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• SPECIAL REPORT- MAY

Food for the soul
The three-day International Spiritual Festival organised by Life Positive Foundation was a celebration of mind over matter, spirit over mind, say Shipra Singh, Annesha Banerjee, and Rashmi Rawat

The Life Positive International Spiritual Festival-2019, held in the bucolic settings of Zorba the Buddha (a retreat space in the heart of New Delhi), brought together sincere seekers of truth and happiness, in a gentle and soothing ambience—something necessary for healing to take place.

Deep catharsis was made possible by facilitators like Babbu Gill, Suzy Singh, and Chitra Jha, and fun tricks to fully exploit the faculty of our subconscious mind were shared by trainers like BK Chandrashekhar, Nasreen Khan, and Renu Agarwal.

Apart from this, there were new and exciting workshops on vegan food, palmistry, Shamanism, and connecting with the angelic realm, that tickled the fancy of the participants. They could not have enough of the fascinating array of diverse workshops spread before them.

Said Gurpreet Singh,“I found all the workshops very unique. Each workshop was facilitated in such a way that I could easily understand how to use spiritual tools in my daily life. The workshop– ‘Working with deities, angels and devas’ left a huge impact on me. I also learnt how the power of affirmations can really help us in becoming a better version of ourselves.”

“I have been a fan of Life Positive ever since someone gifted me it around three years ago. Attending the International Spiritual Festival was a totally a different experience from the medical conferences I am used to attending. The food was excellent and I had a good time interacting with the facilitators.” said Dr Deepak Sharma.

Below is a brief description of all the workshops organised in this festival.

Day 1

Heal Your Life by Babbu Gill

“Our thoughts can be our best companion or our worst enemy,” said Lakhvinder Babbu Gill, who made the participants deeply realise this fact all through her workshop. Her soft expressions and smiling face set the participants at ease from the very beginning of the session. Diving into her own experiences she said, “All our experiences are stored in our body as memories, and the energies of our bodies are governed by these memories.” She explained that various incidents form a belief in our subconscious, and these beliefs create a pattern in our lives. Blockage in the energies causes the ‘dis-eases.’ She tried to change the low self-esteem beliefs of the participants by making them replace these negative beliefs with positive affirmations of self-confidence and worthiness. 

Babbu emphasised throughout the workshop, “Self-love is the cornerstone of our all-round well-being, and we can manifest it to share it with others. Combining the power of our mind, body, and soul, we can empower ourselves to reach our highest potential. All the participants of the workshop left with a smile on their faces, feeling good about themselves, which was the beginning of their healing process. 

Heal the Storm Within by Suzy Singh

This workshop was an emotion-opener for the attendees. Highlighting the inevitability of suffering on the earthly realm, healer and transpersonal therapist Suzy Singh emphasised on suffering WELL instead of suffering POORLY. But what we do is the latter. 

“Suffering is inevitable due to our past karmas. The trick is to take suffering in our stride so that it ceases to appear as ‘suffering.’ Rather, it turns into an opportunity to learn and grow spiritually,” Suzy said.

She discussed happy hormones viz. dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, endorphins, and the various means through which they can be released into the body. Suzy explained to us the power of hugs and how they help to release happy hormones. 

During the workshop, Suzy gave a demonstration of how our emotions affect our physical body, with the help of one of the participants—a beautiful lady, who looked like a diva but deep down was a wounded soul. 

Suzy asked her to recall a painful event. The lady, while doing so, reported feeling heat in her solar plexus chakra (near the abdomen), which crept up to her throat chakra, and she felt a ball-like thing sticking in her throat. Then she cried her heart out. 

Suzy asked the lady to name her feelings. She said, “Despair.” She discovered that this feeling was rooted in gender discrimination that she had experienced as a child. In her childhood, her father had remarked, “Girls are not to be seen or heard.” This had stayed with her. She said she wanted to rebel but could not because she did not feel strong enough to face the opposition. Suzy helped her release her belief through a technique. 

