Imagine a place in the country that you could visit for a week or weekend, dropping your diagnosis off at the front desk when you arrive. You are given a map and a list of the scheduled events in this art colony. You are greeted and shown to your own little cottage that has everything you need to make your visit a comfortable one.

When you look at your map of this Eco-village you'll notice the different environments and gardens that you can stroll through. There’s a tropical setting complete with orchid and koi gardens and Japanese style meditation room. You can also go to the fruit grove and vegetable and herb garden. There is a desert garden area with an adobe building that is the pottery studio. There's even a forest of transplanted redwood trees with pines and lush ferns that surrounds a cabin that is for woodworking and crafts. There’s an octagon building, a teepee, a two-person chapel, and a huge barn for exercises and group meetings. As you scan the map you see a country barnyard complete with animals.

 There are different looking studios that house a TV VCR and a bookshelf full of our instructional video series on the arts and crafts. Each studio is equipped with the tools and materials you’ll need to get started learning. You can see that there is freedom of getting up at 4 am and wandering out to the studio you want to visit or walking in the garden watching the sun come up. You are on your own schedule.

There is a Walk of Hope that takes you through all the gardens and has inspirational thought provoking signs along the path, that changes in textures, sometimes brick, rock, grass, dirt, straw. There are forks in the road each one taking you on an adventure. You can feel that this is a living breathing growing environment. There is a fishing pond, and a swimming pool to learn aqua exercises the massages and spa are to the right. You have many choices to make. Weaving, candle making, sculpting with clay, painting, and a music room. Aromatherapy, or doing nothing at all but lay in the occasional hammock swing or benches provided throughout the retreat. You can sign up for events or not. It is up to you. There are no agendas, schedules. This is the key to our retreat. You have free rein. There will be group activities like healthy cooking, canning, Vegetable gardening, growing herbs, yoga, Qigong. We will have visiting artists and inspirational speakers. We’ll have a library that you can check out our books, video or audiotapes while you are visiting. The main office is located in the main house that has community kitchen, dining and recreation room.

We feel strongly that art addresses deep emotions that might otherwise go unaddressed. Learning something new like how to paint or sculpt can become an outlet for pain and inflow of hope. This kind of environment would help us ponder those questions we don’t seem to find time to answer, like what’s my mission? Why me? What is my plan of action? Now that this has happened what can I do?

Imagine that at the end of your stay you are given up-to-date information on your disease. This would include a list of traditional, alternative and complementary therapies, a list of the best doctors, sources in your area for each, the short and long-term side effects of each treatment along with a list of names of people who have been through what you are considering. People, who you can write, phone or e-mail when you go home.

With your artwork under your arm you can stop off at the gift shop and purchase any of the instructional videotapes or books that you liked. You feel renewed and refreshed ready to make some crucial decisions. You feel informed and powerful. Ready to tackle any problem or obstacles that may come up. Hopefully you will walk away with your priorities in order, a new perspective on life, feel less burdened,and you will have learned to look at adversity as a means to finding out who we are, and what you are made of deep inside.

This is our dream. I know I would have loved to have gone to a place like this when I was first diagnosed, when I felt like I was drowning in an ocean of tears. I needed to get away, stand back from my life, take a day or two to figure out what "I" wanted, a plan of action.

The Pollyanna in me would love to see major corporations donate products they produce. Such as Gateway donating computers, Microsoft software, Home Depot donating building materials, with professionals and students coming together to build a Healing Arts & Information Retreat. With the proceeds of my book and the documentary that we are working on I plan on making this dream of ours a reality.

Is this a place that you would like to visit? Please let me know what you think. 
Either sign my Guestbook, or send me an Email.