Moving Consciously
Living the Truth of Who I AmArchive for dance
Renewal
Day 51 of 52 Days: Red Crystal Serpent
The body is constantly in a state of renewal. Our body renews itself and changes in many ways all the time. Our skin renews itself every 28 days. Our entire body renews itself every 7-8 years. I don’t even want to try to figure out how many times my skin has renewed itself in my 60 years of living on this earth, however, as far as my body totally renewing itself every 7-8 years…that would mean that I’ve had a new body close to 8 times. Wow! That’s an awesome fact!
Wouldn’t you think there would be some discomfort associated with the body and all of its many systems constantly in a state of renewal? Yet my awareness is not normally at the cellular level, so the changes happen organically, naturally.
The body takes care of those things without any prompting. It’s the day-to-day types of changes that happen…the stresses, the environment, the political unrest, the emotional outbursts, the mental anguish…these things can be uncomfortable. Yet as the picture says…”LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.”
One of my intentions during this second half of my life is to know courage and speak the truth. Makes life pretty darned interesting — definitely not boring. Discerning what one’s “truth” is as opposed to what one’s “opinion” is can be a fascinating study. I find most people have opinions and quite often those opinions have nothing to do with “the Truth”. The Truth is not a revolution — it is a revelation. And revelations often come at the price of comfort.
Today I am renewed. My body, my mind, my heart, my spirit — unbound and free. Now I am living life fully. Today I dance.
Seeds and Weeds
Day 50 of 52 Days: Yellow Spectral Seed
There really are no words to describe exactly how much I love Nia or how much I love teaching and sharing Nia.
Nia has become a way of life for me. The principles of Nia are visible throughout my daily living…the way I walk, the way I swing my arms, the way I get up out of bed, the way I feed the cats, the way I do laundry, the way I sit at my desk, the way I look to speak with impeccability…it is all a dance through life.
I’ve been teaching Nia for 10 years. I’ve been married to my soulmate for 10 years. Coincidence? I doubt it. The Universe had plans for me…probably from the time I was born…it wasn’t until I turned 30 though that somewhere in the back of my head I felt the stirrings of the Universe’s call. Of course I didn’t listen to closely…I had my own agenda…thought I knew better. So the Universe let me go about my own way — free will and all, ya know.
Every time I would stray off the path, the Universe would plant a seed…in the form of a thought or an emotion. It took almost 20 more years for me to actually wake up to the beauty of the garden within…the seeds that had been planted had grown into beautiful flowers, trees, shrubs, grassy knolls…however there were lots of weeds since there had been no one there to tend the garden.
Weeds are there for a reason. They didn’t just pop up for no reason — weeds come from seeds being planted, too. Often times, the seeds were not planted consciously by us, but they are present nonetheless. We can choose to ignore them or we can choose to remove them.
Much like an unattended garden, who we choose to associate with, who we choose to honor and be honored by is important to the quality and course of our lives. Making decisions on when to change the landscape and/or the types of flowers/weeds we have in our gardens is not always easy…but it is necessary.
So in this season of harvest, we are being invited to look at the seeds that have been planted in our field of life, in our gardens. The seeds we plant is what we harvest…if you plant seeds of love, you will harvest love. Seeds that were perhaps not planted by us but that are present nonetheless are still ours to tend. Appreciation and gratitude for ALL things is important, as is recognizing when to plant a different crop.
Bringing it back to Nia and my soulmate…there were lots of weeds present in my life in my 30′s and 40′s that were not allowing me to see the beauty that was mine to cultivate. Once I began to remove (with appreciation and gratitude) the weeds — my own thoughts, words, actions, as well as negative people — space was created for what the Universe had originally planned for me.
I barely recognize or remember my pre-Nia, pre-Frank life. These past 10 years have been so full of love, life and truth, dancing, laughter, and joy that anything less is simply not there anymore.
Smile!
Relax all the muscles in your face and particularly your jaw.
Smile!
Be amazed at what one smile can create!!!
Smile…dance…laugh…hug…kiss…dream…love…live…
Inspiration
Day 48 of 52 Days (we’re almost to the finish line!): White Solar Wind
The Latin root for “inspire” means “to inhale”. Be inspired by your Life As Art. Stop and smell the moment! What inspires you?
What is it about yourself that gives you cause to inhale and be inspired? What is it about today that inspires you to step into your greatness?
Each and every day I am consciously grateful for all things. I cannot separate out the “good” from the “bad”. Judgment disallows gratitude. In order to see my Life As Art, I must be grateful for ALL things. An artist does not create a masterpiece in one sitting (at least most do not). As one of my mentors once said, “you have to be willing to suck.” Wise advise. Be willing to suck AND not give it any weight. Just move on.
I’m a football fan…more like a football fanatic. One thing that makes a great quarterback is the ability to move on from making mistakes. If a quarterback were to let an interception, a fumble, a misdirected play get into his head, then that quarterback will be a detriment to the team. He is likely to feel guilt, shame, a lack of self-confidence — all obstacles to stepping into one’s greatness.
Same with life…make mistakes, learn from them…move on. Step into your greatness. Now.
I teach Nia (www.nianow.com). I make plenty of mistakes during the hour class. Many of them my students don’t even know are mistakes (except when I say “ooops”). I’ve learned to be flexible, mobile, agile, strong and stable amidst the chaos of forgotten steps and stances, an iPod that quits, a CD that skips, the swirling energy of my own and my students’ attitudes in the moment.
Nia allows me to step into my greatness every time the music starts.
As the words in the song from Pink go:
You take what you get and you get what you give
I say don’t run from yourself, man, that’s no way to live
I’ve got a record in my bag you should give it a spin
Lift your hands in the air so that life can begin
If God is a DJ
Life is a dance floor
Love is the rhythm
You are the music
If God is a DJ, then life is a dance floor so
Get your ass on the dance floor…now
Be inspired. Be an inspiration.
