Mind, Body & Spirit Exhibition
Photo montage from the April 2004 Exhibition - By Stelios Tryfonas
The Cyprus Mind, Body & Spirit Exhibitions provide a vital link between people on the island with similar interests in healthy living, holistic therapies and self-development. They provide a bridge of communication between Cyprus and Europe, where such events have long been well-established. We look forward to the day, in the not too distant future, when complementary therapies will be widely accepted and their benefits recognised and enjoyed by all.
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The MBS Exhibitions are about providing a choice. They have been criticized for not being serious. In our opinion, lightness is a crucial component of health and happiness. These events provide a forum for people to meet therapists who are working from their hearts as well as from their heads. Many have been helped by the therapies that they now practice. They were so impressed by their own recovery that they trained to be therapists themselves in order to help others.
Often, members of the medical profession do not understand what we do or how it can work. Without making an effort to find out they call us “charlatans” and “quacks”. I am reminded of how long it took for the establishment to accept Galileo’s “theory” that the world is round, rather than flat, the prevailing belief at the time!
Many of the “new” therapies are based on subtle vibrations of energy that, in fact, is what the body (and all things) actually is. Ancient healing systems use this knowledge. In the last 100 years Western science has “discovered” it in the form of quantum physics. Aspects of this knowledge are used in mainstream medicine in the form of EEC. EEG. MRI devices, etc., and will be more prevalent as time goes on and more people learn and accept the principles of quantum biology.
There is an atmosphere of fun at the MBS Expos. Why? Because health and happiness go together. If someone is happy – not stressed, at ease – by definition there they cannot be dis-eased! Seeing people who enjoy what they do provides a good example to those many people who spend their days doing things that they don‘t really like or find rewarding. Years of working in a job you hate or with people that you do not like will create and exacerbate stress that will lead to disease.
The root cause of most diseases is known to be stress. How that stress eventually manifests in the physical body depends on many factors including heredity and lifestyle.
If a person breaks her leg, the first thing to do is to go to a doctor. She can take an x-ray and then set the bone so it is in the correct position to heal. After that, what can a doctor do? Prescribe painkillers, which can damage the stomach or set off some other imbalance. A good, open-minded doctor would know to suggest some form of energetic therapy to speed the bone’s recovery such as acupuncture, bio-feedback, magnetotherapy, Reiki, Pranic or Theta Healing. A holistic practitioner would look even deeper, using the opportunity of the accidental break to investigate the reason why the person was in the situation to have a broken bone. For example, maybe she needed to slow down! From the holistic viewpoint, everything happens for a reason. If you identify the reason, get to the root cause, you are taking a big step to reducing built-up stress and improving your health and well-being over the long term.
This does not have to be a heavy process. It is an adventure, lead by people who have travelled the road before and know the benefits that the process can offer. Over the years, people have given away much of their power to medical doctors, expecting them to “fix” them when they are ill. We suggest that it is very beneficial for people to take responsibility for their own health, through conscious living. A decision to do so will greatly enhance the quality of life and level of happiness and well-being. This has a knock-on effect, spreading happiness to friends, family and society. Isn’t that a nicer way to life than always being in fear and dependence?
For those who are sceptical about the MBS Exhibition, we offer you an invitation to come, with an open mind and an open heart, and see for yourselves.
It had been questioned that we have card readers included as MBS participants, as if these people were “fortune tellers”. Every individual reader is different. We cannot make judgements on them, but in our experience many people have been helped by what they learn through a reading. And many people like them! At the very least it is an aid to introspection and self-exploration. Often, insights come that people might never have been able to access in other ways.
Also questioned is the presence of shops selling jewellery, beauty products, clothing and gifts. Feng Shui items placed around your home bring an awareness of your environment, aiding conscious living. Semi-precious stones in jewellery support the flow of energy in the body. Brightly coloured clothes can lift your spirits and wearing something you like makes you happy. Natural beauty products reduce toxic exposure and scented soaps and oils use the principles of aromatherapy to support the body’s balance.
Not everything at the MBS Expo is for everybody. What is on offer is a “buffet” for visitors to sample and then look deeper into what they find of interest and of use to them now.
There are talks, classes and workshops to attend to get first-hand experience of a therapy or therapeutic modality. For more depth it is up to each individual to follow up this opportunity to sample various things. Or not! It’s all about providing a choice.
