This was quite an amazing camp: we had participants from Australia, Belgium, England, Estonia Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. One week before the camp began, when I was riding on my bike, I thought about it - and suddenly I felt moved to tears. I realised, that I had tapped into a strong energy field. The latvian holding group had done intensive preparations on the inner level for that to happen...

It seems difficult to put feelings into words. Here are some highlights for me:

The hospitality of the local dancers in Riga, who arranged private meetings before and after the camp for the visitors from abroad.

The butterfly, which decided to sit for 10 minutes on Siljes hand while she was playing gitar to a dance invoking the Shekina. A fox strolling past our pow wow. Then a snake appeared in the middle of the marquee. It seemed that we had created an atmosphere of love, which attracted the animals to come, reminding us on St Francis.

Dancing on the beach - amazing, what a drum, a clarinette and some dancers can create...

Drumming to the dance "Flying Bird" - I never thought that would be possible.

The torrential rains, which flooded Riga 80 KM away and spared our camp out completely.

The harmonious way the dances were led and the co-operation among dance leaders and musicians.

The farewell session with many Ya Fatah's, hugs - and Latvian cheese cake!

The moment when the elements broke loose two hours after we had taken down the big marquee - perfect timing!

I was in such a different world, that I even missed my flight home!

The camp has been extraordinary in several ways, and despite the desastrous economic situation in Latvia and the collapse of Oneness funding they managed to make a tiny profit for next year's camp.
The Latvian organisers are currently looking for a mosquito free venue for next year. I really like to recommend to attend the Dancing Heart Camp! The increased carbon footprint of the journey to Latvia will be compensated by the big heart imprint.

The web site of the Latvian Dances of Universal Peace Network is dup-lv.webs.com

Ralph Nimmann, Cambridge - www.rainbow-cambridge.org.uk/dances

           

Dancing Hearts by the Amber Sea Shore
A personal response to the DUP camp in Latvia, July 2009 - by Matthew Heyse-Moore
1st published in the UK Network for the Dances of Universal Peace Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2009

Matthew at the amber shore during the Dancing Heart Camp 2009

From the beginning it felt like a homecoming. The aliveness of the place spoke to me strongly.
The pine forest was humming day and night, ripe with sounds and smells, cuckoos and blueberries. Nearby on the Baltic shore where we had afternoon movement practice we had the chance to experience the elemental power of sea and stone. To dance in all these surroundings was special: the land seemed to absorb with gratitude our songs and steps. It felt like a place of great light. The combination of long daylight hours and the light generated by the dances made it hard to sleep, but the whole experience was so deeply nourishing that I forgot my tiredness. Mosquitos at times felt unbearable, yet during Om Mani Peme Hung they seemed only to be dancing gracefully with us. There were moments during sweet hugs when the biting didn't seem to matter any more.

Finding words for what happened on the camp is like evoking the scent of an exquisite flower. Above all I felt the presence of love like never before, permeating every aspect of the gathering. What a privilege to be a part of this process! Eating dancing and praying together we were sending out ripples of remembrance that seemed to raise the vibration of the entire land. There was a real sense of attunement among us: dance leaders and the holding team brought both attention to detail and humility which allowed space for Spirit to finish the work. How wonderful to witness and experience the softening, the opening of hearts, glimpses of what it might mean to create Heaven on Earth! We had been longing for this for so long. Many of us had surmounted many obstacles to be here. Perhaps it was the strength of this Ishq which really helped to bring us to such a deep space of oneness. Ishq Allah Mahboud lillah.

I will never forget these moments. Coming back from such a peak experience, it feels like it will take some time to understand and integrate what happened. It often seems such a challenge to keep that love alive and glowing within daily life, the next key stage of the journey. But though we have now dispersed across continents, it is a comfort to me in times of forgetfulness to remember those dancing hearts in the meadow, knowing that the connexion is always there, growing ever stronger as the wider web of love and light continues to illuminate the Earth ever brighter. Om Mani Peme Hung.

Matthew Heyse-Moore, Bristol, England

           

Letter from Rowan Parkes (England) after the DANCING HEART CAMP 2009

Dear Dancing Heart Family,
This is small note to thank you from the bottom of an open lotus heart now filled with gentle Latvian sunshine. How kind you have been, how generous, how joyful! Vitalija, you and your beautiful girls worked so hard to keep us all open-hearted and uplifted, Iveta – you have been such a good Mother to us, and Rimma you have taken such tender care of my dear friend. Magical dances have been gifted to us; Maori wisdom from Prem & Sally, elemental connections from Musallam, transporting Zikr from Silje and so many more. There are many more of you to be thanked and I do not even know all of your names, but you know who you are when I say.

I have watched you blossom into joyful smiling angels and shared beautiful stardust with you. I hope you will always remember in your hearts that it has been an honour for me to dance with you to hold you and to love you. In your shining eyes and loving hearts I have seen God!

There is a poem by Hafiz that says:
God and I are like two fat people in a thin boat. We keep bumping into each other and laughing.
I hope to bump into you and laugh again some day!
With love & blessings from me and Linda,
Rowan.