After four years amongst the trees of Coney Woods, it’s as though the Mind Body Soul area has always been a part of the festival. In many ways it has in fact, existing as an intention of the core team as soon as we reached the numbers where it wouldn’t make the festival feel sparse.
Now, as we are looking ahead to 2020 and the MBS area’s 5th birthday, we thought we’d also take a look back at our favourite features from 2019’s edition. So we asked three of the Mind Body Soul’s coordinators for their personal highlights. Here’s what they had to say…
Lachie Gordon Athie
The Mind Tent
“This year the Mind Tent took most of my attention, and in all honesty I spent the rest of my time off during the weekend loosening up on the dancefloors, and soaking my soul in all the good vibes of the Noisily Family.
Bruce Parry’s talk on his tribal insights was a real highlight – the packed tent was fed with wisdom collected from his many interactions with the indigenous people of this world, leaving everyone with a profound sense of the importance of connection with the living planet we reside on.
Saturday afternoon saw a session on The Future of Politics whcih was another highlight, lead by the ever exuberant and engaging Ronan Harrington, alongside Sheena Rathor of XR and Indra Adnan of the Alternative UK. They tackled the main question head on: How can we make positive change in a broken system? I also used the opportunity to discuss my new concept of the Noise Makers, taking the magic beyond the woods, which you can read more about here soon.”
Heather Gordon Athie
The Cosmodrome
Searching for Earth-Like Planets in our Backyard: Maksym Lisogorskyi
“The Cosmodrome has become a Noisily favourite of mine. And this year, with the addition of my wonderfully nerdy sister to the Noisily family, I knew we would end up spending a lot of time there. The inflatable planetarium is an immersive audio-visual space that by day hosts planetarium shows, workshops and audio-visual art. By night, it offers full dome views of the cosmos, accompanied by music delivered through a cutting-edge sound diffusion system.
Imagine you’ve spent all day on a dancefloor, your feet are sore, your sequined onesie is covered in cider from that flailing arms guy on the dancefloor, and you need an hour to just chill. Imagine if you could find a space where you can lay down on a giant bean bag in the dark and wonder at the marvels of the universe while an astrophysicist tells you about the search for planets like our own. And imagine that space has been filled with a range of sensory equipment, lighting, sound and tactile experiences, to represent the different galaxies, and the people running the show are absolute legends. This, my friends, is the cosmodrome.”
The Hypnosis Lounge
“The Hypnosis lounge was the perfect space to pop into between sets to recharge and re-set. With an extensive menu of meditations, hypnosis recordings and powernaps you could enjoy a journey of positive healing and relaxation with selected sessions played through headphones. As you wait for a lounger to open up, you filter through the menu of experiences on offer and pick what resonates: abundance, letting go, relaxation, focus, while advised by John and Heloise to help you decide and answer questions. Once decided you are led into the perfect chill out tent, with vibrant colours and comfortable loungers. Plug in, relax and recharge those stomping feet!”
Helen Cameron
Medicine at your Feet with Hetty Nutbeem / Future of Living
“Wonderful Hetty is a core member of the Mind Body Soul family, offering hula, poi & a whole host of circus tricks, alongside some magical music medicine. So, knowing she is an established herbalist with over 30 years experience, we were very happy to welcome her with this new workshop.
Beautifully open & in flow, Hetty talked through her experiences working with botanical plants, complete with a pamphlet she’d prepared especially for Noisily with an overview of the properties & uses of nettles, yarrow, cleavers, daisy & plantain (which is an antihistamine, good to know!). We took to the woods with new sets of eyes to connect to nature’s healing powers in situ, meeting kidney-cleansing nettles, deep-cleansing cleavers & heart-nourishing hawthorns along the way.
Returning to the Future of Living with a newfound appreciation for Coney Woods, we were shown how to make our own extracts – tinctures, oils & balms – a beautiful, humbling & inspirational hour embracing Hetty’s joy, warmth & knowledge & connecting to all the magic that surrounds us.”
Long Slow Deep – A Cacao Journey with the Hanuman Project
Body Tent
“The Hanuman Project bring their own special blend of magic to Mind Body Soul, deeply powerful & evocative Kirtan & Medicine Music with incredible love soul & authenticity, so we knew a cacao ceremony held by them would be a beautiful Thursday arrival gift to the lucky souls who attended.
A global music collective of musicians, bhaktas & yogis from all over the world, Hanuman Project bring such a rare & special energy to Noisily, Long Slow Deep was no exception! Interweaving the art of movement, manifestation, music & mantra, accompanied with majestic cacao from the wonders of Guatemala & Bali, we were artfully & lovingly taken on a journey of truth & connection, coming in to ground & balance, aligning frequencies & intentions, feeling & honouring the sacred bonds between us all & the power of Mother Nature.
As the vibrations grew, so did the crowd, doubling in size by the end of the session! A perfect combination of ceremony, movement, connection & play, & a magical start to the festival.”
The Red Tent – Offerings all weekend; women only after dark
“A new & welcome addition to the Mind Body Soul, the Red Tent beautiful ceremonies, circles & meditations in the day, & was a safe space for women after dark. Set in a lovingly set tipi, complete with a nature mandala, & lending itself to more sacred & intimate offerings, the energy in this space was always going to be something special.
With workshops on conscious touch & sacred sexuality, womb awakening, beautiful singing, chanting & drumming circles; magical sound journeys & healings, & open discussion & sharing circles, there was something for everyone to share & explore, providing deep healing & connection, with a love & warmth emanating out into our Sacred Fire area. This warmth was honoured into the night as Jane Fortune & her wonderful team of volunteers held space for any women who wanted refuge, a hug, chat or just a warm cup of tea. The love & connection built within the space in such a short space of time was really beautiful to behold, & we look forward to welcoming Jane & her team back (in a slightly quieter location!) Next year :)”
