Circles of spiritual seekers gathered in a wood to connect with themselves and Nature. This was our vision for “Wake Up” Festival in Rhodope Mountain, near Kuklen, in Bulgaria. We provided for three days different activities united by one common thread: a journey to yourself and Mother Earth in the areas for energy awakening and internal development practices.
First, everyone could join an intuitive dance connecting with the four elements. After, people could share something about themselves (a childhood memory connected to nature, something that provides him delight or discomfort, etc.) in a safe and non-judgemental space in a circle.
Then, an introduction to Bill Plotkin’s “eco-centric developmental wheel” showed how it’s possible to switch from an Ego-centric system of behaviour to an Eco-centric one, through eight different stages of personal development.
We continued this journey doing a meditation linked every time to a different natural element (the mountain, the tree, then the waterfall) and read a poem by Joanna Macy, Mary Oliver, Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson. This was a reflection to get into the mood for the following activities: a practical experience of connection with nature.
Indeed, people could feel natural elements through their senses, to be aware and present, trust other participants and be creative. To do so, we proposed a trustful blind walk in the wood, the search of a tree they connected with eyes closed and creation of music and land art with natural objects. Everyone was also able to practice active listening and sharing more with the other in an exercise in pairs based on questions and answers about his thoughts and feelings about himself and the world.
Finally, a closing circle allowed all to share their reasons to be grateful, to feel grief pouring their hands in the “bowl of tears” in the centre or just giving their impressions and sensations about the day.
Personally, I found this experience really rewarding and I feel so grateful I had the possibility to help people to dig inside. It was also a funny shared moment for Tanya, Tirsa and I to choose together the activities to propose, experiment them and see how they worked. Moreover, we received positive feedback from some participants and the overall sensation is that everything worked. Can’t wait for the next occasion to share these practices!
