Art as Flirtation and Surrender
In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.
-- Rumi
I just came back from Istanbul. There, I had the rare opportunity to witness a SEMA, a Sufi Whirling Ceremony. My heart resonated with the dancers and I could feel it whirling, whirling around its core... The dancers were accompanied by the chanters and the musicians playing the flutes, the drums and the ut.
As the dervishes (the dancers) enter the circle, their arms are crossed across their chests. In this position, they resemble oneness, signifying the Unity with God. And then, just as the moon and the planets revolve around their own axes and also around the sun, the dervishes revolve while circling the chamber. They open their arms slowly, like a flower opening its petals to receive the sun. The right hand is facing the sky, receiving from Father Sky, while the left palm is facing downwards, connecting with Mother Earth ( see picture above).
Dance has been utilized as a means to feel the Divine in many cultures. When living in India, I took Bharatanatyan classes (Indian Classical Dance) as a way to embody my devotional( bhakti) path deeper. Before returning home, I performed at the Yoga Institute, the dance to Lord Ganesha, in gratitude for my one year stay in India.
In dancing, you move towards communion with the Divine. You may dance with Ganesha, Allah, Christ... They all lead to the ONE feeling; that God is within.
DJ performing Bharathanatyam in 2003, Mumbai, India
During my time in Turkey, I experienced the orthodox service in beautiful Mosques. Many times during the day, men and women drop their work, to worship and congregate in the Islamic temple. God is everywhere. We just need to tune our hearts with the Divine to realize That. It is not an easy daily task, but it is There.
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