Annual Gay Spirit Visions conferences.

Final Call—GSV 2021 Winter Meditation: Reflecting on Resilience

Winter 2021

Note: Registration closes Tuesday Evening, January 12, 2021


Reflecting on Resilience


January 15 – 17, 2021


A virtual Zoom-based experience


$35 registration fee


Additional donations for the GSV Scholarship Fund and/or The Mountain can also be made in the registration portal.


Register now!

Sacred Brothers,

I invite you to join our January 2021 Winter Meditation where we will explore how we access and sustain our personal resilience.

Two “keynote” meditation sessions will help us gain insight into how we have navigated adversity in 2020 and how we can use that to sustain us into 2021. With the knowledge that a grateful mind and heart helps us to be more resilient and enhances our self-compassion and our compassion for others, Tom Comstock will guide us in a contemplative exercise that can help us develop a practice of gratitude that is deeper, more genuine and spontaneous, and more heartfelt. Andrew Elias Ramer will help us explore what we learned from last year’s rippling challenges to every part of our lives, beginning with a short body-focused practice that will help to anchor us as we share, in small groups and together, what we’ve learned and how we can use it in the coming year.

A heart weaving on Friday evening will engender more intimate connection with some of our siblings before we move into our opening heart circle. On Saturday, in addition to our two “keynote” sessions, Karma (John Schendel) will lead us in gentle guided breathwork. Franklin Abbot will host a time to share short statements, personal work, or favorite poems in a deeper dive into the idea of gratitude. Gabriel Nelson Sears will envelop us in a sound bath meditation as he facilitates a journey on the harmonious waves of Himalayan singing bowls, native flutes, gong, and other sacred sound instruments.

While we will not conduct formal, facilitated small groups, there will be two scheduled sessions, on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, when participants can be randomly placed in breakout spaces to share more about what we have experienced and what we are taking away. As an addition to our primary Zoom room for all program activities, a second Zoom space will be open throughout the weekend, acting as our virtual rocking chair porch and dining hall for informal visiting and sharing.

Join us for an opportunity to contemplate the last year and move forward into 2021 sustained and nurtured for your continuing journey.

Your eager and excited Winter Meditation 2021 convener,

David Cable
[email protected]

NOTE: REGISTRATION CLOSES TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 12, 2021.
Register Now!

Last Call—GSV 2021 Winter Meditation: Reflecting on Resilience

Winter 2021

Note: Registration closes Tuesday Evening, January 12, 2021


Reflecting on Resilience


January 15 – 17, 2021


A virtual Zoom-based experience


$35 registration fee


Additional donations for the GSV Scholarship Fund and/or The Mountain can also be made in the registration portal.


Register now!

GSV 2021 Winter Meditation

Sacred Brothers,

I invite you to join our January 2021 Winter Meditation where we will explore how we access and sustain our personal resilience.

Two “keynote” meditation sessions will help us gain insight into how we have navigated adversity in 2020 and how we can use that to sustain us into 2021. With the knowledge that a grateful mind and heart helps us to be more resilient and enhances our self-compassion and our compassion for others, Tom Comstock will guide us in a contemplative exercise that can help us develop a practice of gratitude that is deeper, more genuine and spontaneous, and more heartfelt. Andrew Elias Ramer will help us explore what we learned from last year’s rippling challenges to every part of our lives, beginning with a short body-focused practice that will help to anchor us as we share, in small groups and together, what we’ve learned and how we can use it in the coming year.

A heart weaving on Friday evening will engender more intimate connection with some of our siblings before we move into our opening heart circle. On Saturday, in addition to our two “keynote” sessions, Karma (John Schendel) will lead us in gentle guided breathwork. Franklin Abbot will host a time to share short statements, personal work, or favorite poems in a deeper dive into the idea of gratitude. Gabriel Nelson Sears will envelop us in a sound bath meditation as he facilitates a journey on the harmonious waves of Himalayan singing bowls, native flutes, gong, and other sacred sound instruments.

