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Below are several personal
accounts. They are listed alphabetically by country.
Rick Pinard (Czech
Republic)
I don’t know if
it would be appropriate for me to comment on the Congress itself,
since I was involved in organizing it to some extent. That wouldn’t
be too objective.
I had a great time and
really enjoyed myself. I was very impressed with how things worked
out. Even though there were fewer people this year, they were wonderful
people and the energy was quite high. I felt lifted by it for two
weeks after.
Anne Pedersen (Denmark)
From Denmark four people
shared the travel expenses and went in the same private car. We
were all from the board of the Danish Edgar Cayce Society: the head
of board, Anne Pedersen; her husband John, who is our “Cayce
CD-ROM master”; the treasurer, Lilly Larsen; and the secretary,
Aase Harrekilde-Petersen.
It was a great trip,
even though we did some map-researching around the huge city of
Hamburg. That was before getting ourselves on the right track, so
to speak.
The congress was held
at Der Sunderhof which was located just south of Hamburg and situated
absolutely beautifully in the midst of a great big wood.
It was once again great
to be surrounded by Cayce people from so many countries! Even though
we do understand and speak English, a little French and some German,
it was fun to listen to the other participants speaking in their
mother tongues of French, German and Czech. We even met a medical
doctor from Finland who now lives and works in Germany! This is
really International Outreach!
Renate Werner and Rick
Pinard did a tremendously good job. Not only by finding such an
unusual and quiet location for us, but the Congress itself was very
well planned. We appreciated the fact that they hadn’t made
any “double-booking” with the different topics and speakers.
Everybody could listen to each lecture, not having to choose which
ones to go to and what to skip. We liked that idea!
Kirsten and Thomas
Rühling (Germany)
TWO GREENHORNS AT THEIR
FIRST EDGAR CAYCE CONGRESS
One thing before we get going: IT WAS GREAT! And now, back to the
beginning...
After a five-hour trip
by train from Gross-Gerau to Hamburg, we arrived at the Sunderhof
on Thursday by lunchtime.
After lunch we attended
Jeanette Thomas’ workshop. As we were both beginners, we had
not the faintest idea of what to expect. After only a short while,
we were impressed by Jeanette’s kind nature and by the relaxed
atmosphere as a whole. The explanations that Jeanette Thomas gave
were so comprehensive and, at the same time, captivating that we
all literally hung on every word she said. This first workshop was
a great start into the congress. Never before had we got to know
new and really nice people in so short a time and such a natural
manner. Within minutes, exciting discussions developed about applications,
about “this” and “that”, what the one or
the other had already tried.
The accommodation was
like the best times in youth hostels – small but clean. We
felt very comfortable at this beautiful place.
>The next days we attended
every part of the program, determined as we were to take home as
much knowledge as possible from this congress.
It really is a great
feeling to meet for the first time in life those people you normally
only read about. The easygoing way of Dr. Schoeb, the tremendous
personal magnetism of Dr. Pagano, the endearing way of Jeanette
Thomas, and not to forget Renate Werner were for us an unforgettable
event.
Dr. Pagano’s lectures
were particularly impressive. It was fascinating to see in pictures
the healing of psoriasis according to Dr. Pagano’s method.
They were almost incredible healings. As incredible as Edgar Cayce
himself was.
Unfortunately, to elaborate
on each of the wonderful and interesting lectures would take too
long here.
The whole program was
very well planned. And there was always a marvelous, easygoing atmosphere
of mutual understanding.
A tremendous praise for
the organizers and all performers of this unforgettable congress!
And we hope to see everyone again next time. We will definitely
be there!
George Bouloukos
(Greece)
Upon returning to Greece
from the Euro Congress, I announced to our members that we are committed
to host the Euro Congress of the year 2007. They all got very excited
and in fact we have started scouting for the most adequate place
to host the Congress.
My son Christopher and
I enjoyed very much the Euro Congress in Hamburg. It was held in
the most ideal place, in a wooded forest and the weather was perfect.
We were somewhat delayed in getting there, even though we left a
day early. There were no direct flights to Hamburg from Athens,
so we had a choice to come through London, Brussels or Budapest.
