I attended a very interesting lecture today from a married couple - he is a "transvestite" medical doctor and she is a psychologist and they are both sexologists. Their presentation was about gender identity and why the old polarity of male and female no longer will do. The lecture included the science of how gender develops in the womb and how the sex organs can develop of fail to develop over a period of time and the complexity of the genetic makeup of people who are not female or male in terms of their chromosomes - instead of XX or XY there are people who are XXY.
Androgyny was celebrated in the time of the renaissance - we looked at a slide of Donatellos David and a Michaleangelo statue of a woman which was the physique of a man with breasts attached! And we all know about the image in the Da Vinci painting that has made Dan Browns fortune.
The following poem by anon was quoted -
"Put no question mark to joys that others earn
however weird they seem to be
there always is a lot to learn
and even more to see."
We examined the complexity of the "trans - spectrum" - how people define themselves as "transvestive", "bi-gendered", "trans-sexual" and "unspecified trans".
There is now the possibility that peoples gender can be changed or reinforced by surgery but the plea for our speakers was let surgery follow the soul rather than what the surgeons deem is best and most appropriate for purely surgical reasons.
It is an incredibly complex area and I was pleased to have this opportunity to explore it more deeply in this seminar presentation by international experts.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Tuesday, 2 June 2009
Inspirations
Only that which does not teach, which does not cry out, which does not condescend, which does not explain, is irresistible. - William Butler Yeats
With the above quotation Gregory Collins ended his lecture this morning on the monastic contribution to contemporary spirituality and Christianity.
Then this afternoon there was a lecture by Netto R Thelle which started with a quote from R S Thomas
Pilgrimages
There is an island there is no going
to but in a small boat the way
the saints went.
...Am I too late?
Were they too late also, those
first pilgrims? He is such a fast
God, always before us and
leaving as we arrive.
... was the pilgrimage
I made to come to my own
self, to learn that in times
like these and for one like me
God will never be plain and
out there, but dark rather and
inexplicable, as though he were in
here?
He ended the lecture with this poem by Gunnar Ekelof "The ferry song"
Every person is a world, inhabited
by blind beings in obscure revolt
against the "I", the king who rules over them.
In every soul a thousand souls are captive,
in every world lie thousands of worlds hidden.
Words that are really worth meditating on.....
With the above quotation Gregory Collins ended his lecture this morning on the monastic contribution to contemporary spirituality and Christianity.
Then this afternoon there was a lecture by Netto R Thelle which started with a quote from R S Thomas
Pilgrimages
There is an island there is no going
to but in a small boat the way
the saints went.
...Am I too late?
Were they too late also, those
first pilgrims? He is such a fast
God, always before us and
leaving as we arrive.
... was the pilgrimage
I made to come to my own
self, to learn that in times
like these and for one like me
God will never be plain and
out there, but dark rather and
inexplicable, as though he were in
here?
He ended the lecture with this poem by Gunnar Ekelof "The ferry song"
Every person is a world, inhabited
by blind beings in obscure revolt
against the "I", the king who rules over them.
In every soul a thousand souls are captive,
in every world lie thousands of worlds hidden.
Words that are really worth meditating on.....
Monday, 1 June 2009
Off again - this time to Norway
I am off again. I set my alarm clocks for 10 to 4 this morning and I was glad I set two as one of them was still on GMT so if I had only set that I would have been an hour late.
Some diary notes of my travels - reflections later....
I got to Prestwick airport at 5.30am just as a coach load of Norwegians were unloading so had
quite a queue.
The flight was on time and the bus stop 3km from the airport but a taxi got me there five minutes before the bus left. It was a very comfortable double decker with free tea and coffee on board and a loo too.
Got to the meeting point in Kristiansand at 1.30 Norwegian time ( 12.30 UK time) and spent the afternoon looking round the town. Its great here. the bus ride was three hours across pine and
birch forests with few towns and the coast intervening on the landscape in particularly picturesque ways. This town with an 80,000 population has a sandy beach next to a marina and promenade and picturesque old town. It also has a commercial harbour wit a ferry to Denmark.
There is a spectacular old tall ship moored in the harbour and I walked up and had a close look at her.
Then at 15.00 we had a snack arranged for us( fish soup ) and at 17.00 there was a reception in the local town hall at which the mayor, the rector of the local university, the local bishop and others made speeches and a famous Norwegian folk fiddle player played music.
Then at 19.00 there was a folk mass ( sung) in the cathedral here - which was really stunning and moving. Then bus to the conference centre and we checked into our rooms and then had supper (sweet and sour with rice ) followed by returning to my room to make up my bed and go to sleep as I feel very tired(getting up so early....zzzzz). The bar was open but at 25KR for a beer of glass of wine I will be abstemious ( 9 kr to the pound)
Some diary notes of my travels - reflections later....
I got to Prestwick airport at 5.30am just as a coach load of Norwegians were unloading so had
quite a queue.
The flight was on time and the bus stop 3km from the airport but a taxi got me there five minutes before the bus left. It was a very comfortable double decker with free tea and coffee on board and a loo too.
Got to the meeting point in Kristiansand at 1.30 Norwegian time ( 12.30 UK time) and spent the afternoon looking round the town. Its great here. the bus ride was three hours across pine and
birch forests with few towns and the coast intervening on the landscape in particularly picturesque ways. This town with an 80,000 population has a sandy beach next to a marina and promenade and picturesque old town. It also has a commercial harbour wit a ferry to Denmark.
There is a spectacular old tall ship moored in the harbour and I walked up and had a close look at her.
Then at 15.00 we had a snack arranged for us( fish soup ) and at 17.00 there was a reception in the local town hall at which the mayor, the rector of the local university, the local bishop and others made speeches and a famous Norwegian folk fiddle player played music.
Then at 19.00 there was a folk mass ( sung) in the cathedral here - which was really stunning and moving. Then bus to the conference centre and we checked into our rooms and then had supper (sweet and sour with rice ) followed by returning to my room to make up my bed and go to sleep as I feel very tired(getting up so early....zzzzz). The bar was open but at 25KR for a beer of glass of wine I will be abstemious ( 9 kr to the pound)
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