Sample (Updated) Article from the June 2001 Star Beacon

Conference spreads Love and Light a third year

by Ann Ulrich

PAONIA, Colo. -- Two years ago Earth Star gave birth to the Love and Light Conference. Last year I didn't think I could do it again, but here we are preparing for the 3rd annual Love and Light Conference, to be held the first weekend in August, in our hometown rather than neighboring Hotchkiss. Why did we switch to Paonia?

I wanted to hold the Love and Light Conference in Paonia from the beginning, but we lacked the facilities in this small town, electing instead to rent the huge fairgrounds building. The second year, after some people complained about the "negative vibes" hanging around after the county fair, which was held there the week before, we rented Memorial Hall in Hotchkiss. It was nice enough, but there was still something missing the special high vibration of Paonia, which is closer to the mountains and is home to many like-minded folks. It made sense to go ahead and acquire the Blue Sage Center for the Arts for the weekend. Although smaller, the Blue Sage has a large downstairs area for readers and vendors, and several nicely furnished rooms upstairs, where we will hold our lectures and our workshops.

Kicking off the conference this year will be a special event: Valerie Benson has agreed to come to Paonia from Virginia, to give a talk on her UFO experiences. This presentation will be given Thursday evening at 7:15 in the Blue Sage, and will be free and open to the public. Our intention is to draw in the local folks and let them know what our conference is all about.

In addition, we have special guest Anthony Altman, who will give a presentation at 8:15 (following Valerie). Anthony will present an Introduction to "Past Life Recall and Remote Viewing", and will include some personal UFO contact and drama following an experience at Area 51. Anthony comes from Pahrump, Nevada.

The main conference begins Friday morning, Aug. 3, with registration at 10:00. The first speaker will be Ann Ulrich, speaking on "The Photon Belt, New Energies Affecting Planet Earth." Then, after lunch, we are honored to have author Scott Mandelker present "UFOs and ET Contact: The Spiritual View." Scott wrote Universal Vision and From Elsewhere: Being ET in America, and has traveled all over the country, as well as Japan and Israel, lecturing and giving workshops. He counsels and has a Ph.D. in East West Psychology, with over 20 years experience in Buddhist study and meditation. He is presenting at the Rocky Mountain UFO Conference the end of June. Scott will offer two workshops: "ETs and the Cosmic Plan" and "Healing and Balance." He will also moderate a panel discussion on Sunday morning.

The first set of workshops will be offered on Friday at 3:30 p.m. This year you will have three simultaneous workshops to choose from during the four workshop times. The workshop schedule will be available at registration.

After dinner, Barbara Griffin Villemez will lecture at 7:00 on "Love Is the Way." Barbara is a nurse and will do a workshop by the same name, in which she takes the concept further, using techniques for living these ways of "being," along with experiential exercises. A group meditation will again be offered this year on Friday night after the speaker.

Saturday morning workshops will be held from 10:00 till noon, and after lunch our fourth speaker, Michael Brill, will speak on "The Origin of God, the Universe, and Karma." Michael Brill has been a speaker two years in a row. He teaches numerology and does extensive readings. Using a number grid overlaid onto the Tree of Life and colored "keyed" spots on the Tree, a theory will be presented which relates all creation with the numbers 1-9. Michael's workshop is "Introduction to Cosmic Numerology and Soulutions for Illnesses and Diseases."

Workshops follow at 3:30, and then after dinner Allison Rae will speak on "Star Alignments, Personal and Planetary Healing." In her presentation Allison focuses on the "Shift of the Ages," the energies available to us, as well as some recent information on earth changes. Her workshop will be on "Sojourn on the Star Path." Allison is a channel and mystic intuitive in the lineage of Archangel Michael, a Wisdom keeper carrying esoteric teachings from the Star Nations.

After Allison's lecture, Maria Gurule will present her talk on "Attracting Your Twin Flame Your Life Mate." Maria Gurule is a shaman who travels to Peru as part of her life's work.

Scott Mandelker will moderate the panel discussion mentioned earlier at 10:00 on Sunday morning. Participants will discuss a number of pertinent topics having to do with UFOs, earth changes, spirituality and universal vision.

Sunday afternoon there are workshops again from 1:30 to 3:30.

Jeanine London, one of our workshop givers, will be hosting an "after conference" event, a drumming circle, on her property just outside Paonia. For those who choose to stick around Sunday evening, this will be a fantastic, high-energy event in which the entire community is invited.

As with each year, the schedule is a tentative one. It isn't unusual for speakers to back out and be replaced with someone else. As of presstime there are still openings for a few workshops, and there is a lot of room for vendors and readers, who must provide their own tables this year.

Registration for this year's Love and Light Conference will be $35 for the whole weekend ($60 for a couple), or $15 daily rate ($25 for a couple). Students can get in for $20 (or $10 daily). Workshops cost extra ($15-$25) and you must be registered in order to participate in workshops.