The connection in Budapest was delayed some three or four hours.
For us, in Greece, it
is a comfort to know that Edgar Cayce’s philosophy and work
are spreading across the European continent.
I think Europe is the
most devastated continent of the planet Earth. The people have been
fighting each other since ancient recorded times. Their divisions
are cultural, linguistic, religious and political.
Perhaps Cayce’s
philosophy and universal vision could unite these people under the
belief that we are God’s lost and deluded children. Unless
this universal consciousness is adopted and worked upon, the divisions,
hatred and mistrust will always poison their relations and lives.
Cayce can become the common denominator and unifying force, for
all diverse people, on all corners and continents of the Earth.
Cayce’s philosophy
can bring a new dawn in this turbulent continent and the divisions
of ancient hatreds and mistrusts. No American can fully understand
the social, political and religious struggles within these small
countries, without living among them for a few years. On a tour,
for instance, several years ago in Northern Greece, where the population
is a mixture of Bulgars, Albanians, Serbs and Moslems, I became
fully aware of how difficult and dangerous it is to speak on such
subjects as reincarnation. Some, attending the lecture, became so
violent that started a brawl, with fist fights. I was ushered out
from a back door for safety.
Whoever had the idea
for a Euro Congress must be a blessed soul. We expect protests when
the Euro Congress is held in Greece in the year 2007, but we expect
to exorcise these dark clouds of ignorance.
If we have the support
of other Cayceites from the same continent, we trust and believe
that we’ll have a great Euro Congress.
Dr. John O.A. Pagano
(U.S.A.)
Other than the valuable
information presented by the speakers at the 2003 Hamburg Edgar
Cayce Euro Congress, I found the organization of the event by Renate
Werner and Rick Pinard most impressive. When a special event such
as this conference comes off without a snag, people have a tendency
to believe it was easy. I tend to differ. The reason it looked easy
was because of the hard work, sacrifice and dedication by the organizers
behind the scenes.
The set-up of the electronic
equipment by field experts who drove a small car from Croatia to
Hamburg with all the equipment necessary for an impeccable public
address system, as well as glass enclosures for translators in four
different languages, is a feat seldom equaled. Such expertise often
determines whether the event becomes an outstanding success or a
dismal failure. In this case it proved to be a system that speakers
dream of.
The beautiful YMCA Center
Sunderhorf near Hittfeld, just outside of Hamburg, was the perfect
facility to conduct the conference. Nestled in the woods, with spotless
rooms, walking trails, excellent cafeteria and speakers hall, it
made our entire stay one to reflect upon for years to come. Added
to that was the special touch of experiencing the beautiful German
countryside.
The speakers program
was well balanced. Subjects dealing with the spiritual side of things
to the physical, practical applications were well covered. In other
words, there was something for everybody.
It was my privilege
and honor to meet Dr. Kurt Bergter, a modern-day Albert Schweitzer,
who practiced medicine in the deprived areas of India for many years.
His wisdom and expertise were obvious when he spoke of the outstanding
works of the priest Sebastian Kneipp and his water cure as paralleling
many of the suggestions on water therapy by Cayce.
My own contribution
consisted of three segments: “The Edgar Cayce approach to
Holistic Healing”; “The Natural Healing of Psoriasis
and Eczema”; and “The Body Flexible” (a series
of 30 maneuvers set to music) designed to extend the range of motion
(ROM) of every joint in the body. The entire group participated
with great enthusiasm.
I see the Edgar Cayce
conferences growing steadily throughout the United States and foreign
countries every passing year. The reason is that information, particularly
on matters of health, is made available that cannot be found under
orthodox procedures. This does not constitute a threat to modern
medicine but rather an enhancement, an expansion if you will, all
for the aid of suffering humanity. Edgar Cayce was the conduit through
which this “Gift” was provided. It’s up to us,
collectively or individually to unwrap this present and use it to
our benefit, or leave it sealed, unopened and collecting dust thereby
being of no value to anyone.
The choice is ours.
We
hope that our reports on Euro Congress 2001 and Euro Congress 2003
will inspire people, all over the world, to participate in the upcoming
Euro Congresses.
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