Extreme Greencare: it blew my mind, twice a day

 This was the return of the Compassionate Mental Health ‘gatherings’. I think this was the tenth one ever held, as they started in the twenty-teens - but it was certainly the first since Covid https://tinyurl.com/CMHatCoed. I first heard of them a couple of years ago, when some of us were putting feelers out in our networks for things that appeared to be based on ‘relational practice’. At that time, I got the impression they were a cross between arts-based festivals and professional conferences.

Well, now I have been to one – as a guest presenter – I can say that has some truth to it, but misses something out that is much more engaging, experiential and (for me) existentially challenging. Relational, they certainly are - with the dial set to at least eleven – for intensity, intimacy, challenge, and sheer counter-cultural alternative-ism! The closest thing I can compare it to is when I went to a week in Italy, in July 2014, to see how Disagio Diffuso is treated by the method (see previous blog https://greenshrink.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-strange-holiday.html and following entries).

But instead of Italian style (with Italian food in a nice hotel and quite a bit of chaos) this was quintessentially Welsh (set in a commune in a forest with yurts and a stone circle, and vegan food). However, because of the deeply personal and confidential nature of so much that was shared I am not going to describe what went on in our various groups in any more detail here. Suffice to say that although I was expecting something a little like our LLE weekends, this had boundaries (that were well held by the staff and structure) that are so much more complex than ours, that I don’t trust myself to try writing any details in this blog. Here’s one comment I heard over lunch on the last day ‘In that last session it was like we went as far in a couple of hours as usually takes years in therapy’. I have heard similar things said about psychedelics, Ketamine and MDMA – but I can assure you that none of that was going on here!

At a tangent – but less of one than most people think about for a conference-type event – was our set and setting. The set was that I think over half the people there had been to CMH gatherings before, and all the others (like Neil and myself) were at least trying to be as open as possible to whatever was happening. The two of us had our own anxieties, as we were presenting stories about our last 25 years’ training work and running ‘mini-versions’ of it as workshops, to an unknown audience - that was completely different from the mix of people that come to sort of conferences we usually go to. But more than that, there was an intangible quality in the air that I have no words for – it is something about numinosity, spirituality, transcendence and - dare I say it – cosmic consciousness. (Again, no psychedelics, I promise). There was a team of about ten running it, which included supporters for those in need, explainers, chairs of sessions, MCs and practical helpers. Those, plus the people who had been before were well ‘set’ to experience it again, and knew what to expect.

The link with the setting was powerful and extraordinary – and I think I can allow myself to be more descriptive here, as Coed Hills (the venue) is an entity with a set of values and activities which were explained eloquently to us, as one of the optional activities on the last day.

The setting, Coed Hills, and its people, do not seek to be hidden or confidential about its meaning and purpose. The way I explain it to people back home who are unlikely to be sympathetic is to say ‘it is a Welsh commune run by people who look like old hippies, but who have been doing it for many years and have become experts in many of the local-based things that are clearly needed for long-term sustainability’. Such as production of energy, food and craft products all done in-house, with as low a carbon footprint or ecological impact as possible, and by running a conference / wedding venue to raise funds with utterly unique and mostly beautiful architecture and design. If people I’m describing it to are likely to be at least a little sympathetic, I go further – which I will do here.

The afternoon session on the last day was called ‘Introducing the Bottega Project’ with John Whitehead and Rawley Clay. John is the resident ideas guru with outward-focussed intentions to expand the principles of sustainable living on a city scale – specifically Cardiff, where he describes collaboration with the architecture department at the university, for example, as well as many other networks of influence. Rawley, primarily an artist I think, is the main person looking inward to sustaining and developing the community at Coed – with many aspects familiar to us in the TC world, such as weekly community meetings, sharing of resources / emotions / food / life in general, and of course democratic operating - and a flat hierarchy.

We met outside the circular barn (in which most of the CMH gathering events took place) for a brief introduction. Rawley started by triggering my circular and Jungian resonances, all about the space with no corners, and their use of yurts and curves rather than rectilinear design with hard edges and all that goes with them. Coed Hills is blessed with a beautiful piece of land in a beautiful place. Here is a quote from the website:

Coed Hills (pronounced Coyd) is a unique, off grid sustainable community just outside Cardiff in South Wales.  The on-site residents still work the land using ancestral methods and manage the 180 acres of unspoilt ancient Woodland, man-made lakes and beautiful summer meadows. With elevated views reaching as far as the Jurassic coastline of Wales, yet just a stones throw from the Welsh Capital, Cardiff, Coed is a hidden Utopia from modern life.

Coed has been the leading centre for low impact living in Wales since it was established in 1997. It has hosted many international events including the UK Permaculture Convergence, and has been internationally identified as a place for those who want to embrace an off grid way of living in harmony with nature or to explore and evolve their connection with themselves in tranquil and peaceful surroundings.

John then gave a few minutes of spirited and often non-verbal communication of how Coed and its principles look well beyond the mundane necessities that most of us are immersed in. A sense, perhaps, that even though the world is in a complete and utter pit of despair at the moment, there can be different ways of looking at it. Then he introduced us to some simple exercises. The first was interpersonal, and after agreeing on pairs (six, as we were altogether a dozen) we would each spend three minutes communicating to the other, without any words, how we were feeling about being in nature and all the elements of it all around us (and it was a very rich natural environment, which included the built environment and numerous artistic pieces). We could use any physical means, such as posture, movement, facial expressions, breathing, vocalisations without words and anything else we wanted. At first, I think most of us felt– to say the least – like complete chumps. But once we got started, and could feel that we were in a trusted space, it was extraordinary how much we could communicate and mutually understand; it was in a very fluid and boundless way that is never usually possible in conversations with strangers who you only met ten minutes ago.

John then led us out of the immediate environs of the centre, up a slight grass-covered hill, to a circle of 28 standing stones. Again, he persuaded normally decent and rational people to do something they had never done before – to go up to one of the stones and commune with it for a few minutes (those weren’t his exact words, but it is the gist of it). As I write this, it sounds silly and woo-woo – but as we were there, experiencing it together, I think we all got something peaceful – and perhaps personally meaningful – out of it. There was no need to explain, or defend, or judge; we were simply doing what felt OK at the time. A few jokes and bits of warm playfulness mixed well with the sombre and serious tone of the moment.

Next we went deep into the woods – to hear from one of Coed’s oldest members, who had a fire burning strongly under an open shelter. This was a true woodsman, as in the novels of Thomas Hardy, but he also showed us some survival skills and tricks – with bangs and flashes – that I remember from school chemistry lessons.

The last port of call on our introduction to the Bottega Project was to an extraordinary structure which I thought should be the biggest yurt in the world (I asked, and apparently, it is not).

Not the biggest yurt in the world - but must be close!

There we had a rich discussion about how much, of deep psychological meaning, we have lost in modern social living, and how aspects of it could be restored – at least on a city scale. I stayed so long talking to John about it, that I was the last one there – and ended up lost in the woods as dusk was falling, and the Welsh rain was starting. But, needless to say, I soon found one of the locals who pointed me in the right direction – back to something a bit more like normal life, with tea and cakes, at the CMH gathering.

In the final session, we had a go-round to check out with our reflections about the whole experience. Mine, amongst much more emotional ones, was that I had found or come across something that I wasn’t expecting but know that I might need – and that it had blown my mind, at least twice every day.

I think that’s a good result…