Fully Retiring (from Reiki, etc.)

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A major revelation came to me recently from the book “Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny” by Sadhguru:

Energy healing systems have grown very popular in the world today. My own take on them is unambiguous. While the intention to help others is a laudable one, it is juvenile to think that you can heal someone else because you have learned to harness a little energy in your hands.

Sadhguru

Given the emphasis I’ve been placing on my remote Reiki techniques lately, this understanding is quite significant to me!

Sadhguru explains that energy healing only deals with the effects without clearing up the causes. Later the karmic causes of an illness just surface as some other problem in the client’s life. The subsequent challenge may not be another illness, it could be any other form of problem.

I see now that if a karmic cause surfaces as a minor illness or pain and the person does nothing to work through this karma, it remains to be reinforced with their new thoughts and actions. They can always do that regardless of clearing up an effect, of course, but if the illness might inspire spiritual practice, using Reiki to provide temporary relief can be seen as a hindrance to their spiritual life.

Not only are there significant challenging consequences for the client, he says the healer will also have their own “calamities” to deal with after attempting to heal others. He says it could be 9 months or more later for either client or healer, but that the suffering will invariably come in one form or another.

Sadhguru recommends offering people solace in the fact that their suffering is avoidable, when it is seen to be triggered by pain, not caused by it. We suffer attachments and the loss of that with which we identify. For example when the tendency to identify with your body is reduced or eliminated, pain can be witnessed as a symptom of a problem rather than a problem itself. It is welcomed and accepted, rather than suffered and/or suppressed with drugs. That way your intention can be brought to investigating and clearing the root cause(s) through spiritual practice.

Sadhguru ends his section on energy healing with:

Do not try to become a franchise for cosmic energy. And do not try to become a miracle worker. My only aim is to help you recognize the miracle of life that you are. Everything else is a distraction.

Sadhguru

He couldn’t be any clearer, and it feels like the section was written with me in mind, because I was envisioning ways to help people connect with others (franchise) to do remote Reiki and yet I certainly don’t want to get distracted from my practice, any more than I already do!

In fact, one of my ongoing challenges since I retired from computer programming in 2012, has been discerning the relative importance of engaging with the world (to encourage spiritual practice, use and teach Reiki) and my spiritual practice. I’ve been clear that they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, yet identifying as a teacher entails goals and attachments that certainly are distractions from practice.

This revelation from Sadhguru pushes me over, quite firmly, in the direction of fully retiring.

As I write this it has been several days since I made the decision to retire and I already feel a subtle yet significant difference in my practice. It’s easier to stay with my moment to moment practices, with fewer thoughts of scheduling in time for work, setting goals for task completion, etc.. Lately my work has required a lot of time on the computer, for marketing, writing educational emails, etc. and that kind of work has always been the most difficult for me to integrate with my practice.

When opportunities to support people in their practice present themselves organically, I’ll certainly do so. But I will no longer seek them out, nor actively advertise my availability.

I am going to finish creating the sowandgrowmeditation.org website and email series to support new small meditation group hosts. This project will not require a lot of time from me, once it’s launched. The idea is that I’d only “sow” my own two small groups and encourage them to do the same once they have established their weekly groups. Then I’d let the nature of the intention create the growth that it will, without any attachment to the outcome. It’s really an experiment so just witnessing it feels right, at least in this moment!

At this point I’m planning on doing at least one more foil windsurfing blog, since the footage is in the can and it is just fun! I won’t bother with any encouragement to practice embedded in the video(s), but I do have some ideas to help people learn to foil!

Zach Bush, MD Re-frames the COVID-19 Crisis in a Scientific Environmental Context – with index to sections

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I felt this video is so important I created this way to watch segments of it easily. However I sincerely hope that watching any part of this video will inspire you to watch the rest. He does refer to things he mentioned in prior sections, directly and indirectly!

Zach’s insights and scientific understandings shed light on how critical it is for humanity to raise it’s collective consciousness so that we start using cutting edge, holistic approaches to farming and our health. When we expand our collective identifications to include our natural eco-systems, we will do the right thing!

Zach has been studying the micro-biome, of our planet’s soils and our digestive gut, for many years. He outlines how one directly affects the other! As we have poisoned our ecosystem, we are literally poisoning our own essential internal eco-systems of friendly bacteria, reducing their diversity in lock step with that of the soil in which our food grows. This bio-diversity of our friendly bacteria is essential to our immune system function.

