Pleroma Farm: Biodynamic Farm and Therapeutic Retreat

Letters from Patients

Its not one thing that heals at Pleroma Farm, rather it's a daily process of being and doing. There were many therapies, some of them scheduled like the essential oil dispersion baths, therapeutic eurythmy, rhythmical massage, music therapy and projected geometry. Some of the healing was just finding myself surrounded by kindness. (People and events that are healing by their very nature).

I came to Pleroma Farm in the middle of January 2007 with anxiety difficulties and liver problems that had not allowed me to sleep well for four months. I didn't know what would happen when I came here; I only knew that I must come.

First it was the food that helped me, fresh eggs from the farm chickens, Yogurt and butter from raw milk and bioorganic pork, beef and chicken. The food was so good, I ate with gusto (no one especially the bathroom scale can say I don't have a good appetite).

The rhythm on the farm is quiet and simple. My "work" on the farm consisted of doing straight forward things like collecting eggs and pruning trees. Being out in the sun, wind and snow, watching birds flock a fly was a clear part of healing for me and my time doing chores can not be dismissed as mere farm handwork. The progression of my own capacities over the six weeks was just amazing.

All the therapies I did (or really were done to me or with me) were, of course, important parts of my time at Pleroma Farm. The essential oil dispersion baths were prepared with reverence and great care. The results were revitalizing and strengthening. My favorite therapy was therapeutic eurhythmy. This is a discipline that combines sound with movement and was challenging, powerful and life giving.

Another important component of my time at Pleroma Farm was afternoon projected geometry "lessons" with Arthur Lups. I was taught to create geometrical forms that, in the end, gave structure, patience and calm to my thinking processes.

I will always remember my morning meetings with Dr.Lups. Together we explored my personal history through biographical writing. She offered sound advice and compassionate wisdoms as well as anthroposophical remedies to help my liver and nerves.

Everyone's journey through life and toward health is unique. Everyone's experience at the farm is also individual. What I know to say about me, with the deepest gratitude, is halleluiah, I am whole!

Janice W. February 16, 2007

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Dr. Ana Lups called me back herself within an hour of my first leaving a message that Sunday. Now I am at the end of a two week stay at Pleroma Farm, her retreat / clinic.

The stay was organized quickly and simply after our call. She was clear that we would be working toward physical strengthening and also strengthening my resolve to work the life threatening disease I have.

We worked daily during the time, touching into the very fabric of my being physically and spiritually. We looked together at pathology, symptom, medical history, dreams and symbols (which had meant so much to me in my life work), developmental bumps, constitutional weaknesses, soul longing and my life passions. Dr. Lups listens deeply and reflected the patterns she saw. She brought wisdom, humor, medical knowledge, fairy tales mythology, spiritual insight and depth of intuition to meet me at each stage of the process.

The weather around us seemed to reflect the process and all it held. There were freezes one day, wild winds the next, melt and sun and spring birds the next and than a massive snow storm. The farm itself and its pure spirit provided the container for the work.

The love I have experienced and the warmth and tone I began to cultivate in me in response to every aspect of the treatment was the core of the healing. I experienced it in each person who worked with me.

Finding what was essential for me to work towards in the months to come out of this process, was the GOLD for me. This has been an initiation I am deeply grateful for.

Candace L. March 17, 2007

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When I reflect on that experience in the field I have to laugh. My first task on Pleroma Farm was to remove the rocks scattered about an open field that would one day become a garden. Simple one would think, just pick up the rocks, put them in the wheelbarrow, wheel it over to the rock-pile, deposit them, and repeat. At that time in my life, it was anything but simple, how could one do anything when they are too busy thinking about it? "How many rocks are here?" "How long will this take?" "These are so heavy, is it possible to pick them up one by one and actually finish?" "I'd like to pick up that rock over there, oh, it's somewhat buried, alright, maybe this one will, no too big." After hours of mind numbing activity I was successful in clearing what appeared to be nothing. Not even a dent was made in this daunting task, and I was exhausted.

By the end of my stay on Pleroma Farm, I was tending the field, which had now become a twenty some-odd bed garden, pretty much single handedly, with no previous gardening experience. Cutting the beds, sowing the seeds, weeding, caring, cultivating, and harvesting. So what happened in-between? I can only say that she happened. The farm happened, and I followed suit.

Continued