I’ve been a student of various spiritual traditions for some 25 years, and the beginning point of my long student-ship was my desire to understand and transcend my own suffering. My journey in a sense has been nothing more than an attempt to heal my own trauma, both personal trauma and the trauma of living in a society that does not offer us a means to experience our fullness as human beings.
I started my exploration toward wholeness upon discovering the American Transcendentalists as a teenager, especially the work of naturalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau. My passions were sparked by the prospect of living a simple, compassionate life within (yet beyond) the mechanistic confines of the modern world.
Over the years I continued my exploration of the social mind and the psyche, as student of ancient and modern philosophy, history of religion, Buddhist teachings and meditation, yoga and Ayurveda, shamanism, Taoism, and Christian mysticism. I’ve also studied both the mystical and modern branches of psychology, earning my university degree in the latter. As a part of my studies in psychology, I completed an independent study in cross-cultural conflict resolution, exploring the ways that culture and language inform our values and our perceptions of reality. In short, my journey has been a meandering exploration into the core of the perennial philosophy.
In addition to my journey of spiritual study, I’ve been an activist for most of my life, most consistently as a passionate supporter of animal rights. I worked professionally in the field of animal welfare for years, earning my first degree in veterinary medicine. But heartbroken and angry, I turned to psychology when I came to understand that the disgraceful treatment of animals in our society is rooted in the disgraceful state of the human psyche. In order to heal our world, I knew, we’d need to heal our selves.
It’s my compassion for animals that planted the seeds in my own psyche that have led to this project. I pray we humans can find our way back into conversation with the non-human animals and the natural world, so that all beings may live full and dignified lives, free of unnecessary suffering and pain.