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Hello Loves,

Welcome to August and Welcome to The Adara Collective!

What is Adara and how did it come to BE, you ask?

Well, years ago "Agada" came to me quite magically as I searched for a Sanskrit word to best describe what I wanted to share with the community... which was HEALING. I chose a Sanskrit word with the intention of bringing the strength and wisdom of our ancestors to the practice. "Adara" is Sanskrit for LOVE which I have come to realize is the solution for everything and allows healing to occur on a deeper level. Sounds cliche, but Love Truly Heals All. I also love how AGADA and ADARA both contain three A's and are five letters long. It's curious how Healing and Love are spelled so similarly in Sanskrit.

I definitely feel some resistance to placing my focus on Adara full-time after I've been growing Agada for the last 15 years. Ego definitely has some things to say about this new venture that has been incubating for about the last 6 months. And if I really look at how long it's been manifesting in the background, it's been 14 years in the making in my mind. The biggest lesson I've learned in the process of manifesting a dream is trusting the timing of it all. It's like a music band that becomes "an overnight success", but really they've been playing in dive bars and small venues for years before that gig that makes them famous. It's about keeping our focus on the vision and allowing the Universe to deliver in the perfect time.

Adara is the non-profit counterpart to Agada that supports incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, veterans, at-risk youth and people in recovery. We support these communities by providing holistic practices and simple tools that share how to create safe space for people to gain self-awareness and change their environment from the inside, out. We create opportunities for individuals to consider new possibilities and ways of being that support a healthy lifestyle through sound healing, meditation, breath work, movement, and personal development programs.

I remember feeling that part of my purpose in life would be offering sound healing within prisons back in 2008 when the woman that introduced me to the singing bowls told me she had been in jail as a youth. Over the years, I have continued to pay attention when I meet people or feel there may be an opportunity to share. In 2018, that opportunity finally came when I met the team at Carry the Vision and in 2019, I shared my first session at Elmwood Correctional Facility in the maximum security unit. I had had a vision the year before of playing in the space and when I arrived that day, I realized I was in the vision. It was surreal and validating of all the energy and focus I had held over the years to allow the moment to occur.

When I moved to Texas last year, I continued to envision offering my services to incarcerated folks and within 2 months of being here, I was sharing sound healing and meditation at Travis State Jail with a small group of Veterans through a non-profit called Samaritan Center. Getting my foot in the door allowed me to begin building the relationships there so that I could branch out to other facilities with experience and recommendations. As of August, The Adara Collective is sharing classes at Travis State Jail, Lockhart Women's Prison, Austin Transitional Center (Re-Entry), and Gatesville Hackberry Unit. And last week, I met with the Texas Juvenile Justice Council to speak about offering my services in the Juvenile Detention Center and the Halfway Houses they are released to when their parents choose not to take the minor back into the home or it is unsafe to return.

So, why does Adara choose to serve these communities?

When I was growing up I had a lot of health issues which made it feel challenging to feel free to be myself. As I got into the teenage years, these issues compounded when I started doing a lot of drugs and drinking to escape and numb out of everything. I never felt like I "fit in" and believed I was a bad kid because family members had strong judgments of me and my behavior. I never felt good enough and definitely didn't feel seen or heard in the way that I wished to be. In addition, I had multiple family members that had issues with addiction and were in and out of jail or prison a lot of their lives. There were many opportunities for me to end up in jail, but thankfully that was not in my cards. 

Did you know that most of the people housed in correctional facilities haven't even been to court yet? Which means they are sitting in jail waiting to be charged and are really being seen as "guilty" before innocent. The "bail out" system does not work in favor of many because they can not afford to pay it as well. Most of the people are incarcerated for possession of drugs and minor offenses. And most people at the prison level are serving long term or life sentences for possession of drugs... mainly marijuana, which is now legal in many states. And did you know that many of the people in our maximum security units are really suffering from mental illness, but we have no where safe with trained professionals to house them?

I feel that in order to build a healthy structure (community) we must first have a supportive and stable foundation to begin. The most vulnerable people in our society are the foundation of our community. We must create the support and uplift ALL members of our family in order to experience the changes we wish to manifest in this world. We must meet people where they're at without judgment. We must create space for each individual to be seen and heard so that they feel encouraged to consider new, healthy ways to move forward inside and outside of a detention center. 

One of the biggest reasons that non-profits in this field exist is because our governments don't provide direct funding to support rehabilitative programs within the facilities. Non-profits must apply for grants or ask for donations from private donors, family and friends to contribute for their services and support of the communities not being cared for by our society. And during the last few years, volunteers (non-profits) have not been allowed to offer programming so there literally was nothing except the experience of being locked up. We can not expect people leaving these facilities to do something different, if we don't provide options while they're incarcerated.

So, I am asking all of YOU to consider supporting The Adara Collective and the classes I am sharing with our brother's and sister's. I am asking you to contribute to the healing of our community in ALL spaces. I am asking you to support our veterans as they heal from the PTSD that they suffer. I am asking you to consider the children that you are helping by giving their parents a second chance. I am asking you to consider the second chance you would give to incarcerated teens by supporting the programs and classes provided. Help Adara to create space for these humans to re-enter society and build healthy neighborhoods. Every little bit counts... $10, $20, $50, $100 or whatever feels best in your heart.

In addition, my car is a 1997 Toyota Avalon with 327,000 miles and I am currently driving over 100 miles per day, 5 days a week to offer these classes and be in service to these communities. As of this month, that number of miles will increase to 175 miles per day a handful of days as I begin at Gatesville prison on the 13th on a bi-monthly basis.

If You, your employer, or anyone you know is able to donate a New or Used CAR or VAN, to make sure these services remain uninterrupted, it would be tax deductible and sooooo appreciated! Adara would also offer the gift of a series of Private Sound Healing Sessions for YOU and/or your organization. You can find links below to see how you could best support in your own way. 

I THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, AND LOVE!

I Love You,

Jess

WAYS TO SUPPORT AND CONNECT WITH THE ADARA COLLECTIVE

CLICK HERE to View the Website and Click the DONATE BUTTON on the site (Receive a FREE SOUND HEALING RECORDING to help you relax)

CLICK HERE to Make a Donation Online

CLICK HERE to Allow your Amazon SMILE Order to Donate a percentage to Adara

Inquire about CORPORATE DONATIONS and MATCHING (Receive the Gift of a Sound Healing Meditation Workshop for Corporate Donations)

AND... You can still find all the information for public group sessions on the Agada Energy Healing website under the commUnity page !

NEW PODCAST EPISODES ARE UP ON THE LINK BELOW and you can find them on my YOUTUBE Channel now as well :)

Thank You for the time you make to read these newsletters and for your consideration! It takes a village to manifest change and I am Super Grateful for each and every one of YOU!

Love,

Jess

P.S. See information below for ways of connecting VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON!

P.P.S. Want a FREE Sound Healing with Guided Meditation to listen to??? CLICK HERE