Epic Weekend
It began at 6AM on Saturday, where I leapt form bed and careened to Miami. I got 92% of the way there in good time, but, you see they decided to *close I-95* about 6 exits form my destination. In the ensuing cluterfuck, I managed to travel the 4 miles in an hour and half.
Fortunately it was all up hill from there. My destination was the Hyatt where the Barbara Brennan School of Healing was having a "Student for a Day" program. I haven't talked about it much here, but long before I even moved to FL, I've been planning to attend the school, to learn energy healing. It's a four year program of intense personal work and learning about the structure of the human energy field.
Two years ago I did a weekend long workshop with them which was mind-blowingly amazing. When I left, I was altered for days, my aura was about 20 feet across and I felt, like few times in my lie, like I was at home here in the universe, and in my body. However, since then I'd not done much to further the goal, so I decided to hit up this event remind myself why I was interested.
I don't even know how to sum it up; I got in a bit late, but that was no matter, I had heard the intro material before. I settled into the lectures and Q&A. During lunch, some current students joined us prospectives to talk about their experiences. There was a woman there whom I had spoken with two years ago at the workshop. She has started school that fall. The difference in her was remarkable. She now has a twinkle in her eye that's captivating. She exuded openness and compassion and joy. I think it was her more than anything else that convinced me.
What I realized that afternoon was that every single person there is the kind of person I want to be.
It's a unique experience for me to be comfortable in a group of strangers. If you've ever met me, you can probably tell I'm not the sort to walk up to someone and start a conversation. But among that group it's so easy, everyone is so open and undefended, and not wrapped up in their own little neuroses that it's effortless to make contact, and be comfortable.
A group of students gathered on the steps next to where I was chilling after the last session. This woman Carol just looked over at me, introduced herself and apologized for talking amongst themselves next to me. Then she invited me to dinner with them. Dinner was lovely.
After that headed back north. The timing was such that I was just able to grab a latte at Brew and head to The Saint for fetish night. I was about the 3rd person in there, but I got a good seat. I wasn't sure I'd be up for that kind of party after the day, but it worked out well, I chilled for a while until the rest of everyone arrived. We proceeded to have some fun with ropes and violet wands. I wasn't up for participating in much of that, since I had been up for 20 hours by then, but it was indeed fun to watch.
Eventually we mumbled home around 3 and crawled into bed. We had been planning to get up early and get on the road, but that was clearly not an option. So we got up at 1 and had a late brunch. Then we were off to the races, a pleasantly uneventful 10 hour drive to Atlanta to see Andew Bird.
I lucked into a ticket for a sold out Bird show in Orlando back in March and had a transcendant experience there. None of his songs sound the same live, usually they are bigger and more ornamented and more symphonic. It's that part of it that I like so much, the music is so huge and overwhelming that it transports me into a world where the universe it built out of sound and I'm just floating in it marveling at the architecture. I got goose bumps and teared up at the beauty of it several times.
So when I heard he was coming to Atlanta I decided that it was worth the trip to see him again. Boy was it. Gorgeous theater, decent seats, and I didn't know, but Calexico was opening. It was a beautiful show, once I let myself get out of my head and into it. The two bands played a few songs together near the end, and it really was the kind of music I expect to hear in heaven when I get there. It was like when I saw Moby perform Porcelain on the esplanade in Boston.
It was in the middle of all of that that It really sank in for me, that I had decided to finally go to BBSH. This fall is too soon, so next 2010 it will be. A huge wave of relief flooded over me when I realized that, as if I had been spending large amounts of unconscious energy finding excuses why it wouldn't work, and once I let go of that, I was liberated.
On the drive up, I spoke to Felis about it, and she was very supportive, despite the crimp it will put in out finances and travel abilities. That means so much to me, I don't think I would have been able to get to this place without her. There is a lot of logistical work to do to prepare. Most of the work is remote learning type classes, with these week-long intensives through out the year. I have to find a way to take 5 week long stints off of work, as well as come up with the $10k for tuition the first year. But that will come.
