Celebrate the change of the season with a feast of musical harmony in the Osmosis Meditation Garden. Luminary local percussionist, Kim Atkinson, and catalyzing cellist and singer-songwriter, RutiCelli, will weave together the magic energy of equinox with everyone present and the spirit of nature.
Our quarterly gatherings have become a seasonal touchstone for our community. A bonding time for friends and neighbors when we connect with the special healing energy at Osmosis that has been cultivated on this land for over 30 years. A channel for healing and reckoning with spirit. Our sound ceremonies tap into the rhythm between sound and silence.
A team of healers and musicians will gather in the meditation garden to conduct a sound healing ceremony. The intention is to bring all in attendance into coherence, connection and stillness.
Join us to meet the magical energy of solstice as we open a portal into the profound.
Afterward, there is an additional opportunity to extend the healing experience in a small group with sound therapy while partaking in an Enzyme Footbath.
The Cedar Enzyme Footbath follows immediately after the garden ritual.
Tickets are an additional $15 – Limited Availability.
Entry fee of $15 can be applied to any same day service.
Shinrin-yoku is a term that means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.” It was developed in Japan during the 1980’s and has become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. Learn more about it HERE.
Forest Therapy combines leisurely walks on gentle paths under forest canopy with guided activities to help you open your senses, hone your intuition and experience the forest as you never have before. In the time span of a few hours, we go deep into a direct experience with nature, quietude and receptivity to the present moment.
Includes a morning spa immersion with Cedar Enzyme Footbath, Hammock Sound Therapy and a Revitalizing 75-minute Massage or Facial. Organic Box Lunch followed by afternoon Forest Bathing experience.
Michael Stusser brings 40 years of meditation practice and a lifetime of wilderness experience to his forest bathing guiding. He is a certified forest-bathing guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs (ANFT). He led a delegation to connect with the origins of the movement in Japan in the fall of 2017 with the organization’s founder Amos Clifford.
October 6th was a perfect fall day in Freestone. Thirty people gathered in our meditation garden to honor Steve Stucky, a remarkable landscape artist and Zen priest who helped develop the natural beauty of Osmosis. Steve served as abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center where he promoted gratitude in daily life. He passed in 2013, yet his legacy is alive as our gardens mature.
Steve understood that Osmosis would become a meditative environment where guests would feel the benefits of silent contemplation. He spoke clearly at our garden dedication ceremony in 2003,
Norman Fischer, Wendy Johnson and Michael Stusser at Steve Stücky Altar Dedication
“Very few people in our nation’s healing professions understand the importance of place and of the natural world in healing. The primary reason our work here is so meaningful…is the fact that this garden is a place of healing the body, soothing and calming the mind, and spiritual nourishment—a truly sacred space that recognizes the whole person and may serve many people over many years. I believe that we Americans, in our busy acquisitiveness, need to drink deeply from resources within the natural world to develop an indigenous culture of wisdom.”
Steve Stücky Laying Out the Osmosis Meditation Garden, 2001
I feel certain no one on the planet was better qualified and more able to translate the vision for the Osmosis gardens into reality. Steve wanted to create special environments that would evoke the calming healing quality of our True Nature. It was deeply moving and satisfying to have a companion on the journey that understood these intentions and was able to help actualize them. No words can begin to express my gratitude to Steve.
New Altar at Osmosis
As our celebrated meditation garden was being built, Steve suggested that we incorporate an altar to a allow guests to offer incense. An offering of incense is considered a simple act of generosity within the Zen tradition. Unlit incense represents the potential for enlightenment. Once lit, its ephemeral smoke mirrors the transitory nature of life. Incense purifies the atmosphere and may inspire us to develop a pure mind. Its fragrance spreads far and wide, just as a good deed benefits many.
Our October 6th ceremony included many of Steve’s lifelong friends and fellow practitioners who unveiled an altar dedicated to him.It is inscribed with his favorite Zen saying,
Steve Stücky with Osmosis Gardeners Michael Alliger and Louis Fameli, 2009
