Sacred Chants & Lakeside Fun: Joy Lane's Autumn Benefit

Join us for a day of sweet bliss!

Sunday, October 11, noon to 5 p.m.
Michelle Mae, guitar
Karen Ferguson vocals & harmonium
Steve Berns, guitar
will lead us in several call and response Sanskrit Chants to the Divine in All Things.
This is a fundraiser for the non-profit
Joy Lane Healing Center,
a place where spirit and healing meet .
Visit the website, www.joylanehealingcenter.net
for more information about who we are & what we do.

The event is being held at Steve Berns’ house, 11817 High View Circle, Lusby, MD 20657. 410 326-3292. There will be fun on Lake Lariate in kayaks and boats, delicious food and lots of wonderful company. Steve’s house is filled with a magnificent collection of folk and sacred art.
All donations are tax deductible.
Please contact the Center at 301 373-2522 if you plan to attend or email mgoldstein@joylanehealingcenter.net

On Becoming a Non-Profit: a Message from Joy Lane Director Marin Goldstein

Great News...

Our official listing with the IRS as a 501c3 Public Charity has been
achieved! With this achievement, all donations are tax-deductible
(retroactive to our date of incorporation in December 18, 2008) and a new array of doors of public resources are now open to us!

For those of you who have never gone to business school but felt the itch of entrepreneurship, here are the gory details. It was a process for us at
Joy Lane that begin in November 2008. Using the best resources and guides in print, we followed the standard path that many others have taken before. First, we created and filed Articles of Incorporation with the State. This hurdle was the first of many, facing the daunting bureaucracy and feeling stomach-churning of our own inner uncertainties. It was a very serious moment: signing on that dotted line, committing to a new level of responsibility.

But this first hurdle was really only a baby step that takes no special training or study. From here began the truly arduous journey up the IRS mountain. Compiling lengthy documentation of Board of Director bylaws was by far the most intense; while we could simply cut and paste from a template, our desire was to be unique and use this founding document to express our fundamental beliefs and principles. This meant a much more intense path of research and writing. Then, utilizing the rough outline of a business plan, we created and recreated and made another draft (we probably went through 6 versions in all) of 3 annual budgets with no previous accounting and very little test on the publics' interest in our business.

There was much more to consider: contracts for instructors, property leases and so many more administrative guidelines and paperwork that one takes for granted when not starting from scratch!

Then the Board needed to convene and agree by consensus to all of our basic principles and the various policies and procedures, as well as hire our first Executive Director. Due to a couple uncertainties, we took the time to meet with a lawyer and a CPA, each with their spheres of knowledge, to ensure they thought we were presenting ourselves in the best light.

Finally, after 3 months of work-- approximately 240 hours of diligence-- we filed our paperwork with the IRS in February 2009. So it is with a mix of relief, happiness and gratitude to all involved that I am able to announce today our official Non-Profit Status.

Thank you to all who worked so hard with me to make this possible!

Shaping the Future of Joy Lane

Just as I'd mentioned in our August newsletter, our new official designation as a non-profit organization creates an opportunity for us to shape the future of Joy Lane. What would you like to see at Joy Lane? What are you itching to experience, or hoping to learn? Is there a teacher that you'd like to see return, or visit anew? A particular tradition or skill you've read about that you are interested in exploring? Please use the Comments section to let your opinion, hope and suggestion be heard; simply click the phrase "Leave a comment". Note that you may leave a comment using your name, or anonymously. Now's the time to play. Please join us!

A Healing Spiritual Adventure, So Close to Home

Joy Lane Healing Center:
A Healing Spiritual Adventure, So Close to Home

No need to fuss with travel arrangements for this summer’s spiritual adventuring. Omega in New York… Esalen in California… Wouldn’t it be nice to find such sacred ground a bit closer to home? Believe it or not, there is such a place right in your own backyard: Joy Lane Healing Center, in Hollywood, MD. And here is but a sample of how you can combine Joy Lane classes, workshops and events into a local personalized getaway. Switch, mix and match; your vacation is as limitless as your imagination. Just pick your itinerary!

