REPORTS FROM AFAR
“I saw you from afar,” says the little Bushman as he greets the traveler. FCRP members eagerly await reports from the developing regions, offshoots of our parent conference. Rumors from New England suggest that something may be coalescing there in the not too distant future. Area Representatives on Inward Light's Advisory Board form our bridges of communication.
Are there small groups of you meeting out there? Keep us informed. It would be exciting for us to hear about you, and encouraging for those who haven’t yet seen each other “from afar.”
The New York regional gathering of the Friends Conference on Religion and Psychology held its fifth fall retreat at Hudson Guild Farm in the hills of northwestern New Jersey. The theme this year was Energy.
Friday was dark, humid and threatening. Ferocious rain storms broke out as we drove out to the Farm. The trip included a detour which wasn’t visible in the dark, so almost all of us got lost. It seemed a rather dramatic opening for a session on energy!
Carole Binswanger’s presentation of traditional acupuncture included the law of the five elements as representing a circle of energies in us which require balancing. The Chinese associate each of these with a season of the year as well as with a specific emotion, so we could begin to see the role of all these aspects in ourselves.
Caroline Hulse, an artist, led a stimulating session on the interrelationship of colors and sounds with an opportunity to work on our own mandala. Saturday ended with a talk by Erminie Lantero on the energies represented by the influence of the recently discovered planet, Chiron, especially in connection with our potential for healing.
What can’t be described in words was the warmth and depth of sharing in the meeting for worship on Sunday morning, followed by an experience in listening to each other led by Janet Calle. The weekend came to a fulfilling end with a healing circle. It seemed as if the energies evoked on Friday had indeed spiraled each of us to a new level.
Washington area members of the Friends Conference on Religion and Psychology will gather for a unique weekend of storytelling at Wellspring Conference Center. The theme, “Mine Enemy Teaches Me,” will provide the background for an exploration of unconscious processes in meeting and dealing with evil. Through the telling of stories and fairy tales, conference participants will attempt to come to grips with the idea that when evil is loosed in the world it has to be dealt with. To run away only increases the evil. In addition to story telling, the theme will be carried out in small groups devoted to mural painting, sand tray, movement, masks and discussions.
Louise de Leeuw lead the Sunday Morning discussion group at the Florida Avenue Friends Meeting November 8, 198l. Her theme was how Jungian ideas relate to Quakerism.
We are delighted to have the response of one participant at the annual spring conference of the West Coast Association on Religion and Psychology. The following article is reprinted from the West Coast’s newsletter, Full Circle, Spring, 1981.