Dancing has been an important component of many religious rituals. Repetitive rhythmical movement was thought essential to build up to the moment of ecstatic union with the deity. Dancing is a gesture of the whole body which can ally the body with the soul. It is one of the most powerful forms of spiritual or magical ritual. It is a dynamic tool for awakening and stirring the subtle forces and energies of life. True sacred dance is a means of focusing and directing consiousness through physical behavior. It is an outer expression of the inner spirit. Ancient worshipers of the Goddess attributed the initial creation of the universe to her magic dance over the Waters of Chaos, or the Great Deep (Hebrew Tehom).
With rhythmic movements she organized the as-yet-unformed elements, making orderly patters that the Greeks called diakosmos, the "Goddess's Ordering. She is still found even in the Bible, as the spirit that "moved" on the face of the Deep before God spoke the universe into being. The four-armed Shiva is worshipped as a world-sustaining deity whose cosmic dance (nataraj) expresses the symbolic movements of the universe and the rhythms of ongoing existence.
In the Gnostic gospel Acts of John, even Jesus danced and said to his disciples, "To the Universe belongs the dancer. He who does not dance does not know what happens." Early Christian churches carried on liturgical dancing in imitation of all their pagan contemporaries; but a wave of asceticism about the sixth or seventh century outlawed ecclasiastical dancing on the ground that it was too sensual and too much enjoyed by women. Though dance is not regularly practiced in modern Christianity, the bible says (Psalm 150, v 4) to "Praise him with the timbrel and dance." The ab was one of the Egyptian's seven souls that was supposed to come directly from the mother's heart, in the form of holy lunar blood that descended into her womb to take the shape of her child. The hieroglyphic sign for this eminently matriarchal idea was a dancing figure, representing the inner dance of life perceived in the heartbeat. As long as the dance continues, life goes on. ------------------------------------------
Ultimately, any attempt to describe the rave spirit must come from what people actually experience at raves. These testimonials remind us that raving can only be truly understood through direct participation. PLUR stands for Peace, Love, Unity and Respect. These four ideals are often touted as the elements that make raves more positive and life affirming than other kinds of parties or club scenes. At the heart of a true rave there's the pulse of something intangible; a positive unifying groove, a extraordinary feeling, a Vibe that transcends description. Anyone who has ever been involved with the rave community knows how easy it is to become philisophical and idealistic about what it all means.
For some, raving points towards a positive vision for the future of humankind. DJs are like shamans forging musical paths to other realms. Science and technology give us the tools. Technoshamanism explores the synergy between the mystical and the physical. Whether you believe that raving is a spiritual revolution that is going to change the world or just a chance to dance to some great music, the one thing we can all agree on is that raving is FUN!
Though raving is a spontaneous of the moment activity, the ability to completely let go of our mental and emotional constraints often depends on an underlying sense of security and safety. Everything is interconnected; love and respect involves being aware, and taking care of ourselves and each other. Raving is now a part of our culture and history. The things we do at raves are not new or totally unique. Nor do raves happen in complete isolation from other existing cultural forces.
Raves are like Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZs) - separate, selfgoverning events that take place between the cracks of society's fabric. But sometimes the rave community is forced to deal with the politics of a world in turmoil.
Dance, when you're broken up.
Dance, if you've torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you're perfectly free. _-_-_- by Rumi
Instant connections......... Throughout my University years I have used many soft drugs such as cannabis and mushrooms. Each had its benefits and its drawbacks and I considered myself a pretty well-informed drug user. The crowd I hung out with were generally pot heads and drinkers, usually both. However, something changed this past summer. I was sick of the constant drinking at the small town pub where I go to University and the local bars in the city where I spend my summers. I was sick of the laziness and my growing weight which I attributed to constant pot and alcohol use. I had a friend come in from out of town one week early in July and we decided to go to an all night club with other University aquaintances. Most of them had tried E before and they asked me if I wanted to do it. Despite the bad reports I had heard in the media I figured that I would try it at least once. Well, what a great decision that was because I had one of the best times of my life. Since then I have begun to feel an instant connection to other people on E. When I'm in a bar all I have to do is look at a person to know they are on E. After my summer of raving in the city I returned to my small-town University expecting the same usual mix of alcohol and pot. Much to my surprise the raver culture has arrived in this small town and all of a sudden I'm seeing a lot more water bottles in the hands of people that used to always have a beer bottle. The music is slowly changing from rock a roll to the music of the raver world. The changes I've seen in people who have done E and the differences between users and non-users is pretty dramatic. Users seem more in touch with the world and generally seem to be better communicators. People who used to be drunk messes have suddenly reduced alcohol use, dramatically in some cases, and become much cooler and easy to talk too. In my case, I'm a lot more into the music scene then I was before, and I don't drink very often at all although I still smoke a fair amount of weed. I'm also much healthier and more physically active. It has also diminished many of my inhibitions when speaking and interacting with people. All in all my E experience has been a positive one. I would advise anybody doing E for the first time to go with someone who knows what you are about to experience and who can keep you in a good state of mind. I've seen a lot of people hurt themselves because they were first timers and lacked any real education about the drug. The misinformation about E in the media is frightening and the ignorance out there is pretty bad. I give kudos to the designers of this page for informing people about the drug.
