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Tag: meditation

Nurturing Your Creative Soul

Posted on June 18, 2011 by LJ

I am in the process of reading a book called “Power Choices: 7 Signposts on Your Journey to Wholeness, Love, Joy and Peace” by Brenda Wade, Ph.D.    Dr. Wade is a San Francisco based psychologist, TV host, author and speaker.  I met her when she spoke at the Black Enterprises Women of Power Summit in February, 2011 on a panel dealing with relationships.  She had a lot of very insightful things to say about how to better communicate with your spouse to get what you want or need and about our minds in general.  One of the most intriguing things she said was that our minds are computers and that we control the programming.  What she meant was that we have the ability to control how all those “lessons” we learned and internalized from our parents, society or wherever (whether taught to us overtly, by observation or implicitly) affect our lives, our actions, our emotions and our relationships.  I found her contributions to the panel so useful that I bought two of her books.  The second one (which I have yet to start) is called “Love Lessons – A Guide to Transforming Relationships.”  When I finish reading each book, I'll do more in-depth posts about them.

The first “signpost” that Dr. Wade identifies in her book “Power Choices” is investigation.  That's where you take a look at your life and see what is working for you and what isn't.  In connection with that, she gives you a Cosmopolitan Magazine-like test to take. Remember those  “Test your Sexual IQ” tests?   Anyway, the test she gives you is designed to measure how much attention we pay to various areas of our lives – Physical, Emotional, Mental and Spiritual.  I took the test and discovered that I was really lacking in the spiritual area. This wasn't a great surprise to me. I had known for a while that I needed to do something in that area.  I flirted with the idea of learning how to meditate and/or joining a church, but I had done nothing about it.

I knew that I'd never be able to learn how to meditate effectively without  getting some guidance first and the thought of organized religion seemed so restrictive.  You see, I've always been more spiritual than religious and I've always related better spiritually through music.  That's when the lightbulb went off.  I decided to audition for and join a gospel choir.

At first, I was a little worried about whether I'd really be able to make the time commitment necessary for rehearsals and performances.  My choir rehearses for two hours each Monday and Wednesday evening and performs at two services over a five-hour time period on Sundays.   Then, when I  found out that we had to be at the church by 8:00a.m. each Sunday morning to warm up and do final preparations for the 9:00a.m. service, I wondered whether I'd be able to get there on time since I don't even get to work that early.  I even wondered whether my burning desire to join a gospel choir and devote so many hours a week to it was just another form of procrastination in finishing my books.

Despite my concerns, I have to say that my decision to join the choir has been one of the best I ever made.  I couldn't have found a church better suited to my personality and personal philosophy or a better group of people with whom to sing.  My choir is a large one comprised of an extremely diverse group of people in terms of race, national origin, sexual orientation, professions, talents, walks of life  and even religions since you don't have to join the church to be a part of the choir.  Yet somehow, we come together every Sunday and make beautiful, uplifting and inspiring music.  I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to help make music that touches people's hearts, gives them hope and inspires them.  I wake up crazy early every Sunday morning looking forward to repeating the experience.

Being a part of the choir has had a positive effect on my writing too.  Using my talent for singing, which had remained dormant and unused for years, has stirred up my creative juices and inspired my writing.  Being a member of the choir has also exposed me to some very interesting people and gave me a few ideas for future books.   More on that later.

I guess the moral of this story is not to let the pressures of daily life get us so bogged down that we forget to nurture our souls.  What would nurture your spirit?  Listening to some good gospel music? Practicing meditation or yoga? Communing with nature? Joining a church?  Whatever it is, take the time to do it.  The benefits are numerous.

Let me know how it goes.

Peace.

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Posted in LifeTagged Brenda Wade, choir, church, creative, creative juices, Creative Soul, gospel choir, gospel music, inspirational, inspired, inspiring, Joy and Peace, Love, Love Lessons - A Guide to Transforming Relationships, meditation, nurturing, Nurturing Your Creative Soul, Power Choices, Power Choices: 7 Signposts on Your Journey to Wholeness, soul, yogaLeave a Comment on Nurturing Your Creative Soul

Bellydancers of Color Association’s Movement and Wellness Expo 2011

Posted on May 30, 2011 by LJ

Most people spend Memorial Day weekend travelling to see relatives and friends, entertaining or being entertained by relatives and friends, and shopping.  What did I do?  I travelled to Silver Spring Maryland to attend the Bellydancers of Color Movement and Wellness Expo (the “Expo”).

I know.  The term “bellydancers of color” sounds (as my mother would say) repetitively redundant since most people think of Middle Eastern women doing the dance.  But did you know that bellydance originated in Africa?  I mean, not just in the Middle East, which is, of course part of the African continent.

The Bellydancers of Color Association (“BOCA”) celebrates bellydancers and dancers of color from all over the world.  Dr. Sunyatta Amen  – the head of BOCA – was inspired to start it when she attended her first bellydancing class in which she was the only woman of color in the room.  Her teacher asked her where were the rest of her people.

