The Mother Goddess - Page 8

Aisha Azar · 05-03-2008, 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrea Deagon

I'm trying to get a handle on this issue. I am very conflicted here because some part of me (probably the part that took shape in the 1970's :-)) likes the goddessy stuff as an experience when I'm dancing. But I keep it strictly out of history, where it doesn't belong, and I find myself rolling my eyes at some (well most) of the goddess rhetoric I hear. The historian in me rebels at vague visions of past cultures that are really just extensions of ourselves -- I think that's what narks me about the whole phenomenon.

What I want to know is, what in particular bothers other people about the goddess stuff? What button does it push, that brings on the eye rolling and finger-down-throat gesturing??

Wht does the goddess stuff say that you don't want to hear?

Dear Andrea,
I don't care for goddess images in the world of belly dance because there is no way to say that the dance, raqs sharghi, has ever been anything even remotely connected to sacred ritual, etc.
My second reason is that in trying to lift the dance out of the realm of humanity, we are taking away something from the dance, and that is it's very human elements and the very qualities that make it what it is; an expression of human feeling, human thinking and human nature. Anthropomorphism aside, the dance is totally a product of the human experience.
Regards,
A'isha

adiemus · 05-04-2008, 07:11 PM

Thank you once again A'isha for putting into words just what I was thinking.

Zorba · 05-05-2008, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A'isha Azar

the dance is totally a product of the human experience.

Agreed, but playing Devil's advocate for a moment - spirituality is PART of the human experience.

Zorba · 05-05-2008, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jane

I think religion is too personal a subject to bring out in public.

I wish more people would realize this.

I'll discuss my sex life before I'll discuss my "religion" in any detail.

Aisha Azar · 05-05-2008, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorba

Agreed, but playing Devil's advocate for a moment - spirituality is PART of the human experience.

Dear Zprba,
Yes it is, but this dance is not focused on the spiritual in the way that one is one when one is doing formal worship. It instead is an underlying thread in the nature of the person performing the dance, and not the reason for the dance, if that makes sense. Belly dance is not a form of religious worship;it is an entertainment. To put it into the context of a religion destroys that purpose, much like televangelism often perverts the purpose of religion! ( Now where did I put my sparkly preacher teeth and my white pompador hair??? LOL)
Regards,
A'isha

Zorba · 05-06-2008, 03:20 PM

But it CAN be...

BTW, who is "Zprba"?

Aisha Azar · 05-06-2008, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorba

But it CAN be...

BTW, who is "Zprba"?

Dear Zorba,
Dearly as I love you, no it can not. The very nature and meaning of the dance would be compromised.
Regards,
A'isha

Zorba · 05-06-2008, 07:29 PM

Obviously, your spirituality is different from mine - and that's OK. I feel a deep connection with the divine when I dance.

adiemus · 05-06-2008, 11:27 PM

Is it about intention then? While I love to dance, and I feel 'divine' connection, I don't intend dancing to be worshipful or to invite others to worship.
I've danced for worship in previous times, and the intention is much less about interpreting music and much more about inviting worship...
Now my dance is about my humanity and being grounded in the world. Which of course is spirit as well - but not directly intending to touch 'the divine' or 'the spirit'.

cathy · 05-07-2008, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A'isha Azar

Dear Zprba,
Yes it is, but this dance is not focused on the spiritual in the way that one is one when one is doing formal worship. It instead is an underlying thread in the nature of the person performing the dance, and not the reason for the dance, if that makes sense. Belly dance is not a form of religious worship;it is an entertainment. To put it into the context of a religion destroys that purpose, much like televangelism often perverts the purpose of religion! ( Now where did I put my sparkly preacher teeth and my white pompador hair??? LOL)
Regards,
A'isha

What one person calls an underlying thread may be what another sees as the essence, and vice versa. This all harkens back to the question of what is innately in the dance vs. what we bring to it through our deliberate or unconscious interpretation of it. A red-green color-blind person will never see red; a rhythm-insensitive person may never be able to do a drum solo on the beat; a non-religious person may not respond to whatever people who speak of being in touch with the divine are talking about; and people also differ in how much weight they give to the sexual in this dance. It's all there to those who see it that way, or to those who can see it correctly, depending on your point of view.

Cathy

05-04-2008, 07:11 PM	#72 (permalink)
adiemus Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 977	Thank you once again A'isha for putting into words just what I was thinking. __________________ He wahine, he taonga- Every woman is a treasure(Maori proverb)

05-06-2008, 03:20 PM	#76 (permalink)
Zorba Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 861	But it CAN be... BTW, who is "Zprba"? __________________ -Zorba "The Veiled Male" http://www.doubleveil.net "There is nothing sadder than a veil, that is for sale."

05-06-2008, 07:29 PM	#78 (permalink)
Zorba Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 861	Obviously, your spirituality is different from mine - and that's OK. I feel a deep connection with the divine when I dance. __________________ -Zorba "The Veiled Male" http://www.doubleveil.net "There is nothing sadder than a veil, that is for sale."

05-06-2008, 11:27 PM	#79 (permalink)
adiemus Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 977	Is it about intention then? While I love to dance, and I feel 'divine' connection, I don't intend dancing to be worshipful or to invite others to worship. I've danced for worship in previous times, and the intention is much less about interpreting music and much more about inviting worship... Now my dance is about my humanity and being grounded in the world. Which of course is spirit as well - but not directly intending to touch 'the divine' or 'the spirit'. __________________ He wahine, he taonga- Every woman is a treasure(Maori proverb)