Boulder, Colorado
Snow peaked mountains greet us as our merry band’s flight descends into Denver. Upon landing, Vincent and Lesley Dupont, Roger Wakefield and I, go into our usual routine of retrieving bags from baggage claim, getting rental cars and loading up the luggage. Kate Ferrick, a balancer-in-training, has come along too. We caravan into Boulder and have just a moment to unpack before heading out to dinner with friends and John Morton. John blazed the trail ahead of us earlier and it’s fun to rendezvous with him again. Celia Allen-Graham catches up with us at dinner and our crew is complete.
The next day has Roger and Vincent setting up at the Boulder Inn for John’s sharing that evening at the DSS2 class. Dan Kendrick is on hand as the MSIA Colorado Co-Rep and the TC for all the events happening there this weekend. Meanwhile, we gals head off to Lewis and Susan Guthrie’s beautiful home to start Services. We are joined there by Deborah Martinez who puts on her Services staff hat to help out with some additional Services this morning, and then switches into her DSS Facilitator hat that afternoon to start the last DSS 2 class of this year. Bruce Rosenfeld, another balancer-in-training is also on hand. How great it is to see our Colorado family coming in for their Services. Jack Henderson does a super job of coordinating the Services like a fine maitre d’. By the way I learned that Jack is already into writing his second book and starting to write the script for his first book. Just love our creative and enterprising family! Ru Wing fixes us a yummy lunch as Jack also does the honor as the grillmeister.
After Services we head off to join the class in the peanut gallery for John’s sharing, but not before we stop in at Alfalfa’s health food store…now owned by our own jet-setter, Hugo Van Seenus. Ah, a green tea latte hits the spot and acts like a quick fix to tide us over ’til later. The Doctorate of Spiritual Science class Year 2 is having its last class of the year and John starts it off in fine Spirit too! Afterwards we’re raring to get some nourishment with a late night snack, then it’s a few emails and off to catch the Traveler in our dreams!
It’s Saturday and Vincent comes with us gals to do Services. Seems like the blink of an eye and we’re on our way again back to the Boulder Inn just in time for the baby blessing and an ordination that precedes the evening’s event — a closed MSIA Seminar. We are lifted as Reed Bernstein plays a beautiful guitar as he sings along –nice voice, Reed– to a song that his daughter, Rachael wrote. Then Kate Blakeslee has us soaring with her resonance. Our hearts are truly prepared to receive and go higher with the Traveler. Themes of joy, “this too shall pass”, looking at what do we want to choose in our life–the Light or the dark, and what do we want to identify with, are just some of what I recall is touched on during the evening. Afterwards we’re grateful for many hands who make quick and light work of packing up the equipment. Dan seems to be everywhere as he oversees getting the room back into order for class that will start early the next morning.
Sunday — we get a touch more sleep as Services are starting later today. Celia and I venture out onto Pearl Street which is a pedestrian mall and find breakfast outdoors at Salt. We’re so grateful to be kindly taken care of as we enjoy the fresh air. Soon we’re in the van heading for just a few more Services — thank you Lewis and Susan for sharing your home with us again this year — and then it’s off to Lyons for tonight’s event, a fundraiser dinner and Q&A at the home of Roberta and Bertrand Babinet. Oooh la la, the French Babinets conquer us completely not only serving us throughout the evening but also being the chefs and wowing us with their gourmet touches and offerings such as goat brie on toast with dill, chilled tomato soup, cedar plank grilled beef, grilled skewered scallops, amazing salads, and sides AND a lemon tart, special cookies, chocolates of all kinds, berries and whipped cream and much more…my mouth is still watering! And, on top of all that incredible food, John takes Q&A from all the participants. A truly rich and fulfilling evening on so many levels.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
It’s Monday and it must be time to drive to Santa Fe. We love, simply love this drive which takes us wending through majestic mountains, by swiftly running creeks, past herds of horses and cows, into the open lands and pueblo architecture of New Mexico. This pilgrimage doesn’t happen every year so we feel particularly blessed that we can work the drive into our schedule. It’s like having a day of vacation. We even get to picnic and shop in the picturesque town of Salida by a roaring part of the Arkansas River (yes, it’s name Arkansas even though we’re in Colorado).
