In somatic healing modalities, as well as in performances and ceremonies, when we connect to the experience of the other, we feelthat same thing ourselves. The ancient Greeks understood this power: that theatre can be a cathartic tool for identity development.

The brilliance of neurological design in the mirror neuron network enables this phenomenon. Research shows what we already knew: behavioral change often precedes belief change. The body leads the mind.

As we look at a performing artist, we identify with them; we experience in our body the effect of the mirror neuron system. That system fires both when we observe an action, and when we embody that action ourselves.

Aesthesis

In the image above, we can observe this exact phenomenon. The woman in the audience is caught up in an ecstatic moment. Her eyes are closed as her body spontaneously imitates the somatic gesture of the dancer’s own movement.

She is having what I call a moment of aesthesis, an experience of transcendence when we are inspired by a performative moment to see the world in a fresh way and behave accordingly, sometimes in ways that move beyond familiar conventions.

The dancer is also having her own moment. Interestingly, she is not facing the audience. Her eyes are also closed and her gaze focused upward.

She is in what performers call the Zone, where their creative talents are in perfect alignment, and they themselves are in a state of surrender to the Divine or their Source.

Talisman of Transformation

In the ceremonies, performances and constellations at Gateway House, this is what we aspire to create.

It’s not just a mental exercise, it’s an embodied knowing. THAT form of knowing is what enables behavioral shift. The experience becomes a talisman of transformation that we can return to time and again.

Moments of aesthesis - which I use to refer to the transcendent experience we have when encountering a life-changing communally-expressed event - are essential to systemic evolution.

We already know this implicitly on the subliminal level. That by gathering in events, ceremonies, theatre, family constellations, we enact somatically what we are becoming.

**Gateway House** **Autumn Equinox Ceremony**
***Monday, September 21 | 5 PM – late***
**Gate of Letting Go**
👉🏼 Pagan Lounge Lizard Music w/ Gary Siegel & Dancing Leaf
👉🏼 Pokeweed initiation
👉🏼 Pomegranates & Persephone w/ Elizabeth Sherpa & Marann Langlois
👉🏼 Goddess of the Hunt w/Meryn Oakwood
👉🏼 Tashlich off the Trestle w/ Rabbi Lori Wynters
*POTLUCK & Fire 🔥
*Performances @ 7pm ish
• Lisa Ayleeza Quattrochi
• Tales of Estonia w/ Jill Olesker
**🌀 Donation $20**
**IMPORTANT: NEW Parking Limits & Options**
**🌀 Please NO PARKING on Fairview Ave. above the white Grandmother Sycamore Tree:** we need to avoid issues with the neighbors and ensure an emergency vehicle can get through
🌀 We have permission for a number of cars to park at 8 and 11 Mountain Road
🌀 Otherwise, please park at bottom of Keator Ave (1016) opposite St. Peter’s Church & walk up hill OR
🌀 Park at Trestle Rail Trail parking lot (750 Binnewater Rd) & walk across the Trestle.

A New Offering at Gateway House

We’Moon’s QiGong with Dancing Leaf

a 5 session series, beginning on the Full Moon

Saturday, September 26 | 8:30 PM

QiGong is the practice of remembering that healing begins from within. Through gentle movement, conscious breathing, meditation, and the cultivation of life-force energy, we awaken the body’s natural intelligence and restore harmony to the mind, body, and spirit. Each session offers a peaceful space to slow down, quiet the nervous system, release stagnant energy, and reconnect with the wisdom that already lives within you.

Rooted in the timeless principles of Chinese medicine, this practice supports greater vitality, resilience, emotional balance, and ease. More than exercise, QiGong is a moving meditation—a way of cultivating presence and learning to live in relationship with your own energy.

QiGong currently tends to be taught from a masculine perspective. However, there are specific movement practices, exercises, and meditation practices that support feminine health. Come gather outside at Gateway House and on the Trestle to commune with the Moon and each other, cycling lunar energy through your body.

Whether you are in your flow, peri- or post-menopausal, these practices will help you balance your hormones, your nervous system, and boost your immune system. Those who choose to practice together, will grow together. Anyone who identifies with their feminine aspect is welcome, whether you are new to QiGong or have practiced for years.

We will follow the Moon’s cycle, meeting weekly for 5 weeks. Drop-ins welcome.

Each date and time is chosen to come as close to the moon’s quarter peaks as is practical.

Dates and times:

Sat. 9/26 at 8:30pm - full moon

Fri. 10/2 at 10:30pm - waning half moon

Sat. 10/10 at 8:30pm - new moon

Sun 10/18 at 8:30pm - waxing half moon

Mon 10/26 at 8:30pm - full moon

Suggested Donation $20/session or $80 for all 5