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My spiritual journey, however, is not recent. From my earliest memory, I felt a connection to the wholeness of life, to the Divine, to what I learned to call “God.” But the God I knew and loved was not the one that was often described by the fundamentalist Southern Baptist preachers in the church I grew up in, nor even the more liberal ones of the Methodist churches I attended as an adult. There was much love there to be sure, but there was also an undercurrent of fear and judgement that seemed alien to the God of love-- the God as love--that I knew. I found a home in the work and experiences of mystics—of all faiths, and I loved studying about other religions. For me, there was so much shared truth in the holy writings of each of the faiths I studied. I craved the genuine experience of the presence of God, and I have found that holy space within non-dualistic teachings, including A Course in Miracles, where I recognize my oneness with all of life and the Divine itself.
With all those yearnings, though, as a young person, it seemed necessary to meet the demands of the world that I thought was real. After college, I attended law school and have practiced law (mostly construction) for more than 35 years. The mystical callings did not cease, however. I continued my self-study of religion and spirituality and was introduced to the work of Caroline Myss (among others) in the early ‘90s. Dr. Myss continues to be a profound spiritual teacher and guide for me, along with others. In 1998, I received the first level Reiki attunement, almost as a fluke. This introduced me to world of energy healing, and I began practicing Reiki on myself and others, so much so that my then three-year-old, tearful from a minor scrape, looked at me pleadingly as I cupped their knee with my hands to ask, “Can’t I just have a band-aid like all the other kids?” I soon sought the second level attunement, and in 2009 became a Reiki Master, deepening my knowledge and allowing me to offer teachings and attunements to others, followed in 2012 with the training and attunement as a Karuna Reiki Master and certified LaHoChi facilitator.
I also started my parenting journey at the ripe old age of 23 with my first child—an unplanned beautiful, willful, challenging, and delightful daughter. After making pretty much every parenting mistake imaginable, and more than seventeen years and one marriage later, I was introduced to the principles of Love and Logic® parenting by a good friend who had taken Becoming a Love and Logic Parent© classes. I had read a lot of different parenting books and tried to implement a lot of different, good ideas, but I was particularly impressed by what my friend described and modeled with consistent, compassionate parenting methods. By then, I had two more children, one in elementary school and one in diapers, and was already reaping the harvest of some of those parenting mistakes. I wanted better tools, and I wanted to honor my values and relationships more. I joined my friend in taking a Becoming a Love and Logic Parent© class in early 2004. Within a few months, I had the unique opportunity to take the facilitator-training locally with the Love and Logic© founders, and dive more deeply into the curriculum to hone my own parenting skills. I soon realized that the best way to stay mindful in my own parenting was to teach others, and I began offering classes to interested parents in my community when my schedule allowed. I refreshed my facilitator training with the updated Parenting the Love and Logic Way© curriculum in 2018, and now combine that curricular approach with Non-Violent Communication tools. I was initially introduced to Non-Violent Communication (NVC) by a different friend, and soul companion, and have been participating regularly in a practice group that has deepened and strengthened my understanding of compassion and empathy and its vital role in fostering connection with our children and others, in whatever age or stage of development. Now the mother of three grown children, I continue to offer classes periodically and to provide private parenting coaching on request that combines Love and Logic© with NVC.
As I continued to grow and explore, I embraced Caroline Myss’s Sacred Contracts work with archetypes when her book was first published. As this work enriched my own self-knowledge and spiritual connection, in 2016, I decided to seek professional certification from Caroline Myss’s Education Department (CMED) through the Sacred Contracts Online Course and began offering archetypal consulting sessions to assist others in defining their own archetypal templates and guides. I even worked directly for CMED for a couple of years under the Program Director, assisting with group experiences for people involved in this life-changing work.
As part of this path, several years ago I began working closely with a spiritual director, someone who offered sacred space for me to navigate my own awakenings and experiences and who could offer practices, guidance, or even accountability when needed. That work, and my own studies and spiritual journey, ultimately led me again to the truth that, for me, to fully integrate and embody what I was experiencing, I needed to offer this to others. My work as a spiritual director and companion grew out of this awareness and profound reverence for the work of the holy witness and soul companion.
With the fullness of my heart, I invite you to consider any of these offerings that may be helpful to you in your own journey, your dance of becoming.