Endless Light in the Far North
Published in Viha Connection magazine.
When I think about my week at the No Mind Festival in Sweden, waves of pleasure wash over me. It was a truly delicious experience - friends, both old and new, good food, exquisite countryside and lots of energy. I travelled there from England with Ravi (of kora fame), Eric (guitar player extraordinaire) and Nicki (overtone singer and inversion therapist). Our hosts had rented two houses in the local village for the musicians, on opposite sides of the street, and it was very cosy, popping over to visit each other. Staying in the other house were Satgyan (bass), Praful (saxophone and flute), Maneesh (keyboards), Sudha (vocals) and Rupesh (congas and percussion).
From the left, clockwise: Micky, Eric, Rupesh, Praful, Suvarna, Maneesh, Sudha, Ravi
The organisers of the festival have been at it for many years now and it really shows. The organisation was excellent, everything running on time, well presented and thought out. We musicians were provided with great sound equipment and a team of sound engineers at all our gigs. All through the day there was a smorgasbord of events for participants to choose from. There were around 1000 participants, including 120 workers, but the events were never too crowded as there were always two or three events to choose from. What was on there? Therapy, meditation, music, nature walks, Chi Gung and other workshops, panel discussions, Veeresh’s own special events, programmes for kids and teenagers, individual sessions, a superb wood-fired sauna, and the great outdoors. In the evenings the favourite spots were the fire pit and the bar, despite the astronomical price of beer (Swedish style).
On our first night there I went to bed quite tired after the journey and promptly fell asleep. I woke up with the sun shining through the window and thought it must be morning; however, a look at my clock told me it was 3 a.m.! Very strange. I slept on and off until 8:00 and finally got out of bed. I had never experienced the far north before and it really took some adjusting to. When the sky was clear it never really got dark at all – more like a three-hour twilight before the sun arose again. I’m not usually a “late to bed” type of person but the sun and the energy of the festival got to me and I was able to ride the wave, staying up until the dawn for many nights. However, I did get more and more tired as the week wore on. It was magical to walk through the woods in the middle of the night (which were full of delicious, wild blueberries) with the twilight to guide you.
The festival has a lovely Swedish, wholesome quality to it. There were many families there and the kids seemed to be as much as part of the festival as the therapists. It was nice to sit in the sun and watch families with small children playing together. There was a small group of teenagers who, despite trying to be cool and nonchalant – as one is bound to do at that age – still looked really wholesome and lovely to me. Perhaps I’m comparing them to English teenagers, some of whom you wouldn’t want to meet on a dark night. I felt an innocence about the Swedes, as if the nastiness of the rest of the world hasn’t found them yet. One man especially seemed to come from another world – Rolf Olsson. He comes from the very far north of Sweden and has piercing blue eyes, which carry the purity and wildness of his native land.
The music was varied and we all had opportunities to play. Praful and Maneesh did a really upbeat set and a live Nataraj, Ravi did a night of his kora compositions, Sudha sang her mantras, the Overtone Choir did two concerts, and Eric did a great solo gig in the bar. Satgyan, Rupesh and myself played wherever it was needed. After settling in, we got into a nice rhythm – breakfast round at our place, then rehearsals if there was a gig that evening, or participation in a workshop, lunch at Aengsbacka, maybe an afternoon nap, sound check (always lasting a lifetime), and the afternoon or evening gig. We were happy to find a great stash of Monty Python videos in the house where we were staying, which juiced us English people up when needed!
Other musicians present there were Peter Makena and Anita, and Kailash (didgeridoo), plus two visiting bands. Myself, Praful, Rupesh and Satgyan played with Peter at his opening concert and I felt really honoured to play with him. His ability to create and hold a sacred space with so many people is really incredible. He and Anita did heart dance every day in the big tent and I loved to sit outside and listen to such beautiful melodies sung en mass. Rupesh also played congas with them every day and was complaining of complete exhaustion at the end of the week!
When Veeresh and his entourage arrived things seemed to step up a gear. The roar coming out of the big barn when he was doing his Aum meditation was like a hurricane. Whatever energy needed to be loosened, it was done so in his sessions. I didn’t attend very many of the non-musical events, but did go to Turiya’s eneagram workshop and some of the panel discussions. The idea behind the panel is that participants can ask questions on the particular subject being discussed to the panel members and will receive an answer on the spot. The first one was on love and relationship, which was attended by Veeresh who characteristically shocked everyone in the audience. The second one was on spiritual practice. The panel members came from diverse backgrounds and this was a nice way to present the various approaches that are possible. Some of the therapists present at the festival were: Brad Balton (radical honesty), Ananda Giri (satsang), Peggy Dylan (fire walk), Turiya, Veeresh and Byron Katie (the work).
By day six the energy was flagging a little bit, but the fire walk in the evening was really powerful. No, I didn’t do it, I just clapped along (what a chicken). I did see Rupesh go over six times, though. In good Swedish fashion there was a small ember walk for the kids and I saw a few of the teenagers hopping around later on – probably should have done the workshop first. Ravi, Eric and I did a demon gig in the bar that night with a particularly non-spiritual theme to the music (think: Kalinka and Stand By Your Man) which went down surprisingly well with the crowd.
My favourite event of the festival was the last night’s celebration. Ravi was the MC and it was a real gala performance. The festival band performed a variety of different songs, which were interspersed with special guest appearances. Peter did one of his famous music group songs with separate parts for men and women. After people had separated into two groups and Peter had taught them the song, things really took off. The energy rose and rose, and the groups of men and women started to move like waves. Into the sea dived Praful with his saxophone and we lost sight of him a few times as he was swallowed up in a particularly high wave. It was magical to watch from the stage. Rolf did a traditional song from his native land, with a special drum and singing mask. Micky and Hari, the main organisers, came onto the stage to sing with us Peter’s Magnificence song. Being tall, Nordic types we had to raise the mike stands up a few feet for them. It was a magical rendition, everyone joining in full gusto and then bringing it down to a whisper at the end. I sang a raga improvisation with Maneesh on keyboards, and then we finished with Premal’s Om Namo.
My thanks to Micky, who took such good care of us, Hari, Paoli (who drove us to and from the airport), and all the other parties responsible for an incredible experience. I came away juiced up and very touched by the whole experience. The only bad part about No Mind was leaving.