“I used to envy the father of our race, dwelling as he did in contact with the new-made fields and plants of Eden; but I do so no more, because I have discovered that I also live in creation’s dawn.” John Muir
Is your spa weird enough?
If you’re like me, you don’t usually relish being called ‘weird.’ It’s most often a taunt or derogative put down. But give me a few moments and come explore the world of weird and discover what jewels you can bring back for your spa clients.
Weird has its origins in Old Norse and originally meant ‘having the power to control personal destiny.’ However, the Norse had a beautiful way of conceptualizing destiny/fate/karma that is mostly lost in our modern world.
Once upon a time…..according to Norse legend, there was a deep well of water (Well of Destiny). The well feeds an enormous Ash tree that stands in the middle of the Universe. In her branches and through her roots, exist all forms of life – all the forms that we can see and all the forms we sense beyond time and space. Within the well, live three wise women named Urd (What Once Was), Verdandi (What is Coming into Being), and Skuld (What Shall Be) and whenever a child is born they carve into the tree the child’s destiny.
But what is carved into the tree is the earliest form of each child’s destiny – a mere starting point.
The Well of Destiny is a great stopping point in the universe where the wise women shape each child as she enters life. They open up a world in which there is no fixed fate nor total free will but a beautiful cosmic dance between all beings in which life ceaselessly re-imagines itself.
We too are guardians of Wells of Destiny – and so is your Spa.
Envision the water that we drink. It enters our bodies in one form and leaves in another and, just as we transmute the water, so are our bodies changed by its passage through us. We are both shaped by the flow of life and the shapers of it.
So too, each person who enters your spa leaves changed and their presence also shapes your business.
We are not individual beings interacting with other individual beings but a sacred aspect of a universal whole. Each day you communicate with the universal dance through all forms of life – both animate and inanimate, physical and spiritual. – through your clients, and the essential oils you use, and the crystals you house, and the plants that thrive in your spa.
Through all these interactions, we very gently play a part in weaving the fabric of destiny. As Dan McCoy, writes “Even the most self-willed of actions, those that exert the most powerful influence upon destiny, are effective precisely because they are successful adaptations to the context within which they are taken.”
When we listen and respond graciously to the world around us, we can add just one or two strands to destiny’s fabric that causes the world to glisten.
A gift that is available to us is bringing consciousness into how we weave a more beautiful world.
So, how can you work with this concept of weird to enrich your client’s spa experience?
1. Take a few minutes to drop into meditation. See your spa as a well, see the souls who come to you for care, and ask “How can we subtlety and beautifully weave destiny with the souls that pass through our doors in a way that honors the invisible heart that lives deep within us all? “
2. Each morning take a few minutes to set the intention to consciously work with interweaving the fabric of the unseen world with the physical world by tending to both your client’s spiritual and emotional dimensions as well as their bodies. As you drive home at the end of the day, look for 3 ways in which you accomplished that and take a moment to celebrate and appreciate yourself.
3. Consider setting aside a place in your spa for a “Well of Destiny.” This could be water feature in your waiting room or a beautiful bowl in each treatment room or it could be simply something that represents the well to you.
- Share with clients that it is A Place of Becoming that honors that we are all sourced from something that intangible and ever-present.
- At this Well, invite clients to become present to how they shape the world by how they interact with the flow of life.
- Invite your clients to bring more intentionality to the process of weaving a more beautiful world. Ask them to reflect on how their visit to your spa can empower them in accomplishing that.
- When you create the Well of Destiny, consider creating a sacred ritual that evokes the spirit of Urd, Vernandi and Skuld and invite their wisdom to flow through the Well so that your clients can experience themselves as vehicles for love, beauty and harmony throughout their lives.
Jana Hexter
Jana Hexter guides people who are approaching one of life’s crossroads or are committed to expanding their awareness to create a better here and now – for themselves, their families, their community, and the people they serve through their businesses.are at the leading edge of our global transition in consciousness and those who are at a crossroads in life.
She is a multi-sentient intuitive– having the capacity to see, hear, feel, and know information from beyond the physical realm. She also has the capacity to connect with those who have passed. As a unique bridge between the physical and spiritual worlds, Jana provides a fresh perspective by accessing universal consciousness at a deep level.
Jana’s innate gift has been described as “one of the most moving and incredible experiences I have ever had when balancing between current reality and the grand energy of the universe”. Her ability to quickly go very deeply into the spirit world in remote sessions with her clients has resulted in some amazing and life-changing results.
She works with the world’s top spas offering intuitive readings for their guest’s personal awakening and recently set a weekend revenue record while offering sessions at The Lodge at Woodloch, ranked #6 Destination Spa in the U.S. in 2016 by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
