Because spirit and intention matter.

It matters to Chaden and I. It matters to the Willowsong Midwifery team providing theCare. It matters to the artisans of Silent Rivers. It matters to the community we serve. And this spirit, this intention, has the ability to set the path for a more connected, sustainable, safer future for our planet. Or NOT.

 
On the hilltop corner of 800 19th Street, in the historic Sherman Hill neighborhood ~ up the street from where Willowsong Midwifery Care has been since 2003 ~ there sits a two-story masonry building that has sat empty for years. Chaden Halfhill, of Silent Rivers Design+Build had a vision to bring the building to life through a sustainable renovation aimed to “decrease our carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency and promote better use of materials”.

The site has a green roof…

And a rain wall and rain garden to effectively manage stormwater runoff, as well as geothermal heating and cooling, natural ventilation and solar panels…

The very caring, intentional restoration of this prominent building in the neighborhood is the beginning of a greater vision to restore, create and nurture sustainable communities, one building at a time, all around Iowa.

“This project will not only help to beautify a historic piece of our community, but it is our hope that we will inspire others to follow suit,” said Chaden. “There are over 10,000 buildings around Iowa alone that have a structure similar to that of our pilot project.

We could drastically change our environment if we were to implement more sustainable practices when renovating those existing buildings”.

 
Now that sounds a little like the purpose, mission, vision & values of Willowsong Midwifery Care.
 

We could drastically change our environment if we were to implement safer, more sustainable birth practices around the world.

 
This is theHeart of why Healing Passages, the entity that provides theSpace, chose Green & Main’s pilot project to be its future home. We know that when we CARE for one another, we must not disconnect from being human, from the cycles of LIFE, for we all are connected to one another and to our planet. The journey is not sterile. It is organic. The power to HEAL, comes from these connections and this knowing.
 

Take a moment to imagine a space that holds the belief that BIRTH is SACRED…

An opportunity for transformation for all who participate, an unfolding of a mother and baby’s journey beyond our control, a biological process designed to be SAFE for mother and child, where technology is only used when medically necessary, where the mother’s intuition is honored, where she and her newborn are seen as ONE and her soul’s connection to her baby is valued.
 

Now, feel yourself in another paradigm, in a space where the belief is that BIRTH is a MEDICAL PROCEDURE…

A physiological condition fraught with danger for mother and child, a process meant to be controlled and pushed, where all who participate feel nothing but FEAR expecting the worst to happen, where technology is seen as far superior than  the body’s design and mother and baby are seen as TWO ~ their soul’s connection devalued.
 

One paradigm does everything from a point of connection to each other, to our planet. The other from a point of disconnect from ourselves and the planet.

 
Not only does the building and the land upon which it rests synergistically work with and remind us as human beings of our connection to all the cycles of life; so does the design and intent of the space reflect those connections.

The next blog post will reflect upon how every aspect of the interior is designed for the women and families of Willowsong and what we, as women, do with each other ~ we hold space ~ guiding each other through all the passages of life. It is in this building’s design that theSpace, within which this hard work occurs, shall feel connected and organic as a gentle reminder to us all that this is where all healing begins.
 
 
Cosette Boone is the Founder and Executive Director of Healing Passages Birth & Wellness Center, which is the main tenant of the renovated building.
 

Chaden Halfhill and Cosette Boone at the Green & Main sustainable construction site where they are creating the future facility space for Healing Passages Birth & Wellness Center.

“Can you see doing it without him?”

This is what Ying, my CPA, asked me from across her desk one day a few years back. Instantly, my gut responded.

“No”, I said, after a summer of looking for new birth center sites, with no luck.

“Then that’s your answer,” she replied.

I gazed over at Chaden and took a deep breath. It was the moment I knew I had to see this through with my husband. His building development, which was to house our new birth center at the corner of 800 19th Street, known to us as Green & Main, had run into major funding issues, temporarily halting further construction on the project.

It was the summer of 2012.

The funny thing about destiny, as I’ve come to learn, is that the timetable in one’s head is not usually correct.

There is a universal timetable that exists — beyond one’s control I believe — that encompasses a larger knowing that we cannot yet see or understand.

It is much like BIRTH.

Despite the elaborate birth plans we make, our journeys are unique and not revealed to us until we are living the moment. This is the surrender that we talk about with our clients as they approach their births. “You’ve got to let it go. You are not in control,” we tell them. Funny how I don’t usually listen to my own advice.

I’ll let you in on a little history of my husband and I.

Thirteen years ago, we came together in a marriage defined by LOVE & PURPOSE. We identified with marriage as a “celebration of human destiny”. Taken from Weddings From the Heart, by Daphne Kingma, our ceremony acknowledged that our…

“Union will have as one of its major commitments the willingness of the partners to search for, discover, and support one another as they step into the presence of what is theirs, truly, to do in this life. Couples who are drawn to this ceremony have a sense of destiny, indeed of urgency, about discovering who they are and what, in some ultimate sense, their lives are about.”

We were challenged to ask ourselves not only what we desire to receive from our union in support of our own destinies, but also to discover what it is the two of us, “in the particular and unique configuration of our marriage”, have been brought together to accomplish.

