In human experience, dance and song begin where the utility of communication ends. Requiring no instruments, other than our body and vocal cords, they are art, a luxury that brings richness, joy, and meaning. Like music itself, they are universal, unifying, expressive, and profound.

 

On a contemporary, mundane level, collectively engaging in joyful singing and dancing activity has obvious social benefits, beginning with a more open and peaceful society. Studies have shown that individuals who participate in a choir, dance classes, or dance therapy, experience personal benefits as well. Singing and dancing can help resolve mental, energetic, and physical disorders of all kinds, generating awareness, trust, and confidence, individually and in relation to the outside world. They lead to a more mindful, harmonious, and happier life.

 

Beyond the relative benefits of joy and togetherness, the aspiration of sacred, spiritual, and ritual dance, like all spiritual or religious methods, is to realise an altered altruistic state of the mind or higher consciousness, ultimately leading to a liberation from suffering.

 

When Buddha attained realisation, he taught that the universal truth of existence is found by recognising suffering and its causes and following a path to overcome it. Responding to the needs of the manifold levels of capacity in sentient beings, he also taught many methods for following this path.

 

Regardless of the outward form of a religion or philosophy, it is up to practitioners, then, to diligently apply the methods best suited for them to evolve and realise on the basis of their own experience.

 

When the consciousness is obscured, it is like being in a dark room without knowing about the light switch. As soon as we are introduced to the knowledge of where the switch is and activate the switch, light enters, and where there is light, darkness cannot prevail.

 

Some seventy percent of the human body, as well as our planet, is made up of water, constantly shaped by natural forces and intentional choices, be it negative or positive. The entire universe, all of nature, is in continuous movement like a dance, and the same sacred geometry pervades both the microcosm and the macrocosm.

 

Cymatics, the study of sound made visible, has demonstrated in many experiments how sound creates and alters geometric patterns in material elements such as sand or water. Sound, vibration, and frequency are also the essence of sacred geometry and colour. This theme is expanded in a TED talk by Evan Grant “Making Sound Visible Through Cymatics”.

 

In semi-scientific studies, Emoto Masaru developed a way to make visible the memory of water – see his “Water Crystals Full Documentary”. Other recent scientific studies have demonstrated the potential of frequency to alter the behaviour of water.

 

In the scientific field of genetics, current research is exploring the potential of self-healing of the human genome, focusing on the notion that DNA is more significant than the brain for correcting malfunctions in our “bioenergy system.” Research shows that the mind exists in the dimension of electromagnetic fields rather than residing in an organ such as the brain. To access the source of electromagnetic malfunction in our bioenergy system, both special sounds and intention are employed. It is believed that each individual’s system follows its own electromagnetic rhythm, like a cellular symphony with emotions and thoughts having a significant impact on genes and well-being. See the Indian Journal of Psychiatry “Drooping genes vs. dancing genes”.

 

Sound is information and can change the state of consciousness nearly instantaneously. When for instance, we learn a new language, sound rewires neural nets and can change emotional and mental patterns. We all have experiences with the way vibrations change our feelings or actions, when we engage in activity with music or movement.

 

Sound is energy and energy is movement. Energy can be altered through our voice and movement, which mirrors our relative condition, becoming a practice of mindfulness. All experiences related to our body, voice, and mind are integrated, without modifying anything, in a state of contemplation, describing a state of non dualistic observation and integration beyond judgment or modification of all what is perceived by all senses and mental activity.

 

In sacred dance, the physical movements become a symbolic means of transforming into a divine figure or expressing the divine potential in us, making it possible for our obscured states of consciousness to discover our real condition.

 

Sacred sounds, chants, or mantras connect and resonate with our energy channels and chakras, and the experience of our energy or voice in combination with physical movements unfolds as knowledge and contemplation.

 

Sacred dances are often practised in secret or performed only on special occasions, and in ancient times, like all sacred arts, were also a means to initiate or awaken the observer or listener into higher states of consciousness. Sacred visual art, poetry, music, and dance are inseparably linked to profound knowledge introduced by a realised teacher, often transmitted over centuries without interruption from teacher to teacher, as still found today in Tibetan Buddhism.

 

to be continued…