Move and Be Moved - 5Rhythms Olympia

July Stone Carving Workshop

Wed, 28 May 2008 13:50:28 -0700

Start: 2008 Jul 5 - 12:00am

End: 2008 Jul 26 - 12:00am

I am offering a stone carving workshop July this summer. We will meet in my studio for four Saturdays, 10:00 am - 3:00 pm and engage in the transformational process of turning stone into soul. The fee is $350.00 plus the cost of the stone. Everything but lunch is provided. If you are interested in participating or learning more, please contact me at revdocsil@gmail.com.

Realization

Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:39:53 -0800

I've been sick with a nasty cold for over a week. I missed last Monday night's 5Rhythyms session because of it. I was registered to attend Sara's "Motion, Rhythm, and Life" workshop today, but after spending the morning helping some friends and doing very light physical work I realized that my energy tank was empty. These colds tend to linger far beyond what one expects. It was apparent that I could not and should not try to spend the next six hours dancing, so I canceled.

For the last few weeks my dance experience has been less than joyful. Mostly due to a niggling knee problem with its persistent, relatively minor yet nagging pain, I have been unable to let myself go into the dance and enjoy the simple freedom of movement of my body. When I got home today after having called someone to tell them that I would not be at the dance workshop I found myself to be deeply disappointed. It wasn't so much missing the opportunity to dance as to not be with the people. I had been so looking forward to seeing my regular dancing friends and perhaps other friends from out of town, that to miss that experience was very painful. It made me realize what a precious resource my dance community is. The dance itself is the common bond, but the community provides love and acceptance that I rarely find anywhere else.

In a sense, then, I am grateful for this miserable little virus that grips my body because it has shown me through deprivation how meaningful my dance community is to me and how deeply connected I feel to the people in it. As I've said before in these pages, there's a lot of love in that room and today I missed it more than ever.

Liberation

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 06:43:02 -0800

When I tell people that the 5Rhythms practice has changed my life I'm finding that more of them want to know how.

The dance has allowed me to crack through the encrusted layers of fear, denial, and neglect of who I am to liberate the voices, the music, the poetry, the courage, the fearlessness, the willingness to stand in the storm, face full into the wind and not be afraid, but rather to drink it in, to say this is life, this is my life, and I will hide it no more; I will never again let it go.

Waves at six AM

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 09:46:14 -0700

Each morning my daily ritual repeats itself. The alarm goes off at six sharp and I emerge from my cozy nest under the down comforter. When we moved into this house, we bought a “Real” bed. Until this last move we never slept in manufactured bed. In the many houses we have had, I always build a platform out of pine wood and threw a King Size madras on top. This new bed is taller than anything we have ever slept on, and in the morning I find myself sliding DOWN, rather than getting OUT of the bed. I find my slippers on the floor and with the ease of a fossilized Dinosaur make my way to the bathroom. This first walk in the morning is definitely not the FLOW; it’s not even LYRICAL, but quite: STACATO. I have found that it takes at least two cups of coffee for me to loosen up those hip joints. Right now, that coffee is consumed in our living room because we are under construction and the kitchen is hidden under layers of plastic sheets. Dry wall dust covers everything and makes the surface of my coffee look like it got an extra sprinkle of Coffee Mate – Aghrrr! We live in CHAOS and struggle to keep up with it. Without the Waves classes, I think my partner and I would kill each other, the contractor, and the news paper delivery person who always miss our drive way and I end up having to climb the Japanese maple tree to retrieve my Seattle Times. But we have our dance, and it does keep us sane and connected. Thanks again Amara and Sara and good luck in Hawaii.

Poem

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 09:55:16 -0700

Sometimes we float
Like birds blown away in a windstorm
Upside down
The floor seems to disappear

Suspended in space
I dance
With you
And you dance me

When the music slows
Completely out of breath
I embrace you

But I am no longer me
And you are no longer you
We have given up existing
In ourselves

Free for a fletching moment.

Sejd

We have come to be danced

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 09:20:00 -0700

My dear friend Marianne Hoepli sent me this wonderful poem.
[img_assist|fid=342|thumb=1|alt=Dancing the Tango in Buenos Aires|caption=Silvia dancing in the streets of Buenos Aires]

For we women...

