In our culture, and others throughout the world, it is customary to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the coming year. We have all done it with some success, but to truely succeed with the resolutions we make it is important to have a change in consciousness, and that is what 2009 is all about.
Metaphysics, by definition, is viewing oneself and the world around one from a different perspective and a higher consciousness than where one is right now. There are many ways to raise one's consciousness. Each requires commitment and a letting go of beliefs that no longer serve one. For some, this is difficult because of old habits and one's focus. Let's look at three of these methods: MEDITATION, PRAYER, and AFFIRMATION.
Meditation is listening to GOD and many people believe that they have to tune out everything in order to meditate. In attempting to do this they soon find out that the more they focus on tuning everything out and clearing their mind, the more everything seeps into their mind.
When I first started to meditate and experienced this my Sufi teacher suggested that I let go of focusing on clearing my mind and instead, "allow whatever enters the mind from the outside world to float thru like clouds on a clear summer day." With practice it worked and I began to hear the 'still voice' within.
Prayer, on the other hand, is talking to GOD. Most individuals when praying ask GOD for what they want and when it doesn't come in their time frame they begin to plead, beg or bargain with GOD. They don't realize that they only have to ask GOD once and then take steps to bring about what they want by being open and receptive to the opportunities that GOD places before them in order to receive an answer to their prayer.
This brings us to method 3, Affirmation, which is the use of positive statements. The challenge here is that you must believe what you are stating, otherwise your affirmation is just idle words. Sometimes when one is affirming something the mind sends out thoughts that contradict what is being affirmed and the individual believes the contradicting thought. The energy that was going into the affirmation is diverted and goes to the contradicting thought. This can be discouraging until one learns to listen to the 'still voice' within, which brings one back to meditation.
Now, take a deep breath and realize that all methods work. The challenge comes in finding the method that works for you. I have used Meditation, Prayer and Affirmation and in time have raised my consciousness. There is a fourth method which I have found works faster and incorporates the other three. It is Movement, the Dance of Life.
When we move, how we move, and with what emotion we are moved is what dance is all about. And ALL is Movement; ALL is Dance! It is the human response to the Creation of Life, and it is Healing. Dance, in its highest form, is sacred. As Gabrielle Roth stated, "When we give ourselves over completely to the spirit of the dance, it becomes a prayer."
All dance, and for that matter movement, begins from a still point in silence (meditation). Then with a subtle breath and a single note from the music, which generates a wave of energy, one senses movement within. Following that wave of energy, rhythm, enables one to get into their body.
Each one of us brings our history, our life experiences and habitual patterns to the dance. The rhythm moves us and surrendering to it enables us to release our inhibitions and let go of old habits, beliefs that no longer serve us, stress, fear, etc. Through the releasing we make space for experiencing the pure freedom of movement, allowing the body to respond, without judgement, to the music and see where the rhythm leads us. There is no right or wrong way to move or dance.
All cultures are moved by music, whether it is the beat of a single stick on one hollowed out log, as early humans did, or a full piece orchestra. The waves of energy that music provides causes us to move and be moved to release our feelings as they arise. This type of dancing has had many names...Tribal Dance, Sacred Dance, Folk or Ethnic Dance, Dance of the Whirling Dervish, etc. Gabrielle Roth, in her book SWEAT YOUR PRAYERS, calls it ecstatic dance. As one experiences this way of moving and dancing, one experiences ecstacy with the Divine Presence of GOD Within.
I have been a dancer for 58 years and have studied all styles and forms of dance from Classical Ballet, Tap, and Jazz to Dances of Universal Peace and dancing with the Whirling Dervishes, which is ecstacy. Ecstatic Dancing is beyond words. All there is is the dance because while focusing on the rhythm of the music and allowing yourself to move to it, you are unable to focus on any other thought. Even if thoughts do arise, they are so quickly transformed by the music that you can not dwell on them and feed them any energy. Without energy they are unable to develop and distract you from releasing your emotions into the dance.
This can be nourshing to the body and the soul because with each new piece of music comes new waves of energy, new rhythms for the body to follow and explore until everything that is needed to be released is transformed and the 'dance' within emerges as a clear vessel ready to experience life from a new vantage point, a higher consciousness and a more open heart.
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