Getaway #1: A Natural Immersion
Dates: July 11 - 12
Lodging: Joy Lane’s Personal Retreat Cabin
Dedicate two days of your busy life for just you. Find yourself again in the enchanted forest that surrounds Joy Lane.
Day 1: Arrive and settle in to the cozy, well-appointed, off-the-grid cabin. Join Open Palm Zendo for morning meditation. Grill up lunch in our outdoor cooking area. Spend the afternoon reading in the gazebo and walking the labyrinth. Enjoy a reflexology session in the early evening. Later, fall asleep to the sounds of nature all around you.
Day 2: Wake and meditate at the Temple of Light. Enjoy a hike along our trails, and then a massage. After lunch, join the Awareness in Nature: Exploring the Senses workshop. Return home that evening refreshed and reconnected to nature, and yourself!

Getaway #2: A Yoga-Day Away
Date: July 16
Take a quick summertime wellness break for yourself!
AM: Arrive at Joy Lane and participate in our Hatha Yoga with Affirmations class. Spend the rest of the morning journaling and gathering insight at our Crystal Meditation Garden. Enjoy a picnic lunch in our gazebo.
PM: Spend the afternoon in a Your Life Blueprint consultation. Enjoy an early supper at a local Indian restaurant, and return in the evening for The Secret Language of Hatha Yoga class. Return home expanded, clear and refreshed!

Getaway #3: Crystal Clear
Dates: July 18 - 19
Lodging: Victorian Candle Bed & Breakfast
Celebrate the wisdom of crystal healing and meet like-minded neighbors you never knew you had!
Day 1: Arrive in the morning for the beginning of Becky Ridgell’s popular workshop, Introduction to Working with Crystals. Join your new friends for dinner at a local restaurant. Retire for the night in a personal getaway at The Victorian Candle, and enjoy getting to know your newly-bought crystals!
Day 2: Enjoy breakfast at the B&B, and return to Joy Lane for the remainder of the workshop. That evening, enjoy a shopping spree with your friends at our Supplies for the Journey store!

Getaway #4: Meditative Mini-Retreat
Dates: July 24 - 25
Lodging: Joy Lane’s Personal Retreat Cabin
Uplift your spirit and find your focus in a Zen-styled meditation retreat.
A retreat common to Zen Buddhist practice is known as Sesshin, or “gathering the mind”. Begin gathering yours by arriving at Joy Lane after supper. Unpack your things in our peaceful woodland cottage and join us for a screening of Amongst White Clouds, the breathtaking movie about Chinese Taoist and Buddhist mountain hermits. Inspired, spend the night in your own hermitage and awake in the morning to meditate during the Open Palm Zendo Extended Day of Meditation, held in order to honor the spiritual teachers in our lives. Round out your retreat late in the afternoon celebrating the Green Corn Festival, a gathering of renewal hosted by the Good Medicine Society.

Getaway #5: A Healing Circle
Dates: August 8 - 9
Lodging: Your own home
For two afternoons, arrive at Joy Lane and let someone take care of you for a change!
Healing Chöd is an ancient Buddhist ritual known for its power to heal mental and physical sickness, remove karmic obstacles to spiritual growth, and address human suffering. There are no instructions to follow or techniques to learn. You simply lie down, rest, and receive healing. Chöd is suitable for everyone, including those with physical or mental distress, whether chronic or mild. With the support of the Dalai Lama, these events are being offered in the West to raise money for a monastery-building project to benefit one of the poorest parts of India.

These are just a few examples of personal retreats you can build with Joy Lane Healing Center’s schedule of classes, workshops and events. You can always see what else we’re up to at our website, www.joylanehealingcenter.net. Your spiritual journey is just a click away!

