Dancing with Delight
By: Lara Dustin Scriba
(4 min. read)
Recently, I’ve been diving into how I predictably access the essence of my being and the reproducible steps I can take that lead to an authentic yet expansive experience. Rituals that I’ve cultivated that allow me to move methodically yet mindfully from the surface layers of the body and mind to the more subtle, energetic layers of the heart and soul.
As someone who is empathic and highly sensitive, the world can feel very noisy and easily become overwhelming if I do not create rituals to manage the intensity of energy and emotions that run through me daily.
When I am with others, I can easily find myself immersed in their emotional experience rather than simply an empathetic observer. I must purposefully find space and time to extract from the noise so that I can drop into the practices that allow me to maintain a bit of a buffer or bubble to soften the intensity and maintain my autonomy rather than allow enmeshment. To focus solely on what is my own current experience and what I wish to create for myself, rather than becoming consumed by others’ emotions.
My innate desire to connect at a heart level, ability to tap into creative solutions, and cultivate meaningful relationships quickly dissipates into a desperate need to isolate, protect, and recharge if I’m not careful to protect my energy and skillfully manage others.
Just as I must consume and digest food daily to provide energy and nourishment for my body.
I must also provide opportunities to process the experiences and energy I encounter within and around me every day. A daily ritual to nurture the mind, heart, and soul.
Over the years, I’ve collected an eclectic mix of modalities that I work with daily, weaving them into a beautiful experience that enables access to a sense of ease, peace, potentiality, and clarity.
Rising early in the morning allows me to start the day slowly, in silence and stillness. Offering my mind a space to spill its grievances, honor the pain of heartbreak, embrace bliss, grace, or gratitude, and capture the messages that were delivered in my dreams the night before. Offering an opportunity to simply observe what is, while diligently documenting the messy reality of my present moment.
My mind and body to become more malleable, so I begin to move. Sorting and sifting through muddled thoughts and gently encouraging stiff joints, I slowly stretch, bend, and breathe as I begin shifting the narrative, softening aches and pains and releasing the old to make space for a new experience and new energy.
I then mindfully choose a deck of cards that match the energy of the day I wish to embrace and begin to shuffle. The physical act of shuffling seems to allow my mind to soften and the energy to flow as I set my intentions for the day, calling in the energy I need to guide me to the experience I wish to cultivate. I let the cards tell a story of potentiality and possibility if I were to embrace, embody, and experience life through this energetic expression. I drop into meditation and allow myself to play and immerse in the magic of my imagination.
Actually, won’t you play with me for a moment? Let’s dive in together and see what it would feel like to dance with delight.
Take a long, deep inhale, and softly and slowly exhale as you tap into your mind’s eye and let your imagination take hold.
What does a person immersed in the essence of delight choose to wear? Vibrant colors, monochromatic for simplicity, or a soft palette of natural hues? Do they adorn themselves with a single statement piece or find themselves layered in silky, fluid, or flowy clothing?
What music do they listen to? Cheerful, bright music or soulful slow ballots?
How would they walk? Lightly, playfully, as if they didn’t have a care in the world, or as if driven with determination?
How would a smile play across their face? Softly, knowingly, easefully?
How would they speak? Imagine the quality of your conversation.
Would they invite you to try something new? Encourage you to devour the dessert, to be still and notice the feeling of the soft breeze on your skin and the scent of newly blossomed flowers in the air, or follow that urge to dance on the beach during sunset?
Breathe here, become, believe, and embody
the essence of delight that you’ve envisioned in your mind’s eye.
Hold onto this energy and breathe life into it as you begin to move through your day and transmute this energy into an active expression of delight as you walk, talk, eat, dress, dance, sing, and connect with yourself and others today.
Tonight, reflect and notice. How did your experience shift in your own being, on your perception of your experiences throughout the day? How did it shift your connection with others, with the world, when you allowed yourself to embody the energy of delight?
I’d love to hear your reflections, so don’t be shy and reply!
What was your experience with delight?
What practices or rituals do you already have in place to protect and polish your energy?
