What a glorious weekend we all had with Gary and Cindy here in Ashland, Oregon. This was the third straight year that Gary came to do a workshop here, and the first time Cindy came with him. Big thank you to Bruce Rawles for taking the initiative in getting the Gar-man and Cindy here, and Ed Karlovich for arranging the facilities.
So, here's the 'PG' version of our weekend with Gary and Cindy.
Gary and Cindy arrived here in Ashland on Friday afternoon with Bruce picking them up from the airport. Our buddy, Jonathan Joshua, made reservations for dinner at the Taj Indian Cuisine in downtown Ashland for that evening where we - Gary, Cindy, Bruce, Ed, Jonathan, Bridgit T, Kim O, and I - enjoyed great food and laughs, as well as entertainment in the form of one of Gary's all time favorite guilty, or not so guilty, pleasures - belly dancing. After we were done, we walked around the corner to an outdoor facility to be near the creek, hang out, laugh, and have drinks. I had my homemade "Gary" cards with me that we use in our Wednesday evening Course group, so we each picked one out to read aloud.
On Saturday, another great presentation from Gary - consistent and right on the money, as usual. In the early portion of the workshop, Cindy sang a beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. Cindy and Gary later performed two songs together,including Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence. During the workshop, Gary had us do a forgiveness thought process for about five to ten minutes where we all get up and walk around the room, look into a person's eyes (trying to get to as many people as possible) and silently say, 'You are Spirit. Whole and Innocent. All is forgiven and released.' This exercise moved some people to tears. For me, it's old hat so it didn't have that kind of impact on me, but I'm certain J did his part in removing more unconscious guilt from my mind. Yay!
At the end of the workshop, Gary thanked us - Roberta, Bruce, Ed, Jonathan, and myself for our friendship and support. And at that time, Gary put a plug in for The Disappearance of the Universe Yahoo group and mentioned the 'Quote of the Day' I post on here. Afterwards, I was interviewed by a man who runs a metaphysical/new age publication in Seattle. He asked me questions about Gary's books and my experiences with applying the material. Bruce, Cindy, and Gary were also interviewed.
Many people from our local Course groups here in the Rogue Valley were in attendance for Saturday's workshop, and we also had people coming in from Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco, Reno, and even one person came all the way from Madison, Wisconsin. My mom and step-dad (my west coast dad) came in from Klamath Falls, OR to attend the gig but did not stick around for any of the extra curricular activities - which I gave my mom a little bit of crap for the next day but then I remembered to forgive it. : )
The workshop was followed by Gary's usual book signing, and then a potluck at 6pm, at which time we had a pleasant surprise when Gary's booking agent, Jan Cook, arrived. She was on the mainland with a couple of friends and happened to be passing through town on the same day Gary was doing his workshop. After the potluck, about ten of us headed to the Ashland downtown plaza, to hang out by the creek for more food and beverage. As it got later, some of us went upstairs for some live music, where we had a great time hanging out with lots of laughing and some dancing. We didn't leave until after 1am.
I also spent a short part of the day on Sunday with Gary, Cindy, and Gary's website designer, Roberta Grace and her partner, Robert, who live in nearby Medford, wandering around the downtown area of Ashland which included a stroll through Lithia Park. The Shakespeare festival runs here in Ashland from late winter to mid-fall, we didn't go to a play but we did take a brief tour of an empty theater. Also, we walked into several shops along the downtown strip, including a metaphysical book store, Sound Peace. I amusingly asked the cashier if they carried Gary's books as he was just standing a few feet away from me. It was obvious she didn't know who he was, but at least they did carry his books as well as his Fearless Love CD.
Anyway, this weekend really had the feeling of that of a family reunion. The ironic thing for me was that I have a cousin by the same first and last name as me back in Massachusetts, who was getting married at the same exact time as the start of the workshop, (10am PDT/1pm EDT.) My dad is one of eleven children so I have aunts, uncles, and cousins up the yin-yang; they're my relatives but they have never felt like family to me. When I was in my 20s, I used to say to myself, 'When is my real family going to show up in my life?' By real family I mean people that I can actually talk to without having to see a 'What the hell are you talking about?' look on their face. People I can freely speak my mind to without it being objectionable or offensive. Nothing against my relatives, but they just never felt like family to me; they just aren't 'my people.'
Well, it wasn't until I started forgiving my 'fake family' in the form of guided meditations that undid unconscious guilt in my mind, that I was guided to leave the east coast, and as I continue to practice true forgiveness as described in Gary's books, I feel more and more removed from my relatives, while connecting more and more with my spiritual family. It's a wonderful feeling, and this weekend was full of symbols representing that. Had I not been doing this work for the last seven plus years, I would have been at a wedding this past weekend with my fake family still asking myself, 'When is my real family going to show up in my life?' Thank you Gary and Cindy for making your way here to Southern Oregon and getting us all together for a splendid, fun-filled weekend.
Much Love, Mikey
Oh, and here are five short You Tube clips from the weekend
Clip #1
Clip #2
Clip #3
Clip #4
Clip #5
And you can click here for pictures.
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