Holistic Resistance Facilitator Training

4-month intensive; 2020
Holistic Resistance
(Aaron Johnson, Portia Beede, Dylan Wilder Quinn, Jennie Pearl)
Online

Building the wisdom of Holistic Resistance into anti-racism work in communities. Learned how to ask deep questions, organize events, emphasize song and embodiment, and facilitate in a way that disrupts racism rather than adds to it. Building capacity and resilience for asking difficult questions. Building relationship around anti-racism for life. 

De-Armouring Assistant
Level 1: Basic Practitioner Training

11-day intensive; 2019
De-Armouring Arts
(Sanna Sanita, De’an Matuka, Susanne Roursgard)
Viljandi, Estonia

Assistant for 120 hours of teaching and practice including session space setting, how to create a safe, emotionally and spiritually connected energy container, ethics and responsibilities, Wheel of Consent, TRE® tension and trauma release exercises, reading the body, energy work, reparenting theory, pressure points, how to invite deep opening of the body, sensual massage, advanced theory of external and internal de-armouring

ISTA Assistant
Level 2

1-week intensive; 2019
ISTA
(Elaine Young, Niten Dhyan, Raffaello Manacorda)
Bali, Indonesia

Training included boundaries and consent including Wheel of Consent, self-love, emotional release tools, ritual creation, shadow work, gender work (ed. eye-roll), conscious communication, transformational breathwork, sexual clearing/activation processes, emotional and trauma release exercises, clearing the physical and emotional body of shame, guilt, and fear, guided visualization, energy-tracking, and conscious touch. The Level 2 training deepens the experience of Level 1, allows for more hands-on practice with some of the tools and techniques taught.

Tribal Tantra Level 1

1-month intensive; 2019
with Eugene Hedlund
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Training included tantra and Kashmiri Shaivism, Vigyana Bhairava Tantra, Spanda of Kashmiri Shaivism, Kaula Kali Rituals, European magical practices, conscious movement meditation, medicine dance, conscious touch, ancestral/lineage work, de-armouring, ecstatic body awakening techniques, tools for addressing fear/shame.

WIT

1-week intensive; 2019
with Renée Martyna
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

WIT (Women in Transition) is an immersive experience designed to help women accelerate, deepen, and broaden their path of change. The program is both practical and theoretical. Experimenting with various approaches to build a toolbox of resiliency, to explore ways to shift perspective on common problems, and to develop better ways to make big decisions. Change cycles, different ways of ‘knowing and being’, conflict management and communication strategies, patterns, blocks, and behavior identification, creative forms of personal expression

SOMA Breathwork

5-day intensive; 2019
with Niraj Naik
Koh Phangan, Thailand

SOMA Breathwork combines pranayama breathing with modern science to create a multi-sensory experience designed to boost health and fitness, heal physically and emotionally, enter deep states of meditation, and to act as a driver for manifestation and spiritual practices. Training included SOMA Breathwork Rituals, Deep Meditations, Scientifically Proven Biohacks, Sauna & Cold Water Detox Protocols, Yoga, Breathe In Light SOMA Experience, Ecstatic Dance, Intention and Goal Setting Workshops.

De-Armouring
Level 1: Basic Practitioner Training

11-day intensive; 2018
De-Armouring Arts
(Sanna Sanita, De’an Matuka, Susanne Roursgard)
Bant, Netherlands

11-day/120 hour training and certification of teaching and practice including session space setting, how to create a safe, emotionally and spiritually connected energy container, ethics and responsibilities, Wheel of Consent, TRE® tension and trauma release exercises, reading the body, energy work, reparenting theory, pressure points, how to invite deep opening of the body, sensual massage, advanced theory of external and internal de-armouring

De-Armouring Induction

7-day intensive; 2018
De-Armouring Arts
(Sanna Sanita, De’an Matuka)
Orgiva, Spain

