IF YOU PREFER A VIDEO VERSION TO READING, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM.
Chances are pretty good that you, someone you love, your country, your planet, or possibly all of the above; are in the middle of some serious challenges.
You might think this calls for serious measures.
YES, you absolutely need to pay serious attention to what is happening--vs adopting an ostrich like strategy.
YES, you may need to take serious and responsible actions -- keeping in mind responsible means "able to respond" vs reactivity. Also keeping in mind that "fixing" what is broken is not always the most responsible action. Sometimes the most serious and responsible thing to do is to spend quiet time doing nothing "productive" and just appreciating what shows up in the broken places.
YES (no one likes this part but it is absolutely essential), you will need to feel all the seriously unpleasant feelings associated with serious challenges to the best of your imperfect, current ability-- vs the ever popular strategy of getting a fix from your addiction of choice to numb and escape from the pain.
Forgive yourself if you make this choice, but know it is like an exorbitantly high interest credit card from which no bankruptcy can stop the inexorable requirement of repayment.
Slapping on a happy face 😃 and/or doing a spiritual bypass to pretend to yourself and the world that everything is just hunky-dory, may seem like the right thing to do, and sometimes it is the best you can do to cope. But ultimately, this is also a serious mistake.
YES, there are times when you need to get serious and "put on your big girl panties" or "man up" for a short time in circumstances where falling apart is not an option.
AND serious measures will only take you so far.
Sometimes you need to play The Hokey Pokey. Maybe not literally, (my sincere apologies to all of you who now have this ear worm burrowing into your brain), but relaxing, being silly and irrational, playing games, dancing, singing, shaking things around, connecting with others in a circle, will all serve you surprisingly well when you are in the middle of a serious challenge.
The ever increasing number of scientific studies (especially in neuroscience), teachings from respected thought leaders and the ancient wisdom traditions from around the globe (with all of the associated merry celebrations/holidays/holy-days), as well as the personal experiences of countless individuals (including myself), all show the benefits of the same kinds of tactics that The Hokey Pokey is all about.
If The Hokey Pokey (or whatever preferable creative equivalents you can devise) can positively impact physical, spiritual, emotional and mental health, perhaps you might want to try playing with putting different parts of yourself forward and back, not worrying about if you get it wrong, shake things up in your usual strategies, and turn yourself around!
To quote Jimmy Buffet:
"Maybe it's all too simple for our brains to figure it out. What if the hokey pokey is all it really is about"
I could explore further possible philosophical dimensions of the Hokey Pokey, but I am seriously busy and delightfully playing with the creation of my own game of Sparks & Leaps, which is slowly and beautifully coming together!
I am beyond excited that I finally discovered a way to combine all of the cool stuff I have learned in a fun and easy game, that starts off super simple and allows for pretty much infinite levels of skill development.
The game will enable players to not just more gracefully navigate the ever accelerating changes in the world, but actually welcome and use these challenges for their personal evolution as well as contributing in a more positive way to supporting planetary transformation.
Yes, these are big promises from a nanny in multicolored twirly outfits advocating the Hokey Pokey, celebrating obscure holidays and (if you have read previous blogs) encouraging mythical journeys and the wisdom of fairytales. But strange times call for strange methods and strange people!
Optional silly musings about the Hokey Pokey in relation to this week's holidays for those who want a longer read. OR scroll to bottom for video version of this New Moon Blog post.
Shavuot (a Jewish holy day whose timing varies each year and depends on a complicated series of calculations related to the moon) originally came from an ancient grain festival in which the Hokey Pokey would fit in perfectly with the celebratory seasonal dances!
Also, Jews eat dairy treats on this holiday, and one of the theories of the origin of Hokey Pokey (which is called Hokey Cokey in the UK) is that it is based on an ice cream treat called the Hokey Cokey.
Pentecost (a Christian holy day which is related to Shavout, and often falls on the same day but not always) celebrates when the Holy Spirit came down and allowed everyone who would normally not have been able to understand each other to speak a common language*. Also known as speaking in tongues.
There are some who claim that the origin of the phrase Hokey Pokey came from hocus-pocus which
"is said to be a Puritan parody of the Latin "hoc est enim corpus meum" or "this is my body" used by Catholic priests to accompany the transubstantiation during mass...and the dance came from the days when priests celebrated mass with their backs to the congregation and whispered the Latin words of consecration with many hand movements."
So maybe skip doing the Hokey Pokey if you happen to be celebrating Pentecost at a Catholic church this year.
Ramadan (a Muslim holy-day begins on the first sighting of the moon this month and continues until the next New Moon is cited ) is a very serious holiday with fasting etc. I love the Sufi branch of the Muslim religion. Not only because they "turn themselves about" in their trademark dance of ecstasy, but that is definitely a factor!
* While I'm not likely to join a Pentecostal church and handle venomous serpents, 🐍I really love the idea of a dove flying down 🕊and miraculously allowing us to actually be able to hear and understand each other better.
Even those of us who speak the same language, often seem to be unable to truly hear what others are saying. I think that in our hearts we have the common language of love and wish for peace. We just say it differently and have different ways of accomplishing what we believe.
And even though many of the holy rituals that are celebrated around the world are very different, they also have common roots. I believe with all my heart that if we could sing, dance, celebrate,
and play together, and perhaps dance The Hokey Pokey, we could find common ground much more easily. We need that common ground to survive and thrive together right now!
VIDEO VERSION OF BLOG
