The best way to go into these times, then, is with a sense of fresh opportunity and a determination to create something better than what has gone before. With everything social, political and spiritual increasingly ‘on the table’ for public discussion and reconsideration, we hope that many of our presentations this year will, as ever, help encourage deeper thinking and conscious forward motion, even as we reveal some of the areas the mainstream still pretends aren’t there.

We have a very varied programme this year. We always try to find a balance between the spiritual and paranormal, social issues, new science, health and consciousness, and the truthseeking element that takes a sideways look at some more ‘real world’ topics. Of course, all worlds are real, and we need to give voice to many different viewpoints, however weird and wonderful some may see them as!

After friendly introductions to the weekend from MCs Sheila Martin and Andy Thomas, our first speaker for the day, the Symposium’s own Jason Porthouse, successfully set the scene for the whole event. Looking at the issues the world is struggling with as a whole, he focused on a growing lack of identity and connection, seeing how men in particular are struggling with knowing what true masculinity means, while at the same time femininity is being denigrated. In calm, measured tones, Jason explained well how this is creating many problems in our society, and how it desperately needs to be addressed. It was a great start to the Symposium.

After lunch, Pippa King shared a riveting account of her personal journey into ‘biometrics’ after her children started to be fingerprinted at school without parental permission. Pippa is one of those remarkable people who doesn’t just sit back and tut-tuts but gets off her backside and does something! She is angry with the way things are going in terms of increasing surveillance in our schools and wants it exposed. Her journey of research has uncovered everything from secret police collaboration with schools to nationwide plans for far more draconian control of children. A very revealing, if worrying, talk, but the world is certainly a better place with people like Pippa campaigning for freedom and truth.

After tea, Ewan Irving delivered a fascinating presentation on the paranormal, asking the question ‘are we all psychic?’. With his lovely lilting Scottish accent he shared stories that just cannot be explained by the rational mind, involving everything from ghost encounters to reports of animals sensing oncoming tsunamis long before any geological event had occurred. Using these examples, Ewan drew the conclusion that all of us must have the same ability to access other dimensions and levels of knowledge if we can but learn to open ourselves to them.

Andy Thomas, in his own traditional slot, kicked off the Saturday speakers with a brilliant talk on post-Brexit Britain and how ‘divide and rule’ tactics may be being used to destabilise society. He brought his wealth of knowledge on history to help give context and understanding to what has happened, which was particularly insightful for the many international attendees, still puzzled as to our collective decision. Andy’s positive message of revitalising democracy, promoting unity and letting go of the Remain/Leave divisions in a spirit of moving forward was powerful and uplifting. If anyone has experienced any conflict with friends or family, download this talk (it will be free to watch on YouTube and on our online viewing facility) and show it to them!

As the opener to the Saturday evening, the uplifting singing of the Avalonian Free State Choir soared into the rafters, delighting all listeners. As brilliant as ever, the Symposium’s continued support of this key community choir roots it very much to Glastonbury, making it something that simply couldn’t take place anywhere else and still be the same event.

The special guest evening speaker was journalist, peace activist and truthseeker Patrick Henningsen, making a welcome return to the Symposium after a few years. Patrick is doing good work in exposing the real truth of world events, and he illustrated his recent travels around the Middle East with photographs showing some of the hope emerging in countries often written off by the West, such as the Lebanon. Patrick exhibited some of the surprisingly insightful art and ‘graffiti’ that is springing up in such places, illustrating that beneath the surface of chaos there is a wisdom and psychological development rising that could serve humanity well if tapped into. He questioned the veracity of recent terror attacks, concerned that they are being used to control us, and used the analogy of a single blade of grass pushing up through concrete to demonstrate the power of singular determination. We would encourage people to support Patrick’s work and, like that image, be one of those blades of grass.

Following the coffee break, heading from lighter to darker issues, DJ and truthseeker Mark Devlin went on to dispel a few fantasies we may have around the whole music industry. Behind the fun and glamour sits a potential programme of psy-ops and mind control via both the artistes and listeners, according to Mark, who expounded on some of the themes of his new and impressive tome Musical Truth in a brilliant talk. His powerful re-evaluation of people promoted as rock and roll gods and goddesses to us, but who may really mask occult messages and foment New World Order agendas, was a well-constructed and well-delivered lecture; a real eye opener.

After lunch, we had another researcher whose enthusiasm for his subject was clear, as Anthony Beckett, founder of the ‘Exopolitics’ event and journal, gave a very informative talk looking at new angles on the UFO phenomenon. His quick-fire delivery, which left some listeners breathless, crammed many fascinating observations into a single hour, exploring the notion that not all UFOs may be structured craft but could instead be malleable energy forms that interact with human consciousness. From accounts of recurring mysterious lights at the famous Hessdalen site in Norway to the psychological aspects of the said mind-matter interaction, all angles were covered by Anthony, who certainly brings something new to the UFO subject.

For those not able to stay for the special Sunday night speaker, the afternoon is their close to the event, so at this point Sheila Martin and Andy Thomas thanked all helpers (most especially administrator Diana Brown) for their contributions, and the technical crew came onstage to take their now annual bow. Without these people, there would be no Glastonbury Symposium and all those thanked more than deserved their credit.

After a tea break, a large number of people braved a light drizzle to attend the closing meditation ceremony in the old Abbey Grounds, literally a stone’s throw from the Town Hall. Just walking through the old ruins to the meditation site reminds everyone of the heritage underpinning this magical town. Given the rain, this year we all encircled a beautiful beech tree, sheltering under its branches for a blissful meditation led by Jason Porthouse.

With the evening done, the happy audience melted away, the hall decorations and equipment were deconstructed and the Glastonbury Symposium was placed in stasis again – until its 27th event in 2017, of course…

Report by Helen Sewell, photos by Andy Thomas