While thus far I have used this blog for my own writing I felt to put Colin's message here because I was very glad to receive it in the context of the Circle Dancing community. I include Colin's introduction and publish it here with his permission. Colin Harrison was one of the founder movers in the early Sacred Circle Dance Network. His site is www.beingmoved.com
Brian
Following a very moving couple of days dancing with you all at Back to our Roots, I intended to leave before the New Visions process began. But I found myself wide awake at 5:30 in the morning with a very strong sense that I might have something to offer to the gathering. So I got up and wrote, trying to express with clarity what was in my heart. I’d so loved being in the turning circle again; it was a fresh re-membering of why I’d been so passionate about it, and poured so much of my life force and creativity into it for a decade or more. Somehow this remembered love gave me a ground to stand on in offering a perspective on what seems important to me in your work as dance teachers. It’s a point of view looking freshly at the dance from a place outside the circle; yet informed both by my love of what you are offering here, and by all the explorations and the deep spiritual work I’ve done since those days.
So here is what I wrote, somewhat revised and re-considered since originally reading it to you that morning.
(...and although I’m not currently teaching the dances, I’ve included myself as one of ‘us’ because my days of teaching the dance feel so close to me right now!)
With much love and respect Colin
Anyone who teaches will not only convey the subject they're teaching; with every word and gesture they'll also transmit the truth of their being and their consciousness. I’m not saying anything particularly mystical here; most of us have probably experienced this in some way – the English teacher who inspires us not only with her love of poetry, but her love of life, for example.
For us as Sacred / Circle Dance teachers this is particularly important precisely because the dances have touched us so deeply. They speak of the precious mystery of being alive, of love and community, of our connection to the earth and sky, and of the possibility to express every quality of human feeling through our dance. The question is how to convey all this when teaching.
Brian
______________________
Dear Dancers
Following a very moving couple of days dancing with you all at Back to our Roots, I intended to leave before the New Visions process began. But I found myself wide awake at 5:30 in the morning with a very strong sense that I might have something to offer to the gathering. So I got up and wrote, trying to express with clarity what was in my heart. I’d so loved being in the turning circle again; it was a fresh re-membering of why I’d been so passionate about it, and poured so much of my life force and creativity into it for a decade or more. Somehow this remembered love gave me a ground to stand on in offering a perspective on what seems important to me in your work as dance teachers. It’s a point of view looking freshly at the dance from a place outside the circle; yet informed both by my love of what you are offering here, and by all the explorations and the deep spiritual work I’ve done since those days.
So here is what I wrote, somewhat revised and re-considered since originally reading it to you that morning.
(...and although I’m not currently teaching the dances, I’ve included myself as one of ‘us’ because my days of teaching the dance feel so close to me right now!)
With much love and respect Colin
______________________
Transmission of A Dance / Transmission of Being
Anyone who teaches will not only convey the subject they're teaching; with every word and gesture they'll also transmit the truth of their being and their consciousness. I’m not saying anything particularly mystical here; most of us have probably experienced this in some way – the English teacher who inspires us not only with her love of poetry, but her love of life, for example.
For us as Sacred / Circle Dance teachers this is particularly important precisely because the dances have touched us so deeply. They speak of the precious mystery of being alive, of love and community, of our connection to the earth and sky, and of the possibility to express every quality of human feeling through our dance. The question is how to convey all this when teaching.
In my view, there are two main aspects involved. Firstly we’re transmitting the form of
the dance itself, and as we know, there’s a lot involved here – the steps, the feel, the
subtleties, the energy, the cultural context in which the dance arose, the intention of the
original dancers or choreographer, the meaning of the gestures, etc. It can be a lot, yet
personally, I have no concern in this area.
The second aspect (and in my view the more important one) is the transmission of being through us as teachers – the way that we embody and convey qualities such as love, inspiration, respect, compassion, creativity and a sense of wonder. This may be effortless at times, and yet it can also be much more demanding for us personally. My sense is that this aspect may sometimes be under-valued in this network.
