Completion and Beginning
“For good completions and new beginnings” as my Lakota friends, elders, and teachers say at the end of each gathering.
by Jo Todd, PhD (2006, Depth Psychology)
About a month before the PGIAA Annual Meeting and event for 2016, Coming Home 2016: Vocation and Service: A Journey of the Soul, Dianne Travis-Teague sent out a call to the Pacifica Alumni Board of Directors. “Will anyone”, she asked, “do the closing ritual?”
The Invitation:
To my surprise, as I read the request an image comes into my mind—a Sacred Tree. It reminds me of so many things: Tibetan prayer flags, First Nation’s prayer robes, a sacred tree beside healing wells. There are so many traditions with trees and tokens that I am caught by the beauty of the idea. The images continue ancient and modern—images of people woven together globally, by intention, through time.
I remember my cohort’s experience with Michael Meade more than a decade ago. We placed pieces of fabric in the Three Sisters on the Lambert campus and carried a piece home. It was a precious experience.
As I contemplate, pieces and parts of a ritual coalesce: ribbons, a tree, water, and intention.
The PGIAA Board yearns to recognize what is already a growing reality—an awakened global alumni body—grounded in connection and held by the call that brings us together.
Can having a closing ritual guide us as we embrace what calls us to “Come Home”? Might it embody our place as alumni, connected to PGI, and also to each other? Can it remind us of the profound presence of the alumni on the family tree?
The Plan:
There is the vision and then there are the details!
The initial idea is simple– each participant is given a twin ribbon and wisdom water.
During the ritual each participant sets their intention for their work and connection, then cuts the ribbon in half. One half they tie to a golden cord wrapped around the Teaching Tree on the Ladera Lane campus. The other half they carry home.
Participants also receive lapis blue bottles of water, infused with the teachings, sharings, tears, and laughter from the weekend. The bottles of water can inspire remembering our connections to one another and to our time here at Pacifica.
Making it so:
I contact Dianne Travis-Teague for help, because that is what alumni do when they need help at Pacifica Graduate Institute; they call the Office of Alumni Affairs.
Her tireless effort in creating these wonderful gatherings is really beyond simple words of gratitude!
Dianne, of course, calls Marshall Chrostowski because he is a guardian of PGI’s landscape and asks for guidance. Marshall suggests the Teaching Tree near the Labyrinth,a live oak of reasonable diameter. He assures me, “The thick bark of the live oak would not be damaged by thumb tacks or other push pins. The ribbons can thereafter move with the wind or the spirits of the memorial grove.”
We were ready! We had ribbons, beautiful small bottles filled with pure water and lavender, and we found a golden cord to wrap around the teaching tree—our place.
During the event:
As we prepared all of the pieces for the closing ritual during the weekend, we asked those who were leaving early to be sure to join us at the Alumni Association table in Barrett Hall. There, they set their intention and recognized their connection, then took their half of the ribbon home.
The event was magnificent. I watched the interactions, the enthusiasm, and the palpable connections between faculty, new, and old friends. I was once again struck by the beauty of what happens here—the awe-filled presence of possibilities, both individual and collective. All the while, the water for the blue bottles was being infused with knowledge, wisdom, tears, and laughter, just as we were.
Due to an increasing possibility of rain, we decided the closing ritual needed to take place in Barrett center, and when the weather improved, Marshall would attach the cord to the Teaching Tree.
Closing Ritual:
After a rich and exciting morning with Alumni Authors, the weekend was about to be complete. It was dark, cold, and rainy. People were feeling pulled back out into their lives.
Yet a surprising number also felt moved to take part in this closing ritual. Please enjoy this photo-essay of the event, provided by our photographer, Timothy Teague.
They loved the idea of the twin ribbons as Dori and Patricia demonstrated the process
The PGIAA Board of Directors and Regional Coordinators carefully acted as guides each step of the way.
Each participant set their intention, cut the ribbon, and tied ½ to the gold cord that would later be placed around the Teaching Tree.
As they thoughtfully move through the ritual the energy in the room began to change. Someone said, “Once I tied the ribbon on then I was ready to go. I knew I was taking part in PGI home with me, and I knew I had a place. Thanks, I love this.”
And of course Dianne Travis Teague of Alumni Relations was present as she had been tirelessly during the weekend.
Dr. Stephen Aizenstat, who needs no introduction, joined us, saying farewell to each person with care and grace.
Finally there is the handshake, hugs, and last minute sharing. There is the precious moment of completion, filled gratitude, renewed awareness of connections, and a “see you again” to friends old and new.
During our closing ritual the rain stopped and the sun was shining as we headed to our completion feast. Reminded that good completions invite new beginnings we each turn toward what was next. I can not help wondering what are they planning next?
In closing:
Thank you to Marshall and Dianne who completed what we began. Once again their careful attention support the dreams and the vision.
There is a place now- a teaching tree held by the Alumni—it is an embodied presence of the spirit of the Alumni of PIG. It has substance and form, and it has space for each of us as we visit. There are lots of empty places on the golden cord that invite you—join us, add your ribbon and take part of it home.
Now ribbons fly freely, releasing the gift of each participant’s dedication, tending the soul in the world, sharing that commitment, as we create a global network in mysterious ways.
I am grateful for Dianne’s invitation and for the many others who made this possible. And so we complete to begin again. Hope to see you next year!
