Shifting Paradigms one hip at a time.

    What in the world does this mean?

    What is a PARADIGM ?
    •        a mental model
    •        a way of seeing
    •        a filter for one's perceptions
    •        a frame of reference
    •        a framework of thought or beliefs through which one's world or reality is interpreted
    •        an example used to define a phenomenon
    •        a commonly held belief among a group of people, such as scientists of a given discipline

    Have  you ever considered if anything you casually hold to be true might actually be limiting
    your human potential and impacting your self-worth, self-image and self-esteem?

    Have you ever stopped to examine your attitudes about aging, physical appearance, creativity,
    self-expression and "propriety"?

    Unexamined, unquestioned attitudes and dispositions contribute to the framework that guides
    our daily human interactions and our aspirations. Sometimes we have no idea where these
    assumptions or beliefs have come from (or that they even exist!)  -- they're just there --until we
    trip over them.

    For many women, bellydance is a catalyst (or in the lingo of paradigmologists, a meme) that
    triggers a whole avalanche of self discoveries and shifts in attitude. So often, women who have
    NEVER taken a dance class try bellydance and become almost euphoric with the new personal
    realities they allow themselves to contemplate and even consider possible!  Endorphine highs
    aside (the many health benefits of bellydance have long been documented and touted), new
    positive attitudes breed positive actions and results.

    Women who bellydance are like brides -- they're all beautiful. We come from every walk of life
    and every ethnicity. From ectomorph to endomorph, we begin to give ourselves permission to
    proudly shimmy to the beat of our own doumbek.  We are enormously courageous stepping
    into the unknown -- yet bellydance is a RETURN to our natural selves -- the rightful
    acknowledgement and celebration of feminine power, playfulness, sensuality and mystery.

    In terms of shifting or correcting lingering misconceptions about bellydance (it's history,
    purpose and proper context) the lovely Shira at www.shira.net  has the most extensive
    online resources on the subject currently available.  In the here and now, those of us who
    practice and promote the dance with integrity, joy and love can be proud to be contributing to a
    new age of enlightenment!  



           

             "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." - Anais Nin