by Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew website
“Dancing heals our bodies, our communities, and the earth.” Emily offered this possibility to a small group who bravely came out to the Villa Maria Retreat Center for an entire weekend of dancing. Out on the lawn, in a lovely round room, and around an eleven-circuit labyrinth, we danced ancient, earth-centered dances, all in circles, all holding hands. Together we were explored prayer danced not in solitude but in community—we needed each other to make the dance happen. Most of the dances were pre-Christian, some with a Christian overlay, and they all were women’s dances that preserve a fertile, reverent manner of being in the world. By repeating these steps, we recreated a very old way of relating to each other and nature.
In our conversations about the healing properties of these dances, one Catholic sister reminded us, “We ARE the earth.” We are the earth’s only means of dancing. We are meant to dance; by gathering in communities, holding hands, and creating this common prayer, we are fulfilling the earth’s potential.
Her comment reminded me of my favorite quote from Teresa of Avila:
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which is to look out Christ’s compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.
The earth has no dancers but us, no means of holding hands except through us, no way of teaching our interconnectedness and interdependence with plants and creatures and sky and cycles except through us. One woman said to me, “Have you ever noticed that it’s almost impossible to dislike someone while you’re dancing with them?” All of the dances massaged the ground and pumped the earth’s energy up, into our bodies and our circle. Each dance provides a form which, much like any faith tradition, has withstood the test of time as a worthy container for holding and honoring the Sacred. Dancing these forms, I experienced them as an extension of the natural order—a way to remember how thoroughly of the earth I am.
by Emily
Dancing, particularly slow, simple, three measure dances, has been an important part of my recovery from cancer. When I was deeply fatigued I would focus on letting the earth's energy rise through my steps. When I was feeling afraid I turned to dances that remind me of my resilience and dignity even in the context of loss. When I was tempted to think the burden of healing rested solely on my shoulders it was helpful to lift up my arms while dancing and open myself up to being part of the cosmic dance. During one particularly dark week of chemotherapy treatments, out of desperation to find some spark of light I danced a few dances in my hotel room. It worked: dancing directly reconnected me to the joy and trustworthiness of life force in a way that nothing else could. Through dance I witness myself embodying my spiritual journey. I trust that if I can dance it, I can also live it.
by Susanne Bartholomäi website
Susanne Bartholomäi is a Circle Dance teacher originally from Germany and now living at the Findhorn community. She writes about her particular fusion of Sacred Circle Dance called DanceMeditation. Almost all her words also ring true for Twin Circles Sacred Circle Dance.
Dance as a meditation means to be fully present and aware of the body and its movements, to focus the mind on the moment and to open the heart. Just as the body is connected to both heaven and earth, the heart is both at the center of ourselves and forming the connection to the other, to the circle. It is the aim of DanceMeditation to experience this connectedness, both vertically and horizontally, to dance it and live it. Choreographed dances, movement meditation and traditional dances mainly from Greece, the Roma tradition and the Balkans lead us on a path of dance that aims to connect us with the strength of the earth, the openness of the sky, and the love in our heart. DanceMeditation connects us to our deepest roots. The circle anticipates the unity we long for and of which we are part. The dance carries us into a stream where the community and the here and now of our physical presence form the starting point for a journey to our inner home. As we grow more rooted and connected to the earth through the growing awareness in our feet, and as we open our heart, share joy, and surrender to the movement, our mind becomes wide and clear. To feel this life force in body, heart and mind awakens our gratitude for the gift of life and leads us to the source of strength deep inside ourselves.
by White Ash
4 Jan 2007
Good day ~
I am blessed to co-focalise a monthly Sacred Circle Dance in Minneapolis, MN, USA. We have an annual tradition of an elongated New Year's Day of dancing and potluck. Eileen Caddy, one of the three original founders of Findhorn (a spiritual home for me where, among many other things, I encountered Sacred Dance) passed on 13 December 2006 after a remarkable life of 89 years.
As I prepared the centerpiece, Eileen was in my heart, and I was drawn to use a piece of Findhorn pottery to cradle the central candle. I attuned to many other objects to include in the centerpiece. As we began our event with our usual grounding, I shared the news of Eileen and her connection and significance to our group, none of whom have been to Findhorn. I invited them to scry into 2007 by looking at the objects, picking them up if they felt inspired, and sharing any qualities, messages, information, inspirations they got from them as related to 2007.
One person immediately picked up a silver ball. When moved, it makes a faerie-like tinkling sound. It ended up becoming a sort of talisman that went around, with each person playing its magic while they shared. It occurred to me after several sharings, that this very ball was given to me at Findhorn by a very special transgendered soul. I had only consciously put one Findhorn-related object in the centerpiece; the group picked up on the second Findhorn-related object I had unconsciously included.
As the evening unfolded from celebratory dances to potluck to introspective dances, I felt inspired to dedicate a dance in Eileen's honor. While at Findhorn in 1991, I had focalized the creation of "Lifeflow" with my Sacred Dance co-attendees. The music is a track called "St. Agnes and the Burning Train" from Sting's The Soul Cages album, a peppy yet dolce acoustic guitar ditty. The steps signify looking to the past and future, the support of our friends, the inevitable spinning around of life, catching ourselves, coming back to center, reconnecting with our friends and flowing on. Could there be more perfect symbology for the New Year, and Eileen's life?! As we danced, I focused my gaze on the centerpiece, and the pottery and silver ball in particular. I got goosebumps as I felt connected to Eileen and felt embraced by those present as we honoured her essence.
Infinite blessings to you Eileen in your ecstatic transition, and all that you, Peter, and Dorothy have amazingly and unconditionally co-created for the world.