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When people travel, they flirt with the unknown. These are new territories, and our curious minds are thirsty for new knowledge, new experiences, new ways of understanding ourselves and the world around us. What we know evolves as we fully engage with the conscious festival experience; an experience that involves learning in many different forms – not just the learning that occurs in our dance ritual. The ecstatic ritual of the dance is one opportunity for self-realisation; yet, it is not the only one.

The quest for meaning continues beyond the dancefloor. At conscious festivals, knowledge acquisition and self-realisation can happen in many ways. We travel to these remote places for the whole experience of knowledge exchange; from ritual dancing, to observing sustainable eco-structures that provide shelter and communal areas, to the new awareness we develop through healing practices and workshop participation.

Workshops are an important part of the conscious festival landscape. They foster educative practices that reconnect us with the need for stillness, for alignment, for expansion, for patience, for coordination. Practices such as Yoga, Thai Chi, Qi Gong; Cacao, Fire and Water ceremonies anchor our self-realisations in the present moment. In a safe space, we realise our personal limits, our blind spots through well-established practices, aiming at rebalancing the heart, the soul and the mind.

In the Workshop and Healing areas, we have the opportunity to learn, to share experiences with a small number of people, and to reengage with the need to make sense of our transcendental experiences. Different healing and educational practices take place in this sanctuary; different ways to reground ourselves, before or after a visit to the dancefloor. We are reconnecting with practices that have facilitated the well-being of communities for a very-long time.

Once again, we rediscover ancient knowledge and practices, yet we also acknowledge the needs for transformative practices that specifically relate to the challenges of our times: educational workshops focusing on sustainability, renewable energies or mindful relationships also have a place in conscious festivals, as they enhance our awareness of current issues that affect ourselves and Mother Earth.

Looking at the relationship between self-realization and the potential for social change, workshops and healing sessions provide a space for us to realise different ways of being; different ways of relating to the world around us. They give us the time to attend to the things we tend to forget: what is happening in our bodies, what is the connection between thinking, feeling and body responses, what kind of inner knowledge we already had but we have never put into action. We become more aware as to when there is a need to be disciplined and when to let go. Through mindful exercises for better interpersonal communication, we learn how to be gentle yet stable with ourselves and others. These are practices that are raising consciousness and carry the potential for collective social improvement.

Co-creation of a common knowledge base is core for taking the knowledge and self-realisation we have acquired during the festival in our everyday lives. From the ecstatic fascination of the dance ritual to the grounding practices of Yoga, Qi Gong, Thai Chi and meditation, to the informative workshops on sustainability, environmental and self-awareness, we learn how to relate to life in a different way; in a way that allows the mind, body and the soul to learn and process knowledge without hurry.

We become carriers of an alternative knowledge base, which can then apply to our lives after the festival. A knowledge base, which we can share with others that cross our paths and raise awareness of what an alternative lifestyle can bring to their lives too: a more attuned way of living, a chance to stop and realise what’s going on inside us and around us, a chance to contribute to a more environmentally aware way of life.

To find out more about our Workshop and Healing program please visit the www.solarunitednatives.org/activities page!