LIVING THE DANCE
Life is a dance, literally and figuratively.
It is not only the day to day grind of juggling
busy lives, but also the attempt of a collective mankind to create something
infinitely greater than himself, while being trapped in a finite corporeal body.
To lose oneself in dance is to create acceptance that the
dance is leading you and enabling you to give to the universe freely and
without prejudice. When I dance, it is
not only for my own benefit and upliftment, but for the greater good of the
universe. The energy created by my
movements is released into the ether and spread that way.
Being mindful of what you do when you exercise enables you
to release stagnant negative energy and attract and absorb fresh positive energy. This is achieved through breathing deeply and
rhythmically, while being aware of each movement in a spirit of love,
acceptance and respect for all. Facing each direction at the end of a
session, raising my arms on high and returning with prayerful hands signifies
salutation, recognition, encompassing all and giving thanks and blessings.
In order to experience the Dance in its full spectrum and
deepest meaning, you have to find yourself and lose yourself at the same
time. You have to be present in the
moment, conscious of the song and its rhythm and cadence, the way the
instruments are played and combined to complement each other, the feeling,
meaning and intention of it, and if there are words, the singer and his or her
interpretation and expression of the words through the music.
Then you should use every part of your body to mirror your
interpretation of the music, starting with your feet and legs where the beat is
most easily found first, then moving your hands, fingers and arms, head, neck
and shoulders, and your torso, the fulcrum that gives mobility to your
limbs. Be aware of all the joints in
your body, that allow you to move in a myriad of directions and form innumerable
combinations of movements in relation to each other.
Discover ways to make the different parts speak to each
other and speak together, thus allowing your body to give itself over in absolute
abandon to the music and the dance. When
you can do this, and truly feel the great magic of becoming a part of something
bigger than yourself; then does your ethereal body rise up into the ether and
your soul fly free.
When you tune in and give yourself over to the vibrations beyond
the beat and the drums, you come into alignment with all that is and realise
the one-ness in everything. Then does
your body sing with exquisite beauty and is your voice carried throughout
eternity on the wings and winds of time.
The Theory behind the
Dance
Perfect technique may give you the ability to perform the
steps and movements correctly and precisely, but that is not what makes a
brilliant dancer. It takes soul to
shine.
This quality is the quintessential ingredient in a star
performer. The Arts are so called
precisely because they are different to Science (although Art and Science are fundamentally
and on the deepest level of understanding one and the same), in the sense that Science
until relatively recently has been understood by most to be indicative of an
object or a subject possessing purely physical properties and being subject to definitive
objective natural laws.
The defining feature of Arts is creativity. It is an ephemeral, abstract concept, which
means ‘to bring into being out of nothing’ or ‘to bring forth’. It is difficult for us to imagine firstly, a
state of nothingness, much less how something can be created out of nothing.
However, it is so simple and easy to see the beauty in a
great performance or work of art and to appreciate it. Why? It
is perhaps because we delight in witnessing that spark of the divine, which, by
recognising it, somehow makes us a part of it.
Dance can take a myriad forms. We are not alone by any means in partaking of
this sacred activity. All of nature is
prone to dance. We are fortunate and
blessed that we have discovered such diverse and rich ways of expressing the
Dance of Life – through dance, music, painting, sculpting, writing, cooking,
gardening – in fact everything we do is a part of it… but especially meaningful
and rewarding when we are aware of it.
One can perform a complex ballet by using just your hands,
fingers and arms. When you feel the
music within you and move with it, it becomes you and you become both the physical
expression of the music and something greater; the synergistic effect of the
combination of you and the music.
Ah, but there is another factor involved - the mysterious, limitless
potential variety of creativity and form.
The key to unlocking the door to Divinity is to realise that
there is no door.
The moment you open yourself, you will feel
the inrushing of wings and water
and you will fly and float on the highest sky
and dip and dive into the deepest depths
as you play and perform with gay abandon
the graceful game of
Giving God
Giving to God
Getting God and
Getting to God.
The motions may be created
By some great mind and master
But the motions themselves
Are dead and lifeless.
Only by joining with them
And becoming them
As they become you
Can they begin to live.
Don’t just go through the motions –
Become the motions.
Better still, create your own motions.
Don’t let anyone dictate to you how to dance
For only God and you can create
Your unique dance
In this life.
The trick to living a full life
Is to live life to the fullest.
