A letter from Anu Azrael
On more than one occasion in my life I have experienced moments of inspired madness where a vision or an idea has touched me so deeply, it was like black clouds parting and sunshine touching everything with its beauty. This happened to me last year when I started envisioning offering my group therapy work across Osho Centres globally, on a kind of Pilgrimage of Love. I think at certain points in our growth we need to take the risk of saying a total yes without knowing… at the very worst we discover a difficult truth; and anyway life moves forward.
I first encountered the world of Osho in 2008. 19 years after Master Osho’s transition. I had just spent several years repeatedly walking Pilgrimage across France/Spain on El Camino De Santiago, and had recently become very interested in Family Constellation – and the work of Bert Hellinger.
Through a fated Google search I found the Spain Training of Svagito R Liebermeister. The rest is history. I took sannyas with him several times over the years but it wasn’t until much later in my development that I truly opened to Osho as my Master in spirit. For a long time I was simply too rebellious to fully embrace a spiritual path, too rebellious to be able to fully own myself – which paradoxically was partially what drew me towards the spirit of Osho in the first place. I felt deeply attracted by his rebelliousness, his individuality, his humour and his mischievous wisdom.
Now I find myself at a juncture in my growth, a moment of possibility when I might be able to deepen into this way of the heart, that I have revered for almost half my life. The truth is I don’t know what comes next, and I am afraid of opening myself deeper to this path. What is actually the real risk of going total? I guess the real risk is to my Ego, that I might break open even more deeply into love and owning my own inner beauty.
I have been developing a new image for working with groups over the past few years; I have experimented with various titles, and where I am finally landing is Collective Trauma Healing. Not necessarily because there is a specific focus on Collective Trauma (although it is certainly there) but because we are healing through and moving beyond survival-based ways of being together as a group, using the strength of our collective presence of heart.
We carry it together is a sentence which potently describes the deeper nature of this group work. In this work we are feeling and experiencing with one another; no one person has to carry anything alone, we all carry it together, and through combining our love we can move through it together and remember who we truly are.
One major symptom of unresolved past trauma is unconscious rebellion against the collective, rather than honouring the love that comes from our roots; often we judge the collective and this makes us weak. Authentic expressions of individuality are born of fully feeling our roots in the collective soul. Expressions of individuality born of direct rebellion against society are not strong, nor are they free. They are adolescent. Growing up means giving up fighting injustice and bowing in honour of everything exactly as it is. Aliveness is fully inclusive. This is surrendered love. It is a love that needs nothing to be different.
The circle work offered here is heavily influenced by Family Constellation – we use the strength of the circle’s presence to silently dissolve entanglements from the past of the family. Silent relational presence and moving beyond stories has a powerful role to play in the healing of trauma. Reclaiming our collective belonging is central in this work, learning that being part of the collective doesn’t have to mean that we sacrifice our own individuality. Quite the opposite, we can find deeper safety in the collective field, and powerful resources to support the deeper realization of love and meditation in our lives. The more we build safety and loving presence together, with one another, the more we begin to experience who we truly are – an enigmatic flow of passion and inspiration.
Slowing Down, learning to see through the eyes of the heart and building safe presence, is at the core of this work. Love moves through us in safe spaces. We together move through any heavy challenging states and out into lightness. Moving from a love that needs something into a love that represents everything we could ever need. I believe that when the heart is brought fully online and deep safety is nurtured, nothing else is needed. Deep healing movements take care of themselves, then we engage collective witnessing together as we realize the beauty of heart consciousness.
This work combines the power of Family Constellation, Somatic Experiencing, Breathwork and Relational Presence in service of supporting a deepening into love and meditation.
The principles of Collective Trauma Healing are:
- Slowing Down, Pausing & Deeper Listening
- Honouring Limits
- Presence & Helping
- Resourcing
- Allowing Feelings
- Awareness of Sensations
- Exploring Resonance
- Gratitude & Appreciation
- Celebrating What Is
Whilst we struggle to feel safe in a crazy world, I believe safe collective spaces are the medicine that we need to really begin waking up. This work is a deep call for us to awaken into the loving presence that each of us needs to receive from one another, to take the risk of living our hearts fully. It’s also important to know that ‘safe’ doesn’t mean comfortable – I am really inviting you to your edges in this work; there is no other way to grow and there is no time to waste.
So I am opening up for this journey now. My intention for this Pilgrimage is primarily discovering and developing further the work of Collective Trauma Healing through resonance with the spirit of Osho. However, I also fully open myself to the adventure, the celebration of life, the synchronicities and whatever gifts that Osho sends me along the way to support my own growth.
If you would like to invite me to run a workshop somewhere in the world, whether you are an Osho Centre or a lone sannyasin with a local community that appreciates deep healing work, I would love to serve you on this journey of the heart.
Love to you all and see you along the way somewhere.
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