Come and see for yourself! Kopiaste! You are welcome!
Then
The Mind, Body & Spirit Exhibition brings together people working the fields of holistic health therapies and self-development to co-operate and raise awareness about the many tools, practices, instruction, therapies and products that are available to help us in our search for health and personal growth. It has become a regular forum to provide the structure both for people on the island and overseas speakers to exchange their knowledge.
The first Mind, Body & Spirit event in Cyprus was called “The Aquarius Gathering” and took place in Nicosia in April 1986. Two more followed, one in Limassol and another in Nicosia the following year. Even then there was a lively interest in complementary therapies. In the early 1990s, Athena Christodoulou organised similar exhibitions in Limassol. She left the country in 1997, so once again there was a hiatus.
After a yoga class in the spring of 2001 Anette Martinsen and Francesca Pinoni reminisced about the exhibitions. They agreed that they provided a good forum to find out what is available in this field and also to meet people with similar interests. Each had considered taking on the task of organising an exhibition but was daunted at the thought of doing it alone.
Combining their energy and talents, from that discussion the current series of Mind, Body & Spirit Exhibitions was born. After many months of planning the Exhibition at the Narvarria Hotel in Limassol in February 2002 surpassed their expectations. With over 50 exhibitors and 1200 + visitors it was an unqualified success. Following the many requests to have one in Nicosia, Anette & Francesca organized one there the following November. Others followed, and continue in spring in Limassol and in Nicosia each November. A separate event, The Health & Well-Being Festival, is held in Paphos in Spring, organised by Victoria Constantinou and Philippa Roumefioti.
The Exhibitions host over 100 participants and more than 1500 visitors. There are therapists, teachers, life coaches, clairvoyants, shops selling natural products, organic food stuffs, books, crystals. jewellery and hand-made items. There are a variety of lectures, presentations, sample classes, films, workshops and meditation classes.
As we continue to grow, it is safe to say that there is no holding back the tide. A new generation with open minds will continue to move in the direction of health, co-operation, self-growth and personal responsibility.
Now
This is the new the Cyprus Mind, Body & Spirit Exhibition logo. We chose a heart because it is through the heart that the Mind, Body and Spirit are linked. With so much information available in the fast paced life we live today it is sometimes easy to forget the most important thing in life – LOVE! At the end of the day, the love we give and the love we accept is what stays with us. When you encounter the many everyday annoyances, rather than get tense and caught up in negativity, think to yourself “only love prevails”. This momentary reminder goes a long way towards keeping us present, healthy and in a state of gratitude for all life’s gifts. The more we focus on the positive, the more good comes to us, in small ways and in big ways, too.
Our journey coordinating the MB&S Exhibitions over the past few years has lead to many new experiences and friendships. The goal of bringing together people who are interested in holistic health and self-development has taken shape, creating a community of friends, walking together on the path to health and happiness.
The Mind, Body and Spirit Exhibitions are an example of how people can connect and create a force of good in a simple way. Two women agreed to work together and continue the MB&S Exhibitions because we both missed attending them. Agreeing that it was a worthwhile thing to bring like-minded people in the holistic health and self-development fields together, with no prior experience in organizing such events we just did it!
In the course of this journey, Francesca learned how to make web sites and Anette took on the daunting job of producing a A4 glossy magazine.
Now, in its ninth year the MB&S Exhibitions have become regular events, eagerly anticipated in Limassol in the spring and Nicosia in November. We inspired and helped set up a similar event in Budapest, Hungary and support The Heart and Soul Expo in the north of Cyprus, that began in May 2009 as well as the Summer Solstice Healing Celebration each June in Polis campgrounds. Our small effort has created many ripples and touched many lives in ways that we could not foresee or even imagine.
Although the MB&S Exhibition is not a charity event, it offers support in the form of complementary tables or cash donations to several local organizations and individuals working to help others.In this time of glorified selfishness, consider that that the greatest satisfaction and pleasure comes from doing things for others. However much you may think you lack, if you have eyes to read and access to a computer to see these words you are more fortunate than many. Think about what you can offer to others today. A gift of even a smile and a kind word is a force for good and can have far reaching consequences!
Anette Martinsen
Francesca Pinoni