Notes from Starfeather, May/June's Special Guest

I arrived at Joy Lane Healing Center for an extended visit and found it
hot and steamy with the wood shimmering in the green light of late Spring.
I love this land and specially the wild song birds. In Washington, I mainly
get seagulls and crows, so the wood thrush is, well, heavenly. My stay here has been a beautiful balance of work and rest. Thunderstorms are awesome!

My first event was the Heart Expansion Ceremony, for which I shipped my
precious companion, my crystal singing bowl, from home. I loved the group
toning and our co-created ceremony was indeed uplifting and an offering of
our love to the Earth. Yummmm.

We had an awesome Medicine Shield Retreat last weekend. Each of woman
dove deep for an experience of quiet time of being and the result was a
springing forth of creativity. We each made beautiful, meaningful shields,
that we now have as reminders of those sacred insights that came to us. I
love creating with sticks, stones, feathers and leather and am always amazed
at how it feeds my soul. Sacred Art, for sure.

The remainder of my time here is spent doing Energy Drawings and channeled council session, which I LOVE to do. It is such a privilege for me to be able to offer this here, and I appreciate those who come to partake. I journey back home to Edmonds on Monday with joy in my heart from Joy Lane. Thanks to Carol and to Marin for supporting my sacred work. There are a few sessions still available for this weekend, June 5 - 7.
Love to all. Starfeather

PS. I am working diligently again on my book, so stay tuned. Hope to see you again. And, wow, check out all the great stuff happening here!

Silent Auction, Audible Change

Inner Equinox, Solomon's Island, MD
Thank you to everyone who bid in our Spring Silent Auction, both online, in our classrooms and at our various community booths; and to all bidders in our Oasis Retreats Silent Auction at the Inner Equinox Grand re-Opening celebration last weekend! Both auctions were a great success!

Our Spring Silent Auction was able to yield over $400 to support the further development of Joy Lane Healing Center. What's first on the list for fund allocation? Completion of the parking lot expansion project, for one!

And the Oasis Auction? Together we raised $600 in a single afternoon for the upcoming June 10th Oasis Retreat. Along with other community member and business sponsorships, we are close to raising enough to cover the general costs of $1800. We are proud that through your support we can offer this special day of rejuvenation to people living with cancer at a sliding scale cost down to $40.

That would not have been possible at all were it not for the efforts of the entire Inner Equinox team. And what a beautiful day that was last weekend-- so many people relaxing on the front porch, exploring the store, learning about techniques and traditions, and enjoying the many free services that some very talented healers were happy to offer. "Shari (Russel) and I are thrilled with the success of community and like-mind gatherings that is continuing to grow through, around and with Inner Equinox," writes Michele Quesenberry, co-founder (with Shari) of Inner Equinox. You can keep up with the goings-on of this special place by subscribing to their Evolving Times e-newsletter; just write to innerequinox@verizon.net and request to be added to their mailing list.

You can also join the Joy Lane mailing list simply by entering your email in the box provided in the right-hand menu!

Spring Silent Auction

Just in time for Earth Day! Celebrate our interconnection to Earth and to each other. Treat yourself to something special while you support the mission of Joy Lane Healing Center!

You'll find separate entries detailing the 5 offerings after this post. We'll be accepting bids from April 18 to May 2; winners will be notified May 5. See something you like? Simply call 301-373-2522 to place your bid!

We had a great time meeting so many new faces at yesterday's Leonardtown Earth Day Celebration; next weekend, April 25-26 we'll be at the Sotterly Plantation Garden Festival. Drop on by!

Why support Joy Lane?
Supporting Joy Lane Healing Center helps us create educational programming that offers a haven to explore the diversity of world traditions and a holistic vision towards health, wellness and awareness. By making a donation to Joy Lane Healing Center today, your generosity ensures that this place of healing and transformation continues to touch the personal lives of individuals and our communities in general.

