Wesak 2008 is coming.  Are you ready to find the power hidden behind your fear?

The Year of the Dark

Saturday 3rd – Wednesday 7th May

In 2006 during Wesak we assisted to stabilise the changes coming through on the emotional level.  We were in England for this time, at the amazing neolithic centre of Avebury, which enabled us to work directly with the world grid.  The builders of Avebury created so that those working with the site were able to work with the entire grid of Gaia's energy.  As 2006 turned into 2007 we noticed the ongoing intense emotional changes that were being demanded from many of us, especially as the collective consciousness was brought to confront the choices it makes when dealing with fear.  We assisted to ground this process during Wesak 2007 by opening the doors to Grace, a door through which we can learn to transform each moment of our lives into a sacred moment.  Now, in 2008, we are ready to take the next step. 

2007 gave us the skills and enabling power of Grace and now we are being asked to put what we have learnt into practise.  This will be an extremely powerful year because in this year we will face the Dark.  This is often also called the Void or Shadow.  It is the Void of limitless potential, the Dark Chaos from which all Creation springs.  It is a well of infinite possibility, through which we can realise all that we can be, or dreamt we ever could be. 

Yet when we first step into the Void or the Dark what is our first reaction?  The Void is a place of formlessness, where there is nothing for our senses to perceive.  It is through form that we control the world around us, and it is our sense of control which is often our greatest sense of security.  It is this very formlessness that is the basis for our fear.  Because, if there is no form there, what is it that could appear out of the Dark? 

Often the first thing we manifest when we connect with the Void is our fears.  This is the main reason why we so often are tempted into dualistic reactions with the Dark or Shadow, and fall into a state of negativity and make it wrong or evil.  Yet it is simply the reflection of our own fears.

Which is a major key to our own power.  It is our own thoughts that the Dark, the Void, will manifest.

Once we are able to connect to this place of limitless potential without fear then, and only then, will we begin to truly realise our own power and majesty.  For it is then that we will be able to move into the Void and our thoughts will not be ones of fear but they will be ones of joy, inspiration, Oneness, healing and power. 

Another interesting feature of the Dark is that it is the source of all humour.  Think about it for a moment.  From the slapstick humour of Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, or even Funniest Home Video, to the classical jokes based on racial or sexual stereotypes, to the satirical humour of Monty Python and even the laughs we get at our own expense are all based on a Dark view.  That is, our humour is based on fear, rejection, mistakes, struggles, failures and all of the other illusions we weave so convincingly about ourselves.  Laughter is one of the ways we remind ourselves that we are bigger, more powerful, and more real than these things.  Laughter is one way we remind ourselves there is nothing to truly fear.

So Wesak this year will be an amazing adventure, full of the excitement of learning how to work with our fear, release our sense of fun and laughter, and how to open to the Dark from a space that enables us to manifest our true desires, rather than our illusions.  What a trip!

I can't tell you all about the fun and amazing things we will be doing because the surprise is part of the fun!  But let me assure you it is going to be fun!  And of course, a little challenging. 

The challenges this year will be more to do with our state of mind than our state of body.  For some of the retreat we will continue our adventure in shamanic walking through the Australian environment but for others we will be going into environments which enable us to do the other form of shamanic walking - walking with our own soul and shadow. 

Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, is an amazing place.  Physically, it has been disconnected from mainland Australia for approximately 30 000 years.  Evidence of Aboriginal settlement are present on the island but the most recent evidence is from 3000 years ago.  For approximately the last 3000 years, until the arrival of American sealers in 1803, and then English colonists in 1836, the island has been largely uninhabited.  As a consequence the land itself is very conscious in its own awareness.  Here, the spirit of the land is more awake than in most places currently on the earth, which facilitates a closer relationship with the land and an ability to understand the land in its own terms.

The Aboriginal name for Kangaroo Island is 'Island of the Dead'.  There is no evidence why the Aborigines abandoned the land and chose not to live here.  Perhaps there was some kind of disaster that overtook the people who were living here, one powerful enough to keep other potential settlers away.  Or perhaps it is related to the paucity of the soil.  Kangaroo Island is very deficient in cobalt, copper and other important trace minerals.  Until these deficiencies were corrected agriculture on the island suffered considerably.  Or perhaps it is related to whatever caused the strange energetic phenomenon that wraps around Kangaroo Island. 

