The Transcendent Moments We Remember...

I have occasionally written about "amazing moments" we have in our lives... those moments when it seems like absolutely everything aligns perfectly, even if it is only for the briefest of times.

These moments fascinate me because they are so powerful and they leave such a lasting impression on us... and — for reasons we can't quite explain — we never forget them, and we can recall them in glorious technicolor with full sound and scent, so many years later.

Maybe it's simple nostalgia. Maybe something truly was touched in us, during those moments.

The sequence of photos in this post were taking during the last HSP Retreat I went to, in 2008. I say "the last," because I haven't been to one since... even though I went to many before that one. They were always mind and soul expanding experiences, but this one was "special" because a group of OGs from that particular community had made a point of being there... so it was part retreat and almost like a family reunion, as well.

The event took place at working farm/retreat center in remote Marin County, California... at the end of the second day, a group of us hiked up to Cougar Ridge late in the afternoon. There was plenty of space; the center had some 2,000 surrounding the buildings.

Everyone was just sort of happy, and mellow and deeply content in that way a group of people who considered themselves misfits feel when they suddenly realize that they belong.

We walked along the ridge... maybe 10 of us... until we reached a point where we could see all the way to the Pacific coast, although Tomales Bay was fogged in.

The wind had died down, and there was just the sound of a few insects and birds... and we watched the sun slowly sink, in complete silence. Maybe nature simply is like that... sometimes words become obsolete; superfluous.

In those few moments, we were all part of the universe, part of everything; part of each other.

It's funny how people spend thousands on retreats to learn to allow their identity to dissolve and simply be. In this case, it just happened spontaneously.

We had maybe 15-20 minutes together, on that hilltop. Somehow, whatever we each needed to heal in our wounded psyches was made whole by the experience.

As the sun slowly sank below the horizon, it was as if all boundaries had vanished, and the epic had become one with the ordinary.

It is said that "enlightenment" is not something you can find or have; but it may be something you briefly experience. Like moments of epic joy and great sorrow, it is temporary; fleeting. And that's OK!

In the semi dusk, we made our way back down the hill to the retreat center, and to the party/dance at the old barn. I think the other retreat goers could sense that there was something different about us... somehow validating what I have long believed: The sensations people spend fortunes on fancy drugs to experience lie resident within us all, just waiting for the right trigger moment.

A few days later, we all dispersed back to our external lives, definitely wiser for the experiences we had.

I'm still in contact with Chuck, Brooks, Patricia, Anne Marie and couple of the other people who watched that sunset. We all had "an experience." It wasn't just me, trying to fabricate something that didn't actually happen.

Epilogue...

It has been sixteen years... next Thursday, a new group will gather at that same retreat center — the first time in more than a decade it has been the venue — for four days of connecting and learning.

I hope they have an amazing experience.

I wish I could have been part of it... but finances...

Over and out...

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week ahead!

How about you? Have you ever had a "transcendent" moment? Did it change your life forever? What did you learn... about yourself, and about the world? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — Not posted elsewhere!)

Created at 2024.05.20 01:45 PDT
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