We have come to be danced
Not the pretty dance
Not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
But the claw our way back into the belly
Of the sacred, sensual animal dance
The unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of it's box dance
The holding the precious moment in the palms
Of our hands and feet dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the jiffy booby, shake your booty for him, dance
But the wring the sadness from our skin dance.
The slap the apology from our posture dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the monkey see, monkey do dance
One two dance like you
One two three, dance like me dance
But the grave robber, tomb stalker
Tearing scabs and scars open dance
The rub the rhythm raw against our soul dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the nice, invisible, self-conscious shuffle
But the matted hair flying, voodoo mama
Shaman shakin' ancient bones dance
The strip us from our casings, return our wings
Sharpen our claws and tongues dance
The shed dead cells and slip into
The luminous skin of love dance.

We have come to be danced
Not the hold our breath and wallow in the shallow end of the floor dance
The shout hallelujah from the top of our thighs dance
The mother may I?
Yes you may take 10 giant leaps dance
The olly olly oxen free free free dance
The everyone can come to our heaven dance.

We have come to be danced
Where the kingdom's collide
In the cathedral of flesh
To burn back into the light
To unravel, to play, to fly, to pray
To root in skin sanctuary
We have come to be danced
We have come

--Jewel Mathieson

Dancing with Rumi

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 20:25:49 -0700

I cannot say that I am any expert on Rumi. I do consider him one of my favorite friends though. Over the past fifteen years I have spent many hours either trying to understand his mystical poems or been involved in expressing them in dance. Some years, when we lived in Utah, I gathered a group around me and choreographed dance movements to the Persian lyrics of the Mathnavi. I met a dear friend who was a prophessor in Sufism at the U of U and toghether we worked out translations of Rumi poems into my native Danish. Now that I have started dancing at Waves studio in Olympia I find myself back with Rumi again. Maybe stronger than ever. "So this was what he was talking about!" The completel emertion in chaos, in extacy and YES, Intoxication of love. Looks like Rumi and I will be at it again for a long time.
Peace
Sejd

Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 19:58:43 -0700

Shawn Swanson, 5Rhythm teacher from California visited the Olympia Tribe this week, masterfully spinning his tunes and rocking our worlds at this morning's Inner Wave and Sweat Your Prayers.

His SYP invitation was to meditate upon returning, which he delivered with a gentle, nurturing voice. Wave upon wave he guided us through the mysteries of returning, returning, returning with a great selection of music inspiring release, freedom, deep joy and connection.

I am reminded through this dance of Robert Henri's words, "There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest wisdom."

Dreams Don't Have to Compete

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 14:37:55 -0700

Julie's beautiful insight of our "response to perception" reminded me of the following: A few months ago I was struggling with two different directions to go, fearing that I'd have to give up one dream to follow the other. A friend then told me, "Dreams don't have to compete." What a gift.

For the last couple of weeks I have been encountering this phrase over and over again, unexpectedly, and I've wondered why. At the same time I've been stressing about many things I want to accomplish and wondering how in the world I'm going to do it all. I awoke yesterday realizing that again I had two dreams and one seemed to be getting in the way of the other. Was it time to give one of them up? I thought about it all day--what should I do? That evening I found myself suddenly staring at this same wonderful phrase where I had posted it on the wall. Ah, that's why I needed to be reminded of this. Now is the time to apply it.

As I relaxed about my situation I began to realize other things as well. I always have the availability of divine inspiration to give me ideas about how to proceed. Information, inspiration, is in constant flow around me. There are no times when Spirit is not working or giving me direction. But when I begin to think that nothing's going on, that once again I have a problem that seems to have no solution, I'm not seeing truly. The truth is that I am one with Spirit and my mind is connected to God's. So how can there ever be a time when nothing is happening? There can't. I am always being guided by the thoughts of God because God is always thinking. I always know what to do, I just don't always know that I know because I'm not paying attention.

Jack Kornfield says that when we see the endless mental stories of fear and judgment that repeat over and over, we can, through mindfulness, "let them go and relax, steady the mind, and return to the present." When I steady my mind, return to center, and change my perception, I know what to do.

Andrea's Ferocious Heart

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:58:55 -0700

Andrea Juhan, Phd will visit Olympia's WAVES studio this week to share her 5Rhythm workshop Ferocious Heart. Andrea has taught the 5Rhythm Movement Meditation practice for many years. This is her first teaching visit to Olympia.

She rocks. She plays great music. She fearlessly leads us into wild terrain, and gives her full heart.

Her workshop information can be found on the Moving Center California or Olympia WAVES studio websites. Contact WAVES studio for more information.

