Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering

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Again, dance seems to help with depression above and beyond just exercising or listening to music. In a 2007 study, 31 psychiatric patients with depression were split into three groups who danced to music, just listened to music, or rode on an exercise bike for three minutes. The first group danced to “Hava Nagila,” a joyful, upbeat song that involves holding hands and jumping. (The researchers actually chose this dance because there’s evidence that people who are depressed tend to move less vertically.) Building on a history of finding his way out of a meaningless, albeit successful, worldly life into a life of service, Phillip Moffitt has crafted a highly practical handbook for navigating the inevitable challenges that beset us. A marvelous tools to have handy when our better knowing is overwhelmed by those often mysterious interior storms, this book communicates a desperately needed feeling that we can indeed succeed in shaping lives of meaning.” The ancient practice of mindfulness is increasingly being shown in scientific studies to have remarkable consequences for healing and well-being across the lifespan. Dancing with Life systematically maps out a rigorous and profoundly loving choreography for cultivating mindfulness in the service of embodying our full potentiality as human beings, utilizing whatever circumstances we happen to find ourselves in. It is a practical and reassuring dharma guide for a great many people in the ongoing development of their practice and lives. It is very different from most dharma books in that it has such an elaborate and friendly structure to it, nested within and around the Four Noble Truths and Ajahn Sumedho’s lovely voicing of dharma. I love the precision of Phillip’s teaching of the embodiment of each insight, and the stories about his students and their challenges. And also, his willingness to share his own trials, travails, and openings along the path.” —Jon Kabat-Zinn, author of Full Catastrophe Living and Arriving at Your Own Door You might choose a “keyword” to focus on for the week, such as “dukkha,” “attachment,” or “intention.” Come up with your own definition of the word, notice examples of that word arising during the week, and share them with your group.

Dancing to music is a great way to overcome these negative feelings because both the physical exercise and the emotional response to the music can lead to the release of dopamine in different parts of the brain. As dopamine levels go up, we can shake off some of those negative feelings and float towards euphoria.You are not being moral based upon a belief system. You are becoming the true realization of yourself.

Even under the best of circumstances, life is challenging, and much of the time it is difficult. It is always uncertain, constantly changing, and mostly out of your control. Whether it is taking you on a wonderful ride or stepping on your toes, life will move you with the rhythm and in the direction of its own unfolding, regardless of your best intentions. Life dances and you must dance with it. This is the necessary price and mysterious gift of being alive. Suggestion: Discuss how each of you understands the idea of intentionality and describe a time in your life when you felt a sense of purpose. You might also discuss just how important the feelings of intentionality and purpose are to you. No doubt you have felt the pain, confusion, and stress that this constant flux brings to your own life, with one moment being desirable and the next displeasing. The implications are vast: You make every single choice every day within this context. You cannot escape from the continuous dance. It is an impersonal, universal truth of life. None of us – not even the wealthiest, wisest, the most powerful – gets to be an exception. We all feel pain, we all lose loved ones, we all get ill, and we all die. Cessation is a path of practice, not a demand of yourself. You do not get to choose whether you achieve cessation; you (and your ego) need to be okay with that. You may recall that I asked if your book would provide practical applications or examples of the 4 Noble Truths and the corresponding 12 insights. You assured me it would. I found one particular passage to be amazingly concise as well as entirely useful in my day-to-day dealings. I am quite sure that I will refer to it often as it provides one of the best summaries of why I recently removed the words good, bad, want and wait from my vocabulary with the word hope not far behind. I am now working on keeping them at bay in my thinking before they can start me on the well-worn path from pain to suffering.”The whole journey will consist of four workshops. You may also choose to have one to one sessions throughout the course. There is an invitation to complete a project of your own choosing. The project will enable you to feel specific benefits from this deeper dive into Movement Medicine. The first major theme is the development of mindfulness. Mindfulness is more than simply being present and accepting the moment; it involves meeting the moment with your deepest values. Your book has truly been a wonderful addition and catalyst for my new experience of “falling in love with the Dharma.” I look forward to experiencing your continued teaching and listening deeply to the Dharma … internalizing … certainly, my intention is set!”

One of my patients walked into my office yesterday, sat down, let out a big sigh, and said, “I’ve been dancing with life all week!” Yes, he is reading your book and getting so much out of it.” Emotional Chaos to Clarity is a wonderful contribution to the self-help field. It is one that deserves to stand out and be recognized. Moffitt’s messages are universal, while the manner in which he conveys them is poignant, proper and downright perfect. Ellie, who reportedly split with her ex in May amid rumours of cheating, is said to be smitten with Vito, who she admitted to Closer magazine was now "part of her family" and loves her mum's cooking... I just want say how much we have appreciated your book on the Four Noble Truths. It is a wonderful commentary and explication of Ajahn Sumedho’s teaching and for several weeks we had our tea-time readings from it. Great job! I hope it is found to be useful to many people and that it receives the plaudits it deserves.” —Ajahn Amaro, Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery

3. Dance helps with depression

The measure of your success is not how often you get what you want, but the skill with which you live every moment of your life. But the performance saw Angela land in the dreaded dance-off for a third week in a row during Sunday night's results show, November 19. The 79-year-old and Kai lost out to soap star Bobby Brazier following a dance-off. Motsi agreed "there was a stumble" but praised Angela's "story." And head judge Shirley also didn't seem to mind the mistake as she added: "Yes there was one little hiccup but you can be so proud of yourself."

Awakening through the Nine Bodies is at once a vivid map connecting the vast territories of consciousness, a practical guide that can immediately be put to liberating use, the tale of a unique spiritual apprenticeship, transmission of a precious lineage that otherwise might be lost, a bridge between various yogic and Buddhist models, and an invigorating call to awaken.” The proper response to clinging desire is widsom (re: Tao Te Ching). "Allow your tea to cool before drinking." Why do you suffer? Is there a purpose to your pain? What about the amount of suffering you experience—is it fair, based on some understandable system of cause and effect, or is it simply arbitrary? Can you affect how much you suffer? If so, how? Researchers Maristela Moura Silva Lima and Alba Pedreira Vieira observed that the elderly dancers gained a sense of confidence, self-esteem, and elegance over the course of the year. Through dance, “the body may change from being a source of oppression to a source of freedom,” they write. PDF / EPUB File Name: Dancing_With_Life_-_Phillip_Moffitt.pdf, Dancing_With_Life_-_Phillip_Moffitt.epub

4. Dance helps us stay young

We will use the tools of Movement Medicine and the rhythm of the Celtic Medicine Wheel to take the dance a little deeper; and to allow the wisdom and joy you experience on the dancefloor to have a deeper impact on the rest of your life. Why do we suffer? Is there a purpose to our pain? Noting that human beings have wrestled with such questions for thousands of years, Phillip Moffitt has found answers for his own life in Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Reflecting on his own journey from Esquire magazine editor-in-chief to Buddhist meditation teacher, Moffitt provides a fresh perspective on the Buddha’s ancient wisdom, showing how to move from suffering to new awareness and unanticipated joy. Moffitt’s ultimate goal is to eliminate or lessen what he calls “the emotional chaos of the untrained mind.” Our minds are constantly racing in a state of turmoil. We make plans and they fall through. We react and we often react poorly. What Moffitt would like us to do is to not perceive ourselves as having to react, but rather choosing how to respond. This slight adjustment in perception can make a world of difference.