MSIA travel staff are currently in Australia, providing MSIA Services (Innerphasings, Polarity Balances & Aura Balances) as well as MSIA events. Staff member, Angel Gibson, provides this update from the trip:
Day 1
Traveling to Australia always take some thought and preparation for us travel staff. We need to remember adapters, change of time, change of season, just to name a few. My suitcase is filled to maximum capacity, or so it seems, as Roger picks me up to deliver me and the audio/video equipment to customs. Vincent is waiting there when we arrive and he and I wheel in all 6 pieces of luggage for an official Carnet sign-off. Then we wheel all the equipment back into the van and ride around to the United terminal. Lesley Freeman, our third travel staff person for this trip, greets us at check-in. We’re hoping that both Vincent and Lesley will be upgraded…..no word yet. So we move on through security and to the United Red Carpet club where we see Cleora Daily, our fourth travel staff relaxing in front of the TV. Periodically we check in at the club desk to see if the upgrades have come through. This is a real test of detachment as traveling 14hours plus is a challenge and having a business class seat makes the travel so much nicer. Soon boarding is called at the gate. Cleora and I go onto the plane, holding all the time that we will have Vincent and Lesley with us shortly. Well, seeding and holding a positive focus works! Not too long after we see the smiling faces of our friends come up into the upstairs cabin, and as it turns out we were actually seated right in front of them. Couldn’t be better! I settle down for some real movie watching as I want to stay up for a few more hours in hopes of getting onto Aussie time. Well, it wasn’t to be. After the first movie I’m falling asleep or at least into a dozy twilight. My seatmate Cleora is already dozing away as are my other companions. Sweet dreams!
Day 2
Actually we’re on the plane somewhere on our way to Sydney. When we fly over the dateline we lose a day. Don’t ask me to explain this phenomena…I just know it’s so. So, when we arrive in Sydney it is actually Day 3.
Day 3 – Sydney then Brisbane
It’s Monday and it’s Brisbane via a transit in Sydney. Interestingly enough, no sooner did I confess my ignorance in knowing how come we skip a day in our travels, then the Traveler sends me a little education about the International Dateline and I share it with you hot off my Internet:
“Due to the direction of the earth’s rotation, the East is a later time than the West. West is an earlier time than East. Did you know that Greenwich meantime originates at 12 noon and 12 time zones to the east is the International Dateline which originates at Midnight? Hey, how about that coincidence! Midnight is the very hour in which the morning of the new day begins. Each day on earth officially begins at the International dateline and Greenwich, England is more or less exactly half way around the planet. 24 hours is the exact time it takes for the earth to turn one complete revolution. The sun rises in the east and traditionally that would be somewhere in the vicinity of the eastern cultures. Thus, in the vast Pacific, east of the Asian and Polynesian cultures and west of the Americas is the Dateline. The Aleutian Islands that extend to the furthest western land point of the U.S. are a few hundred, maybe less, miles from Russia. In between is the International dateline extending north/south from the North Pole to the South Pole.”
Thank you, Traveler.
So having crossed the International Dateline we are now in Sydney being greeted by Anita Maria who lovingly escorts our a-little-out-of-their bodies staff to our shuttle to the domestic terminal and our Brisbane flight. As we wait to board our flight we are trying to work out when the Oscars are on and whether we will get to see them.
As we disembark in Brisbane we see Wendy Ingram, the Queensland MSIA Rep, who has this huge smile and is very capably ready for us. Before we know it we are caravanning with her to our hotel that is beautifully situated in downtown Brisbane on the river and are sitting down to lunch outside enjoying the balmy afternoon breezes. Brisbane has this tropical feel and the climate seems very soothing today. Cleora and I get out as soon as we can to walk along the river and back through the Botanical gardens. Our game plane is to prepare for bed, have a little room service and watch the Oscars, which we have by now found out are being shown on a delayed telecast at 8pm. Meanwhile we’re visited by Lesley and Vincent and Lesley’s sister and partner. It’s a wonderful reunion for Lesley and her sister who haven’t seen each other in 3 years. So after some fun bantering, off go the foursome for a gentle evening dinner. Cleora and I barely make it to the beginning of the Oscars, and drift off throughout the show. I finally surrender to sleep just before Best Actor is announced knowing that I’ll catch the highlights in the morning.
Day 4 — Brisbane
Well it’s an early rise and shine today as our bodies are in process of adjusting to our new time zone. Still it’s fun to be up and have breakfast looking out on the river before heading out to Kaye Rosnick’s home to do Services. Wendy Ingram is smiling again as she picks Cleora and me up for a quick ride. At Kaye’s we’re greeted by Marie, Vonnie and Margaret who look after us all day. Marie is a good cook among many things and with all the goodies the ladies have provided we are well-fed by the end of our Services. We are so very grateful for the care extended to us, particularly with the lunches and snacks along the way. We check in with Lesley and Vincent when we get back. And then we do a quiet night in as we’re still feeling a bit jet laggy, and there are the emails to do too.
