Going Away to Come Home - Pathwork Reunion 2013

I am feeling immense gratitude this morning. It's almost overwhelming. I'm up before God and on my way to a Pathwork reunion with the Transformation Program class I graduated with in 2008. I can't wait. I look forward to sitting in that familiar circle once again. I love our group. I love our commitment, our heart, our occasional irreverence, our laughter, all of it. There is new gratitude too. I feel grateful for choosing to be a part of such an amazing program many years ago and following it through to the end. I almost joined the class the year before and I almost took a year off between the fourth and fifth year. I'm glad I began when I was single and had more time to devote to my personal process and I'm grateful for these reunions to rekindle my love for the work and reconnect with our group. It is sacred time. We are the only class I know of that creates these kinds of gatherings.

I was introduced to Pathwork quite by accident in 1996 when I was seriously addressing my food addiction. It was / is the exact right balance of emotional process work, bodywork, and spirituality for me. I haven't found anything else that goes deeper. It allows me the space to access places and states of being that I had unconsciously longed for but couldn't reach. It challenges me to fearlessly look at all parts of my Self in a process which I have found to be life changing. It meets me where I am. And to do all of this with such amazing people and to be a witness to their work is something really special.

I've been known to say that becoming a mom has ruined all my time away from home because I miss my son and I feel bad for leaving him and my husband (even though they are perfectly fine without me for a couple of days). I remember how I felt when my mom would go away for a short time. Funny thing is, my son is super psyched for a boys weekend full of M&M pancakes with whipped cream for breakfast - the patented “mom's away from home breakfast”. From what I can gather, he does not experience that same empty feeling I did when my mom was away so I have to be careful not to assume that he feels the same way I did as a child.

Jackson, my son, was very sweet as I left this morning. He made sure that we performed our special “DAP” that we do when we leave each other. Created by my husband, it is a ritual of kisses, hugs, high fives, knuckles and the like that makes us both feel better when parting. I couldn't help but feel, dare I say blessed, to feel how much I love my family as I go to spend time with a different family. I hope to come home better than when I left. I can already feel the work starting to work on me. I'm leaving the day to day behind to delve deeper into my self. The connection to my fellow Pathworkers is strong and I can't wait to see what unfolds over the next few days.

I am keenly aware of all the people who have made this time possible for me. I look forward to paying it forward in big and small ways. I am empowered by this work because I am reminds that even when I feel powerless over people, circumstances and life in general, I can always work on myself. And when I do that, I have the power to change everything.