Every year (as long-time readers may remember), I celebrate the natural cycle of life and the majesty of old growth redwoods by participating in a three-day Solstice ceremony/retreat with Resonance in the Santa Cruz mountains. The experience is always profound, but this year's stood out for a number of reasons.
My love monkey Steve came with me this year. Being together in that environment, and sharing the same time schedule (just having the luxury of lying there in the gathering light together each morning, quietly watching the tall trees emerge from the fog) opened some doors for us that we're still exploring. We're heading up to Hendy Woods this weekend for more.
As part of the ceremony, every year each of us stand before the group and commit to giving something of ourselves back to Life in gratitude. This year's committment drew upon the last for me, but my current articulation specified a conscious intent to "be a clear mirror, reflecting back the beauty and light I see in every person and in every thing".
This commitment took on a life of its own as I sat back down into the circle and, moved by the beauty I saw shining in the faces around me, spontaneously offered a free portrait session to anyone there who asked for one. I so wanted them to see what I saw in them that moment.
I was thrilled when my friend Lana Holmes, a gifted professional who specializes in personal and quantum leap development, took me up on the offer and came over last weekend for what turned out to be an extraordinary photo shoot. I loved the experience and felt we were really working with Light, in all senses of the word.
Here's just a taste of what we came up with together:
Some of the photos from our session will be used on the new website I'm building for her now, which will launch later this month.
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