The People I See

For awhile now, I’ve been seeing a number of people for a number of reasons. In fact, the number has been high enough that I finally realized that’s what I do, like “what I do for a living” (although there are some significant problems with calling this “what I do for a living,” since I’m the one paying . . .). I must spend at least a part time job’s worth of hours driving back and forth and attending appointments each week. These people help me keep my mind and body healthy in a variety of ways, but I have to wonder: am I actually healthier than I would be if I didn’t see them? Or have I developed a body that’s only healthy when I include the manipulation of other people? Regardless, I am in the unique position to have some time and some money to support these alternative practitioners, and I am happy to do it. I do feel a great deal of benefit from my time seeing them or talking to them, and I know that other people will benefit from them as well. I am proud to help them out.

Here are the people I see (note: aside from allopaths, who I have not included in this list):

Daniel Lane, LMP and Neurolink Practitioner. I call him my Witch Doctor, because all he seems to do is tap my head and push against my arm and things get better. All I do is lie there. Over the years, he has diagnosed and helped my body to heal any number of issues from acid stomach, to bacteria, viral or parasitic infections, to anxiety and much more.

Christian Hunt, Licensed Acupuncturist, MAcOM. I began seeing Christian last fall after returning to Seattle from several months in Europe. Acupuncture is more subtle than Neurolink, and I have not always been sure that what I’m feeling after an appointment is very different from what I was feeling before (although I invariably fall asleep as soon as the needles are in and she leaves the room). But my last visit I felt much relieved from my nausea and stomach tension. Christian is also a sensitive listener—an invaluable skill—and gifted in Chinese herbs.

Bente Hansen, Energetic Healer, Channeler, Medical Intuitive, Reiki teacher, and more. I heard of Bente first last year, and in my first visit to her, for a clearing of my energetic field, I was already awed by her abilities. She had me lie on my back on a standard massage bed and she pushed her hands under my pelvis. After about a minute, a buzzing started up in my lower back over her hands, that continued as long as her hands were there. People joke about those little hand buzzers, and yeah, ha ha, but this was pure energy flowing into me. Bente is now in New York, but that doesn’t keep her from being an effective long-distance healer. She is soothing and knowledgeable.

Andrienne Wilson, Singer, Flutist, Teacher, Psychic. I have known Andrienne for several years. For the first few, she was merely (although “merely” is not a word one can really use for Andrienne) my jazz singing teacher. Then one day I had a tarot reading with her, and discovered her amazing psychic abilities. And then, of course, she gives incredible concerts at Tula’s, primarily of her own music. We are blessed to have her in our area, and I have been blessed to have her in my life.

Krista J Heron, ND, DHANP. Krista is a homeopath I’ve seen for only a short while. I like the idea of homeopathy—small amounts of a substance that set of a resonance in your body, bringing things back into health and balance. So far, we’re in the process of finding something that will work for me, both overall for general full-body health, and currently, for the symptoms I’m experiencing. We have not found it yet—I was still throwing up as of this morning. But I think we have more things to try.

Taya Countryman, LMP. I’ve known Taya for several years now. At first, her role in my life was primarily bodyworker—over the last couple decades of her work, she has developed a method for dealing with pain and structural strangenesses that is unusual and gifted. When I fell off a horse, she convinced bone, muscle, and connective tissue to go back where it belonged. When I had my mastectomy last year, she spent long hours doing scar massage afterwards, and I have complete range of motion now. Taya is also a psychic, and introduced me to parts of the world I didn’t know existed. And she has also become my friend.

I am looking for a general massage therapist, and am trying one out in a couple weeks, who comes highly recommended from both Taya and some other friends of mine. She's very popular, and I am very much looking forward to meeting her. I'll keep you posted.

In general, I also try to horseback ride twice per week (although the pesky breathing issue is keeping me from doing that at the moment), and at least once a month I visit the local Korean Spa for several hours of naked soaking and a hearty lunch of tasty Korean food. I also still, in general, attend one of Andrienne’s evening singing classes, and I’ve recently restarted Gyrotonic, to keep my core strength and flexibility going. Gyrotonic has the added benefit of being pretty low-impact, so I can still get a lot of benefit without getting too short of breath.

In all, I have no idea when I’d have a real job.