Charlynn L Atiam aka Char Lynn Ford - sweats for sale in Boulder Creek

[nemesis]

Under the name of Char Lynn Ford this woman is organising regular sweats in the Boulder Creek area of Ca.

Meetup group here

http://www.meetup.com/Sweat-Lodge-Events-of-Weaving-Unity-Center/


website here

http://weavingunity.com

FB page here

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001905774774

page all about the sweat lodges here

http://weavingunity.com/Sweat_Lodge.html

text from page

Lodges
honoring our wholeness
Calendar of Lodges for 2011

Mar. 5      Saturday        Women's Lodge
Apr. 2       Saturday        Community Lodge
June 25    Saturday        Community Lodge (evening Lodge as part of Summer Solstice Ceremony, must attend whole weekend)
July  30    Saturday        Women's Lodge
Aug. 27    Saturday        Community Lodge
Oct.  22    Saturday        Women's Lodge
Nov. 19    Saturday        Community Lodge


Fee schedule:  $40 for those arriving early, at 9am to help with fire and throughout the day. For those who cannot arrive at 9am but can stay later after our meal and help with clean-up this price can be honored. $40 for those with health issues who cannot physically help. $70 for those arriving at noon for the Lodge. For those who join us on the land for work exchange days a minimal fee of $15 helps cover food and materials. These fees go right back into the land and materials for the Lodge.

Meal after Lodge will be provided!!  There will be a salad buffet, hot soup, and beverages. It will be important to have enough food so please RSVP by Thursday before the Lodge. RSVP by emailing Charlynn at charlynn@weavingunity.com. If you haven't RSVP'd and can join us on Lodge day, please come ahead but bring a potluck dish with you.

Work Exchange Days: There will be more posted work exchange days this year where you can help create anew and maintain our Weaving Unity Retreat Center. These exchange days are valued at $15/ hour towards any ceremony or Lodge of your choice. Your help is deeply appreciated.

Lodge Retreat Weekends: Plan to spend extra time at Weaving Unity Retreat Center during Lodge weekends. Friday nights you can experience Lodge song sharings, Shamanic Journeys, walks on nearby trails, the peace of nature away from city lights, and stars that can only be seen in the country. After Saturday Lodges plan to relax and really soak in the experience. There are four rooms available for guest accommodations. The Mountain Room has two twin beds, plenty of space and a patio door to a private patio(its cost is $80/night, can be shared with two people $40/person). The Zen Garden Room has a single queen and also patio door to the private patio(its cost is $65/night). The Sun Room has two full beds and opens off the front of the house (its cost $80/night, can be shared $40/person). The Peacock Room has a queen sofa bed (its cost is $60/night).  The rooms share a full and 1/2 bath. Breakfast is included with your stay. Make your reservations early.

Our Weaving Unity Lodge Ceremony is fashioned after the indigenous peoples' Sweat Lodge Ceremony. This ceremony is found around the world and the modern day sauna had its origins within the sweat lodge. Our intention is to create a safe, sacred space where all people may embody their wholeness, heal, be honored in their personal process, and purify mind, body, and spirit. Everyone is welcome to our lodge.  Our belief is that if you found your way to our lodge, it was Spirit that directed you. We plan the dates of our lodges on a weekend date closest to the new moon, for planting the seeds of our intentions. Each lodge is followed with a meal of  hot soup, salad bar, and refreshments. We look forward to having you joining us, and if you are new to a lodge experience please read on for more information. Please note, the following information is unique to our lodge and you may find different formalities at other lodges. It is always a good idea to ask what is appropriate to the ceremony you are attending.

