elements of ecstatic dance

(This article, about my experience with Body Choir, appeared in the Magdalene Circle October newsletter. Comments/feedback welcome!)

Mary Magdalene was an amazing dancer and I believe she still dances with us today! Here's one description of her dance:

"When she wished to dance alone, no one would rise to join her, but all sat entranced and enchanted by her dancing. Yet, when she wished others to join in, her dance would become intoxicating, so that no one could remain still. The energy of her dance would pass like a wildfire to all who were present, and all manner of prayers were answered when she danced." (St. Mary Magdalene, The Gnostic Tradition of the Holy Bride, Tau Malachi, p. 41)

Here are a few of the ideas behind ecstatic dance, although there's no substitute for getting into your body and letting the dance move you. You may find that some of these ideas are already a part of your spiritual practice.

Every expression is sacred. There's no wrong way to move. We dance in an atmosphere of unconditional love and acceptance.

Non-verbal. We express with movement rather than words. This helps us be more fully present in the moment as well as more accepting of all expression. Also this doesn't mean we're silent, just that whatever sounds we make come from deep within, not language from the mind. Dance is an opportunity to put mind in the back seat and let the soul-body connection be in the driver's seat. As such, it is a great moving meditation.

Dance with what shows up. Our inspiration comes from being "in the moment" with the music, other dancers and our surroundings. This is "showing up." Dancing with what shows up can be joyfull, but sometimes the music or program may be difficult to get into or dance to. Sometimes we may be dancing in partnership with someone and their dance may feel awkward. This speaks to the opportunity to dive deeper into the dance, to stick it out and explore new internal territories or make new connections with other dancers. Another way to dive deeper and explore is through repetitive movement. To pick a movement and repeat it, watching the mind, sometimes express boredom, while continuing with the movement, can be informative. Fully, authentically showing up, expressing who we are every moment, no matter what that looks like, accepting ourselves and what's around us--this kind of authenticity and acceptance can be very empowering and can expand our compassion with ourselves, each other and our surroundings.

"If you move it, it will change." Said by Gabrielle Roth who developed the 5Rhythms, this quote speaks to the transformational power of dance. Gabrielle studied aboriginal and other native peoples' dances and defined their moves as The 5Rhythms, which are flowing (feminine, circular, gathering, receptive, inhale), staccato (masculine, the heartbeat, angular, definitive, exhale), chaos (marriage, the storm, trust, let go), lyrical (playful, often 6/8, lightness) and stillness (returning home, resting, zen) forming a wave. Music for flowing is slower and the energy builds, then falls back to slower in stillness so that the wave can be repeated indefinitely. All of life can be described with one of these rhythms.

The Mirror. Everything the dancer experiences is their story. When seeing another’s dance, it may appear that they are having a certain kind of experience or expressing a certain story, but we can’t know what's going with them until they tell us after the dance. If what they share is different from what we perceived, then what we saw was a mirror of something going on inside us. In the twelve plus years I have been dancing with Body Choir, this mirror has blessed me with insights into myself that, when I own them and work what is presented to me, yield great results.

The Divine Witness. Seeing and being witnessed is sacred and powerful. We all need to be seen, for someone to witness our expressions in a non-judgemental, totally accepting atmosphere. Being seen validates who we are and what we feel in the moment. All the beauty expressed during dance can be amazing!

Manage your boundaries. Everyone is responsible for their own experience. You don't have to dance with anyone if you don't want and likewise, no one is obligated to dance with you. We're encouraged to connect, to stretch ourselves by letting others in, to dance intimately, but that is also everyone's choice and not a requirement.

Dance at the crossroads. I learned this idea from Vin Marti, a student of Gabrielle Roth who created SoulMotion. He describes a vertical dance and a horizontal dance. The vertical dance is going within and dancing one's connection with the Divine and with Mother Earth. The horizontal dance is dancing with others in the room, focusing on one's surroundings. Dancing at the crossroads is dancing both, being fully present with the Self, one's Creator and connection with the Earth as well as with others and shared surroundings. Initially this may sound like too much, but with practice, shifting attention back and forth, the experiences can become integrated. And of course, it's ok to focus in one direction, as the dancer feels called.

