Greetings and thank you for reading! This Week in Peace hopes to offer a fresh perspective on life by being focused on all that is good and encouraging others to do the same. A positive focal point in need of attention is the fact that until September 20th, it is officially still the summer season. Many of our students have returned to school for the fall. As this column is being written, clouds are filling the sky. Yet, cloud cover is "a persistent illusion," as Albert Einstein said of reality. Let's treat ourselves to the entire season, not just half! Let's finish summer with the same adventurous enthusiasm as we started it with. There are still berries, melons, swimming pools, long days, warm nights and open road just waiting for us. Enjoy!
This week the Dance of Peace was fortunate to take part in a City of San Jose advocacy program for teen mothers. The event was a half-day retreat focused on supporting young mothers as they continue their education and care for their children. Teens ages 14-19 spend 18 months in a program that provides parenting classes, child care and scholarships to help foster their futures. There were 10 mothers in attendance and all had their children present with them. The babies and toddlers were naturally uninhibited in dance. Some of the teens objected, stating, "I really can't dance!"
An African proverb states that "if you can talk you can sing, if you can walk you can dance." Perhaps we doubt our skill. Fortunately, singing and dancing don't really require skill so much as they do willingness and practice. Upon sharing this theory with the group, the teen felt that this attitude of practice could apply to them. We learned a dance in minutes that everyone participated in, even the staff. One part of the dance required us to 'shake and shimmy' with all our might. This brought giggles and blushing to the group. As ladies, we are often conditioned to believe that it was improper or distasteful to move in these ways. Yet shaking and shimmying are powerful healing tools for the body, mind and spirit. How?
In his book "Shaking Medicine" author Bradford Keeney tells us the shaking of the body is one of the oldest healing modalities. It works in many ways but the main one is that it brings all of the bodies energetic systems into balance. Innate wisdom tells us that to live is to move. We awaken our bodies from the slumber that they naturally fall into through our daily task when we dance and shake. The only way to discover the miraculous benefits of healing is to move our bodies ourselves. No one can force us or feel the electric sensations for us. This healing of the body/mind is well worth a few minutes of our time and effort. Try it today!
Another highlight of the Dance of Peace each week is the ongoing class at San Jose Peace and Justice Center on Fridays at 10am. The class is open to all. In the summer, people tend to have a little more time off to try new things. A lovely outgrowth of that has been having new faces at the dance classes. One of the new people was my 60-year-old mother visiting from Texas. I wanted her to experience the class and interact with people in a new environment. To my knowledge, she had never attended a dance class. After meeting the other dancers, she sat quietly for a while observing everything. Her new favorite song of the week was Layla Hathaway's "Falling." It is a perfect song for the Dance of Peace because of its relaxed tempo, beautiful piano and heartfelt message of love. As soon as we played it, she rose from her chair, becoming enraptured by the music. She sang out loud and danced along with the class. Fellow dancers were encouraging as we all followed her movements and learned from her for a while! All of this happened seamlessly, no fanfare or announcements needed. After class she shared that she felt a 'lightness' that wasn't present before. That is the magic of dancing in the spirit of peace that we open ourselves to in the class. No need to strive or struggle. Moving and being open is enough to have a meaningful experience!
The following week, a student who was new to free-form dance attended. He had a background in ballroom dance which requires memorizing specific steps and performing them with precision. Though he was able to do this, he had a hard time loosening up enough to dance. A friend recommended that he take classes in more flexible styles of dance to open his body-mind. The Dance of Peace class is perfect for this! Though it does contain specific steps, these steps are based on emotion, not numbers. Each technique within is formulated to lend itself to helping people discover their body's own natural movement and express that. It is a wonderful tool for getting out of our thoughts and into our bodies in the present moment. After a few minutes of practice, he became slightly frustrated, "You say you're a dancer? What waltzes do you know?" he asked me. "I don't know any!" I laughed. " Please, teach us some!" He declined, instead choosing to focus on feeling the new music, rhythm and steps within. He stayed for the entire class. Afterward he stated, "I liked the end better, where we didn't count the steps." This experience illustrates the fact that life is always willing to be surprising when we're present to it. Life wants to play with us. Leaving our comfort zone to learn and grow, in dance or any field, is like inviting life to engage us on a more personal level. And, as I always say, don't listen to me. The proof of is in us. Thanks and see you out there!
Check out more of the This Week In Peace Column:
Open to the Lessons of Life
Harnessing Enchantment Through the Dance of Peace
We Move Freedom Forward By Making Room for Others
