The Peace Valley Healing Center (PVHC) provides support for indigenous elders to attend Living in Process® (LIP) community gatherings. I cannot begin to communicate the richness they bring to our group or the life lessons they teach us.

I was humbled to be a participant in a “give-away.” Many gifts were given from people who, by my old way of thinking, had so little. It helped me see my arrogance, knowing that they have a richness of spirit. It helped me see my stinginess and how I want to hold on to things unnecessarily. My life is enriched by the native elders.

Another time at a Gathering, I was taken aback when a toddler interrupted a respected elder who was addressing the group. In my family children were to be seen and not heard when adults were talking, especially when an adult was addressing a group of people. I felt a jab of fear and embarrassment for the child and the parent who I assumed would be given a “Why-don’t-you-control-your-child” glare from other group members. To my surprise, the elder stopped and listened to the child and responded lovingly. Through many similar examples, I learned a new way to be with children that does not allow them to monopolize or disrupt the group, but includes and honors them in a respectful and loving way.

Before participating in the Living in Process Training and working 12 Step programs, my life was hellish; I was an active alcoholic and addict and had an eating disorder. I had been affected by the drinking of adults in my family as a child. I had also experienced incest and emotional abuse as a child and young adult. My young adult life included an attempt to run away to prostitute and a nearly successful attempt at suicide in 1989. In 1996 I was referred for a psychiatric evaluation by my family physician and was diagnosed as having obsessive-compulsive disorder, moderate to severe depression and anxiety disorder. The report from that 1996 evaluation said that I should go on quadruple the normative dose of a popular antidepressant. The report went on to say politely and professionally, that in essence, I was a psychiatric write-off.

I discovered 12 Step programs in 1997. A fellow 12 Stepper told me about Living in Process Intensives. I went to my first Intensive that same year. I joined the Training in 2001. I am in my fifth year of Living in Process® Training.

Today, I know peace, sanity and sobriety. Years ago I prayed to have peace of mind. I have peace of mind today. I credit the Living in Process Training a great deal for giving me the support I needed to get well.

I am so grateful to have the financial support to continue the training, to maintain my wellness and continue to heal. Thank you Peace Valley Healing Center.

As a result of a physical illness, I went to a sleep specialist recently. As part of his routine evaluation, he did a psychiatric evaluation. At the end of his very thorough battery of questions and observation, this doctor looked up from his notes and exclaimed, “Chris, psychiatrically, you are as healthy as a horse!” This is a miracle.

Today, I have a burgeoning life, full of opportunity. I have a supportive wife, family, and many friends. I have recently returned to university. I now support other struggling addicts and alcoholics and believe I am a good and conscientious citizen. I am very grateful.

This subsidy you have granted me allows me to continue to heal and maintain my newfound gift of mental health and wellness. Thank you so very much.

The Peace Valley Healing Center is a generous, open and loving vehicle for exchanging contributions and requests for people to heal within community...As the result of the financial, emotional, and most importantly spiritual support from the Peace Valley Healing Center, I have been able to find a way of healing and move away from my deep-seated mistrust in others that stems from living with the effects of alcoholism.

I began my healing journey with the Living in Process® Training 8 years ago. At first, I saw Peace Valley Healing Center as a source of financial aid if I should need to do the Training and had insufficient funds . I soon learned that the experience and possibility for learning and participating was and is much more. I involved myself in Art Shares and cooperative auctions to raise funds for Peace Valley Healing Center. I felt touched by the experience of generosity as people bid to help, not themselves, but someone else receive an item they really liked. I felt a lot of joy in the Art Shares; some people read poetry; others sang songs, or shared paintings or photography. These fund raisers were really a fun way to get to know people and at the same time raise funds for the Peace Valley Healing Center.

About three years ago, I received a grant from Peace valley Healing Center for some of my travel and Training fee. What I remember most is a great feeling of being loved and appreciated (as is my experience in the Living in Process® work.) I knew that I wanted this work and this way of living to be a possibility for other people who have struggles with addictions, or were abused and dealing with living in an addictive society. I still support this work financially and with my time and energy. I have also been enriched by the PVHC Elders Fund. The Fund has supported Elders coming from all over the world to share their history, wisdom and spiritual way of living with us. I have felt humbled by their presence and the gentleness of their ways of moving through life. I felt some of my rough edges fall away, and these were edges that I didn’t know I had until they were gone. My husband has joined us here for two International Gatherings of the Elders and he also had a wonderful experience. We still carry this in our relationship today. The experience has profoundly affected us and how we relate to each other and the world.

