Monday, November 11, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary of Ted Blodgett and Jonathan MacIntyre\u2019s Sept \u2013 Oct 2019 travels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Home\nagain, home again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is\na portrait of the many things that took place during our adventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I left\nhome on September 16 with Donna and Dawn Curtis, having an excellent Mexican inspired\nsupper at Bakersfield<\/em> in Indianapolis. They dropped me at a hotel near\nthe airport with me flying to Los Angeles the next morning. A fitting send-off\nfor sure!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\ntraveled to Joshua Tree National Park<\/em> for some alone time and drove to\nSan Diego on the 19th<\/sup> to Uma Kuchnia\u2019s home where she graciously\nhosted me (Uma\u2019s place is small, so I had her bed and she slept on the kitchen\nfloor!). On the 20th <\/sup>we set out for Pine Manor Retreat Center<\/em>\nin Lake Elsinor for the Southwest Attunement Network retreat September 20 \u2013 22.\n13 of us devoted most of our time together sharing attunements of various sorts\nwith a Skype touch-in with Jonathan\u2019s Balanced Energy Mastery group in Adelaide.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Uma and\nI returned to San Diego, visiting the Hermitage, Retreat, and Meditation\nGardens of the Self-Realization Fellowship<\/em>, founded in 1920 by Paramahansa\nYogananda located on the Pacific Ocean in Encinitas. We had some time with Jeff\nLong, a special friend and Uma, Tineke Wilder and I spent an evening at the\ncharming home of Pat Bennet for dinner and conversation. We also visited Glen\nIvy Hot Springs<\/em> and had a chance to walk the grounds of the former Emissary\ncommunity there, which I had not been to before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the 24th<\/sup> I flew to Los Angeles\nand then on to Auckland, New Zealand, arriving there early in the morning of\nthe 26th <\/sup>arriving in pretty good shape although a bit dopey from the\njetlag. Geoff and Linda Tisch greeted me and took me to their beautiful home on\nthe north side of Auckland. We attended a dinner party that evening at a\nfriend\u2019s home which was quite lovely. I\ncoordinated a two-day get together with 15 attending at the Tisch\u2019s home\nentitled Attunement in Today\u2019s World \nThe Art of Loving One Another <\/em>Sept 28 \u2013 29. <\/em>The time was\nspent in a gentle and honest ongoing conversation about the challenges of\neveryday life and how attunement can be a strong influence in discovering ways to\nhandle our circumstances that are new and uplifting. Ad hoc one-on-one attunements were\ninterspersed with our conversations. The gathering was filled with the warmth\nand genuineness that Geoff and Linda inspire in those around them. We did find\nthe time to visit the Gannet colony (seabirds) at Muriwai Beach, a spectacular\nplace northwest of Auckland. Geoff is now putting the finishing touches on a\nnew home just across the street and they expect to move in by the first of the\nyear. Geoff and Linda hosted a follow-up event, Attune to the Power of Love,\n<\/em>on October 20. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nMonday, the first of October, I said goodbye to Geoff and Linda and flew to\nAdelaide, South Australia. I stayed with Jonathan and his wife, Rosie, at their\nhome in the suburb of Highbury. This was a relaxed time, with Jonathan making our\nbreakfast each day before setting out on a variety of adventures. We both\nshared a remarkable attunement at Jonathan\u2019s office with Lyn Rose, whose book, Coming\nDown the <\/em>Mountain is published by Balboa Press in Bloomington (Indiana!).\nWe travelled to the Gorge Wildlife Park where amongst enjoying all sorts of\nnative creatures I got my picture taken cradling a Koala. Afterwards we had\nlunch at the idyllic Inglewood Inn<\/em> with large green hills covered with\nsheep in the distance. A lunch date with friends Martin Banham and Richard\nHetzell was a delight. An evening meal in downtown Adelaide with Jonathan and\nRosie at Paul\u2019s on Gouger<\/em>, an old haunt of Jonathan\u2019s, gave me the\nopportunity to sample a plate of Moreton Bay Bugs (somewhere in-between\ncrawfish and lobster). Geez, it\u2019s beginning to look like all I did while\naway is eat!<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan\nhad several meetings scheduled, one at the Riverdell Spiritual Centre (north of\nAdelaide), one in Adelaide at the home of Macky Steele Scott, an intuitive life\ncoach and one at Marie\u2019s Crystal<\/em> Cave<\/em>, a well-being centre and\nretail store owned by Marie Millikin in Port Elliott (south of Adelaide). Each\ngathering had between 15 and 18 attending. The theme of Tuning In Beyond\nBelief<\/em> was a starting point and a guidepost. We mostly followed the same approach at each\nplace: Jonathan and I speaking a bit, then inviting everyone to present\nsomething of themselves and then just seeing where it went from there. We\ninitiated a vibrationally safe place within which everyone was able to speak\nfreely about things in their living that could not be spoken about elsewhere.