And the Eight Masters came together. They had made the pilgrimage. They had gone through the river, touched upon the rock, spent the night in the Golden�Cave and were now on flat rock at the Nest and it would be time for The Flight.�

In this moment of embracing the knowingness of the self, the mastery of the self, all of the Eight Masters -who had gone through much learning and exploring and some travail and trial - felt levels and shades of Fear. Doubt. Inadequacy. Old labels. Fear of "What will the outcome be?"� "What if I am wrong?"� "How could I be worthy?" "Who am I to be worthy?"� "The others will find out I am not as they are."�� And each Master knew to not hide from their Fear, to let every whisper, every cry, every scream and shout and yell be said, be heard. Knowing this, no matter what the ritual proscribed, no matter what tradition said, they gave themselves time.� Each one allowed -at first apart and then together and then apart again, as each was moved. They allowed tears.� They allowed terrible thoughts of themselves. They allowed cowering.� They allowed cowardice.� They allowed all the hidden voices from within to speak and because they allowed there was an element of trust.� Although the hidden Voices did speak and were felt and some of it was sad and some of it was fearful, it was not overwhelming.� It was not rending because the Voices knew they were allowed to speak. And because they would be heard, they did not have to hurt; they knew they would be listened to.

And there were two among them. One very, very young and one exceedingly old. And they walked among those about to go through Passage, saying, "We will come and be with you and you may take of us and we will give to you and there will be available for you energy-� light, wind or water or fire. Time.� Song. Whatever is needed for you. You can ask or you can know. You can allow your eyes to close. You can keep them wide. You can do both.

Then the light became soft and pink.� Some heard little winds and others heard delicate water. Some felt warm.� Others felt gentle breezes. Hard rocks that were being sat upon became soft, moss covered places in the earth.� But others who felt soft, had strong warm pieces of the rock at their back. The whole cave became a place of caring support, where each person had the color, the sound, the air, the water that they needed and wanted in that moment.� In profound silence there was every kind of musical sound there could be.

Time passed. Passed in a way that could not be measured. For some it was moments. For others it was days.� For some they journeyed so far and then returned.� When the bright light of sun and warmth and morning and day filled the Golden�Cave, coming from the entrance as well as from openings high above, each person felt connection.� Re -connections within themselves.�� Balance.� Wholeness.�� Hope and courage.� Knowingness that they would grow through whatever struggle; let go of other struggles. They knew they were going to blossom.� For all those gathered the time of soaring Flight into their acknowledgement of mastery was quite near and the fear of it, if present at all, was very subtle.

All the Initiates who had spoken with and allowed their Fears to tell their stories and discovered their strength and their wholeness again, began to walk the path to the Flight�Mountain. Everyone discovered and learned the story about Fears. They are not to stop. They are not to block. They are needed to be listened to and loved.

All of the Initiates knew that one day the time would come when they would need to acknowledge wisdom. The time when one looked at the Self and said, "I have learned. I have grown. I am worthy. I am beautiful. All of these things are my right, for I am part of all there is. I am part of the Earth. The Stars. The Wind and the Water. I am Brother and Sister.� I am Kin to so much."� All of these connections fill the Initiates until every space is radiant and radiating and moving with energy.

As the Initiates moved slowly but steadily with sure footing up the path, wondrous things were to be seen. Some saw flowers blooming. Others saw gems and crystals opening up from the earth. Others met animals and birds from vast reaches of the planet.� Some were spoken to by Beings. Others felt Beings. Some saw luminous colors. Others heard tones. Yet each encounter was gentle and welcoming. Each encounter was, "You are part of us. We are part of you.� Remember? Greetings.� We honor you."� And the path was full of recognition, connection and understanding.

