When I studied expressive arts with Lucia Capacchione, one of the modalities we used was dancing, drawing and sculpting to the 5 Rhythms of Gabrielle Roth. These rhythms are Flowing Staccato Chaos Lyrical Stillness®
Lucia always likened the full flow of the 5 Rhythms to the process of creativity.
Flowing is when an idea comes to you and you feel pulled in its direction. For me, in my art practice, this is when a particular theme or shape or substrate captures my interest and attention. It might be something I see online or in a thrift shop. Or it might be something that’s been lying around in my studio for months that suddenly speaks to me with “work on me right now!” urgency. I’ll start to think about color and texture and materials with an eye toward what I want the piece to become.
That’s when Staccato hits and all the implications and possibilities come flooding in. I go to my shelves and start pulling out containers of materials that just might work. I begin to pick and choose from all that I’ve gathered over the years, narrowing it down by size and material and color. This is in for sure. That, maybe not. Oooh – but maybe that other box holds the treasure I seek!
And suddenly, I’m in Chaos. My working table is piled high with boxes and jars of tesserae. I’m like a dragon sitting on its hoard of gold. So. Much. STUFF. How will I ever make order out of this mess? I barely have room to work surrounded by all the containers I’ve pulled out. And yet, if I sit myself down in the midst of the Chaos and start to lay things out on my substrate, something begins to happen.
Chaos shifts into a beautiful Lyrical flow. A more workable selection of tess emerges and centers itself, while other pieces get pushed back. Some of the boxes get put away. Everything begins to fit together and find its place. The story the piece wants to tell begins to emerge. I move out of thinking and planning mode, and enter a state of partnership as the piece itself guides its own creation.
And then there’s that moment when the last bit of tess is set in place, and the piece is complete. There’s a physical Stillness that comes as the work of creating comes to a close. And there’s an inner Stillness that accompanies the outer. It’s like the cool down at the end of a workout, the exhale at the end of a deep breath. A sense of complete release. Followed by the quiet contemplation of what has been birthed through the process of creativity.
In dancing and creating to these rhythms over and over again in the years since I first studied them, the cycle has become ingrained. I recognize the flow of this cycle, not just in my creative work, but in the world around me. How the seasons dance through them. How relationships contain them. How our world currently seems to be stuck in its own season of Chaos.
There are two key points about the 5 Rhythms that, I think, can help us through these challenging and often frightening times: one, Chaos always precedes creation; and two, embodied Stillness is always just a breath away.
Here’s what I mean.
Chaos, while uncomfortable by nature, is not a bad thing. It is actually a necessary step in the process of creation. It is the very thing that tips us over into that beautiful Lyrical stage where everything gets clear and begins to fall together as if by magic. We can’t get there without going through Chaos first.
Collectively, we have all been feeling that something must change for quite some time. That was the Flowing stage reaching out to us with a vision of the new and better world that is possible. We’ve been drawn forward by that idea without really knowing where it’s taking us. We’ve experienced the Staccato of picking and choosing: values, ideologies, parties, sides.
And, because we are human, we don’t always agree. We have many voices that descend, like in the story of the Tower of Babel, into Chaos. Everything’s in flux. Widespread corruption is exposed. Those in power struggle to hold on. Tribalism is rampant and loud. Battles are fought. People are hurt. It sucks. It’s Chaos. But it is not the end of the story.
A world in Chaos isn’t broken; it’s in the midst of birthing something new. Just as any childbirth is messy and painful, so too is the world’s rebirth. Chaos is the tunnel we need to move through before a new and better world can emerge.
But Chaos, as we are living it collectively, is not a single moment. It’s a season. And seasons can be long. The question is not only how we get through the long slog of it, but how we remain whole, grounded, and human along the way.
That’s where Stillness comes in. Something I discovered as I experience and experimented with the 5 Rhythms over the years is how, if you move through Stillness regularly enough, you can learn to carry it with you through all the other rhythms. Even Chaos.
But Stillness is a muscle that needs to be built, exercised, strengthened. So how do we build that muscle? Through meditation, through walks in nature, through dancing, and singing, and creating. Through the gift of one deep breath at a time.
We must practice those things that bring us to a place of Stillness until we carry it deeply and permanently in our hearts. How does a mother get through childbirth? Yes, there are drugs, and epidural blocks, but a mother gets through childbirth from a place of inner Stillness and strength, and her unwavering longing and love for the child she is birthing.
We must do the same as we move through this stage of Chaos in the world. We must learn to hold the vision of the world we want, while we practice carrying Stillness with us through this long prelude of Chaos. Even when the trolls are yelling on social media, take a deep breath and feel your way into your own inner Stillness. Even when the news is bombarding you with horror after horror, breathe your way back into Stillness. Even when decisions are being made that go against every value you hold dear and it feels like there’s nothing you can do about it. Breathe. Meditate. Walk. Dance. Create.
Bring the Stillness that lives within you into every response you take into the world. Hold your vision for the new and better world that’s ready to emerge. Keep that vision centered in your heart, where Stillness lives. It will take you a long way through the Chaos.
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Photo: “Chaos in the Studio”, Claire Perkins
Art: “Transcending the Storm”, Digital Collage created on Polyvore by the Artful Alchemist.