As many of you know, I am a regular attendee of the Between the Worlds Mens Gathering (http://betweentheworlds.org).  I have been going since 2004 AND have missed only 2 years due to being over seas or major house issues.  This is usually my vacation for the year, but not this year.

The gathering itself is an amazing thing.  Gay and bi men from all kinds of Neo-pagan backgrounds and of all ages attend this festival.  The bar scene attitude is rarely prevalent, and for the most part people get along well.  Of course most of us have been going for years, so we have that bond to start with, but newbies are usually welcomed with open arms.

One would think that with a bunch of gay men, sex would be everywhere.  It's not.  Yes, you can find people to have fun with, but if you are in a monogamous relationship you won't be pressed to do anything you don't want.... You may be ogled, but that should be taken as a compliment here.  The gathering is a yes means yes environment meaning you need affirmative consent to do anything with another attendee.

Now I said that this year it was not a vacation for me.  The reason for that is I ran an intensive to teach seidhr, or as I was calling it oracular trance.  This was nerve-racking for me because it is really an advanced skill and many things could go wrong.  It also was the first time I was teaching summer of the skills.  I was scared that something would go wrong, students wouldn't see things, etc.  It also was going to eat up a lot of my time.

Well, I got through it.  I successfully taught the intensive, and 9 students went through and successfully answered questions for a real audience.  Nobody died, and nobody got hurt.  I call it a success.  There are a few things I will change about the intensive, but overall what I put together worked.  I hope to be able to offer it as a one day thing at Wellspring next May.

The festival though was an experience for me, and a positive one at that.  The friendships that were maintained and new ones that were made.  The changes to some that were unexpected but also appreciated.  It all helped me grow a little more.  To the multitude of people that work so hard to put the event on, you have my appreciation and my thanks.