Oh to be again embracing and being embraced by the tree where Osho became enlightened…held in infinity as in the arms of the most pure and tender lover.

Sending prayers down the Ganges

Sitting under the stars in a little boat on the Ganges, watching our little flower candles carrying prayers and “let go’s” float with purpose in the current til out of sight.

Sitting with death and feeling the Heavenly Comforter at Varanasi’s burning ghat funeral pyres – so natural, so timeless. Everyone should be able to do this once on their life……Anand Aasta

The special highlight for me was visiting Osho’s birthplace and experiencing meeting the local villagers. It was very touching to be greeted by such warm friendly people. Osho’s house had such a wonderful warm nurturing energy and surrounded by such beautiful unspoiled countryside. The magical soft late afternoon sun made the whole experience feel  like dropping back in space and time…..Shraddha

The stunning beauty of Khajuraho

Actually, the biggest challenge for me was to come away in the first place – to an unknown country , with a group of people I hadn’t met before. There are many highlights to mention, but the two that stand out  were the burning ghats in Varanasi and the sunset meditation in Khajuraho. It was deeply moving and emotional to witness the sacredness in which death is held here. The sunset meditation in Khajuraho -a new experience for me to meditate with open eyes in the darkness with the full moon up. And what a beautiful group of people we were. I’ve made many new friends and the whole tour was a complete adventure. I will always remember this time. Thank you all…….Ian

Total abandonment at Osho's meditation rock

Death in Varanasi – what a baptism into death/life. Life in death – each enfolded in the other. Disturbing for me. I came to India to ‘die to self’ – and I ‘lost’ my passport – my identity. I dipped in the Ganges and let go (Challenge) of old patterns of thought that do not support my journey.

Sex in Khajuraho. Ganga’s personal guided tour of the temples and personal chat about non-possessiveness in love was very special.

Birth - total abandonment meditating (Transformation) at Osho’s rock with the sound of Dynamic Meditation in the background. Challenge: letting go of the mind. Transformation: glimpsing the kingdom is within…….Phil Shankland

Definitely Varanasi – deeply touched by the contrast of chaos, noiseness, dirtyness in the town compared to the peace, calmness, quietness at the river Ganga and the burning ghats.

On the banks of the Ganges at Varanasi

Big relief about the natural integration of death in daily life -accompanied by an Indian guide on top of a building near the ghats, I enjoyed a very special meditation watching a body burn. Standing behind the fire source of the burning ghats and feeling the enormous power of the fire and the power of transformation.

Visiting the tantra temples in Khajuraho guided by Ganga – listening to his explanations of the old Tantra rituals and traditions.

Visitng the enormous tree in Jabalpur where Osho was enlightened – getting the message of purification and the value of it for myself and the whole world.

Visiting the Marble Rocks by boat in the moonlight – like an intergalactic adventure – incredible!…..Joy Beate

The endless nectar of the Shiva puja in Varanasi

The puja in Varanasi for Shiva with endless, endless nectar never ending which just reinforced the Tantra group we had done the week before. It just went on and on – this pouring of milk over the Shiva lingam – and at the end placing salt, curd and an abundance of beautiful flowers. Osho’s Buddha tree had amazing earth energy and was the cuddliest tree I ever felt!

The simple house Osho lived in as a boy

And in Osho’s birth place I felt again the intense heat through the ears and cheeks that I had felt in Darshan with Neelam the week before. It has all been amazing!! Good and bad experiences have all created growth and expansion in me….Sophie Churchyard

For me the Shiva Puja in Varanasi was incredibly beautiful and powerful. The chantings by the three priests (with us joining in the best we could) and the many offerings invoked a trance-like state. I felt extremely blessed to be a part of the ceremnoy -though operating my video camera and stills camera was a bit challenging with ghee or milk-covered hands!

Standing at night by the burning ghats was intensely serene and moving.

Listening to Osho’s guide, Ganga, at the temples in Khajuraho was a real transmission  -what a beautiful man!

Sidika soaking up the vibe at Osho's house

Osho’s enlightenment tree opened my heart and brought me to tears – especially poignant when Sarita said that for anyone who hadn’t met Osho in the body (i.e. all of us apart from Sarita), this tree held the same energy.

Marble Rocks by moonlight – beautiful and eerie – I almost expected (hoped for?) a pirate ship with Johnny Depp to appear out of the shimmering darkness!