A formerly unenlightened soul in the USA
I consciously made a decision to try E after having read about it for nearly two years. My ex-husband dated a psychologist from Irvine Medical Center who was working with the drug. He told me about his experiences with it. I was intrigued and very open to the experience. I never took it with him, because it was difficult to find. When I was able to locate it, I was lucky enough to get the real article. My lover and I took it together and we experienced such a total one-ness that our relationship grew incredibly. We had known one another as friends for over ten years and we had only become lovers four months prior. We are still together three years later and our relationship is the best we've ever experienced. I really believe that the experience of E is a large part of the reason we have such a close relationship. Believe me, I understand it can cause one to believe in fairy tales, but as two mature adults, we found that the experience allowed us to put our egos aside and really look at one another as spirits. We have a profound love and desire to protect and cherish each other's souls. We understand who we really are and we both know that we will never do anything to hurt one another. The E really allowed us to connect with that small part of us that is God. I think my relationship is based on a spiritual connection. We have both been married twice before and while we loved each of our spouses, we know that we never had the connection with them that we have with each other. The E was important in bringing that connection to mind. We both knew, once it hit, that we were in a relationship which would be different from anything we experienced before. We were actually able to finish each other's thoughts. We almost didn't speak for about a half of an hour, or at least we only began sentences and the other finished them. . . it was truly amazing.
38 year old American woman
LITTLE PILL WHITE AND ROUND,
GULP OF WATER, TURBO DOWN!
ANXIETY NOW, CAN'T STAND OR SIT,
JUST WAIT, DON'T WORRY, IT WILL HIT!
IN HALF-AN-HOUR YOU RISE INSIDE,
EVERYONE LOVES, NO HATE TO HIDE.
EVERYTHING'S GOOD, THERE IS NO WRONG,
IF THE WHOLE WORLD SWALLOWED IT,
EVERYONE WOULD GET ALONG...
WORLD PEACE I HAVE A VISION,
CANNOT BE OBTAINED THROUGH RELIGION;
BUT CAN BE RESOLVED CHEMICALLY.
THERE'S KIND OF GOD CALLED XTC!
Radical Raves Reclaim and Liberate Space in Many Dimensions .-
Like the punk explosion, ten years earlier, techno's initial blast of creativity and excitement was hastily sandbagged by commerce and hype. But thrown up in the rubble are some anti-authoritarian gems of freedom. The inyourface politics of punk rebellion put a circle on millions of badges and graffiti walls. People not only bought the symbol, they also read and thought about it. The power and anger of punk's NO! was a reactive first step. But a culture of dissent and alternatives needs positive energy to fuel its further development. Where was YES? Techno's seismic shift cracked the conservative mono-cultural concrete, bringing back the sunlight to the age old spores of freedom. Well-mulched ideas from the fifties beatniks and sixties hippies have provided rich compost for ever resilient strains of under culture. New genes, old flairs. With each generation of dn@ becoming wiser and more hardy. Aimless anger and itchy agit energy has mutated into the liberation of spaces in which to nurture resistance. It's a refusal to be subjected to what the beer barons and mainstream culture cabal dole out as entertainment. When a festive gathering is created by and for those attending it, empowerment is generated. The do it yourself/ourself (DIY/DIO) spirit brings out people's subversive strength motivating a move beyond passive consumption. Just as the festive headspace is reclaimed from the profiteers of the spectacle, underculture raves are quite often held in reclaimed physical spaces; commons, parks, squats. Community groups are denied access to "legal" rave venues by huge rents. These colosseums for mass distraction are controlled by the emperors of the spectacle. Squatted spaces like the one used for the Visions of Freedom rave give local activist groups vital fun(d) and awareness raising opportunities. Check out Hakim Bey's book TAZ, for more on the temporary autonomous zones these events can create. Electronic music with its highly energised rhythmic pulses brings life to a dancefloor. The combined wiggling of bodies lets the revellers feel and see their kinaesthetic unity. The friendly party energy created helps find common bonds across diversities of cultural sub genres, sexuality, class and race.
