Dancing for Well-Being: Five Dances for Life

Dance is an amazing thing, and many people don't realize how dance helps you physically, mentally, and spiritually. Dancing is good for your soul. There are many reasons people have for not dancing, but these reasons can be easily debunked; here are five dances that can help improve our life in more ways than you can imagine.

Many people have excuses to not dance. Some people may think they have no rhythm, but they should simply remember that "the whole universe is in constant motion and you are probably not the exception to the rule" (Roth, 1998, p. 17). Some people may not dance because they do not like their bodies, but they should remember that dancing will work away any extra pounds. Whatever you don't work off is "meant to be part of you" (Roth, 1998, p.17). I find one of my biggest excuses is lack of time, but I have realized that the smallest amount of time spent dancing can change my mood completely. I have been figuring out different ways to incorporate dancing even if it is only for a few minutes into my daily schedule. Even if I only dance to one song a day I still feel better.

There are 5 rhythms of the soul, and they are known as flowing, staccato, chaos, lyrical, and stillness (Roth, 1998). Flowing is about being flexible like liquid. In flowing there are no "separations or distinctions between things, there's only continuous change" and flowing is the "rhythm of the earth" (Roth, 1998, p.52). In order to practice flowing dance "imagine that you are all circles and curves, arms round, spine undulating, hands soft, hips rolling gently, knees loose" and " let whatever you are feeling unravel" (Roth, 1998, p.55). Staccato is more of a tense dance. It is a type of dance that creates all "kinds of angles and edges like geometry in motion" (Roth, 1998, p.83). The dance of chaos is spontaneous and intuitive. It is meant to "dive below the surface... and get in touch with our whims, our impulses, and our poetic intelligence" (Roth, 1998, p.118). Lyrical dancing is one of the hardest dances for most people because it you have to experience it to understand it, but I feel comfortable practicing this dance, and I believe that my dramatic nature and love of dance makes this form of dance more natural to me. Perhaps this type of dance comes natural to me because in lyrical dancing "we realize we are works-in-progress" and this is an important lesson I try to remember at all times (Roth, 1998, p.156). Stillness is what I would call a typical type of meditation. It is about moving in "super-slow motion" and focusing your attention to "the ebb and flow of your breath, the beat of your heart, the pulsing of cells" (Roth, 1998, p.180).

Dancing is good for the soul, and people should dance more often. Nothing is more natural and pure than dancing. Let go of your excuses why you do not dance, and Dance!

Reference:
Roth, G. (1998). Sweat your prayers: movement in spiritual practice. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam.

How to Deal with the Difficulties of Life Through the Teachings of Buddhism

Life is difficult, and there will always be problems that arise. This article will help you learn how to deal with the difficulty of life through Buddhist ideas. It will help you to understand fear and your relationship to it; It will also help you gain a better knowledge of the role of problems and relaxation in your life.

"Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth." (Chodron, 1997, p.1) I used to think that fear came from not understanding, and I believe this is still true, but I now know that it is not only incomprehension. Fear comes from seeing what you do not understand and being afraid of what the answer might be. Many people run when they are afraid, but "if we commit ourselves to staying right where we are they our experience becomes very vivid" (Chodron, 1997, p.2). The Buddhist belief system teaches us to become intimate with fear and to know it. I believe this is a good lesson because seeing fear and standing your ground is courageous, and it will help us grow and become stronger people. Fear is something the wise man welcomes, and even though it causes us to feel in a way we do not like we can teach ourselves to look at it as a gift. Fear just like everything else is not always what we think it is. Looking it in the eye can help us come closer to the truth.

"Things falling apart are a kind of testing and also a kind of healing." (Chodron, 1997, p.10) It is also part of the circle of existence because things are constantly coming together and falling apart over and over again. To realize this is a great relief, but it is also frustrating. In order to learn from our feelings when we feel upset we should stay with that feeling and to get to know it. I find this kind of difficult because my natural inclination is to fix things, but I am practicing remembering that things will come together again with or without my help. This is tough sometimes because when I have a problem I usually rack my brain trying to find a solution, but I am trying to not worry about it so much because I believe my natural inclination to solve problems will be what changes the situation. Buddhist beliefs suggests that problems are never solved, and that is probably true because they continually arise, but I believe that learning to trust myself even when I mess up is the best thing I can do because there are always options. These options may not be what my original plan was, but they will work out as well, and I believe possibly for a better outcome.

Buddhist beliefs can help you to relax. It can teach you to be OK with feelings that you may not usually like. It has taught me to have the "courage to die, the courage to die continually" (Chodran, 1997, p.3). I have found that I and many people fight against death. Practically most of the world would do anything to fight against death, but this is not healthy. It is healthy to "feel fear" when we reach our limit, and it is healthy to take this fear "as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us" (Chodron, 1997, p.16). This means facing problems and seeing them for what they really are; it also means seeing ourselves for who really are. Instead of shrinking away from out limit we should treat it as "a doorway to sanity and the unconditional goodness of humanity" (Chodron, 1997, p.18). This is where meditation can be the most helpful. I always thought of meditation as a way to relax, but I realize it brings relaxation through conflict as well. We meditate so that "we'll be more awake in our lives", and I believe being more awake will help us see things for what they truly are (Chodron, 1997, p.19).
Meditation will help us see what we are doing clearly, and this will help us change what we do. I feel that I am more capable of seeing what I am doing clearly, and I realize that this will not fix my problem, but it will help me change my actions.

