A watershed in the history of Acem

From Acem International Newsletter No. 2 2003.

The year 2003 will no doubt be remembered as an important turning point in the history of Acem International.

The World Retreat
The most obvious milestone was the First World Retreat of Acem Meditation, held in Oslo, Norway, this summer. Acem has arranged many retreats with international participation, however this retreat was different in several respects.

First, the number of participants from outside Scandinavia was higher, and they came from many different countries: India, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, Spain, Canada, the United States and Latvia.

Second, activities at the World Retreat had a wider scope than ever before: meditation, guidance, talks and discussions, awareness training, seminars and workshops on a wide variety of topics, yoga, dreiva dancing, social dynamics, and a concert with Norwegian and Iranian music.

Third, after the World Retreat, 47 participants from a number of different countries went on a four-day tour of Norway. They saw many of the most scenic spots of the country; they were able to watch how an organization built on idealism works in practice, and many contributed with voluntary work.

Fourth, after the tour there was an international deepening retreat with long meditations. Participants came from Scandinavia, Germany, India and Taiwan.

Halvorsbøle
Another important milestone was the acquisition of a new international retreat centre, acquired by Acem less than two weeks before the World Retreat started. Though the name "Halvorsbøle" may be difficult to pronounce, its location by Lake Randsfjord and the high standard of its facilities make the venue most suitable for the continued growth of the organization. Acem already has three retreat centres in Scandinavia (Lundsholm in Sweden; Skaugumåsen and Hesteløkka in Norway), but Halvorsbøle is in a class of its own.

For Norwegians, Halvorsbøle is already well established as a high-quality conference centre in beautiful natural surroundings. It is famous for having hosted the government's budget negotiations for several years running, as well as the peace negotiations between Israel and the PLO which led to the signing of the Oslo Accord in 1993.

To build the centre today would cost around 15 million euros. Only four years ago, more than a million euros was spent on a magnificent new dining hall with a stylish high ceiling made of glass. Due to a slump in the hotel market in Norway, Acem was able to acquire Halvorsbøle for less than 1.5 million euros.

Halvorsbøle lies on a hill overlooking Lake Randsfjord, with squirrels and sparrows playing in the pine trees just outside one's window. All rooms in the main house and the main lecture hall have a direct view of the lake. Both within and outside the grounds of the centre there are a number of walking paths, one leading to a charming little beach. Not far from the centre lies Fjorda, one of Norway's most famous canoeing areas.

The centre has already hosted this summer's international deepening retreat, a student's weekend retreat and, in October, the Opening Weekend Retreat with Acem's founder, Dr. Are Holen.

Two new intiators
A third important milestone last summer was the appointment of two new intiators in Acem, Eva Skaar and Merete Lund Hetland.

Intiators constitute the leadership of Acem. They are in charge of the personal encounters with meditators who are given individual meditation sounds. Their qualities must include a strong willingness to enter into a growth process, an ability to initiate such processes in others, a lifestyle and behaviour that reflect basic Acem values, and a long history of dedicated work for the organization.

Eva Skaar has long had a central position in Acem International. She is in charge of Acem's activities in Britain, and in her capacity as a meditation guide and lecturer she has visited Taiwan twice and India once. In addition, she somehow finds the time to work as the general editor of Acem Radio in Oslo, she heads Acem's leadership training programme in Norway, and pursues her career as an artist painter.

Merete Lund Hetland from Denmark is the first intiator from outside Norway. She is a medical doctor with a Ph.D. working as a Consultant in Rheumatology at Copenhagen University Hospital in Hvidovre. For more than twenty years, she has spent much of her spare time building up Acem Denmark in close collaboration with other Danish instructors.

Gift to humanity
Acem Meditation comes from Norway, but belongs to humanity. Together, the three milestones presented above indicate the extent of Acem's growth as an international organization. The long-term effect of these changes is difficult to gauge, but in many Acem centres around the world, meditators are asking obvious questions: How can I contribute to the advancement of this process? How can I help in spreading the practice of Acem Meditation?