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.

Partners came from all over the UK, India, Spain, Norway and the USA – even Australia (!) to be ‘in’ on Sarita’s last couples level 1 in June (from next year the first three levels of the training will be run by Roxana or Fiona, with different male teachers from the School).

As ever it is my privilege and joy to see couples taking the ‘rollercoaster ride’ through some of the difficult patterns that may have been causing some dissatisfaction or stagnation in their relating, and come into a greater depth of love and appreciation for themselves and their beloved. This time there were a few surprises – a number of people were clearly having Satori experiences – moments of enlightened perception and clarity ….. and, more down to earth, one couple managed to collapse their bed during one of their ‘love-appointments’ !!

The divine Praful and Peru

We were also gifted with a live concert of beautiful music by Praful and Peru. Praful is a highly talented blower of saxophones and flutes whose music I have admired for some years. Peru is a more recent discovery for me and this was my first time seeing her live. My goddess! She is a force of Nature when singing – together their performance was an exquisite transmission with a strong Tantric flavour that complemented our group work perfectly. Check out their CD ‘Breathing Love‘.

The group was truly a delight with most of the couples already expressing an intention to go ‘all the way’ to level 7 in 2012.

Suta teaches singles and couples groups with the School of Awakening, as well as with his own company. Choose Bliss Now – www.chooseblissnow.co.uk. He loves to help men open to the full range of their sexuality and is also a master bodyworker and healer.

Malika and Sidika (the marketing team) tell the story of our first media weekend

Malika

Inviting the media to observe and experience what you do can be a gamble – it can be a quick way to reach thousands of people, but there’s always a chance they could misinterpret or misrepresent what you do. We decided to take that gamble and invited nine members of the media to Croydon Hall in January to observe and participate in Tantra singles and couples meditations, and experience the holistic healing we offer. Croydon Hall on the edge of Exmoor National Park in Somerset have been graciously hosting our residential groups for the last 10 years, so we were very happy when they joined us in our invitation to the media.

The snow did its best to scupper us and with just a few days to go and Croydon Hall completely snowed in, it looked like we might have to cancel. Sarita, however, was adamant that we shouldn’t cancel because of the weather! Perhaps she whispered in the ear of the weather elementals – for amazingly two days before we were due to start, the temperature began to rise, and everyone finally made it in one piece. The Friday night started with a press conference, with Sarita and Suta answering questions.

The beautiful view from Croydon Hall once the snow had melted!

Saturday was Singles Tantra day – what would the media make of it?!! Much to my surprise, they all wanted to participate, which I thought was very brave of them, and I was also really happy that the journalists would get to taste for themselves the Tantra experience. It’s one thing reading (or writing) about Tantra or even photographing or asking someone how they experience it – it’s another thing entirely to actually experience it yourself. You could say it’s a bit like the difference between reading the ingredients on the wrapper of a bar of chocolate as opposed to unwrapping it, breaking off a piece, putting it on your mouth and letting it melt all over your tongue – savouring every subtle nuance of flavour….Mmmm! Only one of the journalists had done a Tantra group before, 10 years ago, so it was all pretty much new territory. Sarita and Suta planned a really beautiful group, including a meditation from the Vigyan Bhirav Tantra and the Meditation of Liberation – the stunning human yantra was captured on film at last! Well done Sidika for clambering up the ladder for the aerial shots!

Roxana, feeling herself as beauty, lying in the arms of godliness - her beloved Vincent!

We were all kept on our toes with a packed schedule of interviewing and session giving, which included our wonderful therapists giving 36 sessions in two days!!

The Croydon Hall chefs surpassed themselves on Saturday evening and presented us with a spectacular and absolutely delicious sushi banquet. The Q&A and sharing which followed gave our fantastic team of Tantra teachers the chance to share their wisdom and answer questions from journalists and the audience (including me!!), which they handled with grace and humour. An evening of spa and bar was most welcome at the end of a very busy day!

On Sunday, we experienced Couples Tantra. I took part in this day, and the presence of love and intimacy was so beautiful and so strong, I was blown away. We did such gorgeous meditations as the tea ceremony and Satyam Shivam Sundaram – with the women feeling themselves to be beauty, the men feeling themselves to be godliness, and the two meeting as Truth.

We ended the day with an extremely touching and beautiful candlelit ceremony, where we passed the flame of Tantra round our circle. All the journalists were without exception extremely touched by what they had experienced and all ready to go away and write movingly about their time at Croydon Hall.

Vibha lights the flame of Tantra

It was so wonderful to experience what an amazing team of therapists, teachers and organisers we have at the School of Awakening. This weekend was a complete unknown for us, but we all pulled together so well and gave the journalists a taste of the beauty and power of Tantra, which will really raise its profile in such a positive way. We felt we went some way to redress the stereotype of Tantra that is commonly portrayed in the media.

The weekend was filmed for the Holistic Channel and for Ambient Productions, and we will let you know when the documentaries and promo pieces are available and also when the articles come out.

With love,

Malika xxxxxxx

And a bit from Sidika too….

