Musing on fire as an element- transformative, heat giving, potent...
Fire is alchemy in motion- much like art- here take this feeling, this inspiration, this intuition; sit with it, show up for it, get your materials, make space for it, shape and shift it into something else entirely.
There is liberation in fire- the ultimate letting go, of form back to emptiness (the crucible of cremation so closely linked to birth and co-creation...) We can’t control that liberation, fire takes us, sweeps us up, burns, us, breaking on through…
For me dance does the same- the moment where the beat takes, us, we stop trying and something comes, through, moves us, shakes us, shapes us, ultimately we surrender to it, sweating, satisfied, soul-filled.....
That notion of fire within the belly. Our own personal passion and potency. How to find that place of our own personal staccato clarity- the “I want” or “I really don’t want”. Inhabiting and embodying our potency, taking up the space, clearly claiming our cause.
Yet how to hold our fierce focus without being over willful? To live the full clarity of “this is what I want from life” is powerful and permission giving- to ourselves and others. Yet occasionally to also ask that question: “what does life want from me”, the surrendering into what is simply so....
I spent some months of my life living out on the land, just 4 miles from an active flowing volcano- you could watch the red glow of the lava run down the hill at night; hike over and poke it with a stick, be amazed by it, mesmerized, mindful. Pele- Hawaii’s volcano goddess is generous, gregarious, brings forth acres and acres of fertile and fecund new land each year. Yet she is not a feminine force to be argued with- if she’s been held in for too long, cooped up underground, unheard and unacknowledged and decides today is the day to burst forth- you better run, far, and fast......
Yes, we can and should embody our power and potency; cutting away with clarity; creating consciously. Yet we also have to surrender- at some point to the proverbial “process”, fire as a force of transformation and liberation. From structured staccato, into a chaos that can’t always be controlled. Define what I want, demand it, dig into it, desire it deeply. Then offer it up, let it go, loosen the grip....
The most transformative place I know on this planet is in the depth of the dusty Nevada Desert- the aptly named Burning Man festival. It is a playground of ultimate freedom. It is without question the most creative place I have ever been. It is also the holiest, heart-full and happiest place I know. Thousands of hours of loving creation (and pure cash contributions) are burned in the spirit of life, love and liberation. Make it, offer it, gift it generously, gregariously, graciously, then offer it up to the flames, It’s over, gone; the ultimate phoenix that will rise again, reimagined.. The place is absolute mayhem, yet also marvelously, miraculously mindful. The ticket contains a waiver which reads “ I understand by attending this I event I voluntarily risk my own death...”
Much like our own lives.... This too will pass... so it’s pretty urgent that we live it well, live it deep and love it large while we are here. Moving in the direction of what matters most; passionately present as we move through.
Sadly after 8 years there 2018 is not my time to be in that dusty desert as usual- due to a longer term vision of being based on that landmass which needs me to stay still whilst paperwork is processed. So then let’s bring that conscious wildness and wonder to these UK shores: on Friday 31st August we will dance out around a fire in the forest, bringing together conscious community, badass bassline, barefeet and sacred space- to hear our hearts and the whispers on the wind - a place to be delightfully playful and deeply prayerful at the same time.
#5Rhythms Dance is delicious.
Art is alchemy.
Conscious creative community is a mighty force in motion that leaves stretchmarks on the soul.
Y’all warmly welcomed….