I had massage work done early on during this stay at Stroppel. Two women, each extremely talented, knew what to do during the whole four hour session, and knew when to be done or exit the room. I state this information for three reasons: 1) I normally don’t have massage done and feel spiritually vulnerable every time I get a massage done. 2) If the person heals during this time of massage FOR ME, I usually use their services again. For me, the service means to get into my space, feel the muscles, fascia, and past “injuries” and heal them. Don’t dilly dally around with hooey, wooey crap with me. My spirit will reject your service before my brain can make a decision about going forward. 3) Complete the transaction with me. End softly, supported, and with prayers. Don’t rush out of the room, say we will work again, and never have that follow up or “debrief” to bridge the gap to the next session.
After my work with Aminga and Tina I was floored by each persons massage skills. Aminga knowing when to enter and when to leave the room. She knew when her touch was no longer wanted for those moments. She can do this without exchanging words with her client. She came in at the end, prayed with me to God and the Holy Spirit, and COMPLETED our exchange of service. Tina got into my body for four hours straight, dug into the fascia, asked about “past injuries”, stayed with me the whole time and completed her massage. Again, her work is amazing. No matter the time and no matter the exchange of communication we had, she was there. She states we’ll work again soon, left the room when done, and never prayed, never completed the transaction, and barely completed her business aspect of the exchange. She got paid, but it was as if I had to chase her down to pay her, which in my world, and probably many peoples world leaves a sense of leaving business just hanging, loose, and noncommittal to the client. Therefore, as a client why would I do business with a woman who even speaks the words, “I have no commitments or agreements in my world. I just do what I want.”
After these exchanges I prayed, knew I wanted more massage, knew I was going to be deciding on either woman or both again. Two nights later, the women not at the hotel and resting at home or working on other clients, I processed, prayed, and listened to a dream I had. In this dream, and forgive me if this is written choppy, for me that’s how I record my dreams, I dreamt of a scenario I have never dreamt before. (I tend to have reoccurring dreams as well.)
I remember being me in the dream, I remember being at a table or kitchen table, and I remember I see my nails, they are pretty and polished and painted. The next thing I know my fingernails are coming off completely from the nail bed, in whole pieces, and I kept wondering if I could make them “better”, how come I wasn’t feeling any pain, and when I woke up I wondered what that was for me. I’d never dreamt that before. I’ve dreamt the typical teeth falling out, skin coming off, and even physically seeing my body do something and waking up wondering what the heck that was.
All I did was look up something very small, very quickly, and to tell you the truth I don’t bank on “internet information” half the time. I couldn’t even tell you what sites I looked at for this information, but each one clearly mentioned fingernails coming off as a possible “bad business deal”. Well, that’s interesting, I was going to be doing business deals this week here at Stroppel with the services I am receiving from all three women; Laurie, the owner, Tina and Aminga for massage. I figured this was my brain telling me I might have made a bad deal.
What I didn’t realize is that dream saved my butt. I continued to closely watch each woman, how they functioned, how they presented themselves, how they each “gave services”. I noticed things like integrity, commitment, open communication, willingness to “serve” no matter how open the communication was between all three of them. I was keeping my feelers and spirit open to praying and choosing what I wanted for a next step. Laurie, being the owner, had other connections to the services, as in she was just the person and place that held the rooms for the massage. She was in a completely different compartment in my head. Her only job is to allow space for massages and the business owners who do massage then either one of the two women can make or break their customers. She, beyond a shadow of a doubt, “served” me. She asked for feedback, she asked how I felt, we talked in length about what each masseuse did and what I loved and what I didn’t quite care for. She was a no brainer for me to continue working with as a customer to the hotel. As for Aminga and Tina, they had one more step to work on before getting my business again.
Over the course of the week; one woman proved a complete commitment to treating her clients as if they are queens, doing the service, and “showing up” and playing the business game. The other woman couldn’t even be wrangled in enough from her “journey of spiritual awakening” to have a face to face conversation in reality about business. I continued to pray, continued to work with Aminga. She came back on Monday of this past week, chose to stay at the hotel so she can rest in between sessions, and even told me as a customer she would prefer to at least be close to me for our next service. We laughed, we cried, we connected beyond the massage. I was allowed to coach her on a particular part of her business; her cost for services. She does amazing work, she was extremely low on price. I asked her what she visioned for her hourly cost? Before she could think, she said $333.00. My skin went up in goosebumps. She knows she is worth that much, she knows staying at the hotel cost her money, she knows, within herself, all the conversations, laughing, crying, and massage was worth this price; for the week with me. Then she shrunk back and said that made her uncomfortable.
Ding! She was switching her paradigm of worthiness right in front of me. She was shifting in her “power” of getting what she wanted for cost, giving the services that matched that cost, and she was doing it with the right woman in front of her. I asked her what the shrinking back was for her? What makes her then retract what she just spoke? She said, “no one has ever paid me this, how could I even ask for that amount when people are “struggling” financially right now, how could I truly justify my service at that cost?” Woah, woah, woah back up the bus, breathe, and just let that cost settle into your heart, your mind, and spirit, I said.
We stopped, took a breathe, and sat quietly. She started to tear up a little, turns to me, and says, “I am worth that cost.” I smiled, took a breathe as well, and said, “ You absolutely are worth that cost.” I proceeded to breakdown her cost, told her to consider her expenses, her time, and what she truly got back from this particular exchange at that cost. She just smiled and smiled and giggled and looked ten years younger, laughed and said she felt ALIVE. Ding! Paradigm shifted in the flesh! Amen and Hallelujah!
Aminga and I worked, communicated, ate together and she stayed here at the hotel. She saw the Queen in me, gave me services like a Queen, and she saw the “worth” of that experience and finally, I paid her for our final massage yesterday. I paid the $333, because, to me, she was worth that cost! That folks is how one does a good, clean, clear business deal and I now have a friend, a resource, a person to laugh with, cry with, and get more massages from when and if I’m back in the Stroppel Hotel.
As for Tina, that’s a post I’ll have to pray on before writing down and I pray my “dragon” within doesn’t rear it’s ugly head or fire while writing it. Until next time, Thank you God for allowing me the ability to listen and remember my dreams!
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