The Buddhist belief system may seem frustrating at first. It requires you to accept and deal with a lot of things that seem scary or intimidating, but it is based on honesty. This honesty will help you to stop struggling in your life. It will also allow you to act with compassion which is important to a healthy life and a healthy world.

References:

Chodron, P. (1997). When things fall apart; heart advice for difficult times. Boston, MA: Shamabala Publications, Inc.

The Life and Death of Muhammad and His Influence on History

The life and death of Muhammad has had a strong influence on history. Muhammad is the founder of the Muslim religion and his faith has spread far and wide. This article will summarize the life and death of Muhammad and his influence on history.

In 570AD Muhammad was born in Mecca. When he was a child his mother took him to visit the place his father was buried. Muhammad's mother grew very sick and passed away during this journey. Muhammad became an orphan at the age most kids start kindergarten.

Without his parents Muhammad was placed with his paternal grandfather for a few years. He then lived with his Uncle in the place of his birth. He lived here until he was in his early twenties.

When Muhammad was in his early twenties he met his wife to be. Her name was Khadija bint Khawalayd, and they were married a few years later. Muhammad and his wife lived in Mecca.

After a few years Muhammad noticed that the people of Mecca were becoming greedy and materialistic. This upset Muhammad and he would often travel away from his hometown. During his travels he would fast and meditate by himself. He had many visions during his practices.

During one of his most vivid visions Muhammad was instructed to recite prayers that were attributed to god. Muhammad did not immediately tell the people of Mecca about his visions out of fear.

When Muhammad finally went public with his visions and experiences he did attract some followers. Although he believed he was instructed to recite his prayers he and his followers were not taken seriously. After some time Muhammad and his followers were persecuted and violently attacked.

After 10 years of practicing his beliefs an assassination attempt on Muhammad's is reported. His uncle and his beloved wife also passed away. After these events Muhammad and his followers decided to travel to Medina because a civil war was raging there at the time. Muhammad remained in Medina for 6 years. There he built the first known Muslim community in Medina.

Muhammad's reputation was controversial amongst the Meccan people. This caused conflict for several years. After 3 long years of conflict a treaty allowing Muslims to move freely through Arabia was signed. In 630AD the Muslims had become very large and powerful. They walked on Mecca and they had so many followers the Meccans conceded the Muslim religion. This peaceful event was the uniting of the first largest Muslim community. Only 2 years later Muhammad died and was buried in Medina

Muhammad's life and death had a strong influence on history. His life was dedicated to teaching and living by his beliefs. Over the course of his life he was known as a prophet by many. His life and his work was very powerful and stilled important today.

The Life and Death of Jesus and His Influence on History

The life of Jesus has had a strong influence on history. Jesus was a man that did not live far into his 30's,but he is one of the figureheads of Christian religion. This article will summarize the life of Jesus and his impact on history.

The life of Jesus began when he was born in Bethlehem, Israel. He was born sometime around 6 B.C. When Jesus was a baby he lived in Egypt, but he spent his adolescences in Israel. Jesus grew up learning to be a carpenter and living in Nazareth.

In his early thirties Jesus started teaching his ways to the people. He spread the message of love and kindness and thousands of people followed him. Jesus lived as a traditional Jew, but he did and said many things that caused conflict.

During Jesus' life he was remembered for his teachings, but he was also known by the miracles he performed. Jesus is said to have turned water into wine. He also turned only a few fish into enough to feed many people. Jesus' many miracles were only the beginning. In Jesus' death he performed the miracle that really convinced the people of his claims.

When Jesus claimed to be god he was killed on grounds of blasphemy. The Jewish leaders of the time ordered his murder and he was hung from a cross to suffer and die.

Jesus' body was removed from the cross and placed in a tomb. Three days after he died he was seen by hundreds of people. These witnesses claim that Jesus rose from the dead and traveled to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem Jesus was said to have risen from the ground into the heavens.

Jesus' life and death has strongly influenced history and many people throughout the past and in the present. The teachings and practices of Jesus have convinced many people to believe in and follow him. T he resurrection and ascension has also left a lasting impact on history because many people believe that Jesus really is the son of god.

Thousands people became part of the Christian faith simply because of these miraculous accounts.

In Jesus' life he attracted many followers, but in his death he became the figurehead for over 2 billion followers. Immediately after his death thousands of people worshiped him despite persecution, death, and torture. When Jesus was alive he taught positive messages similar to many other prophets, but the mystery of his death was the ultimate cause of the success of Christianity.

Life is a song, love is the lyrics, stamped silver bracelet,...

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