Our Weaving Unity Lodge 'Grandmother' holds unconditionally loving space to accept you. She will accept all that you choose to release and transmute it; to Her it is just energy. This is the third Lodge we have built at the Retreat Center and this 'Grandmother' requested we build her in copper. She reminds us that it is our human nature to be a conduit of Love between Heaven and Earth, as her copper is a conduit of energy creating the sphere that surrounds us when we enter. Every Lodge holds a vibration of energy, sometimes influenced by their Lodge keepers, sometimes with the intention of why they are built. The Lodges we have built here at Weaving Unity Retreat Center have always held the sacred intention of healing. When this Lodge was built the energy of healing was changed to wholeness, honoring that each of us is truly whole already within our Soul and often the body needs a tune-up, release of old traumas, or re-membering that can come about in sacred space. 'Grandmother' welcomes you within Her sacred space that you may experience all that you come to experience. Bless you in the journey.



Our Lodge Protocol;
Our rules of protocol are simple:
Be respectful of all life.
Coverings for the body are required, It is okay to sit nude in the darkness of the Lodge. Please be sensitive to others when the door is opened. Cotton clothing is best, no bathing suits.
Your Lodge leader is holding the space, please ask if you need to leave the Lodge or speak out of turn.
Please honor the donation.  It is our desire to have the Lodge available for everyone. If finances are a challenge work trades are available. Dates for your work trades must be set up before the Lodge you wish to attend, please speak with Charlynn to make arrangements.

What is a Lodge;
The Lodge is a sacred purification rite; for cleansing body, mind, and spirit, through the use of hot stones, water (to create steam) and sacred space. The ceremony can be quite different from area to area, or tribe to tribe, or even event to event.  The Lodge itself is a metaphor of the womb of the Earth Mother, unconditionally receiving and loving.

The Lodge consists of three distinct areas; the firepit, the altar, and the lodge. These areas are in alignment with one another with an energetic line connecting the three known as the Path of Spirit. The firepit represents male energy. It is here that the stones are heated. A fire is begun with an intention for the ceremony and prayers that honor and call forth Great Spirit and the spirits of the directions. The altar represents the Earth, the coming together of male and female in form. The Lodge represents the womb of the Earth Mother; living Gaia. She can be a place of rebirthing and deep healing. As in any modality, "according to your faith you are healed."

Before entering the Lodge we gather outside, centering ourselves. This is the time to create 'prayer ties' (materials provided) and introduce yourself to others. Honor the sacredness of this space with reverence for each other and our relations. We enter the Lodge after the medicine person. Sage for smudging is always available, although we usually smudge in the lodge with the 'medicines' of the first round.

Prayer Ties are a way of bringing our inner prayers into form. Using colored cloth (representing your prayer) with a pinch of tobacco in the center (tobacco is the sacred herb of unification) one embodies their prayer into the prayer tie and then strings together their prayers. Then the string is brought into the Lodge, hung over the Lodge poles, where the tobacco becomes a gift to the Spirits who come to hear your prayers and guide you toward their fulfillment. When you are complete with the Lodge and you have re-birthed yourself into the world you offer your prayer ties to the fire where we "let go and let Creator." This final act of release is an act of faith; I have brought my prayers into form, I have prayed over them, asked for help and guidance, and now I give them to Creator with faith in my heart. It is a very powerful ceremony unto itself and we offer all the materials for you to create your string of prayer ties. Please be sure to arrive early enough to create these for yourself.

We enter the Lodge to connect with Source through prayer, song, or silence that we may heal our bodies (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual). We enter the door in a humble way, kneeling and honoring the Earth (this shows we are no better or less than any of our relations). We say Atiwao (All-That-Is we are one) or  All My Relations to connect ourselves to all life and spirit helpers that will join us in the Lodge. We move around the Lodge in a sunwise (clockwise) direction. In community lodges men and women may sit interspersed. Each direction holds a different energy, sit where you feel drawn. You can change places between rounds, being respectful of others.

The Lodge Experience consists of four 'rounds' (usually), where hot stones are brought in, the door closed, an intention set, songs and prayers shared, or silence observed, water is poured over the stones, and the door is opened. When the 'Stone People' are brought into the Lodge they are honored as our healers with silence or greetings and aromatic cedar is placed upon them.