Playfulness
Be playful today.
Remember what it’s like to be free to dance, sing, be silly, laugh.
Lighten up! Shine your light!
Go to a Nia (www.nianow.com) class!!!
Pleasure
Experience more pleasure today. See if you can feel like the little girl in the picture.
Pleasure comes in many ways…physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Let it happen (notice I didn’t say “make” it happen).
I have a doozy of a headcold today, yet I am in the midst of feeling the pleasure of living in the moment and knowing that as this headcold continues, I am actually in the midst of healing. It’s sometimes hard to get out of our own way to be conscious of that fact — that healing is taking place ALL of the time. I hear these things being spoken: ”I am sick”, “I am so tired”, “I am such a dunce”.
“I am” is divine. It is spirit. It is pleasure. “I am” is never sick, never tired, never a dunce. The cells in your body, your mind, your heart have ears. They listen to what you say and respond. If you say “I am sick”, the result is you are sick. Replace “I am sick” with “I don’t feel well, but I am fine” — and watch the magic happen.
You are brilliant. You are beautiful. You are healthy. You are love.
Self-Healing
Day 43 of 52 Days: Red Self-Existing Earth
Self healing is defined as “the conscious act of addressing personal needs which results in greater pleasure and improved function.”
Notice where you are holding tension or where pain is present in your body. Consciously create space for self-healing. As awareness increases, you become more attuned to what your body needs in order to achieve self-healing.
Could be as simple as changing and attitude or behavior.
Could be noticing that when you walk your foot splays out to the side indicating both hip flexor and quadricep issues that need to be addressed.
Could be the need for forgiveness, gratitude or compassion (or fill in the blank) in your life.
Do it and make it a dance.
Presence
Day 42 of 52 Days: Yellow Electric Warrior
Stop the inner dialogue and attune to what is present with yourself. What do you hear?
What is present in your heart will determine what you hear. Be a Living Meditation. Perceive each of your movements as a dance. Heighten your awareness by seeing life as a dance — and just as dance can be broadened to include almost every move you make, meditation can be integrated into the fabric of every day.
Principle #5 of Nia is Awareness and within Awareness you can Dance Through Life, be a Living Meditation, and see your Life As Art.
With practice, you can:
- stop the inner dialogue in your mind
- stop being attached to external illusions that are created by false assumptions
- stop indulging in emotions that cause unhappiness and stress
Silence (see my Day 40 blog post) is a part of music. Without spaces of silence, the sounds of music would be chaotic and meaningless. Silence brings an order and harmony to sound. A Living Meditation can bring order and harmony to the noise of life.
We can begin to experience Living Meditation when we choose to open ourselves to the pause of silence — a portal to the inner world — in each moment. When we open ourselves to stillness (thank you Terre), we are better able to see life as it really is. There are no preconceptions, no subjectivity, no fears.
Living Meditation will enable you to sense stillness without withdrawing from life! You will feel a palpable sensation of oneness; you will have less stress and will be able to experience Joy.
So today, BE a Living Meditation. Be present. Now.
The Sensation of Being Alive
Day 39 of 52 Days: Red Cosmic Skywalker
Today is the Fall Equinox. A new season begins. A time for transcending old paradigms and limitations. A time to align ourselves with heaven and earth.
We begin to Dance Through Life simply by choosing to be alive in our own body, rather than being divorced from it. As we become more in touch with the sensations of our body, mind, heart and spirit, we experience the sensation of wholeness.
What has been my experience of wholeness up to this point in time? The paradigm shifts almost daily. What I once thought was a state of wholeness is replaced by a new experience of wholeness…the shift is imperceptible…but it is a turning point. Recently, I’ve come to know this shift as “crisis and transformation.”
Currently several of my friends, as well as myself, have been dealing with extreme physical pain. Crisis. How it transforms is based on my relationship with both my spirit and my physical body.
I am a Sensation Scientist. My body is my laboratory. I am alive in my body…I do not seek wholeness…I AM wholeness. My entire being vibrates with the frequency of the world and with the frequency of spirit — is it any wonder that I feel physical pain? I am grateful to be consciously aware of the truth of who I am. I am energy. I am spirit in form. Now I Am transformation.
Nothing Ordinary
Day 38 of 52 Days: Yellow Crystal Human
“To be fully human means to know myself first as an essence of divinity and then as a player in this huge dream called life.” — Initiana
Learning to trust divine guidance can be challenging. It comes in so many different forms and some of those forms are not at all what we expected.
My spiritual journey started when I was born 60 1/2 years ago. However, I became conscious of the journey at the age of 30. I’ve met some pretty remarkable people and have had some pretty remarkable experiences through unexpected circumstances since that time. I’ve also become aware that I’m a pretty remarkable person, too — I say that with the utmost humility. It is only through the grace of Spirit that I am conscious of the gifts I bring to the world. I am living a fairly ordinary life in an extraordinary way. I am eternally grateful for this wonderous and magical life.
I can honestly say that I have these experiences daily…there is nothing ordinary about them and yet that is exactly what they are…ordinary…with just a splash of magic, making the ordinary extraordinary. Divine guidance comes unexpectedly most times…a bullfrog; a piece of music; a bird crashing into the sliding glass door; a stranger’s smile; an exchange of money at the grocery store; a glance in the mirror; a stray kitty; a Nia student; my husband.
Have you had unexpected meetings with remarkable people or have you been part of an event or circumstance that brought divine guidance? My invitation to you today is to consider a person, an event, or a circumstance that magically turned out to be divine guidance.
Just consider it. Divine.