I also think that there may be ways in which the energetic and transformative qualities of these dances may be confused with the commitment needed to live that energy, or to actually be transformed. (...as an example, June’s dance where we make the gesture of removing a mask, and take the shape of being exposed. This dance may genuinely touch us, open the heart and even give an insight into the way we personally hide behind a mask at times. But it is not the same thing as daring to actually lower the mask in the world and expose ourselves as we are. This would require another big step, outside of the circle and away from the dance.)
In my view, as teachers, we need to keep being willing to take these extra steps.
(Please note that I’m not saying that anyone in particular is not already doing so – I have no way of knowing that. I just want to emphasise and value the importance of this willingness in the transmission of being.)
We transmit the mystery of life by being open to this mystery, touched by wonder, humbled by the ongoing realisation that we are but a passing wave in a vast ocean. And yet every movement, every action will ripple outwards through this ocean and we have no way of knowing where it will end.
We transmit love when we do actually love; which includes loving ourselves in all our different facets, both our strengths and our weaknesses. This deep self acceptance fills the heart from the inside until love overflows to all and everything. We can't give love if our own cup is empty.
We transmit a sense of community through the sense of welcome we convey in our teaching; by listening to those who are often excluded or marginalised, through speaking the truth, through living our values, through caring.
We transmit a love of the earth we dance upon, through our capacity and willingness to actually love and value them.
The second aspect (and in my view the more important one) is the transmission of being through us as teachers – the way that we embody and convey qualities such as love, inspiration, respect, compassion, creativity and a sense of wonder. This may be effortless at times, and yet it can also be much more demanding for us personally. My sense is that this aspect may sometimes be under-valued in this network.
I also think that there may be ways in which the energetic and transformative qualities of these dances may be confused with the commitment needed to live that energy, or to actually be transformed. (...as an example, June’s dance where we make the gesture of removing a mask, and take the shape of being exposed. This dance may genuinely touch us, open the heart and even give an insight into the way we personally hide behind a mask at times. But it is not the same thing as daring to actually lower the mask in the world and expose ourselves as we are. This would require another big step, outside of the circle and away from the dance.)
In my view, as teachers, we need to keep being willing to take these extra steps.
(Please note that I’m not saying that anyone in particular is not already doing so – I have no way of knowing that. I just want to emphasise and value the importance of this willingness in the transmission of being.)
We transmit the mystery of life by being open to this mystery, touched by wonder, humbled by the ongoing realisation that we are but a passing wave in a vast ocean. And yet every movement, every action will ripple outwards through this ocean and we have no way of knowing where it will end.
We transmit love when we do actually love; which includes loving ourselves in all our different facets, both our strengths and our weaknesses. This deep self acceptance fills the heart from the inside until love overflows to all and everything. We can't give love if our own cup is empty.
We transmit a sense of community through the sense of welcome we convey in our teaching; by listening to those who are often excluded or marginalised, through speaking the truth, through living our values, through caring.
We transmit a love of the earth we dance upon, through our capacity and willingness to actually love and value them.
We express every quality of human feeling through our dance when we can let ourselves
really experience every quality of feeling in ourselves.
We can't fake it at this level.
This isn’t intended to deter beginners or to put off those who are moved to share a few dances with friends. When I asked Bernard about qualifications to teach this dance, he replied that the call in the heart is the only real qualification needed. I agree! There’s often an innocence when someone dares to follow their heart that can carry them through all kinds of pitfalls and difficulties. To all who are touched and want to carry the dances onwards I would always say, ‘Trust yourself. Trust the movement of your aliveness and the inspiration that makes you want to take this step. But do keep growing, keep learning, keep being willing to let go of what you think you know, so that a fresher, deeper understanding can reveal itself.’
Because the innocence of the beginner will inevitably pass. On a good day we can wing it; we can be carried by grace and good fortune; everything can seem rosy. But when things aren’t going our way, when we meet the inevitable difficulties, when we’re confronted by our own limitations (as a teacher or as a person)... how do we cope then? This is when it’s vital to face into the difficulties, to ask the uncomfortable questions, to be willing to be humbled. Not to do so is to switch (in an instant) into the opposite of what we may be trying so passionately to create in offering these dances, for example:-
To the degree that we're afraid of our own feelings we will transmit fear rather than acceptance.
To the degree that we take the earth for granted, we will transmit casualness.
