KäNN DIG MER LEVANDE!

En varudeklaration på engelska över vad som förväntar dig när du går på en Humaniversity helgkurs på Hällungen.

What have you got bottled up inside?

Sadness is just one feeling. Fear is another. Anger is a third and, last but not least, is love.

Many of us have become experts at hiding our own feelings. As a child, certain feelings were not allowed to be shown in your family. You swallowed them instead. In society, expressing your true feelings may not be acceptable as people tend to avoid conflict or confrontation. Instead, we put up a front. We smile while we really feel like grinding our teeth. We hold our tongue instead of saying exactly what we think. We look away instead of looking people in the eyes. We say yes when we really want to say no. Some of us have hidden our feelings for so long that we can hardly feel them anymore. Without being in full touch with your feelings, how can you feel truly alive? We have to learn how to feel all over again. Sadness is just one feeling. Fear is another. Anger is a third and, last but not least, is love. The list could be much longer but these are the four basic emotions on which all others are built. Many of us become stuck feeling one of these emotions more than the others. For example, a constant feeling of sadness can lead to depression. One of the main aims of a Human- iversity course is to release your feelings so you can feel truly alive. You just need to be shaken up a little and the feelings will start bubbling up. It is just like a bottle of champagne. The pressure inside a bottle of champagne is enough to send the cork flying off like a bullet. Inside of us, there is power too. A huge amount. If your body is full of tensions, it will release a little pressure at a time if given the opportunity. Emotional release will give you a glimpse of the power and feelings you have inside. What you find may surprise you, frighten you, confuse you, make you weep or make you feel as high as a kite. But it can be a vital force for bringing change into your life.

You are never too old to cry like a baby

Crying is the process of unfreezing, decontracting and opening up to life.

Janne (the name has been changed) was holding down a successful job at one of Swedens leading companies. Though he functioned well at work, all the time he was suffering. He had so much pain and sorrow from his childhood that he chose to escape from it through taking medications. He took strong tranquilisers every day. The trouble with some tranquilisers is that they not only smooth over the low points in life, they also make the joyful high points seem mediocre and average. When Janne attended his first Humaniversity course, he told how he suddenly was overcome by his sadness and began to cry. Someone came up to him and offered him a paper tissue to wipe away the tears. He told them he didnt want it. He said it was so good to feel the tears running down his cheeks because it was so long since he had had a good cry. According to Alexander Lowen* in his book Joy: Most people have a need to cry to discharge the pain and sadness in their lives. Crying or sobbing releases the tension that holds these painful feelings locked in the body. It is the natural response to having been hurt physically or psychologically. All trauma is a shock to the organism, which causes it to freeze or contract, to stop breathing and to close up like a clam. Crying is the process of unfreezing, decontracting and opening up to life.Ó Many of us have a physical resistance to crying. At a Humaniversity course, you may find yourself moved to tears or crying like a baby at some point. Look around you and you will see others in the same state. Crying is OK, even for grown-ups. *Lowen was a student of Wilhelm Reich and founder of Bioenergetics, methods for liberating the energy of suppressed feelings. Many of his techniques have been adopted by the Humaniversity.

Anger is good for your peace of mind

Fear of conflict is about fear of power and fear of your own strength.

