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If you initially have some idea whether you might, or might not attend, the 2014 Paneurhythmy Gathering in Pagosa Springs, from Sat. Aug. 16-20,
I’d appreciate hearing your intentions. Otherwise, please RSVP by late July. Hope you can join us!
Greetings, Dear Friends!
Another year is flying by, and now it’s time to mark your calendars for our Annual
Paneurhythmy Gathering in Pagosa Springs, from Sat. Aug. 16th to Wed. Aug. 20th.
(Plan on arrivals after noon on Saturday -- a special Dances of Universal Peace will be held
from 4-6 on Sat. -- with departures by noon on Wed.) Read on for the details and extended
opportunities. You are welcome to extend this invitation to friends you feel would enjoy
this event.
As we align our intentions with our brothers and sisters who make the annual trek into the
Rila Mountains of Bulgaria each August, we, too, will sing, dance to the Supreme Cosmic Rhythm,
and relax and play to our heart's content at the generous invitation of our wonderful friends,
Mark and Pam Kircher, at their lovely, One-In-The-Spirit Ranch along the San Juan River
in Pagosa Springs. There is no charge for this event, although love donations
are graciously accepted.
What is Paneurhythmy all about? You can go to this link, provided by Peg Ross,
for a wonderful demonstration of this spiritual dance from Bulgaria -- please note that the music
will start after about 45 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gotu-_RRU54&sns=fb .
Our dear friend, mentor, teacher, and musician, Valentin Trentchev, and others who attend the
gathering, are happy to help you learn the Paneurhythmy movements. An internet search for
"Paneurhythmy" will bring up plentiful sites on Master Peter Deunov's teachings
http://www.paneurhythmy.us/about_PanEuRhythmy.shtml ,
the dance, and free music downloads http://www.paneurhythmy.us/new/paneurhythmy-music/ . If you are a musician, you're
invited to take a look at the sheet music and, perhaps, join in
http://www.paneurhythmy.org/violin.pdf ! As you can see from the photos, for the
Paneurhythmy dances we dress in whites; any shade of white is perfect -- if you don’t have
whites, pastels of greens or blues are also acceptable.
What goes on at a gathering? Attendees come from around the country, with
Oklahoma well represented. While, there’s no requirement to participate in anything,
as a community we have a daily greeting of the sun ceremony (quite late here because of the
mountain), generally preceeded and followed by food :-), and then our morning Paneurhythmy
dance. The "High Day" is always on August 19th -- this year falls on a Tuesday. This
is our most sacred day and also begins with the Sun Greeting and dance. Generally, we
follow this event with a picnic-style lunch of delightful spreads, pestos, fruits, etc. -- the
sorts of foods one might find if you were to have hiked up into the Rila Mountains for this
festive occasion! This is often followed by music, singing, conversation, a hike or walk,
and, of course, more food!
This year, we are happy to invite you to join us as we host the Dances of Universal Peace
on Saturday, from 4-6. We were sorry to hear there is no Crestone dance until 2015, so
we invited the Durango folks over to lead this event and get us all into a perfectly serene
state for our Paneurhythmy dancing which commences on Sunday morning. So, plan to get
here early enough on Saturday to set up your sleeping space, help prepare dinner, and get
somewhat settled in before 4PM. We’ll eat after the dances.
Afternoons and evenings are generally leisurely, with many conversations focused on the
teachings of Master Peter Deunov (Beinsa Douno), particularly as we gather in community in
the evenings after our evening meals and cleanup. There is a labyrinth, and a new
Growing Dome on the ranch. Or, perhaps you may just wish to bring a camp chair along
and take it to the riverbank. It is possible to take a dip in the river (please no soaps),
although the water level can be quite low in August. At some point, you may wish to
indulge in a trip to one of the three hot springs facilities in town -- ask me about how to
get reduced prices.
The ranch borders the Tara Mandala Buddhist Temple and Retreat Center property, which
due to the size of these properties, is quite a hike away (about 5 miles), but you may enjoy
a walk on the road through this broad canyon. There will be a retreat in progress at
this time so we cannot visit the temple during this period, but if I know of your interest
in advance of our event I could request a visit on the 20th. Our group has frequently
been granted tours -- as a courtesy to the center, we need to make this request prior to
their retreat. This year marks the center's 20th anniversary.
