A while back I had a dream in which I was setting up to do video interviews with Subud members. When I woke up I had a strong feeling to investigate the idea as a project. Soon the national committee had heard about this idea and were behind it 100% and Paul Nelson has agreed to help make it happen! I would like to start with those of us in the Seattle group so if you are willing to be interviewed please let me or Paul know. The idea would be to do it after latihan on a Sunday or other latihan days. Many of us are growing old and may not be around too much longer. We need to get this done!
My thoughts on the interview project.
Goals of the interviews:
- Preserve as best we can, through stories and experiences, the essence and meaning of the Subud Latihan.
- Keep for future generations memories of Bapak and early Subud history.
- Record, if possible, the essence of spiritual experiences within the videos themselves.
- Make available to the general public segments of videos that would help the growth of Subud in the future.
How it would work:
- First option would be direct one on one in-person interviews which would require someone to go to the interviewee’s home or have them come to another location.
- Option two would be to do videos via Zoom or another similar source. This would work well in long distance interviews which would be difficult to do in person.
- Another possibility is to do the interviews at a Subud event, national or regional congress, local group, etc.
My idea for option one is to ask for volunteers in different groups who would be willing to do the interviews locally and to provide them with interview questions, equipment or help as needed.
Option two could be done online via Zoom with members who may be hard to reach in person.
Paul Nelson, Matthew Cooke and Halimah Collingwood, along with several others, are professional interviewers and may be willing to help in this project.
Option three is probably the first to get started.
I don’t believe it is necessary to invest a lot of money in equipment for doing the interviews. A cell phone with a good quality camera would work well provided it was close to the interviewee and in a quiet location with no interference.
Sample Interview questions:
Name, date and place of interview, age, contact info.
How long have you been in Subud?
How did you find and come into Subud?
What helper or committee jobs have you had in Subud?
Have you had any outer or inner experiences or memories related to Bapak?
Have you had any other spiritual experiences due to being in Subud?
Have you noticed any outer benefits from doing the latihan over the years?
What effect has Subud had on your outer and inner life?
Have you seen or experienced many changes in your latihan or outer life while being in Subud?
How would you value your overall Subud experience?
Would you agree to have parts of this interview available to other Subud or prospective Subud members?
Rachman Cantrell
425-822-5579
