Dances of Universal Peace

A month or so ago at Lake Harriet Spiritual Community we had a guest speaker who orchestrated the Dances of Universal Peace. He explained briefly Sufism, which shed light on the practice of the Whirling Dervishes, who dance their way to an open heart. The entire "sermon" was participatory as he taught us a very simple practice.

The first dance we did was to face a partner and look into their eyes. (This itself is an incredibly powerful exercise, and you can try it for yourself. I am always amazed at what a sacred experience it is to look deeply into "the windows of the soul". It sometimes makes me nervous, which sheds light onto areas that I need to heal.)

Then we sang "The light is in everything." while moving our hands from the crown of their head and down the sides of of our partner's body. Then, our hands went to our heart and opened outward as we sang "The love in everybody." Then we bowed deeply to our partner with arms crossed over our chest, first to the left, then to the right while singing "Hu, Allah, Hu, Allah, Hu". (Allah, he explained, means God in many languages and is not limited to Islam.)

The groups of partners were arranged in a circle, so when we finished, we moved on the next partner (like a sacred square dance!). Sometimes only the men sang, other times only the women. Then we joined voices- quieter, louder, in a whisper. It was beautiful!

My memory may not be spot on for the dance moves (I've got 2 left feet) or the words (I didn't write it down). What I remember is the magnificent experience of being completely present while giving and receiving blessing with a complete stranger. Many times I teared up because it felt so powerful and authentic to not only acknowledge the Divine in my partner, but to have it reflected back to me, in me.

You can learn more at www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org