After eight hours of driving we arrive early evening in Santa Fe. I’m so glad that we gently move up in altitude another few thousand feet from our mile high first stop in Boulder. Ah, there’s Leigh Taylor-Young who’s come to be with John and us for our Santa Fe visit. Santa Fe’s rich Indian heritage is on display. We’re happy to unpack quickly so that we can get a little time walking around while it’s still light outside. As we step foot out of our hotel we’re completely surprised by a blast of acrid smoke and haze that has blown in. The fires of Arizona have sent the ash in the strong winds — even the moon has turned red. Our walks are cut short as the taste and feel of ashes in our mouths and eyes gets too strong. We send Light to our nearby state, the forests and all the inhabitants who we know must be dealing in harsher ways with the fires’ effects.
Throughout our stay the smoke ebbs and flows but the moon remains red each night as the fires continue to spread towards the New Mexico borders. On Tuesday morning we head off to Services and Roger heads off to set up the equipment at tonight’s workshop location. The air is clearer out here at the home of Robert Waterman and Karey Thorne. Their lovely adobe pueblo is always welcoming, especially with their two doggies. Our hostesses take good care of us — lunch is overflowing with goodies — and we dine al fresco in the garden listening to the burbling fountain.
The day whips by and then we’re off to the Unitarian Universalist Church for tonight’s open event, Living the Spiritual Principles of Health and Well-Being workshop. Cliff Reese, our enthusiastic MC welcomes the crowd that is raring to go. John presents the eight principles of Health and Well-Being, the Causes and Cures of Disease and presents an exercise on the Stages of Healing — each a pearl of wisdom that we savor. But wait there’s always more!
The next morning we’re on for more, once again doing Services and enjoying a peaceful sweet day at the Waterman’s oasis. Come evening we arrive as the closed seminar’s program is starting. I love watching the Moments of Peace both current and from yesteryear with J-R about sending Light to the Mideast. John wastes no time in going to the heart of the matter. Themes of the five laws of Spirit and the groundrules and the anointing of Spirit are woven throughout the evening — or at least those are the ones I can remember — as part of the time I’m just floating out there. As John bids goodbye to the Santa Fe community we brings ourselves down to earth to put the cables and equipment into their proper cases. Robert and Karey, Kathleen, Marsha Winborn — our ever-ready Santa Fe MSIA Rep, Ann Foks, Cliff and many, many others pitch in to help us. We are so grateful for all the assistance, the loving and caring and fun that this community has brought to us during our stay!
Austin, Texas
You gotta love Austin. I sure do. This town is one fun town and this year is no exception. We’ve been alerted that along with the Traveler thousands of “bikers” of the motorcycle variety will also be in town this weekend for their rally. As we pull up to our hotel, in front of us is a huge hummer hauling a Texas size motorcycle…and this is only the beginning. All night and the next day the rrrm, rrrm, rrrm of motorbikes of all shapes and sizes pour into town. Along with the music and the food, I love Austin’s State Capitol Building. So once we get settled in, I’m itching to walk around and up to this venerable institution that looks just a shy smaller than our own U.S. Capitol Building. Celia and Roger are game to come with me and we get the added treat of gaining entry into the Capitol and observing their House of State Representatives which is in session late. We’re fascinated to watch all the activity below us as bills and amendments to bills are called out, described, motioned and voted in or out of existence. Our hunger finally draws us away to find dinner nearby and then it’s time to settle in for a few emails and sweet sleep.
The next morning some of us grab breakfast with John, Candy Spitzer, the Austin MSIA Rep and also a balancer-in-training, and Kate, join us too. Then we meet our hostess and Services coordinator, Rosie VonZumuehlen, to get our schedules and meet our first appointments of the day. Roger takes off shortly thereafter to start setting up at the Hilton for our events happening there tonight and tomorrow night.