I believe it was that defining moment in my CPA’s office that I figured this one out.

So here we are, with our community surrounding us

…four years later, 2016, looking up at the corner of 800 19th Street and seeing it come together, closer than we have ever been to finishing, yet still faced with challenges, just as many developments and growing businesses encounter.

We are in what feels like TRANSITION of labor.

For those of you who have given birth, you know this moment well…

Transition is the point of no return when we are faced with all our fears, completely vulnerable, our souls splayed open to the universe, tears falling down our flushed cheeks, we fall to the floor and beg for relief, our minds cannot possibly grasp how to go forward, yet we know we cannot go back.

This is the moment as a midwife where I fall in love with the woman before me, over and over again, as I look into her eyes, knowing she is about to realize her true power.

Only this labor is not just me birthing our child, it is Chaden and I birthing a greater vision for humanity:

He to restore our relationship with our dwellings and the ecology in which they exist. She to empower women through a paradigm of care that HEALS while restoring to humanity, a safer, more sustainable birth practice. Both holding a burning, urgent, desire to push for change for the health of our planet and our future generations.

Hmmm, and you thought this article was just going to be about the new facility.

Healing Passages Birth & Wellness Center will soon be located in the amazing sustainable building at 800 19th Street. There has been a whole lot of love and vision going into this birth center…

and we are eager to bring the community up to speed surrounding the design and purpose of the space as the project comes together day by day. Slated to open mid-summer, I will be posting weekly updates and photos of the space along with event dates being planned around the new Center’s grand opening.

We have so many mamas desiring birth center birth and anticipating the move this summer. I can only hope this blog will generate inspiration, excitement, hope and greater connection within our Willowsong community.

Let me begin with the very intentional tile layout of the Center’s front entrance

Many of you will recognize theHeart from our website’s main navigation. This was purposeful, and came together on a busy day when my husband, the developer of the site, called and said, ‘We need a word to go into the tile layout for the front entrance of your building and we need it today!’ Our team went into brainstorming mode with our architect Teddy (Teodora Shtinareva) from Silent Rivers Design+Build. Through the synergistic flow of ideas, much like that of a willow branch that bends and sways in the wind, we landed with theHeart.

“So why? What does it mean?”

Here is my reply:

~theHeart you ask, not understanding the front entrance, or why it even matters. Imagine as one walks through the front door ~ there is a moment of pause, perhaps a smile as the words are taken in and the reflection becomes apparent. One can imagine the artisan painstakingly placing the tiles by hand so that all who enter may be transformed. It is a moment in the exploration of the space, the space through which many will pass to heal, to learn, to grow, to connect. You see, beautiful creations come from the soul. theHeart is the “driver for the soul, which means if your heart isn’t in it, it’s going to be lackluster and flat”. theHeart is the energy that is created as great people with great intentions come together. Fear and anger and negativity close down theHeart. We learn to trust and love and believe from theHeart space. We at Willowsong are led to this work by our hearts. It is our soul’s purpose, which means we cannot run from it. It lifts us up and breaks us down and brings us to our knees on a daily basis.

Journey with us…allowing your heart to open to what is possible; for this is where all healing begins.

We would not be where we are today without you, the women and families we serve. You are theHeart of our vision at Healing Passages and the core of our team’s work at Willowsong. “But it’s not easy!” you say. “No, it’s not. Name one thing worth achieving that is easy”. To push beyond the grain, you have to trust from theHeart, as you are going places few have the courage to enter. But this is how we change the world ~ have an impact ~ leave our mark.

And it all comes ~ from theHeart.

In this building – which we have named Healing Passages – he envisioned a healing, holistic women’s health center. A place for Willowsong Midwifery Care to grow and realize a dream of serving women through life, women healing themselves and each other, thereby reconnecting our village and building community together.

None of us at that time could have ever imagined it would take so long to come to fruition. What he has accomplished is a near miracle during a time of economic depression that impacted his construction company, Silent Rivers, very hard, and took much ingenuity to weather. This project has been an extraordinary effort of community passion, perseverance, commitment, sheer hours of work, and giving, on levels that far exceeded anyone’s expectations.

The moment is here. Groundbreaking! And we need and desire your energy, your support, your vision, your presence. Please, join us on this occasion (for a short time, or the whole event), September 23rd – the full moon, Autumn Equinox – to help us celebrate our vision for our community and to, more importantly, take an active part in contributing your spirit and desires to the space!

Each attendee will be invited to help dig the foundation (bring a shovel!) and share, in writing, their intentions, their dreams of what they would like a women’s holistic health center to be for them and the hopes they have for the Green & Main Project’s impact on local communities and the world. All the writings will be placed within the earth, under a special tree on axis with the building, to amend with the soil and become a permanent part of the greater vision that all those involved in this project – the many companies and individuals – hold dear to their hearts.

When asked how I do what I do, I have always responded that it is the women who carry me. Without you, without our community, we could not be where we are today.

We look forward to seeing you at the groundbreaking on Thursday, September 23 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

– Cosette Boone is a midwife and owner of Willowsong Midwifery Care.