embracing change

As you may or may not know, I went to a retreat this past weekend called Embracing Change, which is affiliated with Conversations with God. It was an amazing experience and absolutely life-changing.

Basically, the retreat taught us to apply the beliefs and principles of CWG in a very real and experiencial way. A lot of it has to do with sharing our baggage in a safe space with other people in the room, the purpose of which is to help us accept the "shadow" parts of ourselves so that we can let them go. What came out of it for me was a sense that we all have the same difficulties and that all we really want is love and acceptance. And I experienced, perhaps for the first time, what unconditional love feels like. It was incredible.

Of course, it didn't hurt that Christian Pankhurst, who started the retreat, is 25 and gorgeous and British, and our other retreat host, Andrew, is gorgeous and Australian. I took pictures with them, but until I get them developed, here's a pic of Christian and Neale Donald Walsch from their website.


This beautiful man also has the warmest hug ever. It felt like he hugged you with his entire body and his heart.

Some side benefits I got out of the retreat:
- I finally got over Steve after eight months.
- I no longer feel any desire to keep playing A Tale in the Desert (which was a huge time sucker).
- I am no longer embarassed about crying in front of people.
- I have a new appreciation for the people who get on my nerves in my life.
- and, of course, getting to know a bunch of wonderful souls.