Belly dance and religion - Page 13

Dipali · 01-14-2007, 11:53 AM

male violence against women is a worldwide phenomenon. I don’t think every woman has experienced it or if they did its not the extent of some other countries, and many expect not to, fear of violence is an important factor in the lives of most women. It determines what they do, when they do it, where they do it, and with whom. Fear of violence is a cause of women’s lack of participation in activities beyond the home, including cultural activities.These acts shape their attitude to life, and their expectations of themselves.

As Tarik mentioned the decline of Dancers in Egypt ,i think Economic decline is a main cause for rising fundamentalism in Islamic society.

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chryssanthi sahar · 01-15-2007, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by belly_dancer

yes... the people...... the PEOPLE in CHARGE!!!!.... it is my feeling that most (if not all) of the "BIG" organized religions today started with "real" prophets, with great idea(l)s... but as time went on, these ideals were twisted to suit the peoples (IN CHARGE) needs.... as in:.... a way to control the masses...
remember, until very recently (in the scope of human history) most of the "masses" were illiterate, so relied on the word of their preist, king, etc.(controllers!), to tell the commoners what to do.... & of course this word "of God" turned into the "word" of whoever would benefit (get richer) off of controlling the people...
same thing happens in corporations..... start with a prophet (genius idea), & the original employees (apostles) are working for the true ideals of the company.... then the original guy dies (or the company is sold, merged, whatever)... & whoever takes over the company usually runs it as a strictly for profit (hehehe just noticed... prophet/profit!) deal, corners get cut, employees (the masses) get screwed, & you can't get through to the company (God) on the phone anymore!
so long story short, IMO I believe that religion, while it started out with noble intentions, has mostly turned out as a way to control the common person.... & our backgrounds/cultures etc.... allow us to follow along without thinking (just what those in charge want us to do..... NOT THINK for ourselves!!!)...
PLEASE realize, I do not mean to offend anybodys beliefs....
mine is......
I think we should all look inside ourselves (& nature) for God.... God is Life... and Life supports DANCE
(look on a molecular level.... all those atoms dancing around!... the natural patterns (such as spirals) occuring in the universe, etc.
PEACE!

Very well said belly dancer

It is a fact, that when something starts getting institutionalized it looses it's originality and freshness and it gets rigid. Unfortunately this has happened to all major religions.
On the other hand the majority of humans needs guidance. Unfortunately there are very few people who are independent and courageous enough to find their own way to God, Spirit, Universe (however one would call it). So for the majority of humans religion is almost unavoidable because without it their lives would probably be a chaos. Only mature, self-conscious and responsible individuals can be free and follow the rules of their hearts instead of the rules of some religion or other institution.

chryssanthi sahar · 01-15-2007, 02:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A'isha Azar

I LOVE the idea of "Free Zen Buddhism" and I thinl you should start your own branch of Buddhism and call it that.

Good idea Aisha

I will become the new big Zen-Guru

And belly dance will be the obligatory spiritual practice in my sect

chryssanthi sahar · 01-15-2007, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ariella

Is dance at all involved in the religion of buddhism? Not bellydance, but some sort of religious dance?

Yes, at least in Tibetan Buddhism. There are the so called "Lama Dances", where Buddhist monks perform different sacral dances in the courtyard of the temples at certain religious feasts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ariella

Are religions that have dance integrated into them more tolerant of other types of dance?

In my opinion yes. I'm talking about the concept of religion, not about individuals who belong to a certain religion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ariella

Off the top of my head I can think of the whirling dervishes of the sufi sect of islam. What do sufis think of bellydance?

The Sufis that I know don't have any problem with belly dance. I used to work with a Turkish band in the past whose musicians were Sufis and they had neither a problem to play "worldly" music for weddings etc. nor a problem to play for a belly dancer (me). But one must consider that Sufis are very different from the main stream Islam and they are not so well accepted by the other Muslims. There were times when they were persecuted and were forbidden to practice their belief (and I think in some Islamic countries they are still quite oppressed).

Tarik Sultan · 01-15-2007, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chryssanthi sahar

Very well said belly dancer

It is a fact, that when something starts getting institutionalized it looses it's originality and freshness and it gets rigid. Unfortunately this has happened to all major religions.
On the other hand the majority of humans needs guidance. Unfortunately there are very few people who are independent and courageous enough to find their own way to God, Spirit, Universe (however one would call it). So for the majority of humans religion is almost unavoidable because without it their lives would probably be a chaos. Only mature, self-conscious and responsible individuals can be free and follow the rules of their hearts instead of the rules of some religion or other institution.

You've said it!

Ariella · 01-15-2007, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chryssanthi sahar

Good idea Aisha

I will become the new big Zen-Guru

And belly dance will be the obligatory spiritual practice in my sect

Can I join your sect? :-)

Kiraze · 01-15-2007, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by belly_dancer

I have often (secretly... as I do not want to offend!) wondered what our world would be like if Christianity was based on the book "Alice in Wonderland" instead of the bible!!... just gives you something to think about.... you know!
again I think we should all seek our OWN truths.... I seek mine mostly in the wonders of nature (& the wonders of dance!).... but others truth may lie elsewhere....

Religion based on Alice could be frightening

... anyway if analyzed with dry science Alice in Wonderland like most of the stories written by western writers are based on dualistic believes so would there really be much difference? Same goes with Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Star Wars etc - in Alice and Star Wars there however is definately something fascinating and different

Anyway, I could follow the path of the Jedi. May the Force be with you all!

Aisha Azar · 01-15-2007, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chryssanthi sahar

Good idea Aisha

I will become the new big Zen-Guru

And belly dance will be the obligatory spiritual practice in my sect

Dear Cryssanthi Rinpoche,
I'll sign up to be your first acolyte!! We can invent little scooters to drive around on and call them LAMAHA ( instead of Yamaha) and our spiritual capital can be OHMaha!!
Regards,
A'isha

Shanazel · 01-15-2007, 03:48 PM

Ohm, my goodness, A'isha!

Aisha Azar · 01-15-2007, 03:58 PM

Dear Shanazle,
That is, of course, unless our Great Rinpoche would prefer to be headquartered out West.... you know... "Ohm, Ohm on the Range"!

Ohm my god....I'm stopping now.

Regards.
A'isha

01-14-2007, 11:53 AM	#121 (permalink)
Dipali Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sunshine coast,Australia Posts: 873	male violence against women is a worldwide phenomenon. I don’t think every woman has experienced it or if they did its not the extent of some other countries, and many expect not to, fear of violence is an important factor in the lives of most women. It determines what they do, when they do it, where they do it, and with whom. Fear of violence is a cause of women’s lack of participation in activities beyond the home, including cultural activities.These acts shape their attitude to life, and their expectations of themselves. As Tarik mentioned the decline of Dancers in Egypt ,i think Economic decline is a main cause for rising fundamentalism in Islamic society. .. __________________ Australian Belly dance store - Belly Dance Costumes, Bollywood & Tribal outfits. Last edited by Dipali; 01-14-2007 at 11:59 AM.

01-15-2007, 03:58 PM	#130 (permalink)
Aisha Azar V.I.P. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pacific Northwest USA Posts: 4,518	Religion Dear Shanazle, That is, of course, unless our Great Rinpoche would prefer to be headquartered out West.... you know... "Ohm, Ohm on the Range"! Ohm my god....I'm stopping now. Regards. A'isha

01-15-2007, 03:48 PM	#129 (permalink)
Shanazel Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Rocky Mountains USA Posts: 4,684	Ohm, my goodness, A'isha!