A Living Sacrifice

The following is the butoh-fu (butoh notation) of the Theokinesis piece A Living Sacrifice.

Length: ≈25 minutes

Part 1

The entire body is submerged in holy water while in full prostration. Each body part is an offering to God.

A fetus in the holy water gradually turns from the side to his back, finding himself on the lap of Father God who is very nurturing.

The fetus extends his limbs upward in the clouds, reaching up with arms, legs, and head to the sky while the limbs, too, feel like the sky.

He is dropped into a petrified seed, but then after some time, the Holy Spirit brings life to this seed.

A plant comes to life that does nothing but praises God. Eventually flowers also blossom to praise God even more.

But all things on this Earth must come to an end and the plant dies down to the ground.

Part 2

There is an expedition for treasure enacted from an elegant animal like a cat, monkey, or both.

The explorer eventually discovers the treasure spot and opens a ground portal by engaging in waving caresses.

Deep in the ground is something like a very rare emerald. This emerald is reverently brought up to God in offering, naturally making one engage in the orans position.

Transition to the orans of pointing to Christ with one’s arms and body.

Transition to the orans of hugging Christ

Part 3

The arms are suspend above, nailed to the cross while the body takes an awkward side arch position with weight is shifted to both right or both left edges of the feet. This is sustained for quite some time, perhaps 1 minute or 2, to the point of pain and discomfort—the resulting pain causing any number of shaking or compensatory actions.

The crucified body gradually comes down from the cross into a dying beggar saint with stigmata hands, barely able to stand, constantly being beckoned by the ground, stumbling like a newborn giraffe.

Eventually one collapses into a world of puss by God’s fate to die again in prostration.

Part 4

While in prostration, there emerge wings of hope not only from arms but legs.

One turns on one’s back to an intense quadrupedal orans, gradually making one’s way to standing.

One wishes to jump up and grab the Lord’s crumbs until one is knocked back into a prostration death.

Repeat the wings of hope.

This next time when one turns, there is a spinning quadrupedal praise orans on the ground, followed by sitting up and turning on the butt with leg orans.

There is a praise turning dance toward heaven, beautiful movement for The Beauty.

One suddenly dies again.

Part 5

A seraphim is like a puppet master taking over the body.

One dies yet again.

Part 6

In a collapsed water body, one enters a near death experience, making one’s way up to heaven.

One brings back like a souvenir a holy spirit dove to share for the people.

One engages in an ash walk of holding a dove near the heart and gradually extending the arms toward the people.

Part 7

Kazuo Ohno’s intercession of a cloud-soft angel blessing dance begins.

With one holy healing hand, one slowly blesses everybody in the space.

Part 8

The limbs become holy flags that wave in God’s glory. The holy wind and breath moves one.

Pentecost begins, starting a sporadic prophetic dance composed of seraphic snake (good fire snake) warfare.

One suddenly surrenders upright bowed head and in a palms-up orans while gradually walking backwards out of the space.