Dancing Down the Moon

Yet Another Reader Summons

I have decided that, for the sake of my sanity (what precious little remains), I am going on official sabbatical from writing and teaching for the rest of 2008. 

I could go on for pages about the reasons and the intended results, but to give you the short-short version:  I need to take some time for internal work without worrying about external obligations and self-inflicted pressures.  It's not fair to any potential students or readers of any new book I might produce to attempt to teach while I myself am a roiling ball of nerves, contradictions, anxiety, conflict, confusion, and selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors.  It's also not fair to myself to stay so focused on the outward world that I neglect and allow to fall into ruin my inner world. 

The good news for my intrepid readers here in the blogosphere is that I intend to keep writing for Dancing Down the Moon during my sabbatical.  I do desire, and need, an outlet for my creativity and my spiritual adventures, both dark and light.  So you're not quite rid of me.  Let the bells ring out.

The problem is, the same creative lassitude that has worn away at my book projects has also made it difficult to find inspiration for blog entries.  Once I think of something interesting to say, I have a good time doing so, but it's that initial spark that I'm lacking here at DDtM.  And so, once again, I turn to my readers, who have been patient and inquisitive enough to supply me with Seed Posts and Seldom-Asked Questions in the past (and therefore kept this blog afloat while its author was bobbing about in the dark but extremely boring Sea of Ennui). 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to give me ideas for things to blog about.  What sort of things would you like to read about on a Pagan blog?  What have you always wished I'd talk about more, or at all?  Are there any stories you'd like to hear from me?  What subjects or ideas have been neglected by Pagan and spiritual writers, either online or in books, that you think could use some exploration? 

I may use your idea, I may not.  It may not be a subject I have any interest in, or may be something so beyond my realm of experience that I would have to do mountains of research just to half-ass a reply.  It may serve as a springboard into something completely different.  I do however appreciate any and all responses.  Hopefully they'll serve as blogfodder for at least a few weeks as I wrestle my life back into some semblance of order and find my way through this strange and unfamiliar terrain. 

Or I may just start posting nothing but pictures of my cat.  Who knows?

(Okay, I won't do that.  The post I did about Cosmo was probably the only one of its kind--he's not a terribly photogenic kitty, as he only knows two poses:  sleeping on the furniture and licking his butt.  His would be the most boring yoga class ever.)

Ecstatic Dance for Women - Thursday, Feb. 21 @ 7pm

Come dance with me!  I'll be the DJ Goddess for this week's session.  Come enjoy the freedom of movement in a nonjudgmental, totally liberated environment with other like-minded dancers from all walks of life. 

This week's mix will include everything from electronica to Enya to Madonna to Sting and a handful of Seal.  The session is $10 at the door, or one punch off a NiaSpace class card.  We dance from about 7pm till 8:30 every Thursday night.

Join us!  Bring your beautiful self and a bottle of water and come prepared to sweat your way to spirit!

More info (and directions to the space) is available at the NiaSpace website.

If you come be sure and introduce yourself to the curvy woman with the snake tattoo.  *grin*

Come Dance With Me!

I will be the guest DJ at Inner Rhythms: Ecstatic Dance for Women next Thursday, January 24 at 7pm.

The class is held at NiaSpace on South Congress here in Austin, and it's $10 (or you can use a NiaSpace class card). Trust me, it's worth every penny--more fun than a movie and better for you than dinner out.   Directions and a map can be found on the NiaSpace website.

Ecstatic Dance for Women is a nonverbal practice inviting you to move in whatever way feeds your spirit and frees your body, in an atmosphere of nonjudgment and total freedom.  There are no steps or routines; it's just you, the music, and a roomful of other tranced-out women in every shape, size, range of physical ability, and level of experience. 

EDW is a barefoot practice done in loose, comfortable clothing that allows for free movement.  The music is eclectic, ranging from tribal drums to pop/rock to techno to Tibetan singing bowls, so there's sure to be something you'll groove to!

Come dance with us in the beautiful NiaSpace studio! 

(I'll post a reminder next Wednesday.  Be there or be square.)

Event Plug - Ecstatic Dance for Women

If you live in the Austin area and are interested in trying out ecstatic dance in a nonjudgmental, freeform setting, NiaSpace's Donna Starnes is leading a new weekly "class" called Ecstatic Dance for Women.  It's held in the large, lovely NiaSpace studio every Thursday night from 7-8:30, $10 per session.

I attended the first session, and it was awesome.  The music ranged from Gabrielle Roth to the Doors, and the women were able to move however we wanted to move, in a comfortable setting with plenty of room to get our ecstasy on. 

If you're interested in finding out more, check out the website for details.  I'd love to see you there!

A Quick Word About Linkage

Just to simplify things for everyone:

As it says on the copyright notice, posts on DDtM may not be reproduced without my permission, although if you quote me briefly and give credit I'm not going to hunt you down like a dog or anything. 

On the other hand, you're more than welcome to post links to my work (individual articles or the whole site) any old where you like.  You don't have to ask about that.  You are, after all, providing free advertising for me.  I certainly have appreciated people who have asked first, but links are absolutely no problem and I'd hate for you to sit around waiting for me to reply when I'm so dreadful at doing so in a timely fashion. 

