The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Hands Across Willow Glen: Weekly meetings of the Awareness Network, held at the Adobe Cafe and Steakhouse, begin with a 'healing circle' of linked hands, closed eyes and meditation.

Healing circles, meditation come to Adobe Cafe and Steakhouse

Awareness Network meets weekly for hugs and holistic health discussions

By Cecily Barnes

A chime bell rings, and the nearly 20 people congregated at Willow Glen's Adobe Cafe and Steakhouse quiet their conversations and come together in a circle. Hands link and eyes close.

Native American shaman Charles Hawkins begins talking the group through a guided meditation, encouraging everyone to concentrate on their breathing and become aware of themselves. When Hawkins finishes, group members raise their arms and end by hugging the person next to them. The New Age has come to Willow Glen.

"We use the term New Age advisedly because it scares some people away," says Rayna Lumbard, co-founder of the Awareness Network, which meets weekly in Willow Glen. "It's a group for anyone wanting to expand their awareness of what's available to them in their life, both personally and in their career."

Every Thursday morning at 8 a.m. at the Adobe Cafe and Steakhouse, the Awareness Network holds open meetings with hot breakfast, alternative-health speakers and "the healing circle." Participants come to learn about health, meet new friends or find out more about a particular issue.

Willow Glen resident Luis Juarez came for the first time last week to learn about overcoming depression. He liked the group so much that he's back for his second week and plans to keep coming.

"I just recently retired, so I was feeling depressed. When you retire, suddenly you feel you're not very important anymore," Juarez says. "[Last week's speaker] talked about how to feel happy although you're depressed. It was very good."

Standing next to Juarez, Willow Glen resident Chet Napolitano chimes in with what he learned from Dr. Esther Seehof's talk on depression.

"Esther said that people who have trouble sleeping should try boiling hot milk and putting sugar in it," Napolitano says. "She also said before you take a shower, you should take a bristle brush and rub it all over your body to get things going."

Tips like these are offered in abundance at the Awareness Network. Each week a different speaker addresses some sort of holistic health topic, leaving dozens of suggestions in his or her wake. Upcoming talks include "Healing Our Emotions with the Help of the Plant Devas" and "Ayurveda--Food as Medicine ."

Today's talk is on feng shui, a 4,000-year-old Chinese philosophy about how to organize one's dwelling to promote positivity. Feng shui educator Linda Lenore explains that, for example, when sleeping, people should lie with their head pointing toward the north pole because of the pole's strong energy.

Rayna Lumbard, a Willow Glen High School graduate, founded the Awareness Network with her friend Tom Dragosavac three years ago. The two friends met at a similar group called the Healing Connection. When the Healing Connection eventually went under, Lumbard and Dragosavac decided to start a group of their own.

"We saw a need to continue having that type of a gathering," Lumbard said. "We kept it alive by bringing in well-known speakers and the leadership to run the group."

Since the two started it, the Awareness Network has grown from a small group of six or fewer people to a robust crowd of 20 to 30. Many attendees work in the holistic health field and use the meetings as a networking opportunity. Other people who attend the groups are retired, between jobs or professionals interested in something more.

"If people are too high-tech, they tend to burn out; sometimes they want to feel more support in their personal life," Lumbard says. "We're the group that can help bring them into more of a positive, uplifting experience."

On the flip side, some people come to the group who are between jobs and looking to re-evaluate their professional life and find some direction.

"We can help them find some direction and support in their life," Lumbard says. "Just because we're a spiritual group doesn't mean we don't have contacts out there in Silicon Valley."

Volunteers keep the group going by collecting a $6-$8 fee, putting out newsletters, placing fliers at bookstores and cafes and helping lead the group.

The group ends with a "closing healing circle" led by Lumbard herself. Again hands link and eyes close. People are encouraged to think about what they've learned, connect with others in the group and set out for a positive, healthy day.

"A lot of people come and they are a little shy; they may hang out in the back and not participate that much," Lumbard says. "But they leave feeling good because there's a lot of positive energy that we put out in the group. You can't help but feel it."

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