Day 8 Community Support- New Moon

I invite you in this very moment, to look up into the sky, no matter where you are or what time of day it is, and set an intention for the coming 29 1/2 days. For tonight is the new moon, a time to quietly plant a seed, and know that as the seed is planted the deed is done. That now it is a matter of being open to receiving the shoots and leaves which arise from the ground bearing us the exact fruit we chose. An ordinary miracle!

Just as I was imagining the waters had become shallow, I see that this was to allow a long cool sip of air before diving deep! Tonight I attended a New Moon Sister Circle. These circles are as old as the moon herself. When the night is at it’s darkest it is a natural time for us to gather in tight, speak our plans. Tonight there was much talk of beauty. The beauty of the apple blossom. The diversity of beauty, how it is not a static state but one that comes in so many seemingly incongruent forms. We spoke of the beauty of blossoming sexuality, and how fear and shame have cloaked the simple beauty of being divinely, sensually human. As I sat in this circle which is not lead by one but by all, I saw that “local talent” like beauty has so many forms. That while some is showcased on a stage, or classroom, so much more than that goes on every day in living rooms and parks and about anywhere you or I could imagine. That everyone of us is an amalgamation of so many skills, of so much wisdom, that we are all “local talent”. That without a neighbour to show us how to turn off our water intake when the pipe has burst, or the friend who knows how to deal with those pesky cabbage moths, or that brother who knows just what to say when all seems lost, that we would all be just that... lost. Community is a combination of the words common and unity. As we come together in union and share the skills that we have, teaching them to others until they are truly common, until they colour our everyday. As we evolve first as families, then as villages, nations and finally as humanity. Standing on each others shoulders while giving a hand up, that this will be the ultimate manifestation of all local talent. If you want to find local talent to support, go into you living room or step out your front door, the next person you meet has something to teach you.

Our circle tonight was at first an apple blossom of 5, then when Pamela arrived it was a 6 pointed Star of David. I was full of joy when I discovered that there was 3 of us in the circle who knew of this experiment, that had experienced it out in the world. The circle was held at my friend Eau Vive’s home, she took home 12 days journal #36 which I had left last week in dance class. The other was a womyn I met for the first time tonight, Anna. She found one of the journals I left on Pulpit Rock, over a month ago. I was of course the third. I took from this experience that since half of us knew about the project that it must be growing roots. During check in Nicky spoke of the tangle of roots under the surface, she spoke to the tenacity of quack grass. Yesterday I felt like throwing in the towel. No journals have returned, comments on the blog have been waning, I was feeling less enthusiastic. Nicky's reminder of roots, helped me to visualize the roots of this project, that they are silently taking hold beneath the ground. That my intention was set with the commencement of this commitment, I planted the seed, my job now is to be open to whatever fruit is borne of this mystery seed. 12 days journal #41 will be given to my sister Nicky. Inside is written “What is you intention for the next month?”. I know what hers are as they were spoken in circle, but I would like her to have the journal as a token of how much I love her, of how grateful I am that she welcomed me, included me, when I moved her 2 years ago. Thank you Nicky, I am so very blessed to have you in my life!

And finally a song. A song I sing for the New moon, for those who long for lovers far away, and for the spring that gives way to summer as Solstice approaches. My intention for this moon is to Let Love Rule! And so it is Bernice, and so it is!

Day 3 Community Support- Dance Ugly

As I spiralled round the room this morning, eyes wide open behind closed lids, I thought about how much I appreciate having this safe space to “dance ugly and drool”. I first heard this saying in the dance dome at Esalen. Actually it is where I first read it. I womyn from Boulder, Colorado had knit a whole string of prayer flags pulling inspiration from her Soul Motion practice. The one that caught my eye had this mantra knit into the pattern, one that kept rolling round my brain while I danced my 5 Rhythms practice this morning. “Dance ugly and drool”.

