For more than 15 years, the Omega Institute of New York has been sending creative thinkers of the human potential movement to St. John around this time of year to conduct "learning vacations" at Maho Bay Camps. For the last four years, the institute has also offered weekly evening presentations open to the public at the camp site.
This year, the public programs will take place not at Maho Bay, but in downtown Cruz Bay, making them more accessible to many St. John residents, as well as visitors from St. Thomas.
The 5th annual "Evenings with Omega" series starts Monday, Jan. 17, in the Open Palms Studio at the St. John Lumberyard. According to Ann Marie Porter, the meeting site is spacious, comfortable and close by the Cruz Bay barge and ferry terminal so as to welcome participants from St. Thomas, too.
"It will feel more like we're sitting around talking to the person," Porter said. She noted that the public presentations are all free, offered as "a gift to the community" from Dr. Stephan Rechtfschaffen, co-founder of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rheinbeck, N.Y.
Institute members have been taking week-long retreats known as "Omega Learning Vacations" at Maho Bay Camps for more than 15 years. This year there are four of them. Through the "Evenings" series, Porter said, residents, too, have an opportunity to explore inner space with doctors, scientists, authors, artists and visionaries.
Here's the schedule of public presentation:
Monday, Jan. 17 — "Sexual Awakening through Sexual Awareness," led by Pat Love. Organizers say Love brings humor to her subject along with information on the latest findings about the sexual connections of biology, physiology and psychology.
Monday, Jan. 24 — a presentation by Jon Kabat-Zinn on how to lower stress through mental powers. Kabat-Zinn, best-selling author of "Full Catastrophe Living," runs a stress-reduction clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Monday, Jan. 31 — "Rhythms of the Heart," presented by Joan Borysenko. She will speak about the value of peaceful living and compassion in the modern world.
Monday, Feb. 7 — a look at the role of emotions in healing, by Dr. Candace Pert, described in Omega materials as a "brilliant neuroscientist" on the forefront of research into immunology, the body's ability to fight off disease and infection. Pert is credited with the exploration of how the body's release of certain chemicals forms what is called the "body-mind connection."
All lecture presentations are from 7 to 9 p.m. The St. John Lumberyard is located across the street from the Cruz Bay bulkhead, across from Penn's Trucking.
The Omega Institute also welcomes Virgin Islanders to take day classes with the "learning vacationers" at Maho Bay. Barbara Young, who is handling local registration for the Maho sessions, said residents can attend single classes or full-week programs at a reduced cost. For a two-hour class, the fee is $35. For a full-week retreat, it's $350, which does not include food or lodging. Retreat weeks run Sunday through Friday, with Wednesday a free day; each day begins with yoga at 7 a.m. and concludes with a presentation at 10 p.m.
The individual classes available to the public at Maho Bay this year are yoga, Afro-Cuban dance, island music, time management, writing and belly dancing. Young said those attending day classes will also have an opportunity to learn more about the subjects addressed in the public "Evenings with Omega" series. Borysenko, in her expanded presentation of "Rhythms of the Heart," for example, invites retreat participants to join "a week of prayer, contemplation and rededication to spirit."
Reservations are required to attend the Maho classes and retreats. Brochures describing the retreat weeks have been distributed throughout St. John. Copies may be picked up in the mailbox outside the People Moving Forward Foundation offices located at 18-1 Enighed. To have a brochure faxed, obtain further information, or register for a day course or retreat, call Young at 779-4954
There is no reservation procedure for the Monday evening sessions. For more information about them, call Porter at 693-5153.
