Honouring and Awakening Atum’s Presence

Honouring and Awakening Atum’s Presence

A Workshop in Bad Bevensen, Germany
Week 3, August 10 – August 16, 2025

In his seminars, Atum O’Kane would often remember encounters with great spiritual teachers, and tell stories of how sometimes just a sentence from them would eventually change his life’s trajectory, for example Pir Vilayat in the 1972 camp. Meanwhile, people meeting him during his half a century of spiritual teaching were often making similar experiences in the conversations they had with him. His practices were weaved together from different traditions like Buddhism, Sufism, Judaism or Carl Gustav Jung’s deep psychology, and the way he introduced them softly and with a great sense of meaning would leave participants deeply touched and re-connected with themselves. With Atum’s sudden passing last October, he’s left behind a network of communities all over the world, people that feel deeply connected to him. With this week Zenith camp seeks to create a meeting place, to share stories, to remember, to grief and to enjoy together.

We’re happy that we could win Atum’s son Emmanuel O’Kane to coordinate this program, as well as Ulrike Greenway, who taught together with Atum many times, and who’ll lead us through a retreat process on Atum’s footsteps. Many long-term friends and organizers of Atum’s seminars are involved as well. Unfortunately, Emmanuel is hindered from joining us in person, but he will still coordinate the different offerings and join us daily via Zoom or Video. This seminar will be fully hybrid, and we’ll have the possibility to engage with friends from all over the world, to listen to Atum’s recordings, to weave in photos and videos. Click here to take a look at the option to participate online.

In the mornings, Ulrike and Emmanuel will weave remembering Atum into their teachings. Certain Zen approaches, especially sitting in silence also resonate strongly with Ulrike’s first contact with Sufism and were often the theme of the discussions with Atum. Ulrike will offer instructions on how to practice Zen style, tell Zen stories and encourage everyone to reflect and share their experiences. The cultivation of spiritual friendship called Kalyānamitta has been her emphasis for years and was at the core of her friendship with Atum. 

In the afternoons, Emmanuel and Ulrike will create and hold an intimate space to honor Atum and our individual and collective journeys with them. From grief to gratitude, we will explore what it means to honor loss and to continue to live and be guided by Atum’s presence. Together, we will gather as a community to share stories, personal qualities, and teachings that Atum embodied. We will call upon these to welcome and awaken Atum’s presence within us

Emmanuel and Ulrike are greatly looking forward to teaching this program together. They first met at the Zenith camp. They have been on pilgrimages together and were both at Upaya Zen Center during the initial onset of COVID-19.

Shun’E Ulrike Greenway Sensei is a Zen teacher in the lineage of Shunryū Suzuki Roshi. She received a Ph.D in Molecular Biology from the Max-Planck-Institute in Heidelberg. Her first spiritual teacher was Irina Tweedie who initiated her into the Sufi path. Her passion is to implement practice into daily life and respectfully investigate how different spiritual traditions can learn from each other. For many years Atum and Shun’E cultivated a deep spiritual friendship. This summer they had planned to teach together in Hollyhock on Vancouver Island. She is most comfortable in nature where she likes to hike and write Haikus. She divides her time between Germany and Colorado, U.S.A.

Emmanuel “Kodo” O’Kane, devoted 10+ years of his life to traveling the world, gathering different perspectives of life, and seeking out experiential teachings. The Zenith Institute Camp is one of Emmanuel’s spiritual homes. He first came to the camp as a 12-year-old; many years later, his bell-ringing skills as a volunteer staff led to him serving as the assistant to Gulrukh Deepa, the camp director, a position he held for 5 years. Emmanuel has led pilgrimages and taught programs with Atum around the world. Service has been at the heart of his spiritual path. He has completed a two-year Buddhist Chaplaincy program at Upaya Zen Center and is M–LISADA Africa Foundation’s Vice President. Emmanuel lives in Uganda with his wife. He is currently working on projects dedicated to honoring Atum and keeping Atum’s Spiritual Guidance Community connected.

Schedule, Central European Time:

6:30 – 7:30: Morning meditation with Kabir & Sarfaraz
7:45 – 8:45: Breakfast
9:00 – 10:15: Morning session 1
10:45 – 12:00: Morning session 2
12:30 – 13:30: Lunch
13:45 – 14:45: Midday Session
15:00 – 16:15: Afternoon session 1
16:45 – 18:00: Afternoon session 2
18:30 – 19:45: Dinner
~ 20:00 – 21:30: Evening program

Tips for registration: 

♥ Click the “Register” button to choose your tickets. There are three options: Regular Price, Support Ticket and Early Bird Ticket. You will find explanations of the three ticket types next to each one.
♥ Choose whether you want to book breakfast and dinner.
♥ Then choose the type of accommodation: in your own tent, in your own vehicle, or whether you want to rent a tent. If you choose to book your own accommodation in Bad Bevensen, you don’t need to select anything.
♥ Click “Add to Cart”. You will then be redirected to the checkout. If you would like to book another program or register your children, simply click the menu button “Registration” again. Don’t worry, your details will be saved.
♥ If registering via the website doesn’t work for you, you can also register by sending an email to info@zenithinstitute.com

Book Event

Form/ticket icon icon
Regular Ticket
420€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: 40

Ticket for event on site. Lunch is included, breakfast, dinner and accommodation can be booked individually.

The "Regular Ticket" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Support Ticket (+10%)
465€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: 9

Ticket for event on site. Lunch is included, breakfast, dinner and accommodation can be booked individually. With this ticket at the support price, you enable us to give discounts to people with lower incomes.

The "Support Ticket (+10%)" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Early Bird Ticket (-10%)
375€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: 28

Ticket for event on site. Lunch is included, breakfast, dinner and accommodation can be booked individually. This early bird price is valid until March 31 and is limited to the first 40 tickets. If you choose the early bird price, payment is due by March 31; cash payment is therefore not possible for the Early Bird tickets.

The "Early Bird Ticket (-10%)" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Breakfast
35€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: Unlimited

If you'd like to have breakfast at the camp, book this option. The price includes six meals, from Monday to Saturday.

The "Breakfast" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Dinner
60€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: Unlimited

If you'd like to have dinner at the camp, book this option. The price includes six meals, from Sunday to Friday.

The "Dinner" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Camping Fee
30€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: Unlimited

Choose this option if you're bringing your own tent. The fee is only charged once per tent, so if two people are sharing a tent, you only have to pay once. Tents for children are free of charge.

The "Camping Fee" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Campervan / RV
30€
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: 9

For those who want to stay in their own vehicle. There are only a few spaces available and only for small to medium-sized vehicles. There is no space for large motorhomes, trucks and the like. Staying in your own vehicle is only possible if you register here in advance. The fee is only charged once per vehicle, so if two people are sharing a van, you only have to pay once.

The "Campervan / RV" ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Form/ticket icon icon
Rent a white tent
€120
Form/up small icon icon Form/down small icon icon
Available Tickets: 5

Rent one of our well-known white canvas tents from the camp. For €20 a night, you get a spacious tent with a natural floor and a level wooden platform in the middle. You have to bring your own sleeping bag and mat. The platform measures approx. 1m × 2m.

The "Rent a white tent " ticket is sold out. You can try another ticket or another date.
Total: 0

Date

Sun - Sat Aug 2025

Time

All Day

Cost

375€ – 465€

Location

Caduceus Centre
Niendorfer Weg 5b, 29549 Bad Bevensen, Germany
REGISTER