Our intention was to envision, experience and manifest the world the way we want it to be. I'm sure that the 24 people who gathered from six countries and four continents would all agree we accomplished what we set out to do and even more. Each of our worlds, personal and collective has been changed and therefore each life that our life has touched since. What we accomplished and experienced is beyond words can express. What we created is more than the sum of the parts we each contributed. This is the power of ritual, of collective envisioning, of group manifestation. It was awesome to behold and a magnificent endeavor in which to participate.

We assembled after lunch in the glass-walled circular conference room at Paz y Luz (Peace and Light) Healing Center in Cusco's Sacred Valley, with the views and energy of the powerful mountain spirits surrounding us. We sat in a circle with an empty altar table in the center of us. We began by naming ourselves in this fashion: I am Diane, daughter of Norton and Fiora, granddaughter of Mae and Jack, Nietta and Dominic. Mother, brother, grandson, friend of whomever we wanted to name. We passed a ball of white cord, holding on to our part as the ball continued around the circle. As the names were called, you could almost feel their spirits entering the room, supporting our endeavors.  After coming full circle, we stood holding the cord that connected us. Together we placed it on the altar.

I then reminded us why we had assembled: to change the world!

"Me, you say, to change the world? Surely you must be mistaken. But it is no accident you are here. Each of you chose to be here for an important reason. You heard the call to come and here you are. "Never underestimate the power of a small group of dedicated people to change the world", anthropologist Margaret Mead said, "for indeed they are the only ones who ever have". The hardest part you have already done. Some of you have traveled around the world; some of you came on your own without knowing anyone, without knowing what the program would be. But you were drawn to come, you said yes, and sat down in these chairs. The rest will be fun, an adventure to delight in. Everyone will participate fully; some will lead us if you feel called. We will plan as we go along. There will be challenges and opportunities. But I promise you, when you leave here, you will be changed and the world will be changed as a result."

When the participants registered, they were asked to bring an object for the altar that was significant to them. By way of further introduction, they each came forward to place their object and explain why they chose it. By grace, we ended up with icons and symbols from most spiritual and religious traditions as well as pieces of personal meaning from around the world. The altar was set and so were we. That night we sat around the fire with the stars shining above us, fertilizing our dreams with the possibility of a new world.

The next day began with ENVISION. The altar was moved to the east window, the chairs remained in the circle. We had with us an award-winning African American story-teller, Valerie who started our creative juices flowing by telling us an inspiring story about ourselves gathered in this place to envision the world the way we wanted it to be. Val then led us into a silent meditation. Afterwards, we were each given a piece of clay and invited to mold the clay into our vision, which we later shared with one another.

Kent and Mimi added flowers, Barbara used a feather, Fiona added a piece of broken glass for transparency and protection. Fredda, a jewelry designer from Florida brought with her a "Healingstar of Peace" which she created from a vision she had in meditation a few years ago. The star is a merkabar from the Kabalistic Tree of Life. She placed it on top of her clay creation.

People spoke of love and peace and harmony and unity, as they explained their pieces. They envisioned a world where we walk gently and with reverence, receptive to Spirit. A place with joy and laughter, solidarity, justice and respect. Each clay piece was placed on the floor in the center of us.

After lunch Monica a spiritual teacher from Lima, taught us a model for knowing ourselves, recognizing how fear and judgment block our ability to connect with divine source. We played a game whose nonsensical key words became our communal vocabulary for describing our interconnection. Laughter and human warmth filled the room as we looked inside our true selves.

Then we divided the clay pieces of our visions into four groups by similarity of appearance. The five or six people who made the pieces gathered in small groups. In a communal process of its own devising, each group reached a collective vision and rebuilt their individual pieces into one. Each group wrote a statement and decided how they would present it to the whole group.

Jagat, Joyce, Maria Luisa and Anna Marie used Monica's code words and hand movements in a delightful presentation, each person sharing a line:

In the Beginning the source gave us the trinity of life ~ mind, body, spirit.

Then the communication began with the light of love.

The intergalactic communication began and continues to manifest.

Balance and harmony, with a pure heart, is the embodiment of love.

The next group wrote, "The world the way we want it to be is a world where all humanity is connected in love, beauty, harmony, wonder, laughter, joy, forgiveness and the Sacred Spirit of everything."

