Consulting & Speaking

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Explore the power of love, compassion, and kindness to heal our fractured, polarized world and illuminate the way forward.

Gandhi offered us these words, “In gentle ways, you shake the world.”

But in our polarized and fractured world today, it seems the voices of fear and anger that shout the loudest are what shakes us up and further the divide.

In spiritual terms, a “dark night of the soul” occurs when the ways we get our sense of identity, self-esteem, and security start to dissolve. The cause can be a significant disruption or loss where we lose a relationship, job, familiar routines, and structures. We begin to lose faith in the spiritual beliefs that guide our life.

This dissolution process is dark, scary, and painful. Still, much like the caterpillar dissolving in the chrysalis and emerging as a butterfly, this transformation brings tremendous beauty and hope and allows new life to emerge.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

What if our world is experiencing a “dark night of the soul?”

Current world events brought to light the individual and collective wounds we’ve left unattended while our busy, frantic lives focused on productivity, consumption, and material gain.

Today we are facing a crisis of human suffering, marginalization, and oppression across our planet.

What if the answer to every problem we face lies in exploring the idea that we’ve become separated from:

The light inside of us
Our connection to nature
Our need to exist in relationships and live as part of a community

In short, we’ve lost our awareness of our true nature (and the power within).

It is time to remember our shared humanity and divinity.

Consider this…

All spiritual traditions recognize that the essence of who you are as a human being is a light that has the power to love, serve, and heal. There is divinity in all of humanity regardless of religion.
All spiritual paths meet in the middle and share the values of peace, love, and harmony for all beings on our planet.
Healing happens when we bring things to light. You are here to be light, radiate light, and receive light. Offering your unique expression of light is your gift to the world. This is your life purpose.
You may have forgotten you are part of nature as a human being. You have the same creative power and life-giving energy that nature has to adapt and evolve to meet every need.
Everything in nature exists in relationships, not isolation. Every part of nature gives up its form to serve a higher system, so it is part of your true nature to exist in community and serve the well-being of the whole.

Nature offers us inspiration and wisdom for solving problems.
You plant a seed in darkness because this activates its innate capacity to reach for the light. Reaching for the light is how all things grow, so we need darkness (and dark moments) to help us grow individually and collectively.
For decades, our focus on individual achievement, profit, productivity, competition, and domination in the world outside of us have kept us from paying attention to the world inside us. We must recognize what we need to thrive and live in harmony with nature and one another.
Today, we live in gated communities, walk around with headphones to block out the world, and avoid listening to anything we disagree with. We’ve become isolated, divided by race, income, class, sexual identity, and sexual orientation. We are afraid to look at one another and reach out to connect because we fear being criticized, judged, or ostracized.

Here’s a ray of light to give you hope.

The answers to our struggles lie in restoring our connection to our true nature and exploring what interrupts us from doing this. Love stored in the light within has the power to dissolve and resolve anything that injures and divides us. Our willingness to explore and heal the world inside us empowers us to heal the divisions and wounds in the world outside us.

In more wise words from Gandhi… “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

How connected are you to the world inside of you?
What does it mean for you to connect with the light within?
Are you willing to explore what stops you from exploring the world inside of you and accessing compassion and loving-kindness for yourself and others?
What’s the climate change that needs to be addressed inside of you?
Are you helping others cope with the fear, stress, and uncertainty in our world today?
How are you using your gifts and talents to serve humanity?
Have you considered the role your agency, organization, or group can play in healing our fractured and divided world?
As a therapist, healer, advocate, or teacher, do you serve in the non-profit world and holistic-healing community? Is your cup full, or are you taking care of others and depleting your own resources?
Are you passionate about social justice and advocacy but suffer from compassion fatigue?
As a business, civic, or spiritual leader, what are you doing to encourage those you serve to explore their inner landscape and restore their connection to nature and the light within?
What does your group, organization, or business need to begin to explore these topics?

Do you need help answering these questions?

I offer consultation, workshops, and speaking engagements…

… based on the concepts of my upcoming book, Soaking In The Divine. Illumination for a Dark Night of the Soul. It is the story of my journey through a dark night of the soul and offers pearls of wisdom I learned along the way.