The teachers and performers at the Expo are world-class dancers and include well-known African-American bellydancers as well as  dancers from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and India. At the Expo, you can take classes in traditional bellydance, tribal bellydance, and bellydance fusion such as bellydance dancehall fusion and hip hop bellydance.  In addition, you can take classes in Brazilian Samba, Afro-Cuban Orisha dance, Bollywood, traditional dances of India, burlesque and more.  You can also take classes on such interesting topics as astro-numerology, meditation, funk yoga, holistic health, muscle sculpting and deep tissue reflexology.

This was my second time attending the Expo and I had a fabulous time.  I paid for a VIP pass which gave me open access to all the classes and VIP seating at the show which was held on Saturday evening.

Being the maniac that I am, I, of course, signed up for way too many classes.  I was scheduled to take Bellydance Basics I, Pop Locking & Tick Tocking (tribal bellydance), and Bellydance Dancehall Fusion with Dr. Sunyatta Amen on Friday afternoon; however,  my plane was delayed for two hours and, as a result, I only made it to the dancehall fusion class.  It was fantastic.  We had a whole lot of fun dancing to music from Beenie Man and other dancehall  music artists.  It was also a serious workout. I knew that I was in trouble when I woke up, already sore, on Saturday morning with several dance and exercise classes ahead of me.

I started out with Soul Yoga at 9a.m.  It was a yoga class that focused on flexibility and was set to oldies but goodies music.  I learned that I'm not nearly as flexible as I should be.  The 61 year old instructor who taught the class is more flexible than I have ever been (and I was a modern dancer in college) or could ever hope to be.  I do, however, still hope to grow up to be just like him.  I certainly plan to incorporate yoga more fully into my exercise routine in the future.

Next was the “Bellydance Junk in the Trunk!” class.  In addition to getting a great workout, we had great fun dancing to hip hop and dancehall music.  We also picked up some health and wellness tips from Dr. Amen who is a naturopathic physician.

After a lunch break, I took the Belly Sculpt class with Gigi – a personal trainer – who worked us over from head to toe without using weights or any other exercise equipment.  My arms, legs, glutes and stomach were still begging for mercy two days later.  I've got to say though, that if working out like that will make our bodies as toned and tight as Gigi's, then it's almost worth the pain (she would call it a sensation).

Next, I took a Bellydance Basics Level II class.  Since, prior to the BOCA Expo, I hadn't taken bellydancing lessons in a while, I figured that I should brush up on the basics.  I was one of eight students in the class, three of whom studied regularly at Dr. Amen's MamaSita Studios in Washington, D.C. and were mavericks.  Needless to say, each beginner student received a lot of attention and encouragement in that class.  Unfortunately, I was pretty exhausted by then, having already taken four hours of dance and exercise classes.

After the class, I dragged myself up to my room and rested for a while before heading downstairs to see the show.  The dance instructors at the BOCA Expo, some of Dr. Amen's students and guest dancers appeared in the show which featured traditional bellydancing, hip hop bellydancing, tribal bellydancing, African dance, Brazilian samba, traditional dances from India and so much more.  The show was absolutely fabulous and highly entertaining.

During intermission, I grabbed a plate from the food vendor at the Boca Expo  who made very delicious vegan delights such as collard greens, macaroni and cheese, fried “chicken” made from a grain (seitan), red beans and dirty rice, some sort of stew that tasted as if it were made with beef, sweet potato pie, carrot cake, etc.  Let's just say it's a good thing I danced all weekend.  I had to do something to burn off all those delicious calories.

The next morning, I woke up even more sore than the day before.  I was scheduled to take a tribal bellydance class with Naimah at 8a.m., but I couldn't quite make it.  I did, however, make it to the Hip Hop Bellydance class where we danced to the latest hip hop music and learned a short routine to take home with us.   Then I took a class called Transformational Meditation with Yirser Ra Hotep – a master yoga instructor.  It was a two-hour class, but the time just seemed to fly by.  Even though it was my first meditation class ever,  he was able to help me get into a state of relaxation and awareness I have never known before.

After that class, I traded my tribal bellydance pants for jeans and headed to the airport to catch my flight back to Miami.

I had a wonderful time at the Expo and would encourage anyone who has an interest in bellydance to attend.  Both the novice and the expert bellydancer would enjoy the classes, the show and the wonderful fellowship that the BOCA Expo has to offer.

Look out for future posts on my experiences with yoga and meditation.  Until then,

Peace

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P.S.  If you are shy or self-conscious at all, you might not want to wear a t-shirt with the words “Got Hips?  Bellydancers of Color Association” written across the bustline at the airport.  I got comments from airport security and flight attendants alike, not to mention the looks from other passers by.  One TSA worker thought I was a professional bellydancer and asked me for my card.

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Posted in Life, Weight LossTagged bellydance, bellydance dancehall fusion, bellydancers of color, Bellydancers of Color Movement and Wellness Expo, bellydancing, BOCA, Dr, funk yoga, hip hop bellydance, meditation, soul yoga, Sunyatta Amen, transformational meditation, tribal bellydance, tribal bellydance pants, yoga2 Comments on Bellydancers of Color Association’s Movement and Wellness Expo 2011

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