Kavitha Rao and Jeff Golden, the founders of The Common Fire Foundation, have come to visit Damanhur for the first time, along with their daughter Samiha, on November 11 – 19. They stayed in one of the nucleo communities of Damanhur and visited many others. The guests also visited the Damanhur School, guided by Anaconda, and found the Temples of Humankind to be incredible and breathtaking.

Stanislav Grof, psychiatrist and researcher of non-ordinary states of consciousness, came to Damanhur before his participation in a  conference of the European Transpersonal Association in Milan. He was very moved by the Temples of Humankind and commented that having such a vision in and of itself is incredible, and the fact that Damanhurians succeeded in realizing it is a truly extraordinary feat.

Alien Jon (first row left) and Nick Woolsey (first row center) share poi skills

Nick: Damanhur is a unique place. Being an intentional community and the fact that we were meditating together, it helped people to open up to each other and for the group to bond. People were in a state of openness to connecting with each other.

My experience in Damanhur, it raised a lot of questions and curiosity for me. I’m interested to know more about the ceremonies and meditations that happen here. I hear that people often come to the community after a strong experience that they’ve had. I wish we could have engaged with Damanhur in a deeper way, with more direct experiences. Perhaps in future retreats we can integrate a Damanhur course with the program.

Julia Butterfly Hill, the acclaimed environmental activist known for living in Luna – an old-growth redwood tree in California – came to Damanhur for her second visit. Her presentation began with Music of the Plants, Ara’s Sacred Dance, and Macaco’s etheric singing. Julia appreciated the beautiful and grounding opening to the event. Julia unveiled the What’s Your Tree project, along with Milena, the Italian coordinator for the program, and Alissa, the National Team Leader in the US.

Why did you choose Damanhur as the place to launch What’s Your Tree in Italy?

I believe that many Damanhurians have ‘found their tree.’ They know what their dreams are and are actively realizing them.

I’ve been to many, many communities all over the world. Often I find that those who want to create communities are spiritual and creative, although not grounded, and those who are grounded are not always open to spiritual and creative processes. The first time I came here, I was struck by the equilibrium of the spiritual and material, that both sides of this dichotomy are strongly present here. Damanhur has created a system for the individual to flourish and discover his or her gifts, and also to use these gifts as a contribution to the larger community as service to others.