What I did:
I walked through Union Square Park with a flashlight. I anointed passersby by shining my light on them while silently or audibly blessing them with the following intention: "May everything upon which you shine your light in this new year bring you joy and pleasure." Occasionally, I handed out small white cards with this blessing written on them.
What Happened:
At 4:30 pm I stood in Union Square Park, not sure what to do or how to start. Will people get mad at me when I flash my little light on them? Is this an invasion of boundaries to a New Yorker?
Reactions varied: some people didn't notice; others didn't care; some instinctively knew it was a good thing; some wanted to know more; some were suspicious and many were frightened of me!
In a typical blessing, I circled my light clockwise from the 1st (root) chakra or 2nd (sex) chakra to the 4th (heart) chakra, but on some people, the blessing was all heart or all sex. Many of the anointings were anonymous, but I gave the little cards to those who I felt might be delighted, comforted or relieved by receiving one.
I felt like a visiting angel. I was not aware of faces or personalities, but I was intensely aware of people's spirits and emotions. I got positively stoned on the energy of all this anointing and blessing.
Kate Bornstein documented it all with her camera until her face froze. At 5:30 pm I reluctantly ended my performance and headed uptown on the subway. I was high all evening long.
