CHASING THE DANCE OF LIFE: Hallelujah studies FLOW through the movement of dance and mentors

HALLELUJAH FOR THE DANCE OF LIFE! Thank you to the mentors of movement in my life, Lesly Fredman, Lori Teague, Gabrielle Roth, Cynthia Winton-Henry! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for the celebration of life through DANCE! Although I have just started reading Cynthia Winton-Henry's book, Chasing the Dance of Life: A Faith Journey, I am delighting in Cynthia's splendid self-proclamation as being peculiar and different but fully HERSELF. 

At the beginning of her first chapter, "Fire in My Flesh," she shares a quote from Flannery O'Conner, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you odd."

It this TRUTH that I seek to find and practice. Who is afraid of BEING ODD?  Especially if this ODDNESS brings the comfort of self-knowledge and membership to the tribe of ODD-ONES! We ODD ONES are not alone after all (This thought makes me burst out laughing!).

As I spin about dancing "waves" in Gabrielle Roth's Five Rhythms, I am releasing life-long negative memories and current stresses both work related and personal. By dancing and releasing, I am opening myself to a new way of being and possibilities! This is FLOW!

In this FLOW, I am experiencing what Gabrielle Roth calls the Divine Feminine, which is comprised of the trinity: mistress, mother, and madonna! To help her readers and dancers embody this Divine Feminine Trinity, Gabrielle Roth provides "To-Do (or not to do) Lists" for creating parties for the mistress, mother, and madonna in her book, Sweat Your Prayers. 

Dear FELLOW ART PILGRIM, will you join me for a party celebrating the MOTHER? Here is Gabrielle Roth's "To-Do" list for the Mother Party:

"Give a party to nurture the senses. Invite your friends to dress in their most flowing attire and bring their favorite comfort foods and sweets--macaroni and cheese, chicken soup, blintzes, bread pudding, pies of all kinds.

As your guests enter, anoint them with scented oils. Play flowing sensual music. Set up a massage corner for foot and hand massage. Make sure you have incense, flowers, candles, refreshing liquids--everything you need to create a nurturing environment."

 --Gabrielle Roth, Sweat Your Prayers

FLOW OF THE MOTHER! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

I too am chasing the DANCE OF LIFE! That's Coffee with Hallelujah! Please RSVP regarding the Mother Party! I am looking to celebrate having found the TRUTH and want to commune with my tribe of ODD-ONES!

FLOW FOR CONTINUOUS CHANGE: Moving our physical bodies propels our emotional centers to shift!

IN THE FLOW OF SELF. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

"Flowing is the state of being fluid, of hanging loose and being flexible."

Gabrielle Roth of Five Rhythms

Hallelujah for FLOW!  Because when we are in the FLOW, we are connected to the rhythms of the Earth and continuous change!

"He not busy being born is busy dying."

Bob Dylan

I find that I am compelled to MOVE, and when I MOVE, I become something different altogether--I CHANGE. I FLOW. I am REBORN!

OUTER FLOW CREATES INNER FLOW. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

How mysterious and wonderful CHANGE is. For me, I have been evoking the mysteries of emotional, psychological, and intellectual CHANGE through the earthy pounding of my feet and frenzied poetic waving of my arms reaching to the heavens! I have been DANCING!

I have been DANCING waves through five rhythms, the first rhythm being FLOW!

 DANCING FLOW CONNECTS ME WITH THE CYCLES OF LIFE. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Dancing FLOW propels me deeper into myself, cycling into my past, swirling into now, and becoming my future. However, CHANGE is challenging on many fronts!

Leaving the safety of predictability takes courage! And you will find that in the process of being REBORN, you are asked to explain your transformation to others. 

OUT OF FLOW, GOOD THINGS COME. (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

Yet in FLOW, after seeing the BELOVED in yourself, you become aware of the BELOVED in others. 

OUT OF FLOW, GOOD THINGS COME! 

That's Coffee with Hallelujah! Are you in the FLOW? What dance will you do today to awaken your inner self and propel yourself to being REBORN?

MY FLOW. For now, MY FLOW feels so contained and private. Mysterious. Present. Curiously Active--like a woman in a hijab! As a visionary artist, I make my art to discover my inner being. My images speak to me, and we dialogue about the self that I am. These images inspired by the colorful scarves worn by my international students at the Georgia Tech Language Institute speak to me. Their faces peering at me invite me inside the mystery. How transformative it must be to travel to another country with a very different culture to study! How I admire these women and learn from them. As I dance the FLOW of the five rhythms, I, too, enter a new country and culture. How fantastic!  (Art by Hallelujah Truth)

MOVING TOWARD ABSTRACTION: Exploring the Soul in a New Way

DANCE FLOW. Here I am expressing the departure from emotion to the connection with the music through dance. I want to say, I am dissolved into the sound waves, the muscle waves,  the being waves.  I AM THE FLOW. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Dear Pilgrims, what is ABSTRACTION? And just what is the value of this form of communication? Hallelujah Truth (me) values the representational images that comprise the symbols of her universe. While my symbols are "abstractions" of an idea, they are definitely recognizable shapes that viewers can name.

This is a snake.



This is a woman with flowers in her hair.

This is a woman in a burka.



These artworks of mine are not deemed "abstract." Is that correct? I am self-taught artist who makes images to develop the expression my SOUL by honoring the creative process.

So if I am to "move towards abstraction," as is the theme of this upcoming Women's Caucus for the Arts of Georgia, what would that mean for me the SOUL SEEKING HALLELUJAH TRUTH? Do I know how to make an abstraction and  what would it communicate from my SOUL to YOURS?

Let me explore...

In today's blog is the first image I made, moving towards abstraction.