To use the index, scroll this page until the video is at the top of your screen. Then scroll the text area beneath the video to find the sections you want to watch first and click on the associated link.

DIY Labyrinth

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Want to know how you can experience a labyrinth while walking in a maze? You may skip the prologue to go straight to the rules of the game, below.

Introduction to Walking Meditation

I love walking meditation. It’s actually easier than formal sitting meditation practice, but it can be just as beneficial. The idea is to keep your awareness on the path ahead of you, and your breath. When uninvited thoughts arise, gently release them and bring your awareness back to your steps. You might try counting how many steps occur during the in-breath and how many during the out. Find a thought process that helps you stay with the current moment. I just recommend staying with whatever internal technique you have decided on for the entire practice session.

Labyrinth is the ultimate walking meditation experience, for so many reasons which I won’t try to describe here. There is only one winding switch-back filled path from the entrance to the center, unlike in a maze. It’s a great way to let go of the mind’s habit of thinking about where we are going more than enjoying the journey.

The Backstory of this Idea

The Friday night before the spring equinox, I connected through zoom to a few of my friends from the Center for Transformational Practice (CTP) in White River Jct, VT to set intentions around a retreat that weekend. For years we have had quarterly retreats on the solstices and equinoxes, but of course this April that would not be possible while keeping appropriate social distance. To be honest I would not have traveled back to VT for the weekend from Atlanta, so this was yet another opportunity for me to practice virtually with distant friends.

Some of us decided to practice a 30/60 day on Saturday. This is a retreat format, where the participants alternate between meditating for 30 minutes and 60 minutes of work or any other activity you wish. We have done these in small groups at CTP before but sometimes it has been done by just Simon at CTP and one or more of us practicing the same at our own homes on the same day, so we had done this even before the COVID-19 era.

Elisabeth was not up for the 30/60 idea, but she said she would like to check in again at 3pm to do a labyrinth walk together, probably tracing paper ones together on a zoom call, I guess. Anyway, her voicing that idea gave me an idea which I’m excited to share with you today!

I’ve been doing walking meditation in the Kirkwood Urban Forest a lot more since the social distancing started. A practice that had been a once or twice a week has become daily, now that I’m working from home (on this website and on zoom group practices and classes) most of the time. When the time approached to check in to do labyrinth walking on-line, I was more in the mood to get outside for my regular walk, with a new enhancement!

The forest has a maze like set of paths. The map below is a pretty good representation, though not totally up-to-date. They meander all around the modest sized glade, up and down steps made from ragged slabs of recycled concrete, by a sandbox, around the community garden, by the peach trees and adjacent to a small creek that runs down one side. It’s really very beautiful, and now I’ve transformed it into a labyrinth!

I simply set some rules for myself as to how I’ll navigate, so that every turn through the maze is as prescribed as a labyrinth. The rules make the decision for me, I just mindfully follow them. You could come up with many rule sets that would serve, these are just my favorites to date.

Rules, in order of precedence

  1. At each intersection, take a (section of) path you have not yet walked this visit. When you get to an intersection where you have walked all the path choices, take the one you walked on first (earliest) this visit.
  2. When you get to an intersection where rule 1 is insufficient to discern your direction, turn onto the path furthest to the left, then alternate so at the next intersection, you take a hard right, back and forth, as long as the turn does not violate rule 1. If it would, keep going until you can turn the correct direction onto a path you have not yet walked. For example, at a simple 2-way fork where turning right is your next direction, that has already been traversed this visit but the left fork has not, you stay left and continue to look for a right turn you can take without violating rule 1.

To make your labyrinth longer without having to backtrack, do not take a path that you know will exit the forest or lead to a dead end.

To keep from even having to remember which direction I went last and therefore the direction I must turn, I pick up a small stick and hold it in the hand on the same side I must turn next. As soon as a legal turn in that direction is found I take it and switch the stick to the other hand. This may sound superfluous, but sometimes you will need to walk for a minute or more before you will come to any turns and if you are keeping your mind on your current foot falls and your breath, forgetting the last turn in some ways could be a good sign of current moment practice! Just as in a labyrinth, the stick relieves the mind of memory, everything is prescribed by rules and the token.

