Dancing, Salt desert and Coca 9/7/11 - Wed Gathering in Rockville
Sep 7
posted by Michael Smith in
Sandbox, Events, Polyarmory, Music, Dancing
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Michael/Michelle here:
I love many Indian things - the country when I traveled there in the 80s, the food and spices, the music, some Bollywood movies and of course the dancing! I learned Bhangra dancing a few years ago and even if I was down or depressed 10 minutes of doing that dance and I was out of breath and happy again! Plus any minor sickness or stress and dancing just releases the stuck energy so I feel better and can easily rest fully. So this Wednesday Gathering on Indian Dance is great.
Here in Bolivia I visited the Salar de Uyuni in the south of the country - it is a vast salt flat from an ancient sea that dried up. Over 200 sq km it is like being on another planet - no animals, birds or plants. Just while salt on the ground and volcanic mountains on the horizon. I meditated on the salt - it is very cleaning of energies (I take salt baths at home to clean my aura). Away from anyone or any animal I heard a quiet humming in my head - to me it was the sound of god within each of us. A light that is always there but that I don't always notice unless I get very quiet. That night we stayed in a salt hotel - all the walls, floor, beds, tables, chairs are made of blocks of salt. Only the bathroom was not salt (it would melt with the water!). at I slept so deeply that night!
The next day we drove across the desert seeing wild gazelles and flamingos at icy lagoons. I thought flamingos were a tropical bird but here the temperature is -15 C at night and not so much warmer in the day! I explored lava fields and went for a dip in a hot spring. The hot water was great - the only problem was how to get in and out given that it was -10 C with a strong wind outside the pool!! On the final day we got up at 5am to drop off some fellow travelers at the Chilean border before heading back to Uyuni. Our driver, as many Bolivian workers do, was chewing coca leaves to stay alert. I guess it is a bit like drinking a coca-cola in the States. (In fact the original coca cola recipe in the 1890s included coca leaves...). Since president Evo came to power here a few years ago coca production has been liberalized and you can buy coca tea bags at the super market. Just don't try to bring them back to the USA as DHS will take them and may be fine you too because they are illegal in US (they think coca = cocaine which is a crazy as saying poppy seeds = heroin). I haven't tried coca tea but others say it is a mild pick me up.
Love
M/M
PS We have three talented healers living at my house: Randy, Rukmini and Sandra. Plus myself remotely. Learn more about what we can do and help support this Sandbox gathering place at http://abundantmichael.com/blog/page.cfm/Sandbox-Healers
This Wednesday gathering we learn how to do joyful Indian folk dances with Padma Foye. What would yo do with more joy and energy? How do you move stuck emotions (energy in motion) in your body? How would it help your life to express yourself fully in dance right now?
Indian folk dance (Garba and Raas) is mainly performed to express joy. All folk dances portray some expression of life and meaning. These dances are easy to learn and so much fun! And there is no need to be exact in the steps - these are dances for farmers and it is the intent you bring to your moves, not how well you do them that matters!
Padma Foye is from the State of Gujarat in India. She enjoys performing and teaching Indian folk dances because this form of dance is spiritually uplifting to the dancers and the observers.
- Michael/Michelle
http://www.abundantmichael.com/
speech, photos and other creative and playful ways! How do you shift dull parts of your life and work to be fun and playful? How can you bring joy and spirit into the everyday?
Joe Kennedy Jr. is a performer, musician, teacher, artist, free spirit, and workshop developer. He uses voice, keyboards, world instruments, poetry, dance and video to share his vision of hope. He has played with artists of all types all over the world. Joe creates unique school programs for the Choral Arts Society of Washington, The Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center, including Let's Make TV and Let's Make Computer Music programs. He is currently sharing Universal Peace Journeys, an original interactive multi-media production featuring student participation. Joe recently received a grant from the American Composers Forum. In addition to performing and teaching, he produces and hosts a weekly television show, Close To Nature, which has been on Arlington Independent Media for over 6 years, and he has an ongoing Creative Nature workshop series for people of all ages. You can reach Joe at: 
Everybody moves - faster, slower, gracefully or not, sooner or later, we all move. Sometimes, we move for fun – eat something, play a favorite sport, dance, whatever. But for the majority of us, the most fun is when the movement involves our sexual energy.
This Wednesday 
Join us for four days and three nights of Transcendental Dance in the open air – truly, a magical event which has established itself as the annual summer tradition for the global Trance Tribes! Currently in its eighth year, the Gaian Mind Summer Festival has hosted the world’s leading international talent from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, plus the finest national and regional talent from the USA, becoming the premier destination for hundreds of dancers from all over the world. The gathering includes a full weekend of spiritual dancing, tribal drumming, lectures and workshops, yoga, sweat lodge, swimming, relaxation, and much more at our spectacular, new location, Ramblewood!