The Dances of Universal Peace and Dare I Say Disney — Unconditional Love of the Finest
Many years ago I received an email from a dear friend, “We thought you might like to come to the Dances of Universal Peace with us. It’s right up your alley!”
I call myself a woman of peace. I do my best to BE peace and I love all kinds of dance. I’ve known for a long time that moving my body releases tension and frees my joints. At the point of my friend’s invitation I had also learned how moving my body connects me with myself. All the ways I tend to my body, minute by minute, reveal the secrets of how I think about myself and care for myself as well as how I will tend to treat others.
When I move and dance am I really connecting with myself? When pain or tiredness call out do I treat my body with tenderness and rest or do I push through and risk further damage? When my body grows weary of a certain position in a dance do I continue in discomfort or do I find a new way to hold myself, or sit this one out? In stillness do I find a new position, prop myself with pillows, or move to a more comfortable chair? When I dance are my movements stiff and close to my body or do I allow myself to reach out toward the world in front of me? In the company of others do I allow myself to make mistakes and enjoy the dance or do I berate my mis-steps at every turn? What thoughts do I hold about others who dance with me? Can I accept my mistakes and those of another and hold space for our mutual sadness or awkwardness, our humanness? My movements and dances, and my thoughts about it all are a reflection of me.
Like yoga, I knew how movement reflected my inner state going into the Dances of Universal Peace (the Dances). The Dances held even more secrets and brought me to a consciousness beyond my imagining.
In all the therapy and resulting personal and spiritual growth I had gifted myself with I felt a familiarity when I first experienced the intimacy of the Dances. Here, as in all the beneficial groups I had taken part in, you dance in a circle. The circle represents the equality of all and unity despite our inevitable differences of mind, experience, and physical attributes. At times you are on your own, or so it seems, as you pace through the various simple steps as guided by the facilitators of the Dance. Though you are not touching others physically, the circle holds you and you realize you are One in the Dance.
At times you are invited to hold hands with the people in the circle as the Dance progresses. Some Dances ask you to look into the eyes of the others as you pass from one to the next. Eyes truly are the windows to the soul and the heart, and this kind of connection can be difficult for those who are new to being seen with warmth and unconditional love. Emotions can be stirred by such recognition and loving acceptance, yet I’ve never seen anyone leave unless another engagement interfered with their staying. I’ve watched vulnerable younger generations form bonds with middle-aged and elders in Dances circles where tears are not only accepted but common due to the profound realization of our sameness, our common humanity. Tears that flow during the Dances simply become part of the dance, no matter what emotion prompts the tears. Participants regularly step out of the circle to model self-care by resting as they know they are still part of the group and judgements will not be made. The Dances offer complete safety to BE who YOU are and for others to be who they are.
Once I had attended several of the Dances I absorbed yet one more unexpected gift. I realized how I can carry the subtleties of the Dances into my daily life. When attending the Dances of Universal Peace you find yourself among people of different religions, political views, gender associations, and perhaps those with no affiliation in any direction. You dance to music and chants from around the world, another unifying factor. You don’t always know who in the group is hurting, who is happy or sad, positive or negative in thought, who judges themselves, or who is scared out of their mind of what comes next in the dance or in life. You have no idea what opinions or beliefs the person next to you carries and as long as you dance it does not matter.
Strange as it sounds I witnessed the same “dance” when I happened to be at Disney World on election day 2016. After seeing all the angst and other-bashing on social media and on the news for months on end during campaign season, on that day at Disney, I saw people of all persuasions smiling at each other and treating each other with kindness and respect. No one knew what “side” the person standing next to them in line would take in the voting booth, but love ruled the day. I decided early on that day I would pass out compliments like candy wherever I could and I found every recipient gracious and pleasantly surprised. All this while the possibility of thinking differently on certain life issues disappeared in a poof of magic pixie dust. It — did — not — matter.
After several Dances it occurred to me that if I were to invite a participant to tea, and we began sharing opposing views on some random topic, our differences still would not matter. Once you have looked into the heart and soul of yourself and another, a view provided by the Dances, and once you have accepted your humanness and the humanness of others, a cherished benefit of the Dances, you begin to see how separation is caused by a mind overwrought with thoughts and judgements about others who simply come from varying backgrounds, none better or worse. You begin to realize that the differences are okay. You can befriend those with opposing views and meet them with compassion. You can stay friends without trying to mold the other into something you feel more comfortable with because you accept yourself in all your glorious imperfect humanness and most humans want the same things. We want to be seen. We want to be heard. We want to be happy and we want to be loved and accepted without having to turn ourselves into something we’re not or do something that does not feel right. We want the grand dance of life to hold space for our imperfect physical and spiritual selves.
Yes, my friend knew me so well, God rest her Beloved self. The Dances of Universal Peace are right up my alley. The Dances and what they stand for fill me with a healing nectar that fortifies me each time I re-enter a world trembling with fear and division. I hope you will find a Dances near you and if not, I invite you to hold its precious ideals close to your heart.
Dance with me will you?
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