To the degree that we avoid the truth, or don't live our values, we will transmit a lie.
To the degree that we don't (or won't) listen to the other voices, particularly of the ones outside the circle of love, we will transmit the imperviousness of the privileged.
To the degree that we don't truly love - ourselves, others, life itself - we will transmit the hardness of a closed heart.
In order to keep growing in an ongoing way, one piece at a time our own shadow will need to be met and embraced; self-importance, competitiveness, narcissism, self-righteousness, hostility, hard-heartedness.... To the degree that we avoid knowing these aspects of ourselves, that we continue not to own them or avoid feeling the impact on others when we act (consciously or unconsciously) from these aspects.... we will transmit our own shadow.
We can't fake it at this level.
This isn’t intended to deter beginners or to put off those who are moved to share a few dances with friends. When I asked Bernard about qualifications to teach this dance, he replied that the call in the heart is the only real qualification needed. I agree! There’s often an innocence when someone dares to follow their heart that can carry them through all kinds of pitfalls and difficulties. To all who are touched and want to carry the dances onwards I would always say, ‘Trust yourself. Trust the movement of your aliveness and the inspiration that makes you want to take this step. But do keep growing, keep learning, keep being willing to let go of what you think you know, so that a fresher, deeper understanding can reveal itself.’
Because the innocence of the beginner will inevitably pass. On a good day we can wing it; we can be carried by grace and good fortune; everything can seem rosy. But when things aren’t going our way, when we meet the inevitable difficulties, when we’re confronted by our own limitations (as a teacher or as a person)... how do we cope then? This is when it’s vital to face into the difficulties, to ask the uncomfortable questions, to be willing to be humbled. Not to do so is to switch (in an instant) into the opposite of what we may be trying so passionately to create in offering these dances, for example:-
To the degree that we're afraid of our own feelings we will transmit fear rather than acceptance.
To the degree that we take the earth for granted, we will transmit casualness.
To the degree that we avoid the truth, or don't live our values, we will transmit a lie.
To the degree that we don't (or won't) listen to the other voices, particularly of the ones outside the circle of love, we will transmit the imperviousness of the privileged.
To the degree that we don't truly love - ourselves, others, life itself - we will transmit the hardness of a closed heart.
In order to keep growing in an ongoing way, one piece at a time our own shadow will need to be met and embraced; self-importance, competitiveness, narcissism, self-righteousness, hostility, hard-heartedness.... To the degree that we avoid knowing these aspects of ourselves, that we continue not to own them or avoid feeling the impact on others when we act (consciously or unconsciously) from these aspects.... we will transmit our own shadow.
We can't fake it.
Please don't mistake a simple love of the dance with a true willingness to keep growing as a human being. Please let’s not delude ourselves that because the dances have temporarily transported us beyond the confines of our little egos, this means we're now beyond ego. No, the ego will keep doing what it does - ie attempting to annex the divine for its own small purpose; to ring-fence infinity and say ‘Mine!’
This offering comes from my heart. My hope is that it is both inspiring and sobering. This way of dancing has been, for me and for many of us, a true initiation. It opens a doorway into what is possible. But please, let’s not stop at the doorway. Let’s not get complacent or kid ourselves that being touched by the energy of the circle, or the deep symbolism in the moment we do a dance is the same thing as finding the courage and commitment to live what we have tasted.
It is possible to live what we deeply know to be true. Please don't settle for less.
Please don't mistake a simple love of the dance with a true willingness to keep growing as a human being. Please let’s not delude ourselves that because the dances have temporarily transported us beyond the confines of our little egos, this means we're now beyond ego. No, the ego will keep doing what it does - ie attempting to annex the divine for its own small purpose; to ring-fence infinity and say ‘Mine!’
This offering comes from my heart. My hope is that it is both inspiring and sobering. This way of dancing has been, for me and for many of us, a true initiation. It opens a doorway into what is possible. But please, let’s not stop at the doorway. Let’s not get complacent or kid ourselves that being touched by the energy of the circle, or the deep symbolism in the moment we do a dance is the same thing as finding the courage and commitment to live what we have tasted.
It is possible to live what we deeply know to be true. Please don't settle for less.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment