Introduction by Dr. Sally Torkos

I am writing an Introduction to a photo essay photographed and written by Nicolas Lasalle (Niki), a participant in the Initiate’s Program who has been returning since 2015.  Niki expressed a sentiment that many other returning Initiates have also expressed, that of The Wheel of Wisdom and the Program becoming: “a compass and a spiritual place” to pilgrimage.  Niki wrote to me that he would return to his former “power spots and meditate about the time that had passed since the last time I had been sitting in each of them. They became like a spiritual anchor and reminder of the journey that I had taken.” 

It gives me and Prof. Béla much happiness to hear unsolicited thoughts and feelings from participants that indicate they are taking the material and experiences we guide them through to heart; allowing themselves to consciously expand their understanding of themselves and the Universe they inhabit.  When Niki shared his photo essay with us, we immediately thought that his work should be shared with the greater Ozorian community. 

It is my great pleasure to Present Niki’s Photo-Essay in Ozora Festival’s online Prophet magazine. 

The Wheel Wisdom by Nicolas Lasalle

The Wheel of Wisdom (WoW) program is a part of the Ozora festival, one of the largest psychedelic trance festivals in Europe that reaches more than 40,000 visitors every year. Coming from all over the world, folks gather every summer for 7 days in Hungary’s countryside to join in multiple experiences and celebrations. The WoW is one that invites participants to look within and discover what’s there without the use of drugs. It’s a five-day program designed and facilitated by Dr. Sally Torkos, Research and Clinical Psychology PhD., part Cherokee native American Indian, and her husband, Professor Béla Torkos, Energy Research Scientist and Engineer, Hungarian-American. Their objective is to take participants on a collective and individual journey of the evolution of human consciousness through historical time as well as in one lifetime.

The Wheel of Wisdom symbol is ancient, 40, 000 years old. It has appeared in just about every culture to teach wisdom and connect people to expanded consciousness. Through the use of this symbol, Dr. Sally and Prof. Béla together with around 150-200 daily attendees journey to a different direction of the Wheel, exploring a different level of consciousness with each direction. Through participating in the multidimensional learning format of lecture:  storytelling, guided meditation and ritual, attendees come to understand themselves and their purpose in life in new ways. One of the daily rituals is to bring a rock and to connect to the prayer Wheel which has been built over the 10 years of the program’s existence. It’s made of rocks that contain prayers and commitments from all previous participants.

For those who want to dive deeply into their own consciousness shift, Dr. Sally and Prof. Béla created the Initiate’s program. It’s an additional rigorous five-day program that requires participants to join in additional instruction at an outdoor classroom where they have self-reflective homework to do, daily forms to fill out and time to spend alone in nature. In order to become an Initiate, you must commit to attending every day both the general program and the Initiate’s program. On the first day, around 40 participants express interest in being enrolled but day by day the commitment becomes harder to keep and many of them leave for various reasons:  from wanting to party, spend time with friends, not realizing how much time the program takes. It does indicate, for those staying, how powerful and challenging a commitment it is to make.

In our modern Western societies, we are hyperconnected to others and to the digital world but it also creates a disconnection from ourselves. We feel lost. Before, the Church and the family were guiding entities through rituals, providing milestones within the cycle of life. Today, we are left with the responsibility to find our own compass to guide us. WoW has been for me the opportunity to make this commitment and to take responsibility for my own growth and development. That’s why I wanted to tell this story.

Cover photo: Prof. Béla, Niki and Anti, an Initiate
The cover photo and all other photos are part of Nicolas Lasalle’s Photo Essay, which you can see fully HERE