Orbit of the Moon
This ministry intervention reveals a feedback between ritual mood and theatrical mode, while implementing Lectio visceralis as a “form of prayer/reflection in which participants gently create sculptures with their own bodies, and then reflect on these sculptures to discern spiritual insight.” This form of prayer/reflection draws from critical pedagogy and participatory aesthetics. “Throughout history, Christians have practiced different kinds of lectio. They have ruminated on Scripture (classic lectio divina); on treasured stories that they heard and remembered; on natural beauty, icons, artworks, and images in stained glass.” These variant practices may also be reflected among Hindus and in Dharma traditions, as noticed in iconography and through means of worshipping the deity.

I am classifying this interfaith ministry intervention as the “Orbit of the Moon,” acknowledging the Moon orbiting the Earth upon an elliptical revolution, while holding space for liberation. The Moon is emphasized in this intervention for the sake of collective healing in the individual, toward the feminine nature and at areas of specific inner feminine wounds (which may allow for more inner balance and inspire healing of inner masculine wounds). During these practices, we will continue to contemplate lunar energy as a guide for healing, while accounting for both the Moon’s means for metaphysical exploration and the moon’s actual physical representation and its overall connection with the Earth.

For instance, the Moon’s center of gravity remains on the line between the centers of the Earth and Moon as the Earth completes its diurnal rotation. Elliptical revolution refers to the movement of celestial bodies, such as the Moon, in an oval-shaped path around the planet, primarily described by Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. The gravitational attraction that the Moon exerts on Earth is the cause of tides in both the ocean and the solid Earth; the Sun has a smaller tidal influence. The Moon’s center of gravity is also known as the barycenter, which is the point around which both the Earth and the Moon orbit. The path of the Earth–Moon system in its solar orbit is defined as the movement of this mutual center of gravity around the Sun.

The title for this ministry intervention relates to the toggling that occurs within the intrarelational area of the individual. “The underlying idea of Kuṇḍalinī Yoga is that the truth of the universe can be realized in and through the body” (Brown 1998, 180). Through visual imagery, internal dialogue, and relational techniques, this intra-relational intervention acknowledges the macrocosm (the universe) in the microcosm (individual), and aims to develop one’s reflective dyad’s capacity for reciprocal attunement, resonance, and responsiveness. In therapy, reflective dyads involve structured pairings where one partner explores a question while the other listens without judgment, fostering deeper understanding and empathy. In meditation, reflective dyads allow participants to engage in inquiry-based practices, enhancing self-awareness and social skills. 

The main practices that I plan to share for this ministry operate upon honoring the moon, which is embodied by practicing rituals for moon worship. This intervention will be introduced with grounding and connecting with the Veda at hand resonating with three primary modes: Chandra Namaskar, “Om Chandraya Namaha” mantra, and Chandra Yantra. In cosmology, Chandra is known to have many different names relative to her different qualities and actions. If you would like to practice these rituals, join me in a mantra workshop dedicated to Chandra, and the Divine Feminine. These rituals help to develop peace, faith, receptivity and surrender. We will practice the rituals related to the Moon Salutation (Chandra Namaskar).

Overall, chanting the mantra is known to benefit a person with immense inner beauty and a younger-looking appearance on the outside. It pleases and builds a faithful relationship with the Moon deity, who, in turn, blesses their devotees with good health, self-confidence, creativity, and intellect. After entering ritual mode through these practices, we now turn to theatrical mode and look to pedagogy, the Theatre of the Oppressed and holistic theology of liberation. During these theatre arts, we will continue to contemplate the place of the moon for both physical representation and metaphysical exploration, upon reflection and introspection. There will be three Techniques applied from the “Tree of Theatre of the Oppressed.”

(1.) The first Technique known as Games – involves a de-mechanization of the body, which may have become alienated to the self due to repetitive tasks of the day-to-day modern world. The goal is to retrieve the innermost essence that conceals the true self, known as the atman for Hindus, and the soul for Christians. The casual body is considered the seed of the subtle body and the gross body, in yogic knowledge and practice. Thus, it seems essential to first retrieve connection with this innermost essence, before proceeding with practices related to the social body and body politic.

