Small Group Environment

Fresh Start guests share many experiences, their good and bad days, their successes and “could be bettered,” which helps them create deep connections that often last far beyond the program. Most of this happens in a casual environment: around a meal while waiting for a healthy drink, on a guided walk or in the steam.

Group Time

In addition to daily interaction, once a week, the group gets together once a week for an organized Group time facilitated by the Program Director. It is a much-loved activity and provides a chance to bond with new program participants, to share how your week went, and your insights and inspiration with others. Group time is a place to learn helpful tips and to talk about what is meaningful to you.

Group Times are organized in a light, casual manner and are NOT counselling sessions. They are very interactive and short (1-1.5 hrs. long). New topics and tips will be introduced each time, so you learn and take away some things.

Sample Group Time Topics (may change from session to session):

• Ice-Breaker
• Pain Bodies
• Enlightened Relationships

Part of the ultimate healing experience is feeling heard, connected and safe. The small group environment is essential in the profound healing and Fresh Start programs. Connection with people around us strengthens our connection to ourselves and gives us new perspectives, understanding, and compassion towards other people and their choices because we start understanding them better.

Progress Celebration

Celebrations are so important. They help us deeply imprint where we’ve come from and where we’ve come to. At times this path is hard, and unless we stop to appreciate it, we may never realize its positive impact on our present and future.

In the middle of the 21-day program cycle, we do the mid-program celebration. This is a very inspiring session for those who went through half of their Fresh Start journey and for the new participants alike.

At the end of the program, there is a final celebration session – another boost of co-inspiration and excellent program completion. Everyone worked very hard, and these sessions rarely go without tears of gratitude and admiration for what our bodies are capable of.

Sometimes we also invite Fresh Start staff to these meetings so that they can share the joy and reignite their passion for what they do. They are the ones who work day in and day out behind the scenes to help you to reach these fantastic results.

It Does Not End There

Some moments are not planned or scheduled. Those steam bath conversations, the discussions around the table, a walk with a new friend that may make the most profound impact on your entire life. I remember a story of a guest who came to the program after a year full of tragedy and losing several family members and friends. As if this was not enough, her closest friend, who developed advanced cancer, asked her to become her support in an assisted death. This was the last string. What a privilege! Anything but that – she screamed. You can ask me about anything but that. This does not sit with me.

Shortly after, the person joined us in the Fresh Start program. When the guest entered the group room, she wore a shirt with the word “Boston.” She sat next to a person who helped his family member with an assisted death, and he was from Boston. What a coincidence! He was the most significant catalyst to her healing in a way none of us at the Fresh Start team could.

The story does not end there. The friend passed away, and on the same day, the guest jumped into the car and drove many miles all day the way back to Fresh Start. She said on the program orientation, wearing her Boston shirt. Later she commented, ‘I was wondering what will happen this time when I wear it.’ What happened was that the friend of the person from Boston she met the last time came to the program and sat next to her in the room. As you already may have guessed, he, just like his friend, became a special angel on this guest’s unique healing journey. He was instrumental in her process of healing her heart and letting go of the pain associated with grief.

These things are never planned, but if you are open and ready to be vulnerable to connect with other people, you will receive great blessings. You learn from other participants sometimes more than you do from us here at Fresh Start. This dear friend of mine gladly shares this story with you so you believe that miracles happen when you do your part and invest yourself in healing. And even when you feel the darkest moments of the soul, you are not alone. The Universe and people around you may help you in unexpected ways.

We hear more than once that a person is concerned with the group environment and the intimacy of the setting. On the opposite, when they leave, they are surprised at how strong is the power of honest and authentic communication.

If you come to the Fresh Start with an open mind and heart, not trying to pretend or hide; if you come with putting aside all your expectations and surrendering to what is; if you are participating not just with your body or mind but also with your heart and soul; if you come here with kindness and thoughtfulness about others around you, you will be able to go so much deeper inside and to experience profound healing.