Events » Past Events » 2001 Fall Conference: Keys to Creating a Fulfilling Life!
Read the Conference Program
A Summary By Paul M. Helfrich
Approximately 77 people from all over the country found their way to the Colony Inn this past week. Places of origin included California, Texas, Wyoming, South Dakota, New Mexico, Virginia, Oregon, Georgia, Utah, Wisconsin, Ohio, Washington, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, and the nearby eastern states of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The room was decorated beautifully with various quotes from Seth, Jane, and other perennial thinkers. The Brass Ring Bookstore (Mary Rouen) was there too, with lots of Seth/Jane books, tapes, and videos plus a bunch of related authors who explore conscious creation from their own unique perspectives. The tables were also decorated with colorful centerpieces and there were lots of little playthings to keep the hands and minds occupied during those times when the conscious mind wants to wander a bit.
Thursday evening began introductions and then a little ice-breaker activity. The idea was to go around and ask questions to fellow attendees regarding the ways we each defined a fulfilling life for ourselves. Once you had all the answers you received a “key” to try to unlock the “mystery box” and win whatever was inside. Luanne Gabriel was our lucky winner! The prize was a lovely 16-inch “mirror of self”, and inside the box was a quote from a Seth reader and author Shakti Gawain:
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“I assume that everything in my life is my reflection, my creation; there are no accidents or events that are unrelated to me.
“If I see or feel something, if it has any impact on me, then my being has attracted or created it to show me something.
“If it didn't mirror some part of myself I wouldn't even be able to see it.
“All the people in my life are reflections of the various characters and feelings that live inside of me.”
Next, we retired to the Hospitality Suite on the 5th floor for a reception and lots of conversation. Helen Steffen, Eric Helfrich, Al Winquist, and Erin Collier-Plummer all helped to keep the coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and snacks going the entire weekend. Many thanks on a great job guys!
Half of the conference activities occur during the hundreds of informal side-bar conversations, lunches, and dinners, where new friendships are made and old ones continued. I had so many wonderful interactions with dozens of people throughout the three days!
The more formal half of the conference began Friday morning with some opening comments by Michael Steffen and Paul Helfrich about the nuts and bolts of how NewWorldView is carrying on the tradition of providing first rate Seth-related conferences and a bit about who we are.
Joanne Helfrich then followed with a 25 minute presentation that combined God, Miss America, Snoopy, and Hitler’s testicle, believe it or not!, to explore the recent 9-1-1 events in the context of Seth’s ideas on violation, artificial and natural guilt, beliefs about good and evil, natural aggression, and brought it all to a close with an excerpt from The Charmed Life.
Richard Kendall, who attended Jane’s ESP class, followed with a beautifully delivered overview on the nature of fulfillment, fulfilling lives, and Seth’s inner law of value fulfillment. Bettie Kielty then led a small group activity in which each table created their own piece of art that explored and defined what fulfilling lives are.
Rick Stack, another ESP class member and founder of New Awareness Network, spoke briefly to the group and updated us on his publishing of The Early Sessions and The Personal Sessions books. He is in the process of releasing more of the ESP class tapes he made during the 1970’s, as he has the rights to publish over 100 of them! There are currently around 20 available. Rick is also exploring various ways to keep the Seth/Jane books in print in perpetuity that could involve a foundation to monitor publishing rights.
I should also mention that Randy and Susan Ray of Moment Point Press were present. They are the publishers of Jane Roberts’s, Lynda Dahl’s, Susan Watkins’s, and Dr. Fred Alan Wolf’s books.
During lunch people were free to go over to Yale University’s Sterling Library to see a display from the Jane Roberts’s archive that featured deleted material on the Iranian hostage crisis and similar events of the 1970’s that were pertinent to the recent 9-1-1 events. The display was organized by Mary Dillman, who lives in New Haven and is a researcher at the Sterling Library archives, and Library staff. Thanks one and all!
Next, it was time for the main “keys” presentations. We were all disappointed that Lynda Dahl canceled her appearance but her slot was filled by an excellent presentation by Irene O’Garden on the Wish O’Sphere – a clever and creative session on conscious creation basics supported by beautiful slides, Irene’s melodic voice, and enthusiastic presence. Irene actually drove home to Garrison, NY to bring back her slides and notes. Many thanks!
Bettie Kielty, also known as “Tinkabet,” then led a wonderful and relaxing psy-time called “The Space Between the Notes” to the soothing strains of a slow movement from a Mozart piano concerto. An interesting sync; as Bettie finished bringing the group back into Framework 1, the music ended exactly as if on cue. Talk about being in the zone!
