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This was a strange Thresholds. There were a lot fewer people there than there have been in recent years. I believe the official count was around 50, and my own impression was that it was the smallest turnout since Thresholds 2. This was not necessarily bad, but it definitely changed the feeling of the gather. There were very few people there that I did not already know, though in some cases I was able to finally attach names to faces I've been seeing for quite some time. The small handful of new people was also very warmly received, in my opinion, and they seem to be quite cool.
Overall, the workshops went very well this year. There seemed to be a lot fewer of them than in other years, but what we did have was quite well done and very substantive. I greatly enjoyed all of the ones I attended. But the multiplicity workshop was, hands down, the very best. Not just due to the presenter, but due to the sheer energy and interest brought to the workshop by the participants. It was also perhaps the only workshop this year to deal directly with otherkin subject matter, which is a topic I intend to address further in a seperate post. I also had a lot of fun with the workshop on the Theta Technique and body dowsing. It touched on some modalities of energywork that I have been trying to get more information about for a very long time. And the cultured foods workshop was definitely interesting... when I have the time, I really want to see about making some sourdough of my own. It's my favorite sort of bread, and it sounded very easy to make in theory. Lastly, the orgone workshop was very interesting as well, though I was a little disappointed we didn't have the chance to get past the theory and into practice this year.
The main ritual was, quite simply, amazing. Possibly the best I've ever attended at Thresholds. Though, to be fair, I had my eyes closed during most of it, so my main impressions had to do with direct manipulation of the energies. I was one of the people in the center, working on taking the energies being projected to us, ramping them up, and projecting up and out. Since we didn't have the chance to set up orgone generators this year, I prepared for the ritual by setting up a grid (similar to the Reiki grid concept, but not just using Reiki energies) with my ritual tools, and linking that grid into two tools I chose to wear to the ritual... a pair of small ren-faire type satyr horns with ourobouruses on them, and a necklace with the word "dream" in both english and kanji, both of them gifts that I've counted among my ritual tools for some time now. I went into the ritual feeling simply exhausted, as I hadn't really been sleeping well, but by the time it was over I felt amazingly refreshed.
I also noticed a few unusual dynamics going on at Thresholds. One of them was, as others have mentioned, people apparently not seeing or hearing each other. I lost track of the number of times I or someone else would call out to someone going past nearby and go completely unnoticed. Same with waving to people I could have sworn were looking right at me. But that dynamic was coupled with a counter-dynamic of other people seeming to be drawn over to me and connecting very strongly. Several people ended up coming over and having very deep and emotional conversations with me without warning. I think I may try to more actively work with that current next year.
And Thresholds for me didn't end this year with going home...![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
foxgrrl and whimsywanderer came home with me and spent the night, before heading off early the next morning to catch their flights home. I'm still sorry for the absolute mess the place was in (I'm still recovering from my recent move and it looks like a tornado hit the place), but whimsywanderer and I ended up staying up the whole night talking and that was a really amazing experience. A lot of stuff got brought up that's got me thinking. Some of that will go into my next post. I've also been seeing posts since Thresholds with random little phrases (and sometimes no phrases but feelings) that set me thinking and reevaluating things in ways I haven't expected. Things are still digesting. Fermenting, even. There is more to come.
Overall, the workshops went very well this year. There seemed to be a lot fewer of them than in other years, but what we did have was quite well done and very substantive. I greatly enjoyed all of the ones I attended. But the multiplicity workshop was, hands down, the very best. Not just due to the presenter, but due to the sheer energy and interest brought to the workshop by the participants. It was also perhaps the only workshop this year to deal directly with otherkin subject matter, which is a topic I intend to address further in a seperate post. I also had a lot of fun with the workshop on the Theta Technique and body dowsing. It touched on some modalities of energywork that I have been trying to get more information about for a very long time. And the cultured foods workshop was definitely interesting... when I have the time, I really want to see about making some sourdough of my own. It's my favorite sort of bread, and it sounded very easy to make in theory. Lastly, the orgone workshop was very interesting as well, though I was a little disappointed we didn't have the chance to get past the theory and into practice this year.
The main ritual was, quite simply, amazing. Possibly the best I've ever attended at Thresholds. Though, to be fair, I had my eyes closed during most of it, so my main impressions had to do with direct manipulation of the energies. I was one of the people in the center, working on taking the energies being projected to us, ramping them up, and projecting up and out. Since we didn't have the chance to set up orgone generators this year, I prepared for the ritual by setting up a grid (similar to the Reiki grid concept, but not just using Reiki energies) with my ritual tools, and linking that grid into two tools I chose to wear to the ritual... a pair of small ren-faire type satyr horns with ourobouruses on them, and a necklace with the word "dream" in both english and kanji, both of them gifts that I've counted among my ritual tools for some time now. I went into the ritual feeling simply exhausted, as I hadn't really been sleeping well, but by the time it was over I felt amazingly refreshed.
I also noticed a few unusual dynamics going on at Thresholds. One of them was, as others have mentioned, people apparently not seeing or hearing each other. I lost track of the number of times I or someone else would call out to someone going past nearby and go completely unnoticed. Same with waving to people I could have sworn were looking right at me. But that dynamic was coupled with a counter-dynamic of other people seeming to be drawn over to me and connecting very strongly. Several people ended up coming over and having very deep and emotional conversations with me without warning. I think I may try to more actively work with that current next year.
And Thresholds for me didn't end this year with going home...
foxgrrl and whimsywanderer came home with me and spent the night, before heading off early the next morning to catch their flights home. I'm still sorry for the absolute mess the place was in (I'm still recovering from my recent move and it looks like a tornado hit the place), but whimsywanderer and I ended up staying up the whole night talking and that was a really amazing experience. A lot of stuff got brought up that's got me thinking. Some of that will go into my next post. I've also been seeing posts since Thresholds with random little phrases (and sometimes no phrases but feelings) that set me thinking and reevaluating things in ways I haven't expected. Things are still digesting. Fermenting, even. There is more to come.
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==+So, I would not say a LOT fewer, probably not as dense as it has been. A lot of the folks that could not make it to Walking, will be attending Crossing.
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It's funny that the cycle resets to WtT II instead of I. II was the first year that we actually kept any records - there's no record of I at all.
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I would have loved more otherkin-related workshops, but my main dudes couldn't make it...
Same with the drumming/bardic thing getting away from us - Lugh couldn't make it and he was the one who usually kept things going in a way that we'd enjoy. Note to self - do not let random farm staff lead the bardic...
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I totally understand the difficulties people had getting there this year, and that the workshop selection was dependent on who was giving workshops and what they wanted to give one on. My interest in discussing it is less to be critical of what workshops were presented (I really enjoyed all the ones I attended), and more to start thinking now about what we can do in future years to make things even better. Though at the same time, one of Ri's recent posts struck a chord in me in combination with the article I posted a link to just before Thresholds, and now I'm wondering a bit if there isn't more connection than I have been seeing... I'll explore those thoughts more in a seperate post.
Honestly, I haven't connected as much with Lugh's bardics... I'm not sure the kind of bardics I prefer really need a facilitator. The first one we had at WtT2 didn't seem to have one, at least as far as I remember. We just passed the cup of mead and each person drank and shared their songs and stories.
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> were presented (I really enjoyed all the ones I attended), and more to
> start thinking now about what we can do in future years to make things
> even better.
Oh, I understand that - I didn't think you were criticizing.
> Though at the same time, one of Ri's recent posts struck a chord in
> me in combination with the article I posted a link to just before
> Thresholds, and now I'm wondering a bit if there isn't more
> connection than I have been seeing... I'll explore those thoughts
> more in a seperate post.
Can you point me to the posts you're talking about?
The number of people at the bardic is usually small enough to do that and to be at a smaller campfire (probably easier to hear everyone). It's not that I particularly connected with Lugh's bardics as much as I liked them a lot better than what happened this year, which was "random farm staff assisting us to get the drum circle going and somehow morphing into a reading of bad poetry".
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http://jarandhel.livejournal.com/247548.html
And this is the post of Ri's that it's interacting with in my head:
http://rialian.livejournal.com/981342.html
I'll explain the nature of the interaction in the upcoming post... not sure when I'll have the time to sit down and hammer it out, but I'll try to get to it soon.
From the quote in your post:
> two is the source of enchantment."
That reminds me of things that Orion says... He speaks often of "co-walkers" - those from the other realm who walk with us always. Reaching to them (and they to us) fulfills our purpose here of joining the underworld with the celestial (we being in the middle)...
Re: From the quote in your post:
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Most of my contacts are relatively normal these days; I can't even hold a conversation on the metaphysical for very long anymore. I'm just burning low, and very little fans those flames. It's easier that way, for now.
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I definitely appreciate the encouragement and offer, though. I'm sorry that I welched out of meeting up with you when I was last up that way.
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Geez, I'm such a whiner these days.
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Most people are in Orlando (1 hr away), Tampa (2 hrs), Jacksonville (2 hrs), or Miami (4 hrs).
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I don't know what it's been in years past, but I thought the energies there were outstanding. Very rare to see such a group of people, all with that sort of energy. Wish I hadn't been as shy as I was in the beginning.
Thanks for hanging out with me sunday night, and chatting about -everything-. Random conversations that last till dawn are some of my favorite things.
I'll see about getting to Crossing, but I don't know...
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And yeah, the energies at this gather really were outstanding... they usually are, but this was one of the better ones. I liked the selection of people we had this year, though there were a few people who couldn't make it who I would definitely have liked to see.
As for Crossing, likewise... I'm going to see about going to it, but I don't know yet if I'll be able to.
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Then again, I have better find a money plant that really produces money.
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