Wisdom Traditions

Designed to ‘slam’ concepts and invite direct experience, Sacred Slam offers poetic performances by spiritual teachers and practitioners of the world’s wisdom traditions. For some Sacred Slam will be their first interaction with a

Native American Taino,

Sufi Sheik,

Kabballah Teacher,

Baptist Minister,

Zen Monk,

Tai Chi Master, or

Physicist.

 

For others, Sacred Slam will transform their previous understanding of a given tradition or the spiritual path. In addition, the event offers participants the ever present possibility of a direct experience with

 

The Creator,

Emptiness,

The Holy Spirit,

Allah,

G_D,

Peace,

Letting Go,

Healing,

and/or

Possibility.

 

 

 

 

Expect the unexpected at Sacred Slam. You may hear a Buddhist beat box over Tuva throat chants, a Sufi articulate the universal tragedy of September 11th, 2001, and a Kabballah teacher offer Sound Meditation to end the evening. You may hear from a female Christian Activist or a Palestinian Muslim, or an Israeli Jew and leave not knowing what box belonged to whom. You may leave Sacred Slam filled with compassion and inspired by the HUMAN spirit. You may find the next Sacred Slam at a New York City poetry club, a house of worship, a yoga studio, a subway platform, a high school auditorium, or a prestigious university.

 

Sacred Slam goes where it is invited. The potency of the event lies not only in the talent and diversity of the performers, but in their willingness to cooperate for the betterment of all beings, not a subset. Sacred Slam illustrates that no contradiction lies in celebrating one’s individual tradition and that of another, and an other and an other in real time. Sacred Slam seeks to manifest the positive conditions necessary to resolve, transform and prevent conflict. Our intention is to use performance and celebration to:

 

*Raise awareness of interconnectedness on a personal (the relationship between thoughts, emotions and actions), inter-personal,
and global level
*Dispel fear and misunderstanding
*Realize the potential for reconciliation and peace

 

We seek to actualize our intention with InterFaith Dialogue through poetry, or as Abd al-Hayy, a Sufi poet, says, “a communal evening of soul-expression whose goal is a sweet enlightenment, and an ecumenical recognition of everyone's path to the Divine.”

 

Sacred Slam, however, is not just an event. It is a network of resources, including poets, spiritual teachers and communities, activists, peace-makers, academics and organizations. In addition to poetic performances, we offer workshops in subjects ranging from yoga and meditation, to poetry and dance. We are a bridge to and among spiritual organizations engaged in conflict resolution and prevention.