Australia - May 2007
An Outback Experience,
May 6 – 11, 2008
In May 2008 we met in Melbourne at the home of Sfinx Principal, Buzz McCarthy for a welcome dinner prior to driving a couple of hours into the high plains of Victoria for 6 days and nights of conscious discovery.
Moving to the spiritual retreat of Jamieson Sanctuary we were struck by it being a place where time stood still and revelled in its beautiful atmosphere and the birds and nature we were amongst. Jamieson boasts an extraordinary labyrinth which has been built on not only sacred ground where Aboriginal Corroborees used to be held, but on the strongest leyline on the property and which facilitates one’s whole being coming into alignment. After a talk on its power and purpose of the labyrinth and hearing that over 225 American hospitals as well as churches, prisons, schools and universities have created labyrinths to restore right-left brain balance, reduce stress and enable the mind to uncover answers, we were recommended to walk it three times a day to enable balance and harmony in our energy fields.
Over our days here we had individual or group sessions with some amazing healers and masters of various modalities that Buzz personally chose from the many outstanding practitioners she has consulted over a period of more than 25 years. These sessions equipped us with unbelievable amounts of information and insight and will to assist us in creating our ultimate dreams and wishes with the guidance of the metaphysical realm.
Our first session was with Enza Sparta, a very talented crystal healer who has worked with crystals for the past 18 years, teaching both adults and children how to work with them. Her informative session about the power of crystals (she intimately knows 5,000 of the 15,000 crystals on the planet) preceded an individual healing session where her multi-level skills allowed her to work on all levels of our being, i.e. physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Combined with her natural, highly-developed intuitive sense bringing about a realignment of the body's energy fields, we were left feeling relaxed and integrated.
Christine Rothwell is a fully qualified professional astrologer and teacher of astrology with extraordinary experience over 20 years and an unparalled depth of knowledge, who gave us a wonderful introductory talk about astrology before giving each of us a personal reading of our birth chart. Her approach to astrology is influenced by her interest in mythology and archetypal psychology and her special area of expertise lies with combining both a spiritual and psychological perspective in her consulting and teaching. She has lectured on astrology at many international conferences in Australia. We all received comprehensive reports on our astrological pathway and an outline of the coming year.
Our next session was with Sharon Goyen, a spiritual intuitive whose purpose is to help women unite love, wisdom and power in their lives. She has combined 25 years’ experience in business and personal development studying with some of the most amazing teachers and developing her passion and deep understanding of spiritual truths and metaphysics. Her personal commitment to exploring the potential for human consciousness is only matched by her love of learning. Sharon empowers others to discover their true potential through applying ancient wisdom to the challenges of modern day living. She gave us an empowering talk on our power as women and then each guest received an in-depth intuitive reading that provided a vehicle for personal transformation and for rediscovering the energy of grace that moves through us.
The Enneagram was presented to us by leading expert Vicki Crowe. She has an amazing understanding of the Enneagram, an extraordinary tool for enhancing and opening up a pathway of knowledge and learning to truly maximise our unique gifts. Ennea is the Greek derivative for nine and gram is the Greek derivative of something written.
The Enneagram framework delineates 9 different Styles, each of who view the world so differently - every individual will relate strongly with only one of these 9 Styles. The Enneagram does not box nor limit an individual’s potential, instead it identifies where each of the Styles shifts to under stress and when in growth. Vicki gave a comprehensive explanation of the Enneagram and as every guest had completed their on-line questionnaires, they were all given information and a print-out of their results and a summary of the other eight styles.
Since we had several members of our group who are Blessing givers, we incorporated Blessings into our schedule in the purpose built Meditation Hall which gave us a soothing space for daily Meditation, led by Joylina Goodings, our own intuitive member.
We also experienced an amazing gift from Garth Stone when he gave us a Didgeridoo meditation.
On our last morning at Jamieson we had a champagne breakfast to celebrate Buzz’s birthday. This was continued over lunch at Dominic Portet’s winery in the Yarra Valley for lunch and dinner at the renowned Stokehouse Restaurant overlooking the sea in St Kilda. Those who shared our parting breakfast the following morning at The Como Hotel in South Yarra will surely always recall the hilarious story told in the utterly engaging manner of Parisian Ellen of her friend Maurice.
It was an amazing event, spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally we all left refreshed and revitalised, ready for the next few months before we met again in the hills of Tuscany.