Where spirituality, sensuality and sexuality intersect. When partnering with another, the connection that happens in the dance is also considered sacred and is best honored by leaving it there, rather than making presumptions about connections beyond the dance. Occasionally dancers may experience a deep union as if God and Goddess (or Lord Yeshua and Lady Mirya) are joined in their dance. This is dancing where spirituality, sensuality and sexuality meet and can be done in complete innocence. Honoring the experience by leaving it in the dance enables innocence.

As a spiritual practice, dance can be very sacred. It can also be a lot of fun or simply social. There's room for every perspective and preference. In fact, when we celebrate our differences, the dance experience becomes more round and whole, welcoming All.

what matters

new focus/context--

"What knowledge, understanding and wisdom have we acquired? How have we loved the Holy One and our relations? What have we done to serve and uplift humanity, or to serve and uplift those around us?

What matters is our experience, the knowledge we gain, our capacity to love, and how we have been of actual benefit to others. That’s it – nothing more, nothing less!

If I look into my present incarnation, then, I may discern the karma of previous incarnations, and I may discern the work and tikkune (healing) to be done. Where do I need to increase knowledge, understanding and wisdom, where do I need to grow my capacity to love and give, and where can I be of help and service to others? Where are these things compromised or restricted, and how can I overcome those barriers – how can I grow in Christ and open further to the Light from above, the Holy Spirit?

How can I make the most of my present opportunity?"
excerpt/quote written by tau malachi,
http://sophian.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1803

picture from here

notes on my current focus (foci). i'm thinking this may change over time, but this is where i am at the moment (different from where i was pre-april, before the wizard visions, when i was lead to Magdalene Circle).

besides continued study, including gnosis of the cosmic christ, pistis sophia, gospel of st. thomas and others, increased meditation practice, participating in on-line discussions and meeting with the austin circle, this is a list of my current understandings or adjustments to context (?) maybe.

--release aversion, attachment, self-cherishing and criticism (different from discernment)

--cleave to Christ, Logos and Sophia, to live a Christ-centered life

--be of service

--see all of Life as a reflection of mind, "life is but a dream" and desiring/working toward lucid dreaming

we're surrounded by Holy Spirit as Nature and we're surrounded by archonic/klippotic forces, not to be resisted, while maintaining focus on Christ and being of service toward the enlightenment and liberation of all beings in all realms.

learning/discussing maps (ie, tree of life) but not pinpointing personal experience, that Truth is between knowing and not knowing.

b4 ii

"sayings" referred to in the "crazy Truth" blog (12/12/09). most of these i made up. . .the list is longer than i remembered and that's with deleting quite a few. guess i get carried away sometimes. . . .

• the basic fabric of the universe is Love (ahimsa/harmlessness).*

• God (the Universe, the Creator, the Divine, the Source or whatever label you use) is beyond comprehension (omniscient, omnipresent) which includes beyond gender.

• everything is a miraculous creation of God. . .and God is part of everything. in our species, we are connected to the Divine through our hearts and subconscoius.

• the Creator (God, the Universe, etc.) loves us (is concerned about us), individually, which means that yes, God is into the details.

• when God/Higher Self/Soul wants to tell us something, s/he begins gently with whispers. if we don't hear, God continues to speak louder and louder until the signal becomes a heart attack or cancer or an unbalanced ecosystem. whatever it takes. it's not punishment, it's actually patience 'cause we have all the time in the world!* (if we dont get it this lifetime, there's always the next one.)

• breath is the ultimate metaphor of the universe.*

• everyone has access to the fulfillment of their heart's desire(s).

• all you can do is the best you can do. and your best is always good enough as long as you realize your best is always changing.*

• everything is ok with God all the time.* :)

• courage is not the absence of fear. it can be rage purified through the heart.*

• everything contains its opposite.* (everything/one is whole, containing the full range of possibilities, even those unexpressed.)

• the subtle rules that which has mass.* (in other words, matter is based on, structured subtle energies that can't be perceived by the usual 5 senses.)

• when another's "privacy" is a dysfunctional secret that hurts me, i get to go public with my experience (i'm not a victim).*

• what seems to work best is to focus on what you want and leave the rest be. (or as someone else put it more succinctly: what you resist, persists.)

• happiness is the best revenge! (or when "bad" things happen outside of your control, focus on what you can control, like taking good care of yourself and being of service to others which is a true joy.)

• our true nature is that we are infinite and immortal.

• if you can truly forgive yourself (by owning that you chose all the suffering you've experienced, then forgiving yourself for putting yourself through it), then we can free ourselves from the karmic loop.* (which is the point i believe jesus was trying to teach and why i'm christian.)

