Shambhala and Blessings with the Traveler in Colorado

The name Shambhala derives from Sanskrit texts, and is thought to mean “place of tranquility.”

It had been 4 years since the Colorado community welcomed Traveler John Morton, Leigh, and MSIA staff. And what a glorious welcome and celebration it was!

The Colorado Heart Team (the committee that meets all year long to co-create staff visits each year) was able to rise above every challenge (and there were many), holding in a loving intention to have the Traveler and staff with us physically. Thank you Madonna Smyth, Lisa Boone, Dixie Clark, Kate Kendrick, Dan Kendrick and Steve Dreher.

Angel Harper and Vincent touched down in Denver Monday, May 29^th, hosted for week-long MSIA services at the beautiful home of Madonna Smyth. Thank you to all those who came to host services, as well as all the amazing meal prep for our beloved Angel and Vincent. And of course, to Jack Henderson, our service organizer/scheduler extraordinaire!

Thursday, June 1^st was John and Leigh’s arrival day, in plenty of time to settle into beautiful Boulder, Colorado to prepare for the three scheduled events, two to be held at the lovely Shambhala Center, about a ten minute walk from their hotel.

We had a full house on June 2nd at the Friday evening Q & A for Discourse Subscribers with John, which was also online via Zoom. The 4^th floor shrine at Shambhala was magnificent – tranquil, colorful, and sacred. To begin our evening, Ardythe Phillips read a precious original poem, with Rob Woo playing the flute masterfully alongside her. Rob continued with a glorious solo after the poem. Then we basked in the glow of the Traveler’s wisdom, humor and loving. Thank you to everyone who assisted to make our kickoff event such a success. Robbie Burt, your flower arrangements were stunning! Roger Wakefield, how do you do what you do?! And thank you Michael Livesay for being the MC and for assisting Roger, along with Joel Blakeslee, and Meg Skelton for being assisting team captain.

View the Photos from the Q&A by David Sand

Then it was early birds (AKA the assisting team) back to Shambhala at 7:00 AM on June 3rd to fine tune the preparation for our Spiritual Exercises Workshop. Part of the glory of the 4^th floor shrine at Shambhala is the expansiveness. It meant plenty of room for S.E. chairs, cushions, and cozy togetherness on an unusually cool, rainy day in Colorado. Our sit down music, O come, O come, Emmanuel (from Google: The original meaning of the name Emmanuel is “with us is God,” or “God with us.”), helped create such precious, sacred energy for our day. And who better to facilitate this divine energy than our beloved Leigh Taylor-Young. Her joy, her warmth, and stellar facilitation were (and are) such a gift. With so many J-R excerpts and 90 minutes of Traveler sharing, this new, one-day format of the S.E. Workshop lacked nothing. It took us high into the Light, Loving and Sound of God. Thank you to the assisting team which was the Colorado Heart Team with the addition of Aspen Michelle Sullivan. How on earth did we ever assist without you, Aspen, in past years? And thank you Michele Ashby for being our joyful MC for the day. And to have David Sand taking photos and Jsu Garcia in the house – priceless.

View the Photos from the Workshop by David Sand

Sunday, June 4^th saw torrential rains in Colorado as many gathered at the lovely home of Kathleen Naughton and Tom Boyer for our MSIA Q & A Fundraiser Luncheon. Even though we were at maximum capacity, their home was set up in such a way as to make everyone comfortable and welcome. Kathleen’s flair for beauty was obvious in every detail: purple table runners, lavender napkins, lots of candles throughout their home, and all this with such a calm energy present when we arrived. Kathleen and Tom’s pasta with their famous Bolognese sauce, along with a simple organic salad was so delicious and perfect for the rainy, chilly day. While John blessed us with 5 + hours of sharing after lunch, we munched on yummy cookies and chocolate. It was a glorious afternoon. Thank you Kathleen and Tom, for creating and underwriting this event (all donations went to MSIA). And to all who assisted so lovingly; Olga Abrams, Carol Beau, Janet Caminite and everyone who helped set-up and/or breakdown after the event.

It truly takes a very large village to make all of this happen. For all of you who stepped forward to serve: those of you behind the scenes who moved boxes of supplies, shopped, cooked, did airport and other transport, created lovely social events for our out of town folks, and everyone who participated in the events themselves (in-person and online), Colorado thanks you from the bottom of our hearts!