Back then it was the dramatic arrival of the new burst of complex crop formations that primarily drove the agenda, but as the years progressed other related areas and concerns naturally seeped in and the event expanded to accommodate all manner of new thinking, beliefs and convictions. Although the Symposium’s production team has evolved in the years since, the ethos of first and foremost wanting to call attention to the crucial alternative issues of the day, and then providing a warm, informative and entertaining atmosphere to enhance that, has remained, and we feel that sense of ‘mission’ has enabled us to still be here 25 years later…

Being our 25th anniversary, this year we wanted to revisit some of the core themes we have covered over the years and our first speaker to kick off the Symposium was therefore Francine Blake speaking on crop circles. This amazing phenomenon continues to excite and mystify, for all the controversy, and it was special to hear of Francine’s fascinating research over many years, presented in her calm and centred manner. This was a wonderful way to begin the weekend, with a clear nod to our early origins.

Hopefully we all had a healthy lunch in the break, because straight after we had the vivacious Jayney Goddard motivating us all to reassess our diet and wellbeing. As standing proof of the benefits of healthy living (Jayney was at one point close to death with rheumatoid arthritis) she took us on a very inspiring journey, with lots of practical advice on how we can all easily create better lives with just a few shifts in both the food we eat and our everyday routines. Unquestionably, good health ought to be a higher priority for people than it generally is, and this was a very good reminder.

After tea, Nigel Grace made a welcome return to ‘grace’ us with an update on the Bosnian pyramids situation. Nigel has been one of the key researchers into the now increasingly publicised mystery of possible pyramidial constructions and shafts beneath the hills of a region in Bosnia. We learnt that they could well have been built 31,000 years ago! The tunnels they have been excavating have been yielding more and more information to process and Nigel gave a very good resume of the current situation in his friendly and unsensationalised manner.

To start the Friday evening off John Dalton refreshed us with his wonderful harp playing. He is such a talented player and his knowledge of music and its deeper connections, touched on in his thoughtful introductions, always makes his transcendent performances far more than just entertainment.

After an opening visit from the Mayor of Glastonbury, Denise Michell, who gave a fond recollection of her departed husband John Michell and his part in the Symposium in past years, Andy Thomas kicked off a 25 years celebratory presentation. Starting first with birthday cake, he began a look at the last quarter century of the Symposium and some of the often profound issues which have been constellated by it. This was presented in a wider context, investigating the different shifts which the ‘alternative’ world has dealt with over the years, from expectations of Earth Changes and possible extraterrestrial rescue, to ancient prophecies and the more modern hands-on approach of everyone helping to create a better world. Along the way, Andy evoked some enthralling Symposium memories, some hilarious and some nostalgic and poignant. A great start to the day.

The Saturday Forum followed at this point, as Andy Thomas chaired our Question Time-style panel and audience discussion with guests Alex: G, Palden Jenkins, Christine Page, myself (Helen Sewell) and, very especially, the Symposium’s original founder Roland Pargeter, who was moved to receive, quite rightly, a standing ovation for his work in first setting up this event 25 years ago. The lively and heartfelt debates which followed touched on some key issues for our times and added extra spiritual dimensions to some of the possible practical solutions. [Sorry, we don’t have a picture of the Forum!]

Dan Vidler then took us back to the original roots of the Symposium, giving his thoughts and feelings on the inside construction and complex lays of crop circles, reminding us that it remains one the most amazing phenomena of our times, for all the controversy. Dan revived some old-style proper ground research, demonstrating that certain details are very hard to explain if the circles are all made by people as the media insists. His great photos showed the most incredible intricacies that are involved and it was good to see such enthusiasm and diligent observation.

Our Saturday evening speaker, Anthony Peake, was on fire with a very impassioned talk on his latest research into consciousness and telepathy. Not content with just presenting subjective conjecture, Anthony always backs up what he says by referencing the latest science, and he really stretched our minds with a brilliant talk which touched on everything from the quantum qualities of the mind to the increasing evidence that consciousness does indeed exist beyond our bodies and this lifetime. This was a powerful and animated close to a great day.

We all know there is so much madness in society but rather than shrugging our shoulders and feeling helpless Richard Smith showed another way forward by giving a fascinating talk envisioning a different world – fairer, more peaceful and more prosperous for all, created with nothing more than an application of common sense and a determination from all of us to do our bit in creating change. Picking up on the themes in his new book A Future World Vision, which made its debut this weekend, Richard convincingly showed that as we all ‘wake up’ we will all be able to help evolve the systems which currently need improving.

Before the next presentation, Sheila and Andy led an audience chant of ‘Here comes the Sun!’ to attempt to collectively dispel the rain so we could do our closing meditation in the Abbey grounds later that afternoon… (It worked! – more or less; the rain had stopped by then, at least.)

Our final speaker of the main Symposium was Christine Page. Returning for another triumphant and very lively talk, Christine, in her animated style, examined the theme of dragons and serpents in our mythology, seeing what they really represent and understanding how we can harness this power today. It was a very empowering talk, as Christine explained how the resurgence of earth or ‘dragon’ energy and the proliferation of things like crop circles around it represents to her a return of the Divine Feminine, come to restore equilibrium to our overly-masculine world. Both men and women can rejoice at this because it means that some of the darker mistakes borne from a long imbalance of energies may at last be redressed. We certainly hope so.

Following the dinner break, the whole weekend ended fully with our traditional closing Sunday night speaker slot. This year we were very privileged to have as our speaker Iain McGilchrist, author of the bestselling and hugely influential The Master and His Emissary. Iain does not give regular talks, so to have him come to join us was a great honour. Iain’s seminal work on the right and left sides of the brain and how they work together (or should), both inside our heads and in the way we project the results out onto the world around us really is groundbreaking. Iain’s gentle humour and wise words were a perfect close to three days of both left and right-brain insights in about equal measure. Thank you Iain for stretching our brains just a little further.

We hope that everyone enjoyed this year’s very special event. The knowledge and research that our speakers share with us helps us all to grow and enriches us just that little bit more.

Those who come to the Symposium know that simply by being there one is also able to connect with other like-minded people and make new friends and acquaintances in a beautiful and supportive space. This is something special in a big, bustling world of information overload which can sometimes by alienating without personal connections, and the power of physically gathering in this way – an experience that just watching YouTube can never provide – should not be underestimated. The Symposium has grown and evolved greatly in 25 years, but its ethos of providing crucial information in a warm, welcoming and sympathetic environment continues on, and it will be fascinating to see what the years ahead have in store.

A very big Thank You to all our speakers, our support team and, of course, to our lovely audience.

Report by Helen Sewell, photos by Andy Thomas