The center nestled on Mount Arayat. PHOTO BY BONG LACSON
MAGALANG, Pampanga – The first natural healing center in the province dubbed the Orissa Garden of Wellness (OGW) is slated to open on Saturday (Feb. 1) in Barangay Ayala here.
Owner-proprietor Riza Lim said OGW welcomes people seeking natural and different kinds of alternative healing methods or those simply wanting to experience wellness and balance.
Lim said OGW is originally a 2.2-hectare mango orchard located on the slopes of Mt. Arayat near the life-size Stations of the Cross where pilgrims flock during the Holy Week. Lim said she conceptualized OGW after she realized that there is no better place to establish a wellness center than in her own province.
She narrated how she got interested in wellness and mysticism after losing her mother in 1999 from cervical cancer “despite having so many doctors in the family.” “My mother was my best friend, I really felt it when she passed away at 56, from cancer,” she rued.
She said she was confused why her mother died of cancer when she led a healthy lifestyle and indulged in a lucrative business of importing and exporting furniture, flowers and interior decorations. “My mom ate well,” she said. But she realized she got her disease from stress.
“It was all from stress. Before she passed away she told me ‘don’t work too hard,’ it’s not worth it.” Lim said she began to seek alternative healing methods. “I started reading on natural healing… different kinds. I studied Reiki, energy balancing, universal or cosmic energy healing from Japan and chronic healing.
So that’s how it came about. I started reading about it and travelled to India and Tibet to learn more,” she said.
“Two years after my mom died, I split up with my ex-husband,” Lim said which aggravated her grief. But then she met a mystic named Gugun. “She is a Filipina and she became my spiritual adviser during the darkest part of my life,” Lim said. “Gugun… she was an amazing woman.
I have never met someone who was so full of wisdom especially about life. She can really touch the deepest part of your soul,” she said. “She was a spiritual healer and speaks Latin and Spanish. She was also a very good clairvoyant,” she said.
“Gugun told me: ‘You know whatever is happening to you, it was arranged by God because you are meant to serve a lot of people not just your family.’” But sadly, Lim said, she too passed away after three years; ironically also from cervical cancer. “So after that, it seems that my life had taken a different path and I became so interested in wellness,” she said.
Lim said she met Jaime Lichauco and attended his seminars. “I thought he was credible in what he was saying so I asked him if I could arrange seminars for him… he teaches the power of the inner mind, intuition development, ESP etc.”
“He is now one of my spiritual advisers,” Lim said. “Then after that I met a lot of people… Swami from India, spiritual gurus. So it seemed my energy is no longer the same.” “Then I started going to Mt. Banahaw,” she said.
“It was in the mystical mountain where I met this Japanese swami, the only Japanese swami and we became friends and then he got interested with what I do. I also organized seminars for him.” “Then he told me to organize natural and different kinds of alternative healing methods in the Philippines.
That was when I established a wellness center on Mt. Banahaw where mostly Japanese clients go,” Lim said.
“I got some teachers on the ‘orasyon,’ mantras or prayers in Latin, Greek and Aramaic,” she said. But I realized my real place is here in our province, she said. “So that’s how I established Orissa here.” Lim said, “OGW is a healing place for the mind, body and spirit. We have meditation and yoga and we also have the neuro linguistic
program (NLP).”
She explained that NLP is like brain programming. “For example you are in a very stressful situation… of course we are only human beings, we get affected, so we will teach you how to center yourself… how to put yourself in the center so you won’t be affected… you are there but you are not there something like that.”
She adds, “and then there’s emotional healing … I use crystals also on that… and prayer healing… we have beam ray, sound and light therapy.” During the grand opening on Saturday, Lim said all attendees will be showered with great luck, success, good health and good fortune.