Today, I serve on the Board for Peace Valley Healing Center. I look forward to our conference calls. They give me a tremendous opportunity to explore working with more attention to both intent and process. And then, I can bring this experience into the day to day operation of my own business. I have been secretary on the Board and have worked on different committees. I have learned so much about being clear with what I and we are doing and I have benefited from the experience of becoming a ”trusted servant” of the community. I continue to learn how service keeps me connected to the Creator, and most of all, I learn about how not to take myself so seriously. Often I do not notice the absence of laughter in my life; until I find myself laughing again and am reminded to enjoy life.

I am deeply aware of how important it is to feed the world, where there is starvation. For me, spiritual nourishment is as essential to life as physical nourishment. Far too many of us have forgotten our oneness with the world and we can now see the devastating consequences of our disassociation on a human and global scale. I believe that the work supported by Peace Valley Healing Center provides spiritual nourishment to a starving world and the healing and possibility for change reaches farther and deeper than many of us could ever know.

Living in Process and this worldwide community are unique and rare. Many groups talk of what we live, learn and share. We have the possibility of participating as pebbles in the pond and having a ripple effect for good on those around us.

I am priviledged to be a part of this Living in Process work. I contribute by hosting and facilitating intensive workshops. I participate in work weeks to help restore the historic building of Boulder Hot Springs and the surrounding land. I attend training sessions, serve on the Peace Valley Healing Center Board of Directors, and participate in our International Gathering of Elders to continue to learn, grow and show up in my life.

Peace Valley Healing Center offers me the opportunity to participate fully—with all of Creation, with our many communities, with recovery from addictions and our addictive society, and with myself and others. I have regained my spirit, love, joy, laughter and ability to play. I am so grateful for all that I am learning from each member of our community, and especially from Native Elders. I feel honored, loved, supported and healed. The infinity sign lives here.

Peace Valley Healing Center has changed my life since I started this work in 1996. I am not sure I would be alive today if I had not discovered Living in Process. My world has expanded beyond what I ever could have imagined. So has my thinking and my capacity to love and care for others.

I was encouraged to look at and address how the addictive process was operating in my life and to follow the 12-Step program. I have made friends from all over the world. I have formed intimate relationships based on honesty, openness, trust and sharing. I have had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii, Europe and many parts of the United States and Canada as a result of Living in Process work. I have participated in Intensive workshops in different parts of Canada and the United States in order to bring awareness of this work to those who need it and want the healing that it provides.

Living in Process has taught me how to live in community in a respectful way—how to co-operate with and be considerate of others. I have learned how to participate and contribute. It is by participating that I have learned the most—being a Board member, helping with work projects, and being involved in auctions and various other fund-raising activities.

My experience in Living in Process has transformed me in many ways. I feel more a part of the global village and can no longer ignore how my behaviors, decisions and actions affect others and ultimately Mother Earth. I believe I have become a better citizen of the world.

Among the most significant experiences has been the opportunity to participate in International Gatherings of Native Elders from around the world. The level of sharing and healing is profound. At these Gatherings, Peace Valley Healing center provides a safe space for remarkable disclosure and healing—Native Elders talking honestly about their painful experiences as well as their triumphs over difficulties, and their hope for the future. Many share their wisdom and ways.

Many Germans come to these Gatherings from the European Living in Process Community. Many have talked about and processed their feelings about their painful experiences during and following World War II as children. My father fought in the War. His twin brother was killed during the War. Our fathers were at war against each other. We all, on both sides, inherited the legacy of pain that is passed down from one generation to another. Processing our feelings and sharing with each other has brought healing, not only on an individual level, but also, I believe, on a global level.

I believe that Peace Valley Healing Center plays a very important role ultimately in the healing of the planet.

When I was an undergraduate, I was told that I should strongly consider pursuing further studies. Unfortunately, my addictions and associated mental health issues prevented me from continuing my studies for a long time.

12 years ago I began working a twelve-step recovery program and six years ago I joined the Living in Process Training Program. I believe participation in the Living in Process Training has supported my twelve- step recovery immeasurably and has allowed me to heal in many ways both spiritually and emotionally. The combination of the two has allowed me to live sanely and soberly with a measure of peace in my life that I never thought possible.

I am currently close to successfully completing a Masters Program in Environmental Studies. A gift from PVHC for half of my tuition for the 2004-05 Living in Process Training Year and all of my tuition for the 2005-06 and 2006-07 Living in Process Training Years has enabled me to continue to participate and get support for my growth and healing while I attend university. Thank you so much for this opportunity.

I have been a part of the Living in Process® Community for over 20 years and feel lucky to be on this healing path. The Lliving in Process® work is amazing and we have seen people heal from a wide variety of addictions, spiritual ailments and many kinds of problems.

