From owner-fiatlvx@cmns.think.com Sat Mar 16 08:41:02 1996 Received: from nova.unix.portal.com (nova.unix.portal.com [156.151.1.101]) by jobe.shell.portal.com (8.6.11/8.6.5) with ESMTP id IAA05556 for ; Sat, 16 Mar 1996 08:41:01 -0800 Received: from Cmns.Think.COM.Think.COM (Cmns.Think.COM [131.239.2.100]) by nova.unix.portal.com (8.6.11/8.6.5) with SMTP id IAA15759 for ; Sat, 16 Mar 1996 08:41:01 -0800 Received: by Cmns.Think.COM.Think.COM (4.1/Ultrix2.4-C) id AA10790; Sat, 16 Mar 96 11:38:21 EST Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 10:36:32 -0600 (CST) From: PLUMMEJP@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu Subject: shaker magic? To: fiatlvx@cmns.think.com Message-Id: <01I2EI2Z8IOK8XBONV@ctrvax.Vanderbilt.Edu> X-Vms-To: IN%"fiatlvx@cmns.think.com" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7BIT Sender: owner-fiatlvx@cmns.think.com Precedence: bulk Reply-To: fiatlvx@cmns.think.com Status: RO In a recent post, Nagasiva wondered about the relationship of Shaker practices to magical and shamanic rites. I was glad to see that someone mentioned this. I am blessed to be a friend of the Shaker Community at Sabbathday Lake, Maine (near Grey, New Gloucester, and Poland Spring). A number of my most powerful spiritual experiences have occurred in the context of Shaker meeting. The Shakers would probably be shocked at the suggestion that they were doing anything occult or esoteric - I've certainly never discussed it with them. (If anyone out there gets in touch with them, do me the favor of NOT saying "John Plummer mentioned you on the Christian Magic list" - I can hear Brother Arnold now!) Nonetheless, a number of their practices bear close resemblance to esotericism. the worship is highly effective ritual. The presence of the dead and of spirits, and the possibility of communication with such, is firmly believed in. A variety of spirit gifts are believed in and experienced. Lots of information about esoteric topics can be found in Shaker theologians - Alonzo Hollister on the astral body, Paulina Bates on God as Mother, Daughter, feminine Spirit, etc, etc. I must stress that all this is encompassed by the Christ Life, the pure service of God in Love. The late Brother Ted Johnson used to say that Shakerism was a way of life in imitation of Christ, not a doctrine. Shakers of course do have doctrines - although they believe in a growing revelation - but these arise from the life, not vice versa. I've spent lots of time in monasteries and religious communities of all sorts, but I can honestly say that I have never seen the Christ Life lived as beautifully as it is at Sabbathday Lake (or Chosen Land, as the Shakers call it) - the only living Shaker community. While I'm at it, I should address a couple of misunderstandings. Shaker belief about Mother Ann has varied, but contemporary Shakers certainly do not believe that she is the reincarnation of Jesus or anything of that sort! As Mother said, "the second coming of Christ is in His Church." Mother was the herald of this coming, and its first clear instance, but the coming is in all believers. (This is not that different from Bernard of Clairvaux's teaching about the "middle coming" of Christ to believers between the first and last advents.) Shakerism is not dying out. The leadership of the Society from the 1950s to 1980s opted for dying out, but the Maine community resisted this decision. As they wished, the other communities died out. (The last to go was Canterbury, NH in 1992) Now the leadership of the Society (legal and spiritual) has passed to Sabbathday Lake. They have young members, and their door is open to all serious inquirers. I don't have their address on me (I'm at school) but I'm almost positive it is 707 Shaker Road, New Gloucester, ME - cant recall the zipcode. If you are interested, the best first thing to read is THE TESTIMONIES OF MOTHER ANN LEE AND THE ELDERS WITH HER - collected stories about Mother. I cannot recommend this too highly - it can be obtained from the Shaker Community. They also carry lots of other books, art, wool from their sheep, sometimes candy, etc. Probably the best history (though not without problems) is that by Stephen Stein - can't recall the title. Avoid Robley Whitson's volume in the Classics of Western Spirituality series - it can be helpful but is also seriously misleading in some ways. Finally, I've got a long article on Shaker theology forthcoming in THE SHAKER QUARTERLY. I'd be happy to provide it to an interested party for the cost of xeroxing. (Given the QUARTERLY's erratic publication schedule, God alone knows when the article will see print.) I hope this wasn't too off topic, but I wanted to encourage you all to see Shakerism as a very real resource for esoteric Christianity. I sign this in the Shaker way - With gospel love, John PS - A great new recording of Shaker music has been done by Joel Cohen. The Sabbathday Lake community sings with the Boston Camerata andthe Schola Cantorum of Boston. All the recording was done in the 200 year old meeting house. This CD hit the top of the Billboard classical crossover chart recently, so you should be able to find it anywhere. It is title "Simple Gifts: Shaker Chants and Spirituals". J