Each round is begun with an intention through prayer. Plant 'medicines' are placed on the stones for their healing properties. There are prayer rounds where each person is given the opportunity to offer their prayers. We ask that you stay focused on your needs, do not preach or take this time for personal stories. When you are complete, say ho, which lets others know you are complete. During this time, each person is in process, sometimes quite personal. If a brother or sister is in need, ask if you may be of assistance. being respectful of their boundaries. All that happens within the Lodge stays there.

Each round holds a different intention and aspect to healing, we ask that you try to complete all four rounds. If the heat gets too hot, lie down and get near the earth. If you need to leave during a round, respectfully get the attention of the Lodge leader and ask for the door. Your process is honored; suffering is optional and not recommended.

Water, for drinking, is brought in between rounds. You may exit between rounds, staying in prayerful silence and re-enter as quickly as possible. You may stay outside during a round and re-enter for the next.

Leaving the Lodge after your final round  is your time of conscious rebirth. You have spent sacred time in the womb of Gaia and can create an intention of letting go of that which no longer serves you, that you may rebirth yourself anew into the world. Take your time to exit the doorway, giving thanks for the experience, and enter the world outside consciously, with intention for your heart's desires.

After the Lodge take good care of yourself, keeping warm and being respectful of others' needs. Remove your prayer ties and honor them up to the fire. There is a cold water shower available. If the Lodge is to be undressed, please help if you can. Take all your belongings with you, leaving the Lodge site clean. We retire to Charlynn's home to enjoy the community potluck, one another's company, networking, and integrating our Lodge experience. We ask you to respect space by cleaning up afterwards and taking home all your personal items.

A Note to those with claustrophobia or fear of the dark that may fear this experience. Many of these fears can be caused by our birth experience; long labors, birth canal issues, and the modern impersonal birthing techniques. The Lodge experience can be very healing if you are ready to honor the fears and move through them.  There are always people on hand that have gone through many Lodge experiences that can 'midwife' a new experience for you. I have had several people who have needed to honor their fears with their own processing, who have stayed through the four rounds and later shared that the experience changed their lives forever. Remember that the metaphor of this is the womb of the mother, unconditionally loving and accepting. Leaving the doorway of the Lodge is your opportunity to re-frame your birth experience in a whole new way.

 

For more information,
reservations, or appointments
please call Charlynn @ 831-246-2996
or email: charlynn@weavingunity

the (c) notice at the bottom of the page is for a person called Charlynn L. Atiam (presumably the same person).  There are also some photos of sweats being constructed on the page.

This woman also runs various retreats ranging from "discovering your inner god / goddess" through to "vision quests" and facilitates "manifestation circles" based on the content of the book "The Secret"  and a channelled being called Abraham.

She also reads palms and conducts weddings.

Not sure quite what to make of this but thought I would share

[jakemonet]

I want to share my thoughts on Charlynn (Ford) Atiam.  She is a beautiful woman who loves everyone unconditionally.  She has devoted her life to healing and learning about how to be the best person she can be.  She runs various events, officiates weddings, does hand analysis (not palm reading - big difference), runs a full moon circle every month and runs sweat lodges.  She welcomes everyone through her front door if they need/want a place to heal and to rest from the rest of the world.  Her land is a santuary to everyone who stays there. 

Charlynn has a truly beautiful heart and soul.
 
I was very dismayed to see this post and seeing someone question this truly remarkable person.  She is truly one of the most beautiful spirits I have ever met.

Please meet her and give her a chance before posting this kind of material about her so you can share your opinion of her based on your interaction with her and not from what you read on her website.  She would really appreciate that as would I.

 

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

Jakemonet, you seem to be missing the point, as I have seen so many others come here
and miss the point. She can be as beautiful a person as she is or wants to be or as others
think her to be. This isn't about whether she's a good person, it's about whether she has
the rights to run a ceremony that is not hers to run.

