In Biodanza there are 3 myths, together with the archetype of Christ that provide the fundamental, inspirational essence for Biodanza.
Demeter and the Mysteries of Eleusis
Eleusis can be found fourteen miles northwest of Athens, Greece and is home to the myths of Demeter and Persephone known as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The mysteries included secret rituals observed regularly from c.1600 BCE - 392 CE which were so important to the ancient Greeks that the road from Athens to Eleusis (known as The Sacred Way) was the only road that existed in all of central Greece.
Demeter and the Mysteries of Eleusis remind and connect us to the sacred nature of humans and our innate connection to the natural world. They invite us to return to our primordial origins, where all things are known, not from education standpoint but rather from a movement and knowing within us. Here there is no separation, simply connection to all of life as a sacred movement.
“Because of those sacred and faithful promises given in the mysteries...we hold it firmly for an undoubted truth that our soul is incorruptible and immortal. Let us behave ourselves accordingly.”
Dionysus
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semel and is the Greek god of wine, merriment and theatre. Dionysus reminds us of the unity of humanity with nature and the world we inhabit, as well as the joy of being alive including the connection to pleasure, ecstasy, sensuality and spontaneity. The energy of Dionysus invites us to connect to our deep instinctive human potential through the movement of Dance.
Orpheus
Orpheus is a figure from ancient Greek mythology with the power of music, sacred writing of poetry and song. Orpheus was capable of inducing a deep transformation of the human spirit. Legend tells us that when his music was heard by animal, tree or mineral there would be a natural movement occur and all would dance. He is said to have been able to connect us to the music of the Sphere’s.
Christ
Christ represents the sweetest of love for the neighbour and oneself, as well as reminding us to have profound respect for each human life and to be humble, merciful and compassionate. Christ energy is committed to truth and trust. This is the heritage of Christ.
The Biodanza system contains the legacy of the wisdom and primordial intuition of ancient peoples that has been lost over many lifetimes. When we give ourselves the time to re-connect to this ancient wisdom, we are able to unlock ourselves from our cultural conditioning and bring into our life an expanded consciousness where aspects of ourselves that are currently obscured from our vision become visible, understood and loved.
According to the definition in the ‘Theoretical Model of Rolando Toro Araneda’ (Concepción, Chile, 1924- Santiago, Chile, 2010), “Biodanza is a system that encompasses human integration, organic renewal, affective re-education and a new learning of life’s original functions. Its methodology consists of inducing integrating living experiences through music, singing, movement and group meeting situations” (2002, Toro) Source
In Biodanza, Rolando Toro has identified the mystery of ‘the periodic renewal of the world’, in the process of permanent existential renewal of the human being. This happens when parts of a person (old habits of the past, sources of suffering and conflict) metaphorically ‘die’ and the person is ‘ born again’ in a renewed body, healthier and happier than before.
And this is what our workshop Embodied Archetypes on the 24 August 2019 is all about. We will take an archetypal journey where we may experience the death of the old-abandoning what may be our sources of conflict and then allowing ourselves to be born again into the spirit of who we are as Divine Co-creators.
Each new beginning will start with one single step and we can begin the shift together towards an experience of heaven here on earth.