Well, the day zips by and we gals find ourselves walking with John over to the Hilton. We thread our way down 6th street and streams of bikers and rows of bikes three bikes deep are on each side of us. It’s like a mini Carnival to me. Everyone seems to be into the fun. One fellow touting the beverages available in his rowdy establishment calls out to us “Heay, you all look like you could use a drink!” We laugh heartily and thank him. Yep, we must look pretty straight in dress clothes compared to the tattoos, leather, bandanas, and boots a plenty around us. Soon they will all gather on their bikes to parade up the main Congress Avenue and then the party will continue all night, tomorrow and tomorrow night too.
When we arrive at the Hilton, Grace Meyer and Lynn Cochran are there to welcome us along with a group of fun and jovial assistants. The room is prepared. But before we open doors we have the added blessing of having an ordination! Then the doors open and we welcome new and known faces to be with us as John facilitates our relaxing and going into the higher country with the Rest and Rejuvenate with the Beloved workshop even amidst a continuous roar of the bike engines.
Afterwards, more hugs to friends, and then a walk back in the night through more bikers…so cool to see the different motorcycles dressed out in red, blue and green lights…some of them are HUGE too! The party is on all up and down Congress Avenue with food and drink stalls doing a great business and a band cranking out the tunes in the warm night air. Back in my hotel room I listen to the songs interspersed with a roar of a bike or two — it’s all part of the hum of this city — then just as I’m falling asleep, quiet prevails…I guess there’s a curfew…the sudden quiet is very peaceful.
The next morning I’m up and at it for a run/walk again to the Capitol Building. To my great surprise, the street in front of me — Congress avenue — is clean as can be. Except for an occasional rrrm of an engine, you’d never know bikers were even around. But, by the time we get to breakfast, the town seems to have woken up…the biker clan is in evidence and the partying starts again.
We’re on for Services all day and then it’s another walk through the Carnival atmosphere for tonight’s event and the final event of our trip, a Q&A for Ministers and Initiates. Candy is our MC; she facilitates the flow of the program. Grace Meyer touches us with her creative poems, and Robert McCreight says it all through drawing in his presentation–a first for me! Then it’s up and away with John as the questions and answers go back and forth and up and up! We all bid John a heartfelt thank you and goodbye — his plane is super early tomorrow! Then it seems like practically the whole audience helps us pack up one last time. As Roger and Vincent load up the van with the packed up equipment, we girls take our walk back once again enjoying the joyful tumult of bikers and biker-watchers spilling out onto all the streets on our way back. The rest of our evening is packing up and preparing for leaving the next day.
Sunday morning — Austin sleeps while we check out and head to the airport. Celia is flying back to Santa Barbara, Roger and I to Los Angeles with the equipment, and Vincent and Lesley have one last, but not the least, stop for the trip — El Paso! We are so very grateful for every bit of assistance from our Austin and surrounding area community. It was a joy to be with you and be embraced in your warmth and friendliness once again.
EL PASO, Texas
Mary Ellen Agolia and Susan Shyne, our El Paso and Southern New Mexico MSIA Co-Reps, have been at the preparations for staff to come for over half of this preceding year. Their enthusiasm and preparedness is a treat for Lesley and Vincent who settle into their downtown El Paso hotel on their arrival. The next day has both Lesley and Vincent doing Services there, hugging and embracing the MSIA family from all parts near and far from El Paso. The next day as Lesley continues doing Services in town, Vincent drives to Las Cruces and the home of Elizabeth Moore to do a few Services for part of our family who can’t travel the distance any more. Their gratitude abounds and Vincent is touched by their appreciation and caring. Today Lesley and Vincent head back towards Los Angeles bringing our Southwest trip to a close. Though their visit is short, the loving and grace abound on all sides, reminding us that the Traveler’s work is centered in Light and Love and Sound. And truly the Blessings already are! Thank you one and all for your Light and Love throughout this trip and all our trips this year. We now gear up for the Conference of The Wayshower! Stay tuned as travel will begin again in September as we go to Europe!
