My body always danced. I couldn’t stop it. Everyone can dance, but not everyone is a dancer. You know you are a dancer if you can NOT keep your body still when you hear music. Something physical happens to you. Your cells absorb and merge with the music, a marriage happens. You accept it, let it in, welcome it…the music, your divine lover. It matters not the beat, the genre, the melody, you become one and you surrender to how the music wants to move you. It is intimate, it’s a prayer, and a meditation. 

I’ve studied many types of dance. They all have a different feeling and have their own music. My three favorites are ballet, salsa rueda and hula. 

Ballet – To my visual cortex a ballerina appears to be angelic, to take flight, to defy gravity. When dancing, it feels rigid and structured on your body, it is pure disciplined graceful strength. Your focus is up to the heavens. As a ballet dancer your strength will double, triple even, as you propel yourself into the air, then landing ever so softly. It is akin to a superpower. 

Salsa Rueda – Salsa rueda is a Cuban partner dance done in a circle. It feels earthy, sexy and communal. As you switch partners every few seconds you look into another set of eyes, touch new hands, and smile at a new face. The music is fun. Everyone has permagrin and you hear laughing throughout.  As a woman/follow I am led by the man/lead – he twirls me, catches me, moves me around like a play thing and I let him. He is in charge and taking care of me while we dance. I surrender to him. All I can say is this feels amazing. 

Hula – This is a sacred Hawaiian dance with song or chant. It tells a poetic story and it can also be for entertainment or sacred rite. When I dance hula I feel my heart crack open. Sometimes I even get teary eyed as it moves heavy emotions out of my body. Hula is done barefoot. You feel the Earth absorb everything and transmute all back into light. I float like a wave, literally syncing with the tempo and rhythms of Earth itself. You become the flow. You mimic mother ocean, the wind, the trees. It’s like you become a channel for all living things as you impart the message through your hands. 

If you are an expecting mama join me for my online prenatal yoga and dance class where we learn birth specific yoga and ancient dance movements that were used during birth to help ease babies into the world – this is the original form of childbirth education. I combine movements from brain dancing, ballet, hula, Egypt, Greece, and Persia. All of my students tell me this is their favorite prenatal class. You can now stream anytime.

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As an Anthropologist, I have an ongoing fascination with human behavior and I am especially interested in what makes humans happy, what makes us thrive and how can we continue to improve the human condition. I think one improvement would be to upgrade our education model for k-12 students. I want children to love school, I want them to have fun and learn skills that enable a bright future, full of opportunity. 

What would a different model look like?  Here is what I came up with for a k-12 curriculum. I call it Goal Oriented Applicable Learning. Let me explain. There is a main category with sub-categories that are all related to learning the main topic. When disciplines are interconnected it teaches the reality of our interconnectedness in life,  and Aristotle’s axiom “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, is achieved.  Applicable learning means this is a “hands on”method. Children will be creating and building, not just reading about the topic. Yes, there will be plenty of reading, writing and testing, but mostly lots of DOING. 

The following is an initial example. Here are the five categories: 

Gardening 

Biology

Botany

Topography

Meteorology

Art/Design/Permaculture

Harvesting

Culinary Arts

Canning/Drying 

Building a Home 

Math

Science –  Electrical/Plumbing/Solar

Engineering

Art/Design

Architecture

Carpentry & Woodwork

Landscaping 

Debate

Public Speaking

Logic

Philosophy

Politics

Law

Rhetoric

Grammar & Vocabulary

Writing

Editing

Film Production

Peaceful Conflict Resolution

Theatre

Acting

Storytelling/Playwriting

Singing

Dancing

Music

Public Speaking

Art/Design

Carpentry

Sewing

Film Production

Life Skills

Tolerance

Relationships

Conscious Communication

Nutrition

Finance

Computer Science

Foreign Language

Sports & Martial Arts

Etiquette

I’d love to hear if you have anything positive to add. 

Be sure to sign up for my occasional newsletter. There is always something for everyone in it. Many blessings to you, Zoe 

The post An Education Model For A Golden Age appeared first on Zoe Weston.

To fully assess the health of your space we will examine how every one of your senses is stimulated. We might talk about feelings, sensations, and energies.  

First we’ll discuss how your house smells and go on from there. Is it dark in your house during the day?  Are doorways and walkways blocked? How are the colors in your home making you feel? We’ll decide if the images in your home are aiding or hindering the vision you have for your life.

Not your average designer

I do design different. Beyond the design aspects I already mentioned, there is one more element I offer that is perhaps unique. I am a claustrophobic HSP (genetic trait of 20% of the population). This means I see and feel space differently than most, causing me to design in a way that creates the most spacious feeling. Every time one of my clients feels this change occur in their space I always see the same facial expression – it is the look of wonder and amazement. This is why I do what I do. They all tell me I have performed a miracle.   

I am now offering online consultations. You are going to walk me around your house or office and I’m going to tell you how to start your upgrade immediately. I’ll take notes while we go through the space, and send you the step by step plan. Are you ready to level up? Schedule your consultation here. 

Stay up to date on all of my offerings, there is always something for everyone, sign up for my occasional newsletter here.  

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I’ll be sharing the booklist in my occasional newsletter, focusing on one book each time. Be sure to sign up. There is always something for everyone in it. 

There is an enormous amount of research about how sounds and language affect us. You can learn to use language and sound to manipulate nearly every aspect of your life. Commanding and wielding sound is our birthright. Appreciate this innate power. You will also start to notice how the world at large, especially the media uses language and sounds to manipulate our thoughts and behavior. Once you know what to look for you will have the power to denounce another’s will upon you. 

I will share the first book on the list here. We always start with this book because it offers a very potent way to change your life through language. If there was just one book to study and master, this would be it. 

Conscious Language, by Robert Tennyson Stevens, gives you a step by step guide to reforming how you speak, in turn reforming how you think, in turn reforming your life. There is some religious language in it, so if this offends you, please skip this one. However, if you can tolerate or even love this aspect of the book you will be rewarded with a life changing skill.

Conscious Language

Please feel free to share any insight you receive, I’d love to hear it. Blessings , Zoe 

The post Power of the Word appeared first on Zoe Weston.

Btw – the book is very challenging to read, you must learn to accept another language into your psyche, a language completely made up by the author, he explains it as the story goes, but it is a sweet unfolding, not always direct definitions. The whole story, everything about it, pushes you to THINK, examine, analyze and surrender into a story being given to you. And when you come out on the other side of this book you feel like you accomplished something, and you did – you learned what it means to be human.

The post Why Thinkers Love Frank Herbert’s Dune appeared first on Zoe Weston.

In general I would say that the American people are unaware of their rights. I’m posting this so that you can refresh yourself and feel confident when discussing personal and national issues. Of course each state has its own laws, so look into those as well. Familiarize yourself with our Constitution, and all of its amendments. 

Did you know that in 1948 the United Nations wrote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These are meant to protect all of the people on Earth. Every time I read them, I wonder how many other people know that they exist, have read them and would like all of Earth’s people to live by these laws.

Teachers and parents, let’s make sure our children know their rights.  Thank you – Zoe

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