Read through some of the board and realize that these ceremonies belong to someone else.
The ndn's who these ceremonies belong to have protocols of their own, that were given to
them. For someone, no matter how nice they are, to take these ceremonies and run them
without regard and respect to their original roots is wrong. And, fraudulent. If I take the position
of a policeman and try to run a ceremony that only policemen/women perform, it would
be considered fraudulent. Although this analogy is poor (and hopefully not disrespectful).

Also, regarding her webpage. If she cannot properly introduce herself on a webpage and
people should not base their opinions on what she gives as description of herself and her
doings, then she shouldn't have a webpage.

I usually don't respond to these things, but I'm tired of seeing people like yourself come in
here and not "get it" and expect that the forum here should just say.. oh.. she's a beautiful
person.. ok then.. it's alright. It's not alright and it has nothing to do with how wonderful she
may be.

It's  stolen ceremony that unless she is Native American and has permission and rights to
the ceremonies she's taken (stolen) then she shouldn't be doing them. Beautiful people get
harmed all the time from things they should not be doing.

[earthw7]

Some of the things she say about the lodge i have never heard of and yet it has been a part
of my life 25 years,
Nice people dont steal other nations way of life, nice people dont charged money to pray

[snorks]

Jakemonet, I have from time to time have seen a person or group that I liked listed on this board.  What I usually do is read what is said and think about it. 

If I am in a position to do so, I ask the person etc listed about my concerns - such as I have heard that you do Native Ceremonies, etc.  Is this true or what is it you do?  If they fudge the answer, then just walk away from them.

If I am not in a position to do so, I figure that said group or person can come to this board and have a discussion with everyone directly.  I do not need to defend them or intercede on their behalf.

If I feel compelled to intercede or defend the person or group, then I need to ask myself why.  It could be a sign that I may be getting into a cult-like group or at least one that expects everyone to defend the core folks.  In short, it is for me a signal to step back from the group or person for awhile.  And again read and think about what this board is saying and why they are saying it.

[dabosijigwokush]

1 a buffalo skull on top of lodge makes it a Lakota lodge
2 woman go through a cleansing every month any way
3 i have never been to a real lodge the charges a penny
4 the fire shure does not look like the lodge of the grand fathers, just thrown together
5 no path


$40 for those with health issues who cannot physically help.
and they call this healing
i would not let my wife any where near this miss used, miss informed, fraud

she is no better then death ray, praying on the lame, and miss informed
The Inner Quest is our term for the Vision Quest of indigenous peoples
they need a group of woman elders to go there and tear it down

[dabosijigwokush]

Char Lynn Ford
Big Basin Hwy   
Boulder Creek, CA  95006   (831) 338-0000 

Fictitious Business Name Detail   
Santa Cruz County Recorder's Office

FBN Number:   2003-0000960
Filed:   5/1/2003
Commencement Date:   5/1/2003
Expiration Date:   5/1/2008
Publication Date:   5/30/2003

Business Name(s):    Registrant Name(s):   
WEAVING UNITY   FORD, CHARLENE LYNN 

this will be reported to the code and inspections office, renting rooms without a permit, not enough bath rooms, open fires to close to protected state park , endangering the public
do you need this to; James Arthur Ray - Angel Valley Resort DeathSweat in Sedona: 3 dead, 20 injured

sumited to the santa cruz county sheriff's office

[Defend the Sacred]

Stealing and perverting ceremony is not beautiful. It is ugly.

She may make you feel good, jakemonet, but at what cost? How can you feel good about yourself when the traditions and true tradition-bearers are being harmed? What she does is not good for the people she's stolen from, or the people she will harm by trying to lead a ceremony she was not properly trained to do. People here can tell she was not properly trained simply by reading what she says about her faked ceremonies on her website, and the fact she is doing pay to pray. She was probably trained by another fraud, but if she did learn from someone legitimate, she has now spat upon that trust and the spirits she hoped to get help from. It's not good to offend the spirits in that way. It may feel "beautiful" to you right now, but no good will come of it in the end.