Following the Paneurhythmy event, some may choose to move their camps up to the Teal
NF Campground at spectacular Williams Lake, and depending on how many do so, the dancing
may continue through these extra days. This is a small campground, which typically
fills quickly; however, mid-week opportunities are generally good!
Where will you stay? The One-In-The-Spirit Ranch is open to camping
-- without campfires. There is also some indoor space for pads and mattresses on a
"1st-come" basis. Two indoor bathrooms are available, although only one is a full
bath with a shower. We were quite happy to see the group seemed to make this work
effortlessly, and we received no complaints!!! You are also welcome to find lodging
in town and join us whenever you wish, although we appreciate it if you do not come in
once a ceremony or dance has started, so be attentive to our times and know that staying
apart from the group has its disadvantage when spontaneous changes in our flexible schedule
do occur. Also know that it is a 22-mile, plus, round-trip on a dusty gravel road to
the nearest facilities of any kind, and the springs.
What will you eat? Once again, we also request the generous food offerings
for group consumption. Last year we were so fortunate to have Peg so efficiently and
enthusiastically commandeering the kitchen, with Tim assisting with the commercial dishwasher,
and Ivanka always at the ready. I'd like to mention that these three were all first-timers
at the gathering and jumped right in without missing a beat! Many of you contributed in
so many ways -- thank you, again!
As I said last year, "It is for this reason that we continue to have this gathering --
it truly is a group effort to keep the conversation lively, the kitchen clean, the meals
rolling out, etc., etc. You guys are terrific!!!" It is YOU who make our gatherings
so memorable as we build and nurture our growing community.
In past years we’ve been fortunate to always enjoy a bounty of delicious vegetarian
foods. We’re spoiled by the faithful contributions of Valentin’s appetizing assortment
of Bulgarian goodies, George’s generous selection of organic veggies, and Jane’s tasty bean
soup. We love these traditions—so, please, keep it up!!! Everyone has contributed
wholeheartedly to the food supply, and we expect this year will be no different.
May we suggest that you not bring bread as that seems to be the only item that can come
in over abundance. If the rest of you would please bring lots of vegies, fruits and
ingredients to make a variety of hearty dishes that would be great, and we’ll supply bread
from our local bakeries. Ideally, if you would bring prepared or easily prepared dishes
it would be most appreciated and cut down on food prep time, especially on the first day so
we are available to dance from 4-6 and eat shortly thereafter. Pestos, spreads, and
cheeses with crackers, deli-style salads, for example, are always enjoyed, especially for
the “High Day” picnic. Of course, if you have special desires, bring whatever you
need. We request all food be emptied from cars and tents into the house, however, so
we do not invite bears to our event.
Peg has offered to again work with other volunteers in organizing food prep, and makes
the kitchen lively and memorable, so if you are at all inclined toward food prep, please
volunteer to help out in the kitchen. It would be nice to have those who are not
prepping step up to the cleanup tasks. We are so fortunate to have an easy to use
commercial dishwasher at the ranch.
How will you get here? The nearest airport is in Durango, CO, approx. 1.5-1.75 hours
from the ranch, or Albuquerque, NM, approx. 4-4.5 hrs away. Denver is more like 6-7 hours
from here. The ranch is roughly 25 minutes south of town and the hot springs (11 miles
on a gravel road). Carpooling is appreciated -- if you need a ride or can offer a ride,
I'll attempt to hook you up with some folks. We may have people coming from Albuquerque,
Las Vegas, Phoenix, St. Louis, central Colorado, etc.
By the way, you can bring self-contained campers if you like. Please note that our
hosts' lovely dog, Yeti, requests that you do not bring any pets along, however.
I know there are a few whose emails I do not have, so please forward this to those
I've missed: Ruthy, Tim, Cheryl & Robert come to mind...
Enough for now. I'd appreciate if you'd let me know if you're even considering
coming -- Please, let me know your initial thoughts and intentions, and if you're not
interested, reply to this email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line -- you don't have
to give me any reasons. I look forward to seeing you here in our beloved Pagosa, Dear Ones!
Blessings of peace, joy, and love,
Karen
970-731-3138 (I am about to head out for an extended trip, returning in late June -- we
believe my mother-in-law is about to make her transition, so best to email me and I'll
periodically check my mail.)
Please note change of email address from previous years:
To let Karen know of your planned attendance, please e-mail her at:
karenaspin@centurylink.net .
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