The whole island is held within the middle of an energy vortex.  This has the powerful, though strange, effect of energetically 'removing' the island from the rest of the planet.  Kangaroo Island exists almost within a dimension of its own.  Hence, when people are on Kangaroo Island they are harder to connect with energetically than they are anywhere else on the planet - in much the same way as those who have 'crossed over' can be a little harder to connect with.  Perhaps this is why the island acquired its name.  However that may be there are certainly some indications that the island was used to some degree by the Aboriginal shamans and male healers to train their apprentices. 

Visiting Kangaroo Island, and performing many of the exercises we will be performing, and many of them in the dark, naturally, is a perfect landscape for our own initiations into working with the power and potential of the Dark.

If you have attended previous Wesaks you will have experienced working with the spiritual in a direct and meaningful way and may even have experienced those Beings who exist within the spiritual working directly with you.  This, however, was achieved primarily in the light - during daylight and with candlelight all about us.  This meant that our re-connection to the physical world about us was greatly facilitated by the simple method of opening our eyes.  Here we will be going into the dark and learning other ways to find our own anchor in the world once more. 

During this Wesak we will be required to take a 'shamanic walk' during which we will be walking through the landscape and allowing its energy to empower us, while we are still within the state of working with those who exist within the spiritual.  This walk will finish after daylight and we will be learning to walk by other lights, the light of our own becoming, and starlight.  However, bring a torch as this will make the last part of the walk easier.  We will also be having other experiences in different forms of 'darkness'.  It is these experiences of balancing the light of our desire with the dark of our fear and limitations which enable us to most powerfully fulfil our potential.  spi

 This year the program will include connecting with Power, Confronting the Dark, Beyond Fear, Balance Magic and Opening to the Void, Connections of the planetary and Cosmic grids, Star Initiation and, as always, Return to Centre: Meditation on the True Self as well as the Journey to Shambhala.  We will also be doing work to continue the cleansing of the emotional body. 

 The retreat will be based in a holiday house on Island Beach.  These houses are small so we may need to stay in more than one of them.  Accommodation and catering this year is included in the cost.  Everything on the island is relatively close by, though on occasion we may need to drive for about an hour to reach a couple of the sites around the island.  I am intending to hire a van for easy transport, as getting to the island is easier if you do not have to worry about a car.   Catering is organised from Saturday lunch to Wednesday lunch.  Activities this year at Shambhala do not begin until Sunday morning, but due to ferry times, it is best we all gather on Saturday. We will spent Saturday working on some orientation exercises which will facilitate the processes to come.

 The retreat is from 12pm Saturday 3^rd to approximately 2pm on Wednesday 7^th May.   Please note, that although Kangaroo Island has a milder climate than mainland South Australia, the daytime temperature for May averages 19, and overnight just 12 degrees.  i

 Things to bring with you to the retreat are:  two unlit candles, any crystals you would like to experience the energy, personal journal if you use one, and, if you came last year your blue candle from the circle and any ‘magic powder’ from the circle you have left.  You will also want to bring a warm jacket, a torch, walking shoes, a small backpack is optional but something about the size of a bum-bag may be useful for carrying water and snacks, a water bottle, and any 'walking snacks' you think you might need.  You will also need one set of clothing you do not mind getting dirty and closed-toe shoes with a good grip to wear with it.  This is for one of our Dark exercises and will enable you to do it without concern for the effect on your clothes.  We will be providing excellent vegetarian food, as always, and dried fruit and nuts will be available at all times. 

 The cost of the retreat is AUD$1090 if paid in full by 17th March, or AUD $1200 if paid after that.  This includes accommodation and catering, as already mentioned.  Finding a venue large enough to accommodate the needs of the whole group, without going to a conference is not easy.  However, we will be very comfortable and right on the beach.  Although the water is not safe for swimming (if you were thinking of swimming despite the temperature) because the waters around Kangaroo Island are some of the most heavily shark infested in the world - and they are white pointer sharks.   Most people will need to share a room with at least one other person but the facilities are otherwise good.  When you book please let me know if you are booking to share a room with a particular person.  Otherwise it will be worked out when we all get there.

 When you have paid your deposit (AUD$400) you will be able to have your choice of room, as much as possible.  For booking enquiries please contact Fractology at info@fractology.info or phone (+61 2 )9552 2777 or fax (+61 2) 9552 1344.    www.fractology.info 

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us!