Editorial

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive"><U><I><U>September Archive</U></I></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Front Page"><U>Front Page</U></A></div> <div> Editorial</div> <div> <A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bellyworld"><U>Bellyworld</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Music"><U>Music</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="introduction_yoga.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Fitness"><U>Fitness</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Move of the Month"><U>Move of the Month</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Business"><U>Business</U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="16c87590.png" border=0 width="135" height="89" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#CC0033" FACE="Berlin Sans FB" >  |    </FONT> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Navel Magazine"><U>Home</U></A></div> <div> Editorial</div> <div> <I><B>What's in a Name?</B></I></div> <div> <I>by Eleyda Negrón</I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="14578a60.jpg" border=0 width="120" height="166" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="10" VSPACE="0">  If you ever had a pet, any pet, one of the most important moments in your relationship with your pet is actually when you give them a name.  You probably did research over the internet to pick the perfect name for the perfect pet.  Sometimes you just go to pick up your mascot and when you hold it, right there, a sudden moment of illumination comes, and you gave them a name because it looks like a Rex, or Lola, or whatever the name is.</div> <bR> <div> Do you remember when you named your first born son or daughter?  Many stories about naming a kid can be told over and over.  Some bought those gigantic books with baby names; some went through their favorite novel.  As far as I know, for my own name, my family went through a whole brainstorming session with me in the room before they came up with a name.  For some reason, I can imagine everybody laughing for a while until my grandmother came with her best idea ever… My name.</div> <bR> <div> So, the obvious question is: Why Navel?</div> <bR> <div> When you think about it, a navel or bellybutton is just a scar from the place you had your umbilical cord.  Even though, how wonderful is that?!  That little depression (or bump for those who had a raised one) was the original place where your fundamental source of nutrition and oxygen occurred.  It marks the almost divine connection you had with your mother, the source of your life.</div> <bR> <div> A navel is something that everybody has, yet nobody's navel is the same.  It can even be the only way to differentiate identical siblings.  A navel is well known, yet also is surrounded with beauty, sensuality, a hint of mystery, and sometimes … lint.</div> <bR> <div> Talking seriously now …  It is just amazing how such a little area in our body can be so beautiful, mystical, and even powerful.  Also, thinking about it, when you talk about bellydancing, even if it is not the case in all costumes; everybody tends to think about the navel and how important it is to show it. Showing your navel, at the end, is the way you make everybody witness your connection with The Mother.  </div> <bR> <div> Bellydancing has always being described as a female dance and, even though we do have great male bellydancers, it is historically a feminine art.  It doesn't matter if you are Christian, Muslim, Pagan, Atheist, or whatever you are, we can't stop thinking about the greater female force behind this art, the Goddess, the Mother, inspiring us to dance and testify our divine connection with her, becoming goddesses ourselves with every move.</div> <bR> <div> So here it is, Navel, a modest, simple project to try and unify all bellydancers, no matter their background, style, or origin.  A reminder for all dancers that everybody, at the end, shares a common connection, and that our duty is not claim to be the unique prophet for this art, but to embrace our sisters (and those few brothers) and together dance in harmony.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>