Talk on Emotional Wellness at ConsciousLab, London

 This event was seeded by Martin by introducing me to Rohini  of ConsciousLab. Rohini did a lot of spade work to shape this event and Claudia, Director of ConsciousLab put the finishing touches. It was unfortunate that Claudia couldn’t be present on the day of the event as she was traveling but Shilpa, co-founder of ConsciousLab fulfilled the role of the hostess very effectively and gracefully. Harsh was to help with the video and related arrangements. I have not met any members of the ConsciousLab Team earlier.

 One of the aspects that bothered me about this event is that I prefer workshop mode. My preference is based on my opinion that participants can be left with an experience that opens up new ways of being, doing and having. Talks, in general, get to be more oriented towards giving more information and knowledge. (Of course, there are exceptions like Ekhart Tolle). So, it was a dilemma for me on how to create an experiential event in about 90 minutes. Finally, I decided on an experiment to use video clips, slides and demonstration leading to a guided meditation. From the feedback I received, I am happy and grateful that the experiment was well received.
  I must share the incident about how I met Harsh. I was finding it difficult to locate the building in which the event was to be hosted and went up and down. Finally, I saw an Indian and thought I would take his help and approached him. He immediately recognized me form the picture and introduced himself. That is synchronicity! After the event, he invited me for dinner and it was a pleasure to meet such a young person who is in a spiritual quest.
 An interesting aspect was I discovered another layer of Indra’s Mani Haara (web of jewels) not only in the ConsciousLab team but also among the participants. Rohini was in Auroville earlier and will be going to Auroville again for six months as a volunteer. Shilpa comes to Pondicherry every year on her birthday to meditate in the room of Sri Aurobindo in the morning and at Matri Mandir in the evening. Claudia and Harsh visited Auroville multiple times. Claudia and Divya are planning to bring a group to Auroville later this year. I got to know Helen, when she was in Auroville twice as a volunteer. She came to attend the event with three of her friends. There were another 4 people who met me after the talk and told me that they were at Auroville. So, the network of Integral Yoga is actually manifesting Human Unity.
 Helen has so kindly offered to take me around and show London. I really enjoyed the day in her company. I was very fortunate to have her guidance in experiencing this great and historic city. We walked a lot, talked a lot, went on a Thames cruise, had a picnic lunch at St. James Park and attended the Evensong service at Westminster Abbey.  This is the best way to experience a city like London.
 London must be the most multi-cultural and multi-racial metros in the world and I am very happy that I had an opportunity to be in this city and have a sense of how England is contributing to the actual manifestation of Human Unity.
I am grateful to Martin, Rohini, Clauadia, Shilpa, Harsh and Helen for this extraordinary week-end in London. I am grateful to Martin for making this connection!