is good, but please without hindu gods or pictures of jesus hanging around. Nothing against jesus or hindu gods.
I know these altars are not nesscary but worth to try
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gatsby
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
17
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178
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 06:10
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On 2005-09-22 05:40, EYB wrote:
Someone could put there a altar with some statues of unknown evil gods and people would say nice spiritual stuff here
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Whatever inspires people and makes their world more beautiful is OK by me. If Cthulhu floats your boat I say put that up on the altar too.
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I don't like the idea that the party is directed into a pseudo religious event by putting there religious symbols.
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please define pseudo-religious, oh wait, you would have to define religious then, and we've already said that this changes person to person. If you don't like the symbols, don't use the terminology.
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The idea of an hypertechnology energy focus is good, but please without hindu gods or pictures of jesus hanging around. Nothing against jesus or hindu gods.
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Yeah you talk trash about Zeus and Neptune but you hold back when it comes to Jesus and Krishna. I guess you know which deities are going to kick your ass. . .
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I know these altars are not nesscary but worth to try
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Nothing's necessary. I'm wearing pants right now, I don't really need to. But as you say it's "worth to try". Most people seem to like my pants. If they strongly objected to them, though, I would take them off. No problem.
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furthur
IsraTrance Junior Member
Started Topics :
45
Posts :
1383
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 08:51
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@ acidhive, shouldn't you first find out what it is people are talking about before trashing them? i see no connection at all between your post and the rest of the thread.
@ surrender, i can see where you are coming from, having somewhat similar backgrounds, but it is very liberating putting all preconceptions out of the mind, and appreciating something for its own sake rather than for what we think it should or should not be.
now, more on topic, i think that these altars are nice for the people that enjoy them, don't make a difference to people that care not about them, and are good for people that it bothers in that it hopefully forces them to break out of specific thought-patterns about erligion, spirituality, etc.
the "original intention" of the organizers that put the altars there are completely irrelevant to me.
Load Universe into Cannon. Aim at Brain. Fire.
www.ganesha.ca |
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HandA
Inactive User
Started Topics :
9
Posts :
890
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 12:13
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Personally I would love to see much less "cool" and "in" symbols and icons at parties and see people focus much more on the music. |
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EYB
Noized
Started Topics :
111
Posts :
2849
Posted : Sep 22, 2005 13:47
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On 2005-09-22 06:10, gatsby wrote:
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On 2005-09-22 05:40, EYB wrote:
Someone could put there a altar with some statues of unknown evil gods and people would say nice spiritual stuff here
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Whatever inspires people and makes their world more beautiful is OK by me. If Cthulhu floats your boat I say put that up on the altar too.
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Yes, if they tell me before i go to the party or write it at the flyer it is ok. I don't want to be part of this crazy shit of praying to devil or something.
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I don't like the idea that the party is directed into a pseudo religious event by putting there religious symbols.
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please define pseudo-religious, oh wait, you would have to define religious then, and we've already said that this changes person to person. If you don't like the symbols, don't use the terminology.
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The idea of an hypertechnology energy focus is good, but please without hindu gods or pictures of jesus hanging around. Nothing against jesus or hindu gods.
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Yeah you talk trash about Zeus and Neptune but you hold back when it comes to Jesus and Krishna. I guess you know which deities are going to kick your ass. . .
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I know these altars are not nesscary but worth to try
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Nothing's necessary. I'm wearing pants right now, I don't really need to. But as you say it's "worth to try". Most people seem to like my pants. If they strongly objected to them, though, I would take them off. No problem.
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I answer to the rest later, i am busy at the moment
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