Dr. Robert Waterman has been a mentor for me for many years.  His training in Noetic Field Therapy is a foundation for the healing work that I do.  I attended a five-day intensive, which was a very profound experience for me, and contributed greatly to my own spiritual growth.  It seemed important to share my experience.  This article was written for the Noetic Field Therapy Association Newsletter in February 2007.

  Through the Ring of Fire, and into the Light – Awakening into Leadership
My Experience at the Leadership Class with Robert Waterman in La Veta, October, 2006

La Veta in October is beautiful.  The freshness of fall filled the air, and the grandeur of the nearby Cuchara mountains provided the perfect backdrop for the meditation, laughter, tears, and all the emotions that we experienced during our five-day sojourn into soul.

Nature didn’t let us down.  Our deer friends visited, clopped lazily down the street, and once we held our breath as the skunks dashed through the backyard, hoping Meister and Mon Ami would be engaged elsewhere so as not to attract attention.

We managed to slip away and visit the wonderful quilt show that was being displayed at the local art center.  We dined together, hiked, and spent quiet, alone time recuperating from a day of check in. 

The format was much like many other of Robert’s classes.  We checked in.  For five days, we checked in…And in those days the mystery unfolded and even now, four months later, I am still understanding and benefiting from my experience there.

I am sure that if all six participants (seven including Robert) who attended wrote an article, and we compared, we might wonder if we attended the same class.  I would guess that each of us received exactly what we needed in a personalized and unique way.

I have spent some ten years working with Robert.  Through this time, I have laughed, cried, been angered, fallen in love, been mesmerized and awed, and even have avoided the piercing, yet loving gaze of his eyes and energy.

I have witnessed Robert stand strongly in his center, following his guidance in what I perceived to be very difficult circumstances.  Circumstances that in the past, would have sent me running like a fox with my tail between my legs.  His courage, dedication to Spirit, and loving presence are all wrapped up into a human suit, which I lovingly call “Robert.”

I know he is lovingly “Robert” to many.

What I am now about to describe is very difficult for me to share.  I have spent three weeks deciding whether I would write about what I think retrospectively many years from now will be included as a pivotal point in my life.  I challenged Robert.  What I really mean, is that I challenged myself.  Robert played his part very well.

I didn’t know it at the time, but for several days I had been cooking, and on day four of the retreat, I boiled.  Robert sensed my readiness, and he challenged me by doing what he later called “the train wreck.”  Sometimes it takes anger to crack us open to the magnificence waiting on the other side.  As we engaged in discussion, suddenly every other person disappeared, and it seemed that only Robert and I were left to carry on.  Back and forth we went, I challenged, he held firm.  I was ready, though I had no clue ready for what.

I screwed up my courage, and I said “yes” to facing myself in a way that I had never faced myself before, even after all the many years of work that I have done. After a period of time, (it felt like years) the storm was calm, and Robert, sitting across the room from me, eyes blazing with love said, “follow me.” 

I hesitated at first, but slowly allowed myself to pace with his consciousness, and together we took a trip.  I traveled “up” experiencing different “levels” of consciousness.  On each level, it seemed like an entire world was happening.  “Oh,” I thought, “I see where that happens.”  We continued to travel together until we finally “arrived.”  I can’t say for sure where we were, but I assume it was the Christ. 

Words are completely inadequate to describe what I felt.  Sublime bliss and ineffable love best fits.  I was there, with Robert, in one of the most intimate experiences of my life.  I had “tasted” this many times before, but somehow Robert led me deeper.  Worlds moved around me, the Love permeated through me.  I knew heaven. 

This experience, shared with and witnessed by another person, made a lasting impression, and indeed facilitated a true transformation in my life. “Now you know why I did what I did,” Robert said, referring to our earlier heated discussion.  “Yes.”  And I did.

When we returned, everyone was still sitting in the room.  Had we been gone for a minute, day, hour, week?   I thought to myself “Robert and I have more to do,” just as Robert said, “we’re not done.”   I am sure that is true.  We are never done.

It is because I had this experience that I can share this experience.  I wanted to hold this precious treasure solely to myself, but somehow it needed to be shared.  Perhaps that’s why Peter asked me to write.  Thanks Peter.

So what does all this mean, after some four months have passed. The effects of this experience are still unfolding.  Very simply stated, my business is rapidly growing, finally, after six years.  Old worries have dropped away and haven’t returned. My center is strong, and growing stronger by the day.  It’s as if I crossed a line.  I have stepped into something new, a new me perhaps, or maybe the old me returning.  I don’t know, and I don’t really care.

I have fallen in love with aura balancing.  I am like a new lover that can’t wait to be with the beloved.  Together, aura balancing and I share what I shared with Robert.  The field is real, loving and it heals.  The Loving Presence has stayed with me.

In my past, I have been a leader who has operated within the old paradigm of domination and control.  This was the way I was raised in corporate America.  Over time and as a result of my relentless dedication to my spiritual path, I have let go of much of that paradigm. 

My experience in La Veta strengthened me into what I believe is an emergence into a new spiritual paradigm of enlightened leadership.  I am continually being tested, and I suspect my work and leadership lessons will be lifelong.  I have given myself permission to try, to step forward, to put myself on the line.

The class in La Veta was intended to be a transformational leadership class.  My honest desire to collaborate and to work with the transformative power of group synergy has awakened more deeply since my experience. 

I have come to understand that what occurred in La Veta was of archetypal significance. The old ways of leadership are falling by the wayside.  Those who have led through domination and control are sooner or later being exposed.  A new era and paradigm for altruistic, enlightened leadership is emerging.  Somehow I feel that the work each of us did in those five days contributed to creating something bigger.  I suppose it always does.

Blessings to each of  you on your journey.  Take up your pendulums and lead the way!  Onward…

Much love,
    Melissa

copyright Melissa Pickett