The last ‘highlight’ was rather unexpected. After narrowly managing to board our return flight from Bhopal to Delhi, complete with 5-Star takeaway dinner in polystyrene containers, the  flight crew amazingly agreed with Niten’s request for us to eat our own food. Niten and I juggled plates and chappatis, curry, rice and dal in the narrow serving space at the back of the plane – ducking between the rest of the flight crew as they simultaneously served up the standard airline food. I negotiated the aisle with laden plates of food, luckily not slopping any over the fellow passengers’ suits. One Indian gentleman in the back row commented, “Never before in my life have I seen anything like this!” I apologise but he appeared amused/bemused rather than annnoyed!

Many thanks to Sarita for inspiring the tour and huge appreciation to Niten and Santoshi for steering us with grace and humour through the chaos and adventure that is ‘part and parcel’ of travel in India….Sidika

Sacred Sites of India 2010 tour party

We began our tour in Varanasi, representing conscious death, a place where people come on pilgrimage to be purged of impurities and meet death as though slipping into the embrace of a lover. In this holy place, the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, they are meeting God while bathing in the river, or being cremated in the fire, or in the continuous flow of music and chanting. I have never seen such a filthy place in all my life, and yet, in spite of this, the transmutation of poison into nectar was luminously present.

Shiva Lingam at Varanasi

The highlight for me in Varanasi was the two hour Shiva Puja which we were privileged to have offered to us. I was completely captivated by the chanting, the presence of the glorious Shiva Lingam, and the very sensuous ritual, where-in we smeared the Lingam with precious scented oils, with ghee, with honey, with spices and ablutions of milk, cleansed and washed it, and finally offered tiers of flowers and fruits. I felt fully blessed through this experience and this quality has not diminished with the passage of time. I felt in those two hours, that we stepped through a transparent veil into another world, another century, another dimension, where devotional love is the ruler of time, mind and all the senses.

Varanasi photo gallery – you can click on each image to enlarge, or choose the ‘slideshow’ option – you can make the images fullscreen by clicking on the icon with 4 arrows.

Sarita

From Varanasi we went to Khajuraho, a series of Tantra temples, representing sexuality and the invitation to allow meditation to be present in all aspects of life, including our most sensual explorations. The temples are simply exquisite, and are maintained in pristine cleanliness, with gorgeous gardens all around. It is a tremendous pleasure to explore them, taking time to be in awe of such masterful artistry. We were truly blessed to be guided by Ganga, a man who was Osho’s tour guide in Khajuraho, where Osho went numerous times. Ganga received a very powerful transmission from Osho on the subject of Khajuraho and on Tantra in general. I could really feel Osho’s presence in Ganga’s words and gestures as he lovingly shared his experiences of being with the Master and receiving his wisdom. Later, when Ganga had become a disciple of Osho and was living in the commune, Osho asked him to go back to Khajuraho and sing Osho’s song, which he has been doing ever since. He runs an esthetic, clean and loving hotel where people can relax into the nurturing ambiance of Ganga and the Khajuraho vibe.

Khajuraho photo gallery

We then journeyed to Jabalpur, where Osho was a student and then a professor in the University. We stayed in an Osho ashram there, which is on the edge of a marvelous forested area with a beautiful lake. The highlight in this place was to meditate on a very big rock where Osho used to go and meditate regularly, between 1952–1960. The rock has definitely received his transmission. The whole group of us who sat there were transported into deep meditation, and then found ourselves in spontaneous, ecstatic celebration.

Receiving the ecstasy of Osho's transmission

We went to the tree in Jabalpur where Osho experienced enlightenment at the age of 21. I believe that none of us were expecting anything in that strange theme park, decorated with huge plastic dinosaurs. And then we met the tree. And in the tree, we met a presence which was so palpable as to be truly astonishing. I have spent years at Osho’s feet, and so am able to recognize his unique fragrance and presence. I experienced that this tree is the body of Osho. Touching this tree, we are touching Osho’s body. Being embraced by this tree, we are receiving Darshan. It was an extraordinary blessing. As we were meditating there, a local television crew came and asked to interview some of us and to take photos and film us imbibing Osho’s sacred presence through the tree.

After that, still drunk on the divine, we made our way to the Narmada River with the famed marble rocks. We stayed in a hotel run by a Sannyasin named Anil. He was an angel with us, taking us to a very moving sunset Puja by the river. After a feast at his hotel, he then took us for a river cruise with the almost full moon lighting our way. To move in silence upstream and to experience the incredible beauty of this place is a darshan in itself. Everything Osho said about the marble rocks is true, it is one of the wonders of the world. We stopped our boat after about half an hour, and clambered out onto some ghostly white marble rocks which were jutting out into the river. Some people meditated, some people slept, and we were all lulled into the very heart of beauty and silence. It was utterly magical. Anil told us, if we want to come back for a longer time, he can take us on a trip to the marble rocks lasting a few days, and we can just be in the nature imbibing the beauty. He also guides people into Tantric experiences using the 64 sculptures at the Yogini temple in his village. When we visited the temple, it was amazing to feel the energy emanating from the deity inside, the only one of it’s kind in the world, a sculpture of Shiva and Paravati on their marriage day, riding on the back of a bull.

