Manifest Your Secret Self: 9 Lessons from Dance to Rediscover, Reconnect, and Rebalance into Your Happy, Authentic Self

By Weiyi Zhou

Happiness is something we all want, but we don’t always have. You have that job, that partner, that car, but still feel empty. Have you wondered that what you have does not reflect who you are? What’s the missing piece that gives you that spark in life and makes you excited every single day to live a life of purpose?

Chinese philosophy talks about the way and the flow of life; to have, you must become. The flow is found in the dancer, the dancer’s persona, the energy that captivates your attention with their presence and radiates joy as soon as they step on stage.
To become someone who truly dances in life, we must become dancers.
The nine lessons in this book will let you face your shadows and find your essence that was forgotten. Through dance, you will discover what it really means to live an ecstatic life and to embrace your gifts and purpose in life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Nov 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781665594202

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2021 Weiyi Zhou. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/08/2021

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9421-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-9420-2 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to everyone that wants to bring the best out of themselves. Reconnecting to their true being whilst experiencing immersive feelings of joy and create ecstatic connections, all the time.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 Everything Starts with You

Chapter 2 Building a Solid Foundation

Chapter 3 The Great Reset

Chapter 4 Balance

Chapter 5 The Power of Observation

Chapter 6 Practice or Pivot

Chapter 7 Learning to Forgive

Chapter 8 Ecstatic Connection

Chapter 9 I Am All of Me

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My deep gratitude goes out to all my teachers and fellow dancers who taught me about happiness, being my authentic self, and what it means to be truly dancing.

This book is also inspired by my mother, a tai-chi Master who taught me about chi (energy), kindness, and a mindset of continuous evolution. The most important lesson of all was her belief in me and my capabilities.

PREFACE

Through dance, I discovered what it meant to feel true bliss and to live a fulfilling life. My teachers and my inspirations taught me what it meant to be in the present and create unforgettable moments with yourself and the people around you.

The magic that is shown on the dance floor was created internally and manifested externally. Recreating the feeling of being in complete happiness outside of the dance floor was my mission, and I discovered this through my dance journey.

I was born in The Hague, a city in the Netherlands. My parents are the first generation from China, and I was brought up with the Chinese traditions and mentality.

In my culture, we put a lot of value on working hard, achieving a lot in your career, and building your own family. Status is so important in our culture. We talk about the term saving face with your family and the community, to have respect and validation from others. This validation was really built upon what you achieved in life. Most importantly, it determined who you would marry, what kind of house and car you would own, and how you did in school and your career.

I moved to London in my early twenties, which was eye-opening. I had nothing but myself. It’s very expensive to buy a house in the city, few people own a car, and in such a fast-paced city, it’s not easy to find a partner. Was I failing in life as I did not have what success and happiness are supposed to mean?

Since I was very young, I wondered what my purpose was in life and what I was meant to do in this lifetime. True meaning was not only about having things; it was more about living a fulfilling life. What did that actually mean? How would I discover my purpose, who I am, and how to feel true joy? These big questions can take a lifetime to answer, and some people never do.

When we come into this lifetime, we come as pure beings, with our own characteristics, talents, and personality. Through our experiences in our life, we are shaped by the external environment. People’s opinions and judgements affect the way we see the world. Wanting to be accepted and liked influences who we will be and how we make decisions in this lifetime. Many of us lose touch of who we really are, our identity, and what truly makes us happy, which makes me sad as we can’t express our true beauty of who we truly are.

The first personal development course I took was called Landmark. The course leader asked us if we ever felt completely happy. We all started thinking; some people described a few events in their life that made them feel blissful. The leader said there will only be a handful times in our lives when we feel completely happy. That really stuck with me, as I knew there was some truth in her statement.

However, I did not completely agree, because I had felt blissful many times.

I raised my hand and said, I feel happy quite often.

The leader asked me to say more, and I said, I dance Brazilian zouk, explaining what the dance was. Whenever I dance, I feel a sense of intense joy. I dance a lot, and whenever I dance, I feel truly blissful, so I feel happy very often. The leader could not argue with that and could see that I was one of the few people who felt happiness more than just a handful of times in their lives.

For more than twenty years, I danced as a passion and hobby. I asked myself these questions: What is it about dancing that makes me feel intensely