Divine Human Animal

I recently ran a Dance Connection weekend with the title Divine Human Animal - I chose this title because I wanted to explore the idea that we are part of the animal kingdom with extra levels of divinity and humanity (though this might be disputed). My motivation was to help people feel the interconnection of all life, alongside having more immersion in their ‘animal body’. I see how modernity takes us further away from what is natural - natural movements, responses, instincts, connections, and interconnection.

As I stand typing this I am aware of how different it would feel to hold a quill or pen in my hand, to allow the flow and movement of the art of writing to be embedded in what I am saying, rather than the tap, tap, tap of fingertips on flat plastic keys. Don’t underestimate the effect of the mechanical, not only how it feels in our bodies, but how it is dulling our senses, bypassing aspects of our humanity, creating addictions to things that really have little point, stripping us of our skills, craftsmanship, and uniqueness for a start.

Sometimes we have to use discipline and conscious effort to balance our lives. If you have to use computers, machines, be still for periods of your time in work, be cut off from nature… I feel it is crucial to make an effort to experience the opposite - be in nature, move naturally, breath deeply, sing, laugh, paint, dance….the list goes on.

Come into your senses - Taste, Touch, Smell, Hear, See - this world is truly magnificent whatever else is going on - blossom is fragrant, skin is soft, strawberries taste like sherbet, bird sing their hearts out, and colours are a feast for your eyes.....and on and on it goes....where will you put your attention? Are you going to stay fixed on the screen - looking at virtual shadows of the real thing, 2D images of what in reality exudes life, smell, beauty, energy, colour, sound, texture and sometimes flavour.

How much time do you spend with the virtual and with the mechanical compared to the natural? Maybe you could do a week of self-survey…what I wonder will it reveal? How do you feel, doing the different things you are doing? In Dance Connection I bring people’s attention to: physiological indicators - body tension, temperature, pain or pleasure, etc.; emotional indicators - happiness, sadness, apathy, anger, etc.; instincts - desire to go for a pee, drink, move, etc.; and to their gut feelings or intuition. Why not reflect and journal your responses, as you take a bit of time out daily for your self-study, I think you might be surprised by what you find.

Though I facilitate Dance Connection, I still find I have to pay attention to what is going on in my body. ‘Partnering the Body’ is often heard said by me, by that, I mean treat your body as an ally, give it respect, time and attention - respond to its messages - then they won’t have to get loud with chronic pain and issues.

Bodies, for me are miraculous, they automatically keep functions crucial to life, on track - sometimes we give our bodies the impossible task of keeping healthy as we eat edible substance rather than nourishing food, hardly move and when we do its repetitive (body’s are designed for natural movement), have poor sleep habits and beds (when we know sleep gives our body time to repair and our unconscious time to purge), and we repress our emotions (which are signals to us as to how on track we are with our life choices and relationships). It amazes me how well our bodies manage despite this onslaught, but my feeling is ‘cut your body some slack’, become its partner not its adversary - consciousness and bodymind are entwined.

Our bodies are maps to self, be kind when you look at your own. Pain and trauma are held in our cells. Louise Hay believed that fat is a sign of emotional pain, a barrier to further hurt, a sign of childhood insecurity, repressed emotions, and/or unworthiness. This doesn’t mean you had a terrible, abusive childhood, but your own mechanisms for self-protection chose this route, to protect yourself with a layer of extra fat. There is so much emphasis on looking a certain way with social media filters, plastic surgery, implants, etc., but I feel the body’s true natural response will always be there under the surface - we can’t mask it or cut it out, medicate it away . I am overweight, I trust that if I keep listening & responding, when the time is right for me my body will be able to be healthier and slimmer, or heavier and healthier too. Weight is not equated with lack of health, unless it becomes too much for your functioning. My main message is don’t put off enjoying life until you arrive at some perfect physical idea of yourself - plunge in now, there is so much to delight our senses - all around us.

Photo credit Mark Pickthall and Bridport Dance Festival

Dance has been my saving grace for as long as I can remember - dancing out difficult emotions in my bedroom as a teen; getting naturally high at discos; getting lost in music - music having the breadth, heights and depths to cover everything I was experiencing and wanted to experience - movement to music has become a central pillar of my life. I created Dance Connection to offer this to others too. Dance is often misunderstood - it only means expressing yourself with movement (usually to music, but can be without). Types of Dance can include set steps, but Dance Connection is the simplest form of dance - movement for exploration and expression to a wide, eclectic choice of music, with invitations to explore movement vocabulary that can extend your ways of ‘dancing’.

The benefits of dance are well documented (look it up if you want), Dr Peter Lovatt, Dance Psychologist, has done much research on this subject. What I have experienced and observed is that Dance Connection is one of the few leisure pursuits that supports a diverse exploration of movement for its own sake - you are not trying to get to a standard, master a dance style, it doesn’t result in something physical you can take home like a painting - that is part of its gold - present moment experience of being alive and embodied. Exploring movement is very freeing, music is moving & uplifting, being with others doing the same creates community. My regular movement classes are keeping me sane, resourced, feeling good, and an essential part of my well-being practices.

If movement isn’t your thing, I would encourage you to find something that you do with your hands, your bodymind, that connects you to life in the moment….that literally brings you back to your senses.

I wrote a simple song about this very thing:

The Chorus:

For we are here,

Here to be with nature

Beauty surrounds you

So much beauty surrounds you.

For we are here

Part of this creation

Wonderment abounds

For we are here on this Earth, here on this Earth today.

It’s easy to forget this when the screen sucks us into the vortex of stimulation, information, video clips, sounds and click bait. It’s worth being part of the resistance - the rewards for coming back to your senses (all of them), is so worthwhile.

Let’s start a movement together. What will you do? Maybe a dance-walk down the street, maybe forest bathing with a friend….we have choices to make. What choices will lead you to a happier, healthier, more interconnected day to day way of being?

The more of us who make choices to move away from consumerism, mechanisation, AI, and anything that strips us of our: naturalness, humanity, dignity, sense of interconnection, and interdependence, then there will be more of us taking a step towards building a better future world for every living thing.

Be the Change. Sacrifice for what’s Sacred. Celebrate being Alive.

By Jewell of Hope

I just want to say this writing is as human as it can be, no AI involved. I applaud Paul Kingsnorth for creating logos with Justin Clark to mark this. You can read about this here:

Websites:

https://www.dance-connection-wessex.co.uk

https://www.dance-connection-uk.com