Anger can be a really good thing in the right situation. Anger can show where you stand on a particular issue. Anger can protect you from people who want to walk over you in some way. Keeping the peace isnÕt perhaps as good for you as you think. Someone who is always a peacekeeper is probably afraid of conflict. Fear of conflict is about fear of power and fear of your own strength. If you yell at someone, it is out of the bottle and wonÕt go back in again. The peacekeeper has a fear that he or she will lose control. That is pre- cisely what you need to do if you are to overcome your fear of conflict. People who handle conflict well are those who have worked with it a lot and who arenÕt afraid of it anymore. Conflict is not something you can get comfortable with unless you engage in it. You will have a chance to do this in a safe environment during a Human- iversity weekend. In one of the regular exercises, you stand face to face with one of the other participants, gather all your strength and shout ÒI hate youÓ. The other person does exactly the same. Then you just shout anything that comes into your head. After a while, a stream of angry words usually comes out. If the exercise is done correctly, your shouting drowns out what the other person is saying. DonÕt try and listen to the other person! It should be emphasised that all exercises are done under supervision and you are never allowed to use any form of physical violence. This is a powerful exercise for emptying out a lot of frustration and irritation. But the exercise is not over yet. The session usually ends with a loving exercise where you say positive things to the person opposite. We call these kinds of sessions Òsocial meditationsÓ because you express your emotions in a group. Ironically, an exercise full of conflict often makes people feel more peaceful inside.

Everyone has them

We all have invisible crutches, and we fear that if one day those crutches are taken away, we will fall flat on our face.

No matter how straight and tall we stand, we have all learnt to lean on something. It could be a job that makes us feel important or keeps us extremely busy. It could be a partner whom we depend on to satisfy some of our needs. It could be our parents who we are still desperately trying to please even though we are grown up. It could be a way of dressing or talk-ing. It could be a bottle of vodka, a pack of cigarettes, overeating or any other way we choose to abuse our bodies. We all have invisible crutches, and we fear that if one day those crutches are taken away, we will fall flat on our face and not be able to get up again. At a Humaniversity course, you will be encouraged to see what kind of crutches you have. You may be faced with a situation where you feel vul-nerable like a little child. You may expose sides of you that you have kept hidden. You may fear that people will not like you if you show these sides. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. Rather than concealing aspects of yourself, when you reveal your true self, people can truly respond to you. You may also discover that you have the strength to stand up for yourself in difficult situations. Obviously we all want to stand on our own two feet and be strong. The amazing thing is we all can. We just need faith in our own abilities. You may have heard of Lourdes Ð a town in France where the water in an underground grotto is supposed to be blessed by God and has been attributed miraculous healing powers. There is a room in Lourdes where hundreds of crutches lie discarded. Disabled people who could hardly walk have drunk the holy waters, thrown away their crutches and walked away. You can cure yourself too by throwing away your own imaginary crutches. One day, youÕll find you donÕt need them anymore.

What gets you up?

Your mind decides, not you!

Many of us are under the illusion that we have free will. But how much freedom do we really have to make up our minds? Take the following familiar example of deciding to get up in the morning. Have you ever slept in? You can set your alarm clock for a certain time but can you be certain that you will get up then? When you do wake up, you become aware that you must get up out of bed and you think ÒIÕm going to get up now.Ó And sometimes nothing happens! Your mind probably drifts off onto other things and you continue lying there. When you are in the middle of a train of thought nothing to do with getting up, you may find your body has already begun to get out of bed. In other words, when you decide to get up, you frequently donÕt. When you have stopped think-ing about getting up, at some point you do. Your mind decides, not you! This is why it is so difficult to make changes in our life. We say to ourselves, ÒNow I am going to change Ð give up smoking, stop nagging my children, start thinking positively,Ó and nothing happens. Our mind is back there in our subconscious deciding what we will do. This brings us onto one of the favourite themes of the Human- iversity Psychology Ð the use of techniques that take you beyond your mind (or intellect). Through the exercises you will do during the course, you will gradually get in touch with the natural childlike state of joy all of us have inside. The idea is to make your mind lose its strong grip over you temporarily. You will discover the ÒYouÓ beyond your mind. It can be a beautiful awakening and it can also be a scary experience. But rest assured that beyond all the layers of defences we have built up, we are all beautiful people capable of feeling love and of being loved. If you experience this, you will have come a long way.

Help is never far away

Feelings are just forms of energy. Energy can be transformed.

