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dances of universal peace

Embodying Unity and Finding Community at DUP Camp Thailand 2022

December 28, 2022 by Luvian Iskandar

On December 12th – 14th, a group of us came together in the Dances of Universal Peace Camp Thailand 2022 at Gaia Ashram – a learning center and community for ecological lifestyle. This camp is the final event that concludes a series of DUP workshops in multiple countries in Asia and also the first regional camp with participants attending from different countries in Asia. We stayed together for a few days to immerse ourselves deeply in the practice of Dances of Universal Peace, connecting with ourselves, each other, and the universe.

Participants came from Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Maldives, Philippines, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Indonesia, USA, UK, Slovenia, Netherlands & Colombia

The diversity of the camp participants was striking. It was a privilege to be a part of this camp along with the presence of 30 people from 15 different countries in Asia and beyond. Each of us enriched the camp with unique culture, stories, and energy making the camp very colorful and interesting. We all engage in this collective dance exploration under the guidance of Arjun Calero from Colombia, our senior mentor of the Dances of Universal Peace, who has been traveling to India, Vietnam, Indonesia, The Maldives, and finally Thailand in the past 3 months to share the Dances of Universal Peace in Asia.

The two-day camp started with us getting to know each other, knowing each other’s names and where we come from. A lot of us knew each other already as we have been together participating in another preceding activity hosted by the center called Gaia Calling. However, there are some friends who came especially for the DUP Camp, so we warmly welcomed them to the group and made them feel at home. And from then, the dances began!

Over the course of two days, we had dance sessions in the morning, afternoon, and evening. By the end of the workshop, we have experienced more than 35 songs and dances from different wisdom traditions of the world including the teachings of indigenous tribes like the Mapuche people of South America and Zulu people of Africa, and various religions of the world including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and more.

In some of the sessions, we had specific themes such as Zikr night where we focused on songs from the Islamic tradition of the Middle East. We also had one session where a representative from the four countries Arjun visited to share the dances (India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Maldives) to lead one dance each. This session symbolically represents the seeds of DUP growing in Asia, as people who participated in the workshops in those countries have started to practice leading dances.

In between sessions we ate, sang, and did home chores together. This was also time for folks who need time to space out from the group to process the experiences that they have had. The space between sessions is just as valuable to us as the dance sessions themselves. It was where we got to talk with each other, exchange stories, and connect on a personal level.

The Dances of Universal Peace Camp provided us with a safe space to open up our hearts, let our sense of individuality dissolve, and learn to integrate ourselves to be a part of a larger entity and the universe. Through singing songs and body movement, we are invited to be in the present, concentrate and co-create beautiful life-affirming vibrations. All throughout the camp we bathe in the energy of love, forgiveness, peace, and the harmonic relationship between all beings.

By the end of the camp, we bonded deeply to the point that we really feel like we are a family that genuinely wishes each other to be well and live wholesome lives, ready to support each other in whichever way we can, whenever needed. It is powerful to be a part of and witness people representing different parts of Asia (and the bigger world) coming together, blending, and moving together in harmony. We each brought home this embodied realization that despite all differences we have between us, we share a common denominator – that we are all human and we are all interconnected with each other.

The camp was a really rich experience for all involved indeed. We’d like to express our deep gratitude to everyone who contributed to making this camp possible. We thank Arjun and the Beyond Initiative Project for the energy and resources they have poured in to share the Dances of Universal Peace in Asia; Gaia Ashram community for providing us with a beautiful, natural, and loving space that allows magical things to happen; and all participants for coming to Thailand and heartfully co-creating a safe and loving atmosphere throughout the camp.

May all beings be well and happy,

may all beings be free from strife.

May all beings return to love,

peace be with you forevermore…


The sense in deeper into the camp experience by looking at reflection pieces from participants:

Reflection of 2022 – Peace a reflection article by Joanne Chua

Filed Under: events, GENOA Inc. Tagged With: celebration, culture dimension, dance, dances of universal peace

Dances of Universal Peace in Vietnam and Indonesia

December 1, 2022 by Luvian Iskandar

We have wrapped up the journey to bring the Dances of Universal Peace to Vietnam and Indonesia for the first time!

Through singing and moving together with meaningful music and lyrics, participants were guided through many levels of emotions, and depths of consciousness together. Community healing happens as naturally as flowers bloom when everything is in sync.

This experience has probably been summed up as the name of this practice: Dances of Universal Peace. Peace, in an intimate way, is about connecting deeply with yourself, and in harmony with those around you.

The Dances in Vietnam

Within 2 weeks from Oct 29 to Nov 6, Three Workshops were held in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of nearly 100 young people from all over the country.

Ms. M – A participant in Hanoi shared that this was a magical and memorable experience for herself, like opening a new door to connect deeply with herself, seeing people around with tolerant eyes, and lots of love.

“Now I understand (not only in reasoning) what it is like to connect with myself and connect with everything through this song. I feel like I can love more”

T in HCM

After Arjun and Jessie left Vietnam, the team in Vietnam continues to maintain 2 practice hubs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Dances in Indonesia

In Indonesia, we held three workshops in Jakarta that happened over the course of three days from 18th-20th November. The dances were shared with around 40 new people.

Like in Vietnam, the dances are also very well received in Indonesia. After the workshop sessions, participants shared that they really enjoyed the dances, and how it help them connect with themselves and each other.

This is something I really need in my life. In my daily life, I spent a lot of time in front of my computer to do my work and get my entertainment. Meeting people, dancing and singing together like this makes me really happy

R, Jakarta

I appreciate how [the dances] makes me feel more connected and engaged with myself, other fellow human beings and my surroundings.. totally keeping the practice”

E, Jakarta

Acknowledgements

We are deeply moved with how the dances have touched people’s lives during the workshop. This experience is only possible through the collaboration of different people involved. Our sincere gratitude goes to:

🍂 Arjun and Jessie for coming to Asia to share and spread this practice in the spirit of gift for the community here.