Another wrote, "We are receptive to Spirit. We preserve Mother Earth. We are inclusive and compassionate. There is solidarity, justice and respect for all, where the whole creation, male and female, dark and light is held in balance. Agape."

The last group of very diverse people shared how amazed they were at their ability to release their individual visions and build something new together. "Our shared vision is that we are one with Source. The wonder of our existence is that we are here to remove our masks of separation or ego. These masks have kept us locked in a belief of separation from Source. We will transform this belief of separation into oneness while here on earth. We will remove our masks through belief, knowing and the practice of unconditional love. The Source will once again enlighten us."

We now had four clay pieces on the floor representing our collective visions, the making of which enabled us to connect not from the intellect but from the source of our creative centers. The clay was so lumpy and hard to remold, we were able to let go of making any realistic depiction of our vision and yet what each group molded together was a thing of beauty and a tangible expression of our written words ~ a unity in diversity, muddy hands and all.

Our spirit of play and delight in one another continued that night around the campfire with story telling and songs, in all the languages we knew Spanish, German, Afrikaans, Zulu, French, Hebrew and English. Renate, from Germany who lived several years in the Philippians closed the evening by leading us in a type of Filipino Tai Chi in the light of the waxing moon and the fading fire. We slept in the peace of our visions realized.

The next day was our chance to EXPERIENCE what we envisioned the day before. Wendy, a NIA dance instructor from Canada lead us in a type of movement form which combines dance, marshal arts and healing arts to interconnect the physical, emotional and spiritual body, freeing it to fly. Many of the barefooted participants were leery at first but as the music started with Wendy's gentle reassurance, we each began to move.

Every song encouraged us to reach beyond the glass walls toward the mountains that surrounded us and the blue sky above. The last part of the routine brought each of us together into a circle touching the energy around us and bringing it into the center of the circle only to send it out again into the world. Many faces sparkled with tears gleaming in the sunlight. The sensation of liberation, both personal and communal, vibrated in the air. When the song ended we hugged and kissed and cried with joy.

Experiencing our visions continued throughout the day. We divided into small groups based on our desire to experience. Magically, the groups were of roughly equal size. Howard, our resident jester joined with Bryan, Barbara and Kent to do a "Saturday Night Live" skit about an unsuspecting Cockney couple who arrive at Paz y Luz Healing Center only to be transformed in unexpected ways.

Oda, offered a yoga class and many who had never done it before were inspired to continue. Six of us opted for the painting group. We started by doing individual watercolors and sketches. Then we moved to a 2x3 foot (85cm x 65cm) canvas and a table full of rainbow acrylic colors and began painting "background" which eventually emerged into undirected, spirit-inspired beauty. The painting had elements of each one's sketch but became something more, something new, something surprising.

While the painting group painted and the theatre group rehearsed, the singing group serenaded us all. They taught each other their favorite songs, in different languages and eventually created their own, which they shared with everyone later.

Our three days together seemed to have passed in a flash and yet time was suspended and everything we envisioned seemed possible, even likely because we had experienced it and knew it was real and worthwhile. We were now prepared to MANIFEST the world they way we wanted it to be.

Our day's work would be a "sand-painting." The "canvas" was a plot of ground 30 meters square, a plowed corn field that was marked out in the shape of the Inka cross, called a chakana. It would soon be a labyrinth of flowers and alfalfa but now there was only a circle of river stones 6 meters (20 ft.) in diameter in the center of the field. We each collected stones and trinkets and other objects found in our rooms or on the property that would become the people and situations we chose to depict and transform.

The principle most important to the function of a sand-painting is that by working with energy and intention we are able to empower each object, not simply to represent the person or situation we want to change but to actually become it. At the center of our dirt canvas, we placed a stone found by Babu in the shape of a heart, to represent Source.

We began with a centering meditation, focusing on a situation in our personal or community life that we wanted to change. Then we took a spot just inside the circumference of stones. We each created a collage of our situation, as it currently existed. We went around the circle and shared what we created. It was surprising that we could go deeper than we already had. Because of what we had been through together in the previous days, the level of trust and openness was palpable. Our previously hidden dark sides came into the light. Tears flowed as truths were revealed and doubts and worries exposed.

Perhaps before we arrived at the Gathering we thought that what prevented us from our vision of a peaceful world were the raging wars in the Middle East or the vanishing rain forests. But now, inside our circle of stones and love and grace, we saw before us the wars within ourselves and our families. We saw our disconnection from Mother earth and Source. The sharing of these truths were possible because of the ground work we laid in the previous days. The good news was we were about to change and transform these situations, not in far away lands but right here and right now.