\nThat really feels good, <\/em>you know.Many expressed their great\nappreciation for what we were doing and for inspiring gatherings such as these. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After\nthe Port Elliott meeting, we stopped by to visit energy-sensitive friends of\nJonathan\u2019s, Carol and Ian Kretschmer, at their home in Oldinga Beach. Lunch was\nshared along with a lively conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nOctober 9 we flew from Adelaide to Sidney and then on to San Francisco and finally\nPortland. Funny thing about the planet rotating combined with our way of\nkeeping time is that if you travel east to west across the Pacific Ocean you\narrive two days ahead of when you left but traveling west to east you arrive on\nthe same day you left!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nrented a spacious van upon arrival in Portland and headed for the home of Erica\nBlair and her partner, Katie Beoh. Erica has a long history at Oakwood, going\nback to the days she worked at the retreat center and assisted Bill and Betty\nHudson in their older years. Erica and Katie moved to their back-yard tiny\nhouse, Jonathan got their bed and I got the couch. We stayed with these two\nbefore and after the Still Meadow weekend, having hours of great conversations,\na bit of sightseeing around Portland and a deepening of the spirit of kinship that\nwe cherish with each other. And of course, there was more eating! We\u2019re in\nPortland for heaven\u2019s sake. One non-food-based adventure was a visit to Katies\u2019\nFox and Bear<\/em> Urban Farm<\/em> on Sauvie Island north of Portland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thursday\nevening, we picked up Paul Price and Nancy Rathlou at the Portland airport and\nafter a \u201cdream come true\u201d supper at Salty\u2019s on the Columbia, <\/em>delivered\nthem to Still Meadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nStill Meadow attunement weekend, Attunement – The Field Is A Garden, <\/em>wasled by Lloyd Meeker and Paul Price. I wrote down some gems from the\ngathering that seemed noteworthy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n respect the untidy\nwisdom of the unconscious<\/p>\n\n\n\n three levels of\nexperience: Personal \/ Emotional Current \/ Collective Ancient \/ Collective<\/p>\n\n\n\n it\u2019s ok to leave it\nunresolved<\/p>\n\n\n\n feminine energy not\nwelcomed \u2013 anguish of being abandoned<\/p>\n\n\n\n it\u2019s about the Garden\n\u2013 not the gardener<\/p>\n\n\n\n position with\nunbelievable magnitude<\/p>\n\n\n\n how can you be good\nwhen you\u2019re perfect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n the bigger picture is\nplaying us<\/p>\n\n\n\n the importance of\nproximity in relationships<\/p>\n\n\n\n what does spirit want\nus to remember?<\/p>\n\n\n\n what would Love do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n my loyalty to God\ndemanded I never be wrong<\/p>\n\n\n\n fine substance is\nnever destroyed<\/p>\n\n\n\n this gathering is not\nreally a social event<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan\nand I gave the Saturday night session to talk about the trip and our vision for\nundertaking it. The gathering had a vibrational backdrop in consciousness that\nsomething fundamental is happening like never before which is calling all of us\nto step up into a position of \u201cmaking all things new\u201d. Whatever that means to\neach one of us remains to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sunday\nafternoon, which was quite gorgeous with sun and fall colors, we took Paul and\nNancy by the backroads from Still Meadow to Multnomah Falls (a \u201cmust see\u201d while\nin the Portland area) and then dropped them at a hotel near the airport where\nthey could rest and be close to the airport for their Monday morning flight\nback to Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\nevening we shared a memorable seafood supper at a floating restaurant on the\nColumbia River North of Portland with Karen Harte and her partner, Danny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan\nand I left Portland on separate flights Tuesday the 15th<\/sup> and met up again\nthat evening in Indianapolis, rented a car and drove home to Oakwood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nnext evening we were able to spend some time with the Heartland Spirit Network\nboard and Elders at Oakwood talking a bit about our experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonathan\nhad some rest time for a few days at Oakwood while I traveled to Fort Atkinson,\nWI Friday the 18th<\/sup> for the Blodgett family\u2019s 312 Day<\/em>, putting\ndad\u2019s gardens to rest, patio furniture away and a bit of cleanup work. (and the\nBadger game – of course). I returned to Oakwood on Sunday the 20th<\/sup>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On\nMonday the 21st<\/sup> we travelled to Cincinnati, OH and had lunch with\nattunement friend Sue Noble, a member of Tri-State Dharma, our retreat center\u2019s\npremier supporter. We then went on to the Cincinnati airport to pick up Louise\nBroomberg, the