How it Feels to be ALIVE!

After attending a writing workshop at the Omega Institute in New York last fall (for this story click here), I knew that I needed to bring the feel of Omega to Montana. I knew that to feel as alive as I did after spending a week at Omega needed to be shared with others, so that they too can experience the feeling of being ALIVE. That experience is what planted the seed for the Living Beyond Belief weekend retreat that happened this past weekend in Bozeman.

During, and following my week at Omega, this past weekend, and any time I’ve spent connecting deeply with others, stretching my comfort zone, and exploring my creativity, I found myself feeling vibrant, energized, loved and loving, compassionate, joyful, grateful, happy, content, and peaceful. This is what is means for me to feel ALIVE. And I need to take the time, money, and energy to make this happen. It is one of the most important pieces of my life. 

When I talk with friends about the experience this weekend, it’s almost indescribable! How do you put into words what it feels like to be joyful and vibrant, to be loving and content? I feel it in my body, and it comes out like an excited child while running through the sprinklers on a hot day, exploding with happiness and presence. 

This weekend’s retreat provided a space for people to be real, to “drop below the water line” and truly share their hearts through art and writing. We cried and laughed together, we stretched and expanded together. We dove deeply into our souls when we drummed on “Thunder Wind” (a drum large enough to all stand around and lay underneath to feel the beat throughout our bodies), and found our voice through song and sharing. And we experienced true joy in bucket drumming, creating a rhythm of laughter and play together. 

I guided and watched as internal struggle softened and let go, as worry and pain gave way to presence and joy, as separateness melted into connection, and fatigue turned into energy. I took part in the internal journey of the soul, and the outward journey of the spirit. I felt the vibrancy of my body as we danced, shouting out to the world “I am ALIVE!”

Each person present was a gift, each person present was a light that shined brighter with each passing day, and each facilitator brought their unique and special light and wisdom to the circle. Susie’s words of “stepping off the cliff to know what is possible;” Alice’s words of “our wisdom lies in what we think of as fantasy;” and Shaun and Stormi’s word’s of the “power of the drum.” 

This is what it feels like to be ALIVE.

Take the time in your day and in your life to be ALIVE for yourself and for this world. Life is so precious. Make the choice to feed yourself in this way, to live what you dream about, to find what makes you happy, to follow your heart and passions. The stories we tell ourselves about what is not possible is only a story. I invite you to open up to the reality of what is possible.


Categories: Heart Centered Living

About the Author: Angela Patnode

My passion, my calling, is for you to be totally you. Through private coaching, in-depth retreats, and online group coaching programs, I help you tap into your intuition and clarify your desires and vision, I guide you to take active steps toward making your desires a reality.

One response to “How it Feels to be ALIVE!

  1. Ingrid

    This sounds like the best kind of time anyone can have! I feel uplifted simply by reading that people have gathered like this connect, play, go deep and facilitate change. I hope you offer these weekends again and again. Retreats can be such tangible, memorable, experiences of transformation.- their blessings stay with us forever.

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