The workshop made us feel lighter at heart at the end of the day. 

Shamanism by Paul Hinsberger and Neelam Nanwani

‘Curiosity’ about Shamanism was the most common reason for the delegates attending this workshop. Facilitated by Paul Hinsberger and his wife Neelam Nanwani, the workshop began with the couple forming a sacred space in which they called in the divine energies from the alternative reality to aid them in conducting the session.

Said Paul, “We have this whole Universe talking to us. All that we need to do is to tune in. Allowing yourself to connect with your surroundings, listening to it, and being yourself is Shamanism.” 

Then, the facilitators introduced us to Shamanic Kinesiology, a technique which can be used whenever one is faced with indecision. Through this method, one can get messages from the physical body. All you need to do is interlock the index finger and thumb of each hand and then ask a question to yourself. If the answer to the question is positive you will not be able to push apart your interlocked fingers and if the answer is negative your fingers will be separated easily. 

Explaining the importance of finding your power animal, Neelam said, “It is true that connecting with nature helps us to imbibe its qualities. Similarly, finding your power animal would lend you some attributes of itself and fuel your energy with the desired quality.” With the help of guided meditation, many delegates found their power animal that assured them a wealth of wisdom and protection whenever needed.

Drum Circle by Paul Hinsberger and Neelam Nanwani

Amidst the luxuriant greenery and scenic ambience of Zorba the Buddha, with neon lights adorning the dusk, Shamanic facilitators Paul Hinsberger and Neelam Nanwani conducted a Shamanic drum circle. Instruments like seed rattle, tambourine, egg rattle, thunder drums, and shamanic frame drum were used in this session. The delegates were asked to form a sacred circle, after which the facilitator started the event by inviting the spirits in the sacred circle. Gradually, with the contribution of each participant playing the instrument, the intensity of the rhythm increased. The increased tempos induced a state of trance that eventually led the participants to connect with the spiritual dimension of reality. Within this state, the participants were free to dance, chant, and pray. 

Raw Rasoi by Rupinder Kaur

This was by far one of the most enjoyable workshops at the International Spiritual Festival. 

Rupinder entered the workshop area loaded with bags full of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. She began by introducing a cold press juicer (also called slow juicer) to the audience. It was bigger than our usual juicers and looked quite sophisticated and state-of-the-art.  Its unique feature was that it takes much longer to extract the juice and does so in such a way that not a drop of juice is left in the residue. The oxidation process of the juices extracted in this manner is much slower and their shelf life, much longer.

Rupinder showed how to use the juicer and make tasty juices with its help at home. She also taught the method of making delicious nut milk using the juicer. Coming to raw vegan recipes, she made simple and tasty cacao laddoos by mixing cacao powder, dates, and desiccated coconut, that everybody drooled over and could not have enough of. Rupinder also taught how to make vegan dalia by mixing nut milk with chia seeds and dry fruits.

Using a vegetable spiraliser, she took a long zucchini and spiralled noodles out of it. Then she took one cup coconut cream, one bell pepper, three tomatoes, one teaspoon lime juice, and salt and blended them in the mixer. She mixed this sauce with shredded zucchini and voila! Raw, vegan pasta was ready to be enjoyed by all!

The taste was so good that no one could tell that the recipe was basically uncooked, vegan, and without any oil or grains. Rupinder, however, did not advise people to replace their normal food with raw food on a daily basis. She said that these foods acted as balancers and helped in healing the body if one suffered from a chronic illness. Therefore, it was better to make them a part of your diet instead of replacing regular home-cooked food with them. The benefits of eating raw foods include weight loss, a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and improved digestion and heart health. 

Keynote address by Sister Shivani

The first day of the festival was concluded with a soulful discourse by the gentle Sister BK Shivani. The participants lapped up each and every word spoken by her. Talking about the importance of the three-day spiritual festival, she asked the delegates to consider it not just as a three-day experience but an event that will change their lives. 

