RETURN FROM OMEGA

Written by Greg Whitt Monday, 25 May 2009 00:00

We went to New York to rekindle our creativity and instead uncovered hidden insights that had been with us all along.  Upon reflection, I think we could’ve done more for less....

Annelies and I have just returned from a 1200 mile pilgrimage to the Omega Institute. The campus is beautiful - it’s like kids camp for grown-ups (though they do in fact have a kids program). The dining hall has fantastic healthy foods including a home-made bread called the flatulent goblin (and you’d better believe it). The landscaping is fantastic - gardens, buddha sculptures, a labyrinth, simple and elegant buildings surrounded by ferns, trees, lush lawns and fed by a babbling brook. No cars on the campus to break the quiet where we encountered rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, groundhogs, deer, skunk, and even heard of a bear siting. We went for a workshop and wound up in what they call R&R mode instead. We attended a creativity workshop, a movement class, a spiritual humor seminar, an angelic energy healing, sat naked in the sauna with strangers, walked in the woods, meditated in the sanctuary, swung in a hammock, laughed in delight to play among raindrops as we paddled the lake in a thunderstorm, stopped to admire flowers that smelled like vanilla cake icing, and we loved in the afternoon with sun dappling our hair through the leaves of the trees. We bought a frozen Mounds bar in a general store operating in the same building since 1807. We raved about raw macaroons sold in the cafe. We even started an impromptu drum jam in the Omega book store where it was a real treat for me to drum on Babatunde Olatunji’s old stomping grounds. My biggest learning was that you don’t need to travel far and wide or spend lots of money to learn important lessons in life. I found great inspiration in simple conversation with the many interesting people who were there. I learned that I appear much more “together” than I actually feel. I found new appreciation for sharing a picnic table and for sitting in the grass. I learned that quiet time is more important than any amount of external stimulation and that it can be found where ever I am and when ever I allow myself the stillness to embrace it. How wonderful that a journey of discovery leads one back home again and teaches us to look within for the things we truly need to fulfill our lives.