This past weekend is truly one I will never forget. Over the past few days I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at the 15th annual IONS conference in the desert of Indian Wells, California, located near Palm Springs. IONS (The Institute of Noetic Sciences), was founded 40 years ago by Astronaut Edgar D. Mitchell ScD, who was the 6th man to walk on the moon during the mission of Apollo 14. Upon his re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere he experienced an overwhelming sense of consciousness, which couldn’t be explained by the standards of science. It was at that point that this man, whose life was centered on exploring the depths of space, refocused and pointed his life’s direction towards exploring the depths of our inner space. And so the journey begins. Over the years IONS has invited out amazing speakers from all walks of life to share their wisdom, their studies, and their experiences with hopes of building closer to understanding spirituality and science being one unit, or using one to understand the other. I had the privilege and honor of being invited to share my work and my walk with this year’s conference. It’s always rewarding to be able to do my thing and it is something I don’t take for granted, so I was excited to be going, even though I didn’t know what to expect.
Upon my arrival I caught a strong sense of positive energy. And that vibe held to be true, as well as magnify as the days went on. I was slated to perform Friday morning along with two 2-hour breakout sessions Friday and Saturday. Exhausted from traveling in from Chicago & Los Angeles, I got up early, worked out, studied my set, meditated over the thoughts I wanted to deliver, put on something fly, doused on some smell goods, grabbed my Blackhawks cap and my book “HERE I AM: Then & Now,” found my “ZONE,” and finally, when it was time, I hit the stage for a packed house of 5-600 onlookers. The stage is where my freedom lies. It’s where I completely come alive, so naturally I felt right at home performing “Never Let Me Down,” “WAR,” “I NEED to Write,” “Dear Father,” and a new poem I wrote on the plane traveling in titled, “The Power of Poetry.” I also showed my latest music video titled “Everything” featuring friend and genius Chris Rob.
As always, the performance felt like a piece of heaven rushing thru my veins. I THANK GOD for the “WINGS” and showing me ways to share my experience with others. I want to send a BIG, BIG THANK YOU to all of the REAL LOVE that I was shown after my set and for helping sell out of my product in the bookstore. It was truly astounding to receive the endless words of encouragement. THANK YOU to Mr. Edgar Mitchell, Cassandra Vieten, Jenny Matthews, and Marilyn Schlitz for the invitation. And a SPECIAL THANK YOU to Mica Estrada, Levar Burton, Norman Seefe, Don Miguel Ruiz, Jitendra A. Davahekar, Rose Welch, Luisah Teish, Dean Radin, and Katia Petersen. I will remember you and this feeling always. GOD BLESS YOU & continue on your/our quest to CHANGE THE WORLD for the better.
MUCH LOVE,
J. Ivy
ps SHOUT OUT to the CHEF!
