I have sustained a regular spiritual practice for many years now. Over time, my needs and aspirations for my morning and evening practice changed and sifted. As I grew and changed, so did my time of meditation. The whole cycle never stayed exactly the same for more than a few months. But a few things became important to me: my connection to the seven directions, a tarot card to inspire my meditation, and the silence of the Night Sky, who is my Goddess. Around those things, I built a long and complicated cycle of silence and prayer.

And then suddenly, sometime in February, I think, I started dancing. My morning practice shifted from a long written meditation to a seated prayer to this new thing: a morning dance. I take my shamanic rattles out into the garden and dance and chant whatever comes to me. I acknowledge the directions and the weather. I pray to Spirit. I dance out my feelings and my dreams. And it is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

The dance is a way to express myself through movement and sound that had been waiting to come in for some time. I have been told I should dance so many times in so many ways and never actually did it. Living in suburbia, there are a lot of reasons why I wouldn't want to go outside and make noises and look silly. But eventually I just gave in to the need to do so. I needed to find a way to work with my stuff, whether that is emotional upheaval, anxiety, or the messages of my dreams. And this way really works for me.

The dialogue with Spirit became even more powerful when I integrated this dance with my evening practice. The main aim for my evening practice is to identify with the Night Sky and 'just be' in her eternal silent dance. But after that I ask for some guidance from the tarot or any other divination deck I happen to be working with. I ask it a question relating to my journey through the Year. Last Moon I asked it: what is the seed of my maturity? It gave me VIII Strength. So I meditated on strength for a while. And when I went to bed, I asked my dreams to show me my strength.

I dreamt of a wise Native American elder, in the present day, who served his people by sitting with them in their community centre and chatting with them. He was the picture of quiet strength, and the answer to my question. I then took him to my morning dance and asked him to teach me. He showed me how his strength came from staying connected to his powers that came from all directions. So I danced with mine.

My dreams are not always that obviously connected to the question I ask. And most of the time I don't even remember my dreams. But then I can take the question to the dance, or just dance whatever comes up that morning. When I dance a difficulty, I allow it its expression and then ask my spirits to transform it. And they do.

This dialogue cycle is really powerful for me. It teaches and sustains me. It gives me an opportunity to work with the images that come out of my life and my dreams. It allows me to express emotions that I would otherwise push away, and then to transform and heal them. It is a beautiful thing.

I know you have many excuses why you can't possibly do this. You can't sing, you're afraid of what the neighbours will think, you haven't got the energy to dance, etc. Just do it anyway. It is so worth it. I can't sing or dance to save my life, but the spirits seem to be happy with my offering. The neighbours don't seem to mind, either. Because of this practice I feel connected to all things on the Web of Life, and filled with the power of the Universe. I don't need any other reason.