SAMAD 2023 – The Sacred Music and Dance Festival in McGregor last week

Here are a few images of the Sacred Music and Dance Festival that Gaia Speaking took part in last week. Participants and facilitators danced and sang, shared movement, poems and prayers, and all came together in a multicoloured multifaceted work of art and soul. It was truly a pleasure to be a part of this co-creation.

The festival, which was born out of a deep love for music, spirituality, humanity, and a reverence for all of life, is non profit and is held in McGregor, a village nestled in the Klein Karoo, 2 to 3 hours from Cape Town. It is a great setting for this festival, where the events are held in two exceptional venues: Temenos – a retreat centre and absolute treasure embraced by the Gardens of the Beloved – and the Wisdom School, at slow walking distance, housed in historical buildings, which have been carefully and tastefully restored.

It was nice to amble around the village and enjoy its scattered and quaint coffee shops and restaurants and then a little bit strange to watch rugby on Saturday night, for the World Cup final that South Africa won.

Rachael and I participated in the opening ritual around the fire, which ended at dusk with a performance from the Zolani choir from Ashton.

Wisdom School Courtyard above and Hall below

Both our Songs that Reconnect circles felt very resonant with the vision of the festival. They were were both held at Temenos, First in the Caritas Library, surrounded by the wealth of knowledge contained in thousands of spiritual books, and then at the very special venue called “The Well”. We are grateful for our participation in SAMAD for many reasons and in particular because we felt a lot of connection with the embodied forms of the Work that Reconnects that Rachael and I practice.

We celebrated and strengthened with powerful songs Coming From Gratitude into the Spiral, the soft sound of sacred water reminding us of the essence of impermanence and flow. At the Well itself, in the centre of the temple, we facilitated the ritual of the Bowl of Tears as we sang the soft chant “Rivers of Tears” to Honour our Pain for the World. Seeing with New Eyes and Going Forth around the Spiral, we sang and danced a little and we shared some words of reconnection too. It is always an honour to provide these offerings inspired by the Work that Reconnects, in our own particular style, and this festival and these venues were very auspicious places to do so. All our events and all those that I had the privilege to participate in were so unique and filled my heart with a sense of appreciation of community. I felt an upsurge of energy and gratitude for all the gifts that we carry and how this fosters in me hope for a more beautiful world for all. Thank you.

As we come together to sing and dance in this way, through sound, movement, meditation and consciousness, we touch something deeply within our beings. In such moments it is the soul which is dancing. In those rare moments of recognising that it is that great Love which is present behind all that exists, one experiences a kind of ecstasy. So it is with the experience of sacred music and dance that brings us back to the unity of community, the unity of being.

This festival is a celebration of all spiritual paths. The time we find ourselves in at present reveals that there is a greater need than ever before to find common ground, to unite and bring peace to the world. By coming together we can learn about, open to, and sing and dance the unity of creation, while respecting and honouring each unique spiritual path toward the One. This is a journey of creativity and joy.
Harold Epstein