Speaking of being in the zone, The Adventure Zone, a hands-on and minds-on interactive playground developed by Paul Helfrich, opened Friday afternoon in the room next to the Hospitality Suite. It featured four complementary tabletop displays that focused upon the nature of perception featuring an array of optical illusions, light and electromagnetic energy fields, the “mirror of self,” and various wall posters by surrealist, cubist, expressionist painters and M.C. Escher. This element added a touch of science and art-related ideas to balance our explorations of the subjective nature of our inner selves.
Friday afternoon’s events ended with a great session with Robert Waggoner exploring the dream universe and various activities to enhance the understanding of dream imagery, symbols, and feeling tones. I was particularly taken with Robert’s easy-going delivery and detailed knowledge that were complemented by his many experiences and rich understanding of his own inner symbols.
After a dinner break, Friday evening continued with an insightful discussion moderated most excellently by Michael Steffen on the events of 9-1-1. Irene O’Garden read a series of her poems that she wrote to kick things off and those present explored a wide variety of thoughts and emotions involving Irene’s New York experience.
Saturday morning began with a lecture and group discussion led by Michael Steffen on the nature of multidimensional personality that focused on the relationship between the inner and outer selves. We explored the slippery concepts of counterparts, probable selves, and fragments in the context of the inner self.
Paul Helfrich followed with a lecture and workshop on how to develop a personal practice based upon the Seth material to unleash the infinite potentials on the inner self. There were an array of self-evaluation tools and exercises given to help notice, identify, and recognize the many beliefs involved in working with the inner senses as well as a series of exercises geared toward experiencing and interpreting altered states and lucid dreams.
After a lunch break, Mary Dillman presented a look at personal reality creation through the lens of a five-day diary in which she tracked multiple layers of everyday imagery. Though she began with some expectations, she was eventually surprised by her own creations and reminded, once again, how our beliefs create everything in our daily lives.
Joanne Helfrich followed with a meditation on world peace based on John Lennon’s song Imagine. Tom Ewing was so moved by this song that he suggested we end the conference with another playing of it and suggested we sing along. The group agreed and so we added it to the Sunday closing session.
Saturday afternoon’s activities came to a close with an excellent workshop led by an enthusiastic and vivacious Laura Davis. She provided an array of hands-on activities that allowed everyone to test their own reactions to positive and negative thoughts during times of stress and to remain “C.A.L.M.”
Saturday evening’s dinner was a lively affair that featured a sit down dinner followed by a raffle and “talent show” made up entirely from the group. And what a talented group! The following folks shared their own spontaneous creativity: Joe Lemondo read two of his poems; Nancy Roberts read a piece on Ten Things About Cats; Robert Jackson led a doo-wop group rendition of Love Potion #9 along with Rodney Davidson, David Altemose, Lorraine Marozzi, Joe Lemondo, and Tom Caulfield. Michael Steffen read a piece from The Onion called God Clarifies “No Kill” Rule; Bettie Kielty read a piece by an Englishman about last year’s close election in the USA; Edward Hapka performed psychic readings for several audience members; Mary Johnston and Melva Wade sang a cute little song about Hitler having only one ball (seriously!). Goebels and Himmler were also in there; and Richard Kendall closed with lovely and inspired poem by Jane Roberts.
I should mention here that Rodney Davidson continued his tradition of taking pictures of the attendees that will be made available on the website and on photo CD. Thanks Rodney!
On Sunday Bettie Kielty kicked things off with an engaging presentation on the inner senses along with some activities designed to explore perception and the relationship between inner and outer senses. Included was another wonderful psy-time exploration that took us into alternate dimensions.
We closed with a Town Hall discussion that featured spontaneous offerings, questions, and comments by the group. At the end, as suggested, we formed a circle, well, more of an ellipse, and sang John Lennon’s Imagine. It was a moving and affirming way to bring to a close three days of caring, sharing, and exploring the creation of fulfilling lives.
These get-togethers are always inspiring on a number of fronts. Even though there is a lot of work behind the scenes to make things come off smoothly, people always seem to lend a helping hand on any front. For may new-comers, just being able to talk about the Seth and Jane books provides a validation and connection with other birds-of-a-feather that is extremely powerful. We had at least half a dozen people thoroughly jazzed at being able to spend three days together for the very first. And we are grateful to be able to offer these events.
We hope to see many of you in San Jose in April. Stay tune to the NewWorldView website for details at they clarify in the coming weeks. And we also hope to be back in New Haven, maybe at a new hotel, next Fall.
Thanks to each and every one of you who participated in your own ways. You helped to make this one of the best-received Seth events in recent years.
Lastly, I wanted to acknowledge those of you who chose not to join us physically but were most present in spirit and the dream state. Together, we sent healing ripples across the planet that lent energy to helping us navigate this time of transition to a saner and healthier world!
(And if I forgot to mention anyone or anything significant please send along a note and I will update this summary).