The Freedom of Fluidity

The First Aspect of Balanced Choreography

by Maryanne Nichols

We all hear about the virtues of living a balanced life. Mostly, it’s about having work-life balance, but it does assume an overall balanced life.

What does that really look like?

On our path, we view having balance in a few ways, one of which is Balanced Choreography.

Balanced Choreography is about how we align ourselves with energy, so that we maintain and gain energy in our daily lives, and to feel truly alive every day.

There are 5 aspects to gaining and maintaining a Balanced Choreography. Today I will focus on the first one, Emotional Fluidity.

In Shamanism everything is explained via a wheel. The Balanced Choreography wheel is above. As you can see, Emotional Fluidity is at the bottom of the wheel, or like a map, in the South of the wheel.

What is Emotional Fluidity? What does it mean and feel like? What happens when we aren’t emotionally fluid, and how can we return to that state if we momentarily lose it?

When we are emotionally fluid, we are open-hearted and give with that open-heart with tenderness, both to ourselves and to others. We are, in modern terms, vulnerable. And we are vulnerable because we’ve learned to trust our emotions and value them. It also means that we aren’t holding them back, or feeling victimized or overwhelmed, or reacting to someone else, or going emotionally out of control.

Our emotions are like water: water flows unless it’s held back. Like a dam where the doors are released, all that held-back water becomes a dangerous torrent. Meanwhile, we have lost touch with how we feel.

Have you ever thought of something that makes you sad, then turn it into a story that gets darker and more focused on the darkness in your mind, until that sadness turns into a spiralling overwhelm? I have. I can literally think my way into deep melancholy. I can end up feeling victimized as well as overwhelmed because I can see no way out.

Then there’s reacting and acting on that emotional reaction. That’s when we do something we later regret: we deliberately hurt someone else the way we imagine they hurt us. Even if it ends up being true - which is often not true - it ends in regret and a loss of our vital energy.

Finally, when our emotions are out of control. This happens when we catalyze our energy with our emotions rather than with our life force. What happens when we do that is that, instead of growing our energy, we deplete it.

The one way to become emotionally balanced once more is to catch ourselves when we are doing anything than being open-hearted and emotionally fluid. It might be easier to visualize by looking what it means to be emotionally fluid. This is when you allow whatever feelings you are experiencing to flow through you. When you allow that, the emotion will naturally ebb and flow, and eventually be replaced by another emotion. Emotions are natural, and if allowed to flow, will do so in a natural way.

This requires a commitment on your part to become vulnerable and show that vulnerability. Showing vulnerability may seem like you’re showing your soft underbelly, but in fact, it’s the best thing you can do to support yourself in tough situations. Being vulnerable means you aren’t wasting energy protecting your emotions, and that energy is now available to you physically, mentally, spiritually, and sexually.

Developing and maintaining emotional fluidity is the the path towards ecstasy and true spontaneity.

For Further Reading about Balanced Choreography

The Sacred Laws, Part 1, First Universal Law, The Balanced Choreography Wheel, page 7

Shamanic Wheels and Keys (The Green Manual), The Gifts of Being Human, page 32

39th Eagle Dance Ceremony Weekend

The Eagle Dance is our annual community celebration of life. As we dance to the Tree of Life, we renew our connection to Grandmother Earth and all her children, asking Spirit to guide our lives in the coming year. Our collective prayers contribute to healing the many challenges facing our planet at this time.The ceremony takes place on our ceremonial land outside Grand Rapids, in northwest Michigan. Tent and trailer camping sites are available. The Dance concludes with a catered feast. A complete Information packet, including specific supplies needed by each dancer, will be sent upon receipt of your registration. Eagle Dance is August 7-9, and the week prior is Vision Quest & Ceremony on August 1-7. Contact Debbie at Flowering Tree Lodge for more information and registration.

Summer Barn Party July 25 4pm- 10pm

Join us for the Fun! Kids, friends and dogs on leashes welcome! Bring a lawn chair, a dish to pass, a drum, dancing feet, and drink of choice. Burgers, dogs, buns and condiments will be provided. Camping is available and there will be a purification lodge the next day. Details

RSVP by July 18 to Val Blue Storm