The Dance: Moving to the Rhythms of Your True Self

Rating:
Summary: Poetic Insight
Review: In wonderful poetic language, this teaches us that you are you and the mere desire to be something that you aren't is the primary cause of unhappiness. Though you'll have to read it to understand since this review does not do justice to the fine qualities of this book, it is incredibly insightful and inspiring. Some of what the author says about consciousness and human nature in this book overlaps with some of the stuff in "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato, which, by the way, is another completely awesome book. Sato's excellent book is more theoretical and dense in psychological content. Mountain Dreamer's book discusses these things in a more beautiful and poetic way. I'd recommend both books highly though.

Rating:
Summary: If you accepted Oriah's "invitation," it is time to dance.
Review: It is difficult to imagine, but The Dance is even better than The Invitation. With her unique blend of beautiful language and down-to-earth wisdom, Oriah Mountain Dreamer takes us to the next logical, post-invitation step: action. "Don't just say 'yes' to my invitation," Oriah tells us, ". . . take my hand and dance with me." The Dance is about active spirituality, about putting our dance steps where our mouths are. And as with The Invitation, Oriah Mountain Dreamer leads us along this path by taking her turn at vulnerability first. She leads by example, and she is a beautiful, perfectly imperfect example of what humanity can be. The Dance offers fresh perspectives ("I believe that the big picture is somehow shaped by how we live the details, the little pictures that run through our lives."), and wise counsel ("If you need to be afraid, fear will come wherever you are, but you don't have to go out looking for it."), and it confronts the dangers of oversimplified, sugar-coated self-help recipes. ("Guaranteed outcomes and delineated steps may be warranted and useful for baking cookies and assembling bookshelves, but I find them less useful and potentially misleading when we are talking about finding meaning and creating happiness in our own lives and in the world.") As a psychotherapist, as an author, and as a human being, I have found a kindred, anti-namby-pamby spirit in Oriah Mountain Dreamer. Reading The Invitation is not a prerequisite for reading The Dance, but I can't think of a better way to spend your reading time than to read these two babies back to back. I said that it is difficult to imagine that The Dance is better than The Invitation, but you don't have to rely on imagination. Reading is believing.

Rating:
Summary: Touching the Soul by great authentic writing.
Review: This book does not pray on sentimental or depressed mindstates that so many books float on. Oriah is not only authentic and realistic, she also is very down-to-earth-spiritual. Along with that she definitively has great writing talents of which this book is an overt celebration. Great reading with the impact of a welcome shower to get you back on the essence of things, without having to leave every day life. Absolutely not a just-for-women-book; I just love this book. Thanks Oriah.

Rating:
Summary: Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude,,,
Review: This book, inspiring and deeply moving, speaks to your soul (your true self). Our task... "... is simply to become all who we are." "... is to live with all that is hard in our lives w/out being able to know why it happens and still find a way to fully choose life, every day." I highly recommend it to all my friends and those of you considering it.

Rating:
Summary: Poetic Insight
Review: This is an amazing book. The poem itself is fantastic - it just speaks to your inner most being, like a quiet friend asking you those life questions. Each chapter is introduced by a stanza in the poem and then the chapter itself is Oriah talking about her experiences with that particular question or idea. The writing style is simply wonderful, conversational, story style that just draws you in. I bought this book on a whim having only seen the poem once on a postcard and I thought it was nice. I had no idea how much the book and reading the stanzas in a slower way would touch me so much. I was reading along, la di da, thinking really nice book, lots of good "stuff" to ponder, la di da, and then I got to chapter "Hitting the Wall". The stanza that goes with this chapter reads like this: "I have heard enough warrior stories of heoric dancing, Tell me how you crumble when yoy hit the wall, the place where you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will. What carries you to the other side of that wall, to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?" I've only "hit the wall" once before in my life - not to say that everything has been easy but I've always been able to see the glass half full and get on with things...until this one time. When I read these lines in the book it just touched me so much and her own stories that she provides throughout this book - they're just so honest and frank. There's a lot to think about in here. I haven't read Invitation or her others yet but plan to check them out. I've given this book away s gifts I liked it so much. Definitely recommended to anyone just doing a little introspection, looking to live the dance.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant yet so straight forward
Review: This is an amazing book. The poem itself is fantastic - it just speaks to your inner most being, like a quiet friend asking you those life questions. Each chapter is introduced by a stanza in the poem and then the chapter itself is Oriah talking about her experiences with that particular question or idea. The writing style is simply wonderful, conversational, story style that just draws you in. I bought this book on a whim having only seen the poem once on a postcard and I thought it was nice. I had no idea how much the book and reading the stanzas in a slower way would touch me so much. I was reading along, la di da, thinking really nice book, lots of good "stuff" to ponder, la di da, and then I got to chapter "Hitting the Wall". The stanza that goes with this chapter reads like this: "I have heard enough warrior stories of heoric dancing, Tell me how you crumble when yoy hit the wall, the place where you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will. What carries you to the other side of that wall, to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?" I've only "hit the wall" once before in my life - not to say that everything has been easy but I've always been able to see the glass half full and get on with things...until this one time. When I read these lines in the book it just touched me so much and her own stories that she provides throughout this book - they're just so honest and frank. There's a lot to think about in here. I haven't read Invitation or her others yet but plan to check them out. I've given this book away s gifts I liked it so much. Definitely recommended to anyone just doing a little introspection, looking to live the dance.

Rating:
Summary: Take my hand and dance with me...
Review: This was a beautiful book and I will have to agree even better then the Invitation. However, you don't have to read the invitation first to enjoy this book but if you haven't read the Invitation then you would be missing something as it also is a wonderful book. " Take my hand and dance with me " This book will truly change you, your perspective and you just don't want to miss this one!