Jabalpur photo gallery

Former maid in Osho's house recounts tales of him as a boy

With much gratefulness in our hearts for Anil, we then journeyed 5 hours by Taxi over abominable roads, to reach Osho’s birthplace. There is an Osho ashram there, run by both Japanese and Indians. It is right on the edge of Osho’s birth village, a tiny hamlet, with houses made of mud brick and cow dung. Crowds of children swarmed around us as we made our way to the house which had been Osho’s home for the first 7 years of his life, the house of his grandparents. The house is abandoned, though it has been kept from complete ruin through the efforts of the nearby ashram. What I experienced meditating in that humble room where he was born, is beyond words. Tears kept welling up in my eyes as I found myself in resonance with the immensity of his soul, born into simplicity and innocence, yet brimming over with enlightened presence. We were guided to the mud, straw and stick hut of a very old woman who was a maid servant in Osho’s grandparents house when Osho was a child there. With ever present raucous laughter, she recounted how he never worked, but simply drank milk, a real lord of the manor so to speak. At the end of our meeting, we found ourselves showering her with money and expressing our gratitude to her for looking after the well being of our master so many years before.

Osho’s birthplace photo gallery

At the foot of the holy mountain

The next day, we came to Pachmari, a hill station, which has many sacred sites and breathtaking views over a vast terrain of wild forests, lakes and rivers. Here, we relaxed in a very luxurious hotel, decorated in a style reminiscent of the British Raj with wonderful vibrant gardens, and a staff ever ready to wait on us hand and foot. This is a great way to unwind and relax after the series of very intense experiences. Today, in the morning, we walked up 1200 steps to the top of a mountain with a Shiva temple on top. The temple was not very interesting, having been left incomplete, but the views as we climb up and down are phenomenal. And to top it all off, an Ayurvedic massage with a 3rd generation practitioner of this art, who is very gifted. This helped to iron out  very sore muscles from the climb up the holy mountain.

Pachmari photo gallery

Stay tuned for more sacred tours, with Niten and Santoshi as guides!

Love

Sarita

My heart has been sprung open, my joy for life enflamed and my desire ignited by his tale of a humble gamekeeper and his aristocratic mistress.

I speak of course of DH Lawrence and his most infamous novel , Lady Chatterley’s Lover (see left: Sean Bean and Joley Richardson from the 1993 BBC series). For those of you that don’t know the story, it goes something like this: Lady Chatterley is an upper class young woman, married to fellow young aristocrat Sir Clifford, who got paralysed from the waist down in the First World War. They had one month of married life together before his injury. The main action of the book begins two years later, when she is becoming worn out and numbed by life with her husband, who lives solely in his mind and has nothing but contempt for the working men over whom he rules (he’s the local mine owner).

Then she meets Mellors.

Mellors is her husband’s gamekeeper, who has himself been scarred by life. He has shut himself away from human connection, though is still a passionate and tender man under the surface. They begin a love affair and their desire for each other sparks the life back into them, finding not only each other but a love of life, and the guts to stand up for their own truth.

My love affair began  by a chance watching of a DVD of the BBC series, made 18 years ago, which caused a stir because of its explicit sex scenes, some of which I remembered from watching it then. What hadn’t stayed in my memory was the tender beauty of the way the love affair between Lady Chatterley and Mellors, was portrayed, which touched my heart as surely as the sex stirred my loins (I can quite see why a nation of women wanted to meet Sean Bean in the woods after this!!)

I was inspired, and so got the book. What I wasn’t prepared for was an even more touching, beautiful, life-affirming experience, as Lawrence expresses to us, through these gorgeous characters, his passionate love of life, and his disregard of the will of industrialised society, that seeks to take away all our connection to all that is natural, alive and free.

His descriptions of their love-making are surely some of the most divine in the English language, take this as one example of many:

“…all her womb was open and soft and softly clamouring like a sea-anemone under the tides, clamouring for him to come in again and make a fulfilment for her……and she felt the soft bud of him within her stirring and in strange rhythms flushing up into her, with a strange, rhythmic growing motion, swelling and swelling till it filled her cleaving consciousness. And then began again the unspeakable motion that was not really motion, but pure deepening whirlpools of sensation, swirling deeper and deeper through all her tissue and consciousness, till she was one perfect concentric fluid of feeling. And she lay there crying in unconscious, inarticulate cries, the voice out of the uttermost night, the life-exclamation. And the man heard it beneath him with a kind of awe, as his life sprang out into her….And they lay, and knew nothing, not even of each other.”

