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I just read this on my student, Brandy’s, pages…
I thought so appropriate…especially because I’ve been so absent in my blogging, working on so many new things right now—a new webpage, a new blog idea, some scrapbooking, working at the Cultivator of course, and now, getting ready for two weeks of dance instensives, Collective Soul Level’s One, Two, Three, and Teacher Training Level One. Dancers from California, Portland, Scotland, Washington, Florida, and Australia are heading my way to undertake the challenge!
woo hoo…
so in the meantime, read this and tell me what you think!
“The mind should dance with the body, the whole Universe is your stage, the soul your choreographer. Try to feel that whatever you are doing is the most beautiful thing, the prettiest dance, because you dance with the whole Universe. Don’t resent anything. Forgive everything. Express your essence. Let your heart guide you, free of all limitation, regimentation, and fear.’ Yogi Bhajan
Life back at home and I get crazy busy… I realized that I have not finished writing about the rest of the Oz journey. And I must, it was love, work, dance,and more dance. In between the Collective Soul adventures were yet more workshops. In Brisbane, I taught five workshops on the weekend. Blistering hot, too, let me tell you. I was drenched Saturday morning before we even started, and here I was with a Madonna headset on my head and back and sweating and laughing and making everyone dance hard and sweat too. A great weekend of many questions, thought-provoking comments and corrections, intuitive dance moments, and lots of new ideas for the dancers to take home and work on. I sold out of my stock of my Tribal Vision books—autographing them as we went, Dvds, Gypsy CDs, and other little items I had brought with me. Everyone kept calling me the everready bunny, and asking me where I got my energy. You know, I love to dance. Pretty basic and simple. But what keeps me going is the music. If I love the music, I can’t stop! So find what moves you and use it to the fullest…there you go…
I said good bye to my girls on that last day, Dee, Nina, Heidi, and Christine (sporting her first ever brand new tattoo!) with a champagne birthday lunch celebration for Dee.
Onward I went to Wollongong, south of Sydney, to torrential downpours, but cooler weather. Miss Jacqueline of Tribal Jewels was my lovely hostess again; it had been two years since I had seen her, and a joyous renunion!
Two more days of workshops, ending with an intense and wonderful trance class again. That is the best way to end a workshop session because it helps to release but rejuvenate you and your body, really letting yourself move after the intense structure of learning and refining moves.
Sandy joined us, from AsIf troupe, for some delicious wine tasting, and it was great to be there again. Wonderful dancers, great feedback, and time to go home.
But again, I was enamoured of the bird life there, and all over Australia. The songs of the parrots and all the creatures was thrilling, loud, raucous, lovely. Wild parrots would land to eat in Jackie’s mom’s backyard, where I stayed, and I could sit and watch and listen for hours.
It was a great trip, one I will remember and treasure always, with several invitations to return for more dancing. Maybe next year…
Thank you Australian dancers for your vitality and desire and friendships…
keep on dancing with passion and grace!
pearls of denmark
more fruits of nature to experience: I am thankful for stunning seaweed, 25 black swans to wake up to
black swans
a gorgeous morning with time for reflection
a party full of beautiful dancing women having a great time. wonderful food and wine, good rockin’ music, and lovely new friends…
and a delightful gorgeous platter of yummy fresh cheeses right on the farm, along a country road loaded with wineries and flowers…
what a journey…
Awakening early every morning, my time clock is messed up! Not sure what day or time it is over here, since it is about 17 hours ahead of time at home 
but I go with the flow and take a walk to the water near my hotel. Gorgeous, quiet, what a great way to start the day, and there are so many birds, singing, ranting, calling their wake-ups to the world. On the water is a group of pelicans, resting, bobbing for their breakfast while I sip on my instant Nescafe. (Oh, so waiting for that cappuccino!)
Without the internet for a few days, is a relief but also feels like hell. Not sure I am liking that addiction, but needing to feel in touch with my home, my man, my other life away from touring. So I journal some more.
