The story of Parvani Hall has been heard and read by many. The beams of the building itself are no longer only entwined with the blessings of it’s creators, but with the prayers and sweet strong words of thousands more.
The winds have came to Galway and blown upon the County a realisation that this building holds much more than we’d ever anticipated; it has became a fight for freedom. Freedom from ignorance, freedom from blindness, freedom from harsh unjust and nonsensical decisions from the pen flicks in the dull places. It is the reluctance to bow down to the indifference of the state, which is so obviously lagging behind the awareness of the people. The state that is entrenched in old patterns and refusing to address, in any refreshing way, the cultural crisis of our times. The original vision of Parvani Hall holds out what it is to live with passion, with beauty, with great reverence to nature, keeping an eye on how our actions now will affect our children's children, and their children too.
There is a longing felt in the bones of us all, the deep longing to live in harmony with nature, and to live from that place within ourselves. It begins with being courteous to our ancient souls and with that same courtesy, to the land that has always held us.
Shivam O’Brien, the poet, the carpenter, the craftsmen, the storyteller, the community creator, the EI master, the teacher, the lover, the playful Irish bloke with a taste for top quality whiskey… invites you to join him, in this fight for the living culture of Ireland to stay alive and for the original cultures everywhere to be fed with reverence and life. What is sustainable development if it isn’t Parvani Hall, and what good is ‘sustainable development’ if it doesn’t allow for hand built, ecstatic buildings, made with love, in the most ecological, careful and conscious of ways.
News of this struggle has reached the shores of many countries and continents. Thousands have signed the change campaign and hundreds of letters have been sent into Galway County Council, pleading for a sensible dialogue, which has so far been utterly denied. This news also needs to seep more deeply into the Irish psyche, a small country which has been oppressed by empire and shadow for centuries, and yet holds a hope for the world.
The people shaking Shivam’s hand on the street and thanking him for speaking out share the same longing and hope and love as you do in your ancestral spine. If you feel you would really like to support this, if you wish to push for bright clarity and freedom of creativity, to create an authentic culture of sustainability, we ask now, in all reverence, could you help to meet the most basic expenses that this campaign will entail.
So far, otherwise expensive legal assistance has been freely given. Many feel called to work on this shoulder to shoulder, through advice, administration or prayer. A little financial backing would really help right now. At present we are stretched to the limit, a small group supporting a big task: Shivam’s willingness to take on a great legal battle against an enemy without a face. We all know what we’re talking about here: Time to speak, Time to act.
On the 12th of December 2017, this case was adjourned with recognition that the case was going to be hard fought and needed special attention. After a 4 day fast as was the celtic custom, Shivam was eager to speak with people, for the first time, about why this building needs to be given a place. The hearing will now be in mid-January, the date we await to hear. For this battle to be sustained in full swing, with the gathering of a team and the nourishment needed for the simple meals to feed the mouths of the friends Shivam has around him, we need your help.
The original dream of Parvani Hall was an extension of Shivam’s decades of work in Ireland and Britain, exploring spiritual roots, Celtic mythology and wisdom traditions worldwide. A place to invite spiritual teachers, poets and speakers of high calibre to the West of Ireland. That dream has been silenced and is extinct due to the planning regulations imposed in no uncertain terms by Galway County Council, the same Council that proclaims Galway as the EU ‘cultural capital’ in 2020. Shivam has invited speakers from all over the world who gladly came to Parvani Hall here in the West of Ireland during a very short period. This small bud will now never blossom. Shivam’s legal battle now, is for Parvani Hall to stand silent as a tribute to what might have been and as a place where his children and their children and their children can live and breath and chase and hope and love, for another four hundred years, as his ancestors did.
If this is a cause you believe in, which I’m sure in your deepest of places it cannot be denied, then please do donate. Your money will go towards supporting the people who have and will be giving hours of their time, in their great attempt to let this be a victory, not just for Shivam, not just for Ireland, but for the freedom of us all – to live life amongst the great blessings of nature, in the most natural way – in humility.
LINKS:
Facebook Live Streams: Shivam O'Brien
Websites of Shivam's work:
#saveparvanihall
Very Simple Aims:
- To make this message known, in Ireland and abroad that planning authorities are that indifferent that they are willing to tear down something so consciously and lovingly made, ironically and almost ludicrously in what they refer to as 'the interests of sustainable development'.
- To give people the opportunity to raise their voice against this unconscious machine in the name of life lived with heart, hope, beauty and truth.
Finances:
- Supporting the core team of people who are working hard to churn the wheels of this campaign. The basics of travel, food, housing, putting petrol in the tanks and the odd bottle of wine should there be a victory. So far, the invaluable legal assistance has been given freely, however the eventual legal costs of this case are as yet unknown. Shivam has been representing himself in Court and does not have the resources for lawyers or barristers. (If it goes to the High Court, we will have to have 00's to the basic expenses!)
Anything left over:
- Will go to the maintenance of the Hall and the completion of the barn should the case be won.
- Beyond that, the money will aid the making of Shivam's book: 'A Book for Ireland'.
- If we raise even more, then it will support Shivam's other books, concerning the remaking of culture & Men and the Celtic heritage.
- If we raise EVEN MORE, the money will be spent on living and breathing Building in Ecstasy in the Spirit Horse village* which will be starting again in May 2018, where we will be raising the rafters of the Celtic roundhouses at our settlement in Wales.
(Ps. You're more than welcome!)
*pioneered by Shivam O'Brien for over 27 years