July 21, 2007 Southern California Regional Gathering

Many Pacifica alumni describe their first day on campus as a time of great joy and relief, having finally found a haven where we were, at long last, deeply seen and recognized the by the long lost soul kin disguised as our new mentors and classmates. And, many of us experienced deep grief on that day of lasts—the last class, the last ritual, and the final goodbyes—as we were compelled to fully re-enter the world on our own. Without our monthly pilgrimage to the safe place where we were always reminded of our true nature, our true calling, our true desires.

For some of us, it has been 10 years or more “on our own”, and now the time has come to (are you ready Dennis?) re-member the soul-family at large. Although we may have lost touch with our particular classmates, we can reconnect with some of the others who travelled in those same vans, pored over the same books, and shared the same vision of tending soul in the world.

And so, to begin the process of re-membering our extended family, about 75 current and former Pacificans gathered in Westwood on July 21 for the first Regional Alumni Gathering in Southern California. We came to hear Steven Aizenstadt and Dennis Slattery, knowing that this would inspire and remind us of what we had found at Pacifica. We also wanted to see who else might show up, maybe someone we had lost contact with? Maybe we would be surprised to see someone we knew from some other ‘life’ who had, of their own accord, found the way to Pacifica? (Yes, that did happen!) But then, it is to be expected that even the 4th cousins, twice removed that we don’t even recognize in every day life, will eventually find their way to the ancestral home, yes?

The evening, long in the dreaming, was all too short in the living. After Steven and Dennis spoke, and managed to elicit from us memories, emotions, and a bit of ensouled writing, we feasted on baked brie en crute, fine cheeses, shrimp, and cake as we mingled, chatted, hugged, introduced, exclaimed, revisited, and remembered each other—whether we had ever met or not. It was a wonderful way to begin the process of connecting and reconnecting with those who share our values and visions, to find out how they have fared professionally and personally, and to imagine future gatherings. The Regional Coordinators for LA and Orange counties asked everyone to fill out an info form to help guide them as they start planning the next event, and those to follow.

Volunteer Coordinators, Marilyn and Rita, would like to thank Tiare Newport for her support and assistance in making the event happen, as well as Mythology alum Nancy Meyer and her guest, Christopher Perry, for the wonderful food and help with set up. We also extend our deep appreciation to Steven Aizenstadt and Dennis Slattery for making the jaunt down to LA to be with us. Mostly, however, we thank all of you who were willing and able to brave west-side traffic to re-join your extended community. To those of you who were unable to come, we sincerely hope you can attend the next gathering, and will make sure we know who you are and how to contact you. The quickest way is to call or email one of us today!

LA County Rita Bazeley psyche@ritabazeley.com home (213)382-3830 cell (213) 300-5295

Orange County Marilyn (Belzer) Owen MOwenMFT@gmail.com home (909) 861-3348 cell (909) 732-9037