In the “Tree of Theatre of the Oppressed,” Games is placed at the bed of the soil from which the roots of Sound, Image, and Word grow in the Earth. By rooting the Earth through sound, image, and/or word, an individual comes to have a sense of ethics connected to solidarity and philosophy, as well as a sense of politics connected to multiplication and history. Games bring sensory dialogue that remind the individual self that fruits that fall to the ground can serve to reproduce themselves by multiplication, while the self may begin to sense solidarity with the group as individuals share their own oppressions to the group.

The main part of Games applied in this intervention is sound, which requires creative freedom to entail a personal experience through a vocal expression. The group will gather in a circle and contemplate silently a potent time that comes to mind, in which one felt that their inner feminine or femininity was being suppressed or hindered. Then upon contemplation, consider a sound to vocalize to drop into this memory. When sharing this initial sound, the group will hold space for further vocal expressions to transform out of the original expression. The group can choose to share vocal expressions one at a time or together as a group, with the sound being expressed and transformed at the center.

(2.) The second Technique is known as Image Theatre –  involving the use of the word that is paired with an action in the social world or social imagination. It is important to recognize the effect of intersecting realities as well as the cause of specific perceptions, which are influenced by relationships. The goal is to realize the subtle body in which we form our support group or social circle. The key is to reflect on areas in the social body where there can be transformation by seeing specific inner parts and how they relate with others.
In the “Tree of Theatre of the Oppressed,” Image Theatre is placed at the center of the tree from which the branches of Newspaper Theatre and Rainbow of Desire grow out in the surrounding environment. We may consider the relationship between the Moon and the Earth, and the Earth-Moon system. The core of the Earth is composed of an inner and outer core, with a combined thickness of approximately 3,471 kilometers (2,157 miles). The size of the Moon is approximately 3,474 kilometers (2,159 miles) in diameter, making it about one-quarter the size of Earth yet merely the same size as the Earth’s core.

The main part of Image Theatre applied in this intervention is introspective, which enables the theatricalization of introjected oppressions. We may consider how the Moon mirrors the core of the Earth, in size and upon gravitational force. When applying the Introspective Techniques in Image Theatre, such as Rainbow of Desires, “shows that if an internal oppression exists, it is because it comes from some barracks or other, exterior to the subjectivity of the subject.” The group will gather in a circle and present images or statues representing an energy or part of yourself that feels oppressive, such as your inner critic or inner tyrant. After everybody shares their image of oppression, the group can choose to share stories in relation to their experience as well as reflection on internal oppression.
(3.) The third Technique is known as Form Theatre – involving resources of all known theatrical forms. “Those we call Spect-actors are invited to come on stage and reveal by means of theatre – rather than by just using words – the thoughts, desires and strategies that can suggest…a palette of possible alternatives of their own invention.” In this case scenario, we are establishing a scene of oppression that was experienced by one of the members in the group, and reenacting the moment amongst the Spect-actors until the group realizes a transformative process through this practice. The aim is to consider a common thread of repression in the body politic and a relatable challenge experienced in the gross body.

In the “Tree of Theatre of the Oppressed,” Form Theatre is placed at the top of the tree from which the branches of Direct Actions, Legislative Theatre, and Invisible Theatre grow in the surrounding environment. “The objective is to show that these internalized oppressions have their origin in, and retain an intimate relation with, our social life.” The goal is to appreciate the social body that has been amended during the intervention, with prayer and reflection, ritual and practice. Now that a social body has come together in its vulnerability, especially after we each chose to take roots upon the experience of our individual bodies, we aim to make a positive mark in the body politic.

The main part of Form Theatre applied in this intervention is transformative, which enables the transformation in the direction of liberation. “This theatre should be a rehearsal for action in real life, rather than an end in itself.” Now reflecting on internal challenges or obstacles that you are facing in your daily life, contemplate on an event or occurrence (such as a trauma) that you feel in either influencing or attracting this challenge, and/or hindering your ability to overcome an obstacle at this time. Then each member in the group will share their reflection and contemplation, and the group will decide to act as Spect-actors to reenact the event, and then this event can be reinvented in different ways, with actions and words, upon the choice of the group members.