How delicious!

In some ways Lawrence was still a man of his time – there’s little in the way of foreplay in the early sexual encounters and there’s a subtle fear of women detectable in novel. But for me this doesn’t take away from the expression of sexual and human freedom which he portrayals so fervently.

Reading these words of passion stirred something deep in me, calling me to connect to my rootedness, to my flesh and bone existence, to my longing for a 100% man, to my desire to be utterly woman – dissolved and surrendered to existence – realising that I’ve never really allowed a man deep into the core of me.

Writing this book more than 80 years ago, Lawrence was dismayed by the inhumanity of the society he lived in then, which still rings very true for us today. Although he had a brilliant mind, he knew that to live only in the mind created misery, and his manifesto called for an embracing of life, sex and the body. He said:

“Doing the dirt on sex is the crime of our times, because what we need is tenderness towards the body, towards sex, we need tenderhearted fucking.”

That most people still know this book for its use of ‘obscene’ words and that it’s somehow a byword for ‘dirty sex’ shows our society still hasn’t embraced tenderness towards the body or sex, despite sexual images being everywhere.

If you want to be swept away on a tide of passion for love, life and sex, spend a few days with Lady Chatterley and her lover, still as raw and relevant now as it was back when affairs between ladies and gamekeepers truly were forbidden love.

Malika x

There was such a buzz of excitement in the air – this was the first time Osho Leela had ever hosted a Tantra Festival and Wow – what a festival it looked to be! The line up was Sarita, Suta and Tina, Roxana and Vincent, Baba Dez, Jewels, Hanna and Martin, Leora Lightwoman, Jan Daly, Joy Hicklin-Bailey and Rebecca and Rupert!

On the first evening we gathered in a packed marquee (around 200 participants I think – Osho Leela was sold out and had to close bookings a week before it started!). The teachers introduced each other and then lead us into a ritual culminating in Sarita guiding a super powerful lingam and yoni ritual – I couldn’t resist looking round at one point and seeing Sarita, eyes closed, waving her arm, intent on whipping up the energy. After that is was OK good night everyone and see you at 7.15am in the marquee for Chakra Breathing Meditation. As Sarita could only be there for just over a day before she had to leave for the Couples Level 7 retreat in Corfu, she was ‘maxing out’ her schedule. I crawled out of my sleeping bag at 7am and just made it for the morning meditation. Once again the marquee was packed and the intensity of the meditation probably surprised a few people – and all before breakfast!

Sarita at the festival

Then came the Morning Meeting where Deveraj and Neeraj from Osho Leela ran through the schedule for the day and the teachers introduced their various workshops. Some of teachers asked us to bring a partner of the opposite sex – gulp! gulp! or smug grin depending on your circumstances! Luckily it turned out that bring a partner usually meant just walk through the door with someone – it wasn’t that you had to work intimately with them or even partner them at all – just a way of balancing the genders. Later that day, Sarita led the Soul Mate Meditation and then in the evening gave a talk about Tantra and introduced a beautiful Mahamudra meditation complete with live music from the band Presence.

Next morning, it was Baba Dez who held centre stage in the Marquee – and the gaze of most of the women in the place – I’m sure it wasn’t just me! As a marketing person a thought it was OK to take a few pics for the blog etc (I did check first with Dez’s son Ryan who was filming Dez’s European tour). But did I have to take quite so many of this lanky Divine Masculine?? He is a shaman as well as a Tantrika and his magic was certainly working!

Baba Dez - one of many pics!

Unlike most workshops, this one was mainly a talk and then a guided regression and repatterning of the Divine Masculine aspect. I was in floods of tears which continued unabated as the regression ended and Dez asked us to all embody the Divine Masculine and stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and said we’d all become a men’s group. I was all of a wobble after and ended up giving a very gushing testimonial on camera to Ryan after he’d assured me I didn’t look too dreadful!

And on and on we went, riding the tantric ocean for the next four days, sampling the various delicacies available, confronting our wounding, learning to say ‘yes’ (but only when we’d learned how to say ‘no’), being caressed in the Love Lounge, exploding in ecstasy, making sweet new connections and the whole spectrum in between.