One world consciousness in part generated by monomassmedia can also be used to build bridges of resistance and common struggle. Collectives and travelling circus groups are organising events globally that bring people together to dance and be free. From Europe to India, Thailand, the Americas and here in Australia people have emitted various forms of repetitive rhythms in clubs, warehouses, forests, beaches and fields. This has created social change, bringing new expressions to the face of club culture, and a new fluoro glow to the summer music festival-happening. Festivals have re-emerged with self organised groups and individuals gathering autonomously. Human interaction working in an anarchic way without the need for a hierarchical law enforcement or an external power dictating conformity. The community itself fills the space that hierarchical structures have colonised. This is not without its problems. Oppressive group control mechanisms can easily be inherited. Within the increased freedom to express individuality (through personal dress, etc.) the community can apply peer pressure to be visibly individual or freaky. A good critique can be found in Hip Culture. The music itself is often criticised for being faceless by it's detractors. But do we need popcult lure leaders? At an inclusive rave everyone's a star. Attention is focused more on the whole gathering of people...and the sounds. Music is the massage. Pulsing freakquencies swirl about the revellers Power is diffused. Prioritising participation over performance, dance music moves the mind to the body. The limited vocal content allows the listener to develop their own free ideas whilst in a TAZ safe space. Self conscious dance styles have given way to faceless people going off to the mind-body rhythms. See Techno: Psycho Social Tumult for a more in depth exploration of these issues. Trance formation of linear time scales is also an important part of the radical rave project. Dancing in the endless metronumbic beat is a liberation from the tyranny of human imposed chronologic. Allowing a simultaneous experience of milliseconds and hours. Eventually the suns slow rays bring the night to a close and the dancers feel the wheels of the universe turning. Many rave festivals are held at the special times of full moon, solstice and equinox.
This is a conscious attempt to return dance celebration to natural cycles of the moon and sun. Cultural and tec know logical shifts have opened up dance music to polymorphous cross fertilisation. When people stopped dancing and fell down laughing at a mix of techno and the Skippy theme tune it wasn't because they didn't like it. The human mind loves well-crafted contradictory sensory stimulation. Unifying diversity, DJ's freely mix tracks from a broad selection. The only limits to their stylistic border crossing are dexter rity and imagination. The cut and paste mentality of techno musicians is partly due to their use of the sound sampler. This type of instrument gives the ability to easily record and replay small samples of sound in flexible and fluxable ways. Sounds themselves can now be liberated. A lively bleep once held prisoner by an oppressive track is free to dance to a different beat. Evil lyrics of consumption, fear and greed can be detourned and mutated into statements of joyful resistance. The techno/rave underculture is far from all positive, it displays as much variety as the rest of society. Many parties are purely commercial, failing to create the magical safe space that a mutually energised event creates. So to keep the spirit of undercultural resistance alive and composting as always the answer is DIY! 1 Hip Culture (1970) Times Change Press 1023 6th Av., NY, NY. 10018 USA. 2 T.A.Z. The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism by Hakim Bey. Autonomedia, 1991. 3 Techno: Psycho Social Tumult by TechNET. BM Jed, London WC1N 3XX. jed@pHreak.intermedia.co.uk This article was written by john & pete '95/6
"Dancing In The Moonlight" (Top Loader)
We get it on most every night
when that moon is big and bright
its a supernatural delight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
everybody here is out of sight
they dont bark and they dont bite
they keep things loose they keep it tight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
dancing in the moonlight
everybody is feeling warm and bright
its such a fine and natural sight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
we like our fun and we never fight
you cant dance and stay uptight
its a supernatural delight
everybody was dancing in the moonlight
dancing in the moonlight
everybody is feeling warm and bright
its such a fine and natural sight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
we get in on most every night
and when that moon is big and bright
its a supernatural delight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
dancing in the moonlight
everybodys feeling warm and bright
its such a fine and natural sight
everybodys dancing in the moonlight
Online connections; information is exchanged, a loose community evolves. Technology fosters communication: Interacting on the internet helps bring us together.
As we open our minds and transcend our limits, we can explore LiNks to things beyond the rave where new ideas and information await our discovery...
Some cool experiences with MDMA available here...
Second MDMA experience....
crunch , versace (b) , euro , love (b) ...
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