A Trip To Remember In October-November 2010

by Robert Wilkinson

I've just come off the longest trip I've taken in years. Profound things were experienced.

This article may help you understand some of the symbolic dimension of who I am and what I do. I'll even include a bit of autobiographical information, since my past, present, and future have all converged in about 100 days. That's how intense these times are, at least for me!

The Summer of 2010 was very difficult in terms of personal losses which left me with a sense of emptiness. Not a bad thing, but still a void exists where there was none before. There is no way to fill that void in the usual sense, so I've been hanging out with wondering what would come that would update the deep feelings of loss and replace them with appropriate feelings of connectedness.

The decisions I had to make due to those losses were excruciatingly difficult. The good part is that they left me with a new sense of who I am and what I'm here to tolerate or not as I focus on living my Dharma to the fullest I'm able in my third third of life. Through it all there has been the knowledge that we're all living on the edge of transitions, with some becoming more stable while others are being thrown into the breach of the unknown.

It was with that sense of a void yet knowing I'm also riding a great transitional wave in my life that I learned of the October 30th Jon Stewart rally on the Mall. At the same time I was trying to figure out a trip to Austin for personal and business purposes and also planning for a trip to the Hamptons to do a talk and see clients and friends. Those factors all fell into place creating the spiritual and physical journey I just finished.

The first part of the journey took me to Austin, Texas for 96 hours of work, play, and eating my way across town and back. Austin was my home from 1969-1997 as I occasionally lived and worked in second places across the entire continent. A huge piece of my past returned in wonderful ways while I was there this time. Besides reconnecting with friends past and present, as well as new friends who most definitely are part of my spiritual Community, I also was able to begin to take care of reconstituting and resurrecting my 501(c)(3) Educational-Charitable organization.

A little backstory: I created the "Fifth Ray Bookstore/Lantern Foundation" decades ago as a nonprofit, tax exempt vehicle to sponsor several thousand talks and classes on many subjects, as well as produce hundreds of cultural events featuring every kind of music, poetry, film, and whatever-the-focus types of gatherings. It had a great run for many years, but fell by the wayside in the late 90s. Now it's hours away from being up and running again, and I feel like I've reclaimed something worthy from my past that could be a good vehicle for other works here in the 21st century.

So I got to commune with my spiritual family, and had great times (and ate too much!) That gave me a sense of connection I didn't know was missing until I re-experienced it. From there I flew to Baltimore, where I was met by another Spiritual Brother I've known for decades.

We went to his place in Gettysburg, with the intention of getting to the National Mall the next day. After seeing the trains clogged with lines literally between a half mile and mile long, we found a cab driven by a long white haired elf in sunglasses, and thanks to his extremely laid back style, took a circuitous route around clogged freeways and found ourselves on the National Mall with over 250,000 other people mostly wondering why we were all there. We knew we were making a statement, but no one seemed sure about just what statement we were making.

A great time was had by all. I've never been in the midst of so many non-aggressive people. No arguing, no shoving despite extreme crowding, and a lot of polite inching throughout the crowd by those trying to get closer than a quarter mile to the jumbotrons. It was reported that over 100,000 more were on the side streets and nearby bars, and another 100,000 apparently figured out that despite getting to train stations throughout the DC metroplex, there was no way they could get in by train or car, so gave up, went home, and watched it on tv.

It was a great experience being in the midst of hundreds of thousands of "reasonable" thoughtforms who gathered with the intention of "restoring sanity." Having been in charge of or in the midst of concerts back in the 70s where there were over 100,000 people, I must admit that it was the most peaceful, playful, and sometimes silly gathering of people I've ever experienced. Some of the signs were brilliant, and the whole thing came and went quickly, which of course guaranteed even more pandemonium in the train stations with tens if not hundreds of thousands of people again trying to catch a train to get back to their cars.

The next day, the Dia de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead"), my friend and I spent hours touring the Gettysburg battlefield where many tens of thousands of men were wounded or died senselessly and brutally in July 1863. For those reading this who are not familiar with US history, this was one of the most important battles in American history.

Feeling the countless dead juxtaposed with the countless living just 24 hours earlier was an interesting and extraordinarily deep sensation. It was as though the Great Tao Itself, with its Yin and Yang elements, spun a complete gyration in just a day's time. Walking on the ground where so many died and Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address was quite a sensation in itself.

The third part of the trip began a few days later when my friend and I met another long standing Spiritual Brother in New York City for a few hours of Tibetan iconography, food, and fellowship. From there my Pennsylvania Brother went back, and my New York Brother and I went out to Sag Harbor where I got to re-experience rain and the glorious colors of Autumn (neither of which exist in the high desert where I live!)

The talk at Canio's was different than it usually is. At the suggestion of one of the owners, I spoke on Humor and Spirituality, not something I would ordinarily do a talk on. But given the need for humor, a sense of irony and not taking ourselves or the white noise of daily life too seriously, I figured I'd give it a shot. Everyone there seemed to have a good time, and some even said it was perfect for what they were dealing with. Of course, how to antidote ego taking itself too seriously is always something to deal with!

(I taped the talk, and if I can edit it into something good, it'll be available for a small price here on the site. Just another breakthrough, since I'm on the threshold of making many of my past talks available via The Wisdom Store, my online web store which will soon be functioning, thanks to a generous gift from a fan of the site.)

Anyway, this journey capped a one hundred day trip that has changed elements of my life forever. First the profound loss, then the reconnection with my spiritual family past and present while resurrecting my foundation. Communing with the countless living in a global power center and then countless dead in a small consecrated town, followed by a day in the Big Apple and then time with friends and loved ones within a context of humor and opening to a larger picture of how to do our Being.