• sometimes things get worse before they get better.* (for instance, when i'm organizing something, usually the mess gets worse before it improves. this also applies to personal and sociological changes, imo).

• there are very few constants in the universe.* (change/entropy/chaos and Love are two i know of.)

• 3 Ms: metaphor, mirror and mystery. metaphor is an amazing teacher and everything in your world is ultimately, a mirror. mystery is important to honor, to allow, as all things are borne of the void (no thing).*

• an artist's aesthetic is visible as their physical body and their work.*

• each individual is their own ultimate authority.*

• while the golden rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you) is a great place to start, it is important to remember that we don't all want to be treated the same way. so it's valueable to check in with the other to discover their preference.

• the combination of Truth & Love is irresistable.* (oh wait, i already said that.) the Truth without Love is too cold & heartless/dehumanizing, Love without Truth can be smothering. . .and well, it can kill you.

• there is more Truth present when opposing viewpoints are shared (without reconciliation).*

• suffering is unnecessary.*

• we are given a heart to let it break. it actually hurts worse to try to hold it together and avoid heartbreak. the more you allow it to shatter, the more Truth radiates.*

• we do what we need to learn.* (often there is something in our profession that we need to learn: caregivers need to learn to care for themselves, writers need to learn to communicate, educators need to learn how to, lol, learn, etc.)

• people are people are people.* (there are common experiences we all share regardless of race, gender, age, economic status, belief system, education, sexual preference or anything else.)

• anytime there are more than two people gathered, there are politics. we are political beings.*

• the point seems to be to make connections and let your light shine.* (matt 13:33)

• there is as much infinity inside our skin as there is outside of it.*

• being is enough.

• the heart is the seat of true wisdom.

• God wants us to experience pleasure and to have Faith in ourselves.*

• work can be very therapeutic.*

• valuing compassion keeps you honest.* (another one of those Love + Truth thangs.)

b4

before i was led to the Magdalene Circle, i labeled myself a "pagan buddhist christian." here's an old myspace blog on what i'd worked out.

