Personal Bio

In this lifetime, my spiritual journey began with a visit from a trio of non-physical teachers when I was four years old. It sounds magical now, but at the time it filled me with confusion and dread. I had no framework with which to make sense of what had happened, so I didn’t tell anyone about it until I was in my twenties – but I never forgot it, and in a deep, underground way it fueled my life.

Like many people, I struggled through my childhood without spiritual guidance or tools. I tried to heal those around me, but I didn’t know how. And I sought to better understand myself and others by reading and writing, especially poetry, which I now understand as my first spiritual practice. Working as an AIDS and cancer educator brought me to excruciating edges at the intersections of sexuality, life and death; so did a 7-year relationship with a chronically ill partner, to whom I donated a kidney. After publishing my first book, I began teaching creative writing -- but, although I love both poetry and teaching, I soon knew that teaching creative writing did not, in itself, feel like my life’s work. So, I searched...

... and an amazing teacher appeared. I studied shamanism, energy medicine, hypnotherapy and more with her for four years, and also went back to school for my Ph.D. in Transpersonal Psychology. Starting my own private healing practice (HeartMind Integration) deepened and intensified my learning; so did a series of difficulties in my personal life. Eventually, to my great surprise, I found myself suddenly able to channel a very wise non-physical teacher. For several months I spoke with “him” daily, asking every question I could think of about myself, others, and the universe. I still speak with “him” often, and his answers still amaze and challenge me.

As more life changes and challenges came, I came face-to-face with a deeply buried part of me that really didn’t want to be alive. Healing that part of me – coming to a place where I could truly say Yes to life on earth -- was both difficult, and essential to my being able to move forward. Now I feel grateful and eager to share my experience, understandings and tools – and to create environments in which others who’ve traveled their own winding, difficult, joyful paths can come together to share with, teach, and learn from one another.