Saving Lives once again through the Immersive Healing Process

Lighthouses were designed with one purpose: To save lives and prevent the loss of valuable cargo. Light purifies and reveals the truth. Light out of total darkness often leads us to safety and prevents disaster.

Founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and George Washington were men who considered our nation a light on the hill to guide the rest of the world. These enlightened men all understood the value of light along our coastal waters and understood that the ability to watch our coastal perimeter provided security at a time when a port city could be taken over by an attacking flotilla and burned to the ground. We can thank their efforts for creating legislation enabling Lighthouses.

The Lighthouse Act of 1789 was enacted and expanded along our coasts as well as the Great Lakes. Today Lighthouses are considered to be totally symbolic due to the fact that our Global Positioning System provides safe navigation throughout the world for ships using Radio Frequency Satellite Technology. There was a time when Lighthouse Keepers performed their duties as heroically as any government service could offer. Members of the Lighthouse Service maintained and kept in daily operation this critical life saving infrastructure. Marine First Responders of their day, many documented rescues took place which saved lives after shipwrecked sailors faced an impending watery grave.

The power of our oceans is an incredible force of nature. The loss of complete flotillas (Spanish 1715, 1722 as examples have been repeated over and over due to hurricanes and storms at sea. Dark nights without the ability to use the stars as positional references in the midst of a raging storm has put many sailors on their knees in search of salvation and survival. Then, suddenly, the flash of a beam of light revealed a ship's position, and thus allowed a change in course preventing disaster. Lighthouses performed well, and many saved lives and prevented loss of ships and cargo.

A New Mission for the Lighthouse - Still Saving Lives Today through Healing

In the midst of life's storms when circumstances are dark and scary, we may also lose our bearing and way forward. Healing is required to continue our journey. In this way, Sand Key Lighthouse will continue its mission of saving lives through healing. Our Wounded Warrior veterans all face a need for healing with both physical and mental disabilities. The Mission of Sand Key Lighthouse will cause that healing to continue.

An incredible Natural Resource for Healing

The pristine waters surrounding Sand Key Lighthouse are full of aquatic life, warmth, and beauty. A total of 23 canyonlike finger reefs have caused this area to become a prime destination for snorkeling and reef exploring. The Sand Key Reef is part of the Great Florida Reef and is the third largest barrier reef in the world. A mountain of limestone, it has caused many ships to experience disaster 7 miles offshore of our coast. Near the edge of the Atlantic Shelf, the depth drops off quickly, thus attracting a great diversity of species. Sand Key Lighthouse was Ernest Hemingway's favorite keys fishing destination. A few minutes spent exploring the reef, and one totally understands why he had formed this opinion. Here one can truly impact anddefinition of "Peace which surpasses all understanding". It is our goal to promote the healing of our nations heroes and help them on their journey of recovery.