Osho Summer Celebration at Croydon Hall

I have just returned from the Osho Summer Celebration at the beautiful Somerset venue that is Croydon Hall.

Entering the house, I could feel the energy changing. It was a bit like going through the looking glass – entering another world where it was easier to relax, celebrate and go inside.

There were about 130 people there – a record number. Local B&B’s and friends were roped in to accommodate the overflow of guests. For many "old-comers", this is an opportunity to meet up with old friends as well as to make new ones. I met people I hadn’t seen for over 25 years – including Swabodhi and her partner from Australia, and Nityamo and her partner from the USA.

There were also a record number of people coming for the first time – about 30! Quite a few of them said they had read about the celebration on the Osho in UK website. Tristram, from Devon, said:

"I was overcome by the sharing of peaceful people in the very clean and clear space of Croydon Hall. It was my first experience of sannyasins, and as I didn’t have any idea of what to expect, I was truly amazed by it all. Good music, people and food completed a wonderful weekend, where meditation and music were blended in a beautiful way. I was made to feel very welcome by all."

The full programme included meditations such as Dynamic, Osho Satsang meditation every morning and Evening Meeting every... you know when!

In addition, there was a wide variety of workshops, ranging from gentle spaces, to wild. It’s a lot to mention everything and everybody here, but I will anyway!

The workshops were: Qi Gong, "Discovering your own truth", Biodanza, Gurdjieff Movements, "Relating to the Sky", Feldenkrais, "Wise Woman Wild Woman", Yoga, "Moving Sound", "Family Constellation". Run by Michaela, Smaran, Jill, Shruti, Phoebe, Nikhila, Pratibha, Paritosh, Christoffer, Sarasi. "Spoilt for choice" is the expression that comes to mind.

On Saturday night the action was in Rinzai, the large meditation hall, with a dance to the celebration music of Presence – on this occasion Surahbhi, Adarsha, Tarisha, Prabodh, Manu and Vikas. They also played music in the bar on Friday night. Other musical events were a concert with Benjamin and a Heart Dance with me.

Despite the large numbers, the feeling of the whole event to me was of simplicity. Led by the team who live and work at Croydon Hall and many helpers, everything flowed with ease and remarkable efficiency.

And Osho through his words and presence, inspired us all as always. One of the Satsang quotes which seemed to touch many people was on the art of living dangerously. Here is an extract:

"There are only two types of people in the world. People who want to live comfortably – they are seeking death. They want a comfortable grave. And people who want to live – they choose to live dangerously, because life thrives only when there is risk."

So, with our meditation batteries charged and our hearts opened, we left – hopefully to come back again soon, maybe to the Osho Meditation Weekend (2-4 October), or the Osho Winter Celebration (17-20 December).

www.croydonhall.co.uk

text by Yatro – 25th July 2009