Art Day
One of our days was dedicated to making art. Individual and collective art creation is a very important part of Damanhur’s history and culture. We made clay sculptures on the theme ‘the others and me’ after a short meditation. And we also made a communal painting. Initially we worked on our own piece of the paper and then worked on what others had been doing. It really brought life to the saying ‘you can learn more about someone in 5 minutes of play than 5 hours of conversation’
We were told a story about how art was introduced to the community. After a few years since starting the community were getting quite comfortable with how things were going. They were progressing steadily and dealing with their problems well. But Falco was not satisfied so he left at the drop of a hat, bringing with him a bunch of people and all they could carry. They went on a mission to find new, young, artistic, vibrant people who wanted to live a different way and make a difference.
When they came back the artistic newcomers excitably wanted to paint everything and try new ideas. The original settlers were happy with how things were and didn’t want change. This culminated in a battle between the two groups. There was strategy, planning, and violence, but it culminated in a grand awareness of how ridiculous it was. Both sides made up and this is how art came to Damanhur.
All around Damanhur are art pieces made by citizens, and every building is decorated by paintings and sculpture.
Sacred Forest Sleepover
We had a night over in a large hut in their Sacred Forest. For this we had to prepare what food to bring to cook and eat. We had 90 minutes to arrange and buy all we would need for our stay. I thought it would be handy, but one of our group caused a bit of a scene and we spent a lot of the time dealing with that.
The day held for us talks on an alchemy, communication, and learning one of their sacred dances. We also played games, and did a meditation in the Temples. In the evening, our troubled group member had a bit of a blowout which was never really recovered from and ultimately left the course. We were sad we couldn’t do more to help, but we agreed it was a job for professionals.
Epic game
Those of you who know me know I love games. In Damanhur about 20 people play a totally epic version of Risk… Which they’ve been playing since 1984. Wow!
Players begin on an earth-like planet as a stone age tribe, and as the game progresses so too do the players’ tribes. They develop and trade technology and grow from age to age, eventually finding space travel and beyond. Similar to Sid Mieir’s Civilisation, if you know it.
Damanhur is all about peace, but paying this game – it’s all about war. Before you’re allowed join, you must have read Sun Tzu’s Art of War, not to mention the incredibly complex rules – it’s no trivial matter. They are really exploring global political power struggles and observing their own experience and behaviours, as an avenue of spiritual development.
I want in!
