Perichoresis

Perichoresis

The dance of life and love, perichoresis, is a form of prayer in which God speaks powerfully and gently. One does not necessarily have to be dancing in order to experience this spiritual concept of embodied prayer. At my 25th anniversary celebration, I led a "conga" dance at the reception. It was so much fun. The vitality, electricity, sheer beauty of joy on my friends' faces reminded me of my own experiences of perichoresis. Some years ago, Gary, one of my students, had described to me his connection with everyone in a private meditation. He did not know such an experience had a name. I told him it was a God-movement which does not happen frequently. In those rare moments, time stands still. It seems like an eternity. In fact, it lasts only a short while. In this dance, so to speak, a sense of unity, striving and searching comes to a completion. All those years of questioning and agonizing are answered simply. No one else fully understands what the person has gone through or is going through at that precise instant. One feels alone and is only able to listen with the ear of his/her heart. In my experience of the perichoresis, the Gentle Spirit, we call God, speaks loudly in silence. The ancient writers describe such as the height or depth of embodied prayer - the moment when your dance with God is absolute or seems so, and the divine dance of love fills you up.

   After this profound spiritual moment, Gary discovered he had to make a conscious decision in his life for family, church and God. For all who have experienced this gift, it means making concrete choices which will affect them forever. 

   Perichoresis is a divine connection with the world and God. That process is ongoing. We are, in effect, all learning, "to dance with God."    +Don Ronaldo.