“Dance When You’re Broken Open”

Monika Kaden, Dancer Unique/ Shidoni Bronze Foundry and Gallery Tesuque, N.M./Photo by Noelle Renee 2010

Dance when You’re broken open,

Dance if you’ve torn the bandage off,

Dance in the middle of the fighting,

Dance in your Blood,

Dance when you’re perfectly free.

~Rumi

 

Note From Noelle Renee:

I took this photo when I was in Tesuque, five miles out of Santa Fe at Shidoni Gallery and Bronze Foundry. Just looking at it gave me a feeling of lightness and freedom. As I drew closer, I read the word written above that are inscribed on the shirt of the statue. They are, in fact, the opposite of what one would expect from such a joyful pose. And so it goes. The tension of the opposites prevails and all creativity, all transcendence, all  love and ultimately rebirth of the Self  flows from the holding of that tension. May all of our lives be an amazing, a phenomenal act of balancing. The following is an article by Jacquelyn Small that I found online regarding the Tension of the opposites. I hope you enjoy it.

Namaste.

 

DUALITY
by Jacquelyn Small, Eupsychia Institute

••••••••••

(the following excerpts are from the unpublished, unedited manuscript of, Psyche's Seeds, Tarcher Putnam, April 2001).

To get beyond this duality of the ego and the soul -- to avoid feeling pulled apart by these opposing drives -- we can learn to be in both places at once: unified and unique. (p. 14, Part II)

Certain factors in nature are ordered in ways that remain a mystery to us. But as we move closer to our Source, into the depths of our psyches, we gain a knowing sense that all apparent dualities are really part of a greater whole. And we see that our job, at least right now, is to be a "walker in both worlds" and bridge the gap as much as we can, holding the two together. Then, we'll create that pathway for the Self to enter and take us to a third and higher way. (page 107, Part II)

As hybrid "spirit-matter" beings, we must realize it is appropriate for us to be living in two worlds at once -- the world of the ego and the world of the soul. They do not become one watered-down nondescript composite: they each bring forth their entire way of being -- which is a very rich and inviting way to live. Just as a reminder: we have an antinomous nature - two complementary opposites living together harmoniously, making up the whole. In this manner, neither part gets lost: the ego's passionate response to the physical life lives alongside the soul's spiritual purpose and sacred intent. The individual as well as the collective life is honored and cherished. Or you can think of it as the masculine and feminine principles residing side by side, with no warring nor competition, in deepest respect for each other's differences and opposite function. (p. 106-107, Part II)

In being a walker in two worlds, you do not try to escape into the higher regions of the Self and shirk your responsibilities here. You walk the ways of the ordinary life, doing your daily routines with the people you're in relationship with. Some are karmic duties, such as caring for children you're responsible for, or helping the elderly in your family. And you never avoid serving others in ways that are meaningful to them, when these people come upon your path. You take responsibility in this world for all that you've taken on. And you do it with love and compassion.

Then, together with all this, you hold within yourself that "secret place" no one needs to know exists but you. In this numinous inner life of dreams, symbolic images, inner beings, other-dimensional places, and messages of direct knowing, you document your larger life in your spiritual diary or through some artistic expression. You protect this inner chamber with all your spiritual might by surrounding it with a deep sense of silent reverence. You walk in the overlap between these two worlds, drawing first from this one, then from that one. Sometimes you move into just one or the other reality and give it your full intention so you can know it fully. (p. 107, Part II)

Before we can know the light, we must recognize and meet the dark on its own terms. Then, it can all come into the balance of completion in the center. We learn to hold these tensions of the opposites within us as the way all spiritual warriors travel through life. Arriving at this stage of our awakening, we are required to face every dualism we're caught up in ­ every opposition that lives within our psyches. It's a very difficult task. The path gets harder as we come closer to our destination: coming fully into ourselves with absolute authenticity. We must understand that we live as both these sides of ourselves, for this is our nature.