Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering

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Moffitt does this by penetrating the Buddha’s primary teaching—the Four Noble Truths—which is the basis for the book, and his ability to deconstruct and detail each of the Four Noble Truths feeds our capacity to become more mindful in our lives. Mindfulness is key, for it is mindfulness that enables us to respond rather than react. At the pinnacle of his success as chief executive and editor in chief of Esquire magazine, Phillip Moffitt walked away from it all—the glamour, the accolades, the punishing schedule—and chose instead to wake up each morning and breathe, to explore the mysteries he had always intuited. Read more Inspired by the mental health benefits of dance, a specific form of therapy called dance movement therapy emerged in the mid-1900s. It comes in many forms, but clients often use movement to observe patterns in themselves, act out challenges, and express emotion. Research suggests that dance movement therapy can help with depression, trauma, nervous breakdowns, chronic pain, and more. In this deeply spiritual book that is sure to become a Buddhist classic, Moffitt explores the twelve insights that underlie the Buddha’s core teaching–the Four Noble Truths–and uses these often neglected ideas to guide readers to a more meaningful relationship to suffering. Moffitt write: “These twelve insights teach you to dance with both the joy and pain, finding peace in a balanced mind and calm spirit. As the most specific, practical life instructions I have ever encountered, they serve as an invaluable tool for anyone who seeks a life filled with meaning and well-being.” Practicing these twelve insights, as Moffitt suggests, will help readers experience life’s difficulties without being filled with stress and anguish, and they will enhance their moments of happiness.

One of my patients walked into my office yesterday, sat down, let out a big sigh, and said, “I’ve been dancing with life all week!” Yes, he is reading your book and getting so much out of it.” More than a decade ago, two local government organizations in Lincolnshire, U.K., partnered to create a program called Dance4Life to promote community health and well-being. Ultimately, they set up over 30 dance classes that attracted nearly 2,000 people.

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Insights come only through reflection, and not belief. (Perhaps one of the biggest points in this book.) Three different dukkhas: physical/emotional pain, constant change, and life's complex compositional nature. I just want say how much we have appreciated your book on the Four Noble Truths. It is a wonderful commentary and explication of Ajahn Sumedho’s teaching and for several weeks we had our tea-time readings from it. Great job! I hope it is found to be useful to many people and that it receives the plaudits it deserves.” —Ajahn Amaro, Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery Dukkha, or unsatisfactoriness/suffering, is inevitable in our lives because we cannot control the arising of causes and conditions that surround us. However, we can choose how we choose to respond to dukkha, and how we respond is what Moffitt calls “dancing with life.” He reminds us that it is possible to respond to our suffering in a way whereby we are not defined by it; rather, suffering is simply part of our dance. Dancing with Life guides us in how to be a good dance partner, how to develop and hone our skills in this ongoing engagement that is life.

Even if you don’t do formal dance movement therapy, dancing seems to be good for depression and anxiety all by itself. In a 2012 study, nearly 100 people with depression were split into three groups who learned tango, practiced meditation, or were on a waitlist for six weeks. The classes met for 90 minutes a week. Based on surveys, both tango and meditation helped decrease people’s depression compared to the waitlist group, while tango reduced their stress, as well. Afterward, when researchers offered participants a voucher for tango or mindfulness classes, 97% of the participants chose the free dance lessons. Most Sunday evenings find Phillip Moffitt teaching the dharma in Corte Madera, California, in a sangha he formed ten years ago. Dharma for Moffitt is alive and practical, not theoretical or abstract, and he anchors the teachings in everyday life examples. The measure of your success is not how often you get what you want, but the skill with which you live every moment of your life. Moffitt (former editor in chief, Esquire; founder, Life Balance Inst.) describes emotional chaos as a reaction to negative life situations rather than an honest and clear response. He shows how a proactive response, using the skills of mindfulness and intention, can transform life’s challenges into opportunities for growth. Through Moffitt’s explanations, exercises, and assessments, readers can cultivate the practices of “skillful living,” e.g., learning to let go of expectations, ending the cycle of self-violence, and living life with gratitude. VERDICT: Moffitt includes case studies and psychological insights geared toward general readers. A helpful book for those who need a clear focus. If you are curious to explore these teachings with me, I will be leading several Nine Bodies retreats in the coming months.

Moffitt’s a skilled writer. There is no flowery language painting an abstract portrait of the secret to life. He writes cleanly and directly. However, he still thoroughly conveys his message. He strikes the perfect balance. Dancing is one of the activities offered to older adults at Adult Day Health Care in Fairfax County, Virginia ( Fairfax County / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

At its core, Emotional Chaos to Clarity is an honest and compassionate invitation (and offer of assistance) to discover a richer, deeper, more balanced life. This is an invitation well worth accepting. Building on a history of finding his way out of a meaningless, albeit successful, worldly life into a life of service, Phillip Moffitt has crafted a highly practical handbook for navigating the inevitable challenges that beset us. A marvelous tools to have handy when our better knowing is overwhelmed by those often mysterious interior storms, this book communicates a desperately needed feeling that we can indeed succeed in shaping lives of meaning.”

You have an inner life in which love can flourish, even if your outer life is filled with challenges. Each chapter includes a related self-assessment exercise, as well as a set of practices or meditations to help the reader cultivate clarity and live more skillfully. Moffitt also shares inspiring stories from some of his clients and students, relating their struggles, insights, and successes. Even under the best of circumstances, life is challenging, and much of the time it is difficult. It is always uncertain, constantly changing, and mostly out of your control. Whether it is taking you on a wonderful ride or stepping on your toes, life will move you with the rhythm and in the direction of its own unfolding, regardless of your best intentions. Life dances and you must dance with it. This is the necessary price and mysterious gift of being alive. III. Some students have difficulty distinguishing between the first and second or the second and third insights of the first two Noble Truths, so it might be helpful to have a group discussion in which the whole group verbalizes the differences. Dancing can be a way to connect not just with other dancers but with your culture and community. For example, dance is central to the cultural identity of indigenous tribes—and was banned at certain times in history alongside other indigenous cultural practices. Professor Sean Asiqłuq Topkok founded an Inupiaq dance group in Fairbanks, Alaska, to share his tribe’s traditions with young people, including values like humility, cooperation, and respect for nature.