Why we dance

Dear Dance, Hot Springs and Beauty Lovers,

This morning I woke up with the sun streaming through the window (Yea! for Sunday morning…). The grass is greening from spring rains, and three deer were grazing right below the porch. (Yes, for those of you who know Kyle the dog… he was quite anxious over the whole situation.)

I was struck with the beauty of our earth, and started thinking about why we dance, why it is so important that we come together to sing and move together.

Many of you are probably in agreement with me that we live in a time where deep social changes need to take place, quickly; both within our country and throughout the entire world. Humanity (particularly in the good ol’ US) has seriously lost the roots of our being. Most particularly we’ve lost the feeling and experience of being “us”. Our lives are so independent that we very rarely touch into the ground of being within our humanity that we are, in essence, one organism around the globe.

Eat, Dance and Pray Together

I think that Sam Lewis (the crazy mystic who started the dances in the 60’s) had a similar vision. He asked us to “Eat, dance and pray together.” That wasn’t a request just to party, but to come together within the context of his (our) overall global peace plan.

Dancing is different from all our other spiritual pursuits because it requires our participation. It is not just about our single, personal, feeling of peace and unity. It’s about creating an actual living unity within the circle.  The Dances of Universal Peace is not a spectator sport. It is one of the few things we can do where we are not a consumer. Our spot in the circle is important because it fills the room with our movement and song.

Every time we get together we not only feel it, but we become it. That’s why we go home from each dance meeting with a sense of greater soul strength and clarity. And that’s why it’s important that we all come together and dance as often as possible.

So Happy Spring to everyone. I hope to be seeing your smiling face in the circle very soon.

Love

Connie Zareen