Laugh, Cry, and Let the Scars of the Past Be Dissolved in Silence
For 21 days, laugh for 3 hours a day for 7 days, cry for 3 hours a day for 7 days, and then sit silently, for 3 hours a day for 7 days. Whenever any experience is not fully lived in the moment, it leaves a residue inside us. It may be a small thing or something really significant but those residues or scars stay in the unconscious blocking our natural ability to flower to our full potential. Whatever is left in the unconscious remains, waiting for an opportunity to be expressed, accepted, and resolved.

Why do we have to cry and laugh, and as part of the group?

Never before have we found this combination in a workshop – laughter and tears as part of the same process. It has never been done.  The dynamic energy surge that both laughter and tears create throughout our system, releases enormous amounts of stagnant and blocked energy from our system in a very short period of time. People go straight to the heart of their issues, without having to spend years talking about them. It is an immediate encounter with many repressed and buried issues, which each individual experiences directly. What also attracts people to this process is that they will have the support of a whole group willing to encounter themselves in the same way. This group dynamic sets up an atmosphere of trust, support and encouragement. There is no attempt to force people into any particular experience. They are given the understanding of how to release their blocked energy and how to work for themselves. This respect allows each participant to work in their own unique way within the group dynamic.

Can’t we just observe our emotions in Vipassana-like retreats?

Mystic Rose is a totally new approach that has its roots in two profoundly human emotions, laughter and tears, thus accessible to everybody. Paradoxically, both laughter and tears have been most often repressed down the ages. Think of all the injunctions we have been recieving from a tender age: “Be a man, stop crying!” or “Show your pride, do not cry in front of him!”. Think of the times we wanted to supress a giggle, often taking possession of us at the most inconvenient moment. Whatever is left in the unconscious remains, waiting for an opportunity to be expressed, accepted, and resolved. When we allow all our un-laughed laughter, our un-cried tears, and our un-lived silence to be experienced, we can allow whatever is in the unconscious to flow freely and be lived now – and be resolved forever. The laughter, tears and silence do their work without the need for words, discussion, or analysis as is typical of conventional “therapy.” You just participate with totality and sincerity, and the rest happens by itself. The OSHO Mystic Rose provides that opportunity. 

Why three weeks? It seems long!

It’s very scientific, three hours a day during three weeks. First it’s important that the laughter then the tears last three hours a day. They both come in waves, and we are alert to welcome each wave and let go of something else that blocks our energy. Our conscious mind is by-passed and we don’t need words, nor analysing. In 2015 “New Scientist”, a Department for Education science magazine, was publishing a study on the human brain. In this study they were showing that at least 3 weeks are needed for the brain to create a new connection so that an old habit is replaced by something new.

Three hours a day for three weeks is a perfect length of time for people to release and heal that which cannot be addressed in a weekend or shorter sessionsh of time

And in the afternoons?

The majority of the participants will be residential guests. So we have created a space for Spontaneous Art sessions. The programme depends on us, the participants – theatre, dance, painting, singing, pottery… Nisargan Makoiev, artist-painter, founder of OSHO Institute of Spontaneous Art from Odessa, Ukraine, will facilitate the Mystic Rose and these creativity sessions. He says that it is even better if you have never painted or sung – it will be easier to begin! These sessions are optional – you can go for a walk, or meditate, or have a nap – this is to make our journey together juicier and richer and, why not, paint the painting of your life!