Meet Dr. Julie

MY CAREER FORMATION STORY:

FROM NEAR DEATH TO ABUNDANT LIFE

At the age of four, I was lying on my parent’s bed taking a nap when I heard a voice: “Julie it’s time to wake up. Julie, wake up now.” I watched in silence and perfect stillness as my mother’s voice became more urgent and agitated as she moved around the room. “Julie (her voice rising in volume and panic), wake up! Stop pretending! This isn’t funny!” My eyes were open following her movements but I could not move and could not speak. I was limp like a rag doll. It was then that I left my body.

This was a powerful event that taught me about trauma, cellular memory, and the mind/body connection. It was also the first direct experience I had with the comforting mystery of the spirit realm.  My body was scooped up, put in a car and rushed off to the Emergency Room. However, my consciousness was in a beautiful, soothing bath of warm light watching the event from a distance. I watched my lifeless body be placed in the back seat of the station wagon. I watched in the sterile cold hospital as the doctor stuck a very long needle in my limp little spine. After the spinal tap, I was able to move again and finally cried. I was back in my body in the material realm with pain, fear, and confusion. And I cried.

My childhood perception of this event was limited. A four year old does not have the language or cognitive function to process trauma like this. I developed shame associated with the belief that I was “pretending.” I believed I was naughty and I caused lots of trouble for the adults. When I was told the story as a young adult, I felt a great sense of relief. The four-year-old thought she did something horribly wrong and therefore, she was BAD! But finally, as an adult, I could make sense out of a visceral knowing I held in my body.

I wasn’t pretending! I was critically ill! I had chronic tonsillitis as a young child. I was supposed to have a tonsillectomy, but due to the chronic infections, it was never scheduled. My memory of "pretending" to be still and not wake up was actually paralysis. I couldn’t move or talk because I had Septic shock. Septic shock is a consequence of bacteria in the bloodstream. Bacterial toxins, and the immune system response to them, cause a dramatic drop in blood pressure, preventing the delivery of blood to the organs. Septic shock can lead to multiple organ failure including respiratory failure, and may cause rapid death. I was deathly ill, but my four-year-old consciousness didn’t understand.

Several chronic patterns emerged from this experience in the development of my sense of self in the world. Until I learned how to do the deep healing work necessary to liberate myself from this trauma and understand the mind/body connection, I experienced the following chronic ongoing struggles:

First, whenever my body was genuinely ill with symptoms, my mind believed I was “pretending.” I never believed I was sick and never listened to my body in response to pain, trauma, or illness.  Second, my neck became a chronic source of symptoms with chiropractic misalignments and frequent bacterial and viral infections of the throat.  Third, I never developed my voice until I was an adult. I fell silent and “paralyzed” during subsequent wounding and trauma. I became the limp rag doll that didn’t have a voice.  Finding my voice was an integral part of my healing journey.

The beautiful news is, I was introduced to the mysteries of the spirit realm. Continued mystical experiences and a keen sense of intuitive wisdom opened up to me during my rag doll experience and have never left. With gratitude, I value and cherish these gifts. This different way of seeing and knowing the world propelled me to seek and study mysticism, spirituality, health, healing, integration of compartmentalized pieces and humanity's "separate-self" illusion.

I needed Western medicine that day. It literally saved my corporal life. And, I was blessed with a near death experience. It opened my awareness and a mystical sense of knowing. Both were integral pieces in the puzzle of my life and career.

I began my young adult journey as an artist turned psychotherapists. I had a difficult time integrating my creative passion with the scholar at the age of 20, so went straight through to get my masters degree in counseling. But my passion for art and the creative process never left. It was an integral tool in discovering my voice and developing self-expression. I yearned to integrate creativity and the expressive arts into the counseling process. I also recognized a need to put the soul back in psyche and felt a deep sense of call to put the spirit back in health. The image of a bridge was imprinted deep in my mind as I looked for ways to integrate the disciplines. This began a 20-year exploration into alternative healing, mind/body practices, energy medicine, spirituality, mysticism, and health. I adhered to a routine schedule of intensive training, personal self-care, and psycho-spiritual practices.

I had a dream early into my exploration of energy medicine and Reiki. I was in a lab playing with high-voltage spiritual energy and I kept blowing fuses. A little leprechaun-looking man, wearing a white medical lab coat and carrying a surgical scalpel, came and began poking and stabbing at me. I picked him up and carried him around with his body facing forward and his little skinny legs scooped up over my arm. As long as I carried him with me, he was content and I could play with the energy and not get hurt. But if I put him down, he would continue to come after me, poking and stabbing.

This dream was a powerful affirmation of my need to find ways to “integrate” Western allopathic medicine with the ancient practices of Eastern traditions. It affirmed my calling as a “bridge” to bring together and integrate East and West, Art and Science, Body and Mind, and Heaven and Earth.

On my journey, I have explored a variety of psycho-spiritual practices and traditional medical tools and techniques. I have studied the mind/body connection and experienced a plethora of alternative healing practices. I have enjoyed the teachings and practices of both Eastern and Western spirituality and medicine. I will not prescribe that any is right or wrong; good or bad. It's all energy and consciousness.  I choose to cultivate the wisdom and efficiency I find that works for me personally, as well as my clients, and blend them into a beautiful tapestry. I add my intuitive gifts and a passion for creative self-expression and experiential learning.

I have been blessed with a chaotic childhood, peppered with extensive adverse conditions, experiences and trauma. I’ve learned to integrate, transform, and transcend pain and trauma. There is no need to suffer!  Suffering is a choice.  Health is a choice.  When we awaken to the realization that we are not broken and there's nothing to fix, we can change our life circumstances and health status in an instant.  It is then that we are empowered to take our life back and be responsible for our health and wellness.

Several years ago a physician wanted to diagnose me with a serious chronic illness following several critical lab reports.  Her first response and recommended treatment was a radical surgery and multiple medications.  She never asked what was going on in my life, but I did.  I said, "No!" and looked inside for my answers.  One year later all of my lab reports were within normal limits. She thought it was a miracle.  I knew it was expanded consciousness and the power of the mind at work in my life.  These experiences have helped me to develop a radical, quantum approach to wellness, vitality and abundant living.  I lead with a heart-centered approach, intuitively guided and grounded in nature, consciousness, and love. 

Many have called me a "Healer of Healers."  I humbly hold that call with reverence and awe.  I have been gifted with the ability to take difficult, complex situations and concepts and make them easy to comprehend and understand. I have a skill set and life experience, that has opened me to new ways of seeing and knowing.  One person said, “It’s as if you have one foot on the earth and one foot in heaven.” I do; we all do -- some just don't know it yet! I have had a marvelous, rich personal understanding of the healing process and the transformative power of love and expanded spiritual consciousness. It is a joy to assist others as they awaken to the amazing mysteries of their lives and live the fullest expression of who they really are.  I consider it an honor to walk with you on your path of awareness and witness your miraculous transformation into CONSCIOUS, PROSPEROUS LIVING!