The course leaders do not advise you to go off alone during a course. If you want to do this, please tell one of the leaders or caretakers first. ThatÕs because if you are alone and filled with strong emotions, it is easy to get stuck in a feeling. Instead, if you talk to someone, you help yourself to come to terms with the feeling and then you can move on. A feeling of sadness can sud-denly turn into a burst of laughter. Feelings are just forms of energy. Energy can be transformed. The course is built up so that you have plenty of opportunities to share what you are feeling. Apart from the informal meetings that occur all the time with members of the group, you are often divided into ÒfamiliesÓ who meet up regularly. Each family is led by an experienced caretaker, assistant or course leader who guides you through the sharing process. The group itself is very supportive and people are willing to listen. In a sharing session or mood report, everyone gets a chance to talk without interruption. This rarely hap-pens in our busy everyday lives where we believe it is more efficient to interrupt and present our own view. At a Humaniversity course, we practise the art of listening. After a couple of days, you will probably come into a state of mind where time doesnÕt have such a hold on you. You are even recom-mended to take off your watch and not look at it for the whole weekend. So that you can get the most out of a short weekend course, sometimes you will be asked to stay up all night or get up early in the morning. There is an almost around-the-clock schedule decided by the course leaders. But they may decide to change their plans at any time to meet the specific needs of the participants. Time does not rule your life at a Humaniversity weekend. There is only one moment to think about: here and now.

Hugging can change the world

Putting your arms around someone is a way of healing and giving love.

Veeresh, the founder and president of the Humaniversity, has a dream. To teach the United Nations how to hug. For example, he would like to teach the Israelis and the Palestinians to hug each other. If we could meet each other as warm loving human beings, then a lot of our conflicts would simply go away, he believes. Hugging is an important part of each course. Putting your arms around someone is a way of healing and giving love. In fact, the Human- iversity is also known affectionately as the Hugging University. Be prepared because you will come into close contact with people during the course. Many of the par- ticipants on the courses benefit from this close contact because they learn about how they relate to other people. DonÕt be surprised if you find yourself attracted to someone on the course. You are only human and it would be unnatural to deny feelings of attraction. In the same way, you can be attracted to someone at work or in your neighbourhood. LetÕs be honest about it. We are human beings of flesh and blood. We have sexual desires but, of course, we do not have to act on our desires. The Humaniversity philosophy is that safe sex is fine between two consenting adults. A condom should always be used to prevent the transmission of venereal diseases. So much is written in newspapers and magazines about sex these days. It seems to be a subject we love to talk about at the same time as it can be a very painful and embarassing subject for some people to talk about. The Humaniversity has decided not to ignore this important subject. On some courses, you will have a chance to explore your sexuality. The hugs you receive, the sharing and the closeness to other people help you to do this in a supportive, caring environment.

You can learn to love anything!

ÔHousecareÕ is a way to bring you back down to earth after you have let your emotions carry you away. When you go away on courses, perhaps you look forward to a change from your everyday life. HällungenÕs staff take care of all the cooking and you will enjoy excellent vegetarian meals using vegetables grown organically in the gardens around the centre. But you wonÕt get away from other typical household chores. Cleaning toilets, vacuum cleaning, washing dishes, digging the garden and peeling potatoes are all part of the course. All this housework goes under the more pleasant name of ÒhousecareÓ. Caring for the place that will be your home for a couple of days is a way of giving back some to the care you will receive. It also helps to keep the price of the courses to a level more people can afford. Another way we keep prices down is by asking you to bring your own sheets and towels. But housecare is not just a way for us to keep costs down. It is a way to bring you back down to earth after you have let your emotions carry you away. During housecare, you may also discover that you start playing some old games. You may feel rebellious or lazy or resentful or try to please. Think where these feelings originate from. Many people who have been on a few Humaniversity weekends start to find that household chores in their own homes are no longer a necessary evil but a pleasurable way of showing that they care. In the evening, you wonÕt find anyone watching television. The participants arrange any entertainment themselves. Everyone has a talent and some evenings a show is arranged. Some of you are already getting scared as you read this. Remember, if you are shy, you have a chance to overcome your shyness in front of a supportive audience. Even the shyest of people have been seen to shine. Take a risk!

