Engaging Rock Art: WHEN IN ALIGNMENT

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

WHEN IN ALIGNMENT

Atlatl Rock at Valley of Fire in Nevada

Before writing Engaged: Reflections of Rock Art through Photography and Poetry, Bill and Dori asked each other what might happen if an archaeologist's expertise in rock art was combined with a speech language pathologist's expertise in communication and cognition as well as nondenominational divinity to explore deeper meaning?

While writing and producing Engaged, they discovered that blending their knowledge with their photographed images, the poetic cadence of perceptions and interpretative explorations, and academic research enhanced observation and expanded insights. They now consider this process to be a form of multivocality that can generate optimal questions and aggregate evidence regardless of the field of practice. With this in mind, they decided to write a paper that blended academics, image, and poetic explorations. They presented it at the Utah Rock Art Research (URARA) Symposium on October 1, 2016.

While writing their paper, Ritual and Rock Art in Basketmaker Ceremony: Butler Wash Revisited, Bill and Dori discovered that they were engaged in what Indologists (those who study India and its people) call "rational inquiry." Author Johannes Bronkhorst defines this as including a "system of rational debate, linked to a systematic attempt to make sense of the world and our place it. This primarily involves free and uninhibited discussion of all issues, even in the areas that might encroach upon other sources of authority, such as tradition, revelation, or insight." They decided to present their paper in a freer and more uninhibited manner. Bill voiced their research, theory, and validations and Dori voiced poetic perceptions. They were pleased by how well their approach was received.

Bill and Dori have come to understand this method of investigation as a form of alignment. This has inspired them to continue exploring what such an alignment might create as they build upon their combined experiences of being engaged with rock art. After the URARA Symposium, they explored additonal rock art sites with the intention to align scientific observation, their professional knowledge and expertise, photography, and poetic voice of contemplation. One of these sites was Atlatl Rock in Nevada. Bill and Dori are hoping to present their next paper at the American Rock Art Research Association Conference in June 2017.

Remembrance

After what seemed to become hopeless contemplation

upon the unknowable within these designs,

a question arose.

What is it that I am remembering?

An odd inquiry, because I have never been here before.

Yet, I suspect the answer resides in the sensations

ignited by this cluster of images.

It is the same feeling

of having forgotten a name upon re-encounter.

It is the same feeling of forgetting what it is I went searching for.

Like the actual moment of falling asleep,

one is never aware of the act of forgetting.

If it is the act of awakening that reveals slumber,

might it be query

that reveals something haven fallen into unconsciousness?

I have worked clinically with amnesia

where even the loss of memory is forgotten until there is inquiry.

Struggle with remembrance can become torturous

when truths are irretrievable.

Maybe, it is not about what was forgotten here,

but that these images are about remembrance.

They spark awareness of the sensations

created by the urge for recollection

and, therefore, of having become forgetful.

In this way, such ancient places become sacred.

Not because of the actual story they tell,

but because the navigation through such images

can open us to something we have in common

that we have long forgotten.

What is it I am remembering?

Maybe, it is the awareness

of the feeling of forgetfulness,

and that it is the sensation of remembrance

that can unite us regardless of race or culture.

Such can awaken us from a complacency

that we did not even know existed.

When this awareness returns,

we remember a deeper version of ourselves.

We remember that we are all of one Spirit.

D. Bohntinsky, D.Min. 01/31/2017

No comments:

Post a Comment

About Dorothy Bohntinsky

My interest in blending Native American rock art with personal creativity evolved from my career as a speech language pathologist (SLP) since 1976, including two decades as Director of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Alameda County Medical Center. After my early retirement in 2002, I provided per diem (as needed) speech and language therapy in many settings, from the school system to home rehabilitation. I have been the per diem SLP at Kindred Hospital of the San Francisco Bay Area since 2002 and continue to work at this specialized long-term acute medical hospital that provides respiratory care. Married to my husband, Chuck, since 1971 and being a grandmother, my interests in enhancing creativity through rock art is for building gratifying relationships within one’s self and with others.

I have recently redesigned the purpose of this blog in order to share my continuing discoveries of how rock art can be used to spark the imagination after recently publishing Sustenance: Integrating Creativity with Rock Art. This is a workbook that guides individuals in how rock art can be integrated with creative writing, from narrative prose to poetry, in order to expand self-potential. Instead of simply warning others not to touch rock art and leave no trace of the visit, my work strives to offer ways to become inspired by rock art and communicate, especially through creative writing, from more stunning and dynamic perspectives. In this way, if each person can discover how rock art can be used to inspire creative thinking when things are going well, one is better prepared for those times when loss happens. I believe that this is a way to expand appreciation of the work of these ancient arts and to promote awareness of the importance of preserving rock art and the sites where it exists.

In 2014, a reconnection with a friend I had not seen for fifty years provided new opportunities for exploring creative opportunities; this time with rock art. Independent archaeologist William (Bill) D. Hyder (retired from University of Santa Cruz administration) has expertise in Native American rock art. Together, we began exploring new perspectives for engaging rock art through photography and at site visits. Bill and I co-wrote Engaged: Exploring Rock Art through Poetry and Photography in 2015. We then co-wrote two research papers on rock art and presented at the Utah Rock Art Association (URARA) Symposium in October 2016 and American Rock Art Research Association in June 2017. Then in October 2017, I wrote a paper and presented at URARA Symposium in October 2017.

I bring perspectives beyond those of an SLP due to pursuing doctoral studies in creation spirituality after the death of our young teenage daughter, Christen, in 2000. As part of a healing process that integrates creativity with grieving, I engaged in creative writing by journaling personal narratives about my journey and insights. Encouraged by the medical staff at that time, I published my journal: The Healing Room: Discovering Joy through the Journal in 2002. In addition, since work with grieving is not within the scope of practice of an SLP, in 2006, I received my doctorate of ministry from Wisdom University in San Francisco. My doctoral dissertation includes the validation of my approach for resolving loss that integrates awareness of feelings, emotions, and critical thinking strategies for optimum solutions for oneself. I was ordained that same year after simultaneously attending an interfaith chaplaincy seminary, the Chaplaincy Institute, in Berkeley, Ca. I published my dissertation, Transformational Healing through the Integration of Self, in 2016 after using it successfully with clients and myself for a decade. While Bill and I initially wrote this blog together, I am now writing it to reflect my evolving work with rock art.