Well, life continued and at one point, I found myself working 6 days a week. I was exhausted… carrying on a private therapy practice, working at a community mental health facility and I had my interior design practice. I was just so busy. And in 1999, I was just DONE with working so hard. I decided to take off 4 ½ months and do a road trip around the states. So I told Simone my intentions and that I already knew everyone was living in Austin (one of the guys that was not invited to come to Austin had found phone bills with the Austin information on them.) So when I told Simone I would be driving through Austin he said, “Oh my God, I have to see you.” So I came and saw him and he invited me to Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving dinner was a beautiful celebration. I loved seeing everybody because I hadn’t seen them for years at this point. I had been very close to everybody so it was really nice. Still, I had huge warning bells…
There were a few things that really gave me pause. That seemed really f.cked up. Like them putting a huge bib around Angelo’s neck for him and I was like, “What is this baby bullshit and this servile bullshit?” Then, I hated that everywhere he walked, everybody “en masse” would turn and look and follow him around. It was crazy to me. My own interaction with him was disturbing also because I felt like he looked into my eyes but there was nobody there. I really felt like he was not connecting with me. And I talked to Simone about that. And then also, he came on stage (to “perform”) wearing this gold lame see-through thing and started singing a love song to his guru, he said ( How ironic is that). It was like some third rate disco in South America somewhere. I thought what the hell was he doing? So I left that night disillusioned. With real questions. I remember talking to Simone and he told me it was my mind and to drop it.
So then I continued on my travels. When I got back to Atlanta (Feb 2000) I felt done with Atlanta. I had been there for 18 years and it felt like I was ready for a new phase of my life. I don’t even remember who I talked to at that time. I was very close to Tighre, Simone and Frolic… and I know I talked to one of them. And they said come to Austin. And I thought that I was ready for an adventure so I sold my house in Atlanta. I was ready for a new phase. My kids were done with school. My daughter was off somewhere else, and my son was off at his own school and I thought that I needn’t hang around Atlanta anymore?
So I drove to Austin. I got here on a Thursday afternoon. And on Friday morning I got a phone call from a good friend of mine (who is a Sheik in the Sufi order) and he asked where I was. I said, “I’m sitting by a river looking at some terrapins on the lake.” And he asked where and I told him Austin. He laughed and said, “Oh, I really have to see you.” And he said he would be in Austin the next weekend and asked if I would see him. I often see clients who are his disciples that are going through things so I thought it was one of those things, but he said that it didn’t have anything to do with that. So, the next weekend I saw him. During the intervening week I was connecting with everyone again and it was lovely. I didn’t get invited to anything except meditation at that point but that was lovely to reconnect with everyone. And then on Saturday when I saw my friend, he said, “I have a request for you if you’re up to it. I’d like you to travel around the world for 6 months buying art for some people.” I asked where he wanted me to go and he said to go wherever I want. And I said, “I’d really like to go to Bali and India and Morocco.” His reply was that if I went to Morocco, then there was a Sufi in Egypt he’d like me to meet so he’d like me to go there too. I said absolutely. For me, it was a no-brainer.
Well, Simone had a different perspective. “You’re being tested by the universe.” And I thought about that and I thought that actually the universe seemed to be giving me a beautiful gift. It was asking me to say “Yes” to life. And a great life at that! I was to travel with an unlimited budget, going wherever I wanted, meeting whoever I wanted, and it just felt awesome. It didn’t feel off to me at all. So I went. I had this amazing trip with unbelievably incredible experiences… and met (oddly enough) some very powerful spiritual leaders. I saw the Dalai Lama again when I was in India. I met the teacher who teaches all the priests and monks in Bali. I spent time with some very beautiful Sufis in Egypt and Morocco. I did spiritual practice with all of them. I mean, I won’t go into it but it was a fabulous and rewarding trip. And then I came back to Austin. I was glad I did it.
