of Angeles Arrien, Brooke, John O'Donohue,
and Malidoma Patrice and Sobonfu Some' *
April 8-11 1999
San Francisco, CA
You are invited to a new type of gathering,
one which in the past might have been called a conference.
In this gathering, rather than being so scattered among many events and offerings
without unity of presenters, the idea is that all presenters will unify our efforts,
bringing together the rivers of our work into a Circle of Power
of which you will become an active part.
We will come together in a joyful celebration for:
awakening and sharing new levels of our personal gifts,
honoring the full circle of life,
spiritual upliftment in joy,
joining with others to create a beauty path into the future, and
fun, music, singing, dancing, drumming.
Come, step fully into this Circle of Power !!
Brooke will be both focalizer and presenter.
Angeles Arrien, well-known to most of you, is a cultural anthropologist who has gathered knowledge from her mystical Basque tradition and other teachings from around the world to present in usable and powerful form to modern people through her many books, tapes, and teaching events.
John O'Donahue, the Irish mystical priest, Celtic bard, and powerful poet, comes to us bringing the kind of grounded wisdom and beauty that he presented in his book and tape series, Anam Cara: Friend of the Soul.
Malidoma Some' and his wife Sobonfu come to from their African tradition bringing the wisdom, beauty, music, and deep service which is their path. His wonderful first book is Of Water and The Spirits.
This was the first Confluence and more are being planned.
Texas Hill Country
Dear folks,
As Heron and I reflected on the Confluence gathering -- on what we accomplished and what might come from it in the future -- we came upon several themes. I hope this sets you to thinking, leading you to discover and contribute more of these themes.
1. Roots/Rootlessness
Most Americans, whether native or immigrant have had the experience of being cut off from their primary roots and ancestry in order to blend acceptably into the great American melting pot. While unity of heart is always a primary value, uniqueness is certainly another , and we have negated both in many ways.
To explore and reconnect in deep and powerful ways with our physical and spiritual ancestry may ground our souls in a way we have been seeking. This theme has implications for our spiritual traditions, our ceremonial lives, the shamanic elements in all our lineages, and much more. It certainly calls us to address how we can honor our own spirituality and that of others. A Confluence of traditions can help us see what the common, generic parts of our spirituality are (which I would guess are the majority), and then how we diverge from there into tribal or religious differences.
2. Spiritual Technologies
Our council modeled many possible approaches to life and its challenges. A deeper exploration of the means available for our transformation could be very powerful -- contemplation and dialectic, ritual and dance, connecting to the landscape, focusing on the heart, and/or a multitude of other means.
A major challenge of our April Confluence is that we didn't really have the time to explore/experience any one of them in depth. I was sad not to have been able to take the ceremonial aspect to a level where its transformative energies could be more powerfully felt, and others expressed the same concerning many other areas.
3. Where is Christ in the New Age?
The point that was brought up about how Christianity seems left out of many of our current discussions is very important. Jesus the Christ, can be seen as the highest and finest teacher, who goes much beyond religion and dogma, although many have tried to capture and limit His word. My lineages refer to Him as Dawn Star, and experience Him as Elder Brother, much as we experience White Buffalo Calf Pipe Woman as Elder Sister. He is a shaman of the highest order, and informed many profound wisdom teachings in native America in centuries past.
A few of the questions worthy of addressing are: the continuing presence of this ascended Master, what gems were left behind as many people rejected the dogmatism of their religions, how we can open to and embody the high teachings of the Dawn Star, how these teachings pertain to non-Christian peoples, how missionizing Christian churches need to rethink their ways of relating, etc.
We need assistance from you in finding more appropriate and less expensive places to hold any such future gatherings. Retreat centers that can house 150 people would be ideal. Also required would be very large group space and break-out rooms. Beautiful land and quiet we could enjoy would be extra benefits. If you know of such a place, have them send information to Feathered Pipe Foundation, or let Feathered Pipe know their contact data: 406-442-8196 or fpranch@mt.net.
It was an honor to be with you as we began the exploration that Confluence can open. Thank you for your participation. We learned much about both what to carry through and what to change. I look forward to your insightful comments, and to a continuing path of unity.
Many blessings,
