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Registration
For the last 1 ½ hours I have been sitting here in the courtyard of "Kasteel Vaeshartelt", a 19th century castle, witnessing the arrival of the participants. According to the gentle receptionist, the castle is all ours for a whole week. So all the people I encounter will be here for the week to come. They come in all kinds and shapes: a single lady arriving by taxi, whole families cycling into the courtyard, other motley groups of people walking along. Several couples are seated on the terrace, drinking coffee in the sun. By 15:30 quite a few people have arrived and the joyful laughter of playing children fills the air. With great curiosity I observe all the passers by. Who is that blond lady with the big sunglasses seated behind me? Will I get to know her during the week? What language does she speak? Where is she from? And what does she bring to the gathering? I decide not to wait and to ask her right away. Her name is Tami and she is from Minneapolis. She plays the harp and uses it as an instrument to heal people. "I am here to grow spititually and to be in community with others interested in global healing and world peace", she says. She adds that, given the current state of the US, she really needed to be in a community of people that she could share her concerns and worries with. She also tells me she couldn't wait another day to come to Europe again. She was very curious about coming to the Netherlands, not having been here before, and she is very excited about staying in a castle. Well - so am I! |
Home Groups
In the late afternoon, we have our first get together within the "home groups". These are small groups of about eight people each of whom are being coordinated and led by one of the facilitators. The homegroup will meet every day during the gathering for three quarters of an hour. The idea behind splitting up the 125 participants into smaller subgroups is to create a safe space from which we enter the gathering and to where we return. It's a home base where we can ask questions, share our concerns and experiences in depth. It is much easier to speak and to open up before a group of eight than before a group of eighty. As a matter of fact we will be growing very close during the conference as we share our thoughts and feelings, once every afternoon. To me the home group will become something like a family within this big community. But right now we keep it a bit on the surface, telling the group who we are, why we are here and what we expect from this gathering. "I just expect to have a good time", says one guy. Hm. Why not? "I want to learn about my edge and hopefully surpass it", says a lady. Someone else adds that she is looking forward to seeing some old friends and meeting new people as well. Most of us agree with that. Apart from meeting all kinds of people, we are looking for inspiration on how to deal with leadership issues. (One lady says she wants to create a leadership development institute in Siberia.) Last but not least, joining the conference is also about experiencing spirituality. "My expectations are just to be here and get a feeling of spirituality", says another gentleman. Great expectations! |
Opening talk
At 20:30, the opening session is being held by Peter Goldman. Speaking to various people afterwards it seems everybody is enthousiastic: Great presenter! Charismatic!! Witty!!! But what was his opening speech about? Or, put in a different way: what was his opening speech not about? Nobody I spoke to was able to answer that question. It seems that Peter communicates more through energy than through words. Later on I heard about his observation that we are all moving to a higher level of consciousness. Not just we in the conference - but humanity as such. He observes that in the high level of consciousness of our kids. |
