Dance onto the (En)train

 

       

        Under certain circumstances, when metronomes are placed in a room and are started at different times, eventually they all end up in exactly the same rhythm. If there are two guitars in a room, pluck a string on one, and the same string on the other instrument will vibrate in synchrony. This is called entrainment. (click here to see this in action)

         When we dance in the studio we also experience entrainment. We are all listening to the same music in a common space. We are doing the same choreography to the identical rhythm. If someone vocalizes, you realize that the rhythm of your breath would have allowed you to make noise at that same moment. We start to breathe in sync. And invariably, by the end of the class, we have all participated in lifting each other up. And even now on Zoom, when we are in our homes, we have connected spaces, and a common experience.

        It is difficult to keep a positive attitude with chaos raining down upon us every day. What keeps me going is, as usual, dance.

        I confess that I am a news junkie. But I am also a harmony junkie. Those two addictions do not mix. I am certain that rage and outrage every day cannot be good for my health: physical, mental, or spiritual. So I stopped watching the news. Okay, I didn’t completely stop. I skim headlines –somehow the news is (a tiny bit) easier to take if it’s not in audio/visual form. At least I am in control of how fast or in-depth the news enters my consciousness. 

        There are things I know I can do. I call Washington. I sign petitions. I donate (a little) money. I write letters to voters. (I really don’t trust myself to speak). In a letter, I can keep my equanimity and I feel like I am doing something.

        Also, I can dance.

        My despair helps no one. And believe me, I have felt despair and doom in the past months. But I do believe:

-        We are all One. In seventh grade science, we learned that the universe is made of atoms. Atoms are 99.9% energy. We (and everything) are made of this energy, configured in different patterns, but still the same.

 

-        Energy is everywhere. There is no place where it is not.

 

-        Our thoughts, feelings, and actions move energy. What we think, do, and say matters.

 

   Entrainment is real. When we are around people who are showing a loving heart, kindness, generosity, and cheerfulness, we can jump on that train. We can let the love, kindness, generosity, and joy within us come to the surface. When we dance together, we participate in one another’s joy.

 

   So there is another thing I can do. I can look at what’s good. I can put fear and worry aside. I don’t have to bury my head in the sand, but I can choose to expect the best outcomes, because I believe in the inherent goodness residing in all of us. When I come from my heart, it is felt by all. When two or more of us come from the heart, the impact is exponential. If more of us do it, we can change the world.

 

   We can dance onto the entrainment train. We can rise up to be our best selves. And bring others with us.

 

   Oh, and we can always dance.

Dance, Magic, and Possibility

     

When dance choreography is created, there are infinite possibilities for every beat of the music. We see in our mind's eye different movement possibilities and then we make it real when we choose it. When a movement is chosen, it is manifested in our bodies and minds. We have made the possibility a reality.

We are living in a tumultuously chaotic time. No matter what your political affiliation, we all feel the dread and uncertainty of what could be barreling toward us. I have found comfort -- as I do even in normal times --  in dance and connecting with loved ones. 

Fear is aggressive and can make us forget that love is really the only truth. We have the power in every moment to choose love over the falsity of fear. 

Quantum physics sounds a lot like spirituality. But it is not. It is science.

-       Quantum physics tells us is that there are infinite possibilities (waves) contained in every moment. In the laboratory, waves (possibilities) collapse into a particle which is measurable and “real” when it is observed.

-        We live in a vibrational universe: like attracts like.

-        When we “observe” or focus on a future possibility, it collapses into reality – what we see unfolding in our lives.

-        Worry will attract the very reality we fear.

-        Love will attract the reality we desire.

Although I am by nature a worrier, I am attempting to focus on love. It is who we are. It is our families and friends, and (though sometimes it’s hard to see) it exists in the world around us. When we focus on love and all things that spring from love:

Joy

Kindness

Generosity

Courage

Truth

Abundance

Compassion

Understanding

We will see the reality we want to experience. When we imagine the outcome we want and allow ourselves to feel the emotions that align with that outcome – we attract it to us. The possibility becomes reality.

It sounds like magic.

But love is magic. When we observe it and feel it, it is a reality. In fact, it is the only reality. We are sometimes distracted by evidence to the contrary -- False Evidence Appearing Real -- but love is infinite and indestructible. 

We need only remember.

Jazz Hands

The other day, in the middle of dancing a song, I made a mistake and mixed up the choreography for the chorus with that of the verse.  I realized after a few counts that I had done this and felt a little nonplussed, so I decided to just do “jazz hands” until I could catch up with the chorus at the right place.  I might note here that every single person in the class (other than me) was dancing the choreography in all the right places!

 

“Jazz hands” are defined by the Urban Dictionary this way: “The move is performed by tilting the head slightly, shimmering the hands with fingers splayed either side of the face and crying "Jazz hands!" with an enthusiastic smile. Think Jack from Will and Grace.”

