Dancing with the Stars…. and the moon and the people in the coffee shop line

“Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair…”
― Susan Polis Schutz

Today, I’d like to introduce you to what I consider one of the most important spiritual practices. Erupting into spontaneous dance. In places besides dance floors.

Here are five reasons it’s as important as meditation:

1. It cuts thought off at the knees. All spiritual practice is about getting out of our own way, letting go of all the thoughts that block the Divine Buzz. The majority of our thoughts are boring re-runs from yesterday, the same ole to-do lists, fears and gripes.

And the Truth is that life works just fine without our incessant input. In fact, the more we distract the yammer, the better things actually work. This may seem counterproductive, but your right and perfect path will show up once you quit trying to figure everything out. It’s all the figuring and fretting that keeps it away. Dancing shuts down the mind so Truth can emerge.

2. Dancing puts you on the same wavelength as the F.P. As I’ve repeatedly said, you can’t watch ABC if you’re tuned into NBC. When you’re joyfully dancing, you’re on the same channel as the Big Guy. Which, of course, makes it easier for the F.P. to pour out all those countless blessings with your name on it.

3. It makes other people happy. I spend a lot of time in airports. And for the most part, the thousands of people waiting for flights are doing the same thing. Staring at their cell phones. One day in the Cincinnati airport, my daughter and I spotted (well, there was really no possibility of missing him) this tall gangly young man dancing jubilantly through the terminal. By himself. We were sitting at a Chick Fil A (this is before I began boycotting them) when he zoomed joyfully by. We both began laughing and like the young children in the German fairytale, The Pied Piper, we began to follow him.

Who can forget this wonderful scene from the movie, The Full Monte, where these unemployed steel workers began tapping their feet while waiting in the unemployment line?

4. It heals your body and other ailments. My friend, Betty, is 82. Most of her peers, when they get together, discuss one thing—their health or lack thereof. What she discovered when she took up dancing, the conversation (between Fox Trots) became elevated and people forgot all about their health issues. They actually started having fun, feeling young again.

5. It jars you into a new reality. Worldview 2.0, the exciting new paradigm I write about in E-Cubed, is all about leaving ruts and mental architecture that squeezes us into a tiny, uncomfortable box. Worldview 1.0 includes dancing, of course, but, once we’re grown-up, it only occurs when there’s alcohol and a dance floor. By dancing in places where others don’t expect it, you jump out of the box and your consciousness can’t help but follow. Again, life forms around our beliefs and expectations (our consciousness), so the more we can expand our beliefs and expectations, the bigger toehold life has to flow in.

I’ve shown this one before, but it’s worth repeating…..

Pam Grout is the author of 17 books including E-Squared: 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality and the just-released sequel, E-Cubed, 9 More Experiments that Prove Mirth, Magic and Merriment is your Full-time Gig.