The last evening was for me, one of the highlights. Osho Leela is famous for its cabaret shows – greatly enhanced by its outrageous dressing up cupboard (actually a room). The MC for the evening was Niraj who with his usual aplomb and wit did a fabulous job of introducing some top class acts. My absolute favourite act was Meg and two friends from the Love Lounge who did a pastiche of the morning meeting with Deveraj (Deja Vu) and Niraj (Mirage) from Osho Leela (Oh so Lulu). The hilarity grew, as each Tantra teacher was introduced and their idiosyncrasies exploited mercilessly! I was rolling around helplessly by the end of it.

Finally, the end of the festival arrived – super-charged, joyous dancing in the morning meeting followed by a beautiful closing ceremony. Tents were packed up, addresses swapped, tender farewells, passionate farewells and promises to meet again.

And we will meet again – Osho Leela has already set the dates for next year’s festival…and it’s going to be longer!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

Osho Leela tantric apples - enjoy!

Love

Sidika

So – were you there this time? If you were, write a comment if you will and say how it was for you.

It was only when I met Sarita and Geho at the age of 26 that I could validate these earlier experiences as being of spiritual value. Diving into Tantric methods seemed to me like regaining my original face and innocence, as nature intended. The way Sarita and Geho worked could be challenging at times but the essence was always the same: re-discovering my true nature.

My interest in Tantra continued to deepen when reading the fascinating story of Saraha, a Buddhist scholar and consultant of the King who left everything behind to be initiated by a woman in the market place. They lived on a crematory ground, or burning “ghats”, where bodies were burnt. Only when you can celebrate life amidst death can you be truly happy! Those words really struck me as I was living in Varanasi, India, at the time, just few yards away from the “burning ghats”. I remember sitting in front of dead bodies burning and being enveloped by a deep, peaceful silence, as if time totally stopped!

A market in Mumbai, India

Living in India for almost 10 years allowed me to take my time and bring full awareness to my actions. My daily routine in the market place became my school. And shoe makers, rickshaw drivers, “chai walas” (tea stalls), silversmiths and so on, became my masters.

I could watch such people for hours, totally mesmerized by the enormous amount of love, devotion and totality they’d bring into their work. When I participated in my first Tantra courses later on, I would re-call the same qualities that I have experienced while living in India.

To me, the four key words to a sincere Tantric approach to life are: love, awareness, devotion and totality.

Bringing love into our actions immediately changes the quality and the final outcome. Love is like our “soul signature” carved onto every little thing we do in our daily life.

Awareness and totality are like two wings of the same bird, one leads inevitably to the other and vice versa.

To be total means not to be pre-occupied by the end result. Rather, one is so absorbed in the moment that no past, no future exists, only a crystal clear, pure, sense of awareness.

Devotion is like our intimate conversation with existence itself, allowing a sense of deep gratitude to be shared from our deepest core. And for no other reason other than the pure joy to be alive!

I’ve had the privilege to grow on the Tantric path with Sarita as my master. After 14 years of being by her side, imbibing from her wisdom, learning from her life experience and assisting her on numerous courses, I have witnessed a radical transformation within myself.

Lately, Sarita and I started to facilitate courses together within the School of Awakening. Leading groups is for me a deeper way to continue to learn about Tantra as well as having a platform to transmit my insights and life experience.

The beauty of witnessing participants embracing their process from pain/hurt to bliss/ecstasy is always very touching and it confirms one thing that has always been my inner mantra: “in the end, everyone wants to love and to be loved.”

With gratitude and growing happiness,

Niten x

Niten is sharing his Tantric path with his beloved Santoshi, (a Goddess of the highest calibre!) who embodies the essential, feminine principle.

Together, they are in the process of creating new groups that will be offered in China toward the end of 2010.

Niten is also a raw food adept and is currently conducting faw food workshops and retreats in Spain as well as the “Detox/Meditation retreat “with Sarita in the UK (which took place for the first time last month).

Picture of the Mumbai market copyright Isageum 2008

and become each other,

lose and find ourselves in each other,

tumbling over and over,

rolling in heather and in clover.

Let’s breathe each other

and vanish in the we-ness of existence,

flowing endlessly into being,

knowing that there is only the present moment,

extracting the nectar,

savouring the succulence,

rejoicing in the juice,

gorging ourselves on the gorgeousness of being truly present in the heavenly home that is the body,

to embody,

to inhabit

that humungous habitat,

the only place where it’s at.

Riding the waves,

breathing,

rising and falling,

trusting and surrendering,

no longer holding on for dear life

but tenderly dancing with death cheek to cheek.

Not dicing, no not dicing,

but enticing, inviting, courting

and seeking to fully embrace that ultimate surrender.