On this page http://weavingunity.com/Home_Page.html
she says she offers, "Manifestation Circles that teach from the 'Law of Attraction' and 'Abraham Teachings'."  That's James Ray type stuff. She is connected - spiritually and via m.o. - to DeathRay. Death follows James Ray. This does not look good for her or anyone who makes the mistake of trusting her.

[critter - a white non-ndn person]

What she does is not beautiful or nice. I have no idea what copper is being used for, sounds dangerous.

My previous post, I was trying to say that nice and beautiful people can be deeply ignorant and harm their self and others with that ignorance.

What will tell is if she takes time to be educated on these matters, if she doesn't, she is neither nice or beautiful, and if she does but continues in this way, then she is neither nice or beautiful.

[Defend the Sacred]

She's advertised her plastic sweats on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/180382721978431/
______________________________________________

COMMUNITY SWEAT LODGE
Public Event · By Charlynn Atiam

        Sunday, December 5, 2010
        12:00pm until 3:00pm
       
    20200 BIG BASIN WAY BOULDER CREEK, CA 95006
       RSVP Charlynn@weavingunity.com by Friday 12/3/10
    Meal provided after Lodge of soup and salad buffet.
    For more information see my website weavingunity.com
    $40 for those arriving 9am and helping throughout the day
    $70 for those arriving at noon for the Lodge only
___________________________________________________

Only ten "likes" on her business page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Weaving-Unity-Retreat-Center/105823599495897

[dabosijigwokush]

in the two pictures the bows of the lodge are made using copper tubing , you can see the roll up on the side of the shead
copper holds alot of heat and will burn you if contacted

http://weavingunity.com/Sweat_Lodge.html

[Smart Mule]

Jakemonet, you shouldn't have to pay $40-$70 for unconditional love and healing in the context of ceremony.  That's spiritual prostitution.

dabosijigwokush brought up a very important issue, the copper sweat lodge.  Exposure to copper under extreme heat, or the powdered residue that happens when it begins to leech and corrode is DANGEROUS.  She is potentially poisoning people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_toxicity.

[dabosijigwokush]

Jakemonet:
mabay i should explane something to you and all that follow the fools
when someone is sick be it mental, from a illness, or spiritual
then you and only you would ask for the lodge,  you would have family and friends come and support you in your healing, some may enter the lodge with you, others make the food, some work the door, some gather the grandfathers and wood under the direction of the lodge keeper, some build the lodge for you
there is no money involed only unconditional love, many just sit out side and pray for your healing
but understand this the lodge keeper is only a person that the creator works through
if there are more than one person there for a "healing" how is the lodge keeper going to focus on your healing
if you want a sweat and nothing else use you own bathroom with a steaming shower and burn some herbs, but dont expet to be healed
i am only giving you the basics so the fools do not get any real teaching from this , but to stay out of native ways, unless you are rasied in it

[Mahekun]

Jake - You don't charge for ceremony.

A lot of folks from the reserve in my area live in poverty and could not afford to attend lodges if they were charged for, including me. How is that fair? All people deserve healing. When someone slaps a price on ceremony it becomes nothing more than a quaint newagey night out for a bunch of rich white people. This so-called beautiful lady of yours sure does sound like she's good at playing the wonderful merciful loving conduit of creator who heals all. A true lodge keeper has far more humility than that.

[earthw7]

http://www.weavingunity.com/Home_Page.html
Weaving Unity Retreat Center
A destination for true relaxation & reclaiming one's essence

Weaving Unity Retreat Center is an acre plus of sunny gardens surrounded by woodlands, located six miles from the small town of Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. The center is deep in the coastal redwoods, alive with wild animals and birds of the area. The land is known to have had a Native Californian village close by. Big Basin State Park, California's oldest and largest state park is a short 3 miles down the road. It is an hour drive from the Silicon Valley and less than two hours from most Bay Area Cities.

In the sanctuary of this quiet mountain getaway peace seeps into your being. The pace of life slows down, even stops, if you allow it. The deep roots of the ancient redwoods ground you. The land that is honored as sacred and alive nurtures you and helps you to become present to each moment of clean air, positive energy, and abundant life. Here you can truly relax, unwind, and rejuvenate your spirit.

