Mary Eve Thomas(above) and Mary Havstad(right), St. Joan of Arc Prayer Partners, hosted a healing service on Wednesday, April 18th in the church. Mary Eve created a centerpiece on the floor of the church with draped cloth, bronze statue surrounded by flowers and candles placed around the area. It was a perfect setting as we drew our chairs into a circle close to this lovely centerpiece of beauty.

Along with Kathie Power-O’Brien, a psychotherapist, this trio of women dedicated their combined efforts to bring to St. Joan’s an evening of healing from a viewpoint that is a bit different than the “usual” compilations of healing prayers in services of the past.

While prayer is always the center of any healing service, this group of talented ladies showed us some added elements of the healing process. In preparation, they had sifted through many various philosophies such as Buddhism, Shamanism, Feminism, Taoism Eastern Medicine and Western Medicine. They found that the connecting golden thread among all of these traditions was wisdom about energy and healing. Mary Havstad is a Mental Health Therapist and a Qi qong practitioner. Qi gong is about energy, breathing and movement. She took us through some amazing moments of deep breathing.

A reference from Genesis spoke of how God formed humans and blew into their nostrils the breath of life and so humans became living beings. And so, this evening’s main thrust was: “ breath is spirit – spirit is life”.

The Shaman healers of the Native American people have practiced energy medicine for more than five thousand years. The Qi gong therapy speaks of natural breathing and how proper breathing supports every system in the body.

The basic tenet of this evening’s service is that, “True healing is nothing less than an awakening to a vision of our healed nature and the experience of infinity”.

This lovely prayerful hour was relaxing and a gift to our bodies and souls with the poems, prayers, music, breathing exercises and guided “Breath of Fire” which was the climax of the evening’s exercises.

The “Breath of Fire” meditation is a body/mind/soul and spirit experience. Kathie explained how it helps us connect to our physical body of matter, our symbolic body, our mind; our mythic body, our soul and our essential self or energy body - which is spirit…that deep place of stillness. This “Breath of Fire” meditation was performed by ancient Shaman healers, transpersonal psychology, Eastern spiritual plus mystical practices.

Steve Kremer’s quiet sonorous guitar and voice were the perfect complement to this evening’s prayerful and meditative atmosphere as he sang for us this song:

These three ladies taught us so much more than I can relate in this report, We could only scratch the surface of all that is there to help us reduce our ills whether it is emotional, physical or spiritual by simply understanding breathing well and deep plus an awareness of the power of our own energy in every healing process.

It was a wonderful healing service and one that I hope is repeated often here at St. Joan’s. Many present were truly “opened” up to the possibilities of this manner of healing as we concluded our service with these words:

“Bathed in healing energy, my body radiates health.

My mind is aglow with the light of wisdom.

Wholeness and holiness are mine to claim and I do.

If then, your whole body is full of light with no part of it

In darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives

You light from its rays.”

View the StarTribune article on Tai chi and qigong.

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JoAnn Potts is a retired teacher, music/English/choir director and 35 year member of St. Joan's. She enjoys volunteering to assist Anna Vagle with music tasks one day each week; singing in the choir; writing her memoirs, poetry and SJA web articles; keeping up with family and friends. JoAnn and Jim, husband and wife team of 54 years, are proud of their family of five children and nine grandchildren. Wanna see pictures?  JoAnn can be reached at joannpotts@gmail.com.