What a weekend. On Saturday night, 28 people came over to participate in the Community Connection and Ritual event and I was so pleased with how it turned out. Noa has developed a strong toolset for facilitating and leading songs, and it was a joy to allow her to lead the group together around the fire. In the afternoon, she came over with another co-host to connect about the event, and to practice the songs and leading the breathwork with us. Around 5pm, friends started to arrive and help set up the backyard space with blankets, tables and an altar, but around 6pm as more guests began to arrive, the rain picked up and threatened to move our event indoors, which presented a somewhat challenging change, especially with my dog Oscar, who can be high energy and affectionate, but sometimes more than everyone wants to engage with.

We had wonderful food delivered by Heal MPLS which was a hit, and fun to share with the group. As we approached 7pm, the run let up, and we reset the outdoor space again, and assembled around the fire. Noa invited the group to partner off for an opening exercise before we went over some guidelines for the group and then I was able to share a bit about my journey with this house and land, and my intention to be bringing events like this one into the space.

From there, Noa invited folks to lay on their backs and participate in a holotropic breathing exercise for a few minutes. She then led a few songs from Shireen Amini and Ahlay Blakely that invited a heart-opening contemplation. As we moved into the second half of the event, we had space for about 2 minutes of sharing from each participant which after the opening, proved to be quite an opportunity for many people that can be rare to find in other social containers. As we drew the circle to a close, I took the water bowl from the altar and offered its contents back to the land at the base of the Cedar tree in the front yard. From there, some folks stuck around the fire to continue chatting, while others moved to the living room where a few songs and a musical jam unfolded. Some helped clean the kitchen and pick up the yard, and folks drifted away eventually leaving a basically cleaned up house as the last guests departed.

So to me, it was a huge success and I feel excited for more opportunities to continue the momentum that was started. I was reminded that the date, 6/7 was Prince’s birthday, and after everyone left, I played a few songs at the piano for myself closing with 1999 and Purple Rain. It was a beautiful way to end the night for me.

There are more details I could fill in another time, but I do want to be sharing about my process with this project with my writing online, so here it is. 😉

The next day, Sunday, I went to Dance Church and had really been invigorated by the event and was glad to shake it out and dance with the broader Minneapolis community. In the afternoon, I found myself at another outdoor song circle as part of a baby shower, and so the momentum was still carrying me. This morning, I tuned into a daily meditation Zoom room that I have been enjoyed to start the day, and tonight I am going to a Cabaret open mic, and I think I will share one of the songs that Noa shared from Shireen Amini  with the group on Saturday:

“You survived that, Wow, you am safe, Now, 

you can come back down even smile and feel proud

Breathe more slowly you are okay, you are okay, you are now safe

Breathe more slowly you are okay, you are okay, you are now safe

Shake it off, cry it out, tell your story laugh out loud,

Whatever brings you back into the moment, the moment.”

Thanks for reading. More information on upcoming events will be posted here as they develop! 😉