EldersBloom Advisor

Save to Favorites

About EldersBloom

Location:

363A Main Street, Yarmouth, ME 04096, US

Mission Statement

EldersBloom is elders healing with Reiki:

Elder:

A grandparent in fact or in spirit

Body slowing, spirit blossoming

Values community

Willing to lead by example

EldersBloom:

Elders healing with Reiki -- healing themselves, healing others, healing the world

Description

EldersBloom is a public program, freely shared, with these aims:

• introduce Reiki healing into elder communities around the world
• empower elders to heal themselves with Reiki
• encourage isolated elders, and the community at large, to reconnect with each other
• give Reiki practitioners around the world a method of expanding their practice
• create a virtuous spiral of exchange, that awakens people to the healing and wisdom that elders can offer the world

EldersBloom first took root in November 2005, at an elder wellness fair in Portland, Maine, USA, introduced by Jeffrey Hotchkiss and Jane Fecteau, Reiki Masters. In 2006, they and other practitioners held talks and gave demonstration Reiki treatments at nine different elder communities in Maine, from independent living to longterm care. Also that year, Jeffrey met Joseph Wolfberg, gerontologist at University of New England and founder of Elder Circle, Inc., a Maine nonprofit foundation. Joe offered mentoring, great encouragement, and the use of his nonprofit. In 2007, Jeffrey reviewed the work and refocused EldersBloom as follows.

• Offer complimentary monthly Reiki Healing Forums to a small group of elder communities, to create interest and to explore directions for the growth of EldersBloom.
• Recast the nonprofit as an association, and start work on a business plan, the first prerequisite toward making it useful as a support for EldersBloom.
• Create a package of guidelines, descriptions and sample documents that any Reiki practitioner can use as a starting point for their own EldersBloom program, and offer it in the public domain.

There have been many inspirations behind EldersBloom. Special thanks and recognition go to William Thomas, M.D., for his book What are Old People For? How Elders will Save the World. Dr. Thomas is the creator of the Eden Alternative, a way of humanizing the culture of nursing homes and long-term care institutions. See www.edenalt.org. On reading his book, Jeffrey thought, why can't Reiki be part of the movement toward re-engaging elders in their communities?

There are so many who have contributed to starting and keeping this project going. In a future draft, all those will be honored, who give permission to use their names.