THE BIRTH OF UNERGI
Unity & Energy

Unergi was delivered to me from the sea. In early 1990, I was walking on the beach on the island of Bornholm between Denmark and Sweden . I had just conducted a workshop with a number of American and European participants. During this workshop, we immersed ourselves in the natural beauty and ancient history of the island.

Using our vivid imagination, we became kings and queens in the ruins of an old castle overlooking the sea. We role played how we could use our authority wisely and discovered how our inner authority over body, mind and emotions, would be reflected in the lives of the people entrusted to us. We imagined how we would guide their destiny, and co-create their environment.

Sensing the energy of rune-stones, we touched the symbols carved into them and they imparted personal meaning. We laid on earth-mounds that might have been Viking graves and allowed our bodies to receive and merge with stories that could not be named or explained in our present day consciousness. Yet they transmitted an ancient wisdom, which enlivened our intuitive brain and began to familiarize us with new and remembered internal creative responses.

We formed “nature homes” as we built sand castles on the beaches. With sticks, stones, mushrooms and moss, we constructed houses for the “little people” or spirits of nature. Designing these “spiritual homes” invited us to explore our roots and reconnect with early childhood memories. As we wrote group poems, in which each person writes one line without looking at what the previous person has written, we revealed an underlying spirit of people who were eager to learn how to become caring and sensitive members of a community or tribe.

These encounters informed and altered our interpersonal relationships. We opened to our own and each other's pain, joys and struggles. The quality with which our touch, words, laughter and tears were exchanged became truth - fully. Our movements took on a shape that was soft, flexible, and effortless as we learned from each other easily, as if by osmosis. Any somatic or verbal techniques were readily absorbed and passed on with sensitivity, curiosity and care and I found myself simplifying my language. My thought process seemed directly connected to my body's responses, to the natural beauty of my surroundings, and that of the group members, and eventually, to the beauty, recognition and acceptance of my own nature and spirit.

While on my beach walk and reflecting on the workshop week, I listened to the cries of the seagulls, the wind as it moved clouds overhead, the rolling waves as they played with my feet, and I also listened to me. This is what I heard:

I am ready to take the next step by creating adventures with people as they consciously merge their human body with spirit, with life on this multifaceted planet. I will teach “how to” without putting myself into the traditional role of the teacher – rather I will encourage and invite each individual to rediscover inner authority. I will work with heart centered and self-responsible people, who, like me, are deeply interested in how we can transform our often difficult personal journeys into a celebration, or at least acceptance, of what has been, is, and will be in the future. I will create a thoughtful, embodied space for people to immerse themselves, discover, remember and feel inspired to share with others. And I will find a way to do this simply.

My next question was, What shall I call this kind of learning-teaching-sharing? And the word I heard was Unergi -- with an "i" on the end, to acknowledge my German roots: Unity & Energy. I was ready!

By this time, I had studied art and design for many years in Germany, San Francisco and London. I had reconnected with the spontaneous, creative, younger part of myself, which gave me the confidence to experiment outrageously, while in a safe environment. Therefore, I knew I could create a place of safety, where people felt invited to participate in an experiment, without being pushed, shamed, coerced, or manipulated, as I had often felt in traditional learning environments.

In addition, I had traveled many roads of self-exploration, and discovered some of my most important learnings through avant-garde music with Joe Celli, Malcolm Goldstein, and David Moss. I also delved into my “possible human” at Jean Houston's Mystery School . To revisit my spiritual connection with nature, I had participated in workshops with Michael Roads, author of many books that “journey into” nature, and traveled to Findhorn, a community in Scotland whose philosophy is based on the One-ness of all life.

I was blessed to enter days of silent simplicity, initiated by the Sufi Master, Pir Vilayat Khan, during which I had no questions and no answers: life was “as is,” in a harmonious flow of my inner and outer experiences, I merged with the One.

For fifteen years, I studied the work of several pioneers of verbal and body sensory modalities: Fritz Perls Gestalt Therapy, F.M. Alexander, Alexander Technique, Moshe Feldenkrais Feldenkrais Method® , and Ilana Rubenfeld Rubenfeld Synergy Method® .

I had presented numerous workshops in Europe and the U.S. based on the integration of body, mind, emotions, spirit, creativity and nature. It was now time for me to name what I was doing. UNERGI: Unity & Energy.