The synopsis is “I had a wonderful time in Crestone.”
Now I’ll try to fill out the picture for those of you that weren’t able to be there.

George had done a huge amount of work to arrange for our physical comfort.  There was a place for everyone, there was great food, there were people making meals, and people cleaning up.  It was amazing how everyone at least seemed to be able to do just what they wanted and everything got done.  And like Joro in Rila, our own George was tirelessly in service.

Phyllis, deeply impregnated with the soul and spirit of this tradition from her years of study with Maria and others in Bulgaria, provided that support for our spiritual work together, enabling each of us to place our own brilliant spirit into a sort of group candelabra (if you’ll pardon that flight of fancy).  Jokingly, I said it was Phyllis that made it more than just a great “sleepover”.

And all the people (something like 17 in total, I think) that came -- from the four directions (Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Virginia, California, Texas and Oklahoma), from the center (Missouri and Illinois) and from nearby (Colorado) -- were, as Phyllis so aptly said, great souls, fully up to the task of consciously anchoring Paneurhythmy in Crestone.

The highlight for me was, of course, dancing.  George had found a beautiful grassy playing field with plenty of room for us.  The first morning I was there for the dancing (Monday, Aug. 21), we were 7 couples, all in white and shining.  Dear Brother Valentin Trentchev (we had met in Rila in 2000) sat in the center of the circle and sang as he accompanied himself on guitar.   He held us so strongly with his radiant presence that we were able to dance right through the Pentagram without a hitch.  It was the first time I had danced since the 4th of July, and only the second time this year, and it was a joyous reunion for me.  Although the altitude made it difficult for me to sing along with my dancing, somehow – and perhaps it was due to that very same altitude or to the magic of the Rocky Mountains – it was much easier to be truly vertical, and dancing was very easy and light.  (The second day, without Valentin, our electronically generated music failed to help us so much, and we had to stop the chaotic Pentagram and devote an hour to a truly co-creative lesson.  The third day, triumphantly, we were transformed into a perfect pentagram!)

Also on that initial Monday, Valentine treated us to a sing-along concert, generously honoring my many enthusiastic – if not always suitable -- requests and eventually putting us all in a sublime trance with Vessela Nesterova’s beautiful “The Last Supper.”

One of the things I liked best about the dancing was that we all did it together.  Dinner, too, was won-derful for that reason.  Assembled around the large table on whatever we could muster up to sit on, we sang and prayed – in Bulgarian – and feasted on organic produce prepared by loving, intelligent hands.

Praying and singing in the morning and evening were special treats for me, though there were only a few of us participating and Crestone Peak, I presume, blocked our view of the morning sun until it was high up in the sky.  The situation of Panorama House was better suited for sunset meditation.  I cherished these quiet, sweet shared moments.

I hope we can meet again next year to develop what has been so miraculously begun.   As I write this, I am remembering that when I originally went to Rila, a large part of my motivation was the certainty that I needed to “get my feet onto Rila soil” so I could bring back and anchor – or perhaps recognize – the energy somewhere in the U.S.  I think this recognition has been made.

With many thanks to all who took part so generously and beautifully in this task,

Elizabeth Weiss

September 8, 2006