mark

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do you ever question your calling? Ask yourself what’s your purpose in the world, what you were put here to do? Have you spent a lot of time ‘searching’ for it, trying one thing after another, looking outside yourself for the thing that makes you tick?

The funny thing is, whatever it may be that’s your true gift to the world isn’t out there somewhere, it’s deep down inside you. And all too often, the urge to search and hunt for it masks a willingness to just face the music, admit to ourselves what we know ourselves to be, and get to work.

There’s always things that our rational minds, our friends and families, and society’s messages put in the way to convince us to play it safe. We choose the safe path of ‘shoulds’ rather than the high road of our own ideals.

But at the end of the day, (or more seriously, the end of our lives) we come back to the big dreams and missed opportunities and it all becomes clear. The book, the film, the song, the art, the project that could change the world was ours alone to give, and if we never made it happen, our gift to the cosmos stays un-given.

For me, it’s taken a long time to get clear on my calling, and there was an awful lot of trying one thing after another to rule them out as blind alleys or wasted efforts. All along I knew I was meant to write, and tell my stories and share my oddball theories and philosophies with the world, but a chorus of doubts and limiting beliefs kept me from putting my writing front and center.

So here I am in Boulder Colorado, teaching kids about vinyl records with Turning the Wheel. It all fits with where I’m at in life, and who I want to be. One of the reasons I’m so inspired to write and teach about vinyl records and analog music is to make a difference for future generations, so whenever I get a chance to work directly with kids it’s like gas in my tank.

I brought a small portable turntable, which allows me to set up quickly and play short segments of music to accompany the movement and improvisation practices that Alana Shaw and the Turning the Wheel team are guiding. Everyone is amazed at how rich and resonant the sound is, and it seems to inspire a greater range of motion and a more effortless flow.

Last night I played records for the weekly Movement Monday’s Ecstatic Dance at Free Motion Studio. I explained a little bit about why I play vinyl in the opening circle, about how digital music requires your mind to process the sound first before you move, while analog starts with your heart allowing you to flow without thinking.

Afterwards in the circle several people opened up about how much the music moved them, and how they were having epiphanies that were bubbling up directly from their bodies, one woman shared that it felt like her heart had “opened up to allow her body intelligence to come through.”

So whatever it may be that you feel called towards, know that when you’re in the flow with it you’re going to feel alive and inspired like never before. Life is like one long series of serendipities and openings when you’re in the flow with your passion, and the universe can feel it and will open it’s doors.

I’m finishing this in the lobby of the Hotel Boulderado. It’s a classic Venus Retrograde moment, I worked here as a busboy and prep cook in the mid 80’s, so it’s a full circle return to a place that I dearly love.

You may well have a full circle moment that will let you know you’re on the right path and that your calling is pulling you forward. Trust in your deepest dreams, and know that the universe is grateful for your gifts.

Stocking up on more inspiration to share with you soon!

Until next week, much love and heaps of mojo!
M+

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

DANCE WITH ME THIS SUNDAY IN BOULDER!

Movement Mass with Melissa Michaels
March 12th, 10:45am – 12:00noon, Boulder Circus Center

Dance First Member Spotlight: Tamalpa Institute faculty members Jamie McHugh and Joy Cosculleula and Embodied Activism for Renewal

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Today I want to send a shout out to Jamie McHugh and Joy Cosculleula, faculty of long-time Dance First members, the Tamalpa Institute. These two dynamic somatics pioneers have struck out on their own to establish a new groundbreaking project called EAR to the Ground Productions.

EAR stands for Embodied Activism for Renewal and their mission is to catalyze creative community action in the form of rituals, flash mobs or performance pieces.

Initially established as a collaborative ritual performance contribution to the Women’s March, their first action was to invite men, women, and children to enact the ritual at Alonzo King Line’s Dance Studio, carry it to Market Street and to perform within the march.

Here’s what Jamie has to say about why they are launching this project:

“These fragmented times of diminishing bodily freedom and creative expression demand a retooling and a re-envisioning of our social narrative. I want to encourage more creation and less consumption; more embodied action and less technological passivity; and a greater appreciation of our commonalities and less divisiveness around our differences. The time is now. Let us use our skills as facilitators, leaders, artists and educators to mobilize and channel this vibrant energy for social change. Who’s in?”

I’m so delighted to see folks like Jamie and Joy taking embodiment to the streets and bringing the body wisdom of places like the Tamalpa Institute out into the public eye. Hat’s off to these courageous leaders, let’s get behind more work like this and all do our part to create “movement for a better world!”

To learn more or to schedule an in-person or online consultation, send an email to:  EarToTheGroundProductions@gmail.com