Tagore Festival at Darting Hall

The Great Hall at Dartington

I had hoped to post more often but here it is Thursday already and I'm just finding time.  What a full and exciting time  from 10 in the morning to 10 at night.  Actually it has been exhausting to experience so many meaningful, inspiring, and enjoyable events one after another.

Surprise of surprises that when I arrived at the festival on Saturday the very 1st person I ran into was Arore Marens at the entry of Sharpham Hall.  Very few people from the US are here so it's even more remarkable.  Sharpham is another retreat center associated with Dartington with a magnificent Manor House.  One of the special things about the manor house is a 4 story spiral stone staircase to a domed celling with exceptional acoustics.  The Ishirini Choir from London that was part of the opening ceremony was also staying at Sharpham and a huge treat was that after breakfast they practiced singing in the spiral staircase.  The most beautiful musical experience I have ever had, makes me tear up just to remember it.

                                     A Tagore quote  you can partially see in the photo was 

 We live in the world when we love it.

One of the overall themes of the conference is we need to wake up and wake up KNOW to address all of the critical issues facing us.  The 1st program on Monday was with Tony Juniper, who wrote the book Harmony with the Prince of Wales, and dealt with the magnitude of the change needed and that the change needed is cultural, philosophical, political and economic as well as environmental.  We need a spiritual shift and a change in core values.

Next was a a very interesting program for me by two Schumacher Professors connecting Einstein and Tagore through Holistic Science and how our over-emphasis on mechanistic thinking is threatening the integrity of both Nature and culture.

Followed by a talk by Iain McGillchrist, an engaging Scottish psychiatrist, on right brain-left brain thinking and how right brain thinking has got us into the messes we are in and we need BOTH to survive.   How do I feed myself  and yet stay alive;  attending to narrow interests and global interests at the same time.

And to top it off to end the afternoon with Jane Goodall.  What a sweet and powerful lady who reminded us we are not borrowing resources from our children, we are stealing them and that everyone of us can make a difference every day in the way we live. To think about the consequences of small choices, that we have to become involved and to never give up.  An honor to be in the presence of su

All this mixed with music and dancing and Poetry.  Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?  but delightfully exhausting.  

We live in the world when we love it!