Spirituality

Nowra hosts month-long festival of Vedic meditation talks this October

HERE in Nowra, a month-long international festival of Vedic wisdom, runs from October 1 to 31 at the Nowra Showground, offering free public talks and courses alongside teachers from across Australia and overseas, the South Coast Register reports.

Founder Barron Hanson, who runs the Be Here Nowra community group, said the event is drawing attendees from multiple countries and different parts of Australia in the hundreds, and that no prior meditation experience is needed to attend, according to the South Coast Register.

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From stressed filmmaker to Nowra teacher#

Hanson told the South Coast Register that a decade ago he was running a production company in New York City, making documentaries and chasing material goods, before Vedic meditation shifted his focus inward toward what he called quiet, inner fulfilment.

He spent time in ashrams and studying with Vedic meditation teachers before returning to his hometown of Nowra, where he said sharing the practice with family and community mattered most, per the South Coast Register.

2ST identifies Hanson as a fifth-generation local and says the festival grew out of Be Here Nowra, a not-for-profit organisation with a stated goal of getting about 300 people, roughly 1% of Nowra, meditating regularly.

A university study tracks the town's mood#

HERE in Nowra is working with the University of Wollongong to examine how group meditation practices influence resident wellbeing, 2ST reports.

Medianet News Hub reports that an earlier University of Wollongong study, featured on an ABC TV Compass episode, showed that 35 participants experienced reductions in stress, anxiety and depression during a previous meditation month, with data collection continuing.

Medianet News Hub also reports that Nowra's unemployment rate stands at 9.3 per cent against 4.9 per cent across New South Wales, and that malicious property damage there runs about 351 per cent higher than the state average, a backdrop Hanson has cited for why residents need tools to manage stress.

Free talks open to newcomers all month#

Hanson told the South Coast Register that people do not need any background in meditation or Vedic philosophy to attend, and invited residents to bring a friend to a free talk at the Showground.

2ST reports that the program includes free Wisdom Talks and introductory sessions, meditation courses for all levels, workshops such as Exploring the Veda, and social gatherings, with the full schedule posted at here-in.world and updates on Instagram at @here.festival.

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