THIRD ANNUAL
THE COSMIC MASS
INTENSIVE TRAINING
Offered in Oakland, California
A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN HOW TO CREATE AND PRODUCE THE COSMIC MASS.
UPON SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THE COURSE YOU WILL BECOME CERTIFIED TO PUT ON THE COSMIC MASS IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
DATES: May 18, 19, 20 and 21th of 2007.
The Intensive will start at 9am on Friday, May 18th and close at 11am on Monday, May 21, 2007.
The Cosmic Mass May 20, 2007
Green Man: Spiritual Warriors Defending the Earth
The class will contribute to leading
THE COSMIC MASS on May 20th at
Historic
Sweets
Ballroom, 1933 Broadway, Oakland, CA from 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM.
COST: $495
DISCOUNTS:
$450 per person if paid before
March 20, 2007
$50 discount for each person when two (2) or more people register together.
THE COSMIC MASS (TCM) Intensive will include the rich history and deep theology of the TCM, the art of production and ambiance, the journey of the disc jockey, the spoken word, experiential ritual and more.
The Intensive will be facilitated by Nicole Porcaro, including teachings by Matthew Fox, DJAstro, and others.
Each participant will receive approximately 150 pages of THE COSMIC MASS handbook materials with articles, flow sheets, budgets, job descriptions, marketing plans, etc. contributed by the three generations of TCM teams as well as a TCM certificate.
CALL 510-835-0655 or go to our web site at www.TheCosmicMass.org
Sponsored by Friends of Creation Spirituality, Inc.
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THE COSMIC MASS
INTENSIVE TRAINING
Registration Form
Name____________________________________________________________________Date_________
Address_______________________________________________________________________________
Phone/Fax/Email________________________________________________________________________
Profession/Occupation____________________________________________________________________
Birthdate_______________________________________________________________________________
In what religious/spiritual tradition were you raised?___________________________________________
What religious/spiritual tradition do you identify with today?____________________________________
How did you learn about The Cosmic Mass? ______________________________________________
Have you been to a Cosmic Mass before, and, if so, how many?_______________________________
What skills/artistic gifts/ritual experience do you bring?________________________________________
Why are you interested in taking the Intensive?_______________________________________________
( may use other side)
Please circle choice:
$400 paid before March 20, 2007 and 2+ people registering.
2nd person's name_______________________________________________________________________
$450 paid before March 20, 2007
$495 paid after March 20, 2007
VISA/MC/AMEX #____________________________________________EXP DATE________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
What is the The Cosmic Mass?
The "The Cosmic Mass" (TCM) is a conscious effort to reinvigorate Western ritual by deconstructing the forms of worship we have inherited from the modern era.(such as sitting in benches and being read to, preached at or reading from books(including song books). We reconstruct these forms of worship by going back to the pre-modern practice of dance. Dance gets us into our first chakras again; dance takes us out of our heads and down again and connecting to the earth again. Joy results. Dance demands breathing and so it fulfills ancient teachings that connect breath with spirit. This connection is found not only in the Biblical story of the Creator breathing the divine breath into the clay to make it a living human but also in the ancient languages of Africa where the word for "dance" is the same as the word for "breath" which is also the word for "spirit." ("Breath" and "Spirit" are the same word (ruah) in Hebrew as well.)
The African spiritual teacher, Malidome Some, tells us there is no community without ritual. Thus renewing ritual lies at the heart of bringing community back to our consciousness and experience. The modern era with its emphasis on ruggedly individual atoms, practically destroyed a sense of community. Renewed ritual can and does bring it back. And today's science with its emphasis on interconnectivity lays a groundwork for the return of community. But it needs ritual to make it happen. At our Techno Cosmic Masses people dance to techno music as well as live music; DJ's provide the musical ambience and VJ's or video jockeys provide images through slides and videos that tell the story of the theme celebrated. The theme might be "Gaia our Mother" or "The Return of the Sacred Masculine"or "The Return of the Divine Feminine" or "Kinship with Animals" or any number of themes that unite us spiritually today.
In the "Return of the Divine Feminine" Mass we collected 500 slides of the Goddess from all the world's traditions (including the Black Madonna and Mary from the West). And we danced in the presence of these images, bringing in the spirit of the Divine Feminine. At each Mass we have a "via negativa" or grief experience where we grieve and lament together the loss or pain we are feeling in our hearts from abuse about the theme of the occasion. Grieving is such an essential aspect to getting over anger and into our creativity. We also have communion or sharing of the sacred bread and wine that unites all beings in the sacred act of eating and drinking divine food and drink.
Early in the Mass is a fifteen minute "via positiva" dance or dance of Joy and Delight and Celebration. At the closing of the service is a fifteen minute "via transformativa" dance or warrior dance which prepares us to go into the world and back to our communities as healerss and strong defenders of compassion. A variety of ages is always represented as well as many kinds of artists and people from diverse religious backgrounds ranging from Christian to Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Pagan. The worship is so pre-modern in many respects that many find a home there. Beauty is everywhere present.
And, one might say, magic.