Day 5 — Brisbane
Another beautiful morning and the energy is revving up as the Traveler, John Morton, arrives this morning. We welcome him and he settles in to get ready for this evening’s Open Blessings workshop. Vincent heads off to begin setting up the audio for the open workshop this evening and Les Girls – Cleora, Lesley and I – head off for more Services at Kaye’s. Vonnie looks after us again and the day whips by finding us back at the hotel in time for a quick meal and then heading over to the workshop.
The hallway at the Royal on the Park hotel is full of old-timers and new comers for our event. As we weave our way through the crowd we are hugged many times. What a lovely welcome! Kaye Rosnick goes right to the essence in welcoming the group and inviting John up to begin the Evening of Blessings. From the start it is an evening of blessings for all of us. The sharings, the exercises, John’s words all point us again and again to where our blessings are in each moment, in each situation. It’s amazing to me how John who just arrived this morning is still going strong-what a guy….what a Traveler! Tonight after the workshop we pack up the equipment and ourselves for tomorrow we fly to Sydney and then onto Jamberoo for the Living in Grace Training.
Day 6 – to Jamberoo
Today John and staff fly from Brisbane to Sydney where we rendezvous with Richard Price and David Sand who are waiting at the Sydney airport to caravan with us to Jamberoo. There was a moment of concern on our arrival when Vincent realized he had been separated from his walkie. A quick call to Hertz located our walkie and our super Brisbane MSIA Rep, Wendy, rescued the walkie and arranged to bring it to Vincent in Jamberoo. Ah, the Grace is already here. So we have enough walkies to keep each of our caravanned cars in communication. We head for Jamberoo going the scenic way with Richard and David leading. Richard takes us to this special point that looks out over the ocean, well-known scene for hang-gliding. When we walk out to the ledge we spy a stone that has the date 9/24/2000 on it commemorating, we suspect, at least one of the fatal accidents that have taken place at this location. A little Light is placed here. And then we’re off for a scenic drive that takes us southwest of Sydney into some beautiful rolling green, green hills dotted with sheep, cows and horses, and farms. We pull into Kiama, a small village-type town that is famous for its “blow hole”. And for you history/geological buffs, one of the great natural wonders on the east coast of Australia is the “Blowhole” discovered by George Bass on his voyage of coastal exploration on December 6th, 1787. Blowholes are created by a surge of water forced through a tunnel of volcanic rock by southerly swells and gushing up through a natural hole in the roof of the tunnel. It is a little bit like watching fireworks as some of the explosions of water barely come up past the hole and some reach up high. The wind and ocean spray feels so good and it’s a great photo op for David.
We have what has come to be a tradition before Living in Grace trainings — a very nice dinner at a nearby restaurant and then each of us head to our accommodations. We go to Jamberoo first to pick up the key to the staff’s house. We staff have a cozy sounding name for our home for the next 7 days – Cedar Mists Cottage. Luckily, and more Grace added, Anita Maria leads us to our cottage, otherwise, I’m not sure we would have found this sweet place nestled so gently in the misty and very dark and forested mountain about 10 minutes from the training room . Once there we get acquainted with our rooms and how things work. We try to download but the server is down, so we surrender to getting a good night’s sleep. Whew! What a day!
Day 7 – Jamberoo and Living In Grace
Friday — It’s fun fixing breakfast in our cottage. Lesley, Vincent, Cleora and I enjoy the sun coming up over the trees and the beauty of the lawn. Everything is so very green and very quiet and peaceful here. We pinch ourselves at the good luck of having this as home for the week. Well, it’s time to get to Jamberoo and start setting up the room for the Living in Grace training. We arrive at 8am and are greeted by our towering and majorly wonderful team captain, Rick Greene. Rick is one of our veteran volunteers who has been around since before I came into the Movement. You may have seen him at Conferences — he’s the fellow towering over us with the red hair. Rick’s a jewel and soon has his team moving efficiently in all directions. Cleora and Vincent go off to their facilitator powwow. I am the designated “rover” for the training which means I’m on call to do all the errands — the all purpose go-for. I love this job — of course this means I have to drive on the other side of the road. Luckily I got lots of practice driving down from Sydney to Jamberoo as I was the chauffeur of John’s car — brave Traveler that he is. So under his watchful eye I learned how to stay to the left of the white line and to the right of the gutter and for heaven’s sake, “remember to look to the left and then the right before turning.” Yikes!
Well, mercifully for my first roving I have the ever-ready Anita Maria who luckily is available and wants to keep me company for errands today. In fact, she offers to drive which I readily accept so I can take in the sights and pay attention to the way to the little towns and highways. We spend the afternoon getting more supplies for the training room and water — lots of water. Because it is hot and humid, very hot and humid.
