Says 219 – Life is a dance

219-lifes-a-danceLife is a dance, with the Spirit (Male, mind) leading, and the Soul (Feminine – Will Intuition, feelings and emotions) following or rather, RESPONDING to the Spirits direction. But to do this dance of life the Feminine needs to not only do the reverse, but also the opposite of what her male partner does. If the man moves his left foot forward, then she must move her right foot backward for them to be in unison, in the flow of the dance.The same holds true if the man steps backwards on his left foot

So where is all this going?

My first thought was that Spirit (male – mind) is imprinted and programmed to think that his approach is the right one and so it ignorantly believes that the Soul needs to do what he does in order to be in sync with him, but that is not how this dance works. I’ve taken international ballroom dance lessons, and while the male leads and the female follows, the male also needs to be willing to accept and move when the female sees something that the males doesn’t and be willing to trust her feedback and adjust the move accordingly. In other words, it’s not all one way. I’ve copied a few seconds from a Foxtrot Video on youtube,  to illustrate what I mean.

Ok, but how does this relate to the Body?

Says 109 – Insight in Dance lessons.

2012 Nov 02 I was thinking of my first day at school and how my dad told me that I would be okay if I just listened and watched and learned to be like the other kids. I couldn’t understand or speak a word of English, as all I knew was German, so I had no idea what was being said or being asked of me. It was to say the least, traumatic. So I took my dad’s words to heart and all my life, I constantly compared myself to others and if I didn’t have, or couldn’t do what they could do, I berate myself that I was not good enough, stupid, a loser, or whatever. I even went so far as to judge my parents and family as I also compared them to other families. Why not? I was part of this family that was not like the others as we lacked this and that, and my program said that this was a reflection on me. As a result, I was never happy and always trying to live up to unobtainable expectations, trying to be like others instead of being me.

The flip-side of this is that when I was being me that brought me joy and happiness, it made others unhappy, envious and hate me. So now my program said, don’t be you as it makes others unhappy, be like the others. Don’t show off your talents and strengths that others don’t have. To facilitate this hideous self-hatred program, I’d deny and sabotage my gifts and talents, and downplay my strengths so that I would be like the others and they would like and accept me. But of course, having already shown my true colors, they were always watching and reminding me not to be me. What a sick and twisted game I played on, and with myself, all the result of this one program that was instilled and imprinted in my young, innocent mind, when it was filled with fear, doubt and confusion on that first day of school.

I feel that these dance lessons are yet another step in my de-programming myself, not totally, but getting to some core root issues. While I still tried to be like the others in that, I was part of a group that was taking dance lessons; I was not trying to be like the others. What I learned was what the teacher was teaching the whole group and how I applied, what I learned was up to me. Others did what they did, and I did what I thought was right and what felt good, and if I was confused and the steps didn’t feel right then I’d get help from the teacher. My dance class last night was fun. Sure I and my partner made mistakes but we also learned and corrected them and there were moments when we were in our own little world, oblivious as to what others were or were not doing. I was being me and enjoying myself and not trying to be like the others, or comparing myself to them.

Says 108 – Dancing coming to an end

While I was waiting for our Oct 30, Tuesday, night dance class to begin, Linda, (my teacher) came over and gave me an envelope containing a birthday card, signed by the people that worked at the studio. It was very touching. It was difficult telling her that I would not be coming back as a part of me really was enjoying it. I also talked to my dance partner, Mila, and told her I was not going to come back and she said that she too wasn’t coming back as she was moving at the end of November, and was going to be too busy.

On Thursday, Nov 01 , I went to my level 1 class and really had fun as I felt that things were finally coming together. I guess the Tuesday night classes are like a practice for me as they are level 2. There’s a part of me that really wants to carry on, but I also know that it won’t work out. Sharon, my level 1 partner said she was going to carry on, but in a different class.

Later that evening I checked into facebook and saw a image with a simple phrase by Dr Suess that resonated with me. “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I felt it was important as it related to the dance lessons, but I still wasn’t sure just how.

Says 107 – Going to quit taking ballroom dance lessons

2012 Oct 31 While I’ve had fun and enjoyed the ballroom dance lessons, I’ve decided that I’m going to quit and not sign up for the next level. The main reason being that in order to feel comfortable and to advance, (add more tools – steps and techniques) I need to practice with a partner. While I can practice my own steps, (right or wrong) at home, it’s a whole different situation when I go to class and am dancing with, and leading a partner that has also not practiced with a partner. If I was practicing with my dance partner, we could help each other and then polish up our moves in class as well as learn the new steps, but that is not the case. While I took international ballroom dance lessons before, (1990 and again briefly in 2006) these classes are American social, so while it is similar, it is also different.

I signed up when I was living in Brantford and have since moved to Woodstock, which is a 35-minute drive in good weather. Even if I had a partner in Brantford to practice with, driving back and forth a couple of times a week and then attending the Tuesday night class is a lot, especially with winter coming on. My last lesson in level one will be on Thursday November 1 and the last class for level 2 will be on Tuesday, November 6.

Says 101 – Ballroom dancing level 2, another class

2012 Oct 03 Tonight I received a phone call from the Ballroom dance studio, asking me if I would be interested in taking the level 2 lessons on Tuesday, as they have a lady that was interested, but didn’t have a partner. She said that they are only asking me as they feel that I would have no problems with level 2, based on what they have seen me do in level 1. I told her that I would think about it and that I would talk to her tomorrow when I came in for my level 1 class.

2012 Oct 04 When I went in for my Thursday night class, I told the receptionist that I was interested in taking the level 2 classes. She said she would call the woman that was to be my partner and tell her.

Says 89 – Signed up for Ballroom dancing

Last week I signed up for ballroom dancing and tonight will be my first lesson. I had signed up as a single and a couple of days ago I got a call stating that they had a partner for me so it’ll be interesting to see how it works out. It’s not International ballroom that I took a few years ago, but American, and it’s just for social dancing.

Well I just got back and it was both interesting and fun. There were six couples taking the beginner class and while the woman teaching is not a professional, I think it will be okay. My partners name is Sharon, an older woman that says she took basic ballroom last year but it doesn’t feel like she really got the hang of it. The instructor came over and asked me if I taken lessons before and I told her I did. She say she noticed, as I definitely had the rumba rhythm.