Auction Items Include…
1 Your Life Blueprint initial consultation with Mary Ellen Steveling
2 Energy Healing Session with Carol Marcy
3 Personal Rejuvenation Retreat
4 Reflexology Session with Leanora Winters
5 Deluxe Yoga Package

Auction Item 1: Your Life Blueprint

Offered by Mary Ellen Steveling, EYRT
Deepen your understanding of yourself through a system of knowledge rooted in the ancient wisdom of yoga and ayurveda. See your unique life blueprint, the strengths and challenges that you were given at birth, so that you can understand and be more comfortable with yourself at the deepest level. Discover practical means for working with your life challenges that result in a more satisfying and fulfilling life.

Your Life Blueprint outlines eight life fields:

Physical Health - how to achieve optimum health by learning specific foods, exercise and lifestyle techniques right for you.
Mental Health - how to best relieve stress and maintain a constant state of restful dynamism
Relationships- your personal style of relating with others in order to have stress free relationships.
Dharma- how you best help in the world.
Career- your professional aptitudes and how to be happy at work.
Creative Play - how to find satisfaction in recreation and enhance creativity.
Desires- how to be motivated to fulfill your goals without attachment.
Spiritual Nature- discover your main tools for lasting fulfillment and Self awareness.

Regular Cost of an Initial Consultation: $130
Learn general information about the fields of living and specifically your physical health, vital body and emotional tendencies. You will receive a booklet of information, a homeopathic remedy for your health, Bach Flower remedy and a recorded CD of your consultation.

Accepting bids from April 18 to May 2. Bidding begins at $45 to be made in $5 increments; please call 301-373-2522 to place your bid!

Auction Item 2: Energy Healing Session

Offered by Carol Marcy, PhD
The human body has a field of energy both within it and surrounding it. If the body, mind, emotional body and spirit of an individual are healthy and strong, the energy is flowing and with awareness can be used to grow spiritually.
The energy healing session can take several forms. The first possibility examines each of the seven major energy centers (chakras) of the body both in the front and back. Each of the centers has particular significance. For example the throat chakra, when open, allows one to speak one’s own truth with ease. If any of these chakras are found to be closed, crystals are used to open them up, facilitating a free flow of energy both in the giving and receiving of energy.
The second possibility is using the hands and heart of the practitioner as a conduit to move energy in the body, which facilitates a healthy availability of energy in the central core and an increased awareness of spiritual growth and development.

Regular Cost of an Energy Healing Session: $75. Accepting bids from April 18 to May 2. Bidding begins at $25 to be made in $5 increments; please call 301-373-2522 to place your bid!

Auction Item 3: Personal Rejuvenation Retreat

Offered by Joy Lane Healing Center & Dina Hayden, CMT
Joy Lane Healing Center is pleased to offer our secluded woodland cottage for your individual retreats. Surrounded by 62 acres of large trees and mountain laurel our Private Retreat Cottage is perfect for a focused meditation retreat or simply a quiet getaway in the beauty of nature. Your retreat depends only upon your imagination!

For this auction, this retreat includes a one-night getaway embellished with a message therapy session with massage therapist Dina Hayden, and breakfast in the morning.

Spend a quiet evening looking out over the forest ravine watching deer or wild turkey and listening to the beautiful fluted notes of the wood thrush. A personal retreat offers you the rare opportunity to take time out of your busy schedule and treat yourself to relaxation and rejuvenation, allowing time to listen to your inner spirit.

Your retreat occurs in our sweet 12' by 12' cabin, replete with a comfortable bed, dresser, table, cozy chair and bottled water within easy walking distance to an outdoor grill, picnic tables, fire circle and composting toilets.

Regular Cost of an Overnight Retreat, Massage Session & Breakfast: $110. Accepting bids from April 18 to May 2. Bidding begins at $45 to be made in $5 increments; please call 301-373-2522 to place your bid!

Auction Item 4: Reflexology Appointment

Offered by Leanora Winters, MA
Reflexology is a science and a healing art that involves manually stimulating areas or reflex points on the feet, hands or ears (that correspond to each organ, part and system of the body) to open energy channels, and help restore balance and vitality to the body. The premise of this holistic healing modality is that with the opening and unimpeded flow of the body’s energy channels, the body can recuperate from any challenges and restore itself.

