{"id":128,"date":"2026-08-24T14:29:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T14:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/?p=128"},"modified":"2026-08-24T14:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T14:29:17","slug":"being-the-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/being-the-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Being the Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<body>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why we dance\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n75N3FgLWhQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A freeform discussion led by Sky and Zareen from Echo Basin Ranch (Colorado), recorded on the last morning of a Dances of Universal Peace camp as they were packing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Opening: the article &amp; \u201cbeing the prayer\u201d<\/strong><br>Karima kicked things off responding to an article Sky had shared before the call. Her key takeaway: the dances aren\u2019t an abstract ritual \u2014 they\u2019re a present, living, co-created experience, happening \u201chere and now with who\u2019s there.\u201d This led into a discussion of Hazrat Inayat Khan\u2019s invocation prayer  \u2014 the group reflected that when dancing together, they\u2019re not just <em>saying<\/em> this prayer but <em>building and reactivating<\/em> the universal. The idea that ancient humans \u201cwere the prayer\u201d rather than reciting one recurred throughout \u2014 body prayer, rhythm, and movement as something hardwired into being human (echoed by Rosemary\u2019s mention of brain research on ritual\/community bonding, and Xtevan\u2019s book on ritual mentioned in the chat).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Leading dances \u2014 surrender, simplicity, and partnership<\/strong><br>Sky and Zareen talked about their long working partnership as co-leaders (also joined by Bernie this camp) \u2014 describing an intuitive, synergistic way of leading together, \u201cdropping into a space beyond the personal self.\u201d Key points on leadership:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Simple dances are often the most powerful because they bypass the \u201ccritical brain.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leading well requires <em>surrender<\/em> \u2014 not overselling or over-controlling the dance, letting the group itself carry it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A leader\u2019s role is holding spiritual connection, not logistics. Sky mentioned this camp was her last as a \u201cstructure holder\u201d \u2014 she wants to focus solely on holding the container, not the admin\/logistics burden.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leaders draw on others\u2019 expertise (Sanskrit, Buddhist, Christian participants) rather than positioning themselves as sole authorities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Being authentically \u201cgrouchy\u201d with each other sometimes is part of staying real, as long as it doesn\u2019t spill into the dance space itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Meeting people where they are<\/strong><br>A long thread on accessibility: choosing dances that resonate with a given community (Hanukkah dances in Mormon towns, Jewish-themed dances noted as broadly resonant, \u201cindigenous-light\u201d\/nature-themed dances vs. explicitly Native content). Stories included Cleo\u2019s Mormon friends being drawn to the dances despite religious differences, and a retired Christian minister who found the dances affirmed things he\u2019d always felt about Christianity. General theme: the dances work because they don\u2019t require doctrinal belief \u2014 just presence, breath, rhythm, and eye contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Community, connection, and modern isolation<\/strong><br>Several participants spoke about the loneliness of modern\/church life vs. the deep connection felt in the circle \u2014 \u201cmeeting everyone\u2019s eyes,\u201d feeling like family with strangers. Zareen linked this to a broader cultural hunger for community (citing rising interest in meditation\/Buddhism online) and framed the dances as helping people \u201cwake up\u201d to a more connected, less individualistic way of being \u2014 subtly countercultural to Western conditioning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Conflict, healing, and non-duality<\/strong><br>One participant shared a moving personal story of tension with another dancer during a partner dance (a hard grip, hurt feelings) that resolved into an apology and reconciliation by the end of camp \u2014 offered as an example of how the dance container lets difficult emotions surface and clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This opened into a philosophical discussion of the phrase \u201cLa ilaha illallah\u201d (commonly translated \u201cthere is nothing but God\/Love\u201d). Sky pushed back gently on \u201cthere is nothing but love\u201d as too narrow given cultural baggage around the word \u201clove\u201d (attachment, codependency); Zareen offered \u201cthe one reality\u201d as an inclusive alternative, adaptable to each person\u2019s own spiritual language. Others added related practices: the Taoist \u201cinner smile,\u201d and the zikr phrase structure of \u201cemptying and filling\u201d (emptying the small self, filling with spiritual ideal\/presence).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Closing: Wendy\u2019s canoe journey<\/strong><br>Wendy closed the call describing an upcoming Pacific Northwest Native canoe journey\/potlatch gathering she participates in (Paddle to\u2026 with the Nisqually tribe hosting this year), drawing parallels between that tradition\u2019s communal, prayerful, dry-camp culture and the Dances of Universal Peace \u2014 different form, same essence of connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The session closed with warm thanks all around to Sky and Zareen.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A freeform discussion led by Sky and Zareen from Echo Basin Ranch (Colorado), recorded on the last morning of a Dances of Universal Peace camp as they were packing up.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131,"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128\/revisions\/131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mysticdance.com\/dlt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}