Contact Information

Name: The Alliance For Holistic Living

Contact: Deborah Ravenwood
Phone: (860) 432-2081

Email: info@afhlnow.org
Website: www.afhlnow.org

Year Founded: 2009

Member Meetings: Second Fridays from 9-11 a.m. & the following Tuesday from 7:30-9 p.m.

Click figures for larger images.

Description

The Alliance For Holistic Living is a group consisting of centers, practitioners and interested community members, focused East of the Connecticut River with the mission of promoting holistic living in our communities through collaborative ventures with integrity and respect for all creation.

Wisdom Circle: The Alliance is guided by a Wisdom Circle, which is an ancient form of leadership, where all present are equal and all ideas respected. The Wisdom Circle acknowledges both the individual's and the group's cumulative knowledge, accessing this wealth of experience to create and focus the intention of The Alliance in service to the community. It currently consists of ten of the founding General Members who have been consistently active in the development of the Alliance.

History: The idea of finding ways of working together as a community grew out of conversations at the monthly practitioner breakfasts in Vernon. The November and December 2008 breakfasts were used as facilitated meetings to explore the concept. With Anastazia Owsiak facilitating we brainstormed lists of ideas and possibilities. By January a Vision and Mission statement had been created and meetings were alternated between Spirit Matters in Ellington and Ravenwood in Manchester. By Spring we were sufficiently organized to begin holding events, and throughout 2009 we tested the waters with a variety of activities.

This year the Wisdom Circle meets only as needed and our Friday morning monthly meetings are for the full membership. Our focus this year is on a variety of activities and meetings involve their planning. Committees are created and dissolved for specific events as needed. We have also begun holding once a month evening meetings for members not available during the day.

Projects

Community Service: The Alliance supports a variety of community projects as a way of both giving back to the communities we live in as well as a way of being recognized by our neighbors as a community of holistic practitioners.

Projects include river and trails cleanup in Manchester and Vernon for Earth Day in 2009, Rebuilding Manchester in 2010 and an upcoming project to build a labyrinth in Tolland.

Quarterly Potlucks: Each quarter, around the time of the solstice or equinox, we hold an Open House Potluck for members, guests and anyone curious about us. This is a chance to just socialize and for non-members to learn more about us. And there is plenty of good food. Potlucks are held at Ravenwood in Manchester.

In-Service Presentations: The Alliance offers free In-Service programs to organizations or workshops for organizations or groups requesting them. In July 2009 an In-Service was held at Ravenwood in Manchester for the East Hartford Masonicare VNA Hospice volunteers. Each volunteer attended four introductory energy mini-workshops on Bach Flowers, Tibetan Bowls, the chakras and the energy system. A second In-Service was done for the same group in April 2010 presenting to the full group.

If you know of or are part of an organization such as veterans, unwed mothers, health support groups or VNA'a presentations can be tailored to your specific needs or interests. The Alliance is looking for opportunities to serve the community.

Wellness Clinic: A free Community Wellness Clinic was offered at Spirit Matters in Ellington during the Spring of 2009. Practitioners associated with the Alliance offered Reiki, vibrational healing, energy field clearing, relaxation training, EFT, Reconnective healing and channeling sessions while workshops were presented on Tibetan Bowls, shamanism, grounding and the energy body. Another clinic is being considered for 2010.

Wellness Workshops: Free monthly workshops are offered by Alliance members on the third Thursday of each month on a variety of topics at different East of the River locations. The purpose of this series is to introduce people to integrative healing modalities and to help people in their healing process. They have proven to be extremely popular with an average attendance of 35 people, many new to holistic ideas.

Workshop descriptions are listed in the Conscious CT Calendar for the third Thursday of each month or click here for a flyer showing all upcoming workshops and locations.

Fairs & Expos: The Alliance frequently takes a booth to invite the public to our events as well as to make ourselves more visible. They are not for the promotion of our individual businesses although there is often the opportunity for members to have their own space. We have done the MCC Holistic Health Fair, Herbfest and will produce a mini-fair for the Coventry Farmers' Market in September.

Membership

Membership is open to practitioners and others who share our goals and ideals, and are willing to contribute their time and talents to building community through service and education. There is no cost to becoming a member, but you should be ready to participate. New members attend an orientation session provided by the Membership Committee where they learn about the Alliance and we can learn about their skills and interests.

There are two levels of membership determined by the commitment you can give to the Alliance. General Members are those who can attend and participate in at least three Alliance sponsored events each six-month period. Friends of the Alliance are those who can only participate in events from time-to-time.

If interested contact Deborah Ravenwood, Membership Committee, whose contact information is provided above.