Give a gift of wellness this Christmas with Healing House Gift Certificates
By Karen Secord, Healing House Canada
The Healing Experience: Pain is the great equalizer. When pain reaches out, grabs you by the throat and forces you to pay attention, nothing else matters. Suffer alone and its effect can be excruciating. Have a caring ear, a warm hand, a gentle spirit by your side and pain can be muffled. I learned this during an 11-day post-surgery stay at the Carp Ridge Healing House in late October.
What I learned during my stay at the Carp Ridge Healing House:
- Even though I am 5’8” tall I can dangle my feet off the edge of the queen size bed. And even though I am nearly 51 years old being in pain makes me feel as needy as a child on their first day of school. And that’s okay. Accepting help when you are at your most vulnerable is okay.
- For me, not being able to talk for what seemed like an eternity was almost as painful as having my 50 year old tonsils and soft palate sliced, diced and stitched up. I can’t count the number of times Sandy, Carol and Kim handed me a notepad and lovingly told me to please be quiet!
- Slippery Elm tea can calm a tummy all gurgly from lack of food and way too much morphine.
- When Carol and Sandy and Kim make a meal it is done with knowledge, experience and care. I never knew that soup could taste so incredibly wonderful. Who would have thought that protein powder in cauliflower soup could taste better than a slice of dark chocolate?
- Rest is the great healer. I learned to rest and not feel guilty. It took time and effort but I learned that all the hustle and bustle and must-get-done “stuff” will wait. It can wait.
In the end, needing and accepting help has taught me to appreciate the wonderful people around me. Working for the Carp Ridge Healing House has always been more than just a job. However, now I do it with a more complete knowledge and appreciation for all the little miracles that happen there every single day!
Gift Certificates: Give the gift of wellness to someone you care about this Christmas. Carp Ridge Healing House gift certificates are available in any denomination and can be redeemed toward a night, a weekend or a week of relaxation and rejuvenation complete with holistic care – individualized organic meal plans, daily meditation and movement based on your needs and abilities.
Social Networking: Become a Fan of Carp Ridge Healing House on Facebook or check in with us on Twitter (You can go to Facebook & Twitter from the home page of www.carpridgehealinghouse.com). Follow what’s happening in the House and at the Ecowellness Centre, ask questions, share your thoughts and opinions. Join a growing number of people and organizations who are reading our tweets (At Twitter under “healingcare”). Twitter & Facebook are great ways to connect with others, find out what they are up to and share what we are doing. Check out some of our followers. Very interesting!
Meditation is very much a part of the Healing House philosophy. Our Hosts – Sandy, Carol, Kim and Lise (our newest “on-call” host) — encourage our guests to incorporate it into their daily routine. Every Tuesday evening we are joined by meditation teacher Christopher Simmonds for his class Cosmic Mindfulness: Meditation in the Tantra Tradition by Christopher Simmonds, www.ottawameditation.ca. Chris’ classes are relaxing, enlightening, energizing and so much more. Please consider joining us when we begin our next session in January. Dates and times will be posted on our website early in the New Year.
In the past month or so we have had guests from three provinces. Come see why. We’re only a phone call away~ 613-839-5786. (Or you can email us at healinghouse@ecowellness.com)
Happy Holidays!