Terming dependency as slavery and freedom as empowerment, she said, “The way we think determines our mood and energy levels during the day. When you radiate a happy thought, the inner energy rises and vice versa. So, instead of letting external factors affect your thoughts, use your thoughts to bring a change in your life as well as your external environment.” 

She added further, “Be it a compliment or a comment, one should not get affected by other people’s remarks. Whether it is good or bad, what others say is a reflection of who they are and not what you are. We do not have to absorb everybody’s perception and deplete ourselves.” 

Concluding the session, she said that a good emotional diet was one of the main elements of a blissful life. Whatever we read, listen, and watch constitutes our emotional diet. So, minimising the intake of information from the outer world can actually help us keep the space in our head clean, which leads to greater clarity in life. 

Day 2

From Breath to Bodhi by Partha Gupta

Partha Gupta’s workshop was aimed at sharing the knowledge about breath and how it can influence our surroundings. . Breath is composed of prana and matter. The prana reaches as energy to the organs whereas matter aids the body physically.

In the session, he worked with the participants to make them experience how changes in mudras affect the organs. Mudras heal by transferring prana to the organ which was earlier not receiving it and thus was afflicted with disease. Before each practice, Partha asked the participants not to use their intellect but flow with the rhythm of the body. He introduced the concept of breathing like a baby, a breath which is devoid of any impurity, for greater happiness in life. Taught to him by his master Shibendu Lahiri, Partha shared the kriyas to cleanse the breath. Ardha Prana Kriya, Poorna Prana Kriya, and Internalised Exhalation allowed the participants to experience the direct changes. Many participants admitted to feeling the change in their breaths.

Partha said that our breaths can manifest our wishes into reality if we breathed in the same frequency as that of our desires. The session also explored the state of stillness, where one becomes still like a mirror, so much so that life reflects itself back at them, offering all the good things.

He concluded the workshop by sharing anecdotes from his journey and how the art of breathing changed his life.

Theta Healing by Renu Aggarwal

“All our life we create unconsciously through our fixed habits. We have become puppets under certain types of pressure. The easiest way to come out of this pattern is to go for a choice. Instead of thinking ‘I have to do it,’ say ‘I am choosing to do it,’” said Renu Aggarwal in her full-day workshop on Theta Healing. 

The session began with an introduction to Theta Healing, a very simple yet profound healing technique of applied quantum mechanics that heals a person physically, psychologically, and emotionally by sending focused prayer to the Creator. The Theta state  is a brain frequency where  relaxation, creativity, and vibrant mental imagery can be experienced. Theta brainwaves (4–7 Hz per second) usually occur  in a deeply relaxed state of mind and while sleeping (in deep sleep and during the REM dream state). If we access this frequency during our waking hours, we can use it to reprogramme our minds for greater peace, success, health, and happiness.

Exercises like releasing your stress into Mother Earth with the help of meditation and helping delegates reach the Theta state through guided meditation were the major takeaways of the workshop. Renu facilitated the connection between the Creator and the delegates, leading them gently on the path to healing and wholeness.

Concluding the workshop, she said, “Life is all about sending love to everyone. It is about having an attitude of acceptance, honour, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion.” And these words pretty much resonated with every participant.

Healing the Inner Child Wounds by Chitra Jha 

This workshop began with puzzled faces because people hardly knew anything about the inner child and its wounds. But gradually, as Chitra explained that it was all about our own self, everybody began to nod. This hurt child lives and hides within all of us and refuses to grow up. 

This workshop turned out to be an ‘action-packed’ one with lots of exercises! It was a complete wound-healing day, and we all came out feeling healed and happy. 

Chitra Jha revealed the symptoms of a person carrying a wounded inner child within themselves and the games powerless (and wounded) people play. Such people are all around us. We, too, at some point in time, let that wounded child dominate our adult life.

Chitra said that the only person we are responsible for is our own self. The deeper your wounds, the lesser you have been responsible for yourself and the more you try to escape. 