While I practice in my local forest, you may be familiar with a park or conservation area nearer you that has a maze of trails that would serve as a DIY labyrinth for your practice. If you can make it to Kirkwood, in Atlanta, GA this would be a fun way to give our little neighborhood gem a try, especially if you are devoted to walking meditation practice!

If you give this a try please let me know how it goes in the comments below, including what maze you transformed!

Mitigating Novel Ways to Suffer and Die

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I’ve been driving DoorDash using my Zero electric motorcycle. To be honest, it’s mainly because I love riding it so much and love serving people. The pay is pretty poor, but I don’t care.

However I have felt torn about it, on the level of need. Our society seems to think that needs go so far beyond sustaining our physical bodies. Most of us live for the taste of fancy food, the delightful acting on our favorite TV shows and the hugs and kisses from our loved ones. Why would I put such a wonderful, natural and needed thing into this list? All of these, even loving relationships, are not technically needed to keep the body alive, unless you are an infant. Monks have lived in caves or other homes of seclusion for many generations and thrived physically.

Do I want to participate in an activity that risks the lives of the people that I’m serving? No matter how careful I try to be, it is possible that I will infect the customers and restaurant workers in the process. Some will just get mild symptoms, some will die. Or some of the people that they love will die, because of the hugs and kisses that are still being exchanged, because we need them. We really do need them. I know that! My rational for doing the delivery work is that I love it and if I don’t do it, someone else will! But my heart is starting to tell me “no thank you” to that rational lately.

How many people that would have suffered in a car accident, with it’s associated loss, guilt, or even death, are avoiding that possibility by staying safe in their homes these past many weeks? I guess I could look it up, but I’ll leave that to you, if you wish. Can we really control when we die? When our loved ones will die? How they will die? For my part, I don’t want to try. If I did, I probably would not ride a motorcycle!

I always put on my seat belt. When I was a child we didn’t have them and now we do. The number of people saved by our modern safety equipment, they say is quite large.

When I was a child, were lots of people dying of, or at least greatly suffering from Lyme disease? Not yet. That came in the 1980’s. Aids? Nope, not yet. I’m sure there are other examples. There are new ways to die every generation, and new ways to behave, new inventions that become a standard part of modern life, to save lives, too. It’s all good!

Yet each time a new way to die appears, or even a new illness like Lyme (which I had in the 80’s and amazingly recovered from, I have friends who are not so lucky today), which causes great discomfort and potentially suffering, large or small, we scramble as a society to try to do things to reduce that suffering. Yes, at some level we are just trading in one way of experiencing pain for another, one way to die for another. Because pain is a part of life, guaranteed, like death itself. In truth, it is all good, too! We couldn’t truly enjoy the taste of that fancy food, the delightful acting in our favorite TV shows or even those hugs, if we didn’t have the painful parts of our lives with which to compare them. The body/mind is a “difference engine,” when it comes to the emotions that we live and die by. That’s what we came to Earth to experience as human beings, or any other life form for that matter.

Even though I resonate with the big picture, the global one that spans multiple generations, I don’t think I’m going to drive DoorDash anymore. Not until the tests for the novel coronavirus, and the antibodies that we need to survive it, are available at every local  pharmacy, so this novel new way to die becomes socially acceptable and manageable in people’s eyes and hearts. Not until the hospitals are no longer overwhelmed, or bracing to be soon. Because all of my life practices, from my morning meditation, to my mindful walks in the park, to the hugs I that I can normally give my friends, are to reduce suffering. That’s my bottom line! And make no mistake (how could anyone at this point?) people are suffering this new way to die. It’s different, new and scary. And driving DoorDash, or going out and having unneeded contact with anyone, (now even the White House says not to shop for food for two weeks unless you really need to) is like reckless driving (for young and healthier than average people), and like not wearing your seatbelt (for the elderly and those with health challenges).

So “practice” safe distancing. Do it as a spiritual practice. Better yet, use any extra time you have, or extra stresses you feel, to inspire you to start meditating every day! Raise your consciousness. Reduce suffering. It’s up to each of us to decide, because our governments are not that consistent in many areas about the issue!