Friday, May 20, 2005

ramblings of a pagan buddhist christian ok, so what kind of 'christian - other' do i mean? throughout my explorations of Truth, philosophy, life paths and theology, i've brought Jesus with me. not once has anyone ever asked me to renounce Him (which is what i was taught as a child would happen). amazingly the Truth is reflected in all faiths and my heart has called me to integrate these aspects. PAGAN as a child growing up in your average dysfunctional/abusive/neglectful american home, i often found sanctuary by being alone in uncultivated nature, along the creek that ran across one of the lots behind our house. nature saved me. and the dance--sometimes on sunday mornings i would get up before anyone else, silently leave the house and dance in the street in my pj's. for the last 8 years i've gotten so much out of sweating my prayers at body choir (bodychoir.org) with my tribe. being in a body is a tremendous gift (also contrary to what i was taught in sunday school). the body has all our answers, accessible through our heart (chakra). dancing has been THE most transformational path i've come across--i can't recommend it highly enough. i've learned to be present through sensation and am continuously learning how to allow more pleasure/good things in my life. nature and the body, are both very immediate. and the dance--humanity has danced since before time was recorded, we dance today and i believe we will always dance. it's a timeless practice that takes me to a place without time/space, a place of total connection, the deepest connection to self and the Sacred. also i have a theory: before there was language, emotion wasn't analyzed out into glad/sad/mad but was one feeling--one passion--all ecstacy/lust/rage/joy was expressed as one >ARGH!!!< (ok, so it doesn't translate very well into type. :P) it's a strong life force current that runs through me and enables me to face whatever situation presents itself. i LOVE this expression of Spirit! i've studied some native american practices and i have a great appreciation for their sense of the 4 directions. after my divorce, i thought the point of life was to get comfortable with freefall until my life became freefall--aaack!!!--and then i realized there IS structure i can depend on and one of these structures is the 4 directions. i've often felt that aboriginal peoples beliefs are closer to the Source in some ways, less diluted by politics and crowd control (like organized religions). BUDDHIST i'll never forget my first lesson of meditation from the darmadhatu center in austin. we sat. the instructor simply offered to observe the breath, watch it come and go. this only has to be (and i can't remember the exact number she gave me) 30% of your attention. other thoughts will come and go. if you find yourself running with your thoughts, simply come back to your breath. something that's come to me: that's why it's called a spiritual *practice*, 'cause you don't ever get perfect at it, you just keep practicing. breath is the ultimate metaphor of the universe! seems like everything fits into patterns of inhale and exhale. when life feels out of balance, i look to see if i feel i need more inhale (rest/yin) or exhale (action/yang). meditation made childbirth manageable. and there is a sweet humility i've found with buddhists. when i heard the dalai lama speak in phoenix, i felt all this amazing energy enter with him, felt like a whole throng of angelic beings encircled him, and the first thing he said was, i am no different from anyone else here. prayer is powerful and i still pray. meditation is also a powerful tool that adds serenity to my path/life. and then there's zen. not enough can be said about zen and there's nothing to be said. i love how it fully embraces mystery, absurdity, sanctity, simplicity and elegance all at once. everything is acknowledged including nothingness. helps me keep my sense o' humour. . .i tend to be way too serious when left to my natural way of being. there's just nothing like a good shot of zen. (SIKH) ok, lemme back track here a bit. for the longest time, when folks asked me if i was christian and then what denomination, i was at a loss for how to describe my christianity. 'esoteric' almost seemed limiting. when 'pagan buddhist christian' rolled across my consciousness, and i liked it, but since then i've wondered why 'sikh' wasn't in there. it doesn't really fit (linguistically), but i have learned so much from kundalini yoga and the sikh's as well. yogi bhajan gave us such a gift when he brought so much of the ancient wisdom of india, kundalini yoga and aeyurveda, to our country. it had been kept secret and there were consequences for what he shared. i'm grateful for his sacrifice. and for the name he gave me: gurudev kaur, which means 'princess of transparent wisdom.' waheh guru! which means 'wow God' and i love how much it sounds like alleluia! i'm grateful for what i've learned 'bout keeping my spine healthy, about diet and some yummy recipes. and i love the men's long flowing beards and how they looked at me like i was a goddess descended from the heavens (the sikh's believe women are superior beings. . .i like the idea, but i'm not completely convinced). :) people are people are people regardless of their attributes, including gender. CHRISTIAN bottom line: Jesus has saved me. more than once. i would've killed myself when i was 12 if i hadn't believed i'd go straight to hell. i dunno 'bout heaven/hell anymore. . .i know this life can be either and i feel called to assist in the manifestation of heaven on earth (thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven). i've also heard that once a soul commits suicide in one lifetime, then there is a tendency to repeat that pattern. i believe we can leave strong emotional/energetic signatures that can stay with us from one life to the next. for instance, i lived in charlottesville, virginia once and hated it. i couldn't get clear on exactly why except that the architectural white columns felt oppressive. i've also lived in charleston, west virginia and i had an inexplicable and strong sense of *home* the minute i crossed state lines. these life experiences leave me wondering if i wasn't a slave in a previous life that ran to freedom in west virginia. i'm not sure it really matters. perhaps i was just sensitive to other lives that had done that and i was picking up on their energies. again, i'm not sure that it matters. what matters is here and now, the infinite present moment. why else would we choose to exist in a dimension that has space/time? so how is it that a christian can still believe in reincarnation? here's the kicker for why, imho, Jesus is the ultimate: you see, i believe Jesus incarnated to set us free. COMPLETELY FREE. which includes political freedom ('the powers that be' by walter wink is an Excellent read), but that's not my point here. what he came to teach was unconditional Love and Forgiveness (i'm not sure 'bout the whole dying for my sins thing). IFF (if and only if) WE CAN TRULY FORGIVE THEN WE CAN STEP OUT OF THE KARMIC LOOP and we don't have to keep coming back, unless we want to. and the person who needs the forgiveness most is--did you guess it? OURSELVES. me. you. we are here to learn to completely forgive ourselves of all the mistakes we've made or will ever make--AND to forgive ourselves for the shitty experiences we sign up for. like incarnating at all! 'cause life is suffering. there's lots of beauty, joy and yumminess along with the pain, but the pain sucks, nonetheless. there's the whole issue of separation from our maker (God) being an illusion that seems to be an inescapable intrinsic quality of this dimension (space/time), but that's another blog. enough rambling for now. there are other influences, like rudolf steiner/anthroposophy/waldorf education, but this is more than enough for the moment. i welcome thoughts/responses/reactions/comments.