Feeling obnoxious in the crowded places in the towns, the heart yearns for some peace. Some may find it in a mother’s lap, a rainy day’s coffee, finishing a novel, or even in being a plant mom.
But is that really inner peace? Where do I find zen? Where do I find myself? I thought as I closed the laptop to plan my long weekend. The phone rang, three of my best friends conference called me. They were planning to go to the Samsara Festival and wanted me to join the tribe. What better place to find me again?
We packed our bags and travelled to the Bir Village which is some 70kms from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh which is famously known as the residence of the Tibetan spiritual leader- Dalai Lama. The serene view immediately became my best friend. As we settled our camps and raised our tents, a chubby brown dog came to us. He drew us to a small shack where we had some steaming mountain Maggi and coffee. What a feeling it was to be surrounded by friends and the aroma of Maggi! The wind created music against hustling trees like a pick against a guitar.
When we reached the event grounds, the first program was yoga. I witnessed some experienced Yoga, Qigong, and Tai chi yoga teachers. Long hours of screen time had given me back pain issues of an 80-year-old, at 27 itself. The most astonishing and reliving part for me was that all those years of back pain were relived in a couple of hours with the amazing healers from the field of Reiki, Ayurveda, and Chinese and Tibetan acupuncture. I was absolutely amazed by their practice and techniques. I felt alive after so long!
In the evening, we were introduced to line-up of music artists and jam sessions. This was the most fun part. A practice, alien to me so far, Sound and Vision Healing, felt closer than any gym workout ever did. It was as if the music healed me. All those tensions, deadline- stress, fights with the boss all went away, as I led the evolutionary and healing arts in.
As I went back to the event ground on day 2, I began to come in contact with my own self, my true self. I realized how my lifestyle was in self destruct-mode. In the rat-race, I had forgotten who I was. All of us are made up of five basic elements, but how many of us celebrate the harmony of our five senses? As I practiced what the instructor taught me, I felt alone. Surrounded by so many people, by friends, yet I felt alone and to my surprise, I liked it. I liked it better. I felt most protected in this environmentally protected region.
To enjoy your own company is an art, not many can master and it is such a joyful place, only a few know. I came back as a better, more functional, happy human who was in touch with her inner self. It was as if the mountains took my worries away….
