#4 How to feed the soul and live a more creative life....DANCE

On those days you need extra motivation to make it to the gym, skip your appointment with the treadmill or elliptical and put on your dancing shoes.  New research shows that men and women who use dance to exercise have a more positive body image than those who don't.  Marika Tiggemann, Ph.D., author of a study published in the journal Sex Roles, says that dancing focus on health, movement and enjoyment rather than on losin weight.  "Do things to have fun," Tiggemann says.  Its not about how your body looks, It's about how you feel.  Alexandra Engler  Self Magazine 2/2015

New research on the brain has shown that we have a joy center that has the capacity to grow if we focus on building more joy into our lives, especially in the context of community.  We were created to get through the harshness of life with the help and company of community.

Brain science is helping us understand how six emotion centers are hardwired into the brain, creating a ring around a relational connection of a joy center.  Joy is in the center but is not hardwired in.  It must be developed in relationship and this is evidence that we are made in the IMAGE OF GOD.   The Father, Son and Holy Spirit have lived in relationship from eternity.  The neuronal pathways back to relational joy are formed in relationship.  A primary task of childhood/parenting is developing the neuronal pathways back to relational connection JOY from each of the six emotions.  Securely attached relationship augments capacity to handle pain, to suffer well, to handle stress, to meet challenges, to do relationships well, etc.  Community augments capacity.  If any of these areas are missing due to the absence of strong healthy childhood relationships, Jesus is the best at augmenting capacity to face old, unresolved trauma.  www.kclehman.com  www.carepkg.org also, "Joy Bonds" by E. James Wilder, www.deeperwalkinternational.org and "Attachments-Life's connections" by Chris Coursey, www.thrivetoday.org

God knows how we are wired and what builds our joy capacity especially in community.  One way is dancing.  The Bible speaks of many times dancing expressed and experienced joy in community.

"Praise His name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.  For the Lord delights in His people; Psalm 149:3,4

After crossing the Red Sea, Miriam, Aaron and Moses' sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced.  Exodus 15:20

Focusing on our joy center and how we can build up more capacity of joy, only helps us handle the stresses of life.  Dancing is one way to feed the soul joy.