Based on my 25 years of experience as a social worker, holistic counselor, and teacher, Soaking In The Divine weaves together stories of hope, healing, and illumination. I focus on the beauty, wisdom, and resiliency that arise when we learn to extend compassion and loving-kindness to human suffering.

My book presents many relevant topics for exploration and discussion that can be applied to the significant challenges we face in our society today.

I offer:

In-person and online personal consultations
1-hour presentations
2-hour presentations
Day-long seminars (10 AM – 4 PM)

Each consultation, workshop, and speaking engagement will apply the principles in my book to identify the challenges and needs of your group or organization and illuminate the solution you’re seeking. Once we define your vision and the seeds you want to plant, we’ll explore how to cultivate the environment and access the resources you need to bring your vision to life.

How can I help?

Here are some of the topics we can discuss…

Finding Hope and Inspiration

Illumination for a ‘Dark Night of the Soul’
Remembering your true nature; reconnecting with the light within
Observing the wisdom of the rose; co-creating with the knowledge and intelligence of nature
Recognizing our shared humanity and divinity

Holistic Healing

Integrating spirituality and psychology in healing
Exploring the connection between emotional and physical pain
Utilizing your spiritual practice to heal the wounds of addiction
The healing balm of compassion
Accessing the innate healing power of your true Self

Navigating Grief and Loss

Finding the gifts and treasure buried in pain
Allowing love to change form
Permission to feel

Initiating Spiritual Activism

Being a channel for peace
Letting your work be love in action
Navigating a world of moral outrage
Cultivating an environment and planting the seeds to bring your vision to life
How to Delight the World

Why am I the right fit for your organization?

My Life’s Mission

Shortly after graduating from college, my father died of early-onset Alzheimer’s. This awoke a lifelong passion for serving our elders and preserving the dignity of our most vulnerable (at any age). The foundation of my work is to ensure that all my clients feel seen and heard… and know their presence matters. I’ve had the privilege of doing this as a social worker for over 25 years.

Experience

As a therapist and holistic counselor, I have worked with adolescents, teenagers, and adults. I’ve helped them heal from issues around abuse, trauma and PTSD, anxiety and depression, grief and loss, addictive behaviors, low self-esteem, and domestic violence. I have extensive training and expertise in healing trauma and utilizing the light of compassion and loving-kindness to melt the frozen pain within.

Professional Training

I’ve served as a social worker in nursing homes and as the Assistant Director of an Alzheimer’s Care and Enrichment program. I studied at the Gestalt Institute of New Orleans to become a Gestalt Therapist specializing in grief and loss. I’ve worked in five different states, providing grief counseling for individuals and their families facing the end of life. I’ve had the sacred honor of helping so many live their final days with dignity, cherishing the connections, love, and joy they experienced in this life.

Spiritual Development

Helping clients transition from this world prompted me to explore different religions and spiritual practices. I studied Taoism and became fascinated with the relationship between light and darkness… and living in alignment with the seasons and cycles of the natural order. I traveled around the world studying mystical healing principles, incorporating this knowledge in my work as a holistic counselor.

Today, my counseling and consulting practice is focused on hope, healing, and illumination.

My vision is to create a community to help clients connect with the light and wisdom inside them and use it for good in the world outside of them. To learn more about this, visit my About Delight the World page.

My Philosophy

I am interested in building new structures and paradigms in our society built on love, collaboration, synthesis, co-creation with nature, The Divine, and all beings. Our future and the well-being of our planet depend on us recognizing that we are one global family.
I’ve found inspiration in the Findhorn Foundation, a spiritual community, learning center, and ecovillage. This Scottish community is based on the principles of inner listening, co-creation with nature, and the idea that all work is love-in-action.
I am committed to serving as an ally for individuals and groups who have been marginalized – who have experienced racism, discrimination, and oppression in our society.
I believe we are being called to recognize our shared humanity and divinity. I believe our world is experiencing a dark night of the soul that can birth new ways of living in love, peace, and community with each other and nature. But those who are committed to this vision need to reach out, support one another, and offer illumination for anyone experiencing darkness and struggling to find their way.

Are you ready to be the change you wish to see in the world?

Call me today to schedule a free 15-minute consultation, so I can learn more about how to help you and your organization: (813) 336-2173.