On the last post I imagined a “Healing Space” group and I was asking for support. On the post before that I imagined a cycle of Mind-Body Skills Groups. This writing is a kind of working space, and it is evolving. Things don’t come out the way they started. Just brainstorming tonight, and will make more posts in the future when it comes in more clearly.

I would like to bring people together for in-person cooking classes. And to play music. Simple ingredients for a good time, music and food. I would also like to talk about things on the internet. On the blog, or maybe on Youtube or Twitter. Hmmm.

It may be that the Good Life Clinic needs a board. Who wants to be on the advisory board for my holistic health project? Bringing people together for the good stuff. 

What is going on on Mondays? On Wednesdays? Maybe I am not yet ready for a committed regular project. But if I were, I would want to host things where experts share things. (I check my phone.)

Wow. Amanda is leading a song class tomorrow from 12-2. Holy shit I wanna go. $29. Worth it. I met her on the West Coast while traveling and she is a songwriting Momma.

I had opened my phone to look for the dates for an event that’s already planned in Minnesota that seems to overlap so much with what I am aiming to do. And in checking my FB events, I found Amanda’s event which I had almost missed.

What I was looking for was that Offers and Needs Market on the 22nd that Slow is hosting. I just made a calendar so I don’t miss things. Recently I did not attend many events. But that is changing.

Hello. Thank you for clicking the link and taking a few moments to read this message. I am looking for a partner, or partners who can hold space in a loving way for my healing process. I am working with an IFS therapist, and I intend to work with others who can help me on my recovery journey. I am not an alcoholic, but I do have significant mental health challenges that I hope can improve in the context of loving support from a community that chooses to invest some amount of their time and attention on me and my healing story. So thanks again for being here.

In Feb 2022, I bought a four-bedroom home on Quail Ave N on behalf of a community of 5 who were excited to move in and live together. It was really a family of 4 that I was inviting to live with me. At the time, I had little insight or concern about some of the practical aspects of home maintenance, cleaning, and repairs. I was swept away by the excitement and the energy of being in this community that for me was represented in Community Heart Share circles on Thursday nights.

In March 2023, one of the members of our household had come to the decision that it was time to leave. The 4 of us continued together for the next few months, but later decided the time to make a change would be in the summer before the school year started. So by August 2023, I was in this 4 bedroom home alone. With a dog and a cat. Okay. I’m sorry if I’m getting too long-winded, but I think this helps to set the foundation for where we are going.

I enjoyed playing the piano more and being in the house alone. I had the idea to invite another friend in with their son, but it ultimately didn’t seem like it would work. So I continued in the house on my own through the winter. In April 2024, a couple who had moved to Mexico were back in town and they started staying with me on a short-term basis. It was great to have them in the house, and I invited them to stay longer. In the end, they stayed til Nov 2024 when the weather was getting cold and it was time to return to Mexico, and overall, it had worked pretty well for us.

Now I am still wondering about the vision for this house and how it can be used to serve its highest purpose as a community house. Even the phrase “community house” has so many meanings implied that might be different from what I am intending. I want to be well. And I want the house to be a reflection of my wellness and for it to support events that are nourishing to others. I am hoping for ripples of wealth (energetically) in the community.

On Thursday night I went to CHS at a new home. It was a reunion of sorts, and the people and the space were shining and there was an abundance of love and community care in the house. I wondered, how can I cultivate this kind of environment for people who visit me? I know that a lot of work is needed, and that I have stumbling blocks that lead me to cycles of frustration and inaction. How can I ask to be supported in my own healing and the healing of this space?

What I would like to do is develop relationships with individuals who would like to be supportive of me in this reclamation project. At one point I imagined hosting a weekly progress report meeting. Maybe it is a board meeting for the house? Maybe it is a council for me? And maybe it could serve others who are also working on healing themselves and their home spaces?

There will be limitations if we try to take on too much. In this group, I am asking to be at the center for my own healing. I need that kind of support, and my needs will dissolve into the background if others are coming in with more pressing needs than my own. I have heard “don’t outgrieve the griever”. Perhaps this is a grief group? I imagine and hope it will be a lot more practical than just airing grievances. But this writing may be doing part of that work too.

So what would it look like to have this group, or even for individuals to choose to communicate with me about these topics? Well, fortunately I do have space in my schedule for meetings and time to do the work. Mondays and Wednesdays are especially good for me.

So I could imagine chatting with you once a week, and possibly also have a group that meets once a week. I would share about what is going on at the house, what opportunities there are for improvements, what is stuck, what feels hopeless. And maybe we brainstorm and come up with ideas or plans to make improvements. 

I think if there is one person who would agree to come over and walk through the house with me and help organize the tasks that could be completed to help make the house shine. And some of these projects I have significant resistance to completing on my own. It can feel out of proportion and inexplicable. I am looking for folks who can be patient and supportive as I heal through the blocks that have made it so difficult for me at times.

I would like to have a weekly cooking class at the house. It would be a group of 2-5, and I’m looking to deputize a leader for each week to plan and organize the meal. We will cook and eat together and talk about food and ways to make it streamlined for ourselves to be well fed in a world where that can seem so complicated.

I may be inviting a housemate to live with me soon. It will be critical to me that they are understanding and supportive of my process of self healing and healing the space, and that they can be a collaborator in that. I am not prepared to be a landlord and to charge rent, or to host guests who can receive support from the house for their own creative projects yet, though I hope that that changes in time.

1. Do you appreciate reading this message and are you willing to communicate about this through texts? We can do that individually, or you can be added to a “Healing Spaces” group. 2. Would you be willing to talk on the phone (or Zoom) on a regular or intermittent basis about “Healing Spaces”? 3. Is there anything else you would like me to know about how you can support me on my healing journey?

I would like to be leading a weekly group on Mondays that is similar in format to other series I have hosted of Mind-Body Skills Groups. The last one I did was for the Sanity Project, and I will post a link to the description for that group in the comment below. This one will be different. But I think it will be a rolling group rather than a committed one. People can come and go to the container each week and we will make it work.

There are basically 8-12 weeks possible. I could repeat some of the lessons. But we will do drawings and shaking and dancing, talking with a symptom exercise, guided relaxations and imagery. We will work with soft belly breathing and meditation.

And everyone is invited to be on screen and to take part of the time for their check-in each week. Each person gets to speak when we do the exercises and I do my best to manage the time. It’s not perfect and that’s okay.

Where do I want to recruit from? I can share it with Community Visioning on Signal. I can invite Libby Boo and Marta. I don’t expect them. But they are invited. Who else? More of NAAS? What about MAHA? Who is MAHA? Is it people who respond to Monica’s post on FB? 

What about people who watch Suzanne Humphries’ videos? They have few views, but she knows what she is talking about.

What about Bridget? What would she want to teach at NorthPoint to pregnant mommas? She is a leader. She can lead classes at NorthPoint or at the Music Box. Joshua too. How can we generate income if they are bringing people in. And we can bill insurance. Someone knows how to do it. We can hire a biller and coder. I don’t know how to do all the parts. This is a big operation. It is a healing center. We can use insurance. What is the big MAHA vision? What does healing look like? It is at the house, and it is online on Zoom. We have dancers and singers and story tellers. We bring our big hearts and our authentic selves. We are loved by Master G, the Love Guru.

The Tea House continues. The MBSG resumes. It is happening.

What time? Let me know in the comments? 930am? 830? 1pm? 4pm?

The will go for 2 hours I think. The first one might be more of an info session. Can we start on 3/10/25? I think why not?