More than 2100 years ago, in a region we call today the Middle East, a small group of people came together and decided to form a community. Over a period of about 200 years three centres were created. Two of them were in the north of Palestine (Israel), another one just south of Jerusalem. All together they counted about 3000 people, families living in more or less self-contained villages. Their aim was to show through their way of life that the only power that will ever exist is the power of love. They became known as the Essenes.

The origins of the Essene philosophy had been around for thousands of years in that part of the world, but in preparation of the birth of Jesus, a group reincarnated in larger numbers at that time in order to raise the level of consciousness on Earth.

The Essenes were Jews by birth, but didn’t follow the established Jewish religion of their time, nor were they early Christians. The ways in which they regarded their relationship with God were not based on religion, but rather on what we call today spirituality.

Some of them formed a brotherhood, feeling it would better to keep their knowledge secret from the authorities, as it was a time of political tension. They chose a place close to the Dead Sea, the Qumran Caves. This is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were written and where the small group of men that formed the brotherhood devoted themselves to bringing their truth to the world.

Some of the cornerstones of the Essene philosophy:

• The basis of their philosophy was that all consciousness has the desire to experience oneness.
• They saw life on the planet earth as a spiritual journey in physical reality.
• They believed that the purpose of life is both to learn and to contribute.
• They didn’t believe that life’s events are random. They took responsibility for all that happened in their lives, believing that it served a purpose.
• They believed that you can teach and inspire others only by your own example.

They were famous healers (the meaning of the word Essene is ‘healer’). They used a comprehensive system of healing methods and possessed a deep understanding of how the state of our body relates to our life issues and abilities, making theirs a truly holistic approach to health and healing.

They lived a simple life. They grew their own food. They followed daily rituals involving different kinds of meditation, movements and other ways of opening and connecting to the stream of divine consciousness which always surrounds us.

Above all they were pacifists. They believed that you should only be guided by love. Some of them were killed because of their beliefs and the most famous one of all was crucified for speaking his truth; the truth of God.