Dogma | Paradigm |
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, as well as the positions of a philosopher or of a philosophical school. It may also be found in political belief-systems. (Wikipedia) | A paradigm is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitutes legitimate contributions to a field e.g. in science and philosophy. Paradigm requires the capacity to discuss ideas and to reach a consensus. |
1. The Creator
The dogma that Rolando Toro “created” the Biodanza system. Rolando is often described as the “creator” of biodanza, a term generally used for God, the Creator, the One with the power to create things out of nothing. As a consequence of this belief Rolando Toro´s word becomes sacred. The reality is that Rolando Toro was inspired by many people. For example, by Claudio Naranjo who worked at the University of Chile Medical School's Centre of Medical Anthropology Studies and was the director of the Institute of Applied Psychology where Rolando Toro worked. Many of the ideas found in biodanza came from elsewhere, so it would be more correct to say that it is the result of a collective endeavour. |
2. The Way, The Truth and the Life
The dogma of the salvation is the belief in biodanza as the Ars Magna, as the best thing that exists, as the very best of all processes, as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. This self-referential attitude is not healthy and needs to be replaced by the convergence paradigm. From its very start biodanza has been, and continues to be, nourished by many other biocentric systems. |
3. The Cult of Happiness
The dogma of happiness is the belief that biodanza only works with positive and pleasurable emotions, that we have to be perfectly happy, and that there is no place for any negative feelings in biodanza because that would ruin the feel-good vibe. The reality is that we live in a world where there is injustice and suffering. It is not abnormal for people to feel sad. We need to move toward an integration paradigm where all emotions are legitimate. Sadness is not pathologic; to not feel sad when a loved one dies is. Motor integration is not enough. We also need affective-motor integration, that is, to align feelings and actions. |
4. THE PERFECT MOVEMENT
The dogma of “correct” movement is the belief in the "right" way to move. For example, the generative postures. The inspiration for these came from Laban and Etienne Decroux, a French actor known for his passion for corporeal mime, and for using the body as the primary means of expression. Rolando Toro integrated this into biodanza. However, inviting people to do the postures in a very meticulous and precise way might stop them from going into the vivencia. |
5. Orthodoxy
The dogma of orthodoxy. This is the belief in an authorized theory, doctrine, or practice. The adherence to righteous creeds occurs especially in religion. But it also exists in biodanza, e.g. “Rolando said..." Rolando said many things to many people who have interpreted them in different ways. Who is to say which interpretation is the correct one? |
6. We Don´t Speak
The dogma that biodanza is non-verbal. This is simply not the case. For example, in biodanza the sharing of vivencia is an essential part of the process of becoming aware of what is happening. Without the spoken word there is no sharing of vivencia. There is no history either. Authentic heartfelt speech is important in biodanza, in the groups and also between facilitators. |
7. Free your animal instincts
8. ONE UNITED MOVEMENT & one unique programme
The dogma that there is only one umbrella body overseeing and regulating the biodanza schools and the biodanza worldwide movement. Again, this is simply not the case. There is more than one training organisation and there are also several independent schools. In addition, some have stopped using the biodanza brand and are continuing under a different brand. Why is this not widely known? Who benefits from this dogma? |
The Biodanza Church
How do we start a church? We form a set of unmovable dogmas. We give ourselves the responsibility for our chosen principles and also grandiose titles to go along with it. We create a hierarchical chain for those who are faithful to the dogmatic structure and give ourselves the task of correcting those whose practice does not follow the orthodoxy. We do this by implementing a never-ending training process to ensure the production of a clergy of clones who will never challenge the religious-like pyramidal structure, i.e. the Creator, his family and progeny and the priestly caste. What this creates is a process of identification between a person and a system. Consequently, any questioning of the system becomes a threat to the identity (especially of the inheritors of the genetic right to rule and of those who have been given the authorisation to profess the message of the Creator). |
Food for Thought
- Are we, facilitators, selling happiness and love for those who want to consume it?