The workshops are splendid, six hours in one day is a lot for any dancer to take it all in. More steps, more drills, more sweat, then more steps. Laughter, questions, chocolate, and another coffee. They tease me and call me the everready bunny, because I don’t stop! When I get focused, I can’t stop. Drill, drill, drill. but it is the only way for the dancers to remember what I’m showing them.
By sunday afternoon, the 4th and 5th hours, the dancers are dropping out, tired, overloaded, brain full and body tired. But it feels good, everyone has a glow about them, and I feel rewarded for sharing and giving what was wanted and needed. We keep pushing as some dancers leave early for a long drive home. Some dance until the end, laughing still, but glazed over with more love for the dance then when they started, and asking me to come back soon (or they will kidnap me to stay). Ah, my job is done. Hugs, friends, passion, time for a glass of wine…
I thank you all, dancers, for your dance and your desire to continue on, for supporting Becky, your sponsor in bringing me to you. It was a pleasure…
paulette's foot on the beach
Time is moving so quickly now. I have been dancing for days and days, many hours a day with the most delightful and inquisitve dancers! Becky sponsored a weekend with me, called A Journey Back to the Heart, a Weekend Tribal Intensive – ‘Heart’ of Tribal Style, the Gypsy Caravan Way.
She did a great job arranging the weekend, with dancers coming from primarily the west coast of Australia. It was another full on weekend, six hours of workshops everyday, and a super fun hafla in a winery Saturday night. But we started out with that 2nd gonging (!), a bit of sightseeing, a beach walk and some wine tasting (of course!)
Facebook being what it is , there are already tons of photos going around from the journey so far. Go to my fan pages for a quick peek
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paulette-Rees-Denis/71253377401
windblown becky and paulette
The dancers had lots of good questions about what is tribal and what is my style and what are the differences in all the styles, and how tribal is about dancing together and from the soul. We talked about this over the weekend, working the brain, while we worked our bodies hard too. Nothing like dancing and discussing dancing, I love hearing what others think and feel about dance in general, and dance for them. And how they adopt and adapt my tribal stylings to suit themselves and their artistic endeavors. Dancing is such a good source of healing, fun, community building, or rebuilding, and a good physical workout. Women met new tribes, saw old friends, reunited friendships, and learned not only from me, but from each other. It really is all about empowering ourselves and each other when we do tribal. More to come…
I love the country side down here around Albany. Rolling hills, lots of farmland, cool breezes, great birds and animals, lots of wineries because it is good land for growing grapes, and miles of beachfront, although the water is a bit chilly! Nothing like a good windy walk on the beach to clear the cobwebs though… a great way to kick off the weekend.
2nd part of the journey
Wildlife and plants…
I love seeing other countries, cultures, and the tribal dance variations, and I also love seeing the different wildlife and native plants. I was so fortunate to stay at the Banksia Farm in Mt. Barker, when I was teaching the dancers for those few days.
It is a B&B that is known for it’s 11 acres of the native plant, the Banksia, which is an amazingly diverse plant, with wildly exotic blooms and pods. Not only are the grounds are great walking tour to see this plant, but also to see lots of wildlife. The birds themselves were numerous, with loud calls throughout the day, as they flew in flocks around the grounds, the bush, and the pond.
I awoke every morning to the shrills and calls of the white-tailed black parrots, the ducks, the other assorted parrots, the guineas, and other birds I have no idea what they were, but there were lots of them! I saw the Blue Wren, the Honey sucker, along with the guana lizard ( a monitor), an ibis, several hawks and crows, tons of cows and sheep with the assorted goats, a gorgeous baby donkey, and others.
And of course the variations on the eucalyptus and gum trees were outstanding, the bark alone diverse in its striped and peeling nature was a visual treat, as always.
And Kevin, the banksia expert, gave me the informative lecture on the banksia, which are just so cool!
and now, on to a weekend in Denmark with Becky and a full on two days of dancing and a hafla….
Oh, where have I been? I”ve missed my blogging! and you…
The long lost traveler without her computer! Traveling across the world for the past week, on the road, without much computer access, but I’m still lurking with blog in mind!
