2008-08-31

The fair weather continued as we held our last day of Homecoming 2008. A pleasant breeze made the humid heat far easier to enjoy as we formed our circle under the open tent in our back yard after Morning Offering.

Gerri G presented a segment on the Biblical figures mentioned in the Confederation channeling which has come through L/L Research from its archives’ beginning in the early ‘70s to 1983. The most frequently mentioned figure is Jesus the Christ – no surprise there! The most frequently used quote is “Ask and ye shall receive.” The group discussion turned to speculation concerning Jesus’ crucifixion and whether it was pre-incarnatively chosen.

Jim McCarty next led a discussion on meditation, asking people about their techniques and their most interesting meditations. None in the group felt that he or she was a good meditator, but most of us do meditate daily, it turns out.

Gary B then presented a segment on the centrality of will and desire in the spiritual process. Gary had prepared an excellent paper, and he read as much of it as he could within his allotted time, leaving the remainder to the perusal of the attendees at a later time. We have much material in our Homecoming 2008 binder which we did not discuss, and the attendees will be able to continue studying these topics at home if they wish. We will post this binder material on line so that everyone may attend the presentations in spirit and imagination!

After lunch Lorena L-O offered a segment on free will as applied to the raising of children. This was a hugely popular topic since just about everyone, including me, had some advice on that subject. The consensus was that guidance is needed, but that it can always be gently and lovingly done.

Nathan L’s turn came next. He offered a moving segment on remembering and being your true self. He included some lovely Christian music as he made his points.

Finally, Leonard G offered a segment on the Confederation channelings’ take on human suffering and its possible justification. He had been drawn to this topic by reading a book in which the author said that the Christian Bible's explanation of the reasons for human suffering did not satisfy him, so Leonard wanted to see whether the Confederation rationale for human suffering came any closer to being satisfactory. At the end of the discussion, the jury was still out on that question!

We closed the Homecoming segments with a discussion of our favorite books. Gary collected these titles as they were offered by the attendees, and the full collection of favorites will be included on line with the curriculum materials. We asked people not to list the Law of One series, since presumably that would make the list very, very redundant. I believe the book most often mentioned as a favorite was Paramhansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi.

The attendees had the option of a final channeling session or a free-time period before supper in which to pack and get ready to leave. Although Aaron lobbied hard for having a meditation, the group voted for the free-time option. Throughout the evening, people were leaving and by bedtime only a very few attendees remained. All of those will leave tomorrow except Aaron. She will stay over to visit Avalon and take her plane home on Tuesday.

We enjoyed pizza and Chinese take-away food, both delivered, for our supper and then had the Gaia Meditation. Mick offered the closing prayer. And thus endeth Homecoming 2008! It was a good one! And I was pleased to make it through OK, as my situation was uncomfortable throughout. Thank you, Lord!