Going home

When you arrive home, try to be understanding on yourself and your loved ones. You may be full of emotions.

As mentioned at the beginning, a Humaniversity course will shake you up. You may get in touch with feelings you didnÕt know you had or with feelings you had kept a lid on for years. You may discover patterns of behaviour that have become so familiar that you didnÕt even think about them before. You may even have thrown away your crutches and be taking your first uncertain steps towards a new life. You may feel excited like the world is at your feet or you may feel deeply sad like a lost child. When the course ends around 8 pm on Sunday, it might not be a good idea to drive home as you may fall asleep at the wheel if you are over-tired. Being tired can make you as bad a driver as someone who has consumed excessive amounts of alcohol. Therefore we recommend that you stay an extra night at Hällungen before driving home. This helps you to come back down to earth and catch up on any sleep. The cost of one extra nightÕs stay is only minimal (SEK 120 at the time of writing). When you arrive home, try to be understanding on yourself and your loved ones during the period immediately after the course. You may be full of emotions and therefore not act in your normal, rational way. You are advised not to make any major decisions about your life during the first two weeks after a course. Let what you have learnt on the course sink in slowly. You may need someone to talk to Ð someone who knows what you have been through during the course. You are welcome to call anyone on the course or send them a letter or e-mail. An address list of all course participants is available (unless certain addresses are confidential). You can also call any of the staff at Hällungen or the Humaniversity. Please donÕt hesitate to call or write. Think of people as your friends.

Coming back

The Humaniversity courses at Hällungen take place once a month from September to June (with the exception of December). If you feel like the first course did you some good, opened some doors and is the kind of therapy you need right now for your personal development, we strongly recommend that you sign up for the whole nine-month programme. This is a sign of com- mitment. It is also a way for you to overcome your fear because there will be times when you feel like giving it all up and escaping. Your mind will no doubt give you a hundred and one excuses for not coming back. However, if you have made the commitment and paid the money in advance, you are likely to see the courses through to the end. Did we say ÒendÓ? As anyone who has started a process of personal development will tell you, it takes a lifetime to know yourself and there are few shortcuts. So if you want to continue after the nine-month programme, there is every opportunity. You are very welcome to come back and do the courses again, but this time as a caretaker (on condition that you take a one-month summer course called WOW at the Humaniversity in the Netherlands). In your role as caretaker, you take more responsibility and you will see the course from a new perspective. You will also have more opportunities to discuss personal matters with the course leaders. You can go on to train as a Humaniversity therapist over four years where the development process continues, but on a much deeper level. However, the ultimate aim is not for you to spend your life screaming, shaking and shouting in workshops for emotional release. DonÕt make the courses a way of life or a way of getting a regular Ôkick.Õ The courses show you a glimpse of your potential. They aim to equip you to per-form better in everyday life. Life is here and now. Enjoy it! Live it! Feel it!

Life is here and now. Enjoy it! Live it! Feel it!

Your qualifications

A typical group is a rich mix of people from all walks of life

There are three qualifications for attending a Humaniversity course. The first is that you are a human being. What job you do, what you look like, how intelligent you are and your age are all irrelevant. Our youngest participant was 18 and our oldest was 78. Likewise, it doesnÕt matter if you are married or single, heterosexual or homosexual. You donÕt have to be suffering from a mental disorder or be going through a crisis. You may be an emotionally healthy person who just wants to explore your potential. A typical group is a rich mix of people from all walks of life, for instance, students, business-men, unemployed people and pensioners. The second qualification is that you do not have AIDS. For first-time participants, there is a strict rule that you must bring an official written paper not older than six months that you are HIV negative (i.e. you are not a bearer of the AIDS virus). Make sure you have your blood tested in good time before a course so that you can obtain the result. After six months, the test should be repeated in order to obtain a new paper. This is purely for your own protection and the protection of the other participants. You may sweat a lot during the exercises (bring plenty of T-shirts!) or come into contact with each otherÕs body fluids in other ways such as through saliva or blood from cuts. The third requirement is that you have a basic command of English, the language used for the courses. DonÕt underestimate your abilities! If you have understood most of this booklet, your English is fine. However, you may still feel unsure about your spoken English. If you prefer, you can ask one of the caretakers to act as an interpreter and translate what you say into English. They will be glad to do this. People of all nations are welcome to the courses. Most participants are from Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

