The Story
THE CRESCENT MOON STORY
THE CRESCENT MOON LODGE AND RETREAT CENTER
The Crescent Moon Lodge and Retreat Center is a special, spiritual place founded by Dr. Suzanne Hales, whose life work has been helping people heal, achieve internal peace and realize their true potential.
Dr. Suzanne Hales is a licensed professional counselor, certified Imago Therapist and a Jungian analyst-in-training who owns and operates Counseling and Consulting Associates of North Texas in McKinney, Texas. Dr. Hales founded the Crescent Moon Lodge and Retreat Center to provide a soothing, comforting sanctuary for the soul for anyone who desires renewal.
Here, Dr. Hales herself found a new purpose – a new way to offer her clients a healing path.
The 60-acre property has been in Dr. Hales’ family since 1941. In 2002, Dr. Hales’ mother, LaVerne Ewing, embarked upon plans to build a new home. The 79-year-old told her family that she was going to build a log house because she’d always wanted to live in one. Mrs. Ewing waited three years for her dream home – a 5,000-square-foot log cabin – to be constructed exactly to her plans, and she enjoyed living in the exquisite structure for five years before passing away.
There is an old belief that one cannot enter into a sacred place and leave the same as he was before he entered. My hope for all of our visitors is that they leave renewed and restored after relaxing and spending time among nature in this place of comfort and refuge.
The night her mother died, Dr. Hales sat on the home’s porch full of grief wondering, “What will I do with this huge beautiful cabin?”
Then, in the late hours of the night, just above the tree line appeared the crescent moon. “I knew for the first time that I would offer her home, her refuge, as a retreat center, a place of healing and comfort for those who would seek beauty in the world of nature. So the name of this place is the Crescent Moon, because the crescent moon allows enough light for travelers to see the next step, not enough light for the whole journey. And a journey it is – the journey inward under the light of the crescent moon to find the self, the authentic self.”
The Crescent Moon Lodge and Retreat Center, set in Pushmataha County with origins under the Choctaw Nation, honors and respects the heritage of American Indians. A canopy of trees beckons visitors, who are greeted by the likeness of a shaman, symbolizing the first teachers and spiritual leaders. A river runs through the property of the Crescent Moon Lodge and Retreat Center, carrying the life force of water. The land features a large pond as well as a lake that is fed by natural springs, which also nourish the land. Visitors are invited to explore the entire 160 acres and appreciate the deer, eagles, turkeys and numerous other birds and wildlife that call the property their home.
