Basicindia is a small network of like-minded individuals exploring alternate ways of living and relating to each other, in the hope of forming a more sane and caring society than the one we currently live in.
The group includes doctors, engineers, NGO’s, HR professionals, counsellors, psychotherapists and housewives. Most of us live in India although we have friends in Europe and north America as well.
Our way of working towards the basic goals of peace, harmony and creativity, is primarily through on going weekly sessions as well as workshops lasting from two to four days. Both the shorter sessions and the workshops aim to deepen our awareness - of ourselves as individuals, of the society we live in, and of our environment.
Currently there are two kinds of on-going sessions. The first one is centred around meditation and learning to be still, the other is based on dialogue and introspection. We are learning that one of the primary conditions for meaningful dialogue is the ability to still the mind and to share thoughts and feelings from out of still reflection, rather than from the usual tangle of emotions.
We are learning in turn, that inner stillness is based on two things:
- discipline and commitment
- the ability to look at and integrate feelings which stand in the way of happiness.
For this reason, our groups are centred around meditation (which brings stillness and discipline into our lives) and also around dialogue and psychotherapy. This dual approach brings deeper awareness and can help us to step out of the past – and out of unproductive habits which enslave us. In turn, this makes it more possible for us to live in the present moment rather than in the past or in the future, as we usually tend to do.
The meditations make use of music and of various exercises and techniques to help increase awareness of one’s environment, of each other’s needs and of one’s deeper feelings. In addition we lay much emphasis on learning to listen without being judgemental, learning to express one’s true feelings, and on learning to be responsible and independent, since these are finally, the building blocks of a sane and caring society.
We welcome contact with individuals already working in a similar direction, or who are interested in this kind of work. Also with counsellors, psychotherapists and lay people interested in learning how to use music and stillness as a means to gaining insights into one’s life.
Write to: umazon@rediffmail.com
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