Hiram Hisanori Kano

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Rev Hiram Kano and wife Ivy

It is a clear reflection of the fact that I have always been future oriented in my thoughts and actions, that I’ve never written a blog post about my dear departed grandfather before. It is high time!

My memories of my grandfather are few and very sweet. The first that comes to mind was when he gave me my cross. He had made a deal with all of his grandchildren, that as soon as they had memorized the Lord’s Prayer and recited it to him successfully, that we would receive one of these silver crosses, several of which he had an artist custom make for him.

The Nordic Cross my Grandfather Kano gave me when I was a boy.

We were at his retirement home in Ft Collins, Colorado, which overlooked the reservoir. It was a beautiful sunny morning. I was so proud and pleased!

As an adult, I remember him giving me this somewhat cryptic advice. He said something to the effect of, “There is only one path!” As he said it, he swept his hand upwards in a dramatic motion, palms facing each other, from his waist to over his head. “If you fall off of the one path, you must return to it!” For me this advice, that led to no further explanation or discussion, at least that I remember, has always been like a Buddhist Kōan, something to contemplate but never fixate on one interpretation. Advice to revisit every few years, to see what it brings in the current context.

As a person that was never good at memorizing historical facts, I wouldn’t even attempt to recount my version of his life to you here! Luckily, he wrote his memoirs in Japanese and after he died they were translated into English. There are also lots of wonderful web pages about him. To be honest, I have not read them all to properly curate which links to share here, there are so many!

Since I am so future oriented, I can’t publish this page without proudly including the latest development in my family as relates to my grandpa Kano. My nephew, born Aaron Kano-Bower, has recently married Mia Benjamin. When they married, the decided to take the Kano name. So the Kano surname will continue, to the next generation after all (they do plan to have children, God willing). After they married, Mia completed her Seminary degree and has now been ordained an Episcopal minister! So there is a now new Rev. Kano, doing her best to follow in her saintly great grandfather in-laws footsteps! I couldn’t be happier.

Photos below are of my grandfather Rev Hiram H. Kano and Rev Mia Kano. Note Mia’s cross!

When I heard the news about them taking the Kano name, my heart leaped for joy. I had not known until that moment how important it was to me for that name to continue down my father’s line! You see, my wife and I (now divorced) hyphenated our names together when we married, so my to girls are both Munsey-Kano. I never thought it was a big deal, having the name morph and be “lost,” since rest of my siblings are women and their children were not given the Kano surname. But I guess I felt more strongly about it than I realized!

Daily On-line Group Meditation

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This practice is no longer taking place. If you are interested in a future version of daily group practice please contact me!

Yesterday I led my first reiki enhanced group meditation session for three people and I’m excited to do more. Since I practice sitting meditation every morning anyway, I’ve decided to try inviting everyone to join me on zoom!

Starting Saturday April 4, I will be on a publicly open zoom meeting starting at 7:00am EST every day. I will be offering distance reiki to anyone that joins the call right at 7:00am (or a bit early is okay, I’ve enabled the waiting room feature) and lets me know that preference. People are welcome to enter silently at any time, but once I’ve started to meditate I’ll assume new people to the session prefer not to receive reiki consciously from me that morning. I’ll be done with my 30 minute meditation before 7:45am, but people are welcome to silently leave the session earlier than that.

If you intend to join for less than the full time that I will be practicing, please set your own timer or track it yourself by peeking at your time piece from time to time as needed. I always recommend that you decide the duration of each practice at the beginning and then stick to that intention regardless of the quality of your experience! Allowing ourselves to end a meditation session early is problematic. It means that any moment during our practice we could be discerning / judging if we want to “give up” on the practice! This decision making process is not particularly meditative. So please drop in on me as you wish, but heed my advice so you do not sabotage your practice with uncertainty and lack of devotion.

The meeting information below allows for joining via a telephone. This is fine if you wish, but know that the practice will normally be in silence, except for any greetings before and afterwards. If you wish to receive reiki and David might have trouble remembering who you are (he is actually basically face blind so this could be possible for people that would not expect it to be an issue) please join the meeting through video on your phone or computer. That will allow him to make a better connection to you for the treatment to be sent.

These sessions are not classes. If you wish to receive instruction and/or inspiration, please check my MeetUp group first, then if none of the scheduled classes work for you, schedule a class with me. Next week (4/6-4/10) I’m devoting lots of time to teaching!