While we will not conduct formal, facilitated small groups, there will be two scheduled sessions, on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, when participants can be randomly placed in breakout spaces to share more about what we have experienced and what we are taking away. As an addition to our primary Zoom room for all program activities, a second Zoom space will be open throughout the weekend, acting as our virtual rocking chair porch and dining hall for informal visiting and sharing.

Join us for an opportunity to contemplate the last year and move forward into 2021 sustained and nurtured for your continuing journey.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE.
THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS JANUARY 1, 2021.

Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund.

Please go to the Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV Financial Assistance Application form. Remember, the financial assistance application submission deadline is January 1, 2021.

Your eager and excited Winter Meditation 2021 convener,

David Cable
[email protected]

NOTE: REGISTRATION CLOSES TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 12, 2021.
Register Now!

GSV 2021 Winter Meditation

Winter 2021

Reflecting on Resilience


January 15 – 17, 2021


A virtual Zoom-based experience


$35 registration fee


Additional donations for the GSV Scholarship Fund and/or The Mountain can also be made in the registration portal.


Register now!

Sacred Brothers,

Plans are coming together for our January 2021 Winter Meditation, when we will explore how we access and sustain personal resilience.

Two meditation sessions will help us gain insight into how we have navigated adversity in 2020 and how we can use that to sustain us into 2021. We will contemplate how we come to a place of gratitude in the face of fear and sorrow and then glean what we have learned about ourselves and our relationships to the world around us during this momentous and fraught year. We will use other modes of meditation and contemplation in activities to ground us and expand our consciousness. A heart weaving on Friday evening will engender more intimate connection with some of our siblings before we move into our opening heart circle. Two scheduled sessions, on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, will randomly place us in small groups to share more about what we have experienced and what we are taking away. And the primary Zoom room will be open between all scheduled activities for drop-in visits, acting as our virtual rocking chair deck and dining hall.

Join us for this opportunity to contemplate the last year and move forward into 2021 sustained and nurtured for your continuing journey. The final detailed program will be shared as we get closer to the end of the year.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE. THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS JANUARY 1ST, 2021.

Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund.

Please go to the Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV Financial Assistance Application form. Remember, the financial assistance application submission deadline is January 1st, 2021.

Your eager and excited Winter Meditation 2021 convener,

David Cable
[email protected]

Register Now!

GSV 2021 Winter Meditation

Winter 2021

Reflecting on Resilience


January 15 – 17, 2021


A virtual Zoom-based experience


$35 registration fee


Additional donations for the GSV Scholarship Fund and/or The Mountain can also be made in the registration portal.


Register now!

Sacred Brothers,

I invite you to join our January 2021 Winter Meditation where we will explore how we access and sustain our personal resilience.

With our GSV siblings, we will experience two meditation/journey visioning activities, one focused on practicing gratitude and a second one on gleaning the things we have learned as we have all navigated pandemic, social unrest/awakening, and a charged, divisive political landscape over the past months. To enhance our sacred space, we will weave our hearts together on Friday evening before our Opening Ritual. We will also create small breakout sessions for further processing and sharing of what we bring forth through these meditations and other activities.

As you consider this theme of resilience, is there a workshop/experience your heart leads you to offer to our group?

Join us for an opportunity to contemplate the last year and move forward into 2021 sustained and nurtured for your continuing journey. More details on the weekend program will be shared as we get closer to the end of the year.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE


THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION FORM SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS JANUARY 1ST, 2021

Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund.

Please go to the Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV Financial Assistance Application form.

Remember, the financial assistance application form submission deadline is January 1st, 2021.

GSV Financial Assistance page


Your eager and excited Winter Meditation 2021 convener,

David Cable
[email protected]

Register Now!

GSV 2020 Fall Virtual Conference

GSV 2020 Fall Conference

GSV 2020 Fall Virtual Conference


Resilience through Recounting


September 24 – 27, 2020


Register here

Greetings GSV Siblings,

This is not the conference I originally envisioned. Well, you know, life happens, and pandemics are a (thankfully, rare) fact of life.

As COVID-19 necessitated changes to how we do just about everything, I faced a familiar mix of resistance and excitement in planning for the fall conference. On bad days, I can’t face the challenges. On good days, I see so many fruitful possibilities.

I want this conference to be a space of sharing a similar mixed bag of experiences. We are full of so many stories. Some are about accomplishments. Some are about disappointments. Some are written on our bodies in scar tissue and wrinkles. Some soar up from our deepest spiritual center.

I don’t know what happens next; that is part of living in a story. Maybe you are eager for the end; maybe you want it to go on forever. Either way and at all points between, there is opportunity for recall, recounting, and resilience.

We tell our stories not just to record what happened, but to sing ourselves into being. And this is the story about the time we held our annual fall rituals online. Lean in. Listen. Share.

Our Conference Schedule


This is the schedule (below) in its pared down form. There is a more detailed and constantly updating version of the schedule at the link provided. There, you will find bios for all our presenters and more details about our workshops and presentations.

Mindful of best practices and advice for an online conference, I have endeavored to leave empty space on the schedule so that we don’t spend the weekend just teleconferencing. To the best of my ability, I have tried to schedule with the different time zones of attendees in mind.

I took note of feedback from the Spring Retreat Gathering to make sure small groups were part of this conference, both to honor our fall traditions and to provide more intimate virtual groupings to share in.

I have also worked to provide asynchronous content to facilitate different registers of engagement. Each day begins with a downloadable semi-guided meditation. You may sit with that at the usual early morning hour, or you can take advantage of that whenever you wish.

Similarly, I have set up several murals for the conference. One is linked at the bottom of this page and includes a more detailed conference schedule. That mural is “read only” but will contain links to other murals and content that you can interact with and add to. I chose this platform because it is relatively easy to use, with hopefully clear guides for how to add content and interact with the provided material. If you have questions about how to use it, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Take Care of Yourselves


Take breaks when you need to. Connect with others on your own platforms when you need to. Get up out of your chair and move around when you need to. Use the white spaces in the schedule as you need to. Drink lots of water. I know we aren’t at The Mountain, but we still need space for self-care.

I believe that stories heal and help us. But I also know that healing can take a lot out of us. And some stories, whew! You need a moment, right?

Additional information about Guardians, pop-up sessions, ways to connect, etc. will be shared on the fuller schedule mural link. That is a work in progress and will be continually updated throughout the conference. We will also email out connecting information for the Zoom sessions to the attendees. Enjoy!

Registration is now open. The GSV program fee is $50. In addition, a donation to The Mountain would be greatly appreciated due to their loss of income caused by coronavirus and subsequent cancellations.

Blessed be,
Jonny/Mothra, Convener, Fall 2020


Conference Schedule


Thursday, 9/24
7-9 pm EDT
Welcome and Heart Circle

9:30-11 pm EDT
Self-Pleasure
With Mahan-Kalpa Khalsa

Friday, 9/25
Early Morning
Downloadable Daily Meditation

11-12:15 pm EDT
Yoga
with David and Teddy Jones
Or
Enneagram Circle
with Tim Flood

2-3:15 pm EDT
Small Groups

4-5:15 pm EDT
Embody Your Inward Sage
Guided by Andrew Ramer
Or
Archangel Gabriel brings us Inspiration/Creativity/Boldness
With Pete Cossaboon

7-9 pm EDT
Telling Our Stories
Panelists: Jonny Gray, Greg Hummel, David Manning et al.

9:30-11 pm EDT
Lingam Puga
With Mahan-Kalpa Khalsa

Saturday, 9/26
Early Morning
Downloadable Daily Meditation

11-12:15 pm EDT
Small Groups

2-3:15 pm EDT
Keynote Address
Padraig O Tuama

4- 5:15 pm EDT
Introduction to Rainbow Awakening
With Damien Rowse
Or
Mindful Doodling
With Jeff Beacham

7-9 pm EDT
“Making Masks Fun Again!”
Online Variety Show and Masquerade

9:30-11 pm EDT
Open Zoom Room – To do with as we please

Sunday, 9/27
Early Morning
Downloadable Daily Meditation

10-11 am EDT
Small Groups

11:30-1 pm EDT
Closing Circle and Farewells