Olympia's WAVES Studio

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:56:05 -0700

Olympia's 5Rhythms WAVES studio moved last week to Fusion Studio, which is next door.

Some class times have changed. See WAVES studio website: www.waves-studio.com for an updated schedule.

On Change

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:07:16 -0700

When I dance from the inside out, I don't know what's coming next, but I trust that it's okay and good. Sometimes what comes is something that I want to stay in for a while. It's comfortable. It feels good and right. Sometimes what comes is a bridge to a greater thing.

All change creates tension, which give opportunity for fear, anger, pulling in. There is an equal opportunity for adventure, for new discovery, for trusting the unknown.

How can you trust what is not known? In the end, you just do. You take a leap, you let go. It is our fear that generates more fear. It is the openness of heart, mind, and spirit that seeks and finds new light.

We walk through doors, climb through windows, and cross over bridges. This is how we move. We trust ourselves, our feet, our hearts, and those around us who help hold the space. And we dance forever from the inside out.

Pain and the Authentic Self

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 20:26:29 -0800

I want to share a passage from a book called I Am the Door by Paul Ferrini. These words challenge me about how I live my life. I hear the dance and the lessons we learn in the dance all through them--the dance, healing, our community:

Healing Our Wounds

For many people, it is easier to let others see the pasteboard mask than the contorted face behind it. They are proud of the spiritual adult, but ashamed of the wounded child.

However, those who have the courage to face their pain pull the mask away. They give themselves permission to be authentic and to grow. Their willingness to be emotionally present with what they are feeling opens a sacred passageway. Closed hearts start to pulsate, bodies begin to breathe, and blocked energies are released. This is the first step in the healing process.

Other steps follow, for healing means movement. It doesn’t mean falling in love with pain, holding onto it, or building an identity around it. It is not a stationary train, but a moving one. Once you get on it, it takes you where you need to go.

Pain is the great equalizer. It enables you to be honest and authentic. It empowers you to ask for unconditional love and support from others and to be willing to offer the same in return. It connects you with a healing community of human beings whose shells of denial are cracking.

Sitting, breathing, being

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 02:51:21 -0800

Sitting in meditation, mind wandering, coming back to breath--starting over again; you get to start over again; forgiveness over and over. How nice.

Overachievers try too hard, they're goal-oriented, not in the moment. In yoga, they reach for the pose. That's in the future, not now. Breathing is now, reaching this inch is now. Arriving at that point is not now, it is then. It doesn't exist.

My work mind has shifted from seeing and fearing the end to working steadily each day. Same with studying. It's not about a degree, it's about learning invaluable things. I look forward to opening this book and reading more about the mind and the psyche. I want to do it more.

What has changed? I am now more open. How? Let go of the goals, my ideas of what should be. I have to live with what is, so I might as well get comfortable with it. Does that mean I can never change anything or that it's not okay to want something else, like a better life, more money, a newer car? No, those are fine, but don't invest all your present energy in them. If you want to accomplish something, see it and believe it. At the same time, know what is. Be with today, this hour, this moment. Accept it as the only truth that exists. And keep moving, but at peace. You are neither worried that you'll fail nor distracted by the idea of what lies ahead. You are present, powerful, and peaceful.

The Power of I Am

Sat, 03 Feb 2007 12:42:46 -0800

Have you ever thought about how quietly potent the truth of "I AM" is? In our pure essence we don't have to describe ourselves with adjectives: I am good, I am bad, I am lazy, I am smart, I am stupid, I am God, I am worthless, etc. Consider the elegance of the simple bare truth that I am. I am what? Do you really need the what? I am.

When Moses met God at the burning bush he asked, "What is your name?" God answered, "I AM THAT I AM." I am. Period. I exist. When you realize that you simply exist, you know that you have the intrinsic right to do so.

Who are you when you dance? How do you describe yourself? I am a good dancer. I am a clumsy dancer. I am a sexy dancer. I am a fluid dancer. How about I am a dancer. I am my dancer. I am. That's really it. You are no one else but yourself, dancing your own private creation that comes out of who you are. Your dance is you. It is one with you. It is an outward expression of you. It says, "I am."

Who are you at work, or stressed out, or at play, or making love, or drinking coffee, or chatting with a friend, or staring eyeball to eyeball with an emboldened sea gull at Percival Landing? Who are you? You are. Period.

The I am is free, safe, at peace, joyful, wide open. No need for ornaments.