David Kano is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Daily Group Meditation with David
Time: Apr 5, 2020 07:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every day, until Apr 10, 2020, 6 occurrence(s)
I’ll continue after the 10th if it is well received, stay tuned!

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Daily: https://us04web.zoom.us/meeting/u5Eqde-qrTIuyVrG7y96UCrK-Byq8hLBNw/ics?icsToken=98tyKu-tqTksGNectFyCd7ctE8H8bM_Il2h4uIQKhUazNgNBSU7UL_MaOp5dPs-B

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Password: 467756

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Coloring Meditation for Kids of All Ages

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I’ve led kids in many forms of moving meditation in recent years. The one that was best received by most of them was coloring. You simply start with a blank sheet of paper and draw a scribble on it to create spaces to fill. Then while you color you do your best to keep your mind on the current moment, coloring in the spaces and following your breath. I usually set the rule that no space can be colored the same as an adjacent space, but that’s really up to the person doing the coloring.

Now I’ve created a simple resource to take this practice to the next level. The idea is to record each time you become aware that you are having a thought about the past or future. That way you can see how you improve from session to session and even within each session if you use the optional suggestions in the included instruction sheet. To give this a try, print the a copy of the second page of the Coloring Meditation document for each person/session.

I’ve also created a YouTube video that describes how to use this tool.

Here is a sample I made by practicing for 5 minutes, also featured in the video.

Free Introductory Distance Reiki

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I’ve retired from doing Reiki! So this offer is no longer good and I leave this blog post for historical purposes only. Cheers – David

I’ve been a Reiki Master/Teacher since 2001. Now that I’m retired from my main-stream career (computer programmer), I have the flexibility to explore my role as a healer. I’m feeling called to give Reiki treatments, because the energy is flowing through me so steadily now, even in my regular day-to-day life, that I want to share it and help you to heal. It just feels like the right thing to do and I look forward to working with you.

Balancing your energy body and allowing it to flow more easily is an important aspect of any healing process, at all levels of your being: physical, psychological or spiritual. These aspects of ourselves are not separate, so when one is manifesting difficult symptoms the other two are also affected. For example we all know how emotional we can get when we are physically injured or sick and unable to do the things we are used to, such as walking, playing our favorite sport or even making it to work! In a more subtle yet profound way, even when we are not aware of it, our spiritual energy imbalances and blockages affect our physical and emotional being and thus the quality of our lives. We all need to heal and I’d love to help you do so, through Reiki treatments!

This initiative to “put myself out there” as a healer is not primarily driven by monetary need, yet if that form of payment is forthcoming it would allow me to reduce the time I spend on more mundane employment. It would free more time for me to work in the areas of healing and spiritual growth that seem to be the true source of all the positive changes so needed in our world.

Please request a treatment(s) using the form below.

You can receive distance treatments from me by connecting via the phone or video chat, or if you prefer we can just set a time (or window of time) within which you would like to receive the healing energy without further verbal communication. If I haven’t met you yet, or I’m having trouble remembering who you are from your name (please take no offence my memory can be like that) I’ll ask for your photograph.

The one requirement for everyone that participates in this offer is that you agree to give me a review (using the form below) after we are done with your free treatment(s)! You can receive up to 3 free treatments, depending on your preference, before I will ask you to post your review. Reviews will be shared on this page and elsewhere on this site to help me promote my services to others in need.

Reviews:

David Gaia Kano Reiki Master / Teacher
Average rating:  
 10 reviews
 by Nancy-Laurel Pettersen
distance Reiki - I was amazed! happily!

I hadn't been exactly skeptical about a distance treatment, but I didn't anticipate that it would be more than quiet time for me. Surprise! I had very strong sensations of healing, of light energy moving over me and through me, and a sense of my resilience being supported. Blew me away, in a good way.

