The Journey

The Journey to Colorado

The beginning of our 2020 conference journey started immediately following the November 2017 conference. We knew from working on that Conference that even if we weren’t the ones to move forward with planning the next conference, we were excited to share all of our experiences with the Board and help support the next one. We started putting together a lot of ideas for 2020, including location, the theme, and our vision and the Board invited us to be co-directors.

~ The Venue ~

As we traveled virtually throughout the country, we realized that the best energetic feel was towards the middle of the United States. This led us to choose and explore several states including Colorado. As we did a constellation on several central areas of the U.S., we obtained the best responses energetically with venues, the land, and the enthusiasm and support of those we contacted in Colorado.

Once we were actually in Colorado, we experienced a deep connection to the natural beauty of the area and the grounding energy it offered. We visited several places and very heavily weighed our top 7 options. We then narrowed it down to three: two in CO Springs and one in Estes Park. (Susan wanted to select the fourth hotel, the haunted Civil War ex-military hospital where we did experience apparitions and full ghostly contact on our visit, but Michaelene thought that was way too close to the ancestors for her. LOL)

When it came to making our final decision, we made our pros and cons list and opted for the one that gave us the most options on the property for not only an amazing conference but also a five-star experience at a well-negotiated price. After additional constellations and in-depth analysis, we realized we kept being drawn back to the Broadmoor Resort & Spa.

Bringing back all of the information to the Board of Directors, we presented all of our options and a list of pros and cons for each venue. With the Board’s support, we landed on the five-star Broadmoor Resort & Spa. Being mindful of our constellation community and the affordability of this conference, it was important for us to negotiate a workable plan including most of our attendees’ meals and discounted rooms. We feel very blessed to have been given this opportunity to share with our community and beyond this potentially once-in-a-lifetime five-star experience.

~ The Theme ~

After getting the Board’s support and approval, we began to develop the theme for the conference. We wanted to stress the importance of honoring where we’ve come from; this includes our family lineage and also our collective lineage as seekers, facilitators, and students of Constellation work. As the reflection for a theme continued, we knew the following was important:

Honoring the land. Honoring the people of the land. Honoring our ancestors and their lands of origin. How do we honor ourselves?
Some of us have native ancestors from here. Many of us have ancestors that came here as perpetrators of the native people. Many of us have ancestors who came here as victims of their native people.
Now that we are here, because of or in spite of our ancestors’ fates, how do we reconcile, move forward, and leave their fates behind us? How do we honor our fates? Our own soul’s path?
Honoring the fates of our ancestors, whether perpetrators or victims. Acknowledging, accepting, and agreeing to what was, and stepping into our fates now. Their steps showed us our paths.

We then began looking up quotes and were struck by these two the most:

“DNA is the messenger which illuminates that connection, handed down from generation to generation, carried, literally, in the bodies of my ancestors” by Bryan Sykes.

“Art that arises out of the inner landscape and is connected to our lived experience illuminates the darkness and heals the soul” by Darla Halprin.

We liked the fact that we would be illuminating the wisdom of the ancestors as they bless us and guide us on our paths forward in this way so we can honor ourselves on our path. Then we needed a metaphor for something that illuminates, hence, several versions later coming to Lighthouse of the Soul: Illuminating the Wisdom of the Ancestors. We knew this was the right theme when we said this out loud and both got goosebumps.

~ The Keynote Speakers ~

Thinking about the keynoters was the next step. Because we want to honor ourselves and our ancestors, we knew it was important to look at the victim and perpetrator issues we all carry and that are currently present in our shared history. With lots of newsworthy topics surrounding trauma lately, we knew we needed to have a keynoter focus on generational trauma, and how to work with the trauma-informed field so we don’t (re)traumatize the client or representatives, witnesses, or ourselves. We also knew we needed to heal this part for all our lineages. We have this in common by virtue of us all being here now, whether our ancestors arrived here by perpetrator or victim fate.

We will also have a keynoter that focuses on how to build a lucrative healing practice. We noticed it is a common challenge in the constellation world and believe it needs to be addressed so we can all move forward to reach our own healership goals.

~ Excitement & Gratitude ~

We are very excited to be able to bring you all into our dreams and goals for the NASC 2020 conference.
The time is right for us to all raise our vibrations and move along on this path and to help move the planet forward with us.

We are grateful for the work you have already been doing. We are also grateful for our opportunity to be a part of this conference.

Blessings!
Michaelene and Susan