How it all began
“If I hadn’t found the healing community when I did, I would still be living there. All those years ago, in the desert. In the same place. In the same pain”
—
He was handsome in an unassuming kind of way. I remember that his glasses didn’t quite fit his face and we bonded over a mutual love of LOTR. I had met him on an app, my first time trying the dating app. Lonely over Fourth of July, I was newly graduated from college and had just moved back to California. I had those post degree blues, thought a drink and some pool might be comforting.
He seemed nice enough.
A marine. Well-groomed. Witty.
So we met. Won a few rounds of pool.
As we were leaving, I felt woozy and unsteady. I didn’t feel ready to drive home even though I was staying three blocks away.
I told him I wanted to go home, but wasn’t ready to drive. I suggested a walk, much to his annoyance. After wandering up and down the desert streets, I still felt — off.
“You can sober up at my place, I live right up the street.”
Alarm bells but I ignore them. I still wonder why I didn’t ask him to drop me off at my place. Probably didn’t want to walk to get the car in the 100 degree heat the next morning.
“No funny business,” I say with a half hearted chuckle.
“No funny business,” he said.
And then we drove. And drove. And drove.
After about 20 minutes, I knew something was wrong
After 40 minutes, my nervous system started screaming under my muted mental state. The reality was beginning to sink in. I was in the middle of the desert, 50 miles from anything familiar, with a complete stranger whose good natured personality seemed to be left with the tab.
Let it deepen you,
not define you.
—
I will let you infer what happened next. Sexual assault is an uncomfortable topic to discuss. I grappled with sharing this part because I don’t want to trigger any past pain you may have or walk you into a topic you have no interest in discussing. That being said, it is integral to our story because of what happened next.
I had survived but something was lost. Alone and traumatized, I had zero healthy coping mechanisms leading me into a deep depression.
Enter Brooke Wolfe. Brooke and I had been roommates in high school when we were living fast and dealing drugs together. We went our separate ways when I was encountered by God only to find one another again on our new paths. She had changed too. Brooke had always been beautiful, but she had a new light about her now. She was a yoga teacher, regularly practiced sound baths and breathwork, led healing retreats and rituals. She was deeply ingrained in the New Age healing community of Orange County.
She began taking me to different classes and gatherings. I started participating in these spiritual workshops and found something I had never found at church: action based healing. Instead of sitting and praying and moving on, we would enter the space and then take physical action towards our goal through movement, breath, music, and connection. The effects of these different practices were undeniable. I received healing from the assault. Beyond that, I received healing from my fear of community. These spaces were what I so desired church to be: community based spaces safe from judgement where we could heal together. It was beautiful.
That being said, I could never fully connect to the spaces I entered. Every ceremony or class I attended was focused in the self. As someone who has encountered the reality of God, I could not spiritually connect with the space despite the strong physical and even mental connection I felt.
Enter: Heal Laguna
After a whole lot of prayer and divine appointments, I felt led to create Heal Laguna. This community has been formed to offer those powerful healing ceremonies but from a Holy Spirit driven space. We will share in breath work, body work, and sound healing rooted in the reality of the Creator, one God who loves us so personally and so powerfully that he sent his one Son to die on the cross for us.
We are here to create and hold space for one another in our healing, helping to remove the things that may be in the way of our personal journey with God. If you are not Christian or believe in God but aren’t sure how far down that path you believe, please do not let this be a barrier in joining the community. We would love to have you. If you are a Christian and feel hesitant to start this new practice, come for a free session. I think you will be surprised by how powerfully Christ can work through these practices.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3 : 16
Adrienne Kruse
Founder
Hey there! My name is Adrienne Kruse and I am the founder of Heal Laguna. It is incredibly honoring and humbling to be in this space with you.
After receiving two degrees in new media and social work from Baylor University, I relocated to Laguna Beach where I now live with my dogs Maya and Flynn. Through some epic challenges, I have learned to lead with my intuition and stay close to that still small voice. After practicing ceremony with close friends, I learned I had a knack for tapping into the divine in painful spaces and am honored to do this for a living now.
“I am the woman sleeping in her van at the gas station and the man doing time sitting behind bars and the soft woman who shows love to both. I am all. And so are you.”
Christ comes first in my life and grandpa comes second. I spend most of my free time arguing with him over the economy while watching John Wayne films or playing chess.
Climbing will always be my first love, but recently I have become obsessed with beach volleyball and play every chance I get.
Prior to launching Heal Laguna, I ran a digital marketing firm for years and now implement those techniques to spread the message of Heal Laguna. I graduated from DTS at YWAM Northern Ireland, something that deeply shaped the way I interact with my faith.
Forever a work in progress, I am far from perfect and I hope you are too.
Laguna Beach, CA
We are based in sunny Laguna Beach, CA. This laid back beach town is defined by its quiet coastal land, eccentric art community, and abundant healing spaces.
