[books] Knitting Sutra by Susan Lydon

[snugglekitty]

I took out quite a number of books purporting to be about knitting and spirituality. (The Knitting Goddess, Mindful Knitting, and The Zen of Knitting are just a few.) But this was the only one I've found so far that I liked.



The author describes her personal journey to become a master knitter, starting when she seriously injures herself in an accident. (Some parallels to how and when I learned to knit!)

It reminded me of Ehrlich's A Match to the Heart, but was a much faster read.

There was perhaps a bit too much of a smorgasbord of spiritual traditions and quoted authors in the book, but I very much enjoyed it. My favorite things about it were possibly discussing the role of creative expression in healing, and what it means to have mastery of a craft. Lydon also writes about moments of feeling that you are being guided in your knitting, or that you are remembering how to do something that you have never done in your lifetime. That really resonated for me.



Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Jews are known as the People of the Book, and yet somewhere inside myself I crave more deeply a communion with nature, with palpable works that emanate from the hands of God. I am a woman. Like old-time nuns embroidering priests' vestements in the convents of Belgium or Navajo women weaving blankets in their hogans, I know how to pray with my hands. And I need for these prayers to connect me with the earth."

"Buddhists say that enlightenment may be achieved through the repetition of sutra, or prayer. Pattern also is formed by repetition; its beauty deepens and grows each time it is repeated."

"You learn about a culture differently when working, as opposed to looking at, a pattern; you form an affinity on a deeper level of your being. Some part of your consciousness grasps purely and empathetically the mind-set of the person who created the design."

Comments

[chillguru.livejournal.com]

i find this kind of interesting. my initial reaction was "umm, knitting AND spirituality?" but after thinking about it a bit i think i can get it. i approach anything that i craft with my hands as a ritual of some kind, and consciously pour energy and some part of myself into my creations. i've done some specific talisman crafting, but in a way i approach all of my handmade stuff with the same mindset.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

*nod* I first started looking into it because I'm very into integrated spirituality - having my spiritual path be a part of everything that I do.

Anything can be a spiritual/ritual/magickal activity. And I think that almost all creative acts have some of that power in them.

It helps that knitting is repetitive, repetition is great for achieving altered states.