“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!”

~ The White Queen in ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by Lewis Carroll

What are some of your closely held beliefs? Which part of reality do you take for granted, and what do you constantly question? Have you ever had one of those moments of realization where your entire world view turns on a dime?

Belief is a funny thing. We live in a three dimensional world of solid objects and laws of nature, yet it is our beliefs about how things work and where we fit into the big picture that make all the difference.

My dear departed acquaintance and fellow consciousness explorerTerence McKenna used to famously say “My technique is don’t believe anything. If you believe in something, you are automatically precluded from believing its opposite.

For me, it feels like beliefs exist at the intersection of the metaphysical and physical worlds. On one hand, we are all surrounded by fixed and immutable objects, from the stones and the trees in nature to the concrete sidewalks of the city, the dense artifacts of our environment form our solid surroundings, ignoring us in mute silence. A steel sculpture might outlive it’s maker by many generations, with only rust to wear it down. Yet the story of its origin might change with each telling until the commonly held belief about it is far different than the truth.

On the other hand, it’s only by believing in something and exercising our intention that we can create change and results in our world. Belief, dedication, and willpower have triumphed against all odds by heroes in history since time immemorial. The metaphysical universe responds to belief in magical and mysterious ways.

I used to ponder these problematic questions a lot when I was growing up. Western Colorado is rich in geology, causing me to wonder whether perhaps rocks had a consciousness of their own. Maybe they are just operating on such a different time frame then us that we have no idea?

You often hear people saying that life is short, but 12-year-old Elliot wisely pointed out that it’s actually the longest thing we know. We live in a world of things that last much longer than we do, yet our perception is limited to our life span.

With this week being the Summer Solstice, it seems like a perfect time to ponder the universe. We’re not exactly sure what the society that celebrated at Stonehenge was really up to, but it seems pretty obvious that they were definitely aware of the shifting celestial seasons.

Pythagoras posited in the 6th century that the Earth was a sphere, but this idea took a long time to sink in. Columbus had to convince his fellow sailors that they would come around the other side and not fall off the edge.

So if we are to take the word of today’s “Flat Earth” proponents at face value, the conspiracy to conceal the truth goes back an awful long way. To a rational thinker, it seems like there might be a couple of flaws in the theory, but that doesn’t stop a lot of people from believing in it, to the point that there is even a conference dedicated to the idea.

First of all, if the earth was a flat disc, wouldn’t cats have already pushed everything off the edge? And the edge itself would undoubtedly be the world’s biggest tourist attraction. It almost seems like too much work for NASA, the Apollo astronauts, and every pilot and mapmaker in the world to be cooperating on a massive deception.

John Adams, one of the founding fathers of the United States, famously said that “Facts are stubborn things.” Yet master propagandists know that if you repeat a lie often enough it becomes the truth. Welcome to the age of truthiness and alternative facts! Our modern dance is one with cognitive dissonance, where the story about something doesn’t match up with our perception of the facts.

It’s probably a good idea to stay a little bit loose in regard to belief systems. Elevate love and kindness to a litmus test in regard to what’s worth holding on to, and keep a bit of humility in your back pocket in case some stubborn facts come along to cause a shift. Folks who become fossilized into a view or mindset are the ones who suffer the most when the earth shifts under their feet. Just ask the Catholic clergy when Copernicus came along!

Enjoy your long days of summer as the sun reaches its peak and the season starts to turn! Dancing with you till next week…

M+

Mark Metz
Director of the Dance First Association
Publisher of Conscious Dancer Magazine

Conscious Dancer Special Invitation! Boundless Community Retro Summer Campout!

This weeks Monday Love Spotlight is a special invitation just for you! Summer is the season for campouts, and this one is extra groovy because we’ll be there playing records and providing the music and dance vibes just for you!

The Boundless Community Retro Summer Campout is your opportunity to make a short drive from the Bay Area into the cool redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains and relax with a conscious collection of campers enjoying great food and fun activities.

The theme is “What’s Old is New” where you are invited to step into a world of Polaroids, slide projectors, and typewriters; archery, record players, and sunprint kits; retro meals and songs around the campfire.

​​​​​​​We’ll be providing luscious downtempo and dinner jazz on Saturday afternoon, an upbeat dance jam later in the evening, and a Sweet Sunday Morning Celebration Set just for you!

My DJ partner and resident consciousness artist Laura Cirolia will be offering one of her renowned Resets, a Somatic Soul Session designed to create more well-being and stability in your garden of life.

You’ll enjoy carefully curated and catered retro meals (included!), activities like archery and creek hikes, a special talent show (that you can join in!), vinyl DJ dance sets and family-oriented analog music instruction.

This is a very affordable, convenient, and family-friendly event, with just a few spaces left so sign up and reserve your spot soon! Make the most of your summer with us at this rare and special campout in beautiful Boulder Creek!

Learn more and book your spot here!
Boundless Retro Community Campout
July 6-8, Boulder Creek, CA​​​​​​​