And I even got to bring some great New York apples and bagels home to munch on as I remember the trip! (We must keep things in perspective, you know!)

There's a lot I've omitted since it would have been a much longer piece had I tried to flesh those things out. Still, the symbols have been clear, abundant, and helpful in reminding me that my life is richer, greater, and deeper than it's felt at times the past several years. And on a final note, the trip was capped off in my last 48 hours in Sag Harbor by sighting a Blue Huron, three Swans, and several hawks (one of my long standing totems). They somehow sum up everything and more.

Sometimes a trip is just a trip, while other times it's a journey of redemption, remembrance, and regeneration. This was one such trip for me.

Copyright © 2010 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Philipp Manser]

I am so happy you experienced so much love on this trip!

[Kip]

Hearing this makes all the craziness we're experiencing seem worth it!

[dcu]

Thank you for this personal sharing, Robert. I am especially happy that you are reactivating the Fifth Ray Bookstore/Lantern Foundation. The time is here. I am jealous that you enjoyed that great cuisine in Austin. They don't know how to make Mexican Food in South Dakota. LOL. Namaskarams. dcu

[Elizabeth]

Awesome! I was one of those 100,000 who watched it on TV. :-)

I like how you summed it up with the heron, the swans and the hawks..all totems for me too and how wonderfully affirming.

Good to know after such a tumultuous time!

So Robert..now that your home, rejuvenated and munching on those NY apples and bagels, what's in store for the rest of the year? :-)

[Elizabeth]

More specifically...what's happening with the upcoming lunar eclipse in gemini, winter solstice?

Being a gemini, I'm all ears.

Thanks as always for your incredible posts!

[Micheline]

Robert thanks for sharing your experience. I think it is nice to hear about other people's experiences cause it allows me to mirror mine and think about what is important and what matters and makes me feel more connected to you as a person.

[alessandra]

Thank you for sharing this with us Robert !
It is for me a real treat to read your articles.

alessandra

[chickie]

A very Large rebirth gives us hope!

Thanks for the ride!

[BritLitChik]

God bless you. Am in midst of similar journey - albeit not in same locations. We are on path of something new - exciting. Think the "hippies" of the 60's 70's may have been too early - it's happening! New and NOW!

Yea!

Bless you and your friends/family and those of us on your little canteena...

BLC

[Chris M]

I love you!

[natasha]

i think testimonials such as this - when they're so clearly infused with humility, depth of insight & purity of heart - are some of the most wisdom-sharing tools we have at our disposal.

i've been savouring your words for a while now, but this is my first ever comment. ...& it'll probably be my last! (blame it on my 12th house sun :O).. ). but rest assured, i'll keep on reading. blessings to you, robert & thanks for being such a great teacher.

[kathryn davison]

Hey there! Happy to have been one of the spiritual-family-one-taco-too-many feature of the austin leg of your adventures.

Part of holding the void is also a service to the larger dissolving that is the inevitable hallmark of the journey HOME as we lighten up. We are only measured by our agendas on this plane, and less so every day.

Party on! xxo, k

[Genda Kinney]

Robert, where do you live? I'm in Texas, lived five years in AZ, loved it. Can't tell you how often I think of friends, the arid landscpe and how it felt welcoming a long awaited rain. Here I live the unordinary life in an ordinary way - or is it the other way around... Thank you for sharing.......

[chickie]

Your Highness,

YouR WISDOM precedes you leaving you as the REAL MR. BIG STUFF!!!

http://www.videosurf.com/video/mr-big-stuff-sung-by-jean-knight-70961393

[chickie]

Your Highness,

Forget to mention that you will ALWAYS HAVE OUR LOVE!!!!XOXO

[Catherine]

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address....

"Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."

[Catherine]

So glad to hear that you had such a powerful and memorable trip, Robert!
It sounds like everything flowed beautifully and harmoniously -- and with many unexpected riches.
May God be with you!

[Sue Moon]

Thanks for sharing Robert, it put the morning into perspective and the days to come. These are some (fill in the blank) kind of times!!

[Josie]

your words and perspective are fascinating to me, so it is a nice breath of air to see the man behind the mind :). what a wonderful and deeply symbolic trip!!!

[Elizabeth]

All of your rewards are so richly deserved, Robert.

It is rare to encounter someone whose outer life has been every bit as dynamic and productive as his inner journey.

Hopefully you will feel compelled to share more of your personal trajectory, as it adds another dimension to your writings.

[Valerie]

Hi Robert, sounds like you had a fantastic rejuvenating trip. Gettysburg evokes very intense feelings for me- i think the place has strong etheric energies for obvious reasons. hawk is one of my totems too and last week one flew right by my kitchen window at close range. i got so excited. I really need some hawk medicine right now. i look forward to hearing more about your reborn learning foundation!

Namaste! :)

[Winfield (Scott) Hobbs]

Hi Robert. Just wanted to mention that I met you at a larger rally, June 12, 1982 picking up trash after the anti-nuke rally in Central Park. One million of us marched to the park, rallied, then clean-up after ourselves. I continue the appreciate meeting you and hearing your thoughts on my chart. Glad that we're both still kicking the gong around!

[liza]

Blessings! Such strange times we live in. Keep on keeping on. Don't doubt it is helpfull to others

[Debra Mathis]

I would like to more about the Fifth Ray Bookstore Foundation.
Blessings to you, Robert!