* gratitude for lovely copyright-free image from Pixabay.
"Fast & Slow" ... duality concepts introduced through dance movement therapy training took on a different light when applied to the spiritual exploratory space. What pace should I adopt to be in harmony with the world, especially when I wish to follow my own authentic pace? Sometimes, the other is going too fast for me or my liking. Sometimes, the other is too slow. Oh, frustrating! How can I pace myself so that I go slower or stop and yet be in sync with the required rhythm, which will still keep harmonious beat? When I am drawn to something, like the music that keeps going, I find it hard to stop, even if I want to be still or need to rest. Thus, I followed with empathy whatever movement metaphors my participants experienced in the last experiential.
Non-verbal languages are fascinating, for I discovered even the act of an innocuous switch to a different kind of music triggered someone's deep seated nuances. There came one poignant moment in our experiential that was so memorable to me, a point after a segment where nobody could speak. It was a profound place where I saw from the faces on Zoom screens how we are never alone in our suffering. Everyone struggles with something. Yet it is the courage and resilience of our human condition that I find admirable.
The moment of group silence brought to my mind a similar experience where I conducted a dance movement therapy session for a group of adults with disabilities and their carers. After a slow deliberate segment of 'wave washing' over their still bodies on the floor with a floaty cloth, the group sat up dumbstruck, having emerged from a different place. I perceived how there was almost some golden connection linking each heart, and how everyone was equal. There was no disability or differences in this ring. Perhaps the easy reference for this phenomenon is the greeting 'namaste' which is sometimes explained as "when you are in that divine heartspace as I am, then we are one.'
So, is there 'good' or 'bad' silence? Is there 'good' or 'bad' pace? Once again, I leave the interpretation open.