I was so excited preparing for my trip and boarding the plane in Phoenix, Arizona. I was going to have the chance to be in the same place with so many of the individuals I have had tremendous respect and admiration for, for so many years, but had never had the opportunity to meet. I knew the Symposium was going to be a peak event in my life and in the world, but nothing could have prepared me for its reality, which far exceeded my expectations! During the 4 nights I was in Basel, I slept for a total of maybe 7-8 hours...I was so turned on that there was no hope for turning off - the mind rules the body and I was somewhat surprised that my body didn't rebel like it should have, but went along for the ride without complaint (I m 55). I didn't miss a minute of the 3 day Symposium. Often I imagined myself to be like the robot #5 from the movie, who realizes he's alive and goes rolling out of the warehouse into the world for the first time and is barreling down the middle of the street shouting: 'INPUT! INPUT! INPUT! And Boy Howdy, there was no lack of that ! It's 4 months later and I'm still digesting everything. The Symposium was like a huge Christmas tree with hundreds of precious, unwrapped gifts under it, and I had the delicious agony of trying to decide which ones to open and be amazed by.

And there were plenty of surprises: I had never actually seen Dr. Shulgin describing his molecules, though I had heard about it. His presentations were such a treat, as were all the others. Every one, without exception, was illuminating. And the 'side show' was a side-show and a half. There was something for everyone...and such a diverse crowd! I've never met so many people in such a short time and it was because everyone was so friendly and open. From the Symposium, to the Friday and Sunday night parties at 'Das Shiff' (The Ship) dancing while watching the sun rise on the river, to the locals of Basel, I believe that I met some of the sweetest people on the planet! The Symposium began, for me, with an unexpected and very strange occurrence, the first thing Friday morning: I had been up all night getting to Basel and into the hostel, after dallying too long in Zurich (meeting old friends from long ago, when I lived there), plodded merrily in to the Conference Hall, sat down and meditated, waiting for the Akasha Project to begin the tune in'. In the program book, it says that the music starts with the primeval sound of the earthly year, a C-sharp with 136.10 hertz. Without any warning when that first note sounded, I felt my heart explode like a super nova and tears filled my eyes! I was utterly confused, thinking: What's going on? What just happened? Why did it happen? What's with this music? It was completely unexpected and I was totally amazed (and the conference and my time in Basel was all uphill after that)!

After the tune-in ended, there were many people up front, gathered around Barnim Schultz, the German composer and musician. It was a real Zen thing: I just floated, unobstructed, through the crowd, directly up to Barnim, gave him a huge hug, whispered 'Thank You!' in German in his ear and walked away. I left him, and I'm sure a few others, as surprised as I had been. Fair play, in my opinion. Heehee. And, when Uncle Albert said that he 'now believed that his Problem Child had become a Child Prodigy', I cried also...tears of Joy.. but who wouldn't expect that?! WOW!

I want to give my sincerest THANKS to every one who brought the Symposium to life...and who brought it to my life. Plus, a very special THANK YOU to Albert Hofmann - the way I see things in this lifetime, you win the Peace Prize. No doubt at all about that.

Exp Year: 2006	ExpID: 53175
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: May 17, 2006	Views: 6,876
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