A reflection on NG Sangam 2024 and the practice of Redirecting and Harmonising.
Dear Readers, welcome to SC Musings, Blog 6.
February was a full month in Nitya Gurukula, with our 23rd Board Meeting and NG Sangam 2024. When we redirect our focus and attention from routines, we tend to experience time as full and intense.
The often quoted Tai Chi slogan.
Yield • Absorb • Redirect • Harmonise
was explored in depth during this Sangam.
Here, I present NG Sangam 2024 as a case study to demonstrate the operationalisation of Redirecting and Harmonising, with glimpses of these processes in action.
NG Sangam: A Confluence of People and Experiences
Let us take a peek into NG Sangam, its history and creation.
Conceived and offered about 15 years ago, NG Sangam is a confluence of NG clients, coachees, mentorees, trainees, workshop participants and well wishers. We gather to learn, share and experience oneness and ‘be ness’ in diversity.
Nitya Gurukula members congregate at a specially curated event, held at a chosen venue, to experience the theme selected each year. The structure, processes and flow of Sangam evolve based on the emerging needs of participants.
NG Sangam 2024 was a hybrid session with 24 participants, comprising members from the groups mentioned above and NG resources. It was held in the Training Room, on the Berne floor of Devi Durai.
Beginning with the lighting of the lamp at 10 am on Saturday, 24 February, Sangam 2024 culminated at 5 pm on Sunday, 25 February.
The exploration of Self, Relationships and Context was facilitated over six sessions. The final two sessions focused on consolidation, life and professional goal setting, followed by winding down and closing.
Exploring Self, Relationships and Context
Here is a brief account of the three stages of exploration undertaken during NG Sangam 2024.Stage 1: Exploring the Self
In Stage 1, participants explored their internal and external practices of Yielding, Absorbing, Redirecting and Harmonising.
These processes were experienced as ‘automatic’, without conscious intention. Many participants poured out their experiences, while a few described feeling:
- Stuck
- Nerve racking
- Struggling
- Numb
As the exploration progressed, participants began to recognise the multitudinous happenings within their bodies and minds, making connections between the two.
Stage 2: Exploring Relationships
The exploration of relationships began with naming them, followed by categorising them as:
- Private and Personal
- Professional
- Organisational
- Other
Deep emotions were stirred during this process. Participants described their experiences as:
- Confusion
- Panicky
- A big task
- Balance
- Pulling back and resisting
- Sabotaged
- Guilty
- Difficult
- Challenging
- A whirlpool
These expressions offered glimpses into the complexity of our relationships and the internal experiences they evoke.
Stage 3: Exploring Context
Stage 3 focused on how the environment impacts us and how we, in turn, impact the environment.
This brought the exploration of Self and Relationships into the wider context in which we live, interact and work.
The Y A R H Life Cycle
While Yielding and Absorbing are internal processes, Redirecting connects the internal world with the external world through our behaviours, communications and relationships.
Harmonising is the culmination of this dynamic cycle.
We propose calling this the Y A R H Life Cycle.
The Tai Chi slogan Y A R H can be applied to understand and view our life processes.
Innumerable stimuli arise from within us, from other people and from the environment. These continue to impinge on us, seemingly endlessly, from birth until our last breath.
They enter through our senses. Based on our ‘conditioned knowledge’ and patterns, we receive these stimuli and react or interact with them.
Redirecting is an intentional and mindful action.
It begins within us. We select, attend to and then respond to incoming stimuli.
When this internal action is grounded in our values, guided by our life goals and fuelled by the different layers and dimensions within us, it culminates in behaviours that grow our energy and contribute to joy and harmony.
Compassion and ethics become blended into the redirecting process, and Harmonising ensues.
Redirecting: An Intentful and Mindful Process
I had the privilege of being both a participant and a witness to this profound process during Sangam 2024.
As a facilitator, yielding to the diverse needs, expressions, outpourings, searches and yearnings of participants also meant that the process of absorbing followed closely.
Grounding myself in the values expounded by ITAA World, namely Dignity, Self Determination, Health, Security and Mutuality, has become a way of life for me through application and reflection, both personally and professionally.
The NG vision of ‘The Guru Within’ provided the goal for Sangam. This guided me in redirecting the stimuli arising from participants, helping them leave behind some conditioned patterns and take forward life enhancing goals and energies.
This was done symbolically by receiving the unwanted, redirecting it to the earth, and blessing the goals and energies of participants.
Each participant received blessings from me and from the other participants.
Grounded in Values
Our values provide the foundation for how we receive and respond to incoming stimuli.Drawn by Goals
Our life goals direct our attention and guide our choices.Fuelled by Layers and Dimensions Within
The different layers and dimensions within us contribute to the energy with which we respond.
When these come together, redirecting can contribute to energy, joy and harmony.
Harmonising People, Place and Goals
A demon dance at the end, a speciality of Nitya Gurukula, was followed by free flowing movement accompanied by music.
This brought the curtains down on NG Sangam 2024, harmonising the people, place and goals.
Writing this blog brought back memories of the experiences of Sangam 2024 participants, with a nostalgic blend of international colours and flavours.
A Tiny Tip
Dear Readers, here is a small practice to carry forward from this exploration.
Attend to your breath for two minutes daily and note down your sensations.
Simply notice what you experience as you attend to your breath. Take a moment to record the sensations you observe.
Dear Readers, connecting with you in this space induces me to step back and reflect meaningfully.
We will meet in Blog 7, where we will explore psychosocial boundaries and the movement that emerged during NG Sangam 2024 to Redirect and Harmonise.
Until then, keep observing, reflecting and redirecting.
Sashi Chandran