Training included space-holding basics, non-verbal communication, boundary setting, breath work techniques, parsing emotional patterns and how to work with them and release them, clear switching between leading a session and and surrendering, introduction to energy work and activation points, basics of external and internal body de-armouring

ISTA Assistant
Level 1 with a LGBTQ focus

1-week intensive; 2018
ISTA
(Crystal Dawn Morris, Kamala Devi, Frank Mondeose)
Greenwich, NY

Training included boundaries and consent including Wheel of Consent, self-love, emotional release tools, ritual creation, shadow work, gender work (ed. eye-roll), conscious communication, transformational breathwork, sexual clearing/activation processes, emotional and trauma release exercises, clearing the physical and emotional body of shame, guilt, and fear, guided visualization, energy-tracking, and conscious touch. 

Awaken as Love

1-week intensive; 2018
with James Stevenson and Lin Holmquist
Awakeland, Algarve, Portugal

Training included (neo)tantra workshops, biodanza, deep meditation, rituals and ceremonies, and how to organize international festivals, retreats, and trainings. Although this would seem quite diverse, there is actually one strand that runs through all of these events. That strand is Integration – how to own all of the experiences gathered from these events so they make a   contribution to your life.

Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service

1-week intensive; 2018
with Alastair McIntosh
Findhorn Foundation, Forres, Scotland

Training blending teaching, reflection, and shared experience based on Alastair’s book, Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service. Group exploration of such themes as movements, organizations, and leadership. Power, consciousness, and nonviolence. The psychodynamics of campaigning, liberation theology, tools for support and discernment, and the deep imaginal magic of a spiritually resourced life.

ISTA: Level 2

1-week intensive; 2018
ISTA
(Elaine Young, James Stevenson, Raffaello Manacorda)
Newbold House, Forres, Scotland

Training included boundaries and consent including Wheel of Consent, self-love, emotional release tools, ritual creation, shadow work, gender work (ed. eye-roll), conscious communication, transformational breathwork, sexual clearing/activation processes, emotional and trauma release exercises, clearing the physical and emotional body of shame, guilt, and fear, guided visualization, energy-tracking, and conscious touch. The Level 2 training deepens the experience of Level 1, allows for more hands-on practice with some of the tools and techniques taught.

ISTA: Level 1

1-week intensive; 2018
ISTA
(Elaine Young, James Stevenson, Stephanie Phillips)
Newbold House, Forres, Scotland

Training included boundaries and consent including Wheel of Consent, self-love, emotional release tools, ritual creation, shadow work, gender work (ed. eye-roll), conscious communication, transformational breathwork, sexual clearing/activation processes, emotional and trauma release exercises, clearing the physical and emotional body of shame, guilt, and fear, guided visualization, energy-tracking, and conscious touch.

Wilderness Medical Training - Advanced

4-day intensive; 2018
WMT
(Dr Harvey Pynn, Dr Duncan Gray, Dr Jamie Goodhart)
Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore, Scotland

Training covered injury and illness management and the safe and legal use of prescription-only medicines (POMs) in addition to specialized invasive training including stapling wounds, giving intramuscular injections and administering subcutaneous fluids. Other training includes; advanced fracture management, using oxygen, injecting local anesthetic, reconstituting drugs, handling “sharps” and outdoor moulage/scenario training. The aim of Advanced Medicine is to build confidence and achieve a thorough grounding in providing advanced care in all remote environments to patients who are injured and ill.

Holotropic Breath Workshop

1-day intensive; 2018
Breathwork Northwest
Seattle, WA

Introduction of the essential elements of holotropic breathwork, with two 3-hour breathwork sessions (one as a breather and one as a sitter), and mandala work. Focus on safe and conscious breathing skills.

Organizer
ISTA: Weekend Taster

2-day intensive; 2018
ISTA
(Crystal Dawn Morris)
Seattle, WA

Training included boundaries and consent including Wheel of Consent, self-love, emotional release tools, ritual creation, shadow work, transformational breathwork, emotional and trauma release exercises, clearing the physical and emotional body of shame, guilt, and fear, guided visualization, energy-tracking.

