Photo: Eddy Seesing
COLOURFUL CEREMONIES OF SHAMANS, DRUIDS, HINDUS, MUSLIMS, BUDDHISTS, CHRISTIANS AND OTHERS ARE THE SUBJECT MATTER OF A NEW BOOK ENTITLED "RELIGIE NU" (RELIGION NOW) BY DUTCH PHOTOGRAPHER EDDY SEESING. HE SPENT SEVEN YEARS RECORDING NO LESS THAN 71 RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES IN THE NETHERLANDS.
Photo: Eddy Seesing
He got the idea while on a photo expedition to the town of Gouda, taking pictures of several generations of Moroccan-Dutch citizens. He says it made him realise how their lives are interwoven with religion: "They have their hair cut in the mosque, they shop in the mosque, their children go to religion classes in the mosque."
Another inspiration for Seesing was his mother, who belonged to a Roman Catholic parish. The photographer said, "After my father's death she joined the choir, participated in activities of the Senior Citizens' Union and worked as a volunteer. The parish gave her a happy old age."
SHAMANISM
Photo: Eddy Seesing
Eddy Seesing himself broke with the Catholic church because he disagreed with its views on women, gays and birth control. On his journeys he got in touch with Buddhism and later with Shamanism, a natural religion which became his own. His twin children were recently accepted into the religion with a welcoming ceremony. Seesing first came across Shamanism in Canada, where he spent two weeks with a shaman. He particularly praises his extraordinary experiences during the sweat lodge ceremony: "In the heat you experience a particular spirituality."
Seesing hopes his book will make it clear how many similarities there are in many of the sermons, and in baptising and sacrificing ceremonies. But, he says, "I'm also making an effort to show the cultural differences. We should stop trying to convert each other and be glad about the variety."
An exhibition of the photographs published in Religie Nu/Religion Now is being held in the Rotterdam Kunsthal until 12 February 2012. The book, which has text in both Dutch and English, is published by Thoth in Bussum.
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".. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE?.... "
"THE HUMANIZATION OF GOD" - JUL 16, 2011 (KRYON CHANNELLED BY LEE CARROLL) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Benevolent Design, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Guides and Angels, Communication with God, Wars in Heaven ?, The Love of God, (Old) Souls, Global Unity,.... etc.)
"... Do angels exist? Absolutely, but not as you think or have been taught. Are there helpers? Absolutely, but again, not like you think. When angels visited Humans in ancient days and the events were written about by those who were there to witness the experience, I can guarantee it was a lot different than they could express on paper. When an angel appears before a Human, it looks like a swirling ball of energy, sometimes even fire that is not hot and does not consume anything. Angels are not in Human form and never have been. They are multidimensional beings, not in 3D. Yet you want to put skin and wings on them and give them a name! Why? It makes you feel better about them. We understand that..."
"THE 2012 OSTIARY - ANGELS AMONG YOU" - DEC 30, 2012 (A MESSAGE FROM METATRON CHANNELLED BY TYBERONN)
Also read these ebooks:
Reformed Druids - Anthology 00 IntroductionReformed Druids - Anthology 07 Miscellany
