The goal of each workshop is to facilitate your own personal experience with the Divine within, plus give you some simple tools/techniques to carry your experiences with you into daily life.

From the beginning of time, sacred movement, song and story have helped people touch the spiritual essence within themselves and others. The main basis for our work is the Dances of Universal Peace used as a form of moving meditation to quiet the mind (ego), giving the heart (soul) a chance to be heard. The focus is on feeling (heart-centered) rather than typical workshops which are intellectually based (head-centered). There's really no need (nor opportunity) to take notes - true knowing comes only through first-hand experience.

Other meditative techniques developed by Dance Network Founder Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz, such as body prayer, simple presence, and heart awareness may be used along with readings from his books Desert Wisdom and Prayers of the Cosmos. There may also be short readings from mystic poets such as Jelaluddin Rumi; contemporary authors such as Neale Donald Walsch (Conversations with God); and musical artists such as Indigo Girls.

These Dances of Universal Peace experiential workshops invite you to get out of your head and into your heart to celebrate the love, beauty, peace, and joy of the Divine in a caring environment where your own unique, individual spiritual experiences can be fostered. Each workshop can be tailored to focus on a particular theme including, but not limited to the following:

Touching Rahm Within

In Native Middle Eastern tradition, Rahm (pronounced rah-hum) is the principal archetype of unconditional love and the original sacred womb of creation. Combining the Dances of Universal Peace with body prayer and readings from "Desert Wisdom" by Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz and the poetry of Jelalludin Rumi, "Touching Rahm Within" offers the opportunity to find the Rahm which exists deep within our bodies and collective psyche.

The Magic of Ishq

In Native Middle Eastern tradition, Ishq (pronounced ish-k) is love manifest as attraction and the glue that holds the Universe together. Combining the Dances of Universal Peace with body prayer and readings from "Desert Wisdom" by Saadi Neil Douglas-Klotz and the poetry of Jelalludin Rumi, "The Magic of Ishq" offers the opportunity to deeply explore the energies that tug at your heart.

Dancing the Goddess

Most of the world's spiritual traditions are rich with aspects of the Divine Feminine. There are many beautiful Dances of Universal Peace which reflect this. "Dancing the Goddess" honors and celebrates the Goddess in each one of us as well as explores our connection to Mother Earth.

God Unpersonified

Throughout the ages, the Divine has been personified in countless forms, largely in an effort to help us relate, understand, connect. But for many of us, our worship has become lost in the personification - acting to separate us from our own personal spiritual experiences. By moving into our heads to intellectually understand the symbols and all they have come to represent, we tend to move away from our soul, spirit, intuition... our true knowing. "God Unpersonified" helps us to bypass the intellect by using our hearts to feel what's behind the symbols.

HeartSongs

Quiet the mind and the heart will speak volumes. With our focus on all that the heart has to offer, this more general theme allows us to explore and celebrate the Divine Mystery through story, dance, and song. Often components from any/all of the above workshops appear as the group energy of "HeartSongs" unfolds.

While based on the same general approach, each event is different, depending on how the group energy unfolds. By acting from a sacred, humble place of stillness, the appropriate energy of self-discovery and self-healing is invited to come through in whatever form is best suited for the individuals present. Typically, all that come with an open mind leave with an open heart.

Any combination of half day, full day, afternoon, and evening workshops can be arranged. A suggested donation of $5 to $25 per person is requested depending on the length of the workshop and the gratitude of each attendee. All proceeds are tithed to PeaceWorks International Network for the Dances of Universal Peace and the hosting local organization. See Hosting a Workshop in Your Town to learn how you can bring a Dances of Universal Peace experiential workshop to a location near you.

Return to:

Dances of Universal Peace Experiential Workshops Index
Dancing Peace Home Page

Copyright ©1998 Dave Walker. This document can be freely distributed provided this copyright notice remains.

January 20, 2001