Truly to live,

fully to give,

wholly to be.

And now understand the meaning of ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’

and transcend now duality,

transcend separation,

be with what is,

accept without reservation my ecstatic undulation.

Now seeing beyond what the eye perceives,

falling into the vanishing,

knowing in that moment there is only self

and knowing this,

feel the infinite variety of experience within.

For all else is an illusion

and thus embracing the paradox,

finally getting the cosmic joke,

I lie and a mandala make,

I sit and eat my birthday cake,

For on this day I am born anew

and I see all the wealth and paucity that I contain

in you and you and you and you.

Doth not thou see?

The dam that breaks in you is washing over me

and I bow down at my magnificence

I bow down to love.

Suddenly, all at once my mind is filled with a new and radiant clarity

my maker wants for me this precious rarity

and truly I am blessed

as I emerge from this crystal chrysalis

words spring from my lips

and love bursts out from my very fingertips.

My heart is all aglow

and from the back aflame,

my delicacy I wear right regally like a filigree cloak

poetry flows full worsted and unimpeded from my pen

as I whirl from pregnant rosebud to pregnant rosebud,

caressing and exclaiming,

appreciating the exquisite promise of blossom

and softly do I whisper a peal of sweet, sweet nothings

as I all drunk inhale the subtlest scent.

As my teachers one and all help me to see

we build the temple of love from moment to moment.

I love you without attachment,

I love you more deeply than I ever knew.

What serious fools we are to hem it in!

Oh slowly, softly, gently, ecstatically, like the honey bee-ing, treeing,

Evolve into lovevolve lovevolve

I reach inside and idly pluck a pomegranate flower.

Tara

In recent times, many friends, family members and clients have expressed how life is seemly more difficult.  Many are concerned with issues of the environment, the financial outlook in the world and the general state of affairs on the planet.

I am no different from anyone else.  What I do have are some skills under my belt to help me stay balance, focused and continually loving through these times (in other words, not blame others for my life challenges).

For instance, during a busy and pressured workday, I would remind myself to stop and breathe, periodically.  A few minutes of deep breathing simply interrupts the mundane actions that I make and reminds my body to calm down and relax.  It brings oxygen to my eyes, and helps to bring clarity to my vision and my mind. Sometimes, I couple my breathing with some stretches and movement to help the body relieve any static tensions.

Another method I use often to help myself through any stressful times is the self-healing practice in Angelic Reiki.  It is simple, yet effective and helps to address any stress that may originate on a deeper level.  For instance, an issue around survival and having enough money, may be connected to the lack of self-worth and self-love.  Whether we are conscious of where the source of stress lies, Angelic Reiki will address the concern. Just a simple laying of hands on one’s self for about 5 to 10 minutes, gives a refreshed feeling of lightness in the body and mind and a renewed sense of strength and purpose to carry through one’s intentions in life.  One can use the self-healing method as many times as it is needed.

If a person has a deep-seated issue that they have been working on for some time, they may wish to receive Angelic Reiki.  In Angelic Reiki, the giver is simply asking the Divine Angelic Realm to be present and to help this person.  Angels have a higher perspective and the individual information of our human pain and suffering.  During a session, these Divine Beings, may help to intercept the ongoing pattern which may have its origins from a past life/karmic and/or multidimensional connections. Hence, true change may occur.

Since having been introduced to Angelic Reiki.  I feel that my own personal journey in life has been much smoother and easier.  The feeling of being alone in all my challenges is behind me and I feel profound love and nurturing that my guides give me and feel completely supported by them.  As I have built this amazing relationship with them, I feel at ease in making decisions and have much less negative thought forms and angst of the way of life on the planet these days.

Why not empower yourself today and experience the gifts of Angelic Reiki?  Here are a few ways:

For anyone who is curious and would simply like to have a “taste” of what Angelic Reiki is before investing too much into it, there are regular Angelic Reiki Share events in London.

For those who are attracted to Angelic Reiki and would like to book a session, there are available practitioners around the UK who are ready to give and share the work.

In order to do your own self-healing, you would need to receive the Angelic Reiki Levels 1 & 2 attunements.   This is achieved over a weekend workshop.  After the course, you may give Angelic Reiki sessions either for your own personal interest or professionally.  A certificate is given at the end of the course.

For any questions regarding any of the above for Angelic Reiki, please contact:

Tanja Gower

Email:  tanja@schoolofawakening.com

Aisho Retreat:  Mahabaleshwar, India

With Uzeu-San and Sarita

Three months before the retreat started, I wrote an email to Sarita saying that I couldn’t afford to come as I didn’t have enough money to cover the costs. I received an answer few days later: “To me, money is energy, so, I read that you don’t have enough energy to come….Is that the case?”

