Peace In The Park

On the Bank Holiday weekend in August, I traveled to Oxford to the Global Retreat Centre for the Peace In The Park Festival. Advertised as a life-changing spiritual festival hosted by the Brahma Kumaris Centre, I can report, it really is! I arrived at around 9.30am, checked into my hotel and headed off to the festival. There was a lot to do...

 

The atmosphere was calming, peaceful, relaxing and loving and everyone there seemed to be glowing! The beautiful surroundings of the Global Retreat Centre made it easy to forget our busy lives and be immersed in the freedom and lightness of this wonderful place.

There were talks on everything from meditation, positive thinking, self-love, inner peace, emotional freedom, mindsets, creating good karmic energy, strengthening personal resilience, the energy of silence, detoxing the mind and soul and more. There was Laughter Yoga (a first for me), dance work shops, pocket raves and DJ sets. Everything was arranged in certain areas.

The weather wasn't always sunny! At one point, we were inside a tent, electricity cut off, thunderstorm over our heads and meditating. I knew this moment would never happen in my life time again. We experienced magical moments!

There were tables dotted around underneath trees where people could meet up after talks for further discussions.

There were some areas you could go to just sit quietly and relax like the Meditation Lounge...

There was a lovely Music Chapel and one of the highlights for me was listening to the sound of the cello playing a meditation piece of music while we sat in silence and listened.

There was music being performed in other nooks and crannies in the gardens too.

I took a walk through the grounds by myself along the Art Trail and saw Guardian Sculptures by Wendy Marshall.

  

I saw a group of people gathered underneath magnolia tress in the distance...

I was curious as to what they were doing and as I moved closer I heard a flute playing in the background. I realised they were doing Qi Gong near the Japanese Garden and so I decided to join in. It was very powerful and I could feel everyone's vibrating energy. It was pretty awesome!

I absolutely loved the Enchanted Forest and the whole area for children including the Fairytale Theatre, the Chill-out Den, Story Time area and all of the wild and natural creative activities set up for them to explore...

 

I also had some pretty magical experiences in my favourite tent, the Feelgood Heartspace.  This I'll write about in another Blog post.

The grounds provide a home to many types of trees, all of which were labelled.

Teas under the trees were provided for us all day long and we were given badges with positive words on and meditation cards to take home with us. It was set up so beautifully and with the intent to relax us and help us to escape from the hussle and bussle of our busy lives to reconnect with who we are.

At the end of every evening, on the main stage, there was a Peacemaker Concert. All of the musicians came together to use their talents to transport us to a place of hope and transcendence.

This festival brought people together of all backgrounds and nationalities to experience the dream of peace for our world and it was truly an unforgettable weekend. This event is free for everyone and all of the volunteers and performers offer their time out of love. I highly recommend everyone to go to this festival. There's something for everyone and it's such a wonderful day out for families and friends. It will open your eyes to a more peaceful way of living your life and what can be greater than that!

Thank you to the Brahma Kumaris for such an amazing event.

Big love to you all,

♥ Anna-Christina