Reflexology has ancient historic origins that link to healing techniques (i.e., pressure therapies) found in a variety of cultures globally, as well as grounding in more modern Zone Theory. It is a completely safe and non-invasive form of therapy that is very relaxing and can be used in conjunction with both “modern” and alternative healing modalities. As a holistic therapy, a reflexology session reflects an equal partnership between the practitioner and client, where the practitioner acts as a mediator to activate the client’s own healing potential.

The benefits of reflexology therapy include relief of stress and tension, increased energy and stamina, boosts in immune system functioning, improved circulation, improved sleep, pain relief, and improved digestion and elimination.


Regular Cost of a Reflexology Session: $80. Accepting bids from April 18 to May 2. Bidding begins at $25 to be made in $5 increments; please call 301-373-2522 to place your bid!

Auction Item 5: Deluxe Yoga Package

Offered by Mary Ellen Steveling, EYRT
& The Supplies for the Journey Store at Joy Lane
Enrich your life through the ancient holistic practice of yoga postures, breathing practices, relaxation techniques and meditation. This classic approach to hatha yoga increases strength, flexibility, balance and concentration of body and mind and can lead to the realization of inner peace.

The Hatha Yoga for Beginners class is an 8-week class that meets each Tuesday evening 5:30 to 6:45, May 12 through June 30. Based on the teachings of Integral Yoga, this is a relaxed, meditative approach. Postures will be adapted to meet individual needs.

Your Deluxe Yoga Package includes enrollment in Hatha Yoga for Beginners, an earth-friendly yoga mat and a yoga strap. Accepting bids from April 18 to May 2. Bidding begins at $45 to be made in $5 increments; please call 301-373-2522 to place your bid!

Regular Cost of 8-week beginner’s yoga class, earth-friendly yoga mat & strap: $160

Joy Lane Community Polls

We are pleased to introduce a new monthly attraction: Joy Lane Community Polls! These provide a great way for your voice to be heard, and your opinion to count as Joy Lane Healing Center grows in its next phase of development. You may choose any of the options-- multiple, or single-- after each question posted in the right-hand menu. Additionally, if you'd like to add a few words of thought anonymously or otherwise, you may add to the comments section at the end of this note. Simply click on the word "Comments". We hope you enjoy the questions we post each month!

Spring Open House: A Celebration of Body, Mind & Spirit

This past Sunday offered a gorgeous bit of warmth and sunshine here in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and so it was perfect timing for our annual Spring Open House. "It was such a beautiful day, and a great success," said Marin Goldstein, executive director of Joy Lane. "People seemed excited to explore themselves and to find those opportunites that exist right here in their own community."

The morning began with an hour of yoga, eased into a session of biofeedback, and ended with a wander through the beautiful woods that surrounds the center, and into the forest labyrinth. A social lunch followed, where about 15 people gathered to share a meal.

Later that afternoon there was a group past-life regression, and the day ended with an introduction to qigong.

"It was wonderful to see new faces, and to share time with a community of like minded folks," noted Carol Marcy, the Center's founder. "And I enjoyed quiet, peaceful time to reflect on life's journey from so many different perspectives."

Thanks to everyone who contributed, visited, shopped, chatted, wandered and learned. It was a great day of sharing and meeting. And we look forward to seeing you at future events!

Spring Poem

Spring is coming

Birdfeeders empty quickly
finches begin to blush yellow
crocuses push through late snow
spring whispers in the air.

Woodland air is sweet
bright moonlight creates
dark lines of tree shadows across the path
the raspy fox bark eerily fills the night.

Sitting at the Temple of Light
crystal sparkling energy swirling
stars twinkle through dancing branches
trees wink a secret language known only to a few.

I hunker down
deeply watching, listening, feeling
the mystery unfolding my heart
birthing seeds of possibilities to be planted in the spring.

