About Eastwind Healing Center

as written by Founder, Candida Maurer, PhD

January 4, 2022

I want to tell you the Story of Eastwind.

It became clear to Michael and me that we needed a larger space for what was happening in our school and in our private practices. Michael had always wanted to teach and Eastwind was the perfect vehicle for him. I, on the other hand, wanted to teach, but as importantly, I wanted to work with a group of like-minded others. We were outgrowing our space and it was clear that we needed to expand. We both felt ready to take the plunge into buying a space, though we certainly had our trepidations about doing so. Regardless, we began looking at various properties to buy.

We looked and looked but nothing we found felt right. However, we kept noticing the large hole in the ground that was being dug at 221 E. College Street, and eventually, we contacted Marc Moen about real estate in the new building he was putting together. After our first meeting we were shaken by the amount of money we would be investing, but also excited by the possibilities of constructing a space that would work for us.

However, first we consulted with a Tibetan lama who had been part of our initiation into the Medicine Buddha practice that guided our advanced Reiki training. Lama Dawa was an expert in what is called “mirror divination” and in fact, he had done a mirror reading for the Dalai Lama. We set up a time for a consultation. His English was always a little hard to understand, but the gist of the mirror reading was very affirmative and confident.

Then we consulted with a blind psychic we had encountered a few years earlier – Don Ford. He had a very positive vision of the building and he kept saying, “Bricks and mortar, my dears. Bricks and mortar will be the way.” It seemed clear that we were to move ahead with this project.

We first started buying it with the two of us and another woman who was a massage therapist in our practice. She was a powerhouse and asked to be included in our endeavor. We moved ahead with planning and doing all the legal things necessary to buy property in 2004. In December of that year, we were to sit down with Marc and lawyers and sign the largest loan we could have ever imagined. But the night before the signing, the woman who was our partner pulled out of the deal. No explanation was given other than it didn’t feel right to her. Of course, we were blown away and had no idea how we were going to make the closing work. [We heard later that she realized she had gotten scared by the money, and she regretted her actions].

We showed up at the closing the next morning and told Marc that we were $100,000 short on our down payment. Marc, who so many in this town know and honor, remained unworried and offered to loan us the hundred grand! Now our debt had bloomed even larger, but this seemed to be a sign from the Universe that we were to go ahead with the purchase.

But now we had to find other renters. A few people were already on board, but more were needed. Somehow, they showed up, signed leases, and miraculously we had enough people to help pay our monthly loan.

We moved into our new space in January of 2005, and we were the first tenants in the building. Noise and dust and building noises were going on all around us, but we opened our doors, and the people came. So many people, all looking for the promise that Eastwind had to offer. By 2006 Eastwind School had been going for 10 years and was quite successful. We had an open house and a woman showed up and asked us about investing in the school. She wanted to buy it! We sold it to her that year and the school continued to prosper. She eventually moved on (another story) and in 2008 we had a large open space that we wanted to sell. But first, we wanted to partition it so that we could have more office space and a conference room.

We started showing the open space to various people, and the corporation next door to us was on the verge of buying it. But then Betsy, who was a psychologist at Eastwind at the time, walked into the space and said, “This would make a great yoga studio.” She thought about it for a few days and then she pulled me aside and said she wanted to buy the space. The rest is history.

In 2006 I had a dream: In it I am wandering through Eastwind which is a 3-storey building. I see that there is a golden lit Kwan Yin in each window of the three storeys. It was such a strong dream that I found three Kwan Yin statues and placed them in various spots around Eastwind, for I knew that I needed to honor my dream.

Today it is clear what the three stories are: The first is the buying of Eastwind by Michael and me. The second is the partitioning of the space and selling part of it to Betsy. And today, on January 4, 2022, the third story is beginning.

Over the past few years, I have gathered two of the Kwan Yin statues and taken them home to rest in my space and to be a blessing and a reminder of the magic they invoke.

You will see that the one remaining Kwan Yin statue sits on the windowsill in Julia’s reception area. She told me some months ago that she was to remain to oversee the third story, to invoke the transfer of this magical space to the three of you.

This sale is clearly meant to be. May Eastwind bless you as it has blessed me. And though I have bittersweet feelings about letting it go, I let go with kind thoughts, deep gratitude, and love. I know that Michael’s spirit is here today with all of us too, smiling and gentle, and truly happy that Eastwind will continue its mission in the world.

So now, here is the “Key” to Eastwind. Let Its Spirit hold you and guide you forward, knowing that Spirit has guided this endeavor all along. Honor this Spirit, and It will continue to always hold you in its loving embrace. Namaste.

