“The Journey is the Destination”
A pivotal moment for me which changed the entire trajectory of my life, was the diagnosis of cancer in my then four year old son in 2004. It knocked me off my self-created foundation of how I thought the world worked and who God was. A decade of wrestling, struggling, searching, asking, and a feeling of total absence of the Divine ensued, as I navigated childhood cancer and attempted to continue mothering my other four children.
Father Richard Rohr says we move towards our Divine Wholeness either through great suffering or great love. Perhaps you too know what it is to watch a loved one suffer? Perhaps you yourself have suffered? Perhaps you are loved so well, so completely, that your very bones ache with intuitive knowing that in the end, as mystic, Julian of Norwich said: “ all shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well.” This is no easy place to land, in the midst of loss, heartache, tears, anxiety, trauma and depression.
Perhaps it’s more about surrender and acceptance of Mystery?
Our Authentic Selves cry out for discovery and connection. I began to work with a Spiritual Director, once my son was medically stable. As I moved into my 50’s, a thirst for a more robust understanding of my Christian heritage began to rise up as I realized the spoon fed evangelical teachings of my childhood and adulthood were no longer adequate in what my heart was experiencing. Questions abounded. Certitude melted away. Curiosity flourished.
Following my intuition, I began to become more embodied through yoga practice eventually becoming a Hatha Yoga instructor in 2020. I also entered a two year intensive study of Christian and other Mystics plus Social Justice integration with the Living School through the Center for Action and Contemplation in 2020.
Right on time, childhood trauma began to emerge, because as I’ve learned: ‘what we avoid pursues us and what we face transforms us.’ I sought personal trauma therapy and found embodiment work most helpful. I earned two certificates with The Embody Lab: Somatic Trauma Therapy in 2021 and Somatic Attachment Therapy in 2022. This included Inner Relationship Focusing training. I became a Spiritual Companion (director) through The Companioning Center in 2023. Then, after three years of study, I earned a Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Healing certification in 2026. I am a SEP (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner)
I love helping others connect with themselves, the Divine and other human relationships, including the earth, with the various modalities I have learned and by building trust and capacity in the dynamic flow of Love. As an SEP, I work from the bottom up, which means working with the physiology of the person rather than just the narrative. Our body’s wisdom helped shape our early nervous systems in order to survive. We work together to slowly expand capacity, reframe stories and rewire the brain and body. Each session allows space for what is emerging.
Your spirituality is yours and I honor that. My work is about giving you agency.
Life is both-and. Pain and joy, sorrow and laughter. This is Reality. Possibilities abound.