Someone asked me what spiritual growth means to me …
Here is what I spoke about in a nutshell
Harmony in mind body & spirit Integration in Self awareness Developing greater understanding & Empathy Humility & Kindness Humanity & Compassion.
Living in the lightness of being Acknowledging Grace in Gratitude Sensing true freedom to be…for the self and others. To flow with life in serenity. Sensing the joy in the ordinary.
It’s about acknowledging & sensing the space in around me
It’s about giving in the receiving and receiving in the giving
Witnessing the evolving patterns and freeing the self from limitations of the mind.
Evolving in the learnings, valuing the connection built in time. A mindful & heartful practice in conscious awareness. Letting go of unnecessary things Understanding the value Of the gift of life Making life meaningful. Living life lovingly!
And in knowing it’s so much more….
Please feel free to add what spiritual growth means to you?
Where there are no rules that bound Where the music leads and you follow Where there is end and no beginning All is in the flow as you sense you are the flow.. Ecstatic dancing indeed!
I remember participating in an Ecstatic Dance session in Zurich last year.
It was my first live session although I have been attending many such events online.
As a Ballroom and social dance teacher I have always got into the dance floor with a partner. So I first went in with an intention to experience first hand what it felt like to dance independently with others.
There were people of all ages walking in to register. I soon was surrounded by strangers who were finding a space for themselves to settle. Some started warming up some meditating, and I decided to follow suit.
I found people around me from all ages & walks of life, some seemed lithe and athletic like professional dancers, a few pregnant women, a few elderly people.
Each were on their own as if by practice, no one was really about conversation. For late comers it was about finding a space for many were already in their own warming up practices.
I could see all kinds of poses, some moving around a bit, flaying their arms and legs, some very restless some breathing consciously, some meditating, some sitting doing nothing but aware. A lady next to me managed to smile a bit when we look at each other, but mostly all were in their own world.
Soon the facilitator arrived and the she began a few warm up practices as the music flowed. The movements that she initiated were somewhat picked up by the crowd but interpreted in their own way. The tempo changed and the movements changed. The energy was palpable. What was interesting was there was no structure to the seeming madness and all were expressing from their own state of being. The mind body and spirit has a way of expressing in the flow if we only choose to allow it.
Our body is intelligent and capable. If we only understand that our body can heal itself much through instinctual expression as it helps regenerate itself. The somatic expressions are deeply authentic as no two people will move alike even though they hear the same music. For their emotions have different interpretations.
I was first a little cautious about my own movements especially conscious about the space I was occupying as the room was truly was full of people. Initially my experience in dancing spot dances like Jive or Salsa came to use so that I am aware of the dancers around me. And then after a while I realised I was unknowingly began using my skills of Waltz and Tango etc to move through the floor. I was dancing all the way from one end of the room to the other. I was in my own zen state of flow… like the others around me into their own unique moves…
I witnessed a few people in a trance like state, some truly rhythmic moving together without effort, and a few others doing weird gyrations as if the body is desperately releasing emotions. Suffice to say the experience was a soulful and intriguing one.
What is beautiful is that it is a safe space to move your own way…
No one leading no one following as a practice.
A non judgemental inclusive space…bringing people together to express themselves without fear, inhibitions and complete acceptance.
In mutual respect for one another as and how are.
The way a body moves to music is pure fascination. We are so uniquely ordained. Respect to the creator and creativity. 🙏
Create a space of calm Inviting you to a journey Alluding you in subtlety Through natural authenticity Keeping it simple & minimal With intriguing unintentionality Allowing a space for austerity Sparking divine connectivity Evoking movements in the stillness. Invoking stillness in the movements.
Gratitude makes us recognize and value things we already have even more. That is how it brings a sense of abundance.
Every day a practice of gratitude could include a variety of things that may feel right to you. From seeing the positives in a situation or in people, focusing on the good in life journaling regularly and being thankful, etc
A practice of living life with a positive attitude makes life more meaningful.
Give gratitude freely without holding back.
Thank you dear reader, Truly grateful for your time. Pls consider sharing this message of giving gratitude in this now.
Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does. ~Margaret Atwood
Loved reading this quote share on water. Being able to imbibe the nature of water speaks much of the person you are.
To be like water as Bruce Lee famously suggested, calls for flexibility, adaptability, persistence and most importantly humility.
Water is soft yet powerful in its ways. Overcoming rigidity with gentleness of yielding in the flow.
To be able to take on the mightiest rocks of resistance with the power of persistence in the flow.
And yet be able to take shape and mold along the vagaries of existence.
Water never competes for it is secure and complete in itself.
Giving in the flowing through Strengthened in the harmony of the very flow.
Water is what water does. Such is the way of water.
There is a dance of divinity in every cell of life.
There is the interconnectedness of life in every being.
Be conscious of the universe in you. As well as in others Be empathic be humane Sense answers within Find the light within Feel the abundance of Love Sense the divinity in you
How receptive are you to listen to what your inner voice is saying.
Are you always able to hear your inner voice?
When are you most tuned in to receive from an inner calling?
Our voice is our inner compass to steer our ways. Some time it sings softly and at other time it roars for your attention. Yet the more you tune inwards, you hear the subtler tunes it sings __
Stay in touch with your inner guide. Care to listen in!
What makes a job well done ? What makes excellence a standard? What makes one stand out a cut above the rest ? What is aesthetics after all? What differentiates the good better and the best?
All is a matter of approach in every field of life. A shift in the perspectives brings home the amazing solutions. An approach that is creatively expansive than confounding, opens a box of possibilities .
We are all equipped to reach out into our own creative potential by just empowering ourselves with techniques of approaching a situation at hand.
Every one of us is endowed with the potential to develop our artistic abilities and approach with a creative eye.
It’s a matter of putting the principles into practise and taking that giant leap of faith.
What is your attitude & approach to life today?
What are you going to create for yourself in this now?
The day you realize Your potential You begin to explore possibilities And you even make The impossible possible
Care to ask yourself… Are you safeguarding your boundaries Or being too accepting That you tolerate more than you truly should. What are you hoping for? Is it approval and validation Are you waiting for another To love you? Perhaps you need to celebrate Who you are!
Some times life comes to a still. That may be be Him testing will.
When we are low, When we feel let down, When we feel desperate, when we feel alone, when we feel all doors are closed, When life seems to have no meaning, Never loose hope.
The master plan of Nature, Is beyond our cognition. The way will open up, In any form, any time. All we need is hope n faith. Patience n perceverance. The effort will pay off. For He knows the right time and the right way. Cos that’s His Master plan.
Sharing this message of hope penned by my mother Anjana as a testement of faith and trust in the divinity providence.
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