Nature's Inner Refuge

Camp Joy...lived by LisaJoy

The admissions lady was kind as I checked myself into The Betty Ford Center in Palm Springs, life of the rich and famous. I was neither rich, nor famous, I was just sick. After 5 days in the detox ward, I was released to the main unit with 19 other very sick women, to spend the next 25 days or more…

It worked; I stayed sober for several years.

Then I didn’t.

Back to rehab and the humility of it all…that is where alcohol takes me.

Rehabs are fine, they service many people and sometimes they do it well. They are licensed as hospitals/institutions so they operate as that. I didn’t like it, locked doors, fluorescent lights, the smells…I was not dying! Or was I?

Once solid in recovery, I began working in treatment centers on staff as a Recovery and Spiritual Coach. There I witnessed the inner-workings and profit motives driving the substance abuse industry. It was never about getting people well, more so, they worried about how to get clients back when they relapsed. System failure, and it gave me more to dislike.

One thing I know about my wild-hearted soul, nature heals me. Going outside, grounding my feet in the earth, face to the sun filling my lungs with crisp air, ahhhhh.

Intuitively I know that heals me, and maybe you do too.

When I moved to the forest, I discovered where my real Refuge lives: here, in stillness, with my flock of hens and two dogs, in reconnecting to self and to something greater.

These are things the hospital never offered me, and what my soul craved in order to heal.

RMWR aka “Camp Joy” is located at 7,500 feet in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, surrounded by tall pines, alpine lakes, elk and deer....a Soul's Refuge is born.

Whether you walk with us virtually or in person, there is a path for you, one that can bring you ‘home’.

You don’t need to be fixed.
You just want to return to who you are,

and find true JOY again, or maybe for the first time.

You have options, I know, I’ve been there.

I would be honored to walk beside you as you explore your path.

The Woman Who Fell in a Very Deep Hole

Once there was a woman who fell into a very, very deep hole. She could not find her way out, so she called for help. She yelled and yelled.

Finally, a minister came by and said to her, "I’m sorry, I can’t help you, but I will pray for you."

Then a psychiatrist stopped and said, "Oh dear, I could give you some medication, but I can’t help you out of that hole."

Next, her best friend and family came by and tried and tried but they could not get her out of that hole.

Finally, another woman came skipping along and promptly jumped the hole with the first woman.

“What are you doing? Now we are both stuck in here!” cried the first woman.

The second woman smiled and said,

“Honey, I’ve been here before; I’ll show you the way out.”