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Happy Halloween! May your shadow be kind to you on these days that celebrate the dark side. Have you ever had a holiday that you simply dread? For some folks it’s the Christmas season with it’s overabundance of manufactured cheer, for others, (especially pets!) it’s the 4th of July with all the explosions and fireworks.

For many years in my younger days it was Halloween. I think it dated back to a time when I was about 8 years old, and every year out in the range country where we lived in Western Colorado, the ranchers would get together for what they called a “Chili Supper” held at an old schoolhouse near the main crossroads.

We lived in a region called Glade Park, an area about the size of New Jersey where the general store / gas station / post office had about 80 mailboxes. Mainly cattle or sheep ranchers, with a few hillbilly squatters thrown in for good measure. Our ranch was considered small to medium-sized at only 7,500 acres, several of the old sheep ranching families had upwards of 100,000. The high desert sagebrush rangeland was sparse grazing for livestock, it wasn’t cows-per-acre, but rather acres-per-cow.

Many big pots of chili were brought from every kitchen, some made with the local grass-fed beef or lamb, some made with venison, all served up in bowls with ample stocks of cornbread and butter. I doubt if the term ‘vegetarian’ was even acknowledged at all.

There would be square dancing, with music provided by a few the ranchers who had guitars, fiddles or banjos. All-in-all it was one of the bigger parties of the year, with much libation and celebration being the order of the evening.

This one year in particular, I remember carving a special extra large Jack-o-lantern for the pumpkin carving contest. She was supposed to be a witch, with a wild toothy grin and long hair wigs made from a mop. I was proud of her, but I don’t recall that she won the prize.

What I do remember all to well was that late in the evening a number of the older teenage rancher boys, (who were likely well inebriated) decided to have some rowdy fun at the expense of the pumpkins. Suddenly they were rolling them like bowling balls across the dance floor, and my evening ended on a sad and tearful note as my happy hippy witch-o-lantern was smashed.

Somehow the trauma of that fateful night haunted me for years to come. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy dressing up for Halloween, but rather the season around it became predictably troublesome. Through the worst years of my juvenile delinquency era, it seemed to be like clockwork that sometime around late October I would find myself in the hottest of water due to some self-induced hare-brained shenanigan or another.

With maturity the pattern thankfully began to dissolve. Especially after giving up alcohol in my mid-20’s my consciousness started to rise above the self-destructive sabotage of my late-teens and early 20’s. Gradually, and with a great deal of relief, I started to notice that I was staying out of trouble, and could focus my creative energy on loftier pursuits.

Nowadays, I’m simply enjoying the fun of it, with the perspective of being a parent. My daughter is in the peak of her trick-or-treating years, and I look at it as a great time to go with the flow and have fun clowning around with my shadow. In another life I could have been a long-haired biker dude!

May your dance with the dark side be light and easy! Enjoy this macabre holiday with playfulness and the spirit of fun! It signifies the start of the holiday season here in the Western world, so lift it off with love, and a great dance with your shadow!

With love till next week!

M+

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

Dance First Member Spotlight:Devi Prem & Dolphin Movement!

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This week’s spotlight shines on a delightful spirit of movement and one of Dance First’s dynamic leaders, Devi Prem!

Well known for her work in the movement world as well as her Mt Shasta-based Mystery School leadership trainings, Devi is an intuitive teacher with a knack for guiding people to their highest light.

As a spiritual coach and leader of seekers, she helps you step away from your social-cultural conditioning to discover and follow your soul’s calling.

With a background as both a 5Rhythms teacher and an energy healer, she brings forth a valuable set of tools to guide you in raising your frequency and heightening your intuition.

Plan a trip to Mt. Shasta for her upcoming Dolphin Movement Angel Workshop, or experience her monthly Seven Sacred Rhythms, offered both in Berkeley and Mt. Shasta. She occasionally guides the Sweat Your Prayers in Nevada City, and also leads trainings for Mystic Dance Facilitators and Intuitive Healing Practitioners.

You may feel called to work with her one-on-one as well, she offers personal spiritual coaching and private sessions to select individuals by application.

Thank you Devi for your high-vibration addition to the Dance Firstfield! You’re doing the serious work that our planet and people need so much at this point in time!

May you continue to grow and blossom and serve more people with your wisdom and insight!