Dancing with the divine

I was watching a re-run of the finals of Strictly Come Dancing last night - not something I usually watch (I don't have a TV), but was intuitively pulled to watch it on this occasion on i-Player.And there was something profoundly moving - sublime, actually - about the way that finalists Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev were dancing together. The way that they mirrored each other gave the impression that they were one being. And the atmosphere that their dancing generated was palpable, such that much of the audience were moved to tears. Something that was revealing to me was the way the couple were crying even before they reached the stage - and after the final dance, they were both speechless. 'I feel like I have touched something divine dancing with Artem,' said Natalie. And you could see it.But even more palpable was the transformation that was taking place within Natalie herself. It was like something within the arduous 11-week schedule had brought about a profound awakening within her - and you can see this transformation in both the interviews that precede her last performances and the performances themselves. And for me it felt like an honour to be able to witness that awakening - and this transformation and the awakening that had happened for the couple themselves, touched me so deeply that I sobbed my way through the entire last dance.And though I had also found a cathedral service that I had attended earlier that day, (though not normally a church goer), quite touching, there was more of the 'holy spirit' in this episode of Strictly than there had been in that whole ceremony. In fact, to me the whole series, unbeknown to its creators, perhaps, appeared to be a factory for spiritual awakenings.How would I explain this? Well, for me, there's something powerfully transformative in doing the things we love - those things that 'set our soul on fire'. That's why I run Live Your Joy! classes, for instance! Opening the heart can be a very powerful thing - and that's one of the things that this series facilitates in people.But also, as I've often written in this blog, there's something truly magical that can happen when the balanced or 'divine' masculine and the balanced or 'divine' feminine energies meet within us. And from what I saw from watching the semi-final and final of this series, these couples were constantly being put into this space. When we truly and powerfully focus on something (the 'divine masculine' energy) with all of ourselves (ie, in this case, practising and perfecting our dance routine, over and over) and then combine this masculine focus, at the time of the actual performance, with the absolute 'surrender' of the divine feminine (ie, these couples were experiencing high levels of tension, fear, excitement and sheer terror, then walking on stage and 'giving it all they had got', ie, letting go into the moment, over and over again). And that, as I see it, is where the alchemy happened.What I saw in Natalie was that she truly let this process take place within her. And you can bet that in the perfection of that moment - when she was feeling that unfolding into all that was beautiful in her soul - that winning the trophy - no matter how glittery - was far from her mind. She had found the prize beyond all prizes, within herself - and between herself and another, her dance partner. Divine alchemy!And, for similar reasons, there's something about all these dancing and singing shows that are proliferating at the moment - not just here in the UK but worldwide - that is really helping catalyse the spiritual r-evolution that is taking place across the globe today. And that is, of course, part of what we're doing here at little white feather, too - we're creating a safe space where people can explore the divine alchemy that takes place when they start to open up to the truth of their authentic beings - sometimes through song, other times through dance and gentle movement and sometimes through deep one-to-one or group soul work (there often seems to be a different, and appropriate 'way in' for each one of us).Because the 'holy spirit' doesn't arrive on us from above (as the woman bishop after the service I mentioned earlier tried to tell me) - we access it, rather, when we truly open our hearts to life and experience it fully and allow ourselves to express and fulfill our authentic beings. And this was showcased perfectly for me in the most unlikely of places last night. Because the divine is not to be found in a church or some text that's been written 2000 years ago. The divine is to be found in our 'everyday chapels' - in any activity that helps open our hearts and has the power to profoundly move us. And that's why we can do far worse than worshipping at the chapel of Strictly! You can watch the video of Artem and Natalie's final performance here. Enjoy!