Four Days of Peace, Love, and Rock’n’Soul
Jo and I just returned from and are still basking in the afterglow of the 2008 Colorado Seth Conference (Sept. 11-15). Attended by over one hundred kindred spirits, this year’s theme was The Dance of Consciousness: Waltzing Through Inner and Outer Realities, and did we ever dance and sing and play! New and old friends gathered and shared four days of peace, love, and rock’n’soul – literally a Colorado Rocky Mountain high.
If you’ve never been to one of these events, you must put it on your calendar for next year! The Conference Committee is made up of an incredible alchemy of people dedicated to the exploration and practical application of the Seth material. They create a fun and nurturing environment with something for just about everyone.
The Committee consists of Jim and Carol Funk, Jim and Loretta Gilbert, Dawn and Morgan McKay, and Nancy Walker (daughter of Helen, an emeritus member). Along with Dana Beardshear in the Break Room, and Marnie Leichtenberg who runs the Bookstore these folks put in amazing amounts of time and energy every year to provide a high quality, memorable experience. As a group they have really hit their stride.
I can’t say this enough, and I don’t usually gush, but these folks are clicking on all cylinders and the three conferences Jo and I have attended (2006-2008) have just been incredible. It’s clear that they love what they do, and you have to, as Jo and I know from running our own conferences in 2001.
We are so appreciative and in awe of how well this group works together. As Seth said, “When intuitive knowledge and understanding overflow, then it overflows into all kinds of creativity and it is. It does not form groups. Groups appear. There is a difference. There is no need to form groups. Groups appear because there is no need to form them.” [1]
Again, if you’ve ever thought of going but come up with excuses to not make this trip, it is worth every single penny. Frank Collins poignantly pointed out that he no longer measures his age in terms of years, but in terms of these yearly “family” gatherings. So if you are one of those who equivocates start saving NOW, and put the 2009 Colorado Seth Conference on your travel calendar!
The main room and tables were decorated with theme related icons, doodads, and colorful arrays. It made the environment relaxed, fun, and light hearted. There was truly something for everyone in the conference format. The core experience revolved around two morning, two afternoon, and an evening session. There were three group dinners, a dance party, a “free” happy hour every night and buffet breakfast every morning (with the price of hotel room). It was a delightful setup.
This year’s conference took place in the Embassy Suites, which had a lovely, sun-drenched atrium, waterfall, and lots of places to sit, eat, and chat in between sessions. All of the rooms exited into the atrium so you feel a part of everything. Jo and I didn’t even make it out of the hotel until Day 3, when we walked to a Whole Foods for a delicious lunch.
This year’s group of presenters was an eclectic group whose talks complemented each other and overlapped in synchronistic ways. Each talk is recorded and you can purchase a DVD or audio CD (for more info contact Jim Funk at: cjfunk3 [at) earthlink.net). You can also check out the conference schedule. I was impressed by the diversity of presentation styles, and it’s hard to say there was a favorite, as I really enjoyed every talk I attended, and there are several occasions where there are two at once, so you can pick and choose.
Thursday evening began with a short tribute to Rob Butts, who most know passed away on Memorial Day, May 26, 2008. Several people came to the podium and gave their respects to Rob including me. I read part of my blog post called In Memoriam Robert F. Butts, and closed with a short 2:56 slideshow that I literally threw together the night before we left. People enjoyed it, and upon returning I created a longer version, now 7:02, with two Enya songs that incorporated a bunch of pictures I didn’t have time to scan beforehand. That slideshow is now available on YouTube.
On Friday morning I did my talk on The Developmental Seth and applied the integral approach to a survey of how Seth and Jane defined development in terms of the multiverse (levels of reality) and multidimensional self (levels of selfhood). I was able to incorporate musical interludes to relax the intellect, an eight minute psy-time, and a couple of additional exercises to provide a direct knowing of the concepts. It was well received, and it’s always nice to finish that part of the trip, and relax into the other sessions. (I will make the video and materials available as soon as I receive and process them, so check back here for the links next week.)
Joanne and Rose spoke to the group for an hour after dinner on Saturday night. Session 287 was the biggest group they have addressed to date. It went very well, though the setup was a little too formal, in hindsight, with Jo in a chair on the podium. I was impressed by how well Joanne handled the pressure of going in front of this group while being only in her second year of her exchange with Rose. Seth is a tough and really impossible act to follow! And yet, the group warmly received JoRose and asked some really good questions of Joanne after the session regarding the exchange and her role with it.
Of course, being in a Seth group, there were a handful of people who channel and have other psychic abilities present. One woman, Georgiena, came up to us afterward with a sketch of JoRose’s aura. Georgiena saw rose and gold colored lights around JoRose’s torso and a rather large crown that she said was four times as big as when she saw Ester Hicks and Abraham.
I don’t know if there is a direct crown chakra correlation between the “size” or density of the essence gestalt that people exchange with, but we do know that Rose consists of many millions of essences, so it makes sense that there would be something in JoRose’s aura to indicate this.
Georgiena also pointed out that “grounding” elements appeared under JoRose’s chair about fifteen minutes into her speaking, and this was around the time that JoRose settled more into the exchange. Again it takes a lot of courage and energy to go in front of such a “venerable” group as Joanne pointed out after the session.
Rose surprised me (what else is new?) and gave a long dissertation that lasted over forty minutes before opening the floor to questions. She centered her comments on fear, and its purpose – a theme she has been fleshing out all summer, and leading into our Fall Halloweany Workshop: Face Your Fears, Follow Your Intent. (Veddy Spooky!)
Rose mentioned that she consisted of Dream Walkers (in the plural, a new nuance), explored sontering (one of her neologisms) or breathing in of essence, the way of spirit as our way of following our intent, pointed out that everyone has the ability to channel, riffed on the contrary self (and I thought who was a better exemplar of that than Jane Roberts!), encouraged the group to “teall” (tell and teach) the Seth material to those who are ready for it, but not in an evangelical way, touched briefly on standing up to the bullies, and answered questions by Melinda on Hurricane Gustav that affected her home in Louisiana, and “Rolly Ronnie” on the contrarian spontaneous self. (A podcast will be available soon, check back here for the link.)
Over all, it was a solid performance by JoRose. The hour was getting late, bellies and minds were full from dinner and two days of Seth, and the material and delivery was quite new to the group, sort of like listening to a favorite band play only new music you’ve never heard before. The group was polite and very supportive, knowing that Jo is still in the early stages of her energy exchange. There was a stark contrast from Seth and Jane, as JoRose has a softer delivery, a more feminine energy (compared to Seth’s blatant macho), and unique syntax and new words that take time to assimilate. We are very grateful for the opportunity to share Rose with the group, as it takes a village to get any public channel to the next level, so to speak.
We were also reminded that we have such good teachers in Seth, Jane, and Rob’s early experiences, as well as all we learned from helping Mary Ennis (Elias) and Serge Grandbois (Kris/Brahm) to develop their websites as they got started. So we’re in good hands and appreciated all those who came up afterward with words of encouragement and constructive criticism. Thanks everyone! A session transcript will also be available in a few weeks on the essence of Rose website.
Jo also held three private sessions during the conference in our hotel room. They lasted about an hour, and each person got their audio files emailed when we returned, and audio CDs got mailed yesterday.
From this point, I’m going to let Barbara’s, Brent’s, Nick’s, and Denise’s pictures tell the story, as they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words. Thanks again to everyone we saw and spent time with this year. We had a fabulous time, and look forward to next year! Much love!
[1] Conversations with Seth, June 11, 1974.