Adytum Sanctuary is a Transformational Experience and Evolving Still…by Kat Carroll, NTP

Adytum Sanctuary lives in the hearts of most guests who have experienced the transformational experience in this sacred space. You’ve shared some incredibly touching heartfelt feelings with us over the last two years about what it meant to have magical time at the retreat overlooking Lake Mayfield, The Cowlitz and the Tilton Rivers, the blueberry and bulb farms… Your gracious, loving words have nurtured us when we were tired, and kept us making improvements when you suggested them so we were sure to spoil you rotten! Here are some incredible examples at Yelp where we enjoy an amazing ALL 5-star status: http://www.yelp.com/biz/adytum-sanctuary-mossyrockor Trip Advisor with 21 5-star reviews and rated the #1 B&B in Mossyrock: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g58621-d1861391-Reviews-Adytum-Mossyrock_Washington.html   Thank you to every one of you who took time to share!

When life began changing like a kaleidoscope last year we realized that in order to continue opening Adytum to each of you, we would need to find a new Way…creating something that wasn’t perhaps the usual business model but one that would work for each of us. What drove us to this decision?

First, travel came up with the National Health Federation, my volunteer position for the oldest health freedom federation in the World: some trips in the states to Health Freedom Expos, Health Congresses, etc. or trips overseas to attend Codex Alimentarius requiring lengthy absences, and more writing and  associate editing responsibilities emerging as well with NHF’s quarterly magazine.

As you all can guess, writing is an intense fulfilling passion for me and I have contributed to every issue of the Health Freedom News magazine ever since I was brought on board. (This is writing I know each of you would benefit by reading- mine and also the great contributions from others like our President and Senior Editor, Scott Tips, Jeffrey Smith, David Wolfe, Donna Gates, Dr. Alan Gaby and many more passionate writers and activists. Please visit www.thenhf.comand when you join, you will get HFN every quarter.)

Then our Optometry Clinic Manager of 17 years moved and after a new staff person left her new position because it wasn’t quite the fit she wanted, I had no choice but to step full time back into a position I’ve held off and on over the past 18 years at our two clinics.

Next Adytum’s cleaner moved away, and George, who helped on Adytum lands was hired full time on my son’s construction team at Gritton Building Co (www.grittonbuildingco.com) when the weather changed and will remain there….so Donn and I have absorbed all that extra work and at 6000 sq. ft. and 16 acres, believe me, it could be a full time job in and of itself! 

Then to top it off, my father passed away in the midst of closing the family home of 22 years this January leaving us in grief and also supporting my 85 year old mother more and more in her many sudden transitions.

So needless to say, even my new routine of getting up at 3:30 a.m. to begin working from bed on my writing and administrating 11 Facebook pages for all our businesses plus the National Health Federation’s domestic and international pages(https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-Health-Federation/121416927890343)

wasn’t keeping me ahead of the curve and I was getting very tired. Something had to give… Donn and I have worked side by side in the kitchen from 8 a.m. until noon for two years now (sometimes me alone when he went on to the office), making healthy gourmet breakfasts for you and now, that amount of time is simply being transformed into other areas, like helping our patients- once again, together or keeping Adytum clean, beautiful, and ready for drop in guests.

There were points where we considered just closing Adytum to our guests. All of the ‘what if’s’ surfaced: “What if you’re in Beijing and we get a reservation? What if we are working at the Olympia office and someone calls to reserve that night? What if, what if, what if…” We need clones! Finally, after so many heartfelt comments kept coming in from precious friends who have been forever transformed by Adytum’s grace and healing peace, it was clear…we had to find a new Way…and it had to work for every single one of us.

The Star of the North and The Orion Suites are already set up to be independent from the main house. So the logical conclusion was to keep offering those two suites independently from the main house like a vacation rental. If we were out of town, guests come on in and make themselves at home in their private suite and we’d meet up later that evening.

In every reorganization there are trade-offs. I include a comment below from an Adytum guest so you can see…all is not lost! We’re still going to be there- at least one of us and usually both of us. Who knows, we may find things change and we can reinstitute Sunday Champagne brunches…We enjoyed them as much as you did, particularly on the patio overlooking the Lake under the orange umbrellas on a sunny, summer morning. But for now, rest assured that in our experience at least 50% of our guests actually were using Adytum Sanctuary in this proposed model voluntarily. They never came into the main house but were content to enjoy one another in the privacy of their suite or on their private courtyard or deck. Many were up at the crack of dawn fishing or hiking and were providing their own breakfast. There are many of our guests that fell in love with our healthy cooking, and we want you to know that we are hoping to have Gritton Building Co. install a kitchenette in The Star of the North so that it’s more amenable to making a great breakfast. 

And the salt water hot tub and BBQs are still available for guests’ use and now, even our kayaks because our insurance company agreed we could share them. Hopefully we will also have bikes to share this year because it’s so fun to bike through the tulip fields when they’re blooming and explore the tiny town of Mossyrock- all the nooks and crannies found on the back roads; a slice of Americana. We still have 16 acres to roam through with Dash, Gabe, and orange tabby Gizmo…

Once again, we will listen to you and together we will keep bringing Adytum Sanctuary to the place where everyone’s needs are met as best as we can. I can’t tell you how much of Adytum was created by the ideas and suggestions of our friends, our guests. So take heart! If I have time perhaps you’ll find a basket of gluten free muffins…the healthy apricot-date, made with honey ones, at your door in the morning but meantime just know that these changes will allow you access to literally one of the very best views in all of Lewis Country and some have said, anywhere in the World. The magic continues! And each of you embodies the magic, the mystery, the love, and peace you feel when you drive through the gates of the Castle Adytum and we are so grateful for each of you.

Comments pulled over from my Kat Carroll FB page, from a treasured guest after reading the first part of our website rewrite:

Yes! This all so true! I think about my experience at Adytum all the time and reading this brings it right back I will however miss your amazing breakfast and the opportunity to talk with you Kat, that’s half the appeal to Adytum, you bring it to life Kat Carroll
16 minutes ago via mobile · Unlike · 1

Kat Carroll Ah you’re sweet! OF COURSE I WILL BE THERE to talk to and share with (for the most part (: ) but alas…my work as Associate Editor of Health Freedom News and managing 11 social media pages, my full time work at Medical Vision Center and Martin Way Vision Center plus traveling to Beijing to attend Codex regarding contaminants in our food and other far flung lands (just back from Germany having attended the Codex meeting on Nutrition) necessitates having to make some hard decisions. Gee, do we close Adytum (just lost our househelp – again….and our yard help…again…) or try to find a way to make this work for everyone? Each of us has Adytum in our hearts and Adytum Sanctuary belongs as much to you as it does to me. Adytum is for everyone. So in this way, we can keep opening this sacred space. Who knows, maybe things will change (like hiring staff that will allow me less participation at both optometry clinics for starters…that will allow Donn and I to resume at least Sunday Champagne brunches…we enjoy cooking for you all when we’re able to, you know! Anyway, let’s see what happens. Some good news: we got our commercial insurance company to agree that we can share our kayaks- if you haven’t experienced kayaking into the mouth of the Tilton, into whitewater with 2′ long rainbow trout swimming around the boat- 100’s of them and I’m not exaggerating- then…it’s time! Watch for specials on this FB page- especially for returning guests who need no orientation. Thank you again and I promise, I’ll cook for you again sometime (maybe we’ll ALL get in the kitchen to play, who knows??