My graduating class, January 1988
Some of the nicest and most talented people in the world.
I'm proud to say I know them, and wish them all the best!
That's me in black, between two pretty girls, (of course;-)
I found massage therapy as a result of an injury to my back that just wouldn't get better. At the time I was new in the area and knew no Reiki practitioners to try.
Muscle relaxants, physical therapy and exercise were all tried to no avail. I found after a few massage treatments my back was better and stayed that way.
I got to know the massage therapist well and became interested in learning all about it. She told me where she had gone to school so during the first week in December of 1997 I went there to check it out.
It was an all day drive from Cottonwood Arizona, to San Diego California. I arrived late in the afternoon, tired, but excited and filled with anticipation and hope for this new adventure.
And as fate would have it, there was no one there to talk to that day. So I went back to the phone book and found another school not far away...
The "Institute of Health Sciences" in Pacific Beach, CA.
I liked the name right away so decided to check it out. In the back of my mind though, I thought I would still go back to the first one the next day and enroll. I was in for a surprise.
I was greeted with warm, open arms right away, and made to feel at home and welcome. Quite different from the "all business" reception of the other school. Even though it was late by the time I got there I was still offered a demo massage and treated like a respected guest.
As soon as the massage began I knew there was something different about the technique they were teaching. I was immediately relaxed and felt completely cared for. Soft music was playing in the back ground and after a time I felt transported to another dimension.
Too soon it was over and I was asked what I thought of it. I was at a loss for words at first. I finally asked what the techinque was called and was told it was a variation of the "Esalen" massage developed at the Esalen Institute at Big�Sur California.
Well, I was sold! I signed up that night for classes that were to start in about two weeks.
Arrangements were made for me to stay in the directors apartment while she was away visiting friends. A normally frustrating hurdle for all out of town students was suddenly gone! I would also be only two blocks from the school! This was magical!
After dinner that night the woman who had enrolled me asked if I had made any arrangements for spending the night.
Of course I hadn't even thought of it. Things had moved too fast that day.
She immediately invited me to spend the night on her couch in an apartment that overlooked the ocean. I hadn't spent a night by the ocean in years!
Of course I accepted...
The peace and spirit that filled me that night as I lay listening to the gentle murmer of the surf is hard to describe, but suffice to say, I knew from that day forward my life was not going to be the same...
8/10/98 This page is still under construction; Please visit again for "The rest of the story" :-) Doug...And still in '03
