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Osmosis represented at International Japanese Garden Conference

garden bird

by Michael Stusser

Over 150 delegates from around the world gathered the National Japanese Garden Association Conference at the Morikami Gardens in West Palm Beach Florida March 7th and 8th. Leading experts from Japan and Europe along with US counterparts provided two days of inspiring content at the home of one of the most celebrated Japanese Gardens in the United States.

The conference theme was: Towards a Healthier World – Japanese Gardens As Places For Wellness and Transformation.  The healing effects of this beloved landscape garden art form was presented from many perspectives ranging from public settings, studies of gardens built in the WWII Japanese internment camps, therapeutic settings and Zen Buddhist temples. In several fascinating presentations researchers presented their findings of scientific data on the effects of Japanese gardens on Alzheimer patients, hospice patience and community members with various handicaps. It was a profound confirmation of this fine tradition.

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The Osmosis garden fit right into this program.

Meditation garden designer Robert Ketchell came from England to join Osmosis founder Michael Stusser and pruning expert Michael Alliger to present the story of the spa’s unique meditation garden, how it cultivates awareness, tells a story beyond words, and nurtures a mood of repose. 

The 90-minute Osmosis session highlighted the founding intentions and collegial collaboration that seeded the success of the project. From the perspective of pruning it was shown how: anticipation and patience play out over time in ways that remind us of humility available to us in everyday life; the use of native plants reinforces a sense of place and human context in nature; the equanimity of empty space is shaped by pruning and design. The intimacy of detailed pruning techniques leads to a recognition of the unseen world of spirit.

The designer explained his use of narrative to engage garden viewers with his use of the Ox-herding parable from Zen as a way to guide on the journey to liberation. It was shown how spa programs use the garden for ritual; meditation, classes, and relaxation serve the deeper purpose of Osmosis  to synergize the renaissance in the healing arts taking place in our culture along with the distinct healing properties that have been identified in horticultural therapy. These elements along with the quest for awakening seeded by the arrival of Buddhism in America reflected in the Zen parable make for a potent combination.

The Ox herding story is cast in stone in the landscape garden. This parable is both the physical and physic heart of Osmosis. We cannot avoid being reminded of it each time we visit the garden. Every day the alchemy of this ancient tale works its magic on the hearts and souls of guests and workers alike.

Osmosis presence at this prestigious international gathering allowed us to join into the growing association among builders and curators of Japanese gardens who are focused on the healing aspects of this treasured art form.

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Left to right: Robert Ketchell, Michael Alliger, Michael Stusser and Martin Mosko

30-year Anniversary of Osmosis

We are both honored and humbled to be celebrating our 30th anniversary of the Cedar Enzyme Bath.

In the three decades since we first introduced to the Cedar Enzyme Bath to the United States, over 300,000 people have enjoyed its many benefits. Thousands of guests have shared with us their experiences of healing: improved sleep, increased mobility, reduced arthritic pain, improved digestion… the list goes on and on. We foresee this therapy becoming a recognized treatment for a wide range of health issues as the scientific community continues to expand their research on the connections between enzymes, probiotics, and human health.

Is There Soul in Silicon Valley?

I went to the recent Wisdom 2.0 conference at the Marriott in in San Francisco. The conference focused on the meeting place of high tech and ancient wisdom. It was fully sold out with 2,000 attendees. The energy of the conference was absolutely electric, bristling with excitement and led by a new generation of younger people with a very different life experience and worldview having grown up with digital technology.

Here were the best and the brightest from Google, Facebook, (Apple was notably absent) along with many other major technology companies. Some of the most powerful leading edge corporations in the world with their huge international influence and financial clout came together to meet with leading spiritual teachers to explore how to adopt wisdom practices. What unlikely bedfellows.

Eco-spa 2020

At the sixth annual Green Spa Network Congress, 125 industry leaders came together to map out a planet-friendly spa of the future – Eco-spa 2020. Michael Stusser shares their vision.
Last September, inside a recycled Civil War-era barn made with hand-hewn timbers and warmed by geothermal heating, 125 talented leaders from the worldwide spa industry gathered at Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, Colorado. The LEED Silver- certified facility proved an ideal meeting ground for the sixth annual congress of the Green Spa Network (GSN). Situated in the Rocky Mountains, the dramatic site offered a compelling visual metaphor for the goals of congress: to create plans for an planet-friendly spa of the future – namely Eco-spa 2020.

Now is the time for a pre-holiday reset. Melt away stress and tension in a warm and wonderful Cedar Enzyme bath. Let gifted hands  lift the weight of the world with a heart centered healing massage. We are open evenings.