You Can't Keep A Good Mystic Down!

AS WORD SPREAD that Mystic Academy had been wiped from the face of Second Life, members and supporters tp'd in, shocked and disbelieving that their beloved Academy had truly gone.

As they gathered, like refugees, on the grass, questions bombarded Academy owner/director, Dragon Shichiroji about the how, what, where, why of the disaster.

Sagely, he pronounced there was no point in getting all agitated about what HAD happened, the focus would be on what WILL happen ... the rebuilding of the academy ... the disaster was an opportunity for a fresh start.

Eyewitness to the dramatic "meltdown", Wisdom & Enlightenment Centre co-owner Zaak Miles said, "It was the strangest thing. I'd just arrived and they were doing a rebuild after Mystic had disappeared for the first time, when all of a sudden the ground started to drop down about 600 metres. It looked like the ground was melting, and it was covered with all these funny-looking flowers!"

"The ground rose up and down about three times. It was the most amazing thing to see!" "I've never seen a meltdown like that in Second Life."

As supporters excitedly talked about what they wanted to see in the 'new' academy - a temple structure, an internal garden, more discussion rooms, a bigger entrance etc - some of the academy's 40 staff, started replacing what had been lost.

Somehow, 'design' didn't seem to be as important as the continuance of the classes and discussion groups that people flock to the academy for.

Slowly, the familiar purple couches appeared out of someone's inventory, then a fire, and then the ever-handy events calender, now a table and chairs, and over there, someone else provided a tree.

Despite there being no building, the 'Academy' began to rise again in the form of the people who make it such a special place. With around 1,200 members that's a lot of spiritual willpower!

Jane Atkey could be seen in the distance, on a stonehenge type of structure, practising her tai chi; and in the moonlight, a Buddha glowed in the dark.

Elborath Gelfand reflected on a library and a club to gig in; StarRose Merlin found her fire; Saphira Masala requested that the 'new' Academy have, "The openness and spontaneity of Rydal(its previous location), with the excellence of the present structure."

And Aurora II Oceanlane cracked up some of the group by declaring, "And I want a pony!"

"The credo of the academy is 'One Light, Many Paths'," explained Dragon, "and we exist to explore the mystical dimensions of the human spirit."

The Academy has meditation, yoga, philosophical discussions, enneagrams, astrology etc ... learning in many forms.

"But we're not just all about tree-hugging," Dragon added, "we know how to party all night too!"

Mystic Academy lives on again in an empty field, because it is nourished by the hearts, minds and souls of the people who go there.

If you want to check out their progress, just go to the Mystic Academy site.