Days before the end of Tribal Gathering I was fantasizing about being in a hot tub and pampering myself as a treat for surviving an intense 3+ weeks of festival. So, that’s what I did. Today I made it to Colombia and need to write up the final account of my experience at Tribal.

I never managed to find or meet up with Rea, the organizer of the workshops at Tribal. However, after deciding that perhaps she didn’t really exist, my friend who did a volunteer shift managed to connect with her and she confirmed I could do 2 more workshops. So, I decided to do the third and final one on the last Saturday of the festival. I had to write it on the blackboard myself the morning of the workshop, and I set to work informing as many people as possible about it.

The night before I had met Mike, the DJ and Producer behind the incredible ‘Pyro-Circus Rave’ fusion band Slamboree. Before coming my good friend Mr. Daniel Wedge noticed that they were playing and that I should meet Mike as he was a legend. Well…. The moment came when we happened to be loitering in the same general area so I went and introduced myself. The next morning when it was time for my workshop, we were chilling in a group together in the sun and I told him and the people we were with about my workshop. They all seemed interested. I went to gather everyone and when it was time to go they were all still sat on the grass chilling. I had some tension about going over again to tell them it was about to start. I thought…

‘Maybe they don’t actually want to come and they’re just being polite’…

So I almost walked away. Then I had a change of heart, and went to inform them again we were about to leave. I’m so glad I did, because they came with, and it made for the perfect group for the last workshop, which was the smallest one yet, with about 12 of us there.

It was a lovely workshop. After the first workshop I had met one of the attendees later that night, a young lad named Alex from Bristol. It turned out, he was a poet, and away from the workshop environment he shared a few of the pieces he had memorized with me. The thing was - he’d never done that before. He wanted to share during the workshop but had too much fear holding him back. His poetry was great, so I suggested the next workshop would be a perfect space for him to share in public for the first time. I could feel the resistance in his voice, but he said he would like to. He didn’t make the second workshop, and before the third I suggested it again. He said he’d had a heavy day the day before and seemed uncertain. I said I wouldn’t put him on the spot but that I thought he needed to take this opportunity to move past a fear that was stopping him from sharing himself and his gifts fully with the world.

At the end of the workshop, after all was said and done… I did what I said I wouldn’t do… I put him on the spot and told everyone this was going to be his first time ever performing some of his amazing poetry to a group. I knew that if I did that… he’d have to say yes… which he did, and he shared with the group.

After, he couldn’t express in words how much I had done for him. I could tell how genuinely amazing he felt after overcoming a long time fear that had been holding him back. I know the buzz of performance, and couple that with defeating a crippling fear, I could only imagine how he felt. Another guy in the workshop, Rich, also shared one of his poems he had written previously and this too was his first time sharing in public. Turns out Rich also lives in Bristol, and the two of them are going to link and get connected to the Bristol poetry scene, and I’ve no doubt that together they will rock the stages many times in the future now that they have both gotten past that first hurdle of performing for the very first time.

This was such an amazing gift that I never expected to be able to give when first applying to host this workshop. It brought a warmth to my heart and a rush of energy to my soul, and I am truly so thankful that I have helped to facilitate that big shift in 2 very talented poets, knowing that they are now free to share their gifts with the world. I had many stories throughout the festival from attendees telling me of what they let go of. One man, John, had been dealing with the death of his guitarist last November who he’d been playing with for 17 years. There’s an exercise where we use the letters of a persons name as a structure for a poem, and during this exercise John was able to let go of his dear friend. Another man had divorced from his wife of 21 years recently and never thought of using writing as a way of expressing emotions, but was introduced to the power of it in the workshop and thanked me afterwards for the opportunity. Many others told me their stories and gave me their thanks for providing the inspiration and the space for them to be able to let go of what they needed to let go of. I was so humbled by everyone’s openness and honesty, and truly received so many additional bonuses that I never expected to receive through doing this. I inspired others and was inspired in return. I loved and was loved. I grew and watched others grow too. I can’t express the magnitude of my gratitude in words, but I know now that I want to do this in as many places as possible as an extra method of sharing my messages and inspiring others to do the same.

But my real achievement lies in Karis, who the whole time had been telling me she ‘couldn’t write’. The first two workshops she did just that. I kept on telling her she could write, and to stop telling herself that she couldn’t. Then, on the last workshop, suddenly she started writing. She shared with me what she’d written and honestly it touched my heart so much to know that she had overcome a self-limiting block she’d placed on herself. Her writings were about things that had happened in her past and it almost brought me to tears to know that I’d given her a new tool to try and express her feelings about those past events. This was a major breakthrough for me and I am sure for Karis too. I gifted her my favorite pen and she took the notepad with her, with the intention of continuing to write. I gave thanks for the opportunity to help others unlock the doors that had prevented them from moving forward before. Thank you so much to Karis and Emily for coming to all 3 of my workshops and supporting me in my mission… I’m really so grateful ❤️

To finish the workshop off, I performed one more poem… one of my more controversial poems about God. At the end, Mike from Slamboree told me he really liked it, and that he thought it would be ideal to sample in a track. YES!!! This excited me immensely, as ever since I started poetry I had the vision of eventually music producers finding my work and wanting to sample my words in their music. We had been talking previously about the power of spoken word coupled with the intense emotion that is possible to create through sound and music. So… I’m going to record the poem and send it to him. With a bit of luck, you may well hear the poem sampled in one of their future tracks… I really hope so! I can’t think of a better guy for the job. Mike absolutely rocked the crowd on 3 or more separate occasions at the festival. He’s a producer and DJ of extremely high calibre, and I feel honored and privileged that he has even suggested using my poem to make music… if it actually comes to fruition I will be beyond ecstatic so… keep your fingers crossed for me! This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t of overcome my tension about asking them one final time if they wanted to come to the workshop, so I am also glad that I am getting much better at recognizing and overcoming tension created by my ego like this :^)

With that, my account of this immense experience comes to an end. It was so awe-inspiring, mind-blowing, and soul-enriching that I really do recommend anybody to go there some time. It’s idyllic setting in paradise is just the icing on the cake. If you go there, you will learn new things about yourself, about the world, about cultures you never knew existed and music you never thought you’d hear.

You cannot put a price on experiences like this… I don’t even want to know how much money I spent… because… I don’t care 😀 Money is abundant and is given to you as and when you need… as long as you believe so. Especially if you are working for the greater good to improve life on Earth in your own way, you will always be supported, and that includes financially.

In the words of the great Paulo Coelho -

Light and Love always to all

❤️

^^ People deep in the juju of writing. So humbling to see people sat down, going within and creating something new. I don’t have any pics of my second 2 workshops unfortunately. I think Karis took a few so I hope to update these posts with more if possible.