Uncommon Paths: The Rev. Julia Fritts on Music, Acupuncture, and Ministry

Dolores: 00:00:00

Let's meet the Reverend Julia A.

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Fritts, Episcopal priest, neuro

acupuncturist and musician.

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With Julia today is our Good News

team, Deacons Jon Shematek and Lauren

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Welch as we bring another episode

in our second season of Good News!

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All about people making a

difference in the world.

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Jon Shematek: Reverend Julia A.

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Fritz, welcome to our podcast.

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We're delighted that

you're here with us today.

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Julia: Thank you so much, Jon and Lauren.

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It's a privilege to be here.

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Jon Shematek: Yeah.

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We're so excited to get to learn more

about you and get to know you better.

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You're Brand new to us just this is

your very first week starting role at

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the Cathedral of the Incarnation in

Baltimore as a associate priest there.

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But we know you have so

many irons in the fire.

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You've got so much life experience

and you're actually bivocational and

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have a priestly ministry, but you also

have work outside of the priesthood,

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we're curious about your various

life experiences and skills come

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together, how are you seeing things?

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Julia: I am a classical

and neuro acupuncturist.

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That's a specialty area of acupuncture.

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I have a practice that I do two

thirds of my time, and one third

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of my time is with the Cathedral.

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I'm thrilled to join the Cathedral.

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I feel So happy and so

welcomed and so at home.

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It was my sending parish 20 years ago

when I went off to seminary a lot of

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life has come and gone since then.

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I'm finally back in Maryland.

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Thanks be to God.

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And, I actually back at the Cathedral.

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So I feel just a little bit

stunned and just so glad.

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Lauren: Julia how did your journey began?

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And in all of this, acupuncture,

you also are a physical therapist.

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Now working as a priest,

what motivated you?

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Julia: I've had to think a lot

about that in my formation process.

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As a young child, I was, one of four,

the only girl, and, was always expected

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to be the little artist and musician.

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That's how I was formed, those

were the expectations on me.

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It never occurred to me to,

study, the sciences very hard,

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but I was interested in them.

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Life went on and my mother suffered,

with MS and, a burn incident.

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as I lived through her

suffering and death.

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it changed me like those things will do.

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it really, galvanized this longing

to help wherever I saw suffering.

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I just wanted to be useful my Career as a

musician was going on, at the same time,

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and I recorded and traveled all over

the country, one of our first recorded

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songs was number one in Riga, Latvia.

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we did a lot musically and I thought

that was going to be my career.

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but it wasn't enough for me in this

need to help people who are suffering.

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I was drawn to, become a

physical therapist in particular,

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for, neurological patients.

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No surprise given my mom's

neurological illness.

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That's where I was drawn to serve.

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I started at Hopkins, loved my work there.

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it was so formative, so wonderful,

and then went on to become Chief of

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Rehab Medicine at, Hospital in Laurel.

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as any good PT does, they ruin their

knees lifting people properly, and then

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they ruin their backs lifting people.

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With bad knees.

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I realized I needed to

rethink my career trajectory.

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I couldn't be lifting people anymore.

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So I discovered acupuncture this

occurred to me to be a deeper level.

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I could help on the levels of the

body, the mind and the spirit.

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I kept both licenses for quite some time.

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And then with great fear and trepidation

dropped my PT license because it's

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very expensive to keep two licenses

going and forged ahead with acupuncture

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and built a thriving private practice

specializing in neuro patients, it

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was around this time that I decided to

explore this longing to serve at the

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deepest possible level, which for me meant

serving Jesus and trying to follow him.

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he was a teacher and a healer.

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God incarnate, how can you follow that?

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But I could do my little bit to try to

help at the deepest level of suffering.

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the discernment process went forward.

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I was ordained, deacon in 2008 at

the Cathedral, by, Bishop John Rabb.

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my first call was in

Stanford, Connecticut.

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where I was ordained priest

by Bishop Andrew White.

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along the way, I was able to

keep all my passions going, my

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musicianship, work on a physical level

a spirit level and a mental level.

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I found that all of my

peculiar gifts had a use.

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In my priestly ministry, I really,

hesitated, fought this sense

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of call to ordination because

I felt I was too unusual.

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I don't look like a clergy person.

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I don't sound like one.

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I felt that call was

maybe just my imagination.

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I'm a drummer, a rock drummer, actually,

the music we toured with was Celtic

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rock, and it was haunting and gorgeous,

fed my soul, my experience in the music

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industry could be used in the church,

when my daughter was in, Rite 13 and J2A

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at the Cathedral, I was one of the most

helpful parents we decided to put on a

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coffee shop as their big fundraiser, and

I put together a youth group band, we

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rehearsed and, some kids were learning

instruments for the first time, I helped

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them learn about lighting sound and,

a little bit of stage, orientation,

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we had The most wonderful time.

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And I was able to do that in, my

first call in Stamford, Connecticut,

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as well with the youth group there.

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such a joy to have your whole

self be useful in some odd way.

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I think that sums up the journey so far.

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I don't plan on any more master's degrees.

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Three is

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Jon Shematek: perfect.

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Julia: never say never, Mom.

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I'm going to call it.

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Jon Shematek: At this point.

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Julia: I think we're good with that.

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Lauren: It sounds like you have

found that in all that you were doing

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music, PT, acupuncture, you have

found the spirit of those ministries.

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Yes.

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And you're able to combine them right

now in what you're doing as a priest.

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Julia: That's how it feels and everywhere

I've served, I actually just remembered

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in one of the churches I led in Oregon.

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I offered free drum lessons to the

kids in the community, and that grew

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to be a tiny school of rock sort

of thing, and that was great fun.

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Jon Shematek: Julia, you remind me, about

the power of music as a healing resource.

