"What have you been doing since you last came to Hamburg?"

My last trip to Hamburg was back in 1996. It seems an incredibly long time ago. Much has changed and my daughter who was not yet born then has now just turned six. During these past six years I was very involved in the office as I devoted myself to the management side of ASIACT - the organisation responsible for the Aura-Soma training and which, in a broader sense, is focused on developing public awareness of the effects and uses of colour. It was vital to secure the foundation of the Aura-Soma Training and in particular to create an international standard for the public practice of Aura-Soma. This we achieved and in May 2001 it was time for me to move on.

Since then I have returned to what I most enjoy - working with people directly as a teacher, practitioner and consultant. There are many excellent Aura-Soma teachers out there doing good work. My aim this last year has been to enrich these local networks with the experience and understanding I have been privileged to garner through my years of having worked so closely to the centre of the Aura-Soma impulse. To this end I have been developing new courses that extend and deepen understanding in key areas of Aura-Soma and these last twelve months I have worked extensively in Europe, Latin America, Russia and the Far East.

"Travelling as you do, what are you noticing in the world at the moment?"

In a general way I would say that colour is certainly, slowly but surely, emerging from the cultural sidelines to be recognised as a genuine and real influence in life. I recently read a fascinating book called Chromophobia where the author showed how colour has been consistently marginalized and belittled precisely because it is so powerful. Colour is traditionally portrayed as childish, emotional, hallucinogenic; it is ephemeral rather than substantial, it is dreamy, unrealistic and unscientific. Society deals in black and white, it requires the certainties of right and wrong in order that the individuals that compose it will know and keep their place. Colour breaks down black and white, it is a liberating force and as such is antithetical to the structures of control within society. We have entered a new phase in world evolution, technological advances mean that the old themes are now played out in a more global and powerful way, the forces both of centralisation and fragmentation, harmony and chaos have new levels of potential as they vie for supremacy. I am convinced that colour will have its part to play in this evolution, particularly as a wake up impulse to the individual to reconnect with his / her own dreams and potential.

With regard to the specific themes of the I always find it helpful to refer to the most recently created Aura-Soma colour combination, this always provides valuable clues. The latest bottle is currently #103 - a combination of Deep Olive over Deep Magenta. It was created in the two week period following September 11th.

Olive represents a very important theme - the unifying of power issues in yellow with a more harmonious and allowing relationship with life represented by green. On the world stage September 11th polarised a conflict that has always been more or less simmering throughout history, the conflict between the authority of established order and the rights of minority views. At one level it is a question of Leadership (a key olive theme), who or what will be dominant in the world? At the level of action, the use of terror has throw up another key olive issue, the power of (hidden) fear. Further the olive, through the symbolism of the olive branch, also shows I believe the best outcome for which we can aim at this time: peace, not through compromise or surrender, nor through force and imposition. Peace freely offered. This is the symbolism of the Olive branch.

To achieve this we are being asked, individually and collectively, to genuinely overcome our tendencies to continued conflict. We must recognise and let go of our hurt, our anger, our righteousness, our bitterness and our desire for revenge, recognise that they only create more suffering in our life. These experiences are not just in the visible flashpoints of the world (the Middle East, Ireland and Kashmir to name but three) but they are also within our own hearts. In choosing to let go of these seeds of future conflict, our passion, our life force, will naturally focus on positively creating our own life rather than reacting against what appears to be the external problem. Olive is more than anything the invitation to live our life, to step out and meet the world. If we can do this without intruding into other people's rights then this world may yet have enough space for all of us.

Indeed the most significant work project I have been involved in this last year, the development of a new training which I am calling the Phoenix Process, is very much aligned with the above themes. It supports the finding of our own path in life; from identifying a vision based on our deepest principles through to our day to day activities that create the life we live in practice. This process nurtures a new relationship to life, and hence the name Phoenix which is a symbol of rebirth. This is very exciting and I shall be sharing this work with individuals on a one to one basis as well as with groups, typically as an 8 day process.

"What will you be doing in Hamburg?"

Well I am coming this November and offering a three day Aura-Soma course entitled Exploring the Masters. It is an ASIACT certified course and it focuses particularly on the energies of the Master bottles within Aura-Soma, a sequence of particularly intense pastel colours. We shall explore them from a variety of angles, deepening our understanding not only of their particular gifts but also of the whole Aura-Soma range. This course will also have a personal experiential dimension as we identify the Master energies which are most relevant to us, and use the tools of Aura-Soma to gently support our own unfolding story.

What is particularly interesting about this subject is the way it fits into the larger picture of the current world situation. The Master bottles were created back in the summer of 1987 coinciding with what was called the Harmonic Convergence, a key event in the evolving of the Earth's energy field. A previously dormant powerful energy line was reactivated, adding a significant impulse to the generally rising frequency of the Earth's vibration. It is this rising frequency that is in turn stimulating the consciousness of individual beings upon the planet to awaken. It was Vicky Wall - the founder of Aura-Soma - who said that in this time at the start of the Aquarian Age the Masters are now combining their energies because the planet is entering such a critical stage in her evolution. Humanity now has the power to destroy the earth. We have to grow in order to avoid such a disaster.

The events of September 11th have opened yet another chapter of this awakening consciousness process. The Aura-Soma bottles of the Master sequence through the intensity of their colours help us shine the light more deeply within ourselves. And thus in my view, in a small way, the efforts in this course will add to the chances of success in the bigger picture. The consciousness of each individual counts in the balance of planetary consciousness.