Charlynn grew up in the area and feels this is her 'soul's' home. She is fulfilling her dreams in this retreat center of having a place where nurturing, healing and wholeness can occur while one reconnects to their Source. Here the Earth Mother is honored for her aliveness. The land is treated with respect, in harmony with all living things. Charlynn knows the land, the birds, animals, and plants of the area. She knows of quiet hiking trails, riverways and special sites that offer vistas for opening our views and re-aligning our spirits.

The Center offers three quiet rooms for overnight accommodations. Two rooms have double french doors that open to the private garden patio; complete with seating areas, fountain, hot tub/spa, and an old maple that shades the area in the warm summer sun. The rooms share a full bath with a half bath available. Our 'Zen Garden Room', with an oriental garden mural, is painted in pastel 'heart chakra' colors. Our 'Mountain Room' in warm woodsy colors and a view of the woods behind the center. Warm colors in both rooms embrace you, adding to your relaxation. Our third room, the 'Sun Room', aligns with the movement of the sun across the southern sky. In peach and blue it gives a southwest feel.

On the land you will find lovely gardens; floral, vegetable and an orchard of various fruit trees, grapes and berries. We organically grow as much as we can to offer to our guests. The Wedding Site (being developed) with its red roses over white arbor and trellis embraces couples uniting in love. Guests enjoy the shaded ceremonial site and the fun that the reception area offers. For our ceremonies we are creating the trinity of hoops or the three sacred circles; the Healing 'Sweat' Lodge (currently in use, see Sweat Lodge page for information and calendar), the Medicine Wheel, and the Labyrinth Walk (in planning stages). These three sacred circles have their origins in the spirituality of indigenous peoples from around the world. 

Full Moon Wisdom Circles
Open to women and men

Join us each month to honor our wisdom. You have the choice of joining in for the whole weekend retreat or just our Saturday night full moon circle. The full weekend retreat shares a full teaching around our subject matter. In the full moon circle we will share and enjoy the beauty of the moon with an evening fire when weather permits. . For the full moon circle we meet from 6:30-9pm. Join us from 5:30 - 6:30m for a potluck meal. Please bring a drum, folding chair, and layered clothing for our outdoor night fires. The fee is only $10.

2013 dates:
January 26
February 23
March 30
April 27             
May NO CIRCLE THIS MONTH
June 22
July 20
August 17
September NO CIRCLE THIS MONTH
October 19
November 16
December 21


July 20-21 Women In Celebration:
Honoring our Stages of Womanhood

A ceremony that deeply honors women of all ages and stages.  Join us for a two day ceremony, July 20-21, when we will celebrate our stages of womanhood. From our young maidens just beginning their moontime, to our blessed matrons giving their time to the child-rearing years, on to our Matriarchs owning their power within and without, to our Madame Elders and the wisdom they share with us. This weekend will inspire, empower, and bless us all as we acknowledge and celebrate ourselves as women. Put it on your calendar now!!


Manifestation Circles

Charlynn facilitates Manifestation Circles that work with the principles of the Law of Attraction. These principles can be found in the movie 'The Secret' and the teachings of 'Abraham'; a channeled message through Esther Hicks, as well as in many other arenas.  The Abraham teachings give us a solid foundation of focus to create a more conscious world before us. Each gathering we have a time of check-in, a focused time of listening to a teaching and a time where each person creates an intention or goal that the group gives their undivided attention to in helping that person to manifest their heart's desires. I have seen extraordinary changes come over people when working with these principles and miracles happen in unexpected ways. It is transformational and conscious co-creation at its best!

We gather in Boulder Creek on the second and forth Mondays every month from 7-9pm at Weaving Unity Retreat Center.  Love offerings are accepted to honor the space and Charlynn's time.

We gather in Los Gatos on the second Thursday of every month from 7-9pm at a private residence. Space is limited to 10 people so please rsvp to charlynn@weavingunity.com early.