INTERNATIONAL ALCHEMY CONFERENCE FEEDBACK

It was inspiring to me to hear such a similar perspective come out of the speakers, so honest and humble, and filled with a sense of sincerity that I really appreciated!

Secret societies and secret mystic paths, for those of us who have been exposed to , participated in or even just read about, can only bind those who have not the sincerity to hear what anyone may tell them. I myself have been around the block and been witness to phenomenon within and without the "organization" of dogma. I was sincerely shocked as to how it seemed that most speakers were willing to break down the walls which seperate many of our beliefs and really toss the dross of the unreal that does not serve, and at the same time see how the apparently unuseful dogma can assist us to go beyond the words and forms.

It was astounding! Thanks so much for helping pull this together at such a good time. IT was very meaningful to me and my life's path. To see people speak and serve who have so much more time invested (than myself - I am 38 years old) in specific paths and still be open and free to share what they have found to withstand the litmus test of sincere reception and practical application to develop that which has REAL value in this world - beyond my expectations.. I expected more practical hands on chemistry though at the end, the talk on spagyrics by Robert was well worth waiting for.. I really learned something of value -of the preparation required to work on one's inner system, before practical chemistry, and how the practical chemistry can tune ourselves in to experience that which has real value yet is seperate from this material manifestation. Kindness, compassion, and willingness to share - willingness to listen, and willingness to give - this I experienced with almost every speaker I came into conversation with.

It moved me in a way I could not have predicted.

- D.D., California

I was so proud of everyone at the conference in the way they treated actor Nicolas Cage. No one bothered him unduly, and on the first night, he even dismissed his bodyguards. He was very gracious and intelligent. He attended all three days and was obviously interested in the material being presented. I saw him personally congratulate some of the speakers on their presentations. He just sat among us, listened attentively, and seemed to be always in the bookstore browsing the books and talking with people. How wonderful to be in the company of such an aware and beautiful person.

- N.L., Australia

The Conference was truly amazing! Robert and I were bowled over by the reception that he received as soon as we entered the hotel! Truthfully, I had no idea how much knowledge Robert really has although I have had an inkling and just pushed toward getting his knowledge out there to the World. I think many people expressed that they would have liked to see him present something a bit earlier as many people had to leave early at the end but perhaps next year he can give a lecture talk as well as a class. Jeff McBride was fantastic, just loved the way his Heart and Soul reaches out to everyone in the room. Dennis Hauck I found the most fascinating in his talk about the Spirit of the Metals.

And, I agree with the person who wrote how Nicholas Cage was treated so graciously and respectfully. I am grateful that we got to meet and speak with him and he allowed our daughter to pose for a picture with him. I hated to ask at first and waited until he was leaving on the last day, but he and his wife were very gracious and I hope he comes back next year.

So I guess I can only sum it up as "Awesome!" "Way to go, Dennis H.!"

-Karen F. Bartlett

As some of you know, I had an experience that I originally kept to myself, but now feel it was meant to be shared. Jeff McBride's "Fellowship of the Stone" ceremony at the end of lectures on Sunday was absolutely otherworldly. I know everyone present felt it. It seemed as if his preparation, movements, and oratory were being directed from the very highest part of him. I had never seen anyone connect to that part so well in public.

Suddenly in the middle of his performance, I found myself in this swirling circle of timeless brethren -- spiritual warriors from all times and places -- and they had come to thank us for honoring them and to offer their fellowship. I have never been connected at the heart/copper level with so many people at once -- both people living and present but also people in "other" places. The current of love flowing between past, present, and future was like a tidal current that swept gently through the room and encompassed all of us. Somehow Jeff had opened a corridor that connected these brothers and sisters lost in time with us. He somehow opened his heart as a vessel to contain them. The largeness of his heart is extraordinary -- his heart did that and my heart witnessed it.

They came from around the first fires of the cavemen. They came from the desert, forests, and mountaintops. They came from the memories of their smelly laboratories and cloistered libraries. They came from farmhouses and tents and castles. They came from the cool lingering past and the warm promising future. They came just for us.

