Who We Are | Our Philosophy | How We Work

Guiding Fable

A seeker of truth was told to go to a magic well, where he was to ask the well his most important question. "What is truth?" the seeker yelled down into the well. From the watery depths came only this answer, "Go to the main crossroad in the village, where you will find your answer." Arriving in the village, he grew quickly disappointed, finding only three rather unremarkable small shops located at the crossroads. One shop was selling pieces of metal, a second was selling wood, and the third was selling long thin wire. There was not a hint of truth anywhere. So totally frustrated he returned to the well for more explanation.

Upon returning to the well, his frustration turned to anger as the response to his inquiry came back as, "you will understand at some future time." The seeker felt like a fool and giving up decided to simply continue on his way, still searching for this illusive thing called truth. Many years past, and gradually he all but forgot about the well and the whole sorry experience.

Then one night while walking alone in the moonlight, the sound of a sitar stopped him stunned in his tracks. The music he heard was incredibly beautiful, both masterful and inspiring. Without thought, he was drawn to the source of the music. As he got closer to the musician he noticed the master’s fingers moving like magic over the face of the instrument. Suddenly the seeker was overtaken by a joyous insight that nearly took his breath. In that single moment he realized the sitar was in fact made of metal, wood, and wires, exactly like the very unremarkable metal, wood, and wires he had seen so many years before in the shops at the village crossroads.

The message was clear. It is the very process of bringing all the parts together that creates something new and magnificent. Of course, the metal has its ordinary and valuable uses, the wood and wire as well. However, when they are each brought together to form an entire whole, this is when the parts are transformed exponentially into something that is so much greater and more powerful.

Understanding this kind of synergistic, whole-system view is integral to our work. Like the metal, wood, and wire of our fable, Judy, as a pharmacist, nutritionist, and coach, also brings together the three powerful elements of complementary medicine, traditional medicine, and the coaching model. Similarly each of these three elements brings independent value, however, when brought together they form up to exponentially enhance our healing.

From Parts to Wholes

For many years our western healthcare system has been parsing out, separating, and dissecting things, as a way to investigate and cure the challenges, maladies, and diseases that afflict human beings. And, of course, the sheer magnitude of knowledge, drugs, and medical procedures that have grown from this painstaking effort, is nothing short of miraculous. Particularly in acute, emergency situations the miracles are even more magnified and stunning.
Along these lines, in medicine (as in most areas of our modern world) we have been taught to break problems down into their subparts, to essentially fragment things so we can better understand them. Who can blame us? After all, the world (and our bodies) are so very complex. But is there also a downside to this traditional approach? Do we pay any hidden costs for breaking everything into smaller and smaller parts, and then creating often narrow strategies for "fixing" these parts?

We believe yes, that it is indeed possible to get so focused on the individual parts, problems, and dis-integrated diseases, that we lose much of our ability to see "the whole system" often referred to as losing sight of the "big picture." Who’s not experienced this first-hand, or at least observed it, where the cure for a particular disease or medical challenge has also brought with it a host of new problems and consequences, that are sometimes worse than the original disease we were trying to address. From a "whole systems" perspective, this is a case of ignoring or not fully understanding the underlying causes and connections. Like when the drug for lowering our cholesterol may also cause painful and weak muscles, or our liver to overwork. Or like when the steroid drug taken to reduce inflammation, also causes diabetes, anxiety, or bone loss. So that what we are faced with is a health problem that is simply morphing into other problems, and in some cases shifting into a multitude of even greater challenges.

Indeed, as already stated, western medicine has created many miracles, specifically around acute and emergency situations. Our belief is that these powerful tools of medicine have been overused, especially when there are other knowledge and evidence-based methods that take a more non-invasive, systemic approach to healing and health. For example, both cholesterol and inflammation, as mentioned above, can often be effectively treated with non-invasive, nutritional therapies, without the risky side effects. Ultimately, we believe the answer is creating a true health synergy based upon combining the best of traditional and complementary health care approaches, and further supported by the best, most proven coaching methods for helping people make sustainable changes in their lives.

Finally, we also believe that vibrant health is created from another level of synergy within each of us. We’re referring to the wonderful and dynamic interplay of mind, body and spirit. Just as in our guiding fable of wood, metal and wire, we cannot create truly vibrant health by only focusing on the body. For example, if we have a very healthy diet, but are depressed, we will be sorely limited in our potential for true vitality. Or let’s say we are religious about our daily exercise routine, but are angry most of the time. Or perhaps we eat very healthfully, but remain stressed to the max – working all the time, giving ourselves no time to relax, and having precious little joy and meaning in our lives. . . hardly a recipe for health.

The fact is - disease and health result from the interplay of all three elements – body, mind and spirit. All three of these facets play a critical role in helping each of us create our own unique and skillful path to vibrant health. Our coaching process helps facilitate the integration of these complex systems in a positive, healthful manner, just as the exquisite music created by the sitar resulted from the perfect integration of its individual parts of wood, metal and wire.