To: The Ixtlan Mailing List
From: ixtlander@aol.com
Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 06:05:50 EDT
Recollections from Santa Monica May 2nd 1998:
This workshop took place in the Santa Monica College gym. There was only one
stage this time and it was set up with a podium and everyone gathered around
it in a semicircle, sitting on the floor (about 350 participants). There was
the usual period of sound checking, then Carol came into the gym and everyone
stood up and applauded. It took a bit of time for her to get situated on the
stage and people stood and applauded for a while, though some sat down early.
Carol quipped, "I saw the ones who sat down early!"
She was dressed in beige - a beige sweater blouse, beige slacks, and beize
shoes that were kind of chunky - the whole outfit was sort of casual, but
elegant.
Because of the podium she stood behind, I could only see her left side and the
first thing I noticed was her hand shaking. I thought she must be nervous.
Later, however, during the dinner break, a friend of mine said that what she
saw was that Carol was putting her thumb and index finger together very
forcefully, then her thumb and ring finger together forcefully - so
forcefully that her hand shook. My friend thought Carol was doing some sort of
pass with her hand. In retrospect, I did remember that her hand had that shape
(finger/thumb connection).
The theme of Carol's talk was about the "new mood" of "clarity, lightness, and
precision" - a mood which "carries a punch." Later in the talk she also
referred to the new mood as "intense." Carol also said that his new mood was
apparent at the last Santa Monica workshop and it's a mood that differs
radically from that of the old sorcerers. This new mood is in part related to
the changes that have been made in the magical passes - the fact that the
ritual and the secrecy (that had distinguished the passes in the past) have
been eliminated. The magical passes are now more generic - more for the
public (since the old passes were individualized depending on whom they were
for). Carol also said that "superfluous" movements had been eliminated. At
one point, she began to talk about old Florinda. She said that Old Florinda
had predicted that if Carlos and the witches continued pursuing sorcery, it
was inevitable that a new mood would develop that would be specific to them
and their endeavors. Initially, when Carol began to talk about old Florinda,
and the fact that old Florinda had stayed behind to help them, she started to
tear up a little with emotion.
Near the end of her talk, Carol talked about the Awareness Through Harmony
teams. She told us that there was a new Awareness Through Harmony team. [I'm
not sure of the names but believe they are Darien and Gavin. Darien is the
young woman who, dressed as a Bedouin/Arab woman, did that magnificent dance,
incorporating the magical passes, at the Theater of Infinity.] From the stage,
Carol looked at Gavin and Darien with admiration and affection (they were
sitting in the audience in front of the stage) and [I think] she said that
they perform the magical passes with abandon and delight. She then talked with
equal admiration and affection about Zaia and Miles, calling them the original
Awareness Through Harmony team. She talked about how well they are able to
work together without one trying to be superior or "be the Boss."
At the end of her talk she seemed to get a little emotional again while she
was talking about how much she had been helped and how glad she was that she
could offer something back in return for all the help she had received. Her
whole talk had that aura of appreciation - it had a heart felt sense and made
me wonder if I'd see her again. [There has been this feeling, especially with
Carol and Florinda, lately that they are saying their thanks.]
For the next part of the workshop, Darien and Gavin, got up on the stage.
They were wearing bright lime-green shirts, beige slacks and beige shoes.
(The shoes were a cross between tennis shoes and street shoes - sort of like
walking shoes). Gavin started and taught us the first part of the Heat series.
Gavin, who tends to have a rather serious demeanor, was quite different than
I've ever seen him. He was lighter - enthusiastic - smiling.
Darien led the second half of the heat movements and she was also
enthusiastic. But more striking was how very forceful and self-assured she was
(given her young age). Before starting to teach us, she made a comment about
time and how it was running out. [Time running out was one of the themes that
seemed to permeate the workshop.]
After teaching the Heat series [and, by the way, there were numerous subtle
refinements - actually bringing the way we now do the movements closer to the
descriptions in the book], Darien and Gavin had us do the long form which they
taught in sections. Finally we did the Westwood long form which they described
as a review.
Gavin and Darien, as unlikely as it seemed (the two of them as a team) - were
very compatible - a really fine team.
[Nyei, Reni, and Rylan(sp?), were doing the movements with us - on the
outskirts of the group. It was hard not to turn around and gape at
them - they looked stronger and more vibrant than ever. I didn't have a
good view of who came and went, but don't think the witches were around -
also didn't see Kylie, Haley or the Blue Scout. Rosa and Margarite were
the door-keepers as usual. Brandon, Welby, Grant, and Fabricio were there
for the whole workshop and Tracy came later - didn't see any of the others
but heard Lorenzo was there.]
We next took a dinner break and were told to come back 15 minutes earlier than
planned (though I think we finished 15 minutes early so there was still a 2
hour break). We were asked to be back at 7:00pm sharp so that we could be on
our mats and ready by 7:15.
We were all settled on our mats and Zaia and Miles came in. They were wearing
exceedingly bright pink shirts, and [I think] white pants and white shoes (the
shoes were very light weight - almost no sole - maybe gymnastic shoes). They
got up on the stage, sat on their mats, and each talked to us for a little
while. I don't remember a lot of what Miles talked about other than the fact
that time was running out. Zaia, [I think it was Zaia] told us that she and
Miles were going to intend to compress time so that we would have enough time
to learn the movements. Just before they began, the last thing that was said
(said by Zaia) was really stunning. In a heart-felt manner and with a great
deal of forcefulness, she said that she and Miles were going to "give it their
all" and were not going to "cut corners." She said that this was their way of
saying thank you for all the help they had received [this acknowledging of
help received was another theme that permeated this workshop]. Then, Zaia said
[and these were not her exact words, but close], "And, as sorcerers know, when
you give it your all, you get back quite a bit more than you give. And then,
at the end of the day, you can look back on your day and know that you fully
enjoyed yourself. And you say, as sorcerers are apt to do, 'It was a splendid
day.'"
Zaia and Miles truly did give it their all! They went through the 18
movements, the openings and closings (there were some refinements), and then
the Code, all of which we did numerous times.
It was a splendid day!
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