Footnote from David: Nancy-Laurel does not know (but I will tell her soon) that I sent this treatment to her the night before, to arrive the next afternoon at our appointed time. I did so because my work schedule that day might not have been compatible with the time that she requested. As it turned out, that work was done early and I was available, but since the treatment had already been sent I knew she would be set anyway. I was actually taking a nap when she received this treatment! I have done this time shifting on several occasions and it has always worked out well.

 by Rachel
A Naturally Intuitive Practitioner

I met David on a mini vacation to Atlanta, Georgia Feb 1-2, 2020. I was sick with a bad viral cold that my immune system was not fighting. He treated me with kindness, compassion, and patience by assessing where my energy was blocked, and what I needed to help heal. He is knowledgeable, and even picked up that I was in pain without me telling him. I went from feeling a horrible 20% before David's Reiki treatment to 85% functionality by the next day. I slept great. My cough was calmed down. I had more enegry. In addition to being an exceptional practitioner, David has a great heart. He sets his intention for the best of everyone. I highly recommend him. Thank you David!

 by Jenn
In-Person Reiki

I received both distance and in-person Reiki from David and it was amazing. I have never felt so relaxed in my life. I came to David because I was dealing with depression. David took the time to sit with me before the session to educate me on Reiki and its effectiveness. He then did a Reiki session on me. During the session he was incredibly gentle and went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. At one point, I was on the verge of tears, and noticing this David encouraged me to go ahead and let the tears flow. I felt so comfortable with him that I did, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. After the session David took the time to introduce me to a few mindfulness practices that I've been using these past weeks to great effect. I feel calmer and more focused as a result. I highly recommend both long distance and in-person sessions with David.

 by Marisa Skolky
Reiki for the flu

David worked on me remotely while I was recovering from the flu. I felt warmth around my heart and was able to sleep peacefully. When I woke up the next morning I could breathe through my nose and my throat felt better as well. I feel serene, healthier, and comfortable. I also didn’t wake up at all in the middle of the night like I had done due to physical discomfort. David is heart centered, talented and his gift for reiki is a blessing to all he serves. I highly recommend him to anyone needing healing!! I have so much gratitude for this reiki session 🙂

 by Rogue Yogi
Gentle and compassionate

I have had the pleasure of meeting and talking with David in person. His deeply compassionate listening skills are something to be experienced. He's like a deep still body of water that calms a Spirit and mind. I received a free reiki session cause I canceled on a 5 rhythm class we were going to attend together. I woke up on Monday thinking I had a severe case of food poisoning. Tuesday wasn't feeling any better so I called to cancel. David offered reiki. I prepared by laying down with candle, relaxing music and blankets. I've had reiki before, but never long distance. I really tried to feel David, but just enjoyed the resting. The next day I felt completely better. No more food poisoning symptoms, and had my full Energy back. I've had food poisoning and the Noro virus before, so I know the recovery takes a bit longer than 48 hours. I think the reiki helped tremendously. Thank you David.

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Witness Your Dance: A Simple, Fun Spiritual Practice

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This practice really is simple: just let the music move you and witness your movements and thoughts as they unfold in the current moment. When you find yourself thinking about the past or future, come back to the dance. When you find yourself thinking about how to move, just gently acknowledge and release those thoughts as well! Concentrate on the music, with the different sub-rhythms, instruments and so on. Repeating the same step or move is great, until the body responds with some different muscles to alter it somewhat, or the music suddenly throws you into an entirely different energy and movement!

Allow, abandon, surrender!

At first you may only witness a few aspects of your movement as being spontaneous and (virtually) devoid of thought. “It’s all good” is the mantra, as you simply enjoy the process of celebrating the movement, the music and the community of dancers that have joined with you in the practice. Just allow whatever happens, as you abandon ego to free your spirit.

The practice of surrendering the thinking mind to the music is more important than how you move. In this practice, we will never use verbal instructions to label the different rhythms or recommend which parts of the body to move in the context of conceptual understandings. The thoughts we are practicing to release, which are often heard in the inner mind as words and phrases, would only be reinforced by these verbal communications. In each moment we just witness the movements as they emerge from the collective consciousness of the people in the room.

Loving Community

The community is just as important as the powerful discharge each seeker experiences through their dance. Making connections to one or more other people on the dance floor is encouraged. Celebrating our relationships by watching and feeling each others movements helps to surrender the illusion of separateness. The intention is to witness how the movements of one are inspired by the other dancers on the floor, and vise versa.

