CARLSBORG — For this Saturday, 12 women are preparing a kind of first meal for the New Year, and inviting all those thirsty for fresh beginnings to sit at their table.
This promises to be no ordinary meal. Instead, the women intend to lay out a repast, a feast of sweet flavors and optimism at the Center of Infinite Reflections between Sequim and Port Angeles.
Haven’t heard of this center? It opened a few months ago, but founder Susan Davis and her compatriots thought the new year would make an auspicious time to hold a free open house.
So Saturday will go something like a food festival, with a series of 20- to 30-minute introductory sessions allowing visitors to sample several kinds of, one could say, nutrition for the spirit.
For example, counselor Beatriz Giraldo will offer a taste of “Dancing Toward Your Center,” a relaxation-and-mellow movement course; Zorina Wolf will teach “body-centered drumming”; Gitanjali will guide a brief yoga class; Linda Silvas will teach Native American drum making; Janice Macdonald will explain storyboard writing; Kristine Walsh will give a session titled “intuitive development”; and Davis will dip into journaling and creative writing.
So in the space of a day, there will be music and dancing for those who are so inclined, as well as meditation, conversation and listening.
And since this is about nourishment, there will be lunch: quiche, soup, salad and chili made by the women who made the center happen.
10-year dream
Davis, who’s making not one but four kinds of quiche for the party, envisioned this center some 10 years ago, back when she was working in real estate.
She eventually bought the secluded place on Tripp Road west of Sequim, and put the word out about how she had space for a new breed of health-care provider.
“All of these soul mates showed up,” Davis said, smiling at the women gathered at the center on a recent sunny morning.
Silvas, a Sequim artist and author who owns the Native American Footprints Tour Co.; Macdonald, a Port Angeles author of nine Harlequin romances plus a novel in progress set on the Olympic Peninsula; numerologist and feng shui expert Bernice Roberts; and Walsh, a life coach and student of Native American shamanism, are among those who have helped Davis open the center.
Also part of the collective are Giraldo, Gitanjali, Wolf, energy healing expert Anne Marie Polich, writing teacher Ann Gilliam, massage therapist Jenn Mills and qi gong teacher Silvia Gelbard.
What all these women want: to help community members create what they hope for in the coming year.
So many of us feel burned out or stuck in a rut, Walsh said. But just a class — be it in yoga or shamanism or journal writing — can act as the spark that sets you aflame again.
“What I teach about,” Walsh added, “is going deeper, learning what is really driving you. The spirit always wants to evolve, to emerge forward.”
Drive toward joy
Our natural drive is toward more joy in our days, she said.
The center is a place to discern one’s path into spiritual vitality. It could be through drumming, dancing, writing or a mix of several practices.
The center’s offerings are similar to what one might find at a retreat center — while many are relatively inexpensive.
Giraldo’s “Dancing Toward Your Center” costs $35 for five 90-minute sessions starting Jan. 14. The Thursday morning classes, Giraldo said, explore self-care through relaxation, breathing techniques, gentle exercises, qi gong and free dance. Those who sign up on Saturday will receive a $10 discount, she noted.
Davis’ three-hour “Write in Time” workshop for writers of all levels costs $25, while Roberts’ feng shui-numerology course is $20.
During Saturday’s open house, visitors will have chances to win free classes, in a drawing to be held at the end of the afternoon.
And they will be encouraged to ask questions about each instructor’s background and training.
The women are as diverse as the classes: Giraldo grew up in Bogota, Colombia, Wolf is from New York City; Macdonald is an Englishwoman and Davis is a self-described “coal miner’s daughter” from Morgantown, W.Va.
What’s in a name?
But what about those “infinite reflections”? What’s in this center’s name?
“I woke up with it,” Davis said.
She set an intention of finding the right label for her nascent space, and it just came. “Infinite,” of course, means free of limits, while “reflections” refer to holding up a mirror to one’s talents.
The center is also a place to find kindred spirits, said Wolf, a pan-African drummer.
She teaches people from various backgrounds to pick up percussion toys, transcend debate, share rhythm and listen to one another.
And while this is a learning center, it’s also a place to play. In the spring, Davis plans to expand its activities to the surrounding acreage, where there are trails, ponds and even miniature horses grazing.
A few years ago, she found a sign at a yard sale that she saved for the yet-to-be realized center. The sign says Shangri-La, as in the mythical, earthly paradise made famous in James Hilton’s fiction.
Davis just liked the look and sound of the word, and put the sign on the front of the center facing Tripp Road. It’s a playful touch, and a fitting reference to journeys toward a brighter future.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