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People may not think about

drumming in that way, but we do

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Julia: that's lovely.

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Jon Shematek: So yes, all of this,

people might say, gosh, these are such

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different endeavors, musicianship,

acupuncture, priesthood, but you really

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have managed to find where they meet and

are integrated and work with one another.

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Your focus is to be on,

child and youth formation.

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and that sounds like that's also

been part of your past experience

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Julia: whether it was a church large

enough to have youth groups and

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children's ministry or smaller churches

where we did everything together.

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I have adored my time with the

little ones and the older youth,

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Last Sunday, my first Sunday with

the Cathedral, as I was meeting all

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the parents and children, a 10 month

old baby boy, John reached out for

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me to hold him it just made my day.

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All the joy of my first Sunday at

the Cathedral that topped it all.

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I find absolute delight with children

of all ages and, I'm excited to do

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this, in this new setting with such

a wonderful staff and congregation.

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I'm thrilled.

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Jon Shematek: We're thrilled to have you.

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Absolutely.

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I'm curious about, acupuncture.

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I'm a physician by training.

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and I practiced for a gazillion years as

pediatric cardiologist and pediatrician.

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Julia: that's interesting.

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Jon Shematek: those were fun times,

but it also was a great merging

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of, seeing myself as, an instrument

for healing, in so many ways.

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Yes.

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I'm just wondering if you could, without,

Being too scientific about it Talk about

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the spiritual aspect, of acupuncture.

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Maybe teach me a bit.

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Julia: in Eastern medicine, it's based

on Taoist philosophy, which holds

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that the body mind and spirit are one.

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They're not separated out the

way they are in Western medicine.

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in Western medicine, we have a

specific doctor for each body part,

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a separate field of medicine for,

those with mental struggles and a

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separate field for those with spiritual

issues, considered very separate and

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none having an effect on the other.

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Whereas in Eastern medicine,

one, directly affects the other.

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any suffering on the body level in

time will show up in the spirit.

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Any suffering on the spirit

level will manifest in the body.

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In acupuncture, it's held that, the energy

that moves through the pathways in the

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body, addresses All levels of that person.

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let's say a person is suffering

from overworry, overthinking,

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circular thinking, I will

check their digestive system.

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Their stomach will have troubles.

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If someone is suffering from

grief, I will check on their lungs.

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And vice versa, if someone shows up with

a terrible rash, I will know to ask into,

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is there a grief process in the mix here?

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in Eastern medicine, there

can't be distress in one area

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without distress in all areas.

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So all those areas need to be

addressed for the person to heal.

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I don't consider myself a healer.

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Jesus was the great healer.

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I'm blessed to have some tools to help.

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Jon Shematek: You can

be a channel of that.

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Julia: if I keep myself clean and

clear, I can be a useful instrument.

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Jon Shematek: And to what extent is

there actual, maybe with each needle

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puncture, how does it fit into this?

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Julia: That's a great question.

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it's very important that I be clear

on my intention with every needle

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and with every treatment in general.

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Let's say if I'm treating a certain

point, my intention will be to clear

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this point, to move this energy.

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the entire treatment is based on,

how I hope for, The energy to shift.

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at the end of each treatment, if the

patient would like me to, I will lay

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hands on their head, and pray for them,

if they want me to say spoken prayer,

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I'm happy to do that, and I'm happy

to give blessing also if they want

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that, whether they believe in prayer

or not, We know that God believes in

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them and loves them, I pray for every

patient and some will ask for a little

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bit more, and I always love that, too.

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Jon Shematek: Thank you.

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Lauren: So the intention with

each needle that you put in is for

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the highest good of that person.

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Julia: Yes, whether spoken or not.

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Our intention is so powerful.

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If we could just take that

little moment before we speak to.

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refine what our hope is

for that conversation.

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What a difference we could make

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Lauren: that intention is a prayer.

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Thinking of prayer broadly

instead of just what we say.

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Julia: Oh, yeah.

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Lauren: What has surprised

you most on your journey?

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Julia: what has surprised me most?

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I feel like the whole journey

has been such a surprise.

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Being raised to be an artist

and musician and to find myself

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in love with the sciences.

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And to be such an avid learner, and

to be ordained a priest in Christ's

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church, in some ways it feels like home.

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Jon Shematek: Julia, you're a priest,

at the Cathedral of the incarnation

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right now, and you have a, practice, in

acupuncture, And you do some, meditation.

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Julia: I've practiced

meditation for 50 years.

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I've taught for 20.

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Jon Shematek: Julie, thank you very

much for being here today and sharing

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so much of your story with us.

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Really inspirational.

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You've overcome a lot, but you've

got so many, gifts that you bring

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to the church and to the world.

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you're someone that people

would do well to emulate.

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Julia: Thank you.

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Just to be able to sit with you and

chat it's such a gift to be heard.

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Thank you

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Lauren: Julia, before you go, we

want to give you one more chance.

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Would you like for our listeners to hear?

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from everything that you've learned.

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Julia: Grow a garden.

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what I'd love for people to, Consider,

is that each person is marvelously made

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unique with varied little odd bits and

capable in different ways all of that.

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Is God's design and needed in

the world and in the church.

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if you feel you're too unusual

to be useful, or feel you

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can't be your full self,

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spend your lifetime figuring out how to.

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Come to life more fully.

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Who was it said the glory of God is

the human being come fully alive.

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Gregory of Nyssa?

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That's good advice to follow that

every bit of you is On purpose

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and beautiful and necessary

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Lauren: Thank you.

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You are wonderful and thank

you for being with us today.

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Jon and I also want to thank All

who are watching and listening

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for the gift of your time with us.

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Until next time, peace and blessings.

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Jon Shematek: Bye-bye.

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Dolores: This episode of

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