Scenes of life, of people passed. Some of them were joyful. Others were sad.� As the Initiates went up to the Flight�Mountain all manner of feelings were experienced and Wonders were seen. Then they arrived. The mountain was radiant.� It's very earth were hues of purple and deep radiant blue and threads of brightest yellow gold and it was flat as rock. There was no grass, but surrounding one side were trees. Trees of power whose roots go deep, seemingly into rock. Although their trunks are gnarled and twisted and even their branches seemed wrapped around, one sees it is a spiraling branch, reaching far, far out wider than surely those trunks can support. It is the roots of interconnectedness through the Mountain itself that supports the Trees of Power

One by one each Initiate recognized�Power.� Power of Creation.� Knowledge.�� Awareness. Acknowledgement.�� The Trees turned their leaves, a silvery leaf. When they turned in just a way and the light shone in just a way, there was a mirror.� As the Initiates looked, willing to honor the Trees of Power, the Trees of Knowledge, they saw, of course, themselves. "You are part of All There Is." And they needed to open and allow the radiance of themselves to enter their hearts.� They saw the Master. They saw the Unity and knew it was inseparable from themselves and is available for them.

When a time comes of Knowingness, when a time comes of Initiation, all that you need is present and the Initiates looked at their bodies and saw that they were cloaked in wondrous capes of feathers or were they petals or were they leaves? Or were they skins or were they something simply never known before?� The colors moved and flowed and they couldn't fit one color for it changed. They were lit from within and without.

Each person extended their arms and let the colors, the moving light filled with colors, fill them. For a moment they could feel the color of themselves.� When they allowed the recognition that they were Yellow, Pink and Gold...Turquoise...� Palest Mauve...� Green of the Earth...they felt such a rush of wind but not from without, from within. One by one each being lifted and stepped off the Flat�Mountain and soared into All There Is. And all they needed to know to do that was Present.

Gently they drifted down. Into the water; the warmest, softest water. The water moved them softly and buffeted them and held them. When they looked the cloaks of feathers or petals or what was not known, were gone and they were themselves fresh and new. Old and wise. Young and old. Yet, they hint of color could be seen on their skin.� The color then retreated within.

They left the water and sat on the sand. Some on the earth and some on the rocks. They knew what they had shared with each other and they knew what they had shared with themselves.� They knew what they had shared with aspects of their being they only met or knew occasionally.��� They were now touching into a time, an element of Mastery.�� Some were greatly changed and others were simply centered, strong, whole.� Feeling renewed. Feeling, "Yes, I am good."� Then they rested in the flow of Unity.����
�������������������������������������������������������������excerpted from an Orion Intensive,� Washington, DC�

Laughing Glass Studio� - Pamela Bogdonoff�

Pamela and I enjoyed a most pleasant email exchange about the October Orion event.� Her website is a delight and I feel your will find her and husband�s work lovely and inspiring.� The flowers featured here are so alive.� I also especially liked the �Dream� mirror on their site. They do custom work as well.� Explore at www.laughingglass.byregion.net.� As you know, I am a member and supporter of �ByRegion.net, which features listings of artists and healers across the country and beyond.

Ellyn Dye � The Reconnection���

I first met Ellyn in the mid-80�s as she was exploring life after a near death experience.� The Orion work has been part of her perspective since then and for many years after I moved back to Virginia, her lovely home was my host for doing personal sessions in the DC area.�� Ellyn had another life-changing experience when she discovered The Reconnection � an energy-work system that can bring about deep integration, rebalancing and incredible shifts and changes for many people.� My own session with her felt aligning and integrating with an intense vitality.� You can learn more about� the work at www.thereconnection.com and you can contact Ellyn via email at To-Dye-For@verizon.net or 301-518-7228.

HolisticLocal is a new website directory for Holistic, Green & Conscious Living.� It�s fully searchable and also lists, events, courses, and articles.� I appreciate the clean, clear look of the site.� It's inviting and not overly crowded or busy.� If you are a practitioner or business owner, you can create a listing for free.�

Even more local for some of you is WASN.net � Washington Area Spiritual Network.� In addition to listings, WASN offers a weekly newsletter of upcoming events.� Free listings are also offered.���www.wasn.net