When you enter the Whole Health Center, you become aware of an atmosphere, more specifically, an energy of inclusiveness and interconnection that touches you in a very intimate way. You intuitively know that you have come into a safe and sacred space. I say sacred because you can “feel” the 30 years of spiritual and emotional healing that the space that is the Center holds. You can feel the energy of 30 years of clients and retreat/workshop participants all seeking their own unique path to spiritual and emotional growth. Many, I think, looking for that switch that turns on the internal light that dispels the darkness of feelings of separateness and feeling less than whole.

That is the energy of the Whole Health Center. It is an energetic atmosphere that fosters the painful honesty and trust needed for true emotional and spiritual transformation to take place. Within the intimacy of individual counseling, a meditation/support group, workshop or experiential class you are able to explore values, stories and defenses that have developed over time from societal and familial influences.

The beauty of the work at the Center is that it includes the wisdom teachings of many of the great spiritual traditions, while being based on well-grounded psychological and scientific findings as well. You learn practical tools to access what is already within each one of us. The inherent ability to be healed and whole at any moment indeed at every moment.

The strong support at the Center for meditation practice along with teachings on meditation techniques such as breath work and the Mantras of Remembrance allow you to develop a meditation practice that looks different for each person but has the effect of helping to quiet the mind. A mind that is quiet even for just a minute or two can catch a glimpse of an inner presence ever so subtle. A presence that is beyond the clutter and chaos of an endless cycle of thoughts. A presence that is of the NOW not of the misremembered past or the imaginary future but of this very moment.

Paul’s spiritual wisdom and writings based on many years of study and practice re-enforce the spiritual growth and knowingness that you begin to attain through meditation. Words such as compassion and even love take on a fuller and deeper meaning. You realize those words don’t apply just to those you like. “Persist as love… despite all evidence to the contrary’’ one of Paul’s most profound teachings begins to be a mantra you find yourself repeating throughout the day as you interact with others. At first you are startled at its transforming effect on those interactions then, you count on it. Because now you know everyone has a soft spot. That place in them where their “true nature” resides. Of course, if “Persist as love…” seems too much at the moment, there is always the inner smile at the heart. That is easy, simple and generally as effective as the mantra. So effective that it is hard to resist doing it to yourself when all you want is to stay feeling miserable.

I have given little mention to the psychological work that is so important to work at the Center. Paul is firmly committed to the integration of mind, body and spirit. Thus, he encourages the difficult work of psychological growth. By addressing issues of the past we become free of some of the cognitive distortions and feelings of shame, fear and guilt that are associated with them. Paul’s counseling support along with tools such as breathing into where you feel the emotional (or physical) pain give the strength and courage to sit with difficult feelings that arise when talking or thinking about troubling past events.

Sometimes you are unaware of the toxic remnants of a past event until it comes up in meditation group or at a retreat. Then the trust in the safety of the group (which no matter what the context seems to always naturally and quickly develop) allows you to give voice to your experience. Hearing yourself share your shame/blame/fear in such a non-judgmental environment is incredibly healing. It serves to allow you to see the most troubling of emotions are often just the result of story. A narrative made up by mind in an effort to make sense of an experience, just a perception not a fact. This is a huge paradigm shift and allows for great freedom from the past.

When doing psychological work at the Center whether it be in group or during a counseling session, Paul’s unconditional positive regard, his ability to hold space for whatever is coming up for you and his firm commitment to staying with you throughout your process, wherever your journey may lead you is a life altering gift. Many have never experienced such a “I’m in it for the long-haul ”commitment. It provides an extremely strong foundation for work particularly with those of us who have abandonment issues.

A third element of work at the Center is with the body. Paul’s work with herbs and other naturopathic alternatives or supplements to western medicine helps you to become aware of ways of healing and health independent of prescription medications that have side effects often worse than the ailment they are prescribed for. Qi Gong and its energetic healing when done with some consistency can improve balance and give even the most rigid body (mine) some sense of fluidity and grace. Massage therapy something I thought I would never engage in has worked seemingly miracles for me. One step away from getting involved with narcotic pain relievers, a few sessions with Paul identified the problem area and significantly relieved the pain. Once again Paul saved me from living a life distorted by psychopharmacology.

Paul’s in depth knowledge of neuroscience has also been incredibly helpful both spiritually and emotionally. My understanding of the prefrontal cortex and other areas of the brain is very limited. But I have more understanding of how my parents parenting effected how my brain reacts. With less comfort I realize more how my parenting affected my children and how it affects their parenting. This knowledge has also given me more room for compassion with myself and others and another reason to change my behavior. I now recognize that when I act out of fear I am acting from a more primitive area of the brain and thus unable to find more creative solutions to a problem. So now I try all the tools Paul has taught me to prevent my anxiety from being debilitating when faced with a problem. Because I know it is not only uncomfortable but it is prevents me from being solution focused and perpetuates a cycle of fear.

Paul’s teaching of the latest findings in neuroscience is not limited to the brain. There is the heart-field. I love it; of course, it is the heart after all. How could you not love it? The energy of heart field has been measured by electrocardiogram. Is it three feet out? I am not sure and it doesn’t matter. I know it exists because I can feel it. It is transforming. This is how it works for me. First, if I am really having trouble finding the light in someone, I will do “Persist as love”, but usually I can just start with the inner smile. Then, if I feel a connection I relax into it and allow myself to feel my heart field reaching out towards the other person. Then I look into that person’s eyes and I know whether I will be able to feel their heart field back. If it gets that far it is like magic and usually the result is I have reconnected with a friend, made a friend, or at the very least made a much stronger and quicker connection with someone than otherwise would have occurred. It’s so great! Sometimes I feel like I am cheating because I know something many others don’t know. I do tell some people. But I don’t think many practice feeling it because they don’t realize how powerful it is.

So the heart field brings me to what I see is at the very “being” of the Whole Health Center, that is Paul’s term “Conscious Loving Presence”. For me, “Conscious Loving Presence” is a feeling state and a “knowing”. So putting it into my own words isn’t something I remember doing before. I know it is at the root of my spiritual journey. Conscious loving presence is our true nature/being. It is inherent in each of us. It is that space of love and awareness that we are. It is within us but yet not separate from the greater field of conscious loving presence that permeates all that is. It manifests itself in loving and compassionate behavior. It is the “Light” that shines in each of us.

What I have written is just some of the many gifts Paul and the Whole Health Center have given me. I realize I have not mentioned my friends, my family. Yes, the Center has given me family and it has given me a sense of Oneness with the Universe and all living beings (even non-living things because I’ve learned they hold the energy of what they were made of that has lived and also the energy of all those whose hands and hearts made the product/item possible). The Center has also given me a sense of an inner presence that I know can withstand the turmoil of most any situation; it has helped me recognize that my body is not my enemy; it has given me courage; taught me integrity; and has lifted me from the depths of depression, years of psychotropic drugs and the brink of electro-convulsive therapy to being just a little more neurotic than most. The Whole Health Center has given me a “whole” new life.