ISTA: Level 1

1-week intensive; 2017
ISTA
(Triambika Ma Vive, Araminta Barbour, Frank Mondeose)
Tulum, Mexico

Training included boundaries and consent including Wheel of Consent, self-love, emotional release tools, ritual creation, shadow work, gender work (ed. eye-roll), conscious communication, transformational breathwork, sexual clearing/activation processes, emotional and trauma release exercises, clearing the physical and emotional body of shame, guilt, and fear, guided visualization, energy-tracking, and conscious touch.

Non-Violent Communication:
Essentials of Compassionate Communication

8-week training; 2017
with Erin Merrihew
Seattle, WA

Focused on building greater self-awareness, deepening relationships, improving collaboration, enhancing communication skills, and embodying nonviolence.

SLCT: Seattle Life Coach Training

6-month, 140-hour program; 2017
SLCT
(Richard Seaman)
Seattle, WA

Training covered all the core competencies as outlined by both the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the International Association of Coaching (IAC). Included foundations of transformational coaching, core strategies for coaching, skills and tools for a successful coaching business, and personal and professional development.

Grief Retreat Intensive

Two 3-day intensives; 2016 / 2018
Sacred Groves
(Thérèse Charvet, Tere Carranza, Laurence Cole)
Bainbridge Island, WA

The spiritual framework for this retreat is based on Sobunfu Somé’s work and includes time-honored and earth-based modalities such as invoking the energies of the 7 directions, utilizing the power of drumming and chanting, the belief that the natural world is a rich place of inter-connection with “all our relations,” and the importance of working with the unseen realms, including our ancestors.

Northern European Earth-Based Magic
Practitioner Training

3-year training; 2013 - 2015
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Training in ritual facilitation for self and others, including Rites of Passage and the ceremony of the Wheel of Seasons (seasons of the year and seasons of a life). Course included invoking and holding ceremonial space, learning the foundations of healing craft, divinatory skills, cleansing and blessing work, sacred witnessing, working with non-self energies, soul tending, elemental balancing, and offering council. Rites of Passage rituals included birth, coming of age, leaving home, sacred union, transition, and death.

Death Midwifery

8-hour course; 2015
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Focusing on the physical and spiritual biology of the dying process, cosmologies around death and the in-between, setting clear sacred space to support a beneficial and full passage, compassionate listening, co-created rituals around the phases of death and funerary ceremonies, and documents around the end-of-life processes.

Living Voice Medicine: Sacred Ways of Women

1-year training; 2015
with Maris Bergrune
Seattle, WA

Focusing on exploring the skills and historic roles of mystical women including priestess, oracle, yogini, nuns/saints, volvas, and wyse-women, and deepening our relationship to the sacred feminine, accessing soul memories of these roles, and freeing ourselves from the cultural distortions of the feminine we have been raised with.

Útiseta Medicine Journey

6-day intensive; 2015
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Camano Island, WA

Útiseta, or “sitting out,” is used to commune with the spirits of the natural world and the spirits of the dead for divinatory purposes. Wilderness vision questing is an ancient, cross-cultural practice that involves spending time alone in nature while fasting. The focus was to receive revelation and to reconnect to nature, to the spirits—especially ancestral spirits—and with our deeper selves. This time of deep introspection in nature has many beneficial effects on the psyche and the spirit.

Compassionate Depossesion

4-day intensive; 2014
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Compassionate depossession is a gentle shamanic technique used to release suffering beings from the human they are merged with and help them cross to the light with compassion. Banishment and force are never used.

Drum making workshop

Two 40-hour courses; 2014 / 2015
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Training included skills to craft a shamanic drum, beater, and rattle in sacred space with manual tools out of natural ethically sourced materials such as elk, deer, horse, buffalo and native trees like cedar.

