College of Massage and the Healing Arts Center

 
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"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Ghandi

 
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  Roots & Foundation of our Philosophy  
 
 

College of Massage and the Healing Arts Center was built on the philosophy described in a quote from Nelson Mandela. We share them with you here, in gratitude and honor to the people who not only say them or display them, but live them… and pass them on through their example.

 

 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves,
“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?”

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God this is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fears, our presence
automatically liberates others.

Except from Nelson Mandela’s 1994
South African Presidential Inaugural Speech
Inspired by Marianne Williamson

There are several reasons why this quote is especially meaningful for us. The words and message, in and of themselves, are clearly inspiring. But for Deb Elliott, our Owner / Founder / Director, there are other reasons this message is special to her. She first heard it at a pivotal time in her life, not long before the vision of the Center was born. But, again it wasn’t only the words that impacted her. It was also how she heard them.

Deb Elliott didn’t see them on CNN or read them in the newspaper. She didn’t find them surfing the web or get them in an email message. Actually, she heard them in her own living room from a friend, who had also heard it from another friend in that same way. Note that these words, spread world wide from Nelson Mandela, had originated from yet another individual.

For Deb, the way she heard this message symbolically added depth, significance, and meaning to the message. It was a demonstration that reinforced it did matter what we pass on to each other, person to person,… and that one person can make a far reaching difference.

It was a long way from South Africa to Deb Elliott’s living room in Urbandale, Iowa. The power of the intention behind the words and the momentum grew along the way and was part of the push and reminder she needed to support her… to continue, to trust, and to move forward.

To this day, we continue to strive to live our lives and support others with these words in mind. As a part of recognizing our 10th anniversary at the Center, we added a symbol of a drop of water that ripples out, as seen on our website and at the Center. This symbol is intended to visually remind us of these inspiring words and encourage us to consciously choose how we want to “ripple out” into the world.

 

Next page: Brief History of the Center

 

  
 
     
     

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