HEALING AT O.Z.O.R.A. 2016 – There are lots of various healing techniques and methods that you’ll find at O.Z.O.R.A. 2016, where you can also try our therapists’ services. We sent our questionnaire to Dave Spencer (daily workshops in ‘Mindfulness, Meditation and Self-Compassion’).

– What would you tell a ‘traveler from a distant land’ who came to you exhausted (and hurt) about your workshops?

– Well, you know, first of all I’d offer them something to eat and a cup of tea.

But then I’d explain that people find these practices helpful in lots of different ways, so I would invite them to just slow down and take a few breaths. From that place, we can start to calm and soothe our body and mind. We can relate to our experience with kindness and compassion, and we can start to re-connect with ourselves just as we are.
One thing I’d like to mention is that these workshops will definitely be healing, but also revitalising, inspiring, interesting and fun!

– What’s going to happen? What do you base your choice of treatment on?

– The workshops use mindfulness and meditation practices to invite you back into the present moment, with acceptance, compassion, humour and love. There will be guided meditations, teaching talks, stories and poems. There will be movement meditations, interactive exercises and the opportunity to share your experience.
The meditation practices that we will be exploring are taken from both traditional and modern sources. Meditation has a long and rich history of practice across the world. Contemporary Mindfulness draws from traditional wisdom – such as that of Buddhism, Yoga and Zen – as well as modern scientific understanding. Here in the 21st century we are truly blessed to have the wisdom of the world’s oldest traditions, and the world’s newest scientific discoveries, all at our fingertips!

– How did you get in contact with this healing method, what made you choose and stick to it?

– I first started to learn about meditation, yoga and spiritual practices when I was about 18 years old. First of all I found Yoga… I knew it relaxed me but I didn’t really understand why! Then I discovered mindfulness and meditation. From there I began to understand how I could develop a radically different relationship with myself, centred around awareness, acceptance and kindness.

My teaching is rooted in my own personal practice. I teach these techniques because I have seen how much they help me, and how much they can help others. We have powerful inner resources to heal and be happy – meditation is an amazing way of tapping into these resources.

– How long have you been learning this method, what level are you on?

– I have been learning and training in these methods for about 13 years. There are no set levels of teaching that you can acquire with mindfulness and meditation, and there are many ways that you can train and qualify. I have trained and practiced in traditional meditation and I have also qualified in modern mindfulness practices with one of the top mindfulness organisations in the UK.

I also continually receive guidance from my teachers and peers, as well as taking further training and attending meditation retreats. The knowledge to teach these methods comes from your own personal experience. The more I understand myself, the more I am able to help others.

– What is your perspective on the healer-patient relationship?

– In these workshops we come as equals, friends and human beings to learn and practice together. My intention is to offer these workshops with love, and without judgement. This is a space where we can re-connect with a loving awareness of our lives just as they are.

– What kind of relationships form during the therapy?

– In mindfulness practice, we say that the most important relationship is the one you have with yourself. Are you your own best friend? One of the most powerful lessons meditation can teach is how to relate to yourself with kindness and love. If you have a kind, friendly and loving relationship with yourself, your external relationships will have the same quality.

Having said that, the workshops are also a very social and inter-connected space, and many friendships form and deepen as we practice together. I am continually grateful for the many beautiful friendships I have made through my work.

– If you have already been at Ozora, in your opinion, how does healing fit in with the essence of the festival?

– I haven’t been to Ozora before, but i have heard lots about it from friends and I am very happy to make this offering to the festival.

Healing is important for all of us, wherever we are. A sacred space such as Ozora is a wonderful opportunity to dive deeper into that intention. We can then take that healing and growth back into the world, wherever we go.

– Have you ever taken part at a festival as a healer? What are your expectations from Ozora?

– I have given workshops at other festivals, and in my younger days I also performed at many festivals as a musician! I love festivals. I love the invitation to be free, to find joy and to re-connect with the wildness of life.

I do have some ideas about how I want to spend my time at Ozora. I will be there with my beautiful girlfriend and it will be wonderful to share that time with her. I am looking forward to meditating and doing yoga in the sunshine. I am looking forward to being warm, to dancing, to rolling around on the floor. I am looking forward to listening, loving, singing, playing, and meeting people who feel like they have been my friends for years.