MSIA travel staff are currently in the Toronto, providing MSIA Services (Innerphasings, Polarity Balances & Aura Balances) as well as MSIA events. Staff member, Angel Harper, provides this update from the trip:
Click here to view photo slideshow by Angel Harper from the MSIA travel staff trip in Toronto, 2009
DAY 11 — TORONTO
Gloriously clear and cool outside, eh?! Christina picks us up for our drive to her home for Services. On the highway we get a panoramic view of the new condos going up all around the downtown area. Christina lives in west beach and this Friday morning the neighborhood is bustling with activity. We are charmed by the coziness of her home and go right into Services. All day long friends from here and as far away as Alaska have come for balances.
Lunch is warming, nourishing on many levels as we break bread with all who are there. I can’t resist a quick walk outside in the still very brisk Autumn air. The sun on my face feels so good but barely warms me against the biting (for this hot-house flower) wind that has the leaves swirling around my feet. After Services we have dinner with a small group of MSIAers at a Japanese restaurant downtown. By the time we’ve all ordered there is plenty to share of delicious sushi, tempura, edamame and other more exotic delicacies. The stories around the table are entertaining, and it’s particularly fun to hear from our Alaskan friend about her early days in the Movement.
Full but not stuffed we quick-step it back to our car…my forehead feels icy…no kidding…and as she drives, Christina tour guides us through the University area pointing out buildings and giving us tidbits of Toronto history. We are so ready for some good sleep when we discover that our laundry has not yet returned AND there is no Saturday delivery. Hmm, given that we are leaving the hotel at 4am on Sunday, we know we are now on a mission (hear Mission Impossible theme song….). After a half-hour of various phone calls, I finally pay a visit to the hotel night manager. He rises to the occasion and a hotel search is on for the missing laundry that they are sure is in the hotel. A bit before midnight we surrender the quest for the evening as some of the rooms that have to be checked have their do-not-disturb signs on the door. Though we don’t have our laundry, we do have comfy beds so it’s time to let go and let God.
DAY 12 — TORONTO
I need to jump start my body this morning so before resuming the laundry quest, I head to the gym. Feels great to do a little workout. With a clearer head I check in personally with the Day Manager and he’s on the job already as is the Manager of Housekeeping…no word yet but lots of assurances that we will be taken care of. At some point through getting dressed I relax and let go of having to have my clothes back and not 10 minutes later there is a knock at the door. Our delightful and very effective Housekeeping Manager has our laundry in hand…it was found in another guest’s room and they had just looked into their closet and seen the new additions to their wardrobe. Smiles all around and the manager even gave us a discount for the hassle factor. Once again I am reminded of the grace that comes with truly letting go.
We celebrate over coffee as we look out over the city from the top floor. Soon we find ourselves again chauffeured by a bubbly Christina who is tour guiding us this morning through the city instead of the highway. We see more of the University buildings and the amazing architecture of the RAM (this incredible museum), such a mixture of old and new. Toronto, we come to find out, is not actually that old. Buildings there date from the 19th century for the most part. By the by I found out that the St. Lawrence market used to be right on Lake Ontario. Ships would dock right at the market pier and unload their produce. As the lake receded buildings were constructed between the market and the water. At some point the market became a jail for awhile, and then was restored back to its original intent and remains a thriving market and meeting place to the present.
Back to today….Services fly by with another nurturing meal cooked by Christina and Eric who also contributed fresh farm eggs and produce…nothing quite like being nourished with good food and loving fellowship. Right after Services we are whisked off to Bryn Waern’s home where many in the community have gathered for a good ol’ fashioned home video seminar. We have one of the most delicious pot-luck dinners I’ve had in all my years of on-the-road potlucks. There are a number of ol’ MSIA timers like Bryn and Yehuda Walk who are here tonight. Maya, Bryn’s daughter, serenades us with three beautiful songs, Bryn calls us into the Light and then she passes the heart around for contributions. This is such the heart of these seminars and our MSIA–the beautiful, genuine sharings from each person as they contribute their energies into the Light. We all send Light to each person as they share. Then we settle in even more for an hour of J-R talking to us. True to form, I fall asleep or “go out” at some point only to come back like a snap a few minutes before Baruch Bashan (and I was sitting straight up too).
The lights are kept low when all of sudden we hear some voices holding a cake with candles singing Happy Birthday and we join in to wish Yehuda a happy 80th birthday. He is radiant in the light of the lit birthday candles. Our laughter and loving continue over cake and pie and then after many hugs, Christina corrals Mary Ann and me for our drive back to our hotel. We thank Christina for all she did to make our visit here to Toronto so special, so loving, fun and nurturing. We thank all who assisted Christina in any way. This is a blessed community and they freely share their blessings. Mary Ann and I as we pack review all the wonderful treats of the trip and of our time in Toronto. And though still a little buzzed, we talk ourselves into laying our bodies down for hopefully some rest before our wake-up alarms tell us it’s time to go to the airport.
DAY 13 – TORONTO to L.A. and Santa Barbara
My goodness…yes indeed, that sound that I’m hearing is an alarm…Mary Ann’s…and that other sound is my alarm. Yee Haw! Time to jump up and get dressed…we have an eeaarrrrly plane to catch and customs and immigration to do first. Well, that was the smoooothest hotel check-out, ride to the airport, check-in, customs and immigration I have ever been through. We’re on the other side…of immigration that is…with oodles of time for grabbing a coffee and maybe a magazine too. So very nice to just relax and enjoy some people-watching and espresso sipping. Once we board the plane and we’re settled into our seats, I’m grateful for being able to participate and witness the grace, the loving, the wisdoms, the humor and so much more that comes with the Traveler working with us. We are truly blessed to be so taken care of and to share with each other this amazing journey on the way into knowing ourselves as Souls. Thank you from our hearts to all who have participated in this Midwest trip with us, for your Light, for your loving, for your assistance. We will soon again be back on the road…in just another week…South America. Join us, however you do, for the adventure!
In Love and Light,
Angel
Click here to view Days 1 to 10 of the Midwest & Toronto trip
