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Open Arms Haven is a busy, modern spiritual and healing centre in the heart of Grays, Thurrock. Opened just two years ago, The Haven has gained a reputation for being one of the friendliest and most welcoming centres in the area, combining the traditional "healing and a medium" format with a new and fresh approach to alternative therapies, and different ideas.
Haven organiser, Jay Gage, explains; "When I opened the Haven, I wanted it to be something fresh, providing a different service to the other centres and churches already in the area, and specifically something that would attract younger people into the movement, as when people like myself retire, we need a fresh new wave of Spiritualists to take on the mantle"
The Haven certainly appears to do just this. On the night I visited, there were a wide range of stalls and therapists covering areas as diverse as massage, EFT (tapping) and reflexology, with stalls selling crystals, jewellery, and a wide range of pagan and esoteric goods. Mediums were available to give tarot card readings, and these were readily snapped up at the door, with each reader giving a 15 minute session for just a donation of a pound. Spiritual healing was provided by a busy team under the auspices of the Spiritual Pathway Healing Association - the Haven became an SPHA approved centre recently.
I was very impressed with the platform medium, a young energetic woman, whom I had not previously seen "on the circuit". One of the mistakes that many centres fall into is booking the same round of mediums, which means that after a while things can get a little stale. Jay explained "I deliberately set out to book mediums who are a little more out of the norm, in keeping with the Haven's general approach. As a result, we have had some memorable mediums working for us, and some big names, who have been happy to get involved with something different. We have had an evening of psychic surgery with Gary Mannion, who was the subject of a BBC documentary last year, and a couple of evenings with celebrity mediums Mandy Masters and Carol Bohmer. Nicky Alan, who stars in Sky TV's "Angels" will be working at the Haven in July for one of the last local shows before she goes on tour with Colin Fry, so we have had no difficulty in getting top mediums behind what we are trying to do here."
Another aspect of the Haven which particularly impressed me was their complete lack of interest in making money ! The Haven is totally non profit making, and all profits they raise from their evenings is donated to local mental health, rape and wildlife charities. The thinking behind this philanthropy being that in order to make mediumship and spiritualism accessible, people need to be able to afford it. Certainly, this centre seemed to be popular, with around 70-80 people attending on a quiet week !
All in all, I would definately recommend a visit to the Haven to see how spiritualism is bringing in younger people by this enterprising team.
The Haven is open every Sunday from 6.30pm and entrance, which includes all refreshments, and some impressive home-baked cakes - is just £3.00
mediumship : healing : tarot :
mediumship : healing : tarot :
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