Stomp Dance

From the very beginning of the course, I was excited about the stomp dance. But the excitement mostly came from my real curiosity about the practice, so I expected to connect to it on an intellectual level. So it was a real (and pleasant) surprise to find out that I actually connected to it in a religious and emotional way.

I was not raised in any particular religious tradition, so it’s a little bit difficult to explain to people what I actually believe. When I’m asked, I usually joke that I’m “religious but not spiritual,” since I don’t put a lot of stock into the existence of the supernatural, but I firmly believe there’s a kernel of real religious value in any religion. I just tend to think of religion as a feeling and as a way of relating to other people, rather than as a set of moral or theological beliefs or institutional practices.

The stomp dance, though, really stirred my religious core in a way that’s difficult to explain. I felt myself losing my individual consciousness and immersing myself into the group consciousness. I felt connected with the people around me, but also to people in general, and I’m not sure what part of the service did that to me. It might have been spiraling counterclockwise around the fire with friends and strangers. It might have been the experience of finding my mouth forming words I didn’t really understand. Or hell, it might even have been sitting in the shelter, smoking a cigarette, drinking black coffee, and listening to one of the grounds members tell me about the time a brown recluse bit him in the testicle. Whatever it was, it made me feel good and at peace. I guess that’s all I can say about it.