Sweet Tania Marie posted a lengthy description of our co-taught “Living a More Magickal Life” workshop, along with photos and personal sharing about my week long stay with her in Stateline, NV, where I lived not once, but twice in the mid-2000’s. I also spent a year in Reno and used to travel there for years afterwards, in order to teach monthly workshops. Given 43 moves in my life, Reno-Tahoe feels more like home than most places. Now that Tania, her partner Dave, bunny Astrid and two cats, Boojum and Sweet Pea live in Stateline, too, I’m sure my David and I will visit there more often. This time, though, it was just me, headed to Reno for the first time since January 2008 and to Tahoe for the first time since January 2007.
First of all, our workshop went great! We had so much fun teaching together, and synchronicity ensured just the right mix of nine women, eleven total with Tania and me. We dressed the part in purple, as did several of the day’s attendees, and the entire afternoon focused on recognizing and empowering the magic already moving through everyone’s lives. The Divine Feminine was out in full force! Our workshop included instruction, stories, meditations, exercises, nature immersion and a potent circle/healing ritual. The animals and wind chimed in at key moments of each person’s healing ceremony, underscoring “As Within, So Without,” along with the interconnectedness and support from all creatures and avenues. Here Tania and I are post-workshop, but pre-vegan pizza group dinner:
It was a week of many, many photos, some of which Tania includes in her post. Since she already shared lots of Laura-Tania pictures, I’ll try not to duplicate too many here.
As usual for our gatherings, Tania and I are both on the cusp of big shifts, which our visits tend to amplify. I left California rather suddenly in February 2010, so for me, this trip also meant reclaiming any bits and pieces of myself still lingering in that former version of me — parts on the road not taken. Reno-Tahoe, Monterey, and Sonoma County remain among my top favorite spots I’ve lived, so I wondered how it would feel to return. It felt good! But it also felt very affirming of my current life in Kalamazoo, MI, married to a different husband, living in beautiful, quirky Dra’Faven, and within a short drive of my beloved Lake Michigan. It felt very natural to wander around Tahoe with Tania Marie and others, to hug trees and dip our feet in the water.
Our friend (and workshop participant) Allison Jacobson (pictured with me above) even managed to capture some cosmic action on her iPhone camera:
We enjoyed communing with the Rock People as much as with the trees and otherworldly visitors:
Do you see the giant tortoise below? We kept finding winks from Tania’s tortoise Gaia:
On the Monday after our workshop, Tania drove us to Reno, where we met long time friend, colleague and blog contributor Timothy Glenn for lunch at Great Full Gardens:
Their Vegan Reuben’s were so delicious that Tania and I went to their other location for a repeat the evening I flew home. Of course, our lunch reunion included desserts. How could we pass up the rainbow colored “Happy Happy Joy Joy” and some kind of chocolate pecan vegan cheesecake? At least we split them among the three of us! In fact, as usual when Tania and I get together, the entire week included vegan feasting, but we burned it off hiking a vigorous 5-6 miles most days.
Mornings were spent with Boojum the very naughty yet charming cat and custom lattes made by Dave:
For me, a key part of this reunion included a trip to Virginia City, which has haunted me since I first visited it in 2005. Earlier this year, I finally realized the “novel” that has tried to hijack every writing project, as well as my formalized astrology studies, was actually a past life residue that needed major reintegration and healing. I had known about part of it before, but astrological analysis of my own chart, a friend’s and historical charts of our “characters” confirmed things for me enough to accept that fact is, indeed, stranger than fiction. I’m happy to report that Tania and I had fun in Virginia City, but none of the spooky flashbacks or energies I used to feel there remained. I took that as some of the biggest confirmation of internal shift and healing.
On Wednesday, Tania, Dave and I hiked to Angora Lakes, as well as Eagle Lake, encountering lots of faery energy, along with breathtaking views.
This was our last day of major hikes, and my left knee decided to make that clear by hyperextending about 1/2 a mile before the end of our hike. Somehow that seemed like my body’s way of directing my final day in Tahoe, since my journey home — like my journey there — involved three flights and over fifteen hours of travel. I learned on my flight from Reno to Phoenix that Chicago’s Midway Airport offers a Southwest direct flight to Reno during eight months of the year. When David and I visit Dave and Tania, we’ll definitely explore that option! Since I don’t drive and took a solo trip, these pilgrimages on both ends of the visit also seemed symbolic. I wrapped my knee, and it did fine lugging my overstuffed purse and backpack through three airports.
On my final morning in Tahoe, I saw two eagles soaring above the trees just outside the house. I felt the eagle energy before seeing them, so when I recognized those broad, rectangular wings, that felt like confirmation. Three eagles (and/or owls) often make appearances at key shifts in my life. I actually have some other animal synchronicities I’ll share in another post, since this one’s getting long, but suffice to say, I saw two eagles flying over evergreens on my last morning in Tahoe, and on the next morning’s arrival in Kalamazoo, look what greeted me:
The third eagle!
David and I had planned a fun weekend to reintegrate, attending the world famous Art Prize in Grand Rapids. As we wandered through the various shops and venues on Saturday, the sync winks continued. I kept finding Christmas gifts for Tania related to our visit, and magic continued seeping into the mix:
Imagine my delight to find “Cinderella’s Sequel”!
Saturday’s adventures and reintegration included not only art, magic and a surprise concert, but more vegan feasting and a visit to Lake Michigan in Grand Haven. You can see me with my knee still wrapped on Saturday, although I’m happy to report that it feels fine now. I’ve since ridden the exercise bike and gone on walks without issue. Going to Lake Michigan after Lake Tahoe felt like linking the two experiences and further integrating who I was, who I am and whoever I’m becoming:
Tania and I both sensed a timeline shift during our own powerful Full Moon healing/activation we did for each other. Tania describes her own synchronous confirmations in her post, but for me, the more obvious confirmation came through three days of bizarrely reordered scheduling. My calendar seriously looks like Mercury Retrograde times ten, with almost every single session pre-scheduled prior to my trip, reorganizing itself in some way, shape or form. People have had jury duty, dates and times have changed from the originals, last minute reschedules have opened slots for clients requesting emergency sessions or to add more time to their original request.
Things seem to be settling back into a normal flow today, but the only time I’ve experienced this many schedule alterations in the past has been after a major timeline shift. So far, the new version seems sweet, empowered and fun. I have vague glimmers of what clicked in, but I continue to integrate and reintegrate both new and old, embracing optimal living. Like Tania’s, this lengthy post only highlights some of our amazing week together and how that’s beginning to reveal itself in “normal” life. I’m excited to share all the fox and owl synchronicities, but those continue to unfold. I trust they’ll reveal themselves. As I said in our class, “In perfect love and perfect trust, perfect timing is a must.”
Thanks for joining me for this portion of the neverending story. Blessed Be … and be the blessing!
source https://laurabruno.wordpress.com/2018/10/03/lake-tahoe-recap-and-reintegration/
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