In some sessions, your facilitator may provide simple devices to help communicate whether or not you wish to  partner with others during the session. There may be times you need to withdraw from making conscious connections with others and simply witness yourself join with the music alone. Eye contact and other body language is good and sometimes sufficient, but a simple device such as a bracelet, possibly of different colors, or worn on ankle vs wrist to signify your preferences may also feel worthwhile. In a space where dancing together is encouraged, a device may help people who want to dance alone to feel safer and more easily honored. The specifics of the device(s) and their meanings will depend on the particular session, so please make a mental note of these as they are introduced during the opening circle, or if you are late, through any signage that is posted at the door.

Structure That Supports and Nurtures Community

After a few minutes to stretch and warm up, each Witness Your Dance session starts with a short opening circle, where each person gives their name, a short check-in and/or any intention brought to the dance that day. This would also be the time the facilitator will introduce any (solo/partnered) preference communication devices being used (as described above).

During the dance, talking on the dance floor is discouraged. If your need to communicate verbally is too urgent to wait, please wave the party involved off of the dance floor, until you are both out of visual and audio range of the other dancers before you speak. While spoken language is out, humming, whooping, clapping, singing along, and making other noises are all encouraged! Just think of the vocal chords as another muscle group that may also respond spontaneously to the music.

At the end of the dance session your facilitator will guide you through some final practices to help integrate the energetic benefits of the dance before it is brought to a formal close with another short sharing circle. This may include a short “toning” session, where everyone is encouraged to make some noises together!

Witness More of Your Life

This practice of witnessing your body / mind can be done off the dance floor too. It is similar to what some call mindfulness (meditation) practice, which can most easily be done during simple repetitive tasks. The subtle difference is that of “moving” the awareness out of the body just far enough to “witness it” rather than “be it.” From my experience the benefits of the practice are even sweeter than simply mindfully “staying in the moment.”

How I Started This Practice and Why

In 2015 I started to study and follow the teachings of Sri Nisargardata Maharaj in 2015.  The quote which inspired me to look for more of his teachings, which I saw in the movie “With One Voice” was “Wisdom is knowing I am nothing, Love is knowing I am everything, and between the two my life moves.”  The main recommendation for practice that he often repeated to seekers who came to him for his advice and insights, was to simply stay with the sense, “I am.”  Not what I am, not who I am, just the undeniable sense of existence itself. This practice, which he learned from his guru, was what he used to awaken to his true Self in just three years. One of the secondary recommendations he often cited was to simply “be the witness” of your human self as it moved about it’s daily routines.

By the time I started practicing spiritual dancing in January of 2017, I was doing as many things as I could with this “witnessing” intention. The activities included doing the dishes, chopping wood, cooking, eating, driving my car, riding my motorcycle, and more. So it didn’t bother me that the dance sessions I went to most Sunday evenings didn’t have any instruction, because within the first couple of sessions I found myself taking this practice in the witnessing mode as well.

Nisargardatta admonished almost everyone that came to him that they are not human beings, that they were never born nor would they ever die! If a visitor to the shrine room in his humble home in India was not ready to hear and at least entertain his radical teachings, he would simply show them the door. Nisargardatta’s teachings were the bare bones of simplicity and elegance and his recommendations for practice were likewise easy to step into, yet challenging to stay with at the level of devotion he recommended, which was every moment of your day! When a seeker balked because of worldly responsibilities, he said something to the effect of, “practice all of your free time then, it will be enough!”

The “Witness your dance” practice described above is inspired by both Nisargdatta’s teachings and my own experience in spiritual dance sessions over the last two years or so. During my first few sessions, I witnessed my mind planing moves, noticing how others were dancing and using their example to morph what I was doing. I seemed to be thinking my way through the process. But at some point I realized I didn’t need to think much at all about how to move. New variations of steps and body movements seemed to be the muscles direct responses to feeling the music. Eventually I realized long periods of time where I had not been consciously aware of any thoughts of how to move! If the thinking mind was involved, it was more often simply noticing how each different step or move was being repeated in the subsequent measures of music. After a couple of months of weekly practice, I came to appreciate dance as the most fruitful opportunity to practice witnessing that I had found. It seems that the synergy between my body, the energy of the music and the other dancers provides a wonderfully dynamic, joyful, immersive experience to witness.

I hope you enjoy the practice and reap many fruits of happiness and bliss through the process!