DANCE FLOW INVERTED ON PHOTOSHOP. Just by altering the color, my image that I was associating with the flow of water becomes more like the flow of fire! How exciting! (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Is this abstract art? Or do I still need to separate myself from an identifiable eye, nose, mouth, flower, and leaf? What am I saying to you?

SOUL BLOG with me PILGRIMS! Tell me what you experience when looking at this image? Share with me what you know about ABSTRACT communications in art!

That's Coffee with Hallelujah!

TO CHANGE, YOU NEED TO MOVE: Working Out My Soul Through Dance

MOVING IN THE WAVE 1. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

Hallelujah for inspiration in the form of others! Thank you to the Dancing Flowers for Peace and the wonderful women who got me MOVING in 2012 during their Saturday warm-ups! Hallelujah for Dance Church, an open group in my Decatur community that welcomes individuals to MOVE in their own unique way! And, YES, I am SO inspired by Wave Atlanta, and the multi-generational group of people who gather at the Existentialist Church on Tuesday evenings to dance to Gabrielle Roth's Five Rhythms!

We are now in February, the second month of 2013, and I have dedicated myself to MOVING both physically and spiritually. I welcome CHANGE in the form of new insights leading to new ways of BEING. As a Spiritual Art Pilgrim, I have discovered that I can JOURNEY right here, right now. No need to climb aboard a boat or wait for trees to grow spring leaves.

MOVING IN THE WAVE 2. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

To be AUTHENTIC is to be PRESENT to who I am now, each day. No thought of yesterday. No thought of tomorrow. What does my body need? Do I need to release the muscles in my neck and set my head free to roam around the curves of my shoulders, back, and chest? Will my feet follow as my head explores the universe of these bones and muscles? YES!

MOVING IN THE WAVE 3. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

MOVING to the Five Rhythms (flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness) is a way to work out your soul as you work out your body!  As a pilgrim, the spiritual travel I am doing right now is through MOVING my feet in accordance with my head, shoulders, spine, and hips. 

MOVING IN THE WAVE 4. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

This spiritual practice requires the deep and profound practice of listening to oneself at many levels of BEING...muscles, bones, emotions, and mind....

MOVING IN THE WAVE 5. (art by Hallelujah Truth)

What will you do today fellow pilgrims to MOVE within yourself and create the change you are seeking? Will you lean into yourself and listen to what your body is asking for? I will leave you with lines from a poem by Jewel Mathieson:

I turn to the Goddess, pray for forgiveness
She says "there is no forgiveness because there are no sins"
She places God on the tips of my fingers
on the tips of my toes
and tells me that everyone has to learn how to pray 
in their own way
in their own way with everything, everywhere

--from The Search for the Feminine in My Bones

For me that prayer is dancing, and that dance is electrifying me to my finger tips and toe tips! 

SOUL RETRIEVAL: DANCING YOUR SPIRIT INTO REBIRTH

HOW TO GO ABOUT RETRIEVING YOUR SOUL. DANCE! Gabrielle Roth says "If you want to give birth to your true self, you are going to have to dig deep down into that body of yours and let your soul howl." (words from Sweat Your Prayers, 1997; art by Hallelujah Truth, today 2013)

Hallelujah for the SOUL! For the SPIRIT that infuses our lives with purpose and fun! Hallelujah for pilgrims like Gabrielle Roth (1941-2012), dancer and creator of FIVE RHYTHMS! Hallelujah for being given permission to let your SOUL HOWL! To discover what your BODY and SOUL need to do to sweat out your prayers!

Gabrielle Roth writes in her book, Sweat Your Prayers, "Soul retrieval is hard work....It takes discipline to be a free spirit." During the course of her book, she defines the joyful disciplined route to connecting BODY and SOUL through dance--your own unique dance!

During her life time of experiences as a dancer and teacher, Gabrielle Roth developed a cycle of movement that engages the spirit: flow, staccato, chaos, lyricism, and stillness. Whether you dance this cycle in 15 minutes or an hour, you can find that pathway to giving birth to your TRUE SELF!

I, Hallelujah Truth, know it to be true what Gabrielle Roth says that the body is "a begging bowl for spirit" ...and that "the spirit is the catalyst that keeps all things moving, the body without it falls into a deep state of inertia." 

HOWL-A-LU-JAH!

Therefore, I have pledged to address the "begging bowl" of my body in 2013 and to MOVE my bones, muscles, blood and flesh through dance (see my blog on Dance Church). And with awe and pleasure, I have discovered that Atlanta has Five Rhythms dance classes! You can find out about their locations and times by visiting these sites: The Wave Atlanta and its Facebook page.

You might be asking about why Gabrielle Roth's Five Rhythms are called a "wave"? When Gabrielle Roth writes about dancing it is pure inspiration and connection to the universe:

ENERGY MOVES IN WAVES.

WAVES MOVE IN PATTERNS.

PATTERNS MOVE IN RHYTHMS.

A HUMAN BEING IS ALL OF THOSE:

ENERGY

WAVES

PATTERNS

RHYTHMS.

WE ARE THE DANCE.

To experience the SPIRIT by dancing the Five Rhythms you only need your BODY and music--even music is not essential. However, if you decide to attend a Wave Atlanta class, you will love sharing the dance of SPIRIT with other SPIRITS.

I am thrilled to be MOVING in this improvisational fluid way that excites me when I wake in the morning! Hallelujah for the BODY and the SPIRIT! How about you fellow pilgrim? Will you MOVE your BODY today in a prayerful dance? SOUL BLOG with me at Coffee with Hallelujah!

Take a look at some Five Rhythms dancing in the youtube video below: