Got here around 8pm on a Wednesday night and was just happy to land. That's how I've felt on the last couple of drives-grateful to be somewhere safely. I am realizing how lucky I've been that nothing has happened. Well, until I opened my computer. The computer didn't like the drive, apparently, because when I opened it half the screen was black. I made a couple of calls when I was in Salt Lake City and didn't feel comfy with any of the responses so I decided to wait. I have to say as inconvenient as it was (because it is my life line in so many ways) I considered it no big deal in a sea of possible mishaps. The beauty is that the screen came back to full screen after a couple of days so I was able to delay a decision until I felt more comfortable.
It is amazing how I've learned to consistently listen to my inner alarms. If I get an uncomfortable feeling whether because of a particular location or how someone sounds or just a feeling, I listen and act on it. People have asked me how I decide where I'm going next or what I'm going to see and the only thing I can say is that it's a feeling. Certainly there are things I've always wanted to see but for the most part, I just decide what seems like a good idea at the time. Sometimes I get an icky feeling and don't go somewhere I had planned or I leave earlier and sometimes I get a great vibe and stay somewhere longer. I leave a lot of room for whatever is supposed to happen next in the experience.I have very few expectations of what I'm supposed to do and because of that have had some great spontaneous moments. I always know when my visit somewhere is complete/when I feel satisfied. Sometimes it's seeing something beautiful and sometimes it's a beautiful conversation with someone. I just get this feeling that, "ahh, I'm done here".And that's all there is to it.
Now about Salt Lake City.
My whole point for going to Salt Lake was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I've always wanted to hear them sing,live. Everything else I did was a bonus. I found out they do their live weekly TV broadcast every Sunday. It was morning from 9:30 -10:00 am, the day I was leaving, so I planned to go and found out what to do. In the meantime, I decided to tour the city and check out the Mormon Temple.
I got to the Temple Square area and looked inside the gate and "Wow" there were 4 (at least 4)wedding parties getting their picture taken. Now I know that family is of the utmost importance in the Mormon religion, but what the heck was that!?! Someone also looking on said they heard ceremonies are scheduled up to every 15 minutes.I decided to go to the Church of Latter Day Saints Visitor Center to find out. That is where I met the two sisters (Mormon missionaries).
Sister Palm and Sister Dee were delightful! I spent a couple of hours with them, learning about their religion and their personal relationship with God. It was amazing! The girls (they were very young)explained that there are so many weddings scheduled in this particular temple because it was built by the pioneers of their religion. So you can imagine that having a sacred/binding ceremony in this temple would carry a special sigificance. Temples are specifically used for ceremonies like weddings and "bindings". Families who go for Binding ceremonies go to declare their desire to be bound for life and life eternal. This ceremony certainly makes death easier to bear because through this ceremony they are assured to see each other in the afterlife. They also have chapels (comparable to where Christians go on Sunday morning) where they go to worship and study the word of God.I just loved their conviction and passion for what they believe. I learned so much about the Mormons and things I didn't know and dispelled some things I assumed. I had so much respect for them and their deep reverence for their own path.
I could go on and on but suffice it to say, we talked about everything from the structure of the building to the divorce of one of the girls' moms. I was able to give her my experience about how to help her mom, through her divorce, namely, let her have her feelings.
So we all hugged after our time together and they thanked me for being so nice to them (it was easy).
I just reeled over that conversation. It provoked alot of thought about my own spiritual path. It was a great afternoon.
Next stop that evening was a trip to a place called the Kura-door. This was a Japanese bath house and Spa. My friend Vanessa told me about it and I made an appointment right away. I learned, at this Spa, that the Japanese have the bath houses as a means of washing away the concerns of the day and cleansing the soul as means to refresh your spirit not necessarily as a way to just clean the body. It's a spiritual act. In this Spa there were several treatments available. I took the standard package of a Japanese bath and then an hour massage. OH MY GOSH!! WOW!! It was great. When I arrived they gave me slippers and a robe. There was a reading room/meditation room/steam and sauna. They call you into the private bath that someone has prepared. Someone comes in with you to give you your choices for bath salts and teas available. There was a bowl next to the bath with sliced cucumbers for your eyes and cool towels for your neck because the bath was HOT. Soft meditation music played combined with the rush of waves in the background. The room was filled with the scent of lavender and candles were placed everywhere. Can you say, RELAXING?
When you hear the gong it's time to move into the next phase. You can read/meditate or go in the sauna while you wait. I went to the reading room and read about the baths while waiting for my massage. Diane was my massage therapist. She was the senior therapist who has been in the field of healing arts since 1972. This massage used all hot oil and she kept a wet/hot towel on my heart chakra (chest area)the whole time to give a feeling of being nurtured... Oh my GOSH! I can't tell you how amazing it was.....She ended with something called Himalayan Bull call which clears the mind and believe me it did...LOVED IT!
My last day was Sunday, the day I was going to hear the choir. I couldn't wait. I got ready, checked out of the hotel and was at the Convention Center very early. Diane, the massage therapist, said to get there early so I could sit up front and get the full affect of the choir combined with the beautiful symphony. So I did. It was fun to see the cameras set up and the broadcast ready to roll. I didn't think they'd allow cameras so I didn't bring mine. Once I realized I could take a picture, I tried to take one with my phone, but it came out kind of blurry. I added it anyway.
They were spectacular. I could feel those voices vibrating right through me. I was completely absorbed in the beautiful sound. The songs were gorgeous and I knew they were singing just for me when they played the theme to my favorite musical of all time,"Sound of Music". I just couldn't believe it, What a Gift!Next stop Bozeman, Montana.
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