🍂The organizers in Vietnam: Kin, Phuong, Ly as well as the team of volunteers in Hanoi, Saigon, and Hue for drawing a beautiful experience.

🍂 Thank you to the organizers in Indonesia: Friends from Rasasastra Community and Semesta’s Gallery: Elghandiva, Andra; and the team at Anindhaloka: Agung, Welin, Eileen, Cokorda Dewi, and Ariel for co-creating these workshops and prepared a wonderful atmosphere for the sessions.

Up next: Thailand

We will be having our final workshop series in Thailand. It will start with a introduction workshop in Chiang Mai on December 8th and followed with the two-day camp at Gaia Ashram from 12-14th. If you’re in Thailand around this time, be sure to join us!

Filed Under: events, GENOA Inc., updates Tagged With: celebration, culture dimension, dances of universal peace, spirituality

Joining the Dances of Universal Peace International Camp in Yalova, Turkey

September 27, 2022 by Luvian Iskandar

A few weeks ago, I had the wonderful chance to participate in the Dances of Universal Peace International Camp that was held in Yalova, Turkey. It was a 5-day camp where we did a lot of rounds of sacred dances, meditation, and workshops with participants coming from all over the world. And I’m thrilled to share that the dance is coming to Asia in the coming months.

All of the dance leaders, musicians and participants of the camp

The Dances of Universal Peace is a practice developed by Sufi teacher and Zen master Samuel L. Lewis. It is a transformational practice that invokes an embodied sense of unity, presence and compassion and touches the spiritual essence within ourselves through reciting sacred phrases, music and dance from various wisdom traditions of the world. This practice can be done by a group of people anywhere from five to hundreds, even thousands of people creating powerful resonance and harmonic vibration. You can learn more about the dances at dancesofuniversalpeace.org. 

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A post shared by Sound Therapy Center (@soundtherapycenter)

The whole experience of participating in the dances has been really heart-opening for me. In the beginning, we didn’t really know each other, we simply shared our presence without much connection. In a session, we did a number of dances one after another. And by the end of the first session, it felt to me that all of these people (there were a little more than a hundred of us) that I don’t know before are my brothers and sisters. We all come from different cultures and backgrounds (there were 27 countries represented from South America, North America, Europe, Central Asia, Middle East, and Asia), yet it was so easy for us to feel connected, and develop care and love with each other. As a result, talking and getting to know each other at a deep level during meals and between sessions became a very effortless process.

We were lucky to have very experienced dance leaders that have been doing this for decades – some even for 50 years! They guided us on how to utter sacred words (mantras or dzikrs), sing the melodies, and also the dance movements. After five to ten minutes of instructions, suddenly one hundred people are all dancing and chanting together in beautiful harmony. It is magical to see how I can move in rhythm and sing very firmly despite not having much experience dancing and singing. I think everyone regardless of their dancing or singing skills can easily in these dances.

Listening to the instructions from the dance leader

The focal point of the dances is participation rather than performance. It is totally okay to make mistakes and forget the sequence from time to time as the most important aspect of it is how much involvement and devotion we give when chanting and dancing. I tried to give my utmost involvement during the dances and invoke as much devotion as I can within myself. As the sessions go by, I felt that my heart opened up like the petals of a flower in the morning. Opening up to receive as much light from the sun and fully express the beauty within, not being worried about anything that’s coming – the breeze of the wind or the rain. Living in contemporary modern society, I feel the need to shut myself and numb myself from the pain that arises from witnessing all the things that don’t feel right like people taking advantage of others, wasting resources, violence, slaughtering of animals, deforestation, pollution, etc. I’m grateful that through practice that is done collectively in a safe atmosphere, I learned how to open up my heart and put aside the protection when I feel it’s safe to do so. It is an inner skill that I think will be vital for my growth as a person.

The Dances are coming to Asia!

Having experienced the effect of the dances myself, I am really thrilled that GENOA is collaborating with DUP International to hold several workshops in Asia and have more connections with the dances. It is a beautiful and powerful collective tool to build connection, community, and awareness. Something that perhaps the ecovillage movement in Asia could really find fitting. I also think that this can be something easy to overlook as from the outside it looks like we’re just a group of people dancing, not doing anything tangible for the world. But I believe the transformation that is happening within each person through the dances will find diverse and beautiful ways to tangibly manifest in the future. I can already feel this possibility within myself. 

We invite you to experience this wonderful tool of unity with us. Please feel free to extend this invitation to your friends and family that might be interested to come along. You can see the dates below. More info will be announced soon, so please stay tuned to our social media channels.

See the Event Page and Fill out the Interest Form

Remember, anyone regardless of age, gender, race, religion, belief, dance, and singing skills can participate in this practice. Let’s build connections and recharge each other with energies of compassion, unity, and harmony. See you all there!

We came together beaconing unity, love, peace, and harmony

About the Author

Luvian Iskandar, Communications Coordinator at GENOA

Luvian has just completed his studies when he joined GENOA as communications coordinator. As he became aware of the social and environmental degradation in the world, he resonated with the holistic approach within the ecovillage movement in regenerating social and environmental systems. He chose to study the early development stage of ecovillages for his master’s program, thinking that he might be involved in such a project in his home country, Indonesia, in the future. He feels that building bridges across divides is one of the most relevant works today as we need an understanding of unity to overcome the global issues we are facing as humanity. He hopes to contribute to such a cause through his role in GENOA.

Filed Under: articles, arts, partners Tagged With: community, community building, Culture, dances of universal peace, paradigm shift, turkey

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