I've said before, repeatedly, that I am a terrible correspondent--if you email me, please don't be offended that it takes me forever and sixteen years to get back to you. 

Also, if you email me with a philosophical or spiritual question don't be surprised if I make a post out of it--obviously I won't say "So-and-so is having problems with her husband and kids, and that led her to wonder..." but if you get me to thinking and I feel like other people might be interested, chances are it'll show up here in some form, if for no other reason than I hate sending really long rambling emails.  Why do that when I can make really long rambling blog posts?

Lastly, to make up for the lack of substance in this particular post, here's a random photograph of me talking to a manatee at the Dallas World Aquarium last year, taken by my coven sister S1ren.

We now return to your regularly scheduled update.

FYI for LiveJournal Feed-Readers

I realized with the whole Case of the Disappearing Post thing that quite a few people read Dancing Down the Moon via the LiveJournal feed.  I think it's up to 100 subscribers, yay!

What you should realize, however, is that LiveJournal does not notify me when people leave comments on the feed.  If you comment there I have no way of knowing you did unless I go look, which I never remember to do, because I have the short-term memory of Dory from Finding Nemo.  By the time I think to check the feed it's usually been a while since the original post was made.  As in, weeks.

So if you want me to read your comment, I'd recommend posting it here at DDtM.  Otherwise your kind words, questions, and quibbles are floating off in the terrifying angst-mosphere of LiveJournal.

Thinking Blogger Award!

My stars and garters...I've been nominated for a Thinking Blogger Award by not one but two fellow bloggers, Sara at Pagan Godspell and Inanna of At the End of Desire.  Such wonderful (and thoughtful) company to be in!

Now it's my turn to nominate five blogs that make me think.  I don't want to make this purely incestuous and repeat the same folks who've been tagged all over the Pagan blogosphere, but the above two blogs definitely qualify for this list, as do many of the others they themselves tagged.  I tried to think of five that hadn't already been named over and over again.

1 - Breathless Noon by Amber Simmons - My friend and former teaching partner writes eloquently about philosophy, religion, design, and writing.  I love that I never know what topic she'll be discussing, but it's always engrossing and thought-provoking.

2 - Deus Ex Malcontent - At first glance, Chez's writing comes off as brilliant (and hilarious) but overwhelmingly cynical; the more you read, however, the more you realize there's a good heart beneath the snark, and a spark of hope that even working for network television hasn't killed.  Even when I violently disagree with his opinions, they always make me think.

3 - The House Next Door - A group blog dedicated to film and television.  You wouldn't think an entertainment site could be labeled as "thoughtful," but the reviewers are devoted to their subjects, and reading their thoughts on everything from Star Wars to Lost has led me to relate to even popular cinema as an art form.  I've come to appreciate television in a new way, too--although Joss Whedon was the one who got me to think of TV from an artistic perspective after I watched the director's commentary on Buffy and Firefly episodes. (If Joss had a blog of his own, I'd be on it like a tight shirt on a sweaty farmhand.)

4 - Food for Thought by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau - Musings on animals, vegetarianism, nonviolence, and health.  Colleen is one of the few genuinely compassionate, kind, and completely un-self-righteous vegans out there, and her example inspires me to be a better person.

5 - I Blame the Patriarchy - fellow Austinite Twisty's radical feminist blog is not for the faint of heart, but if you're looking for a devastatingly intelligent critique of patriarchal society, it's the place to be.  I tend to only read IBTP sporadically, because there's only so outraged I can get before my brain explodes, but every time I go back to it I'm blown away by the way Twisty calls into question the most basic assumptions of our culture.  (Not to mention she takes great photographs of local insects and public restrooms.)

If you’ve been tagged, here’s how you play:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think;

2. Link to this post at The Thinking Blog so that people can find the exact origin of the meme;

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’.

News in Brief

I'm working on the first part of a new series of posts, but I got halfway through it and realized it was crap, so I don't have a post of any real substance for you today. My apologies.

In other news:

First, I've added a Suggestion Box on the left-hand sidebar. If there's a particular topic on your mind you'd like to read about, or if you have a question for me that I can answer here, click the link to email me with your suggestions. I can't promise I'll answer them all, but I'll try.

Questions regarding my underpants may be ignored. Or not.

Second, for those who don't keep up with my other site, I finally settled on March 21 as a start date for the first series of EarthDance classes. If you live in the Austin area and are interested in learning Wicca, Sylvan-style, you can find more information here.

Quick Note on Donations

If you enjoy what you read here on Dancing Down the Moon and have the means, please consider donating a dollar or two. All donations go straight into my TypePad account; any surplus then goes to Dotster, where I have my domain name and web hosting.

Obviously I'm not in this for money, nor do I expect my audience to support me, but costs do add up and contrary to popular belief, published authors do not make megabucks unless they end up on Oprah, which in my case is unlikely (unless she decides to take up Wicca, and dear gods I hope not). Any and all contributions are welcome.

(And you'll sleep better knowing your hard-earned dollars are keeping Dancing Down the Moon online rather than, say, funding my all-consuming addictions to crystal meth and Thai prostitutes.)

Again, thank you so much if you donate, and don't worry about it if you can't (or don't want to). I certainly appreciate the help but I know full well how much fun it is to be broke.

Lord help me...

...I now have a MySpace page. 

I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with it, but feel free to add me, if you're so inclined.