Rose Ceremony

Doing the Rose Ceremony

At the end of our course, we do the Rose Ceremony. In the temple, we each take a rose as a symbol of ourselves and place its petals in a bowl of water. The petals represent pairs of opposites (good-bad, rich-poor), the water is purifying, and we ask for love & unity in return. After this part of the ceremony, we get our certificate, showing that we actually were so crazy as to take and finish this 3 month course in the middle of nowhere. Though in the end it is just a silly piece of paper, I proudly receive it.

The altar in the temple

Meg, Clare, Noa & Shaun with their certificates

In the evening the ceremony continues, with burning all the rose petals in the fire, together with our grudges. Cheerfully we sing Om Namah Shivaya (Shiva = remover of all obstacles) as we clean out the corners of our soul. Afterwards, we listen to the guitar and banjo, sing songs, share stories and just stare happily into the fire. When all my clothes smell of smoke, may I know my oneness with the rose.

I stay out ashram-late (11 pm!) as I have a day off the day after. Whereas most others go to Nelson or the hot springs, I have decided to give myself a relaxing me-first day. So me takes a hot bath, me reads a nice book in the sun, me sings to the lake and me enjoys the calm & quiet after the hysteria of the last few days. Community life is nice, but sometimes it feels good not to share.

Noa, Divine Mother & Rebecca