Find Your Big Magic

I recently finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic, and here's what I thought of it:

Absolutely wonderful inspirational advice.

If you are pursuing any kind of creative passion, at any kind of level, read this book. It's such a refreshing take on the creative process.

In short, Big Magic is the ideology of freeing artistic endeavors from labeling or valuing them by external quantifiers, such as money, fame, awards, recognition, status, and the like, and admonishes to instead purse creativity for creativity sake. For the joy that it brings. Let the ego go, and let the heart take over. Stop worrying about what others think and how they see your artistic expression, and allow yourself to fall in love with your personal passion all over again.

I know there have been times in my belly dance career where I definitely felt this way. I felt pressured to land a new restaurant gig, make a troupe audition cut, or win a competition. I was valuing my art and my enjoyment in it based on what other people thought, based on what external value was being assigned to it. And you know what? It was a sure fire way straight to a dead end for enjoying what I was doing. It was killing my art, my creativity, my soul, and my spark. 

Gilbert is also a big proponent of keeping your day job, so that you can take the pressure off your art form as a means of paying your bills. I completely agree with this. There was a time when I wanted to be a full-time artist, but not anymore. By letting my day job cover my expenses, I have the freedom to selectively choose which people and projects I want to work with, and which I don't. The projects that light me up get the green light, and the rest get left behind without causing any financial anxiety. 

Gilbert also introduces this incredibly cute, but also incredibly resonate idea that creative ideas are these sentient forms of energy, floating around in space, just waiting to find the right human being so that a magical collaboration can be entered into. What is the trick to catch one of these magic ideas? You have to be listening. You have to be open with your receiving antennae on and tuned into the creativity vortex. That's how you find your magic.

If you are feeling stale, stuck, bored, or uninspired by the things that used to bring you joy, this is the book for you. If you feel shot down by rejection, pride wounded by criticism, this is the book for you. If you just need more magic in your life, this is the book for you. I highly recommend that all artists and creatives add this to their reading list.

I will leave you with this powerful quote from the book. "I have learned to watch my heated emotions carefully, but I try not to take them too seriously, because I know that it's merely my ego that wants revenge, or to win the biggest prize. It is merely my ego that wants to start a Twitter war against a hater, or to sulk at an insult, or to quit in righteous indignation because I didn't get the outcome I wanted. At such times, I can always steady my life once more by returning to my soul. I ask it, "And what is it that you want, dear one?" The answer is always the same: "More wonder, please."

Yes, more wonder. Free yourself. Free your art. Embrace wonder.

Power to the She

If you were anything like me, you were glued to the TV during the recent London Olympics. Staying up late into the night to watch just one more match, one more race, one more fight to the finish. But what you may or may not have noticed while watching, was that these games were marked by breakthroughs from women athletes, proving that women are a force to be reckoned with.  Here are some highlights:

• Out of the 104 total medals won by the United States, 58 were taken home by women. That's right, more than half were won by women.
• Illustrating that you are never too old or too young, of the 539 athletes on the U.S. team, the oldest team member was 54-year-old equestrian Karen O'Connor, while the youngest was 15-year-old swimmer Katie Ledecky.  Katie won gold in the 800 meter freestyle, becoming the youngest women to ever do so.
• Saudi Arabia sent 800-meter runner Sarah Attar and judoist Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani to compete in the London games, thus marking the 2012 Olympics as the first time in history that every single country represented had at least one female athlete competing.
• Gabby Douglas became the first African-American to become the individual all-around champion.  She also became the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics.
• Tunisia's Habiba Ghribi became her country's first woman to win a medal in the games.
• Women boxers made history by being included in the games for the first time.
• Seventeen-year-old Sadaf Rahimi became the first female boxer to fight for Afghanistan in the summer games.  This is quite a feat, considering the prevalent violence against women in Afghanistan and given the fact that that under Taliban rule, women were not allowed to work or leave the house without a male escort from 1996 to 2001.  Rahimi’s accomplishment registers as a hopeful cultural milestone.
• And this list doesn't even begin to include all of the world records broken during the 2012 Olympics, which you can read all about here.

And because men aren't so bad either, I just have to mention the incredibly moving and inspiring performance by Oscar Pistorius of South Africa, nicknamed Bladerunner, who became the first double below the knee amputee to compete in the Olympics. Proof that you can overcome any obstacle.

Since the Olympics have ended, I have been continuing to tap into the strength, flexibility, speed, and determination exhibited by of all these amazing athletes, and have been using their example to fuel my own athletic and dance goals. I've been using the inspiration of gymnasts, like Chrystalleni Trikomit of Cyprus pictured above, to work on my flexibility. And I have signed up for the Athleta 5K race here in Seattle on September 9th.

So whether you are competing on an international stage or dancing around the stage of your living room, remember this: you are powerful.

I would be honored to hear how the London Olympics impacted you, and what dance or fitness goals you are currently working on.

Photo Credit: olympics.time.com

Belly Dance Inspiration via Video

One of the best ways to improve your technique, expand your dance vocabulary, and generally find inspiration for your next performance is to watch other dancers. That's why this post is going to be short on words and big on video. I've included four of my favorite belly dance performances from some of today's top dancers. Enjoy!

Maria - USA

Didem - Turkey

Ruby Beh - USA

Aziza - Canada

If you liked what you saw, follow along with me on Pinterest, as I continue posting more mesmerizing, beautiful, and inspiring performance videos.