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.

What do you find unique about Damanhur?

Jeff: As humans, we used to live in a world of small communities. Damanhur is inspiring because it shows that we can go back to living that way. I believe living in small communities is most conducive to human happiness. In our society, we are becoming disconnected and not working together for the best interest. Damanhur is an example of the way it was before, when we had a common goal. In the past, humans were living together in tribes, staying together for survival. This is also happening at Damanhur, though it’s about spiritual survival.

The retreat combined poi and meditation activities. Do you relate to poi as a moving meditation?

Nick: Poi is an exploration of how to flow with energy. Playing with poi is a laboratory for me, an experience of playing with energy. The skills that I learn through poi can be applied to inner and outer worlds.

Alien Jon: Poi is a part of my path. It is a way of being, not the means to an end. I experience everything through it.

Through the microcosm of poi practice, I explore myself and my relationships, and it affects how I see the rest of the world. The practice of poi uses many faculties: it can be analytical, and cerebral, and also an emotional release. It’s a physical activity, it’s knowing body, and it can also be about letting go and just doing. It’s a means of social interaction and a mirror. I can see what I have learned through poi reflected in the world.

At Burning Man, I spun poi in a particular place with just the right ingredients that made me open up and pour out energy. It was beyond anything I’ve done before. It was an ecstatic loss of ego, while still having a conscious observer who was aware that I was doing all these crazy things. I felt harmony and connectedness with the audience and the music. Though it was not direct social interaction, I felt connected with the people around me, pouring out to them. It was a transcendent moment of poi.