According to her, in 10–20 years, people won’t need such workshops if they learn to be responsible for themselves and listen to their bodies. It is a vibrating Universe; you cannot stay stagnant. You must always move and expand your comfort zone. 

The workshop ended with a little celebration of one’s self. It was like we were born again—all fresh and ready to start living anew. 

Palmistry by Meghna Jain

Facilitator Meghna Jain was a storehouse of knowledge on palmistry.

She said that a person’s palm is a mirror of their character and personality, and one could know about a person’s nature as well as their past, present, and future by studying the lines and mounds on their palms. She then took us on a tour of the contours of our hands and the means by which to study and analyse them.

She identified the three major lines running across the palm as the line of heart, the line of brain, and the line of life. “It is the right hand that needs to be studied while reading palms,” she said. Then she decoded the marriage line, fate line, travel line, mercury line, Saturn line, children line, and Venus lines present on the palm. She also revealed the placement of important planets on the palm and how they affect the life of a person. Linking the lines with various mounds on the palm, she revealed many meanings and inferences e.g., if the heart line goes to the mound of Saturn and the line is thin and light, then the person is mean, selfish, and has a low immune system. If there is a gap between the life line and the mind line, it means that the person is stubborn and dominating, whereas if there is no gap between the two lines, it means that the person is flexible, does not have anger issues, and is easily convinced. Meghna also advised wearing of gemstones to minimise or maximise the influence of planets on our lives, depending on their situation on our palms.

Most participants were absorbed in reading their own palms and matching them with Meghna’s revelations. All in all, an interesting field of study for those interested.

Saral Energy: Path to Happiness by Guruji Chandrashekhar

“Cosmic energy is present all around us and is available to us all the time, yet we are unable to make full use of it to maximise our lives,” said Guruji Chandrashekar.

He said that because of a faulty way of living, we lose out on precious energy that is available to us round the clock. According to him, there was a reason why houses were made in a square shape with a courtyard in the centre in ancient India. Such shapes draw positive energy in abundance to themselves. The tradition of building attached toilets may seem convenient to the user but, in reality, the negative energy of the toilet impedes the flow and access to positive energy for the residents. This is the reason why toilets and bathrooms were made outside the house earlier.

In general, he gave the following advice to the participants:

•Vastu changes in the house must be done in accordance with a person’s date of birth.

• Keep rock salt in the attached bathrooms to neutralise negative energy.

• Keep the bed in the centre of the room.

• Do not have the bedroom near the toilet area.

• Have calm pictures in the house and never put pictures of shipwreck, storm, battlefield, or war goddesses. 

Day 3

NLP by Nasreen Khan

Attending a workshop by Nasreen Khan, a most dynamic facilitator, was an experience in itself.

With her brilliant and ingenious techniques, Nasreen demonstrated to people the power of their minds and how they can use it to create a brand new reality for themselves. Nasreen said that a new life depended upon our ability to create new neural pathways in our minds. Fresh ways to think and act create newness in our lives and fill us with vigour, dynamism, and magnetism.

She began the workshop by pairing up people and asking them to remember each other’s name in reverse. This sparked their imagination, and soon, the ice was broken, and a rapport was built amongst the participants. This was an example of what creating a new neural pathway could do. Since the brain does not know the difference between what’s real and what’s vividly imagined, Nasreen used this characteristic of the brain to erase painful memories from a person’s mind, by making people put them on a mental TV screen and then have the TV destroyed mentally. 

She also taught people how to change feelings by changing body postures since both are inextricably linked with one another as well as how to frame sentences and effectively use tonality and body language to create a positive impression on the other person. It was interesting to learn how mimicking a person’s tone, gestures, and body postures helped create a better rapport with them—something which comes in handy if we want our negotiations to have a favourable result.

All in all, it was a highly enriching workshop

Acupressure by Ketan Shah

Acupressure is a completely different science of healing the human body. Combining the knowledge gained from his gurus and his own research, Ketan V Shah enlightened the participants about how organs and their energies relate to various parts of our bodies. A lack of energy in these organs can cause health issues which can further lead to emotional imbalance as well. 