--Carol Marcy

Except from our article featured in Southern Maryland Woman

Joy Lane Healing Center Spreads its Wings:

A Conversation with Founder Carol Marcy, PhD

By Pilar G. Dea

Many women I’ve met here in St. Mary’s County seem to know about your beautiful oasis, Joy Lane Healing Center. Can you tell me a bit about what brought you here?

I came to Maryland in 1984 to work as a psychologist for the Montgomery County Police Department, directing their Office of Stress Management. I had just completed my post-doctoral work with the LAPD and I was very glad to be moving back east. Soon thereafter, I began to visit colleagues in St. Mary’s County every weekend to participate in Native American teachings and ceremonies.

After a while they suggested that I move here. This idea appealed to me greatly because I really liked the rural feel of St Mary’s. By 1993 I was ready to buy my own house and begin my private practice; the real estate agent took me immediately to a beautiful piece of property in the woods at the end of Joy Lane. I fell in love with the steep ravines, the magnificent trees and fluted song of the Wood Thrush.

It sounds as though you were very much attuned to the spirit of this place.

Well, this is going to sound “hokey” to some, but I attribute my successes to the fact that I am working in partnership with the land.

How did the idea develop for you to begin Joy Lane Healing Center?

It grew over the years. I have always believed in the efficacy of holistic healing modalities that include body, mind and spirit for my clients. The Holistic Healers Guild, which worked with a variety of modalities, began to meet here. As we worked together, we educated each other and the community. More recently practitioners have gathered here to practice and teach yoga, qigong, massage, intuitive development and reflexology, making it even easier for clients to have access to these important methods of treatment.

It sounds as though the Center has come into its own!

It truly has. This early fall saw the purchase of additional acreage, bringing the total to 62 and the dream has blossomed. A very talented Executive Director was hired, and we are on our way to becoming a nonprofit retreat center. Now we offer an even larger array of workshops, classes and retreats. What makes us different is our strong spiritual base and established partnership with nature. We see Joy Lane Healing Center as an opportunity for the community to get to know a variety of holistic healing and spiritual paths. I invite everyone to visit us at Joy Lane or online, and see which paths call to you!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

“I have a dream…” On this day of remembrance, let us give thanks for the many miles this country of people has come. While the journey has not been easy nor the path been straight nor have we made it anywhere near the destination of King’s “promised land,” we can all agree that we have come a long way. The vision of judging each other by the merit of character and not by the color of a person’s skin or a privilege of background is growing each day. We are at a turning point that promises brighter days to come.

But lest us not get careless or loss resolution for the journey still goes on before us. We must continue to take each individual step and accept responsibility for our daily environment. We can choose to surround ourselves with material objects to find happiness or we can look within to face our true selves. Let us continue to walk and deepen our acceptance of each other’s faults and weaknesses; let us continue to walk and share the joys of family and community; let us continue to walk and resolve to spread our wealth not just with myself, my friends or my family, but with all creatures on this great planet that sustains us.

Give thanks that the Earth continues to walk around the sun and soon spring will be upon us once again. Give thanks that life continues to grow and beauty can cover over the scars of yesterday. Give thanks we continue to learn, and one day, may we see the promised land that this great person spoke of.

In peace, Marin

New Year Resolutions ~ 2009

2009 is promising to be a year of great changes. From the financial crisis to the presidential inauguration, regardless of what your beliefs or which side you sit on, change is swirling all around us. While change brings with it the possibility for transformation and renewal, it also brings up a lot of challenge and fear. At this precipice of the New Year, we at Joy Lane recommend gentleness.

Being gentle with yourself and with others during change and crisis allows for more space for honesty and integrity. The world is moving face and as we get swept in its momentum, we often cling or grasp. If we can find that place of gentleness in our hearts then we can blend with the unknown and meet directly whatever comes our way. Facing the truth of our experience with gentleness allows for new possibilities and new pathways of learning.

May your experience in the coming days, weeks and months throughout 2009 be one of fresh ideas, deepening healing and renewal of spirit.

In peace, Marin