It suddenly occurred to me that, yes, I had plenty of energy and good will to be part of that retreat and money couldn’t be a valid reason not to be there. Although my mind was trying to convince me that my finances were too low, something in me decided to Trust and move accordingly…

The retreat started on 3 February. We were 60 people from 11 different countries. In my position as DJ I had organised all my music selection and felt very fortunate to be sitting right beside master Uezu-San. Just like the previous retreat in France, the quality of silence that I experienced defies any description. Perhaps, even more so this time as I could feel his physical presence so close to my body.

There was, however, one thing that my mind was busy with, a chronic bronchitis that had started three months before. I was still coughing a lot of mucus, and my chest was congested, which made it hard to breathe fully.

One afternoon, as participants were having a pause, Master Uezu-San placed his hands on my chest, exactly in the area where I was having trouble breathing. After a short time, I started to feel heat and a very unusual sensation, as if all of my mucus, was being sucked away by his hands.  When he removed his hands, I immediately coughed, sneezed, and blew my nose, releasing all the mucus left in my body. I could breathe again, it really felt like a re-birth and the bronchitis hasn’t returned to this day.

During the retreat, we had various sessions, all very powerful and healing. Besides the usual “Dhamma Ball” and “Heart Chakra” meditations, we also had wonderful “live music” events led by Shivananda, a Bhajan and Heart songs master…I found those musical gatherings so special in bringing participants together in playfulness and simplicity.

Fergus in Satori

Also, very much loved and appreciated was the walk to the top of the cliffs, a short distance from the resort. We gathered there a couple of times at dawn, in silence as the sun was rising. What a stunning sight! One participant later shared he had a profound experience, known as “Satori” or glimpse of the “No-Mind” state, dissolving for a moment in universal consciousness…

Then, we were all blessed with sacred moments like “Shaktipat” which traditionally refers to offering all our suffering and misery to the master who Himself transforms it and releases it back to us in the form of universal, unconditional love…In this case, both Sarita and Uezu-San were offering Shaktipat. To me, they symbolised in a very real way the embodiment of pure Yin and Yang energy, dancing in unison, in unwavering balance.

Another powerful moment was the “Energy Darshan” where participants received a direct transmission from both Sarita and Uezu-San. A special Aisho balm was created, carrying Uezu-San and Sarita’s blessing. Uezu-San spiralled around the third eye (or Ajna chakra) whereas Sarita was stroking upward from the third eye in a vertical motion. It was obvious that everyone was profoundly touched by this unique transmission. The impact was awesome. I was witnessing Sarita and Uezu-San as two empty beings, channelling Divine Source Energy.

Monkeys join Francis for morning meditation

Perhaps it is because the retreat was being held in India that the whole group could so easily receive this immense energetic offering – India is well known to carry the fragrance of mysticism and spiritual experiences of all kinds. Or perhaps it is the ability of Sarita and Uezu-San to “channel” any past masters that have lived and contributed to expand people’s consciousness.  The energy field created during that retreat was incredibly vibrant, full of love, compassion, dance and laughter…Full…Yet one could also experience the deep Void, the vast emptiness, the magnificent stillness in moments of silence. I believe those moments have nurtured all of us participants to the very core of our hearts and spirits…

I am so grateful that I found in Sarita and Uezu-San, the masters that I have been longing for, perhaps, for lives altogether…Or shall I say, I am so grateful that they finally found me!…

This retreat was, for me, a rare opportunity to experience the unconditional love, total understanding and immense compassion of two individuals who have come to realise who they are, in the deepest sense…It was a rare blend of humour, devotion, godliness, silence and meditation. It was a unique combination of two different flavours, giving us the most exquisite, divine taste of how life can be lived in constant celebration.

Aisho was much more than a week long retreat. It was the manifestation of all the wisdom that has ever existed on Earth and still vibrates today. The wisdom of the East and the wisdom of the West. The wisdom of Male principle and the wisdom of Feminine energy.

Buddha statue at retreat centre in Mahabaleshwar

Many people have been transformed coming into contact with Sarita and Uezu-San…I see the Aisho project being another dawn of a wider, collective awakening that the Earth, and we human beings have been longing for…

Namaste…

Dhyan Niten

On the last weekend in November, I had the pleasure of holding a two day group with Sarita in London, “The Ecstasy of Tantra”, organised by Alternatives. We had a great team of experienced helpers to support us on this workshop, and in all there were about 55 participants, including many newcomers, taking a fast and deep journey.