We were then invited to shift our sand-painting to make the situation what we wanted it to be. Sharing again around the circle you could feel the transformation that had occurred, see it on the smiling faces, hear it in the tenor of each voice, breath it in and out. Howard, a Canadian chiropractor as well as jester, then led us in some breathing work called SRI. We lay on the floor of the conference room with our heads in the center, our hands on our bellies, and our chests. Somato Respiratory Integration works with breath, touch and movement to reconnect the lost, ignored or abused parts of ourselves and moves trapped energies so we could feel more alive.

At lunch we hummed with satisfaction for our sense of accomplishment.  But our work had only just begun. For with each shift of the sand-painting comes a new situation. It was time to revisit our canvas, as a changed person and sense what else now needed to be addressed. To work with energy and intention requires a leap of faith, a willingness to operate beyond what the mind can hold. The next shift was somewhat disconcerting. What did this new situation require of me? How was I changed by the act of transforming life, as I knew it before? What did I want to do now? This next shift was done on our own, without sharing. It was private internal work.

We met again in the conference room for more healing. Ruth, from Nova Scotia had accepted our early invitation to lead and had suggested that any Reiki practitioners in the group offer their gifts. She and Regis, both Reiki masters were joined by Ginny, Kent and Val. As the majority of us lay on our mats, they moved around the room to soothe and center us. It was powerful to be in a room where so much energy was being exchanged all at once. We left the room in pairs to return to our stone circle outside. We shifted the situation again moving closer toward Source in the center. It was comforting to share our evolving situation with someone else.

Marucha, from Lima has a plant nursery that she has developed over the years. Her passion is for the indigenous plants of Peru, especially "sacred" plants. Anna Marie, from South Africa living in Australia, is a landscape architect. Together they shared their plant wisdom with the group as we sat under a shade tree. We learned of the great bio-diversity of Peru and how important it is to preserve it. Anna Maria led us in a visualization meditation to imagine a universal spirituality center and what it would look like. Though they had met only days before and had not come prepared to lead any group, they put together a perfect moment of education, relaxation, and imagination. Another point in the Gathering where individual gifts from the group had an opportunity to enlighten us all.

We were then asked to shift our sand-painting one last time, moving even closer to Source in the center of the circle. With everyone's permission we were encouraged to move not only our own objects but also one another's if we were so moved. Blockages were discarded and all obstacles removed. Tentative connections were made stronger and distance diminished. Love and hope and harmony prevailed and all was connected with Source.

As we shared our final piece of collective art, one at a time around the circle, we felt complete. We held hands around the circle and toned a sound that ebbed and flowed, high and low, harmonic and dissonant. We held the tone, the sound, the vibration for some time until the energy was strong enough to lift with our hands and send out into the universe with a shout of joy and hope.

As the sun set, we dismantled what we had created, saving the pieces we wanted and returning the rest to mother earth. We dismantled it because life is not static and what we manifested was now set in motion to unfold in its own way. Tomorrow we too would disperse. But first we would close our circle as we had begun, with ritual and intention.

We returned to our glass-walled womb that had given birth to many new experiences, to new visions and new life. We shared around the circle what these days had meant to us, how we had changed and the power of what we created together. We took our four clay pieces and covered them with fresh clay, enclosing them in a globe, a new world with our visions inside and Fredda's "star of peace" on the top. The world of our visions made manifest.

We then removed each of our objects from the altar, one by one, just as we had placed them. We cut the white cord so each one could take a piece home, a reminder of what we had done together, a piece of our connection.

Words cannot capture the experience we shared in those days but I hope in this telling that you can glimpse some of the world the way we manifested it.

We arrived as a lawyer, a retired theology professor, a social worker, a designer, a teacher, a mother, a dentist, a physiotherapist, a writer, a yoga instructor, a Reiki teacher, a lawyer, a surgeon, an ordained minister, an obstetrician, a businesswoman, a student, an architect, a storyteller, a chiropractor, a teacher, and a businessman, from Canada, Germany, United States, England, Australia and South Africa. Buddhist, Hindu, Christian, Jewish, esoteric, spiritual. We left as healers and colleagues in a mission of unity and peace, each one transformed - and so too the world as a result.