Sit and Spin, LA Story, Dervishes, Sarah Jessica Parker, and getting Emotionally Erect

When I was a little kid, I loved to spin in a circle. Either standing and whirling, holding out my arms, and then savoring the off-balance euphoria when the spin was over and I stumbled innocently into the wall... or sitting in a little red and white chair I treasured, called the "sit and spin," which was designed solely for the purpose of letting a small child spin in place like crazy.

One of my favorite under-rated movies is L.A Story with Steve Martin, Victoria Tennant, and a young Sarah Jessica Parker. You can watch the trailer here for the reference to being "emotionally erect." Steve Martin's character is struggling to make sense of the insanity of 1990's Los Angeles, and he ultimately finds happiness by following the private directions given to him by a mysterious and massive highway road sign. Along the way he dallies with Parker's character who represents the innocent joy of youth. She finds happiness by spinning ... she just loves to spin in circles. Of course it comes off as dumb and crazy in the movie, but now I find it hilarious... and I wonder if it's a more sophisticated reference than I first realized ???

I just ran across this story on Sufism and Whirling Dervishes in Turkey . More information at wikipedia here. The author, Sunaina Gulati, writes, "The Whirling Dervishes are a part of the Sufi branch of Islam, known for its mysticism and asceticism...spinning is their way of worshipping God. [Rumi's] philosophy is encapsulated in one of his poems:

Come come whoever you are
Whether you are a non-believer,
Whether you worship fire or an idol,
Whether you have repented a hundred times,
Whether you have broken a vow of repentance a hundred times,
This is not a vow of desperation;
Come however you are.

She continues: " Science has shown us that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. A man's very existence depends on this movement -- revolution in the atoms, structural stones of his body, movement of his blood etc. However, all of these are natural, unconscious revolutions. The Whirling Dervish actively causes the mind to participate in the revolution of all other beings...."

"...Akin Cakmut, who has been practicing the dance for many years since he first started at the age of 13, told CNN, "Everything turns in the universe. The world turns, the sun turns, your blood under your skin turns, and also the Dervish turns...The meaning of the first part is who are you? You are thinking who am I? The second part the Dervish understands, ok, I am human, I am living. In the third part the Dervish understands there is a force, and the dervish gives his heart to God. In the fourth part, your soul comes back to your body, and you understand that, yes, I am human I am a person...I can't explain it perfectly because it is between me and God.""



My childhood "Sit and Spin..." was my earliest naive brush with god? Is Sarah Jessica Parker in "LA Story" an accidental western analogue of the whirling dervish? Can I now get up the courage, as an adult, to go off somewhere and just spin? 

(dervish painting above by London artist Nazim)