I am especially grateful to Peace Valley Healing Center for the support it has given from its Resident Fund to help people who need extended time at Boulder Hot Springs for their healing. I have a close friend and work colleague who was supported by the Peace Valley Healing Center’s Residents Fund and today she is a shining star in the community she lives in. She gives back to the community more than she receives and is well-loved and respected. Peace Valley Healing Center played a huge role on her road to recovery.

I also am grateful to Peace Valley Healing Center for the ongoing support it has given many people to do the Living in Process® work. Peace Valley Healing Center has played a major role in availing this wonderful, powerful, healing work of Living in Process® to folks who would otherwise not be able to be here. I feel blessed to have experienced the give and take of the kete and be a part of supporting people’s recovery through the Peace Valley Healing Center.

And finally, the support of the Peace Valley Healing Center to bring the Indigenous Elders of the world to our gatherings at Boulder Hot Springs has been very important to me. Some of the most spiritual, fun, loving experiences of my life have been at these gatherings of the elders and the financial contributions of Peace Valley Healing Center have played a big part in this.
Thank you PVHC!

Being a resident at Boulder Hot Springs is teaching me about a spiritual way of living. In many ways, I feel alien living here amidst the mountains as I have always lived in cities and am more accustomed to tall buildings and cement than sagebrush and deer.

What I am discovering is that nature is both busy and patient, strange and intimate, callous and caring. I am aware of how much I don't know - am surprised by the sky, the quick changes of weather, all the plants and underbrush and animals. I have also had the experience of feeling held and of finding my breath and emotional and spiritual bearings while being out under that same large sky, feeling the warm wind shift suddenly cold, feeling the rocky earth beneath my uneven feet.

This past summer, I was walking a friend’s dogs and got lost in the mountains. It took me a little while before I realized that I really did not know how to get out of the woods, off the mountain and back to the valley. Once I accepted that I was lost, I felt a sense of relief as well as a good deal of fear. The dogs and I eventually got off the mountain just as a young woman was driving by in her pick-up truck. I waved her to stop and she did. She drove us back to familiar territory and we were safe and sound by nightfall.

When I moved to Boulder Hot Springs seven months ago, I was lost and did not know it. Living here, I am coming to accept that I am lost and to feel that same mixture of fear and relief that I felt that day in the mountains. More and more, as I keep walking through my days here, I am growing and changing and coming to trust that there is no being lost without being found.

I am reminded of the International Gathering in 2001. I wanted my parents to come to the Gathering to meet Elizabeth Anne Wilson Schaef and the network of friends I had developed, and also to have a better understanding of this work (my agenda). My parents came mainly to meet Elizabeth Anne and others who had a part in restoring their relationship with their son. I had been estranged from my parents for 6 – 7 years before coming into Living in Process work. As a result of my recovery and my own healing work within the supportive Living in Process community, I was able to let go of my resentments toward my parents and re-establish a relationship with them. In their own words, my parents came to the Gathering “because it was worth the time and effort to meet those who played a part in restoring their son to them.”

My parents and I have since enjoyed a growing friendship and level of intimacy, plus an ability to have fun together, which never would have happened without this work. I continue to be amazed and grateful for the miracles taking place in my life and in the lives of others, as a result of being involved in the Living in Process community. This has been made possible because of the facilitating role that Peace Valley Healing Center has played in making this work accessible to those who want it.

I am grateful to the Peace Valley Healing Center for my life, my health, my increasing ability to communicate respectfully and honestly, and to work and play in a healthy way. In essence, to show up in my life and participate fully in it without fear.

Not only do I benefit from the Peace Valley Healing Center, but my whole family does - and everyone I come into contact with. I am learning that I am part of the whole - and that what I say and do does make a difference.

By participating in various Peace Valley Healing Center projects and activities I have been challenged in exciting ways:

to expand my thinking so as to embrace non-traditional ways of organizational structure, policy and procedures; to focus on the process of decision-making rather than on the decision itself; to participate in creative ways of raising money for spiritual endeavors; and to take the time to find the right course rather than to do what seems easy or what presents itself first.

My grandparents lived several states away from my family when I was growing up. As a result, I saw them every two years for a week or two. I did not really know them well nor did I know how to interact with them. I seldom listened to their stories nor did I appreciate their wisdom and experience.

Peace Valley Healing Center has supported elders from all over the world to come to International Gatherings held at Boulder Hot Springs. At these times I have been given opportunities to interact with them, to hear their stories and to learn from their experiences. I have seen how I have been disrespectful to the elders in my life and have been shown another way to be. I am now more respectful and loving to all elders.

In particular I am learning how to be with my parents, who are in their eighties, listening to their stories, supporting them in their aging process and participating in their lives.

This past year I, too, became an elder. I now look forward to growing older knowing that I am part of a community that honors, respects and supports me as I grow into my elderhood.