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Polishing the Heart - March 2023
Dear Friends,
One of the strongest resonances for me with the Dances of Universal Peace is that they provide a direct experience that touches you deep within.
As The Farm Community formed, we looked at the vast array of religions and spiritual teachings through the centuries. In many ways, these were passed down in the form of stories that were eventually written and collected into books. And while insights can be gained and consciousness expanded by taking in new concepts learned through reading and teachings, our path to spirit was primarily inspired by direct experience.
Spiritual teacher Ram Dass describes it as the moment of Ahhh, brief though it may be, a transcendence, defined as going beyond physical, outside the mind. It can take you to a place to a place I describe as an inner peace, an inner knowing.
I find this in the midst of a Dance, when we feel a common unity of purpose and intention, when all voices and movements are as one. Some might call this attunement. More about this below.
But it is perhaps that period of silence when a Dance has reached it conclusion, when we sip the delicious nectar of clear consciousness, a moment of transcendence. Toward the One.
Peace, Douglas
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Attunement
I was recently talking with another dance leader about the nature of attunement, and how that is expressed or embodied as we lead a dance.
I went on to reflect about this for days, thinking about what attunement means to me, and how I might share those thoughts with you. It came to me that attunement is expressed layer by layer, each one building upon the other to create the whole, the oneness expressed within a Dance.
Hazarat Inayat Kahn
“There exists in all people, either consciously or unconsciously, a tendency toward rhythm.”
“…the whole universe is a single mechanism working by the law of rhythm.”
The Mysticism of Sound, Music, and Word
Murshid Sam Lewis
“What does dance do for us? First and foremost, it inculcates the sense of rhythm and enhances our response to rhythm. This is really a response to life. It makes us more living, which is to say, more spiritual. It brings out beauty of form and movement, and envelops our personalities in the enjoyment of them. It takes us beyond ourselves, bringing an initial taste of the state of non-being, which is really a balm for the soul.”
Murshid Sam goes on to describe rhythm as coming from the earth and connecting directly to our bodies while melody influences the mind. Together, the two form harmony.
I see those dance leaders who are also strong on guitar can have an advantage because the guitar sets the rhythm for the drummer.
The guitar also establishes the tone, the beginnings of melody that inform the ear. Those tones tell us if the music is happy, or mournful, uplifting and energetic, or turns us inward, reflective, taking us into a meditative place.
The next level of attunement is established with the melody, The melody uses the law of attraction, the playfulness of notes that gives each tune its personality. Melody carries the emotion, can tell us of culture and origin. It can use the mind to play with the heart.
In the Dances, the melody is most often connected to the sound of the voice. The strongest notes are expressed through vowel sounds, heard in the core of a mantra. Mantras may come in the form of words, but these are shaped around sounds that carry a vibration unto themselves.
The top layer of attunement falls upon the words that are sung. Words transform the melody into tangible ideas, more direct communication. Words penetrate deeper when we understand them, know their meaning, becoming concepts that we may embody and express through the core self. It is a resonance emanating as a direct vibration from our vocal cords, the energy center of the throat, the throat chakra, which extends its harmony through every energy center of the body and completes the attunement of our entire being.
The dance leader does his or her best to be a clear expression of all this, a transmission that is felt, taken in, and absorbed by every dancer in the circle. Each person uses all this to form their own attunement, and the circle becomes one attunement unto itself.
As a dance leader, I try to begin strong. Solid in rhythm, distinct in melody, clear in words, so that all in the circle are grounded in the energy of the Dance.
But my favorite part is when the circle has fully embodied the Dance, and I can pull back and just listen. It is in that moment that I am uplifted in the true attunement of the dance, and feel the alignment in all hearts, and I am filled with joy.
We come together to embrace the waves of energy, the essence that draws us to this practice, to the Dances, again, and again.
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 I met musician Hassan Ravenwolf at Ozark Sufi Camp, and am thrilled to have him join us on flute and saxophone for our Dances on The Farm! Open the Love Window!
Spring Ozark Sufi Camp in Missouri, Friday, May 26 through Wednesday, May 31 Outside the west coast, Ozark Camp is one of the largest Dance Camps happening, with a strong-knit family that has been dancing together for 42 years. It is where I knew I had found a new family and community.
Bernie Heideman will be there as guest Dance leader and Forrest Pierce, a brilliant fellow in the Kansas Sufi community, will be serving as a teacher. I have been invited to do some leading and I love late-night singing on the porch!
“Close the language door and
Open the love window.
The moon won’t use the door,
Only the window.” ~ Rumi
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Salmon Wild River Dance Camp in Idaho, June 22-26
 Salmon Wild River Camp - Salmon Idaho 609 West 4th Street, Salmon, ID Hosted by Zareen Connie Delaney and Wayne Talmage. As I mentioned last month, after Ozark Deborah and I will be on a journey west, heading to the Salmon Wild River Dance Camp in Idaho.
After that we are hoping to visit Mark Krielkamp's circle in Spokane, Washington, and I see there are circles throughout Oregon.
Contact me directly if you would like connect. Parliament of World Religions August 14-18 in Chicago, at McCormick Place Lakeside Center. A reminder DUPNA is offering NextGen dancers and Dance Leaders (age 18-40's) scholarships with pre-paid registration ($250), plus lodging, and travel, up to $560. Contact hayatdupna@gmail.com to learn more. Click here to apply.
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 Dancing at The Farm Cemetery. It takes the meaning of connected to the land to new level. |
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My Dance mentor Sky Roshay's upcoming Dance Camps
with Bernie Heideman, Sky Roshay, and Jen Friedman
January 22-24, 2024 All My Relations, Toda mi Relationes
A bi-lingual camp with Dance Leader training January 31-February 1, 2024. Deepening into Being with Sky Roshay, Shivadam Burke, and Jen Friedman
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For more information, contact me: douglas@villagemedia.com
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Thank you for your time and attention!
