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#4152-
The Dances of
Universal Peace
http://www.dancesofuniversalpeacena.org/
From the beginning of
time, sacred movement, song and story have brought people
together - at times of seasonal ceremony and celebration, as part
of everyday life and life passages, in daily renewal and
meditation. The Dances of Universal Peace are part of this
timeless tradition of sacred movement, song and story.
The Dances of Universal
Peace are simple, meditative, joyous, multi-cultural circle
dances that use sacred phrases, chants, music and movements from
the many spiritual traditions of the earth to touch the spiritual
essence within ourselves and recognize it in others. Building on
the work begun by Samuel L. Lewis in the 1960s, they promote
peace and integration within individuals and understanding and
connection within groups worldwide. There are no performers nor
audience: new arrivals and old hands form the circle as everyone
sings and dances together.
A Brief Dance
History
The Dances of Universal
Peace were first presented to the world in the late 1960's by
Samuel L. Lewis (1896-1971), a Sufi Murshid (teacher) and Rinzai
Zen Master, who also studied deeply in the mystical traditions of
Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity. Lewis was deeply influenced
by his contact and spiritual apprenticeship with two people:
Hazrat Inayat Khan, who first brought the message of universal
Sufism to the West in 1910, and Ruth St. Denis, a feminist
pioneer in the modern dance movement in
From his rich life
experiences, Lewis, then in his early 70's, began to envision and
create the Dances and the associated walking practices, as a
dynamic method to promote "Peace through the Arts."
Since those early days with Murshid SAM's original 50 or so
dances, the collection has grown after his passing to more than
500 dances which celebrate the sacred heart of Hinduism,
Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
as well as the Aramaic, Native American, Native Middle Eastern,
Celtic, Native African, and Goddess traditions.
Since their beginning,
the Dances have spread throughout the world, touching more than a
half million people in North and
The Dances Today
In addition to the Dance
circles that meet regularly, the Dances of Universal Peace
continue to evolve and expand to more areas: these Dances are led
in schools, spiritual centers, churches, therapy groups, prisons,
hospice houses, drug rehabilitation centers, homes for the
developmentally disabled, retirement villages, holistic health
centers, psychological conventions, weddings, other personal
celebrations, peace gatherings and ecumenical worship
celebrations. They have been presented at the Olympics, the World
Parliament of Religions, and other ecumenical gatherings and
conferences around the world.
The Mentor Teachers
Guild, with spiritual guidance from Pir Shabda Kahn, serves to
guide the development and growth of dance leaders and to steward
the transmission of the rich legacy Murshid Samuel Lewis left to
the world.
Eat Dance and Pray Together
Samuel Lewis believed
that when people “eat, dance and pray together,”
the world finds peace. The Dances continue to be, as Samuel Lewis
envisioned them, a way to make life-energy and deep peace a
reality for all who come in contact with them, and to bring a
joyous spiritual center to those who commit to deepening in them.
Find a Dances of
Universal Peace event near you:
http://www.dancesofuniversalpeace.org/wwmap.shtm