par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 13, 2024 | Blog, Carnival, Ritual
In Europe, the earliest masks that have come to us from a distant past and from isolated valleys represent mostly (male and sometimes female) savage giants – the woodwoses –, or animals, such as bears, horses or stags, close to the figure of the Wild Man. They break...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 13, 2024 | Blog, Ritual
A procession of people donning masks or bodypainting is one of the most common human rituals. This phenomenon is known in Europe mostly through carnivals. Local communities stage their perception of the primal cosmic forces, notably those dwelling within the earth...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 13, 2024 | Blog, Carnival, Ritual
There is little doubt we perform rituals which can properly be called human. They cover a vast repertoire of actions. Ritual stretches from the simplest rite to the most elaborate, from the most familiar to the most exceptional. An everyday act like sharing a meal can...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 4, 2024 | Blog, Carnival, Ritual
Autumn festivals. The bright and warm season ends. The dark and cold season starts. Between the autumn’s equinox and the winter solstice. On the edge of the sun’s and the moon’s cycles. Forty days before the heart of winter. Time halts while the veil of this world is...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 4, 2024 | Blog, Human Body
That which does not kill but destroys does not really make us stronger. But then what does make us stronger for real, for good? In fact, one must begin by distinguishing acceptable stress from excessive stress. If an attack overwhelms our ability to defend ourselves,...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 4, 2024 | Blog, Human Body
Our civilization is one of chronic stress. It’s a commonplace, but it is vital to keep in mind: we pass our whole lives in attempts to repair the damage we sustain by trying to live. To deal with this, many are tempted to fitness regimes … This has become a real...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 4, 2024 | Blog, Human Body
WHAT SHOULD WE DO? Certainly, wanting to lose weight or benefit from better muscle tone, all these are desirable. It’s not a crime to wish to be in good health, and overweight can be a serious problem; dysregulating one’s insulin metabolism can be dangerous. Remedying...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 4, 2024 | Blog, Human Body
It’s time to abandon this word. It is understandable that some want to narrow the focus in studying certain cerebral activities sited in the frontal cortex, such as reasoning, anticipation, decision, language, conscious memory … Everything which we call ‘mind’...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 3, 2024 | Blog, Carnival, Ritual
The core of ancient seasonal festivals, such as Carnival, is by far older than the settling for instance of the Celtic civilizations, that of the Roman Empire or that of medieval Christianity. It is indeed older than the Bronze Age, and even agriculture. It is a...
par Matthieu Smyth | Oct 3, 2024 | Blog, Ritual
‘The night of full moon and waning summer’s feast…’ Our ancestors marked the seasons in the rhythm of four feasts taking place at the full moons halfway between the equinoxes and solstices. These rituals are often connected with Celtic tradition, but their...
