Part 3 my story continued....

I prepared to go on the retreat.  I continued chanting on the tele-conferences at least twice a day to prepare my self.  I hadn't taken my car in for repair or maintenance in quite some time, so I took it to my local mechanic for a check up.  There was a belt all cracked and ready to break so he replaced it and changed the radiator fluid which needed to be done.  I also asked him to check my tires.  He said one was low and filled it.  That tire seem to be loosing air constantly so I asked my partner to take it to the place where we bought the tires.  He graciously did as I asked.  The tire ended up having a bulge on the inside and needed to be replaced.  Apparently I had hit a pot hole and bent the rim and damaged the tire.  They replaced the tire for free even though they didn't have to.  They also suggested that I needed two new tires.  I didn't have the money but I was concerned about taking such a long drive with my 10 year old car so I did it anyway.  Now my car was good to go after spending $345 of the money that I had for the trip.  I talked with my car's soul, thanking it and appreciating it and telling it what a good job it has done for me and how it could continue to do so like I learned in Master Sha's book, Power of the Soul. He teaches that everything has a soul, including inanimate objects.  I had absolutely no car problems there or back.

Then the Sunday before leaving, I woke up with a migraine.  I hadn't had a migraine in a long time.  I stayed in bed all day.  Monday it turned into a sinus infection. Tuesday it was an ear infection. I couldn't hear out of my left ear.  I did everything I knew to do.  I haven't had health insurance coverage since I lost my Corporate job in 2005 so I steamed over hot water, salt & eucalyptus oil. I took all the supplements I had. I finally called a Naturopathic Doctor and made an appointment. She gave me lots more supplements to take, none of which I had the money for...I kept spending money that I thought I would have for the trip.  Wednesday I woke up and it had moved to my chest.  I told my ego that even if we were dying, we were still going!  I got that it was my ego or lower self trying to prevent me from going. Thursday I woke up, blowing my nose constantly, but feeling better and I went anyway. There was no way that I wasn't going to go.

I drove with no problems, listening to Master Sha the whole way with the copies of the CD's that my dear, sweet friend had graciously made and given to me. I arrived at 8:15pm.  I had wanted to arrive before dark. The first person I met in line at the check in counter, was the 1st woman that I had contacted as a roommate. She told me that she had arrived the day before and was out sight-seeing all day.  When she got to the desk before me, the hotel clerk told her that her now roommate had arrived several hours ago and was trying to get into the room.  Only the person that made the reservation can access the room until they put the 2nd person on file.  My judgements immediately came up and I thanked God that I didn't end up with this roommate!

When it came my turn to go to the registration counter...I was told that I was bumped up to the Sheraton because the Best Western was oversold.  This suited me just fine as the two hotels are connected and I was staying at the Sheraton for the rest of the retreat with H and it seemed a blessing to be there right from the beginning. It was easier to move luggage as there were stairs between the two hotels to navigate. It was also the nicer of the two so I was grateful. 

After walking to the Sheraton and checking in, I saw my first roommate, walking with her roommate and she introduced me.  I told her I was bumped to the Sheraton.

Then I tried to register for the retreat event but as I was walking down the long hallway to the conference registration area, the volunteers were walking back.  I asked one woman, F, if registration was still open? She replied, no we just closed it and it will be open again tomorrow morning. So I checked in to my room and had a quiet evening to myself and went to bed early.

The next morning I came down to the lobby after doing my Yoga which I intended to keep up while there. My back and legs were bothering me from being in the car so long.  The last part of the trip I was in some pain.

They had a Starbuck's coffee shop and restaurant in the lobby.  I already had breakfast in my room. I brought breakfast food with me so I wouldn't have to buy it. The Naturopathic Dr. had put me on a diet for 30 days to clean out my lymph system.  I was to avoid, grains, nuts, sugar, dairy and breads, only eating meat, green vegetables, eggs, and some fruits.  I had many supplements to take every day 3 times a day with meals along with powders that had to be mixed with water.  One powder was for the respiratory infection that I seemed to have, the other was a pro biotic.

I went to the registration area to register for the event and the first person I met at the door was Roseanne!  She greeted me with a hug.  I went in and the badges were all laid out alphabetically.  Mine wasn't there.  So I got into a different line and they gave me a hand written one after apologizing and explaining that more badges were being made and should arrive the next day. 

The next line was for Universal servants.  I had already registered on-line to become a universal servant after being deeply moved when reading the book.  A man named Joe was in front of me and Robert was behind the table explaining to him that he did not have to volunteer if this was his first retreat.  When it came time for me, I explained to Robert that I heard what he said to Joe yet I wanted to volunteer anyway since I was here on a scholarship and wanted to give back...Robert asked me what I was good at.  I replied, lots of things, typing, I am organized, good on the phone.  He said, okay, we need transcribers and put me down on a list and gave me an additional badge that said transcriber on it.  I basically understood that a transcriber would take notes during the talks. He said who I would report to and that they would call on me when they needed a break.  I filled out some paperwork with emergency contact information required and went back to the lobby to read the handouts I got after registering.

I was sitting in the lobby reviewing the package of information and the agenda scheduled for the week. There were plenty of breaks and long lunch breaks included.  I started to think about H, my roommate. She had explained that she was coming in the night before with her boyfriend who would spend the night with her, then she and I would move into a different room the second day. I had already left my luggage with the baggage desk and had not brought everything in from the car yet.  Several people came down and I wondered if any of them were H.  Then a woman dressed in red came down with her boyfriend and kissed him goodbye at the door. He was very tall.  I knew immediately somehow that she was H.  She went towards were the event was being held and I went up to the front desk to ask if H had checked out yet? 

Another woman came to the counter that seemed to be in a hurry.  By her badge I could tell that she was at the conference too.  Her name was R and she was from Australia and was part of Master Sha's team. I introduced myself and sure enough she explained that she was late for a meeting so I let her go in front of me.

The front desk explained that H had just checked out and moved to a different room number now and had put my name on the new room!  I went and followed the woman in red and and walked right up to her and sure enough, her name badge said H. I explained who I was and she suggested that I put my luggage in the room right away so I did. H went into the event registration and I went back to the lobby and sat down to read my handouts. There were other people that were attending the conference sitting in the lobby with me. One woman, who was sitting with several other women, came over and introduced herself and asked if I wanted to join them.  I declined, stating that I wanted to review my handouts to orient myself prior to the event starting. It was scheduled to begin at 10am the first day.

Everyone started to migrate to the conference room area at the back of the Sheraton and mingled around the front doors waiting for them to open.  I saw H there and not knowing anyone else, I joined her and two other women she was talking with, M and B.  Now I have met several women, all who turned out to be significant connections during the retreat. We stood there talking, introducing ourselves and sharing brief backgrounds on how we came to be there. M was from San Francisco and had been with Master Sha for 3.5 years and had attended several retreats