UPDATED with pictures and links at the bottom to others who attended.

Around 15 or 16 Gaia members spent this past weekend in a Glass House in a small community named Florence on the coast of Oregon.  Actually, there were so many of us . . . we had to rent TWO houses!!!!




We were trying to come up with a name for the event and one that resonated the best was the "Northwest Transformation Weekend" . . . but this still doesn't quite get it.  The weekend began with a solar eclipse and it also included a New Moon.  To say it was transformative would be an understatement.

There were many healings . . . laughing . . . crying . . . feasting . . . sharing . . . merely being . .




It was magic.  We're already talking about when we want to do it again.

So we began with a virtual community . . . and brought our connections and friendship into the world of matter.

We did not want to leave.  No one wanted it to end.  A lot of tears were shed at our departure. 






























Also check out . . .

     Doug

     Mamacat

     Dryad

     Peridot

     Martha

     Amber

     Judi

     Apple

     Aley # 1

     Aley # 2

     MorningStar # 1

     MorningStar # 2

     MorningStar # 3

     MorningStar # 4

     MorningStar # 5

     MorningStar # 6

Did I leave anyone out?  If I did, was unintentional.  Some haven't blogged, though.

I had a powerful dream last night that was definitely an "ah-ha" moment.  I don't know if this was a result of our exceptionally powerful and magical weekend we shared recently, but the timing is suspicious. 

We all experience certain "themes" in our dreaming state, I'm sure.  For example, I often dream of being in my Grandmother's house as it was when I was a child.  Dreams where this takes place have come to mean family, home, safety and security because I have such fond memories of my childhood there.

I had a different theme last night . . . but a far different outcome that was profound.

Okay . . . how to word this to protect privacy?  Hmmm?

There is a couple I once knew who, to me, before moving away, represented right-action and moral integrity.  I attended church with them and have had many dreams with them being present.

Last night we were gathered together yet again.  Aley was there as well, offering support but not a major role.  [WTF!!!  That's NOT Aley!!!!]

In the exchange which I can't recall now . . . I do remember telling the woman to "Shut up and sit down!" very forcefully.  The energy of the dream totally changed.  I claimed my power.  We next went into the sanctuary of the church where I attended . . . but it was changed in my dream.  Gone were the normal tried and true pews and podium.  There were white translucent glass panels that went up eight or nine feet strategically placed throughout the room that, I must assume, had to do with acoustics.  It was beautiful.

In the real world, Aley came into the bedroom and I awoke, vividly recalling the dream.  I laid there going over the details . . . and herein lies the "ah-ha" I got and came running into the living room to share it with her.

You see, in these dreams in the past, I was always an observer, where the others acted.  I had allowed others to define what was moral and right, as they represented this to me.  But not last night.  In real life some religious people "play-act" . . . go through the motions, attending church on Sunday but act anything but Christian outside the church doors.  In this dream I told the archetype I held for morality and right-action that I was taking over.  The message was clear.

As I laid in bed contemplating this dream, I began considering some of the other "themes" I have during my dream state.

I have work to do.  Another example is a recurring theme regarding wealth.  Growing up, there was a place I considered prosperous and in my mind represented wealth.  In my dreams I'm usually an interloper in that place.  I could see all this clearly last night.  I need to claim this place as mine and not feel like I'm an intruder.

Occasionally I do have lucid dreams . . . so this will be my assignment for the next one.

I feel like a kid in the back seat of an automobile on a long journey.  "Are we there yet?  Are we there yet?"

I'm not one to hurry time, but November 4, 2008, and January 20, 2009, can't get here soon enough to suit me.

We're to learn who Obama's VP choice will be any second now.  But I just read this from CNN and thought I'd pass it along, for what it's worth.  I kinda like the notion!!!!!

(CNN) – It's already happened once before: the person tapped to search for a vice presidential candidate assumes the position instead. Now, liberal filmmaker Michael Moore is pushing for it to happen again — this time with Caroline Kennedy assuming the role of Dick Cheney.

In an open letter to the famous political scion Wednesday tapped by Obama to find his No. 2, Moore expresses deep reserve with leading VP candidates Joe Biden and Evan Bayh because of their votes to authorize the Iraq war, and urges Kennedy to float her own name for the position.

"What Obama needs is a vice presidential candidate who is not a professional politician, but someone who is well-known and beloved by people across the political spectrum; someone who, like Obama, spoke out against the war; someone who has a good and generous heart, who will be cheered by the rest of the world; someone whom we've known and loved and admired all our lives and who has dedicated her life to public service and to the greater good for all," Moore writes in the letter published on his Web site.

"That person, Caroline, is you."

Read the entire article here.

I am really enjoying Arjuna Ardagh's new book, The Translucent Revolution, and felt I must write about it.

This book is about . . . The Awakening . . .

The definition of translucent from the book, pages 48-49:

"Webster's dictionary defines translucent as "letting light pass through, but not transparent."  A transparent object, like a clean sheet of glass, is almost invisible.  You see everything through a transparent object as if it were not there at all.  An opaque object, on the other hand, blocks light completely.  A translucent object allows light to pass through, but not diffusely, while maintaining its form and texture.  Objects on the other side cannot be clearly distinguished.  A crystal is translucent.  So is a sculpture of frosted glass --- if the sun were to shine on it from behind, you would see the light passing through the sculpture, and it would appear to be glowing from the inside.

Translucent people also appear to glow from the inside.  They have access to their deepest nature as peaceful, limitless, free, unchanging, and at the same time they remain fully involved in the event of their personal lives.  Thoughts, fears, and desires still come and go; life is still characterized by temporary trials, misfortunes, and stress.  But the personal story is no longer opaque:  it is now capable of reflecting something deeper, more luminous and abiding, that can shine through it.

Contemporary translucents defy many of the spiritual concepts we have inherited from religious traditions.  The thousands of people I have spoken to in researching this book are not recluses.  They play vigorously in their relationships with others, their work, their creativity, and their political and environmental causes, but they play to play more than to win. ..."

Following years of study, Ardagh found ten characteristics of Translucents.  Here are nine of them . . .

  [1]  Living Outside Traditional Frameworks --- Shun organized religion, hierarchy and labels in general.

  [2]  Looking Beyond Enlightenment --- Translucent people general laugh when asked if they are "enlightened".  They are no longer seeking.  So much for the self-help book industry!!!

  [3]  An Endless Journey --- Life is a process, a river, a process without end.

  [4]  The Return of the Goddess --- Where the patriarchal society highlighted transcendence, annihilation of ego, dissolving of limits, worship of the written word and adherence to unwavering moral precepts . . . Translucents embrace the goddess, drawn toward deep and abiding love, open acceptance, the celebration of all life, where art, music, images and sensations are just as sacred as words.

  [5]  Embracing Life and the Body --- No more celibacy!!!  Translucents embrace both the world and the spirit.  Spirit is expressed as form, and form only works when it is infused with spirit.

  [6]  Unresisting Experience --- Translucents "let go" and allow life to flow, embracing all the good but also never running from the bad.

  [7]  Engaging in Translucent Practice --- Simply, living in the Now.

  [8]  Life as Art and Generosity --- The gift we offer to others is . . . ourselves!!  We offer open hearts, minds, and honesty.  "Things", even though important, are not what's treasured.

  [9]  Being in Good Company --- We're not alone.  Ardagh travels the world teaching and lecturing.  He has noted a major shift over the past two decades where in his lectures those who are Awake far, far outnumber those who have never experienced a Translucent experience. 

Are we translucent?