Healing Love Flowed through Claude's Hands

by Barbara Helynn Heard
(Seattle, WA)

During the early 1990s my gay massage therapist friend Claude Branque was a ray of light in my then difficult life. He had recently joined my Quaker community after being "released" against his will from his role as pastor at the Methodist Church.

I was on Claude's support team for two years during his final illness (AIDS) and passing. Clearly, Claude had difficulties in his life!! Yet in the midst of his pain and problems, Claude helped me to feel my beauty and my love. In fact, my experiences with Claude led me to become a massage therapist.

How did Claude help me connect with my love and beauty? In many simple ways!

Claude massaged me with loving hands and an open heart, he encouraged me with words and he graciously received support and gifts I had to offer. In addition, he was a special friend to my children, making jewelry and other pretty things with them, taking them to the park and bakery, and doing other fun things with them.

One day when my shoulder hurt Claude told me he could make it feel better. I remember his confidence in the healing power of his touch and I remember that as he massaged me, he sang a song with these special words:


How could anyone ever tell you
you are anything less than beautiful?
How could anyone ever tell you
you are less than whole?
How could anyone fail to notice
that your loving is a miracle?
How deeply I?m connected to your soul.


And then he sang another song that included this simple refrain:


I love you just the way you are?.


Being relaxed and open while receiving his massage, these words reached to the depths of my being: Wow! I am good enough! And I am lovable JUST THE WAY I AM!!! What a powerful message!!!

Claude's massage focused clinically on relieving pain in my shoulder, yet it was the love that flowed through his hands and the song that came from his heart and voice that took my healing to a deeper level. This love eased my guarding and softened my heart. His songs soothed and healed my hurt, weary and anxious heart. This massage touched me so profoundly that I captured and reflected my feelings in the painting above.

In 1996, several years after Claude died, I went to massage school and became licensed to practice massage. This was direct result of the wonderful, transformative massages I received from Claude. THANK YOU CLAUDE!!!!

I now both practice and teach Mana Lomi - clinically focused yet spiritually grounded Hawaiian massage. Please visit my website at
www.lomilomi-massage.org

Aloha,
Barbara Helynn Heard

PS: In case it isn't clear in my writing above, please know that my relationship with Claude was always platonic and never romatic.

PPS: Hello Sean. Thank you for creating this website. I really enjoy it!