We worked with the chakras as the map to this journey, which took us through many states – sexy, playful, dynamic, tender and magical. The group really opened up and dived right in, creating a tangible feeling of ecstasy and wonder in a short space of time. There was a noticeable shiny glow on people’s faces by the end of the weekend, and a beautiful feeling of togetherness – it took 10 minutes for the goodbye kiss to go round the circle!

The Chakra system

Comments from the group included:

“This is truly great stuff. We all need this”

“The course was wonderful and fulfilled all my needs and beyond”

“It gave me faith in life’s wonderfulness….and restored some confidence in me that there is LOVE in this world….I haven’t felt feelings of love, happiness, gratefulness, peace, grace for such a long time. I thought I have but after this course, those feeling seem nothing compared to how I feel right now. I thank god for bringing this wonderful weekend into my life!!!”

I notice that people are really able to move through their limitations and let go of their stresses more quickly these days, and reconnect with and remember our true nature. More and more people are exploring new ways, answering some calling – it is a heart-warming joy to witness and be part of this expansion. Long may it continue to spread!

With love,

Suta

Malika x

Tameer’s Uezusan tour report

Norway and France, October/November 2009

My visit to Norway started brilliantly after Ryan Air landed me at Torp airport and I caught the bus to Oslo.  The sun shone and the countryside on route was beautiful.  The air was cool, dry and clean – very pleasant after the English rain I left behind.

Champaka and Uezu San, Oslo bookshop event

But of course I went to be with Uezu San – not as a tourist.  The night before the workshop he spoke at an event hosted by a local sannyasin-run bookshop.  The room was prepared for about 70 people but more chairs were brought and by the time we started it was overflowing.  There was much interest and quite a few of the people decided to join the numbers booked for the workshop.  It was Uezu San’s first visit to Norway and the response was tremendous – especially in relation to the relatively small population.

Uezu San’s seminars are mostly a mixture of meditations, discourses and questions and answer sessions – so its good to make sure you have what you need to sit comfortably. But we also did the Osho Heart Chakra Meditation, which is very active. During on of these I felt that my body was just moving in sync with the other bodies while I watched – “all as one”!

In Europe Champaka translates Uezu San’s Japanese into English, so there were words for my mind to get hold of.  But while starting now to write about his words, I remember when I first heard Uezu San in Japan. There was no translation and each discourse was really another meditation.  But when my mind let go of struggling to absorb words it didn’t know, and when it let go of being pissed off by not being able to understand, then I saw Uezu San with no ego – as a simple man transmitting love.  It was enough!  What more can one look for in a master than a transmission of love?

Happy times in Oslo (with Tameer in the background!)

With Uezu San one receives a transmission that is beyond words.  But when Champaka translates the words, he describes the universal nature of religion and spirituality.  From him I heard that Christ consciousness = Buddha nature = god= our true selves = life = love.  He talks of Jesus and Buddha as being men with that enlightened consciousness, which is one.  And of course that gives us the opportunity to resonate with each of the words and notice which generates a positive or negative reaction.

Now I am clear that when Uezu San uses the word god he means the consciousness that is internal within each of us.  Though sometimes I observe myself reacting to words which are also used when worshiping a god as an external being, even though I know that is not what he means.  Then I also see many people from a Christian background resonating very positively to the same words, finding they can directly connect to their concept of god through Uezu San in a way that the traditional church does not offer.  As Uezu San teaches – Jesus, Buddha and other enlightened masters use different words appropriate for their time and for their audience – but the truth is one.

The Dhamma Ball Meditation practice that Uezu San teaches is very powerful in its own right, and easy to continue after the seminar.  But it becomes especially powerful when supported by Uezu San’s energy and presence.  He passes around the room during the meditation session laying his hands on people to offer healing and a transmission of energy.  It was in one such transmission that Sarita became enlightened, in May this year in Glastonbury.  In Norway many people described very strong and wonderful experiences during the meditations.  It was like they had broken through to new levels of bliss and awareness.  And at the end of the three days, everyone left looking radiant and looking forward to Uezu San’s next visit to Norway in the summer of 2010.

Sarita and Uezu San in France

I went straight from Norway to my beloved in France, so we could be together at Uezu San’s retreat in the Ardeche.  There with her I experienced an indescribable melange of love and meditation.  Sarita commented to my beloved she was getting an energy transmission at both the crown and the base chakras and I wonder if this will be the flavour of the six day workshop Uezu San and Sarita are teaching together in India in February – a powerful combination of Shiva consciousness and Shakti energy.

Love and blessings,

Tameer