About the Humaniversity

The Humaniversity was established in 1978 by its president, Denny Yuson-Sandez, known better as Veeresh. After twenty successful years as a training institute, it is now an official university recognised by the National Council of Education of the Dominican Republic. It offers both undergraduate and graduate programmes in Humaniversity Psychology. Humaniversity Psychology is concerned with the growth, development and fulfilment of the human being Ð the self realisation of the individual. To accomplish this, it draws upon many rich sources; it combines the lessons from a range of modern Western schools of psychology with the values and practices of ancient Eastern spiritual traditions. It is particularly inspired by the teachings of the Indian philosopher Osho who attracted a large gathering of followers during his lifetime (1931 to 1990). After a professional career of more than 30 years as a therapist, Veeresh has taken the best of all these various sources into what is now known as Humaniversity Psychology. The courses are always led by people with long experience of workshops and long training in the Humaniversity Psychology. Hällungen is one of several affiliated study centres around Europe. The Humaniversity has a campus at Egmond aan Zee near Amsterdam in the Netherlands, an experimental community that practises the principles in its everyday life. For more information on the Human-iversity Psychology, you can read the book Veeresh, Bliss beyond fear by Anthony Dharmaraj Carrivick, which can be ordered through Hällungen or direct from the Humaniversity. The price is SEK 380 excluding postage and packaging.

About Hällungen

The courses beginning in September 2005 will be the 12:th year that Humaniversity courses have been held at Hällungen. Various other courses are run throughout the year on the themes of health, meditation, personal development, dance and art. The centre is situated near Svenshögen in the countryside beside a beautiful lake. It is an ideal setting for a retreat away from your everyday life. You can walk in the large grounds of the house, the surrounding forests or beside the lake. Accommodation is provided in open-plan dormitories or private rooms. There is also a sauna. Hällungen grows many of its own vegetables in the gardens and greenhouses. Within 30 minutes by car, you can reach the Swedish west coast with thousands of small islands. The near-est big town is Stenungsund and the nearest city is Gothenburg. Good local train connections will take you to Svenshögen station where you can arrange to be picked up. International flights go to Landvetter airport near Gothenburg. Finally, a reminder of some items to bring with you: your own sheets and towels, T-shirts, comfortable clothes and an open mind.

Schedule

The full nine-month programme includes nine different weekend courses and starts in September. If you have signed up for the full programme and are unable to attend one of the courses, you can come back and do it the year after or do a replacement course at another Humaniversity centre. You are of course welcome to attend one or two courses without signing up for one of the training alternatives. The weekend courses begin on Friday at 6 pm and finish on Sunday at 8 pm with the exception of the three-day course in September, which begins on Thursday at 6 pm. If you cannot be precisely on time due to work or travel arrangements, donÕt worry. The courses begin with an evening meal, a check-in talk and checking your hair for lice! First-time participants are asked to fill out a registration form giving personal details. The theory seminars are from 11 am till 6 pm and cost extra (SEK 500). They are optional except for those in the second year of the therapist training. who take part in six seminars at Häl-lungen and one tutorial weekend at the Humaniversity in Holland.

This booklet was written on behalf of Hällungen by Peter Goddard, one of the participants of the Humaniversity courses. Cartoons by Rob Gott. Layout by Helen Nilbo. July 2001.