8 Jeweled Revelations from Patmos, Greece

How many humans undertake massive excursions into the unknown to find answers, uncover new questions, make offerings, or escape inner or outer persecution?

Long-distance pilgrimages are bound to be fraught. I’m home from Patmos, Greece, and metabolizing the complexities of outrageous beauty, getting sick, meeting soulful beings, disappointment, and renewed clarity about what I know and don’t know.

There is much to digest, and Stephen are I are both sick, which colors things, doesn’t it? So, today I want to string some of the jewels of our trip together.

I have a strong soul antenna. Soulfulness is a treasure I most hope to bring home from travels because soul feeds my hope. I usually find soul in people. Occasionally, it is revealed in a place, in my imagination, or through an invitation from some other species.

I do get disappointed when I feel a lack of soul connection. I keep learning that lesson and wonder how to navigate my disappointment and sadness. More about that in a later post.

Here are 9 jewels revealed to me on the island of Patmos, Greece

Jewel #1 Steve and Eric. Our connection was instantaneous. Steve, a retired Palliative Care physician, and Eric, a Dallas Public Hospital Bereavement Coordinator, declared themselves our friends. Stephen and I felt the same. Eric kept saying he needed me as an embodiment coach so I offered to be his muse and handed him the one Art of Ensoulment book I brought. Jewels! Steve and Eric also brought us leftovers, meds, and masks when we got sick.

Jewel #2: I knew immediately that Marina had Patmos in her heart. Guiding us through St John’s monastery and the Cave of the Apocalypse, she offered her wealth of information and inspired glimpses of her Greek Orthodox world. Her transmissions were, for me, golden icons of memory. I told her she was the best thing about Patmos and that I longed to sit with her, which she made every effort to do. She is also funny and down-to-earth, a true sign of ensoulment.

Jewel #3  Despina Melianou of Koukoumavla. I found blue-haired Despina right next to the fortress-monastery of St John up in the hilltop village of Chora. Little did I know that her family had long ties with the monastery, like being in charge of its world-renowned theological library. Despina is my kind of artist! It’s as if the Oracle of Delphi moved to Chora as a playful, loving woman sprouting insane joy among old stone buildings where Greek Orthodox prayers have been chanted for millennia. In her amazing bookstore, I bought an owl painting, a Jackson Pollock T-shirt, and a mermaid puzzle. Stephen was desperate for her dragon T-shirt. On our second visit, our blue-haired goddess revealed that Patmos folks recently asked her to paint an old kiosk, and she turned it into a free library, something they’d never dreamt of. HA! REVELATION!

Jewel #4 Allison Russell and JT Nero Allison’s soul-singing, altar-making, community-wise artistry repeatedly broke the salon open. We heard her story as a survivor of 10 years of childhood abuse and her path to becoming a queer black mama and partner to JT Nero. (JT’s wry humor and truth is still a secret, but I felt him as he and her young daughter were full participants. No wonder Allison just won the 2024 American Roots Grammy for Eve is Black. Allison and JT have soul! Her power to move an overwhelmingly white, affluent group was a testament to her belief in community. Plus, she captured the spirit of the salon by learning an old ballad, John The Revelator, and then poured night and day into it.

Jewel #5: The glistening people and place. Being sick, I had too few conversations, which felt tragic for a connector like me. Still, I am grateful that Love gathered us as She could. Bows to Susan, who worked for the CDC through Covid, Mitch who found his white hat-self; Cindy who stepped in to tend to the racism, Ben who shared and cared for us; Jonna and Marlee, who sought me out to learn more about Ensoulment; Rebecca with whom I found a healing dance, the two women who listened to Stephen and I talk about our recovery process and reminded us that we are still reeling, and all who shared their hearts, songs and poetry at the last concert.

Jewel #5 Prayers of Beloved Community. When Stephen became ill, and we both were in bed, I emailed InterPlayers to please dance on our behalf. Countless emails flooded in. Among them was this video of an improvised dance on our behalf from our Leader’s Gathering in Seattle. Then Soyinka called and gave me an infusion of BIBO Love.

Jewel #6 The Angels Who Got Us Home. The trip home took 48 hours. Along the way, Susan from the salon shepherded Stephen. Our Athens hotel got us a room in the morning instead of 3 pm. Miraculously, Stephen found the energy to navigate two flights plus layovers. Then, I got Katina Thompson as a seatmate from Athens to Atlanta. Katina is a Greek American who has found a home in Crete with her husband, Rett and created a YouTube Channel called Becoming Greek. When I asked Katina about her Orthodox faith and culture, she shared experiences of faith, wonder-working icons, and her abiding connection to the roots of Christianity, not to mention Greek dancing! When I told her I felt lucky to have her as a seatmate, she said, “I wasn’t supposed to be on this flight. I was put on this one when my flight was canceled.” It felt like grace.

Jewel #7 Enjoying Sheer Beauty with Stephen. When we left on the trip, Stephen, my partner of 45 years, said, “If nothing else, I look forward to spending this time with you.” We wish we weren’t sick for so much of it, but our love served us well. People repeatedly commented on our connection. What a gift to know enduring love.

Jewel #8 The Aegean Sea— Whatever else- we jumped into the clear, holy jewel that is the Aegean.