Dance of Shiva

In my previous article I talked about how memorization can be the first step towards training the brain. Although I didn’t say as much the actual act of memorization is one of the ways in which we can train the brain. By memorizing something, whether the script to a play or how something works, we make what we’ve learned a part of ourselves. We don’t have to rely on outside resources (a book or someone who “knows”) we can instead rely on ourselves. As a result we can dance with change.

Dancing
with Change

When an actor memorizes his or her lines they are then free to interact with the other actors in the scene. Rather than “saying” their lines when necessary they can allow their lines to come out organically based on the situation they are in. The action then becomes more like real life… or it becomes what real life can be like if we are present.

To learn to ride a motorcycle we have to memorize or learn how do do certain things. We learn how to steer, how to use the brakes, the accelerator and how to change gears. Ideally we learn these things in a controlled environment where we don’t have to worry about things like other traffic. Once we’ve learned these skills so that we can do them “without thinking” we then can test ourselves on a windy road… or one curve at a time. We can then test ourselves further on a road with traffic. If we’ve learned to ride the bike well then we can handle the changes in the road and we can handle other traffic on the road all while staying on the bike. We can dance with change.

If we are really in our element we can sense change as it happens and respond to that change instantaneously. Rather than ourselves, the bike, the road and the traffic on the road being separate entities, we can move as one, still separate entities but all tuned in to the same source.

Knowing what
You are Doing

That might be a bit far fetched to imagine and perhaps it doesn’t suit the motorcycle riding analogy. Another setting might be two people who’ve learned to dance together so well that they move as one. What get’s them to that stage? Learning their moves and their partners moves. We might not think of this as memorization but the result is the same, they know what they have to do and so they can focus on doing it.

Inputs and
Outputs

The brain is like a computer. It receives inputs, processes them and then sends out an output based on the program that is active at the time.

Memorizing a set series of moves we download a program into our brain. We can then sense inputs from the world around us or from within ourselves and respond to those changes according to the program that we’ve downloaded and made a part of our selves. We can then train our brain by noticing the changes that are happening now and responding to those changes.

In the dance of shiva we create the changes that we observe by moving according to a set sequence of moves. The challenge is to do the moves correctly according to the algorithm but also to sense our body so that the parts of our body are also doing the movements as good as possible.

If we sense errors, we correct ourselves.

As I mentioned in my previous article, you don’t need to do the Dance of Shiva to practice this. If you understand that in anything you do the better you know what you are trying to do the better you can handle change while creating the change that you desire, then you can train your brain.

Doing the Dance of Shiva is simply a good way to practice this so that it is easier to apply in other aspects of your life. The nice thing about the dance of shiva (apart from the fact that it leaves you feeling energized or awake) is that you can practice it in fifteen minutes each day. You can also do it in five minute stints and all you need is room to swing your arms.

Sincerely

Neil Keleher