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Author Topic: The Spiral Dance - Exercises  (Read 3113 times)

gibligowa

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The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« on: October 07, 2014, 09:25:44 am »
Hi There,
I am very fresh beginner and am still finding my way. I already had Starhawk's 'The Spiral Dance' on my bookshelf by chance, so i thought it was worth starting there. However i have come across some group exercises (namely exercises 3 - 7) and am wondering if anyone has any advice for a solitary attempt at these exercise? Or, what value people would place on the exercises laid out in The Spiral Dance?
From looking over the forum I have come to understand that as a historical resource it may not be the best and I am therefore attempting to read it with a critical mind, taking it with a grain of salt. Any thoughts on this also?
Thanks,
Gibligowa

Jenett

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Re: The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2014, 11:43:27 am »
Quote from: gibligowa;161454
However i have come across some group exercises (namely exercises 3 - 7) and am wondering if anyone has any advice for a solitary attempt at these exercise? Or, what value people would place on the exercises laid out in The Spiral Dance?


On the exercises - can you give a sentence or two summary of them? (My copy of the book's currently packed in a box, and I'm sure people who don't have the book handy might also have suggestions on adapting exercises if they knew what they were.)

Quote

From looking over the forum I have come to understand that as a historical resource it may not be the best and I am therefore attempting to read it with a critical mind, taking it with a grain of salt. Any thoughts on this also?

 
First question here: which edition are you reading? The 20th anniversary edition has endnotes for each chapter that clarify Starhawk's changes in views and progression of history and so on.

That said, even the 20th anniversary edition was a while ago now, and there are things she doesn't comment on (for all sorts of quite reasonable reasons, like space and time and focus.) So it's also good to read thoughtfully, and to compare what you get there to other sources (more recent, more focused on a particular topic, etc.) as relevant.
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gibligowa

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Re: The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2014, 07:52:13 pm »
Quote from: Jenett;161475
On the exercises - can you give a sentence or two summary of them?


Hi, thanks for your reply.
Some summaries follow:
Ex. 3: Sensing Group Energy - requires you to breath deeply and become aware of the energy level in the group, and then to sit up straight and continue breathing and sense the energy changes in the group, it then asks you to join hands and feel the energy flow through the circle, and the to take a deep breath and feel it travel into the earth and then relax.
Ex. 4: Group Breath - asks the group to join hands and breath together until it feels as though the group is one organism
Ex. 5: The Tree of Life - is easily adaptable to the solitary as it is a grounding meditation for the visualisation of tree roots joining you with earth.
Ex. 6: Power Chant - is to begin with group breath (ex. 4) which then requires you to allow your breath to become a sound, developing a chant of energy among the group.
Ex. 7: Earthing Power - This is actually referred to as the grounding exercise - this is also easily adaptable to the solitary.
 
Quote from: Jenett;161475
First question here: which edition are you reading?

 
I have the 10th anniversary edition. Would you recommend getting the 20th anniversary one?

Thanks Again
:)

Jenett

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Re: The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2014, 09:30:40 pm »
Quote from: gibligowa;161561

Ex. 3: Sensing Group Energy - requires you to breath deeply and become aware of the energy level in the group, and then to sit up straight and continue breathing and sense the energy changes in the group, it then asks you to join hands and feel the energy flow through the circle, and the to take a deep breath and feel it travel into the earth and then relax.


Ok, obviously, this is not going to work as well without a group. You can explore being conscious of energy in a group setting in other places (like walking into a room in a public space, and making note of your immediate impressions, and then observing for a bit - something like a mall or a public library or if you're in school, a gathering area at the school can all work well.)

But it's also not hugely relevant without a group - it's a useful skill to be able to energetically read a room and respond, but if your ritual work is on your own, it's not an immediately essential one.

Quote
Ex. 4: Group Breath - asks the group to join hands and breath together until it feels as though the group is one organism


Same here, on 'not doable without others, but not directly relevant'.

Quote
Ex. 5: The Tree of Life - is easily adaptable to the solitary as it is a grounding meditation for the visualisation of tree roots joining you with earth.


I agree this is a feasible one on your own, though there's a bunch of other methods.

Quote
Ex. 6: Power Chant - is to begin with group breath (ex. 4) which then requires you to allow your breath to become a sound, developing a chant of energy among the group.


There are methods for doing something similar on your own, but again, you need a group for this one.

Quote
Ex. 7: Earthing Power - This is actually referred to as the grounding exercise - this is also easily adaptable to the solitary.

 
Yep.
 
Quote
I have the 10th anniversary edition. Would you recommend getting the 20th anniversary one?


That depends. What are your goals in reading the book? If you're looking at it for the exercises, I'd instead suggest _Twelve Wild Swans_ by Starhawk and Hilary Valentine, which I think does a better job both avoiding the problematic history and in giving lots of examples of how to adjust practices to solitary and group work of various kinds (while obviously having the Reclaiming background.

If you're looking to read the Spiral Dance for historical and cultural reasons, then yes, the 20th anniversary edition is probably better than the 10th.

(And if you're looking for a good intro book in general, I'd probably have different suggestions entirely, but it'd help to know what you're most interested in first.)
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Mountain Cat

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Re: The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2014, 12:38:33 am »
Quote from: gibligowa;161561
Hi, thanks for your reply.
Some summaries follow:
Ex. 3: Sensing Group Energy - requires you to breath deeply and become aware of the energy level in the group, and then to sit up straight and continue breathing and sense the energy changes in the group, it then asks you to join hands and feel the energy flow through the circle, and the to take a deep breath and feel it travel into the earth and then relax.

:)

 

I don't know how relevant you will find this, but I do this type of exercise with my cats. I just start out sensing their energy, feeling it and breathing. Quite often one will crawl into my lap, and I just go on sensing their energy and meditating. It's pretty nice.

Siannan13

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Re: The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« Reply #5 on: October 12, 2014, 05:53:32 am »
Quote from: gibligowa;161454
Hi There,
 am wondering if anyone has any advice for a solitary attempt at these exercise? Or, what value people would place on the exercises laid out in The Spiral Dance?


I find Strhawk's exercices great, and recommand them to anyone who wish to start a practice.
Just do what is written. Many exercices are fit for solitaries, also a few of them are to be done in a group.

gibligowa

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Re: The Spiral Dance - Exercises
« Reply #6 on: October 13, 2014, 04:43:25 am »
Quote from: Jenett;161665
Ok, obviously, this is not going to work as well without a group. You can explore being conscious of energy in a group setting in other places (like walking into a room in a public space, and making note of your immediate impressions, and then observing for a bit - something like a mall or a public library or if you're in school, a gathering area at the school can all work well.)

But it's also not hugely relevant without a group - it's a useful skill to be able to energetically read a room and respond, but if your ritual work is on your own, it's not an immediately essential one.

 
Thanks Jenett, that is very useful advice for me :)

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