The Metaphysical Rob Catania
Mild-mannered Rob Catania looks like your average, healthy Cape Cod dad. He is the former general manager of – one of the oldest traditional colonial-style inns on Cape Cod – The Dan’l Webster Inn. Scratch the surface of this unique individual and you’ll find an interesting treasure trove of alternative experiences and intrigue.
A member of the Catania family who pioneered the Cape Cod mainstay, Hearth & Kettle, Rob grew up in Melrose, MA and spent summers on the Cape. The Catania Hospitality Group presently owns and operates 7 restaurants, 3 hotels and 2 spas in the Massachusetts area. Calling the Cape home for over 30 years, Rob began his career at Dan’l Webster at age 18; he also assisted with the opening of The Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis, another Catania family business.
Spending his time running back and forth between The Dan’l Webster Inn and The Cape Codder, Rob worked his way up the Hearth & Kettle system, including stints in the bakeries and kitchens, from dishwashing to line cooking, on to demanding sauté and broiler positions at the ripe age of 17.
After graduating from the world-famous Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, he became sous chef, then Executive Chef at Dan’l Webster where he was the food and beverage manager for 13 years, overseeing various menus and recipes.
Rob was drawn to and practiced natural cooking, and carried a consciousness that included holistic health. Always an alchemist, he enjoyed instinctually combining ingredients with experimentation in the kitchen and – as his future would hold – in the areas of energy manipulation and gemstones.
Rob had always had an interest in the healing properties of stones. He began practicing various forms of meditation and studying the way energy moved in his body. He experimented with the stones to see how it impacted his energy.
Rob studied Orgone energy, originated by Willhelm Reich, one of the few scientists to have had his books burned by both the Nazis and the American Government. Reich’s “Orgone Box” helped people with cancer – by alternating materials, it created a healing energy field. Orgone energy has been described by hundreds of scientists in many ways; among them, animal magnetism, cosmo-electric energy, libido, and the vital force. Orgone energy is the creative force in nature.
As Wilhelm Reich deepened his study of libinal energy, his medical work expanded beyond the field of psychiatry into a more concrete concept of bioelectricity, which was eventually renamed Orgone energy. While Orgone energy was first discovered in the human body, Reich learned through his experiments that it exists freely in the atmosphere. What Reich found was that the same energy which flows in the sexual embrace is present in all nature, living and non-living; that it governed the most significant and widespread natural functions.
Rob obtained interesting results from pyramids he created; holding them in his hands and observing them, he felt the energy emanating from within them. Pyramids have represented mysterious power for many centuries; according to Laurent Willen, from The Egyptian Dream, they are symbols of the original hills that came out of the water during the creation of the world, where the sun god appeared for the first time.
Continuing his metaphysical studies, Rob became fascinated and inspired by Dr. Masaru Emoto’s photographs of water and how pollution and negative thought affect the structure and health of water.
Dr. Emoto discovered that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific, concentrated thoughts are directed toward them. He found that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful snowflake patterns. In contrast, polluted water, or water exposed to negative thoughts, forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors.
Writes Doctor Shealy, Founding President of the American Holistic Medical Association, “Half of the earth is water; our body is three-quarters water. Water represents the interface between the 4th dimension in which we live and the 5th dimensional sphere of our soul.”
Rob performed a myriad of experiments witnessing and experiencing the impact gemstone energy pyramids have on water, then wine. After suffering from red wine headaches for years, Rob began creating disc-shaped objects that would enhance the energy in food and liquid.
“If I could energetically re-balance red wine, I could make it okay for my body,” he shares. Rob discovered that both the wine tannin and astringency were toned down with his invention. “Wine is alive – you can ruin it and you can enhance it.” Rob named the discs Wine Enhancers.
Steven Norquist, a Wine Enhancer customer, explains that the enhancer is composed of a combination of organic (epoxy) and non-organic non-magnetic metal (copper) placed in a matrix with various crystals also known for their strong vibrational effects. He says, “This combination of elements produces a powerful field of subtle energy known as Orgone. Orgone is believed by proponents to be the primal ether that underlies the fabric of the universe. It is an energy field of an extremely high frequency. This Orgone field can be magnified by certain combinations of materials and is also generated by living organisms and certain crystals. This energy is believed to be life force and when concentrated by devices such as The Enhancer can have profound effects on the molecules of liquids.”
Rob began demonstrating the Wine Enhancers at Grand Cru Wine Bar at The Cape Codder Resort. It gave chardonnay a creamier, smoother taste. He demonstrated it at the Nantucket Wine Festival for hundreds of people, and professional winemakers acknowledged a huge difference in the wine.
Ray Coursen, owner of Elyse Winery in Napa, CA loved the wine enhancer and gave an effusive testimonial. Like many people, he was skeptical at first, then, “…the enhanced wine had a better sense of harmony and a grace… we also tried the Catania Wine Enhancer with our 2005 Rosé and the fruit leaped out of the glass.” One woman, who could not drink any wine at all due to headaches, experienced her own miracle after using Rob’s Wine Enhancer.
The newer model Wine Enhancers are in a copper bowl that acts like a satellite disc. A blend of precious metals and crystals are encased in a resin base, which creates an energetic frequency “like a tuning fork,” according to Rob.
The Wine Enhancer’s copper base costs more to produce, but is beautiful and fundamental to the energy field magic Rob wields with his wine accoutrements.
The mini version Wine Enhancer clips on the side of a wine glass. “Besides being energetically more compatible for your body, it just tastes better. You can stay within your budget and buy a $6 bottle of wine and see what it does for that,” Rob says.
At the same time Rob developed the Wine Enhancer, he shaped and blended metals and crystals into unique Orgone energy spheres, which proved to affect the subtle fields of energy in the body. The energy sphere treatments are available at The Spas at The Cape Codder Resort and Dan’l Webster Inn. The spheres are designed for professional use, and while not yet available on his website, can be custom designed.
The Orgone Energy Massage both clears and activates the chakras of the body. The word chakra is Sanskrit for wheel or disk, and signifies one of seven basic energy centers in the body. Each of these centers correlates to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. In addition, the chakras also correlate to levels of consciousness, archetypal elements, developmental stages of life, colors, sounds, body functions, and much more.
Cape Healing Arts publisher Beth Draper received a treatment with the spheres by practitioner Deb Samia at The Cape Codder Resort. In addition to the traditional full-body therapeutic massage, the Orgone Energy Spheres were moved over her skin, often in a circular motion.
“It was a great total body massage. She used the spheres to clear the energy fields around my various chakras, and I noticed a sense of tingling and motion from the spheres being moved over my body. They are both soothing and energizing at the same time,” Beth explains. Deb asked Beth to hold an intention in her mind for the massage prior to the treatment. This helps to focus and direct the energy in a particular way. “I noticed that even several days after the massage, my energy felt extremely clear, and I felt good both physically and energetically,” said Beth.
Rob Catania is one of many Cape Codders who have led fascinating lives beneath the surface of their professional ones. A testimony to the power of trusting intuition and following one’s truth.
For more information
- What is Orgone Energy? By Charles R. Kelley, Vancouver, WA, 1962.
- The Sevenfold Journey, Reclaiming Mind, Body & Spirit Through the Chakras By Anodea Judith & Selene Vega
- www.wineenhancer.net
BY CHERYL KAIN, Winter 2006
Cheryl Kain is a freelance writer and voice teacher who encourages the expression of your authentic voice. Contact her at cherylkain@yahoo.com.