In his workshop, Ketan Shah mentioned the key pressure points that are connected to various internal organs and how we can use them to reverse the diseases. While giving a demo, one of the participants experienced pain when one pressure point—which was connected to his knee joint pain—was pressed. Mr Shah concluded that this was due to a problem in his kidney, and we were amazed when this turned out to be true!

The participants joyously titled Ketan Shah as the ‘father of modern acupressure’ as his statements were validated by doctors attending the workshop. The practical session explored how the energies of our body have a physical as well as an emotional impact. Sharing the miraculous stories of how people have been cured through acupressure, the participants were surprised to note that a simple act of applying force on a nerve could heal people in great measure. Questions from the attendees were satisfactorily answered by Ketan Shah, and he also suggested simple and easy cleansing processes that bring positive changes in life and body. 

How to work with angels, devas, and deities by Jaspal S Soni and Lois E Drake

Facilitators, Jaspal S Soni and Lois E Drake started the workshop with a brief introduction on how to work with divine powers. In the first part of the workshop, the delegates were introduced to a chart of our divine self. The chart illustrated the four forms of our body, namely,  physical, emotional, mental, and etheric. Explaining the concept of tri jyoti—a three-plumed structural flame in pink, yellow, and blue colours (existing within us in energetic form) and representing love, wisdom, and power respectively—Mr Soni said that it was important to balance these energies, which can be done with the help of divine energies. “It will not only lead us to fulfil our mission on earth according to the divine plan but also help us in balancing our karmas,” he stressed.

Lois Drake shared the technique through which one can seek help from devas, deities, ascended masters, and archangels. 

Moving towards the third part, that was based on violet agni and the science of the spoken word, she said that the violet flame (agni) was a gift to mankind from ascended masters to help people void their karmas and begin a new chapter in life. All that one had to do was to imagine a violet beam of light entering the head and going down the chakra system, cleansing the body. This process was to be accompanied by spoken affirmations, specific to each and every chakra. The workshop was concluded with a rebirthing recitation of certain decrees, which left the participants feeling rejuvenated.

Psycho Neurobics by Dr B K Chandra Shekhar

This workshop on day three of the ISF turned out to be one of the most interesting, useful, and scientifically-oriented one ever. 

Dr Chandra Shekhar, a cancer survivor, began by defining Psycho Neurobics. Aerobics is exercise for the body. Similarly, Psycho Neurobics is exercise for the mind (psychology) and neurons (brain). 

According to him, the body  is made of cosmic elements: earth, water, fire, air, and space. Blood is the cosmic flow. Spiritual energy is the bioelectric flow. Organs are ‘cosmic machines’ run by spiritual energy. 

The doctor then gave a live demonstration of how energy flows in the body chakras with the help of a device invented by a German scientist. It carried a positive charge, which is also the energy of the soul. The body, on the other hand, carries a negative charge. And opposite charges attract. So, if your chakras have good energy flow, the device would point towards your body. If not, it would swing back. He called each participant and checked their chakras. He also checked the length of their aura (energy field around the body). 

He then gave a demonstration of how anger can imbalance the heart chakra. He asked a participant to recall an event that had made him furious. The gentlemen did this for 15 minutes. Earlier, the device had shown that all chakras of this man were balanced. Now, when the doctor brought the device near his heart, it swung back! If just recalling an angry moment can imbalance a chakra, imagine what must be happening inside us when we are actually angry! 

The doctor taught how to charge water and food to make them healthier for us. He gave daily Psycho Neurobics exercises and taught various mudras, meditation with colours, and visualisation. The workshop was so interesting that participants even refused to go for the tea break! The whole atmosphere seemed to be charged. It was like discovering a whole new world of energies, which is within us! 

The ISF was truly a festival of gyan galore, which turned out to be a life-altering experience for the participants.