The gifts bestowed upon me as I went OFFGRID!!!

I was invited by the lovely Emily and Marcus to teach some of my experimental material at the most liberatingOFFGRID festivalthis August. Last time I saw them both, was in a yurt in Somerset where I was blessed to be their doula, and we journeyed through the arrival of their gorgeous boy Seth. This is a whole other story but perhaps was my introduction to OFFGRID birthing lol.

For those who dont know what OFFGRID Festival is about....consider 'Living OFF the Grid'? As in being self sufficient and generating energy through renewable sources, building our own homes, growing our own food, living on our own land- being responsible, authentic, self motivated and self supporting? Its about living in harmony with nature and remembering the many clever ways we have survived over millions of years before making choices that has put profit ahead of the planet, aka the 'advanced' civilisation we are today. I question both how advanced and civilised we are as a humanity when war is still a daily occurance in many parts of the world and we think nothing of living in a way that is unsustainable for future generations. So you can imagine how excited I was to be invited to a family friendly festival that would be FULL of workshops for learning ways to live OFFGRID and to reconnect not only with nature but our own essential nature as men and women. Herald the birth of a new aspect of OFFGRID festival- Birthing Woman, which is where I did most of my 'leftfield' work this year. My personal contributions included a, gulp, "Sacred Sexuality workshop", which was a woman only event where we discussed what this meant to us- to be in sacred union, and we explored the mysteries of the female sexual anatomy (this was a clothes ON event!) and the various types of orgasms we are capable of. This was followed by a woman's yoga workshop and then a unisex 'movement through breath' yoga workshop where we transformed the energy of 'Ye Old Tree' pop up bar into a super high vibe centre for the whole festival.

I also held several cacao tastings which culminated in me being asked to do a cacao tasting ceremony on the last day. I was expecting 4 or 5 to attend....but the yurt was full of 19 excited adventurers who wanted to try a taste. Mama cacao is in charge!

I came away with many gifts, highlights, or 'specials' (thanks Mike and Fi!)- experiences that enriched me and helped me heal some of my inner wars- revealing my blind spots with love and renewing my faith in my purpose on this earth in this time, and the opportunity we have as a planet to get more sensitive to the pain all around and within us and make different choices for our future. The only way out is through....acceptance of what is, ALLOWS us to move through 'what is' to what we would LOVE things to be. Somehow when we get back to nature, even for a few days, magic is at play. We get put back in sync with the rhythms of nature....with ourselves, our unique purpose....and each other.

Here are a few of my 'specials':

1. Naked dancing in the Gaia Tent: YUP- I did! I took all my clothes, let strangers pain my body and I danced with them during daylight hours in the Gaia Dome. For an extrovert, I am quite a prude it seems and I have been meaning to get over myself for ages. Yes I felt vulnerable, yes I felt embarrassed and yes, I walked away feeling liberated. I danced my naked truth and it felt AWESOME!! Nothing to hide and no one cared.

I have to thank Andy of 'Sandy & Andy' who got me over my initial reservations regarding public nudity, and also revealed he and Sandy run the most magnificent B&B that is virtually OFFGRID as we speak and set to be more so over the coming year.

You can check out where this marvelous escape is by visiting theirfacebookpage.

3. My gorgeous daughter Scarlet bought me a belated birthday present in the form of my new 'cruelty free' feather earrings.

The lovely, introduced me to a concept i didnt know or think about before I met her....the cruelty birds are subjected to in order for us to have the feathered fashion accessories we find in the high street. I admit i LOVE feather earrings and want an ethical alternative to all the suffering for fashion. If you feel like me, check out thePhat Featherwebsite which is full of info and a feather store to adore!

Scarlet and Phoebe survived a teenagers worst nightmaire.....at least 2 days without anywhere to charge their mobile phones until I met the man who had all the solar panels on site :-)

4. As I spent most of my time in the Birthing Woman area I got to hang out with all my sisterhood....Vanessa Brooks ofDa-A-Luz, Joy Horner ofBirth Joy, Jady Mountjoy ofConscious Birthing, Ruth L King ofUnited Diversity andBirthing with Love...... we are all a mix of independent midwives, lay midwives and doulas....exploring the Red Tent sisterhood circle groups, holding space for women and men to come and talk about birthing consciously, and also learning more about our rights of passage (thanks Jady!)....the sacredness of menstruation and how to empower young women about their bodies, how we relate to our sexuality and sensuality with love and respect....and how we can fully embody the sacred feminine (if you dont have a clue what that means come along to the next OFFGRID!) and support men to step into their Sacred masculine energy.

I even did some 'cunt craft' with the inspirational and brave Colette Nolan. Check out herCherish the Cuntwebsite to understand much more about the true origins of this word and how it has been twisted into what we know as one of the most offensive swear words in the English language. And I have a new name......Lady Lovely Lady Lips!!! I will say no more but every woman will benefit from checking out Colette's work!

5. Last but not least I met a man who makes wooden spoons....and stools and chairs and he lives OFFGRID in the woodland of West Sussex. Introduction here to Mr Rich Bates who is the creator ofGreen Wood Creations....a truly inspirational chap who has tried very hard to convince me that a compost loo is far preferable to a flushing one! He runs courses in woodcraft for adults and children and makes lots of lovely wooden craft.

All in all i could write much more but wanted to share some links with you to check out at your leisure. There is so much exciting stuff going on offgrid...behinds the scenes of our mainstream society, creating gentle and loving solutions to the worlds current problems....my hope is that we will all feel more inspired to turn off our TVs, put down the newspaper and head out into nature to discover more about the mysteries that have allowed us to survive and thrive in a balanced way with natures cycles over the time that humans have existed and evolved. Its time for us all to remember and make the changes that will assure our future survival, which depends on us loving our planet much more that we currently do.