Like the fragrance at dawn
November 2009
The author attends the workshop by Jasmine Bharathan organised by Life Positive Foundation at Rishikesh and comes back waxing lyrical
There was something subtle, difficult to capture in words. A certain effortless ease, a natural way of being which allowed, included and embraced all of us. This was the ‘New Beginnings’ workshop facilitated by Jasmine Bharathan at Swami Rama Ashram, Rishikesh, organised by Life Positive Foundation. Different things pulled 30 of us – young and old – each of us deeply wishing to experience this thing called life and yet searching for answers.
The truly simple is always profound, the clarity that is born from having travelled, having seen life and experienced living in a way that leaves you in touch with a freshness, a childlike curiosity, and a purposeful lucidity. I encountered Jasmine first on Facebook. There was an instant connection, and a few synchronous events made me a part of this beautiful five-day journey with wonderful fellow travellers.
The programme started on the first day with us experientially looking at the masks we wear and what it means to drop them. Many felt a certain heaviness at the end of the day. Like the churning before the learning, the birthing pain before the baby is born. With a variety of experiences masterfully crafted, with a spaciousness that allows the highest to emerge, the programme was deftly facilitated in a way which enabled healing. We were silently proded and awakened, enabled and touched in different ways.
The remarkable thing was that the presence was gentle and without trying to do a lot, a lot was done. There were moments of struggle and inner churn but in the ambience of love and lightness, everything that emerged was honoured. Once, with my facilitator hat on, I went to share with her, willing to listen and wonder about how it was all unfolding, and came away with a new clarity.
I wrote this in the middle of the programme.
Being invisible
A master at work
Or is it play?
Challenging perceptions
Profoundly, yet gently
Effortlessness
Allowing
Being
Such a gift
Surprises which are soft
Like a flower
I bow to the
magnificence
That flows through you
Subtleties abound
Silence abides
Being Invisible
Being silent
Especially about being silent
“The Tao
does nothing at all
And yet everything gets done”
The workshop covered Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), the Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT), Interplay, meditation, collage of visioning and walking, as a metaphor for life, and a lot more. EFT and TAT are healing techniques, which involve the energy meridians in the body and cleanse blocks at deeper levels to restore the free flow of energy. Another powerful experience, which surfaced the stuff from our pasts, which we needed to release, was simply writing the contents page of our ‘autobiography’ until that day. Each chapter title was five years of our life starting from birth. Amidst tears and laughter, spaciousness and love, a lot was released and healed. There were simple experiences like walking in different ways, at varying paces, stopping, alone and together – great metaphors for how life unfolds.
Each day the programme went to a deeper level. I was struck by the kind of people who were there – especially the older generation. Life Positive made it very affordable for all of us to attend. Being a facilitator, I know that the space for such an experienced bunch of participants can be both challenging and joyful. It requires a willingness to let go of a rigid structure, a readiness to embrace what is emerging, a trusting that allows grace to work – as the facilitator is an empty flute through which life plays its melody. Each of us discovered vital aspects of the song we were born to sing. And began to sing it more deeply. There were concrete takeaways with specific areas, which were blocked previously, opening up for creation of a new beginning.
Nithya Shanti, a dear friend and fellow traveller at the request of Jasmine, concluded the programme beautifully chanting the Vipassana Mangal Maitri, Sab ka mangal.
In moments of intensity, I love to flow and this is what emerged.
Being the breeze
Whispering silently
Unfolding naturally
Encountering life
In its myriad shades
Ordinary greatness
Loving kindness
Playfulness
Easeful, flowing
Invisibly nourishing
Spontaneous connections
Effortlessly happening
A more profound
an even simpler
way of being, living
loving, silently
like the breeze…
Kiran Gulrajani is the founder of CoEvolve and Enable (previously Eternal Learning www.eternalelearnig.com)www.eternalelearnig.com