Love, Candida

Michael J. Santangelo, ND, PhD, April 20th, 1950 – April 25th, 2018

Co-founder of Eastwind Healing Center.  Board certified traditional naturopath, licensed psychologist. Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, 1981. N.D., 1999.  Chinese herbalism training, Institute of Chinese Herbology, 1994. Massage therapist/Asian bodywork therapist, 1994.  Reiki Master (Takata lineage) and Reiki Jin Kei Do Master (Takamori lineage). Chi Nei Tsang therapist. Hypnotherapist. Bach flower essences diplomate.  Advanced Light Language practitioner and certified teacher. Sound healing practitioner. Medical Intuitive. Quantum Healing practitioner.

Dr. Santangelo used his wide background and 40 years of experience in health care to formulate treatment plans for each case. He became interested in complementary treatment modalities after having been a psychotherapist for almost 15 years. Wishing to integrate the body into his treatment of emotional difficulties, he became a massage therapist. He then taught bodywork for 10 years at a school that he and Dr. Candida Maurer founded. He has taught classes from community education to graduate school, and has spoken on alternative health at national conferences. He has published in psychology, bodywork, esoteric studies, and humor. Additionally, Dr. Santangelo was on the editorial board, and was a lead reviewer in the areas of alternative and energy medicines, of the Rose+Croix Journal, the peer-reviewed, academic publication of the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC). This world-wide organization is a leader in the scientific study and practical application of mystical principles. Previously, he served as co-editor of the Tarot section at All Things Healing (ATH). This organization brings together a worldwide community of individuals, and alternative healing sites and organizations, dedicated to educating and inspiring people in topics relating to alternative healing of mind, body, spirit, and the planet.

“I believe that we each have an innate ability to heal ourselves. In fact, that’s the only kind of healing there is: self-healing. The difficulty comes when we forget that this is possible, or when we feel powerless in the face of a problem.

“I didn’t consider the people that I worked with to be patients or clients, but as participants in a process. The goal was to find the space where the realization occurs that healing is possible, and that this possibility resides in the participant, not in me or in my abilities. Only in that space can true healing happen.”

Dr. Michael J. Santangelo, 68, died on April 25, 2018 at home in Iowa City from complications of amyloidosis.

He grew up in Philadelphia and in its suburb of Levittown, PA. After finishing twelve years of parochial school, he attended Virginia Tech, earning a bachelors degree in Mathematics, as well as a masters and doctorate degrees in psychology. While in graduate school, his son Adrian was born.

After graduation, Michael worked as a clinical psychologist in mental health centers in Muscatine and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His long-term disenchantment with the traditional practice of psychology led him to pursue training in Asian massage, traditional Chinese medicine, naturopathy, and energy medicine.

In 1987, Michael married Candida Maurer, the love of his life, and became step-father to her two sons, Colin and Darby. Together, Michael and Candida founded what is now Eastwind

Healing Center in 1994, and Eastwind School of Holistic Healing in 1997, a massage school they directed and taught in for ten years. The focus of their healing practice has been the integration of psychology and alternative healthcare, which made the Center the first of its kind in Iowa.

Michael’s interests were always esoteric and eclectic. From an early age, he was interested in spirituality and metaphysics. For many years and until his death, he was a member of Builders of the Adytum (BOTA) and the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC), two prominent organizations that follow the teachings of the Western mystery tradition, especially Qabalah and Tarot. He also served on the editorial board of the Rose+Croix Journal, the academic publication of AMORC.

Michael studied and practiced meditation since his adolescence, and this background informed his more than forty years in the professional practice of healthcare. His approach to working with others was very eclectic, and he used his varied background to assist people with many different problems, from emotional and mental, to physical and spiritual. He also taught extensively at all levels, from community education to undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology. Later in his life, his teaching focused primarily on spiritual matters. His lectures were always amply spiced with his irreverent sense of humor. He also wrote, publishing books on personal growth and astrology, and writing a spiritual blog.

Outside of his professional interests, Michael enjoyed reading, research, hiking, electronic gadgets, and recumbent bicycles. He walked a portion of the Camino de Santiago at the age of 64. His favorite hobby, however, was fountain pens. He loved his pens, inks, and paper, and was always ready to seek out “converts” to the art of handwriting. He thoroughly enjoyed producing hand-written letters sealed with custom wax seals, and transcribing famous speeches and spiritual texts using his writing instruments.

Michael is survived by Candida Maurer, his beloved wife of almost 31 years; his son Adrian (Pamela) and his grandchildren Heather and Gavin; his mother; his sister Lisa-Marie; his brother Steven; and by his step-sons Colin (Angela Sarff) Kealey and Darby (Megan Galizia) Kealey. He was preceded in death by his father.

His contributions to the spirit of Eastwind remain.

See books by Michael at amazon.com
Visit Michael’s YouTube channel