Just before I right this
text tonight, I was walking through the olive grove in Osho Afroz. I
was walking barefoot and I had no flashlight with me. Then I thought
that usually people would be scared walking without a light or shoes
in the night. For me, after more than a decade of living in this
wonderful place, walking barefoot most of the time just feels
natural, as well as so connecting to the earth and healing to myself.
As for the darkness, I guess I let go of that fear since the time I
was studding photography and spending hours in the dark room. And
certainly after a life changing experience in Osho Darkness
meditation in this place some years ago. So each time I find myself
walking in darkness in nature this summer I leave my mind behind and
I'm becoming aware of my steps and my environment. Then, as the trees
and the stones dimly reach my eyes, they take a form of faitytale, of
wonder, of a majestic world.
So, while walking in woder
in the darkness, it came to me that this is a good metaphor to talk
about my experience from the “Die Before You Die” group, that my
Sufi bro Kaifi facilitates in Osho Afroz and I did last year as a
participant and this year as a helper. You see, sometimes I have this
feeling that I'm living this life in darkness, kind of like groping
in the dark but that doesn't mean that I have to be fearful about it.
As a matter of fact I can still enjoy it, marvel and be wonderful in
it. And then the light can come from the inside.
As a member of the helpers
team, one of my assignments was covering the process with photography
and video. Here is a collection of the best photographs. They are
unedited and the text is written in a non
sophisticated way, by the sea, drinking coffee just before the swim.
When I go back to the city, I will retouch the posts of this
wonderful summer in Osho Afroz, by editing the photos and the texts.
For the meantime, I post them like this as a way to send my love to
all the beloved friends with which we connected this summer and as a
way of showing my gratitude to this beautiful island, place and the
Buddha field.
I am deliberately not
writing what the “Die Before You Die” group is about. It is not
for me to explain it here and maybe there is no need for explanation
anyway. Maybe later I can write about my own experience. The only
thing I can say now, is that last year, as a participant, there were
sometimes in which somehow I felt I'm dying and these made me come
closer to living fully, naturally and in wonder. So, while I'm not
going to recommend that you walk barefoot and with no flash light at
night through a forest, I certainly recommend this process.
