dance = JOY

“You dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams.”

_Gene Kelly

We often speak of connecting to Joy through our dance but do we really know what this means, or how it happens? So often we characterize Joy as a 'soft-feel good' emotion and so miss out on the opportunity to see it as part of our development both as humans and our spiritual path. We think that to progress on either of these we need really serious and deep experiences. We seek the teachers and mystics that can take us on some self-denying, intense, and maybe agonizing experience. However, there is a deeper truth, one which is recognized by mystics around the world, that Joy feeds us on every level, from body to mind to soul.

Joy keeps our batteries charged, our focus open, and our experiences fluid. The more under stress and pressure we are the more we need our connection to Joy as an alternative that offers new possibilities. Joy allows us to heal those parts of us that keep us locked in tension and isolation. Paradoxically, it is the lightness of Joy that gives us a solid inner foundation to have a healthy relationship with life.

The three ways in which we can cultivate inner peace and connect with Joy are firstly by connecting with our inner self to find freedom and peace so that we do not re-act to life but are pro-active coming from our authenticity. Secondly, to recognize our connection to everything around us, people and nature. Here we move from a 'victim' role where everything-is-happening-to-me consciousness to one of being a co-creator. And thirdly, following on from the two previous, we connect with unconditional love. We build an affective relationship with ourselves that is supportive - not self-destructive. And once we have experienced love for ourselves it is easier to do so for others and the world around us.

Dance is not based on language and words. You may have read the above and it makes sense to you. That is just your mind saying, good, let’s tick this one off. To truly live these words we need to embody them so that they are felt in every cell of our being. Dance can take these three ways of connecting with Joy from the words to the felt experience and hopefully then into practice. Dance is powerful as it connects the physical, the mental, and the emotional. There is no escaping the powerful impact this could have. When Joy is the prize then maybe a dance or two is worth the risk?

_Christos Daskalakos