This was the most profound ritual experience of my life. It has already deeply affected my work. The overflow of my heart at the end of the closing ceremony had nothing to do with the applause from the audience or their heartfelt thanks for the event, which I understood and appreciated. My heart was opened by those who I assume no one else saw or heard -- but who I saw and who saw me. And they came to give us their blessings. They came to empower us by their presence.

How can the hearts of sentient beings come together through time and space? I had no idea that such a living bridge of heart existed in the universe. It was a marvelous conjunction, a marriage of every alchemist who ever was or will be -- with all of us and what we were doing. It was so much bigger than all the little problems of the conference and anything else in our daily lives for that matter.

So that is what happened, and I have no way of explaining it. I do not imagine things like this, and I have done enough work that I know when I am trying to deceive myself. It was totally unexpected. It was absolutely overpowering. It was deeply real. Thank you so much for helping create that living bridge of light and time. I don't know how we did it, but I hope we can all do it again someday. All I know for now is that -- as crazy as it sounds -- they are with us.

- Dennis William Hauck, Conference Master of Ceremonies

First, I want to finally express my gratitude to you and everyone who obviously worked so hard to put on such an extraordinary informative and inspiring conference. I want to add that I too felt something powerful and profound during Jeff McBride's beautiful closing, and I appreciate that you felt that Dennis Hauck could share his experience with us. As Jeff spoke, I too felt a deep and ancient connection as well as a continuity with the past with this work. It became more clear to me after Dennis shared his experience, and corroborated my own experience that day.

- Robert Wright, California

I wanted to say that on a personal note, I have had similar experiences myself. I often try to connect with the legacy of Alchemy, Mystics, and Healers that exist on this timeless plane. More importantly though, more and more often, I am coming into contact with my other important incarnations in this Earth experience, and have found that the amount of information we share with each other on the astral plane is tremendous, and far beyond anything I could have conceived on my own. I often feel that my inspiration comes from those beings, and that my accomplishments are shared in kind with them. An open heart is key. That leads to appreciation for the great mystery I am a part of here and helps further lift the veil to the realization of truth and purpose. They are with with us, truly. Looking forward to more conferences. Also, I would love any feedback you have on my products as I am still a novice to Alchemy and only in the last year or two became involved and interested in it, although it seems I have been involved all my life in retrospect. Thanks again for all your hard work.

- Bradley, www.Whitemountainmedicine.com

Thank you so much for sharing what you experienced at the closing ceremony. Such intense moments of conscious awareness of the spiritual realms, as you describe, offer all of us a glimpse into what is really taking place beyond our limited scope of the physical plane. Crossing that threshold, our ordinary activities cease to be quite so mundane but are imbued with a depth of meaning and importance because we know, through our direct personal experience, of the interchange that is actually taking place between us and multiple levels of spiritual existence. Its no longer just us! While I felt something wonderful indeed was happening at the closing ceremony, I lacked the depth of perception to perceive what it was - it just felt great! So again, thank you for sharing your experience.

For me, the study of alchemy is both a new paradigm to explore, as well as being one that is astonishingly familiar in many respects. New in the sense that, until a few months ago, I thought alchemy had died out hundreds of years ago; but familiar in that I suddenly realized all that I've been so actively engaged in for the past 6 years is, indeed, alchemy - but its just that I never called it that! As such, I see that alchemy provides a wonderful framework for understanding our path of transformation toward oneness with the Divine.

The conference was an absolutely wonderful experience and I found the company of so many like-minded people very inspiring. The speakers had such a wealth of knowledge to share and Jeff McBride is truly phenomenal! I'm already looking forward to attending next year! All in all, I just really appreciated the tremendous work and effort that went into making this conference a reality and would like to extend my thanks to you and all those who were involved.

- H.S.

