Alan Watts, Dance and Acts of ‘Mind-less’ Passion

Bhagwan ek dancer hai.

Zindagi meri dance dance

Alan Watts has got me over the hump through some really bad times. Apart from his captivating appearance and soothing voice, his use of language and metaphors has often been a source of calmness for me. Delving deep into zen in most of his books and talks, I found this particular take on life interesting.

The universe, as Alan Watts describes it, is inherently playful—‘isn’t going anywhere’, choosing to delight in the richness of the present moment. Music, in its artistic form, serves as a mirror to this playfulness. ‘One doesn’t make the end of the composition the point of the composition.’ ‘One does not work a piano but plays a piano’. Its true essence lies in the dance of notes and melodies. The same with dance, Watts says, “You don’t aim at a particular spot in the room, that’s where you should arrive. The whole point of the dance is the dance.”

Nachne wallah kaun hai?

The one thing that I have learnt from having anxiety is that most of the time, it is anticipatory in nature. One gets this sense that things will ‘go’ wrong. Engaging with movement has been the closest thing to being in the moment. One of the few spaces where the mind isn’t racing to make judgments, inferences or predictions about the future.

Having watched dancers in ‘flow state’, I cannot but agree with whoever is the narrator in the video below, that once the dance starts, only the dance remains, and the dancer either disappears or dissolves into the dance, becoming one with complete attention.

Bhagwaan ek dancer hai.

Acts of ‘mind-less’ passion

While I have never experienced ‘flow state’ on the dance floor, I believe it isn’t the sole realm for achieving this state where one loses the sense of time and self-consciousness.

Ever kissed and felt as if time had stopped?

Sometimes (or often times if one is fortunate), a healthy session of snogging can transcend the boundaries of ego consciousness. Time halts, like a video buffering in the early 2000s. ‘Mind-less’ kissing is not unlike a dance. It unfolds with a beginning and an end, yet the destination isn’t paramount. A sensory symphony begins as one’s sense of self begins to fade. Even if temporarily, one is lost in the other, as boundaries blur.

The absence of a defined endpoint in the act of kissing contributes to a sense of freedom and spontaneity. Just as the lack of a rigid destination allows for the art of a dancer (or the universe) to unfold, the absence of a goal in kissing permits an unscripted exchange of intimacy.

Did you really expect a video here?

The point of encounters sometimes lies in the encounters themselves - if one is able to reject the fixation with goals, and find connection in the dance of existence—whether on a cosmic scale or in an intimate connection.

Aur tu abhi bhi nahin naach raha?