Today is another wildly turbulent day, according to my news feed.
Long ago I learned to meditate, during one of the most turbulent times in my life. I was young, living in New York City, passionate, and wild.
I found stillness in wildly abandoned movement – I guess it was like being in the eye of the hurricane. And when I found the stillness of meditation, the abundance of inner body movement was astounding.
I loved it because there was nothing to figure out, nothing to do, nothing to accomplish. So much to witness, experience and enjoy!
For me, meditation and movement go hand in hand. I began dancing professionally and meditating back in the 1980’s while in New York, during my ‘dancing days’.
The wild excitement and competitive stress of a young professional dancer might not seem like the ideal situation to learn to meditate, yet for me it was perfect. Meditation was my lifeline to stability, resiliency and sanity. The intense dedication that dance teaches transferred to learning the skills of meditation.
Urgent necessity + dedication was a winning combination.
Plus, the inner explorations of the Post Modern dance world had striking similarities to many ancient Buddhist practices. I was in Nirvana.
Learning skills such as:
- Quiet your mind and clarify your intention
- Be still and listen
- Allow everything to unfold
- Allow yourself to be moved
- Release into inspired action
- Trust and surrender.
- Know that your inner condition is reflected in your outer ‘reality’
I dove into a new way of dancing that allowed my body’s wisdom to be the guide. I learned stillness. I learned to experience the power of the movement within. I learned to trust. I saw the world all around me as a reflection of my inner state.
I found the stillness in the movement and the movement in the stillness found me.
So, after 30 years, movement and stillness are pretty much inseparable for me. Effective whole-body inspired action is awakened by deep inner peace. Wild, flexible, resilient, powerful movement is all about the stillness within.
The moral of this story, ‘This wound is where the Light enters’ –Rumi
Interested in taking inspired action? Being moved by inner stillness? Here’s were to find out more.
Group gatherings on Tuesday evenings and Friday mornings (Central US time) and private sessions by appointment, all virtually on Zoom.
I genuinely look forward to hearing from you.
–Melissa
info@melissamatsonmoves.com