|
|
|
|
Donations by check, addressed to "The Healing WELL," are also welcome. Please mail them directly to:
The Healing WELL
234 Hyde Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.
|
|
|
|
|
Letter from the Program Manager
|
|
|
As I am integrating into the Healing WELL community, I am continuously struck by what an important sanctuary this place is for our participants. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear someone say how much this place means to them. The atmosphere is warm, inviting, and like a family. In Hawaii, the word Aloha means both hello and goodbye, as well as love. People often talk about Aloha as if it is greater than just a word, it is a sense, it is a spirit. You treat people, your community and your planet with the spirit of Aloha: with love, compassion and kindness.
Inevitably, personalities do not always mesh within a family. The reality of our family is that many of our participants struggle with mental health challenges, sometimes severe. This can complicate relationships and challenge people’s spirit of aloha. Earlier this month a particularly challenging individual joined one of our 12 Steps for Healing groups. This person clearly needed a lot of support, physically and emotionally, and grappled with evident mental health challenges.
What was most striking about this experience to me was how much support this individual needed in light of what we could provide. Despite the fact that we offered neither a medical clinic nor a clinical therapist, we did address one of her fundamental needs - honor. The Healing WELL gave her a space in which she surrounded by a kind community with an amazing spirit of Aloha. Participants in the group showed patience as she mumbled through the meditation. During her sharing, the group listened and validated her with the same respect as given to any participant. After the group, the facilitator ate his snack with her. As people were leaving, many made a point to wish her goodbye. It is likely she gets forcibly kicked out of places frequently due to destructive behavior and her mental health struggles. Here, when it was time to close, she left on her own free will and with her dignity intact. As challenging as this experience was, I felt so proud witness such an accepting and kind group of people. It is a testament to the Aloha spirit of the Healing WELL and I am graced to be a new member of the community.
Warmly,
Sarah Combs
|
|
|
Please Join Us For:
FREE Workshops and a Retreat
|
|
CONSCIOUS RELATIONSHIPS
Led by Dave Richo, Ph.D, MFT
Psychotherapist, Retreat Leader and Author
Visit davericho.com
Through meditation, presentation, and discussion, participants will reflect upon relationships, and the personal integrity and spiritually conscious love which allows them to thrive.
Workshop Series - Drop Ins are Welcome
Tuesdays, March 14, 21, 28
10:15am - 11:15am
At The Healing WELL
234 Hyde Street (at Turk)
Retreat - Registration is Required
Saturday, March 25
10:00am - 3:00pm
At the Spiritual Life Center, St. Agnes Catholic Church
1611 Oak Street (at Masonic)
To register, or for more information, contact: The Healing WELL (415) 500-2099 or The Spiritual Life Center: 415-487-8560.
|
|
|
|
|
New Class with Annie Koller
|
|
|
Annie Koller comes to the Healing WELL with a wealth of knowledge, a spirit of kindness, and a passion for wellness. Her creative vision is called TAPIN, where she integrates movement, meditation, creative expression and sharing into a deeper exploration of one's own emotions.
Annie encourages participants to tap in to their emotions and teaches skills to deal with stress through her guided meditations. Her first class was packed and people left the meditation feeling "refreshed", "focused, "grounded", "alive" and "Ahh!"
Come join her class Tuesday mornings at 9:00am!
To learn more about Annie and TAPIN, click
here.
|
|
|
A mosaic of art and words describing participant's "post meditation" feelings during Annie's first class.
|
|
|
Nieves outside the Healing WELL.
Photo courtesy of Jonath Matthew and Stories Behind the Fog
|
|
|
Volunteer Spotlight: Nieves
What an honor it is to feature volunteer Nieves Moreno this month. His wide grin and twinkling eyes conveyed the message of deep welcome when we came to the home of the Faithful Fools 18 months ago. His generosity, flexibility and excellent laugh have graced us every day since. Whether greeting people at the door, picking up yogurt and granola for snacks, driving the van for offsite classes, or regaling us with stories about his grandchildren, Nieves keeps us smiling. May we all be people for others, as Nieves is. Nieves's story will be featured in Stories Behind the Fog in the near future.
|
|
|
Participant
Expression
: Poetry and Jewelry
|
|
|
In this room
the walls are upside down
the ceiling is actually the floor
but no one even notices
the windows remain open
as I sit and scheme of new ways
to remain on the top of all the nothing
to which it seems I am so umbilically like connected
there is no jesus, no buddha
no gallup poles
nor eternal ideas
nor afterlife fears
just a lot of paper on the floor
and angels hover in corners
blow trumpets
wear sunglasses of blue suede shoes
refer to each other as daddio
and carelessly saying to the blues
as I sing my redemption song softly
in hardly audible tones
like a hollow wand that howls
its scared tune into the night
-J
|
|
|
For Valentines Day, Phylis and Ruth led their monthly jewelry-making class at the Spiritual Life Center at St. Agnes Catholic Church. Participants created necklaces for themselves and loved ones, while sharing stories and good spirits.
|
|
|
The Healing WELL is a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Initiatives
|
|
|
234 Hyde Street (Between Turk & Eddy)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
