Cancer Schmancer

I spent yesterday in Kitchener at a conference called Living Well, Dying Well. Many of the attendees worked in palliative care, but I was there because I wanted to hear Dr. John Thornton, inventor of the Prayer Wheel, which I heard about during the Healing Journey course.

The early morning drive there was very calming, with the fields layered softly with fog and the trees showing dreamy fall colours through it. The first speaker was Paula Todd, promoting her book based on interviews she has done over the past five years with people who survived great adversity to become notably successful in their fields. She was a very natural speaker, engaging and inspiring. I bought the book, natch.

Next was the Thornton presentation, starting with his wife, Maria, leading us in creating our own mandala -- an interesting exercise, combining meditation with freeform drawing. The Prayer Wheel talk was helpful, just what I was looking for to use this self-healing device.

The afternoon presenter was refreshingly interesting, too. Kathleen Meadows is an expert on the Tarot. I learned a bit about this mystifying divination tool and we did a storytelling exercise using some of the cards. There's much more to know about this ancient collection and many ways to use it, far beyond the party trick aspect.

To close the day, we assembled in a room where they had just finished a drumming workshop. For the finale, we all got drums, shakers, you name it, and made a joyous noise together to celebrate the briefly assembled community. Each of us went home with a memento, like mine shown here.