The name Living Color Healing, which encapsulates my vision, has deep personal meaning for me. It was born from my profound experience as a young Air Force pilot in training:

While learning to fly high-performance Air Force jets, a very important training objective was to learn our own symptoms of hypoxia, a life-threatening condition caused by low levels of oxygen in the bloodstream. A malfunction of the jet’s oxygen system can cause this very insidious and very dangerous condition in the pilot. In order to safely yet effectively learn our hypoxia symptoms, which are different for every person, my classmates and I entered an altitude chamber, much like a sealed vault, which is capable of reducing atmospheric pressure in order to simulate the lower partial pressures of oxygen at high altitudes.

On our ride up to high altitude, we wore oxygen masks very similar to the units found in high-performance jet fighters. As part of the experience, once we arrived at a simulated altitude of 18,000 feet, we removed our oxygen masks and breathed the ambient oxygen. Our instructions were to take a few minutes and notice our symptoms and how our bodies reacted in this low oxygen environment. Once we were satisfied that we had experienced our personal symptoms of hypoxia, we were to re-don our oxygen masks.

In short order, I became light-headed and woozy, much the same feeling after having had a few drinks at the Officer’s Club on Friday night. The instructors gave us simple math problems, which became surprisingly difficult after only a few minutes at 18,000 feet. Feeling like I had enough fun and the objective was accomplished, I put my oxygen mask back on. Now here’s the really cool part:

In order to drive home the point that hypoxia can be insidious and almost undetectable, just prior to our re-donning our masks, the instructors handed us a paper with a circular wheel on it, kind of like a pie chart. Holding it in my hands with my brain low on oxygen, it appeared as a circle of varying shades of gray. As I put my mask back on and began to breathe 100% oxygen, something happened that I will never forget. The wheel I was holding in my hands wasn’t gray at all. In fact, it was a color wheel similar to the logo at the bottom of this page, and those colors of the spectrum came to life right before my oxygen-starved eyes! The reds became brighter and brighter - more red. The blues became deeper and deeper - more blue. Each second that went by brought more vibrance and depth to the color. It was as if I was looking at an iPad screen (there were none of those back then by the way), and the colors on that screen were becoming brighter and more vibrant. But it wasn’t the colors that were changing. It was my brain that was changing. It was simply incredible.

The effects of trauma, addiction, and compulsive behavior have an impact on us similar to oxygen starvation to the brain - the colors of our lives become dull and gray. We start to believe that life is heavy and full of struggle… all of the time. We get caught up in hopelessness and despair. We look for evidence to back up our beliefs, and the color palettes of our lives, once bright and colorful, become formless and drab. At times, we may feel like we can’t go on.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s simply our brains low on the oxygen of joy. That CAN change. I can help your colors come back to life again. Life is actually beautiful and full of color, and I will help you breathe in joy and watch your colors become sharp and clear again. Whether in recovery from addiction or compulsive behavior, facing a big decision or life transition, or seeking more certainty or clarity in your life, I’ve been where you are. If the colors of your life are fading, and you’re ready to embark on a journey of recovery and of falling in love with yourself, let me show you how I can help. You’re not alone. Who better to help you than a caring, compassionate professional who has a gift for healing and who has also walked in your shoes?