I love dance, nearly all forms of dance. I believe every sort has it’s very own window to the answers beyond. I love to dance like I did yesterday at the May festival, fully conscious of the flow between musician and dancer. Feeding the band my energy , that they in-turn feed into the music which feeds me back, a wonderfully symbiotic relationship. One where I am dancing with my attention focused outwardly, fully present to the crowd, my fellow dancers and musicians, part of the creation of an inclusive environment of celebration. I love to dance at night clubs too. I find my spot on the floor early, enjoying the wide open space which will soon be filled with sweaty bodies. Club music here in Nelson is often a blend of live musicians and dj’s. I make a game of finding all the different lines within the music, gliding between being driven by the beat to snaking round a melody. In both of these dancing situations I feel a need, for the most part, to stick to my “look good”. Certainly in a night club atmosphere there are social morays, I don’t HAVE to adhere to them, but it does make my life easier. If I were to end up laying flat on the floor in the middle of the Spirit Bar, shaking my legs in the air, concentrating on keeping my jaw relaxed by letting out a long slow tone, well management would likely send over a door man to escort me off the floor, assuming I had had too much of.... SOMETHING. But this morning in 5 Rhythms this is exactly how I moved, and no one blinked an eye. More to the point it is in no way out of the ordinary. Being able to hold a space where movers can do pretty much anything, where they are not questioned, mocked or ridiculed, this is talent. Maryanne, our local 5 Rhythms guru, has this ability. She is soft spoken, somewhat shy, and understated. So much so she doesn’t have a single page online that I can link to to showcase her work. Yet she can move with wild abandon and encourage us to do the same. She has led the 5 Rhythms here in Nelson for a very long time, with a dedicated following. She danced in New York with Gabrielle Roth, the Diva creator of the 5 Rhythms. I have never spoken with Maryanne in depth about these times. I am not sure how long she danced with Gabrielle, or in what capacity. I do know she danced with Vinn Marti the creator of the Soul Motion movement practice, the work I am presently studying. I also know she is able to seamlessly hold a sacred movement practice for her students. One of the things I know I am meant to do in this lifetime. I am so blessed to have elders to show me the way. I imagine I might have to duck if I were to tell her this face to face! Maryanne is beautiful, young and feisty! By elder I mean that Mary-Anne and Vinn are wise and strong, that they walked the path, step after step even when they were weary. They continued to follow what it was they somehow knew they were mean to do in this life. In a brilliant moment of synchronicity Maryanne spoke aloud the “Dance ugly and drool” mantra long after I had been pondering its wisdom. We were flailing around in chaos, jaws open, hair flying. I didn’t occur to me earlier that she would know this mantra. Somehow she always knows what to say.

I used 12 days journal #36 during the movement practice to write down some lyrics that grabbed me. Something like “I want to talk to God but I am scared cause I ain’t spoken with him for so long”. I know this fear. I wrote these lyrics in the journal because it was the only thing I had to write in, but later it was clear this was by design . The question “How did you know what things you were meant to do in your life?” came to me later while I was dancing. For me the answer is to follow the voice of God. That might seem like a pretty hefty statement, but it is simple really. We are all connected to the source, we have many different names for this source. After years of resistance I took to calling this source God...simple enough. The way it works for me is I just listen to my heart. I love my fear and know it is there to protect me, but I quiet it down so I can only hear my heart voice. This voice, that I often find it when I am dancing, NEVER leads me astray. This voice tells me the things I am meant to do with this life. Leading movement is one of those things. Raising my babies with love, boundaries and a commitment to communication is one of those things. Loving with a wide open heart is one of those things. Writing this blog, committing to this experiment, sending out journals into the world is one of those things. I don’t know what all of that makes me, but that is OK. God knows, and that is good enough for me.

I had left the journal on the counter at the studio in my haste to get back to dancing. A friend from class picked it up and then agreed to take it. If you read this I want you to know how much I loved dancing with your feet today, I felt the connection. And I want to say, sister to sister, all hippy languaging aside, that you are an inspiration, someone I am honoured to know. I love you.