I like to phrase it Urban Dharma...a reclaimation of sacred space in our new spiritual centers. Cities are the current temples, suburbs are a sprall of eco-devastation.

A couple months ago, I attended an amazing gathering at my son's school that addressed the issue of "bullying" in our culture....it was amazing b/c it was so far off the beaten path...a pull back to our species continuum of development....and it went it a lil sumthing like this:

hundreds or thousands of years ago, beings participated in ceremony known as "rights of passage". in anthropology these ceremonies are marked in 5 distinct phases.
1. education
2. moment of conflict
3. isolation
4. epiphany/clarity
5. re-integration

so, in practice a young person is educated on survival by a village, they reach puberty, and have a time of inward conflict or need to prove themselves (this is very broad for sake of text, try to keep up). at that time, they are brought to a place outside of the village (aka isolated in mountains, plains, desert) where they use the education to survive and spend time meditating without outside influence....they must go deep into their soul to find their answer (as our dna holds all info possible in the universe). then, in a moment of clarity, they get it....this could also be a moment in an aminita/peyote/iboga ceremony, often the moment where they find their animal spirit guide or take on a new name....this information is then assimilated as the youth returns to the village as a completely different being, re-integrating into the role of adult.

so, fast forward a couple thousand years and viola! here we are with 6BILLion other beings on the planet...with completely different coping mechnisms, say may say evolved, i may beg to differ...but, the rites of passage still exist. the r.o.p. is now, ta da, interhuman relations. they happen all the time, at any given time, and in no particular order....consider this very bland, boring example. we are in a new job, we spend a few months adapting to the new environment, getting to know co-workers nuances and understanding our interactions(education)....until one day, we meet joe at the water cooler and he erupts over an inadequete/late/duplicate or whatever report (moment of conflict)....at the end of the day we get in our car and drive home alone (isolation)....on this drive, we are mulling over the interaction, what is joe's shit, what's my shit, what's joe's and my shit together, and then....the moment of epiphany hits, it is clear what the interaction rooted in, change occurs or not, and the next day it is re-integrated into the work relationship....

try and apply this model to falling in "love" or having a fight with a friend or daughter or classmate, or roommate....i found it very applicable. i do this all the time and am in constant change, adapting and growing with my son, and so on.

now apply music, and often times sacraments, and add it to the experience of quieting the mind and entering back into the body through dance....and how many times have you left a dancefloor realllllllllly feeling changed. with an open heart, closer to the beings around you, in snych with the stars....its called ecstacy for a reason.

i remember a moment, when i first saw lorin ashton play a couple years agoooo, and i swear to god i felt a shift in my fucking dna to a higher and more open state....my chakras where vibrating to an amazing resonance...and i opened my eyes to see everyone around my participating in this rite of passage, the moment of conflict is the release into the dance, the epiphany is the dance, has anyone ever had a spirit come to them while dancing??? i had reinhold messner come to me and marry my soul, for real...and waking up the next morning feeling like a really different being...evolved to a new vibration.

so, this presentation on r.o.p's made a lot of sense in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th chakra centers...and also made me a lot more choosy about the parties i will attend from here on out. i have to feel that there is a purpose to my dancing...not some sexual release.
i need to feel that i am somehow bringing this back to the world in a positive space, hope...not a cracked out wonderland of nothingness that i felt too often near the end of year in the shitty, fear...(with the exception of the audiolux set @ toxic, thank you lindsey).

it also inspires me to practice yoga regularly before participating in dancescenes, to feel aligned....and i pray that our community can start to bless spaces before we dance together....not some debaucheress uncerimonious space, which is why i am so sad to hear chinese new year is @ the 1015...and maybe i should address this to lil john with alllll due respect.

but what do i know, i am just a dancer.

with love and light,
~k~