Eat, Dance & Pray Together!

I was in love with the Dances of Universal Peace! In 1990 I called out to the universe "who will make a documentary about the Dances of Universal Peace?" The echo came back to me "you will!"

I had trained at UCLA as a film composer but had no ambition to be a film producer. I studied the art of film making for several years in Seattle and had the great good fortune to receive a lot of support from a production company in Northgate. It took a lot of years to produce Eat, Dance & Pray Together but in 1996 we had the premiere of this 77 minute film. Basically it traces the history of the Dances from 1910 to 1996. In 1910 Pir-O-Murshid Hazrat Inayat Khan brought the message of Universal Sufism from India to the Western world, and as part of his transmission he taught about the Unity of Religious Ideals. His student Murshid Samuel L. Lewis embodied the message of his teacher and brought the teachings to life through a simple folk art form of dancing to the world's sacred phrases. Great bliss and joy arise when people harmonize their souls, in a circle, dedicated to the well being of all. My life was touched and changed by the Dances of Universal Peace and as a gift back to my teachers, I made this film. There is a lot of content. There are a lot of countries represented. There are many teachings and we see real footage of the 3 main ancestors of the Dances, Hazrat inayat Khan, Murshid Samuel L. Lewis and Ruth St. Denis the modern dance pioneer. You can even hear Miss Ruth reciting her amazing poetry on the very entry of this brief introduction.

Please enjoy. Please celebrate diversity and the capacity for the human heart to grow and change, to let go and love again even when it has felt tremendous pain. Murshid S.A.M. said "Dance for the Glory of God and the elevation of humanity!" I intend to do just that!

Copies of the full DVD "Eat, Dance & Pray Together" may be purchased here: http://www.traveling-light.net/emporium-DUP.shtml

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Dances of Universal Peace
• Ruth St. Denis
• Hazrat Inayat Khan
• Murshid Samuel L. Lewis
• folk dance
• spirituality
• Sufism

[RunAMuckGirl2]

Oh I am so glad you did this video! Thank you.

[MaabudZ]

Alhamdulillah!

[elaineehanson]

Well, made me cry with joy, once again. I love the dances--seeing them in such diverse settings was such an affirmation. I've known of the dances' travels, but to see and hear them was almost as good as being there. Thank-you for this film!