ABOUT ME

My goal in creating The Harmony Center is to share what I've experienced and learned on my journey of healing.  I believe sharing stories of our our personal journey is one of the biggest ways we can inspire and empower others to heal.  I don't position myself as "an expert" because, well I'm not sure that I am, but also because I feel pretty strongly about empowering others to be their own experts. I encourage people to gather information, get second opinions, tap into their own intuition and use discernment when it comes to anyone they turn to for information and advice including medical practitioners, alternative practitioners therapists, spiritual teachers, you name it.  It has been my journey to encounter a lot of people with big egos, and this includes spiritual egos.  While this was frustrating, even angering at times, I realize I was given opportunity after opportunity to trust myself and to learn to discern the truth, and that I would share this with others.  We live in a time of over-abundant access to information and resources, and it's imperative to know ourselves, know what our truth feels like, and what it feels like when someone is pushing us to act against our own inner guidance, even if they use catchy phrases to make us doubt ourselves such as "Oh you're very rebellious", "Wow, you are so stubborn", "You need to stop being in your mind",  "Well, that's just your ego".  Sometimes experts and "experts" are actually in their own egos, even a spiritual ego, believing they know better than you, or know something about yourself you're just too blind to see, when you are actually in your truth, and this is threatening.  I personally do not believe in giving unsolicited advice, but I will consider what others have to say, sort of "trying it on" to see if there is truth in it.  I might even agree at first when I am trying on an opinion or feedback, but I leave room and space to evaluate myself and my situation as an observer, and decide for myself if something feels true or not. Seek out true experts when you need them, but exercise discernment when you do, always come back to yourself, and do not let anyone push you to do otherwise.

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This was in line with the training I received in health coaching from Duke Integrative Medicine, which I personally found to be one of the most transformative and incredible programs around.  While many students expected we would be provided a lot of information that would make us experts to advise on diet and exercise, this was not the case at all.  For one thing, as an integrative program, we were guided to consider all aspects of well-being including mental and emotional, sleep and rest, fulfillment and purpose, and physical environment. When I was there they also included "mind-body" and "spiritual".  The point is that there are many facets of well-being to consider, and making a change in one area can often affect other areas of your life.  I observed that those who came into the program as "experts" in any given field seemed to have the most difficulty adjusting to the program, which trained us to be active listeners and ask the right questions.  This process empowered clients to make choices and a plan for themselves that would help them prioritize and focus on one goal at a time.  We learned how to guide people to know themselves better, and personally I felt this was incredibly empowering for everyone.

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I received my Masters in Healthcare Administration from UNC Gillings School of Public Health.  While at UNC I began to question how we create health and what a working model of a system that supports health and well-being would look like.  I now believe the successful interplay and integration of traditional and alternative medical treatments is key to a new system that effectively creates health through prevention strategies, and manages and heals disease by identifying and treating root causes.  It is not one system over another, but successful integration, that is key to the future.  

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I believe evidence-based medicine certainly has it's merits.  I also feel many practitioners will account for the validity of empirical evidence, particularly with treatments that do no harm and patients find helpful.  My personal journey opened my eyes to possibilities my cognitive mind was not willing to accept.  Prior to living in China for the second time, doctors had no explanation for the sometimes excruciating back pain I experienced.  I felt completely frustrated because I knew my pain was real, but there was no diagnosis for it.  While in China, on a whim, I explored acupressure and was surprised to experience relief.  I spoke with the practitioners in Chinese and asked them lots of questions.  The response I typically got was a chuckle and a challenge along the lines of "Most foreigners cannot understand chi."  So I spent the next couple of years reading everything I could on energy or "chi", and trying various energy modalities until I felt I had a pretty comprehensive experiential and theoretical and grasp of it.  Acupressure, acupuncture, chiropractic work, energy work and Transformational Breath were all key on my own healing journey and understanding of energy modalities.   

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When I was young my dad and I used to enjoy long conversations while he was driving.  These talks would often end with him asking emphatically:  "Well, have we solved all the world's problems yet?!"  He taught me to question everything, including my own beliefs about the world. I kept asking, kept wondering, kept seeking answers.  No wonder my brothers teased "Court, you think too much!"  While I do love to solve problems and might have a few insights, I still believe inquiry is as endless the universe, and for good reason...it keeps us reaching for truth!  Sometimes we leap to solve world problems, or problems in our community, or even our family, without realizing if we all take self-responsibility to work on our own issues we will move the world forward much faster.  In fact, I'd venture to suggest self-empowerment has been a goal of every world spiritual teacher.  My personal experience has taught me to prioritize what is truly most important each and every day.  I strive to find a calm center in the midst of everyday chaos, accept my flaws while striving for improvement, treat myself and others with compassion, and accept our common humanity with a sense of humor.  

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