I finished off the Tribal Vision book giveaway before I left Oregon, and Hiya was thrilled to be the winner. Such lovely entrees for the new year, may all of you receive your dreams and desires in the dance and beyond.
I have been writing the February enewsletter, which should be out next week. February already? Wow… the new year is cruising and life is good.
After a 30 some hour flight, a too brief visit with a good friend, I jumped yet another plane for another dance adventure. Dancing with the crazily wonderful girls called Tribal Thunder down in southern Australia for a few days has been such a treat. They get the true meaning of tribal dance, and it warms my heart to see such a beautiful, loving community of women who want to dance together to celebrate their friendship, creativity, and passion for life. They share it with their community, and when they do make money from a performance, they save it for their yearly giveaway when they pick a cause to donate it to. How lovely is that?
So we danced and talked dance for several hours every day, and then they treated me to sightseeing their beautiful countryside, their local wineries, and a gonging session!
Yes, I’ve been gonged, as everyone should be. I’ve had many different healing experiences, and tried varieties of methods. But this was a new one for me. This involved a vibrational sound healing using five different very large gongs in a teepee type room, plus adding the scent of sandalwood to help with the meditation. We lay on soft mats in a circle in the dimly lit room while our facilitator gonged around us and over us for almost an hour. The purpose is to relax our muscles and our minds, and it took me almost the full hour to let myself unwind. I figured it was because after teaching dance for four hours and then going into the gonging with the uncertainty of trying something new, my mind didn’t quite want to let me go.
So I went back the next day, now knowing what to expect, and being earlier in the day too. And I enjoyed it so much more. The facilitator was also better, with a healing rhythm to her talk and energy, and I was able to relax better, although that crazy monkey mind chatter kept jumping in throughout the session! Just breathe those thoughts away and let go… ahhh… I love the deep vibrations of the gong, and with the several different sounds and tones, it was a calming experience. Just like the didgeridoo sound healing I have done before, with that deep vibrational wave of sounds that washes over you. And vocal toning is another great method of using sounds as a tool for energetic healing where you are doing the toning instead of having it done to you. If you’ve ever chanted, it is similar, having not only the vocal release, but the vibrational sound within your chest and body.
ok, more tribal travels to come…
I had to share this, because it hurts. who made humans god?
please do what you can…
http://www.predatordefense.org/urgent.htm
Predator’s Defense
Urgent Action Alert! Coyote Killing Derby This Weekend, Jan. 16-17, in Southeast Oregon
Coyotes were greatly revered by Navajo
herders, who called them “God’s dog.”
Starting this weekend hunters in southeast Oregon will head out to kill as many coyotes as possible, competing for prizes like rifles and scopes. Please help us stop this senseless slaughter.
Why the Killing Spree?
January 13, 2010 – A four-county killing derby will run January 16–17 in Lake, Malheur, Harney, and Klamath counties, headquartered in Silver Lake, Oregon. Coyotes killed will be counted by showing the severed ears. The 2-man teams killing the most coyotes will get prizes of rifles, scopes and binoculars. The entry fee is $50 each and proceeds will go to a charity, most likely having to do with children with cancer in memory of an “avid coyote hunter.”
While the aim of benefiting children with cancer is laudable, the means is outrageous. There are many other ways to honor a friend and raise money for charity.
Please contact the organizers of this event and explain why you object to this misguided and brutal killing. PLEASE BE CIVIL.
An open invitation to this killing spree is on the Big Game Hunt website at
http://www.biggamehunt.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=23746#p109388
What You Can Do Today
Please immediately contact the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife with your concerns and be sure to include both agencies in your message. Be polite, but direct and clear about why randomly killing predators is not acceptable ethically, scientifically or practically. The Commission has decision-making power and oversees the ODFW.
