Shanti came bounding into the shop, full of excitement. "I've connected with a wonderful Tantric master," she told me, and he's asked me to organise a workshop for him. Can you put some flyers up for me, and will you come? It's £30 for the day. It's all about ENERGY." She placed great emphasis on the word. Coming from the perspective of someone learning to meditate, I assumed this would be Channelling Light in the lotus position for the day, with a break for lunch, and a couple of herbal teas. Easy.

There were a couple of yoga sessions during the day, and some chanting and dancing, and an hour-long dynamic meditation which was completely exhausting, but also very clearing and very satisfying, based upon the work of OSHO. The tantric master turned out to be a small man who brought with him an entourage, some of whom were filming some of the day for satellite TV where, so he said, he had a slot on a breakfast programme. Apart from co-ordinating everyone, his own contribution to the day was in the form of some exercise to encourage the movement of Chi in the body.

One of these was to stand and rock the pelvis, to activate the base chakra, and then to pull the energy up through the seven chakras. We all laughed when he told us if we practiced it every morning we'd be able to have an orgasm while we were cleaning our teeth!

At the end of the day, though tired, I was also really buzzy. I had said I would help Shanti clear up and take some of her things home in my car, as she could not drive. The workshop had been successful, and The Master mentioned to me that he would be looking for helpers at a weekend workshop in Devon, and asked if I would be interested. "I'd pay you," he said, as he handed Shanti her share of the profits for the day. Fifty people had payed £30 to be there; quite lucrative, it could be said.

"Think about it!" he said, "And phone me." They were all driving back to London, so we said our goodbyes, including his wife and daughter, and Shanti started to load up the car.
"How did you get it all here," I asked.
"I walked.But it took a few trips."
She lived, in fact, a two minute drive from the hall, but it was up a slope. Also, her flat was on the second floor, so I was able to help carry things up the fire escape. While I was there, she showed me her garden, a beautiful patch within sight of the river, overlooking orchards and hop-fields. Off to one side was a fairly small dead tree.
"I used to sit under there and meditate, until it died. It died when my partner left me, because my heart was broken."
"Oh." I wasn't really sure what to make of this, but she stated it as fact so, to her, it was true. I wondered why she chose to keep it as a reminder of her broken heart, grey and lifeless. There was a very childlike part of her that seemed at odds with the Guru that came out at the meditation groups. I was interested to hear her thoughts, but I also felt a little protective of her.
We sat on a log in the late afternoon sunshine, surrounded by tinkling wind-chimes.
"Last week," she told me, "I went to a feast at my friend's Ashram. His own Guru was over from India, and the food was wonderful. There were flowers everywhere, and I did some singing." Singing was what she loved to do. "I went so high in my spirit that I channelled an ArchAngel and then fainted!" She laughed, and there was a sudden gust of wind, causing the wind-chimes to ring out in earnest."Ooh, Hello Tom." She spotted a neighbour who was shuffling by with a newspaper and a folding chair.
"It's starting to get a bit chilly now," he called, reminding me that I needed to be on my way to collect the children from my mother's house.

On the drive, I wondered what the ArchAngel had wanted to say, and what everyone's reaction had been. I also thought about the weekend workshop in Devon. A weekend away would be good, my expenses would be paid and it might be fun, if it was like the day I'd had. I decided to phone and find out more.

"It's in about 6 weeks," he told me. "You'll need a little bit of training, though, to bring you up to speed. I'm really busy; might you be able to come up to us? We live near the tube, so if you come into Victoria I'll give you directions. Can you cover the train fare and I'll pay you back?"
I agreed, and we arranged it for the following Monday.