first person to arrive for the IAAP gathering. The 22nd<\/sup>\nand 23rd<\/sup> were spent primarily helping to get ready for the IAAP\ngathering. On the 23rd<\/sup>, I picked up Uma Kuchnia at the airport in\nIndianapolis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The October\n24 \u2013 27 IAAP gathering here at Oakwood, with 49 attending, was led by Chris\nJorgensen, Joseph Antell, Andrew Shier and Paul Price. The attunement community\nfrom far and wide showed up. I have often said that it was part retreat, part\nfamily reunion. Many had not been present together in person for quite a few\nyears. We had a wonderful chance to discover just how diverse and\nmany-splendored are the ways we bring the energy of Love into our worlds\nthrough the attunement current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monday the 28th<\/sup> was spent visiting\nwith the many friends who stayed on after the event. Tuesday, I drove Uma\nKuchnia and Karen Harte to the Indianapolis airport and Jonathan was able to\nspend some time with Matt and Jess Burns here at Oakwood. In the afternoon we paid\na visit to Parlour<\/em>, here in Muncie. He for a mani and I for a pedi. This\nbit of pampering was exquisite! On\nWednesday we travelled to Fort Wayne to visit with Steve and Victoria Wilson\nfor splendid conversation and attunements followed by a late lunch at Payne\u2019s\nin Gas City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On the\n31st<\/sup> we drove to Serpent Mound in Peebles, Ohio with Louise\nBroomberg. In a steadily pouring rain with wind to match, Jonathan and I walked\nthe perimeter under umbrellas. We were the only ones there except for the lady\nin the park office. Serpent Mound loses none of its magic because of rain and\nwind! (Louise stayed dry in the car!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n From there we went to the Columbus, OH airport\nwhere Louise had a 5:30 flight to Washington, D.C. and then on to Judy Neale\u2019s\nfor beef stew and cozy beds. It was Halloween, however because of the weather,\nonly one trick-or-treater came by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the morning we went with Judy to the Great Circle\nEarthworks in Heath, OH. We were joined by friend, Rita Carnevale. All who were\nthere for the first time were duly gob smacked by the energetics of the place.\nIt\u2019s hard to describe and if you have not been there, I highly recommend it. A\nfew miles away is the Octagon State Memorial on the site of Moundbuilders\nCountry Club. Again, the earthworks are a loss to find words for. We walked\nwithin this majestic place in the splendor of a beautiful fall day. Judy\nrecommended NorthStar<\/em> for lunch on the way back to her home which we\ngladly took her up on. Naps were then in order when we returned to Judy\u2019s. At\n6:30 we met with 25 people at the Cancer Support Community Central Ohio. Debra\nWeisenberger-Lipetz had made arrangements for us to use the beautiful meeting\nspace there. Several members of the Zhineng Qigong community attended along\nwith Rita. Our theme was Tuning Into Love The Energy of Healing <\/em>and we\ngot right to it. Again, we used the format of both Jonathan and I saying a\nlittle something and then turning it over to the circle. All of a sudden it was\nafter 9:00 and time to wrap it up! This evening meeting was a very fitting\nconclusion to the series of collective settings we had the pleasure of\nstewarding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nspent a late evening with Debra and husband Bob, eventually falling into a\ngentle and peaceful sleep in their beautiful home. Bob made us breakfast and after\nthe four of us talked on a bit more we headed back to Oakwood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\nevening, Donna, Jonathan and I celebrated the completion of the cycle with a\nfine supper in downtown Muncie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Early\nthe next morning (Sunday the 3rd<\/sup>) I took Jonathan to Indianapolis to\ncatch the first leg of his journey home. He arrived in Adelaide the morning of\nTuesday, November 5 (Australian Daylight Savings Time which is 15 \u00bd hours ahead\nof us).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nimpact of this trip on my life is still sinking in and probably will be doing\nso for some time to come. What the implications are and how the future may be\ninfluenced is below the horizon for now. My gratitude extends wholeheartedly to\neveryone who has been responsible for letting this happen and especially to my\nwife, Donna, for her loving surround and support. To carry a body of collective\nsubstance which this trip has been all about was truly a burden of Light that I\nhave been delighted to share with my mate, Jonathan. Thank You. Thank You.\nThank you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Monday, November 11, 2019 Summary of Ted Blodgett and Jonathan MacIntyre\u2019s Sept \u2013 Oct 2019 travels Home again, home again. Here is a portrait of the many things that took place during our adventure. I left home on September 16 with Donna and Dawn Curtis, having an excellent Mexican inspired supper at … Continue reading Travelogue<\/span>