It's a little scary, but not as much as I thought it would be. I think because it really feels like this is what I'm meant to do. It's going to be hard; I'm going to love it.
Fortunately it was all up hill from there. My destination was the Hyatt where the Barbara Brennan School of Healing was having a "Student for a Day" program. I haven't talked about it much here, but long before I even moved to FL, I've been planning to attend the school, to learn energy healing. It's a four year program of intense personal work and learning about the structure of the human energy field.
Two years ago I did a weekend long workshop with them which was mind-blowingly amazing. When I left, I was altered for days, my aura was about 20 feet across and I felt, like few times in my lie, like I was at home here in the universe, and in my body. However, since then I'd not done much to further the goal, so I decided to hit up this event remind myself why I was interested.
I don't even know how to sum it up; I got in a bit late, but that was no matter, I had heard the intro material before. I settled into the lectures and Q&A. During lunch, some current students joined us prospectives to talk about their experiences. There was a woman there whom I had spoken with two years ago at the workshop. She has started school that fall. The difference in her was remarkable. She now has a twinkle in her eye that's captivating. She exuded openness and compassion and joy. I think it was her more than anything else that convinced me.
What I realized that afternoon was that every single person there is the kind of person I want to be.
It's a unique experience for me to be comfortable in a group of strangers. If you've ever met me, you can probably tell I'm not the sort to walk up to someone and start a conversation. But among that group it's so easy, everyone is so open and undefended, and not wrapped up in their own little neuroses that it's effortless to make contact, and be comfortable.
A group of students gathered on the steps next to where I was chilling after the last session. This woman Carol just looked over at me, introduced herself and apologized for talking amongst themselves next to me. Then she invited me to dinner with them. Dinner was lovely.
After that headed back north. The timing was such that I was just able to grab a latte at Brew and head to The Saint for fetish night. I was about the 3rd person in there, but I got a good seat. I wasn't sure I'd be up for that kind of party after the day, but it worked out well, I chilled for a while until the rest of everyone arrived. We proceeded to have some fun with ropes and violet wands. I wasn't up for participating in much of that, since I had been up for 20 hours by then, but it was indeed fun to watch.
Eventually we mumbled home around 3 and crawled into bed. We had been planning to get up early and get on the road, but that was clearly not an option. So we got up at 1 and had a late brunch. Then we were off to the races, a pleasantly uneventful 10 hour drive to Atlanta to see Andew Bird.
I lucked into a ticket for a sold out Bird show in Orlando back in March and had a transcendant experience there. None of his songs sound the same live, usually they are bigger and more ornamented and more symphonic. It's that part of it that I like so much, the music is so huge and overwhelming that it transports me into a world where the universe it built out of sound and I'm just floating in it marveling at the architecture. I got goose bumps and teared up at the beauty of it several times.
So when I heard he was coming to Atlanta I decided that it was worth the trip to see him again. Boy was it. Gorgeous theater, decent seats, and I didn't know, but Calexico was opening. It was a beautiful show, once I let myself get out of my head and into it. The two bands played a few songs together near the end, and it really was the kind of music I expect to hear in heaven when I get there. It was like when I saw Moby perform Porcelain on the esplanade in Boston.
It was in the middle of all of that that It really sank in for me, that I had decided to finally go to BBSH. This fall is too soon, so next 2010 it will be. A huge wave of relief flooded over me when I realized that, as if I had been spending large amounts of unconscious energy finding excuses why it wouldn't work, and once I let go of that, I was liberated.
On the drive up, I spoke to Felis about it, and she was very supportive, despite the crimp it will put in out finances and travel abilities. That means so much to me, I don't think I would have been able to get to this place without her. There is a lot of logistical work to do to prepare. Most of the work is remote learning type classes, with these week-long intensives through out the year. I have to find a way to take 5 week long stints off of work, as well as come up with the $10k for tuition the first year. But that will come.
It's a little scary, but not as much as I thought it would be. I think because it really feels like this is what I'm meant to do. It's going to be hard; I'm going to love it.