Confluence 2023: The deeper meaning.

What can be achieved when we gather together

The idea for Confluence was birthed in early 2023; the intention was to centre the event around the ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse on 14th October. On the surface Confluence may have appeared to be a speaker event for freedom-minded people, which it definitely was, yet it was also much more than that.

One of the definitions of the word confluence is “a coming or flowing together, meeting, or gathering at one point.” The name was chosen specifically to represent this sense of gathering and flowing together; a name that seems to have had a much deeper connection to the event than may have been originally conceived - consciously at least.

I was honoured to have been invited to speak at the event. What I found particularly interesting was that, although many of the speakers knew each other, we had not discussed the content of our talks with each other, yet there was an obviously similar theme that threaded through our presentations. I suppose I shouldn’t really have been surprised about this connectedness, especially as the title of my presentation was “Everything’s Connected’!

One of the unique features of Confluence was the inclusion of the topic of regenerative farming, which involved a panel discussion by local farmers and a number of farm tours hosted by Mollie Engelhart, renowned chef and owner of Sovereignty Ranch. The purpose of these highly popular tours was not only to show what has been achieved in the short period of time of ownership of the farm but also for Mollie to share her vision and future plans.

It was the inaugural event for Mollie’s new farm in Texas, which meant that, despite the inclusion of some well-known names within the ‘health freedom community’ amongst the list of speakers, there were also some ‘unknowns’ in the mix. One of the totally unexpected ‘unknowns’ that occurred in association with this event, was a particularly strange phenomenon, which was that, as we shared over the course of the weekend, many of us had felt that ‘something’ was trying to make us feel uneasy about the event. It was as if ‘something’ was trying to prevent it from happening. A number of us shared that we had experienced various setbacks and difficulties that almost seemed to be telling us that there was ‘something wrong’. We had felt as if some undefinable ‘dark’ energy was attempting to interfere with us and this event.

The question this inevitably raises is: Why? Why would anyone try to prevent this event? Why would anyone want to stop a group of like-minded, like-hearted, freedom-oriented people from gathering in one place……?

I suspect these are rhetorical questions!

Fortunately, we all remained undaunted and carried on regardless; each of us pushing through the seeming obstacles and arrived in Texas to experience the truly amazing event that Confluence 2023 was to become.

If you haven’t already watched my talk with the amazing Mollie Englehart after the event, you can do so from THIS LINK

My purpose in writing this article is to convey the message of what can be achieved when we ignore efforts intended to divide us and instead choose to gather together.

Confluence opened on Thursday evening with a fireside ‘share’ hosted by Ryland Engelhart, Mollie’s brother; we each stated what we brought to the event and what we hoped to receive over the course of the weekend.

Unsurprisingly I suppose, two of the popular themes were love and connection - and who doesn’t want more of both in their lives during these strange times in which we find ourselves? Especially when we are encouraged to be separated and identify ourselves with various ‘labels’, the overwhelming majority of which are entirely meaningless. The situation that has now arisen in the Middle East is yet another one that is intended to encourage us to not only be divided but to also hate others.

The antidote to all of this is to take the opposite stance; to gather together with love in our hearts, which is what Confluence not only offered but also succeeded in providing.

The event ended on Sunday evening with another fireside ‘share’, also hosted by Ryland, at which it was obvious that not only had people’s desires for the event been fulfilled, but they’d been fulfilled in abundance - to a far greater level than had been imagined. This was obvious from the intense emotions that people expressed when they shared what they had expected and what they had experienced. There was a great deal of love, gratitude, some tears, and an overwhelming recognition of the connection between us all.

Here’s just one example of the wonderful feedback that has been received since the event.

It is said that knowledge is power, but to this must be added the power of connection. Is this why they wanted us separated from each other at a distance of 6 feet? I’d suggest it is certainly a major reason. And for this reason alone, it is essential that we do everything we can to connect with like-minded and like-hearted people. It’s time for us to find ‘our tribe’.

Interestingly, there had been a similar attempt to disrupt another event earlier in the year, at Music and Sky which was held in August in California. At that event, we faced threats from the four elements: earth, fire, air, and water.

The earth ‘threat’ was posed by a nearby earthquake; the fire element was in the form of actual fires both near the Alfa Vedic farm as well as near the event venue itself; the air threat was posed by a nearby hurricane; and the water threat presented as heavy persistent rain throughout one of the days.

None succeeded in being as serious as they had threatened to be, although that is not to diminish the very real ordeals that some people faced.

Was the reason that these threats failed to be as serious as they could have been because we were a group of connected, heart-centred, authentic people with an understanding of our true power?

I would suggest that the answer to this question is a resounding Yes!

This leads me to ask what may seem a bizarre question: Is it at all possible that the ‘would-be-controllers’ had tuned into those of us who attended these 2 events in order to disrupt us and prevent our gathering together because they know how powerful we are when we congregate?

So what is the ‘deeper meaning’ of Confluence?

For me, a key take-home message from Confluence is to trust ourselves to overcome the difficulties we are currently facing; to trust our intuition and not be daunted by seeming obstacles. More than ever we need to trust our inner guidance and recognise when we are on the ‘right’ path.

Another key message is that the efforts of the past 3 years and counting have clearly been directed at separating us from each other. This is the complete opposite of how we as men and women are meant to live; we are social beings who thrive and grow when in community. We can all thrive when we live according to 3 Cs: collaboration, connection, and community.

And those 3 Cs, together with an overall concept of self-governance, were the overarching themes of the talks - more details on these topics and regenerative agriculture are discussed in my interview with Mollie as well as on her website, Sovereignty Ranch

A number of the talks were recorded and will be made available soon; I will share details of where you can watch them as soon as I have the information.

Another eclipse will occur on 8th April 2024 and will be visible over Sovereignty Ranch; this will form the basis of another Confluence event that is currently in the planning stages.

More details on this and other events to be held on the ranch, including a homesteading course in March 2024, can be found on the Sovereignty Ranch website at THIS LINK

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