 

I experience many embarrassing moments.  They seem to follow me around like mischievous children looking for something to do.  

After this class, I thought that jazz hands are a really good segue for any awkward moment.  Of course, it could also make an awkward moment more awkward, but why not just go for it – how much worse could it get?

 

So here’s what I’m thinking:

 

I’m in a situation where I’ve forgotten what I’m saying mid-sentence: jazz hands.

 

I just have nothing to say and am drawing a blank: jazz hands.

 

Someone has said something to me that has made me angry and I don’t want to respond in kind –yes, jazz hands.

 

And, my favorite, I’ve totally forgotten the choreography in the middle of a dance class -- you got it -- jazz hands.

 

The bottom line is this: I’m going to try it.  Will it cover up my senior moments?  Dunno.  I will try to remember not to do it while having an embarrassing moment while on the phone, but I can’t guarantee that will be the case.  (Hmmm, maybe if I just said, “Jazz hands!” that’ll do it.) 

Just know that from now on, you’ll be seeing me waving my hands around a lot.  And if you join me in this social experiment, please let me know how it turns out!  

 Photo by MaryEllen Hendricks

Space

When dancing or creating choreography, I must consider the space.  Dance is design in the body defined by two frames – the music and the space.  By space I mean the shapes or lines the body makes within the frame of the studio.  The dancer can make herself big, small, expanded or contracted. 

 

We always have a choice about how we are going to use that space, whether we are choreographing or dancing.

 

What I’ve observed lately is that our energy and our minds also have “space.”  As I’ve noted before in this blog, I am a champion worrier.  And I notice that when I am fearful, nothing seems to work right.  When I can let go of the fretting, my life works so much better because I am happier.  I am aware of all the good things rather than focusing on what could happen.  

We have a choice as to how we are going to use our inner space, too.  Are we going to be open or closed?  Are we going to clutter our minds with fear, worry and resentment, or are we going to let go of fear and embrace love (which has infinite “space”)?

 

If you let yourself get quiet, you can feel that focusing on anger, resentment or fear take up space in your energy and narrow your vision.  

When we allow those negatives to remain, we are closing off the possibilities of the good stuff coming to us.  We are allowing the clutter to take up space that could be filled with openness, receptivity and love.  

When we are talking, we cannot listen; when we are worrying, we can’t receive. 

When we let go of our resentments, we drop the weight of fear and open ourselves up to love and all that springs from love.

 

We have complete control over whether our inner space is clear or closed-off; it is a choice.  We don’t have to do anything but decide that we will let go of the fear.  Once we give ourselves permission to do this, we are wide open to receive all that love can give.  

Take charge of your space and watch what happens.

Photo by MaryEllen Hendricks

Infatuation

I have written on many Valentine’s Days about how when we first meet our romantic partner, we fall in love with everything – his way of talking, walking, smiling, thinking.  But after a time, some of this thrill towards the other can wear thin.  Even things we used to think were adorable, we now may find annoying.  And that’s normal.  But we say to ourselves, “I was infatuated with this person, I wasn’t really seeing the ‘real’ him.”  And so we feel a little disappointed.

Certainly there are some relationships that need to end.  But even in those cases, in the beginning we still saw the best in our partner.  Sometimes a person gets so alienated from his truth, there's no way for the relationship to flourish.  But when the partnership still works, we don't need to invalidate our initial euphoria.

The truth is that when we saw the other as perfect, that was the truth.  We were seeing our partner transparently; we were seeing his true spirit through the veneer of the material world.  At our core is our spirit and our spirit is perfect – inside we are joyful children – full of love, innocence, simplicity, and trust. 

When children dance, the joy of movement comes from within and we are lucky when we can witness such delight.  It makes our hearts swell to encompass the love we feel in the presence of such innocence and purity.  

As we get older, we often stop ourselves from giving in to the abandon that music can produce in us.  We are afraid that we will look stupid or that we are “showing off.”  

When we observe children dancing, we don’t look for a beautiful “line,” a pointed toe.  We see the spirit of the child expressing itself.  

If only we could treat ourselves with such indulgence.

Whether you have a significant other or not, I propose that this Valentine’s Day, you (and all of us) decide to be infatuated with ourselves.

Within us is our perfect spirit, a beautiful dancing child -- innocent and blissful and pure.  We should never forget who we are, just as we should not lose touch with the truth about our partners.

When we can see this in ourselves, we have changed our lens. We can then see this perfection and beauty in everyone around us.  We can remember that we all have this goodness and happiness within us.

So this Valentine’s Day, let’s learn to be infatuated with ourselves.  It’s the best way to pass that love around.

Photo by MaryEllen Hendricks