The International Alchemy Conference, held at the Palace Station, was fantastic! In the coming weeks I will be highlighting a few of the speakers in my Devil's Hammer column. This is absolutely the most important Conference I have been to in the U.S. all year. Let’s hope Dennis William Hauck, the organizer (his workshop was on Spiritual Alchemy) will have the next International Alchemy Conference once again in Las Vegas.

- The Devil's Hammer, http://fromthebalcony.com/devilshammer.php?id=139

Thanks so much for the Alchemy Conference! Because you are soliciting comments and suggestions, here are a few (in random order):

All of the speakers were excellent. Really! Every one of them held my attention for their entire presentation. That is unprecedented in my conference-going experience.
That being said, Jeff McBride, Micha Nilsson, Dennis William Hauck, Robert Bartlett and Art Kunkin stood out as being exceptional speakers and alchemists - probably equal to any alchemists in history.
We appreciated that there were no overlapping talks, i.e. we were able to attend every presentation. I realize that this may not be possible in the future as the conference grows in size. But it was great for us as attendees. In fact, it introduced me to some new ideas and modes of thinking, because I probably would not have chosen some of those particular talks if I had to choose - yet they were great, and sometimes in very surprising ways.
The vendor area was wonderful and we bought several things from several vendors. I hope it was worthwhile for the vendors because it adds a lot to the conference.
It would be nice if there were more opportunities to have small group discussions among the attendees and discuss each others particular interests and work. A small amount of structure would go a long way to facilitate this, so maybe it could be incorporated into the opening reception? (I apologize if you did some of this while I was absent. We had to leave around 8:30 to eat dinner, and things were pretty much over when I returned).
500 years from now, the Las Vegas Alchemy Conference(s) will be discussed and meditated upon as part of the shared lore of alchemy and alchemical history.
If you can possibly fit any entertainment into next year's conference, our band Hobbyhorse does an entertaining and educational show of mythology-based songs that would fit the event perfectly. We could even modify our songs selections and introductions to make it all the more explicitly alchemical, as many of the myths we deal with are basic foundational myths of alchemy (e.g. Osiris and Set, Innana, Orpheus, etc.). Anyway, we would love to perform at next year's conference if possible.
Any chance of putting together a CD of the conference proceedings (e.g. the slide shows and any supporting material that the speakers want to share)? A lot of tech conferences do this. If you cannot do it for the 2007 conference, please consider it for future years.

- P.C., Pennsylvania

It must have been a monumental task to organize it all. It was an incredible experience. I was on the plane on my way to Las Vegas and it suddenly dawned on me that I may have set my expectations too high for the Conference. I got that panic feeling of "What the hell am I doing?"! I can now tell you that it was everything I expected and so much more!

I was feeling somewhat isolated in my studies and my lab work had pretty much stalled over the summer. Some of the online groups had me feeling a bit insecure and inadequate about the knowledge I'd gained so far so the timing of the Conference couldn't have been better for me! When we did the exercise where we were to walk up the mountain to meet the Alchemist in the cave, I was brought into focus where I was headed. When we were asked to talk to someone we didn't know about the gift the Alchemist gave us, I realized something very important personally. I was given a small metal box that opened and had a mirror inside. When I looked in the mirror I saw the Alchemist's face, not my own. It was then that I realized that I really am the Alchemist. It sounds very trivial but it was a very moving moment for me. I felt, for the first time, that I was not just an outsider/student looking into Alchemy---I am part of it and it is part of me. I am not just a student, this is who I am. And I can't thank you enough for providing the forum for me to find that insight!

I learned a great deal and met some very interesting people. They are truly a nice family and I am blessed to have met them all. It was a pleasure to meet you finally! Even with the mountain of things you were running, you made us each feel welcome and comfortable. It was a beautiful weekend.

- D.S.

Thank you a gazillion times over for that incredible, amazing and fruitful weekend -- and also for the lovely post that you sent out. Many of us are so appreciative of the magickal event that you summoned, and all that took place within that vessel -- and beyond. I would like to write to you soon about some other ideas and such, however I just got this info from another list and thought that you or someone from the conference might be interested -- so am sending it on post haste.