Shamanic Journeywork

Two 8-hour courses; 2013 / 2014
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Engage with the spirits of nature to embrace and experience the Middle World in a more reciprocal way. Discover how shamans move into their “spirit self” to talk with different species, learn from them, and allow them to learn from us. Start to learn the language of Nature, and how by doing this you can form stronger intentions for honoring the Earth and all of life.

Spiritual Protection

Two 8-hour courses; 2013 / 2014
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Training included learning to recognize self and non-self energy, discernment of the unseen realms, working with magical allies to maintain self-sovereignty, psychic safety techniques, clearing non-self energy.

Divination

Two 8-hour courses; 2013 and 2014
with Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Training included learning the practices of cartomancy (card readings), scrying with water and earth, lithomancy (reading stones), augery (interpreting the flight patterns of birds), and psychomancy, or reading the energetic and psychic fields of objects.

Seiðr Practitioner Training

1-year training program; 2013 - 2014
with Maris Bergrune and Ylva Mara Radziszewski
Seattle, WA

Multiple trainings and workshops focused on methods such as the Seiðr mediumistic journeying (ergi, a way of handling energy through the shamanic union of surrender and consciousness), sitting as oracle on the High Seat, plus Seiðr cosmology & philosophy.

The Way of the Shaman

3-day immersive training; 2013
Foundation for Shamanic Studies
(Lora Jansson)
Bainbridge Island, WA

During the Basic experiential workshop, participants are introduced to core shamanism, the universal, near-universal, and common methods of the shaman to enter nonordinary reality for problem solving and healing. Particular emphasis is on the classic shamanic journey, one of the most remarkable visionary methods used by humankind to explore the hidden universe otherwise known mainly through myth and dream. Participants are initiated into shamanic journeying, aided by drumming and other techniques for experiencing the shamanic state of consciousness and for awakening dormant spiritual abilities, including connections with Nature.

Writing Witnessing

3-day immersive; 2013
with Helen Lowe
Whidbey Island, WA

A writing prompt is randomly chosen, and then everyone writes in longhand whatever comes up in stream-of-consciousness for 10 minutes. If you can’t find something to write, you write the prompt, over and over again if you need to, in order to spark the next thought. This becomes a music of its own, and it helps you to never get lost.

Yoga Teacher Training

1-month intensive; 2004
Self-Awakening Yoga
(Amba and Don Stapleton)
Guanacaste Province, Nosara, Costa Rica

200-hour curriculum focused on asana & vinyasa, pranayama & bandhas, anatomy & physiology, kinesiology, yogic philosophy, and conscious communication.

Massage and Bodywork Practitioner Training

3-month intensive; 2001
Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing
Culver City, CA

150-hour program focused on the traditional style of circulatory massage, plus tai chi chuan, anatomy & physiology, joint mobilization, and energy balancing.

Daoist-Wiccan studies

1-year informal training; 2000
with Suzy Peltier
San Francisco, CA

Experiential and emergent study, covering the 8 wiccan sabbats that make up the Wheel of the Year, plus how to create ceremony, working with energy, allies, and intention.

Multiple initiations in corporate America

1994 - present
New York, NY; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA

24+ years in multiple large corporations, including Sony Music, MTV, RCA Records, react Publishing, Ziff-Davis, iVillage, Young & Rubicam (Brand Dialogue), IBM, WatchGuard Technologies, Cendant/Travelport, artefact, T-Mobile, Possible (ZAAZ), Microsoft, Amazon.

communication arts

Bachelors of Fine Arts; 1991 - 1994
School of Visual Arts
New York, NY

120 credits; 72 credits in studio art, 30 credits in humanities & sciences, 15 credits in art history, 3 elective credits. Minored in typography; studied editorial design, information graphics, corporate identity, publication design, CD packaging, book jacket design, environmental design, and website design.

photography and design

Undergraduate studies; 1989 - 1991
Academy of Art College
San Francisco, CA

66 credits; 15 credits in my major, 18 credits in liberal arts, 33 credits in core studies. Studied documentary, street, and night photography, darkroom arts, alternative photographic processes, typography, branding, advertising arts, communication design, and package design.