There are rainforests around us. The hillsides look like they could be right out of Ireland complete with sheep, pheasants, little road-runner type birds, cows and, not too far away in Kiama and Gerrigong, there are sheer cliffs with the ocean below. The Jamberoo Mountain Lodge where our Living in Grace training is located has a creek running right by our training room, peacocks and peahens strolling by the training room door, perched in trees, and on the railings of our dining hall. Cockatoos fly around too. I feel like I’m in the middle of one of those TV shows, like National Geographic or Wild Kingdom.
Well the afternoon is gone in a flash. We have dinner and then the training begins. 81 participants fill our room — the air is full of expectation and excitement. Some additional grace is having John take sharing right away — the tone of devotion, openness and grace is set. As the evening ends our little foursome is happy to retire. Vincent and I have some email downloading and then we join our compadres Lesley and Cleora in the sleep realm.
Day 8 – Living in Grace in Jamberoo
Saturday — Oooh, that alarm goes off. Sure seems early but we’re excited to get going. After a quick breakfast we’re on our way oohing and ahhing over the little forest animals that we see and the beauty of the countryside around us. As we settle in to do our Spiritual Exercises (SE’s), I hear the peacocks and cockatoos calling out and the brook bubbling past our training room — my goodness, this is Grace being here and having SE’s too. Thank goodness there is a bit of a breeze from time to time because it continues to be hot and steamy. The trainees are valiant from my perspective and continue on as beads of perspiration make faces and bodies just glow. I’m on my own for roving today. What a kick driving this way! I’m feeling like such a big girl…and the countryside is unbelievably lovely…green so lovely it brings tears to my eyes. Then I come upon the ocean as I drive into Kiama and the contrast of the ice blue and the baby blue waters makes me forget the heaviness of the air. My errands done, I head back taking note of the different vistas. This is my Grace, I say to myself. The day is full and is topped by John coming for sharing. I’m so glad for the courage and loving these participants are bringing to the fore. We are full speed ahead on our Living in Grace journey. Heading home at the end of the day brings a delightful surprise as we see our first wombat — a most unusual animal. Furry, sort of half-sheep, half doggy and half something else — it is very, very Australian. Bed looks so good tonight too. Bless us.
Day 9 – Living in Grace in Jamberoo
It’s Sunday, and it’s warm again. Eating breakfast in our little cottage is so renewing as we look out the windows of our glass and wood cottage. The heat doesn’t stop us or the participants one bit as we roll through the day and are joined by the Traveler once again in the evening. This evening, though, I can hardly stay awake, as John continues the sharing. The energy just seems to envelop us and I surrender to the floor. On hearing Baruch Bashan I’m back in and up on my feet. There’s some cleanup to do and then back to our cottage — our beds are calling, but first a little email, then a moment of gratitude for having wireless here which makes our communications so easy, and then it’s sweet dreams.
Day 10 – Living in Grace in Jamberoo
Monday — the training continues. I’m out and about several times today. The weather has changed to rain and showers. The vistas are stunning with mists, multi-hues of gray/blue/green. Cows and horses are still in the field. As I drive down into one of the valleys, I have a gratitude moment for the sheer beauty of it all. This afternoon as we listen to a John-Roger meditation I notice that we are not alone. Sitting outside on the railing by the training room door is a beautiful peacock and his ladies (3 peahens) are lined up directly in front of the training room glass doors. They have been there off and on all day and seem to have been drawn to us by the energy. John joins us for dinner. We chat with many of our Aussie friends. Then more sharing tonight. This is so yummy being in nature and sharing with the Traveler too. Outside the training room doors tonight are two big dogs. I haven’t seen them before tonight and it turns out they belong to the neighbor up the road. They try to come in and join us but we manage to keep them outside. They stay there for the entire sharing and one greets John and tries to go with him as John leaves. How precious is that!
Day 11 – Living in Grace in Jamberoo
Tuesday – the sky is blue, the morning is gorgeous. We laugh and sing on the way to the training room this morning. I’m on the rove again enjoying the now turn in temperature to rather cool. I do love being out and about having Grace in and out of the training room. On the way back from errands I notice the sky has clouded up and it looks like more rain is in store for us. Indeed while doing my afternoon roving the rain starts up again, but doesn’t deter our Traveler from joining us for dinner and another sharing that takes us deeper in to a state of gratitude and grace. We clean up as fast as we can and head home. We’re tired tonight. Hard to believe that tomorrow is our last full day of the training.
Click here to read Days 12 & 13 with Angel Gibson.
Click here to read Days 14 through 18 with Angel Gibson.
Click here see a photo slideshow from Living In Grace in Australia, 2007.