- O.P.

It was a great pleasure to attend the conference. You did a really great job! And I think you were rewarded for it, by experience you had. You received a clear message that your action didn't get unnoticed by Upper World. I was pleased to see so many different people with different spiritual paths, but all having the same goals:

· Work on personal transformation

· Share knowledge & experiences with others

· Help to transform others

By doing this actions we are affecting the Universe. It doesn’t matter what tools we are using: Alchemy, Kabbalah, any kind of Meditation, etc. As long as we keep the same goals we are making positive changes to the World and Universe.

- IB, www.Kabbalah.com

Just wanted to Thank you again for a magikal, inspirational time. The conference was just the food my soul needed. I never would have thought that a conference like this could take place in a Vegas hotel but after attending I find it the perfect location. The hotel was a great size, not to big but large enough to have all the comforts needed for a large group of folks.

C.T., Georgia USA

Thank you for all your work in organizing the Alchemy conference. So many eclectic wonderful people who came together. Such a feat! I had some wonderful personal experiences I didn't expect. Thanks for making it happen.

- J.H.

Since then I've been forging along with my alchemical experiments for 20 years, mostly on my own. In all that time I only met one person who had any idea of what I was talking about regarding alchemy. It's always been my dream to make spagyrics available to the public. I tried to start a company in 1988, and again in 2003, but I couldn't get the financial backing I was looking for. I couldn't find anyone who understood the benefits of herbal spagyrics. Now, with this conference, suddenly I'm among people who believe in the work and who are actively pursuing the hermetic path. The work is no longer a guarded secret. I feel this will help to educate society and bring in more people interested in the work. The Paracelsus College closed shortly after Frater Albertus crossed the veil. Since then I've been forging along with my alchemical experiments for 20 years, mostly on my own. In all that time I only met one person who had any idea of what I was talking about regarding alchemy. It's always been my dream to make spagyrics available to the public. I tried to start a company in 1988, and again in 2003, but I couldn't get the financial backing I was looking for. I couldn't find anyone who understood the benefits of herbal spagyrics. Now, with this conference, suddenly I'm among people who believe in the work and who are actively pursuing the hermetic path. The work is no longer a guarded secret. I feel this will help to educate society and bring in more people interested in the work.

- Timoth "KC" Wilkerson

LJ Semple, author of Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time and The Backward-Flowing Method: The Secret of Life and Death, spoke at the Conference on Sunday. His talk was called Activating the Life Force. JJ uses a special meditation called the Golden Flower Meditation or GFM to raise Kundalini in a safe, permanent fashion. According to JJ, GFM effectively transforms the practitioner’s body, improving health and extending one’s lifespan. It also cures all illnesses. Golden Flower Meditation awakens Kundalini and ignites the Life Force energy that revitalizes the entire nervous system. In turn, this starts an autonomic self-healing process. Thanks to GFM, all disorders related to neural damage and nervous are susceptible to self-treatment. Someone asked JJ how old he was. I never take nutritional or psychic advice from people who are obese, or health tips from people who look contagious. JJ is living proof to his claim that awakening Kundalini improves health and extends one’s life. He answered he was 70 years old. Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time is Semple’s memoir about his 1973 Kundalini awakening and is a how-to book. Semple’s books can be purchased from and his itinerary checked at Life Force Books http://www.lifeforcebooks.com. JJ’s next "appearance" is at the Humboldt Holistic Fair on Saturday, October 25th in Eureka, California. The Golden Flower Meditation is an ancient method of Taoist alchemy and is one of the most powerful methods available for personal change. It’s a method Semple rediscovered over thirty years ago through trial and error experimentation with the text The Secret of the Golden Flower. My copy of The Secret of the Golden Flower was brought when I was a teenager! Its time to re-read it and get to work on re-awakening Kundalini. A Kundalini master raised mine in New York City in the 1980s.

-Victoria Alexander, Las Vegas