Lily Nova (aka Clydeen Malloch), Grass Valley, CA
I came to New York City in 1964 from Los Angeles, and in 1966 took a class from Charlotte Selver that changed my life. I didn't know at the time that Charlotte would be such a profound influence on my life. However, I became immediately interested in her work, yet really did not know what the work was about. I continued taking a weekly class and then went to Charlotte's Christmas workshop in Mexico at Rio Caliente near Guadalajara, which brought me face to face with some of my own inner barriers to change. I came back feeling newborn.
I continued working with Charlotte in NYC and Mexico, and on Monhegan Island, Maine. The workshops on Monhegan were particularly powerful. With such beautiful surroundings, each day was a feast of inner and outer explorations. It's almost as if those of us in her workshops inhabited the island as earth spirits to wander freely about, exploring the endless beauty around us as well as investigating the mysteries of our inner pathways and currents, our experiences.
In 1969 Charlotte asked me to lead some of her NY classes when she was traveling. I was surprised and delighted that Charlotte felt I could take on the task of leading classes since I knew she did not want her work to be interpreted by others and had not allowed others to lead her classes. At the time, I feared I did not have the maturity or enough experience to lead classes, but I wanted to try and loved doing it.
When I retired from my dress designing and manufacturing business in NYC, I came to northern California and reconnected with Charlotte on her 99th birthday. It was such a joy to see her again here in her home near Muir Beach. She seemed very frail and yet full of a radiant light, scintillating with life. I took several workshops with her before she passed away in 2003 and in early 2007 began teaching classes again, feeling it a great privilege to continue in Charlotte's tradition of Sensory Awareness.