Contact the Commission and ODFW at:
Phone: (503) 947-6000 | Toll Free: (800) 720-ODFW | TTY: (503) 947-6339
Email Commission: odfw.commission@state.or.us
Email ODFW: odfw.info@state.or.us
I thank you for listening and acting…
we danced in the light,
we danced with the light,
and with the darkness,
we connected, with ourselves and each other
let us shine
~~~~~~~~~
our tribal trance night was a glowing spectacular, and Myla Stauber shares her words again, so eloquent and deep, as we all took our dance and word journeys…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
busy women who dance through darkness and start laughing
the sound tinkling in my heart
the sound of the thin
veil around around my heart shattering
their laughter
gets in
and the one inside
who also laughs
joins in
and I am not
and you are not
but
we
are.
Happy Solstice to you…..
So many thoughts going through my brain this morning, sipping on my coffee, while the day comes into view. Making my lists for the day, and the week, with plans for the coming year. Today brings the longest night, darkness.
Can you reflect in the darkness, upon yourself, and your past year, and where you are?
On my farmette, it is very dark out here. I love it. No sreetlights, no cars,no neighbors. Dark. We have hung some colorful lights in the house and around the patio. Twinkling in the darkness, so pretty. I relish the outdoors, whether it is cold, raining, snowing, sunny. I need to be outside. And I must be too, to go the barn and the coop everyday, several times a day, to take care of the animals. It is a hike, and I lug buckets of hot water down to them about 4 times a day in this freezing weather. But when I am outside, I get the big picture. My picture. It is so real for me, if that makes sense to you. It keep me in my body, and in my soul. It makes me shine.
And so on this day I do think about the past year. What an amazing year with my dance work—traveling, teaching, dancing with amazing women, writing. It has been very rewarding and full of heart-warming events. Not to mention the rest of my life away from dancing (yes, I do have one!) I am thankful.
We all need to acknowledge what we have done, and give ourselves more credit. Being cynical is not pretty, or just downplaying something we have done so not to seem boastful or full of our own ego. But I’m talking about taking our own personal credit, patting ourselves on the back, and moving forward. We need to feel good about what we are doing so we can continue. When we feel good about ourselves and our work, then we can help others feel good. It can fuel us. Sadly, I see women who criticize themselves or make fun of themselves, not taking themselves seriously, and are afraid to step up and say, hey, check me out. Me, I love what I do and I feel like when women come to take a tribal bellydance class with me, they leave feeling really good about themselves, on so many levels. It may take a few weeks, or a few months, but they get empowered, and they can see the beauty in themselves and in each other, which is so lovely to witness. No competition, just support, and also networking. Building community and acceptance.
This is what my universe told me today!
When driving down the road of life, Paulette, rarely do you know how good you have it, until you see it in the rear-view mirror.
Which is not to suggest that you should look back now, but to remind you that where you are today is more awesome and amazing than you probably realize.
10-4,
The Universe
Thoughts become things… choose the good ones! ®
© www.tut.com ®
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of my One More Things for this next year is trying to not use/buy so much in leather goods. A talented friend of mine makes fantastic handbags, first knitting them and then felting them—what beautiful works of art to carry around with all those items we must carry. And there are so many good recycled and innovative bags being made now too. In general, that is a good way to shop, anyway. Many artful uses of sweaters and other used clothing items are being made in to new groovy wear. How about YOU?
~~~~~~~~
…and shoes, well, shoe fanatic that I am! Here is a vegan shoe site for you to check out! And they have a donation/give back program which is way cool!
NEUAURA is proud to donate 10% of all online sales to Keep a Child Alive and The Humane Society of the United State
~~~~
Do you have a give back program? I”ll tell you about mine next week!
One More Thing, don’t forget!
Happy Solstice to you, beautiful people. You rule…
~an excerpt from some Solstice thoughts from my friend, priestess and poet extraordinaire… T. Thorn Coyle
Know Thyself
….
What do you wait upon? The light is heard,
You know the name of every ant and leaf
And sing the spell in every woven word,
Your chambered heart beats yearning. Yearning.
You are the light. You are the one returned.
You are the shining thing that always burns.
T. Thorn Coyle, with Solstice Blessings, 2009
