Dear Students and friends,
A great time of change is upon us at 22 Teachings and I’d like to share what’s afoot.
Before 22 Teachings existed as a brick and mortar school, when I was still teaching in Echo Park, the two people who were my left and right hand were Frank Paul and Vanessa Baltodano. When the time came to open the school, they both stepped out from apprenticeship and into teaching roles, to stand by my side as my faculty.
The three of us together have been not only teachers and readers, but administrators, builders, writers, maids, operators and all of the other tasks that running the school has required.
We have been through so much together, from designing, building and creating the physical space, to each of us unfolding in our teachings and practices, to all of wiggling needed to navigate the pandemic, and with A.M. Penn as our fourth “band member” we have weathered storms, the seas and the stars.
Both A.M. Penn and Frank Paul have been furthering their formal education through Grad School since last year, and that leads me to the first big announcement.
Frank, who has been the head of our writing department and created multiple courses; trained, counseled and read for clients, been an invaluable administrator, and cared for and loved the school like no other, has reached a place where his journey is taking him beyond the nest of 22. Working on his Psychology Degree, he is shifting into professional therapy work. This is underpinned by his desire to move in order to be closer to his family, and thus he is closing his chapter with us to start a new one.
Frank is one of the most compassionate souls I have ever met. Humble to a fault, a brilliant poet, a heart of gold, a loyal friend. All of us at the school have been touched by his kindness and the years of hard work which he put in both in our school temple and behind the scenes. We love him and I know that he loves you all, and while it is heart-wrenching it also brings us all great joy to see him step into the next phase of his purpose. We all wish Frank the greatest success in this poignant becoming.
This brings me to our second big announcement, and as some of you are already aware, Vanessa went on a journey to England this last month, and during her initiations there, she received a new name, and we would like to reintroduce you to her now, as Ixté Owul (pronounced Eesh-teh).
You’ll see this new name on her events and when booking a reading or healing. For events recorded prior to the change, she has chosen to still honor her old name and leave it there.
The meaning and story behind this is something she is excited to share so stay tuned for more.
Congratulations to Frank and Ixté for these exciting new steps.
LVX,
Naha