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Speaking of energy, here is an interesting exploration:
On the subway recently I saw a tattoo on a guy's arm that read 'Habit is a great deadener.'
A great jumping off point for conversation! I've had a few on it. Contemplate for a moment...
I thought it would be important first to consider the difference between habit and ritual. In the context of the tattoo, I think a habit is an action that we repeat blindly, while a ritual must be felt with full presence.
And it seems right to figure that the former can be an energy leak, while the latter will usually be an energy boost.
Thoughts?
On the subway recently I saw a tattoo on a guy's arm that read 'Habit is a great deadener.'
A great jumping off point for conversation! I've had a few on it. Contemplate for a moment...
I thought it would be important first to consider the difference between habit and ritual. In the context of the tattoo, I think a habit is an action that we repeat blindly, while a ritual must be felt with full presence.
And it seems right to figure that the former can be an energy leak, while the latter will usually be an energy boost.
Thoughts?
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New York City
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Re: habit vs ritual
Sun, June 22, 2008 - 8:30 AMWell, those words remind me of the old proverb "familiarity breeds contempt". Not that this is about bellydancing, but the fact is, the more something becomes a habit, the less awareness you need to perform it or deal with it. While with a ritual, it is all about awareness and treating it with respect and celebrating it. They are opposites, basically, if you look at it this way.
Yesterday our teacher told us about John Compton, and said, he has been performing exactly the same things for 10 years, and it never gets boring. That is quite a feat! In most cases, if I see someone performing the same choreography twice, it completely takes away the magic I become aware, that the whole thing is not real, it is created to present an illusion. But to perform the same dance for 10 years without boring people, it means, the dancer is dancing while being greatly aware of what he is doing. Most people would go into automatic pilot and get bored with themselves, and project that to the audience.
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Re: habit vs ritual
Sun, June 22, 2008 - 9:17 PMRitual as opposed to habit. I really like that concept. I'm going to be more mindful of my routine. The only thing I really have to contribute is gratitude. Thank you for this discussion. It's already provoked a lot of thought in me.
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Re: habit vs ritual
Mon, June 23, 2008 - 6:38 PMI have always danced to ritual.
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Re: habit vs ritual
Tue, June 24, 2008 - 9:56 AMhrmmm - I think your statement, "And it seems right to figure that the former can be an energy leak, while the latter will usually be an energy boost." is pretty dead on, I do however submit that a 'Habitual' practice can be the thing that kick starts us out of bed ....begins the exercise/movement/practice - but I think the second we invoke 'intention' or even 'awareness' we transform what could have started as habit into ritual. Always for me is the influence of intention and awareness....that catapults the ordinary into the divine; transition from power drain to power source.
Good catch on the tattoo.... -
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Re: habit vs ritual
Tue, June 24, 2008 - 4:57 PMhow would you regard the detriment of habit in relation to using choreography? -
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Re: habit vs ritual
Tue, June 24, 2008 - 9:34 PMAstrid, that's just one of the things I was thinking about the whole thing too. A default analogy is available, of: choreography is to improv what habit is to ritual... Possible, but not necessarily true... I think that a true dancer endeavors to make a choreography as true and present as possible, feeling the nuances of each repetition differently. It's really a challenge sometimes, but possible. And it can be seen, that a dancer is enjoying the sensation of the dance in present, not just that she is good at the movements. Being so present can add depth to the challenge of remembering choreography too, as the dancer allows herself to become swept up in the flow of the movements. I remember feeling so joyful about a series of movements in one of my own choreographies during a group performance that I had to glance at my students to see where we were... In classes I try to encourage students to feel as if they just came up with each of the movements, and also to let the movements themselves (even in their own choreographies and indeed improv as well) bring sensations to mind, each time they are executed... -
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Re: habit vs ritual
Wed, June 25, 2008 - 7:19 AM"A default analogy is available, of: choreography is to improv what habit is to ritual... "
This thought has definitely been a pervasive influence throughout my personal dance career. I've never choreographed an 'Orientale' solo piece for this very reason. Some part of my brain has been wired to believe that the truest forms of Orientale Danse are those that are alive and in the moment, happening spontaneously in co-creation with the music. On the other side, I've choreographed vibrant, breathing, group pieces to music I absolutely adore, but I believe it was the music's innate nature that brought about an almost ritual-like quality in these particular choreographies.
Then again, I was presented with choreographies in Bharatanataym, even in the Juti's (the secular, purely technical pieces) I would find a shooting sense of ecstasy throughout my being, which I later came to recognize as intense focus. The aspect of "Being so present" in these choreographies was a totally transcending experience; but not one that came without a great deal of preparation. Preparation/Practice/Habit, I’ve come to feel that when anyone takes themselves away from the moment in which they are practicing or preparing the effect can be "deadening" and the practice ultimately perceived as habit. But there’s definitely a beautiful internal unlocking that seems to occur when a series of steps has been *so* learned, *so* engrained, the feet, hands, eyes so thoughtfully placed and moved that the dancer can enter into a full meditative state.
We play with ‘Repetition and Variation’, an old modern dance exercise, during Dancemeditation. It’s another beautiful practice because it again involves being present enough to continue with the same movement, repeatedly, even when the practitioner has grown tired and even bored with the movement. The idea is to remain with the movement, pushing through the weariness and boredom until the movement ultimately changes itself. Same goes for practicing musical instruments. We practice rote repetition into infinity so that our bodies’ muscle memory is so ingrained with the chords or body placement that it becomes second nature. Once a thing is second nature to our bodies, our focus doesn’t wander, but during our practice or performance the state of our conscious mind begins to change so that there is an awareness of something beyond the movements, I believe when I experience this ‘thing beyond the movements,’ that I am encountering the spirit or true nature of the movement. Perhaps habitual awareness counteracts the deadening effect of ‘Habit’?
Sorry if I rambled a bit…thanks for the beautiful thought-food.
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Re: habit vs ritual
Wed, August 6, 2008 - 3:30 PMI think for some people ritual becomes a habit. A set way of doing things to connect with their inner power, with the divine. Although this way of ritual is more conscious than blinde habit to me I feel ritual can be a form of habit. Especially if those involved cling to ways of doing things no matter the harm it may cause others be being close-minded. But some make ritual be something with no "choreography" with no closed minds. However there are of course some who frown on this style of ritual because it has no direction and that tried and tested methods of ritual work as opposed to fumbling about in the dark with no guide-lines or "habits" to follow. There are plenty of people that practise rituals without having exploring minds. They've gotten all they can out of a system and then stop when they are masters in a specific area and call everything else rubbish. So I think it definately depends on how one approaches ritual and approaches people and life. There are definately more people out there now who approach ritual and magickal practises with an open mind for expanding and realize the fault of being dependant on a system of thought. The courage to throw off habitual practises means the person will have to be a humble, vulnerable beginner again with utmost respect for the process of what they are learning by doing.
Every dancer has specific habits when dancing. I try to notice what moves or combination of moves I am specifically drawn to that are in a certain order. Or I try to notice if it is a habit for me to tense somewhere that i actually need to relax so that another move can be possible somewhere else on my body. Or are my hands repeatedly going to the same position around my head? It's definatelt a challenge to keep breaking yourself out of previous conditioning and become new again. That's probably why belly-dancers are so smart and multi-talented. We recognize the moment for what is being completely new with limitless possibilities. As dancers if we think, "Yes I can!" then there is a whole world of everything just waiting to be harnessed by our fingertips, or hips, shoulders, whatever. To be exploratory defeats habit. Habit is the past, is yesterday and habit is dead.
Interesting topic. I hope what I said made sense.
