Heart-centred
peace in motion.
Chant, movement and meditation from the world's spiritual traditions.
The Dances of Universal
Peace are based on Chanting. We just add simple, circle-dance movements
to the chanting and thus involve the whole body. It is a great experience to
sing and dance with others in harmony. Enjoy the spirit of community, dancing
in our circle.
The Dances - in some Sufi groups they are called Sufi dances - were created
by Samuel Lewis of California; he studied the main religions of the world.
Murshid Samuel L. Lewis (also known as 'Sufi Sam', 1896-1971) from California, was probably the world’s first Guru-Roshi-Murshid (in one person). He studied the main world religions in debth and created the Dances of Univeral Peace. In Sufi groups they are usually called Sufi dances.
Samuel Lewis was also recognised as a Sufi master by 8 different orders, was a Zen master (Roshi) and respected by Christians as a teacher of the Bible message. He also spent a long time in an Indian ashram studying Hinduism.
With the peace dances, in the 60's, he managed to bring drug-addicted people off their drugs, because they felt "high" after dancing with him. He was also a spiritual master well known for his sense of humour.
"The spiritual dance has no other purpose, no other aim than to elevate [hu]mankind beyond self-thought, to joy, to bliss, to realization and to peace ... the sincere dancer is one of the best workers for universal harmony, and so, for universal peace..."
(Samuel Lewis, founder of the Dances of Universal Peace)
The Dances were inspired by
Unlike in most spiritual traditions, the Dances include contact with others, and this helps to melt down the walls which surround and separate us from others (and ourselves). The Dances of Universal Peace help you to let go of your worries and they have an uplifting, opening and healing effect. They are taught throughout the world.
A Dance of Universal Peace in the big top