Wow…what a weekend! I was particularly touched on our first evening just before the press conference when we invited the film makers and journalists to introduce themselves. Robert shared that he and his colleague Nicola from the Holistic Channel were making a documentary about how Love transforms Consciousness – he gave a very moving and impassioned talk as to the necessity for this in our war-torn world. (I think Sarita wanted to adopt him as part of the Tantra team!) Then Merlina from Ambient Media shared about the documentary she would be making – a piece featuring original artwork and visual poetry based around her personal journey of discovery, exploring what Tantra is and how it relate to her own experiences. Finally the journalists introduced themselves, the publications they were writing for and a bit about their particular interest in Tantra and their writing angle. Although everyone who had been invited to participate in this media event had agreed in advance that they were very happy to be photographed, filmed and interviewed, it was good to hear that these journalists and film makers were here to support us in spreading this amazing work.

Verica receives the Chakra massage from Feri

As I wasn’t participating in most of the meditations, I was able to feast my eyes on the beauty around me as seasoned Tantric participants mixed with journalists and underwent the alchemy of Tantra. For much of the time during the Couples Day, I was happily behind the camera lens as Merlina had entrusted me with her camera so that I could film her participating. Years ago, I’d dreamed of making a beautiful, inspiring and transformative film and now I was getting a piece of the action. Some of the couples meditations had me misty-eyed – they were so beautiful and intimate. I really hope that the tenderness and love I saw between couples is conveyed on the video and allows viewers to get a real feeling of how powerful and beautiful this work is.

In between filming the group meditations, our valiant film-makers, packed up their gear and headed off for the Zen Room where we had set up a sessions clinic to allow the journalists to experience the various healing arts that the School teaches. A few choice shots with some willing models and then off to the Study (or should I say, Studio?) for filming interviews with teachers and practitioners.

Sarita and Supragya at the team meeting

We’ll be putting some video profiles on our website for the teachers and organisers so that people can get a better sense of who we are and what we are offering – and generally what a lovely bunch of people we are! There were some butterflies beforehand as for most of us this was our first time on camera. Lots of last minute coaching going on and questions such as ‘Is my hair OK?’ and ‘Do I look alright in this dress?’! You’ll be able to judge for yourself very soon as the clips will be appearing on our ‘About Us’ page.

On Sunday night, after we waved goodbye to the last of the media and some of the other participants, most of us retired to the spa to enjoy the saunas, steam room and flotation tank before flopping into bed.

Top row from left: Sidika, Malika, Islam, Suta, Tanja. Second row from left: Supragya, Sarita, Chintan, Roxana. And those on the floor from left: Verica, Vibha, Qiming

On Monday, as most of the School’s team were uncharacteristically assembled in one location, we had planned a team meeting. We tackled a very ambitious agenda including a review of the weekend, future plans for the School, marketing and business ideas brainstorming and a spontaneous photo shoot (see left)! Lots of ideas came bubbling up including other media events and all kinds of weird and wonderful offerings which we’ll be revealing to you in our newsletter, blog and website over the coming months…Watch this space!

Love to you,

Sidika

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

These days there is such a sense of rapid change – sometimes unsettling, often inspiring, that calls for us to pay attention to the balance of activity and rest.

September brought an ‘Indian summer’ of some great beauty. I had a beautiful time on a six day silent retreat. It was so wonderful to slooow down, spend time without noise and be immersed in meditation – simply being with the breath, the senses.

After that I was at a Chateau in France for a week with Sarita and the Tantra team from the School of Awakening. We were held among the wooded hills with an impressive vista. It was exciting, hard work and fun to get together. The time was focused on learning and developing a little known method of Tantric massage from Kashmir, and also crafting a transformational new group process Tantra Man-Tantra Woman, which will be unveiled at Croydon Hall this week.

After many years as a massage professional with experience in dozens of methods, it was a very pleasant surprise to experience something new and really quite wonderful. The massage techniques were a joy to share and practice – they are very sensual and powerful – I will certainly be adding them to my menu of individual sessions and look forward to teaching them to others.

I also particularly enjoyed working with Shiva and Sangeet to create the part of the group where the men will all be together away from the women. After choosing Tantric precepts that we felt are essential, we developed the key practices and some dynamic rituals that will really help foster key qualities in a ‘Tantric Man’.

Working with these themes has really fired me up for the upcoming series of Tantra evenings for men in Bristol. I feel that this kind of gathering – where men can offer each other support and inspiration, move and express themselves in an authentic, conscious way and learn with and from each other – is what many men (and the women in their lives!) are really hungry for. I am really looking forward to stepping into a ‘space’ with men and the distinct flavour, the particular atmosphere that emerges there.

Recently I have noticed a subtle change in some of the men’s events – a greater ease and willingness in connecting with other men. It will be interesting to see how widespread these shifts become through the wider society (and not just those who have been ‘working on themselves’). It could be that the times are calling for such an evolution. Who will be a part of the wave?

Namaste,

Suta

www.chooseblissnow.co.uk