My Story

Born in San Francisco, California, I spent much of my youth seeking refuge in the wooded hills of the surrounding wilderness. I devoured books on Eastern spirituality and spent as much time in nature as I could. Upon discovering psychedelic plant medicines, I began a passionate exploration of my psyche and soul with these powerful teachers.

At nineteen, I traveled to South America which began a decade of study with indigenous and mestizo healers in the Ayahuasca tradition of plant healing. I subsequently studied with teachers in the Mazatec mushroom tradition. I concurrently spent time traveling in Southeast Asia and India, where I pursued spiritual studies, immersing myself in the Buddhadharma and attending numerous teachings and retreats in the Vipassana, Zen, and Vajrayana traditions.

In 2011, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness. This abrupt initiation into the underworld required me to drop my sense of identity and all of my plans to embody the teachings I had received over the previous decade. For two years, my full-time job was navigating my way through a labyrinth of conventional and alternative treatments, and practitioners along my journey of recovery. Thanks to numerous healers and guides who supported me along my way, I regained my health.

I have trained and apprenticed with master practitioners teaching both traditional and novel approaches to integrative healing. This has included years of training and supervision in the therapeutic application of expanded states of consciousness. It has also included studies of parts-work via Voice Dialogue and a 6-month intensive with Jon Eisman, learning his “Re-Creation of the Self” model. Simultaneously, I’ve continued my Buddhist training with Vajrayana and Taoist teachers and currently study with Jennifer Welwood, who integrates Vajrayana teachings with Western psychotherapeutic techniques. I am ordained by Two Rivers Sangha as a Buddhist minister and co-lead meditation retreats a few times per year. I regularly take time for personal retreat to integrate and deepen my practices.

My ancestors come from the British and Irish Isles, the Laplands of Sweden, and Germany. I live with my partner at the base of the holy mountain on the land of the Shasta, Modoc, Ajumawi/Atsuwegi, Wintu, and Karuk peoples, currently known as Mount Shasta, California. In addition to my work with clients, I write, practice yoga and Qigong, and enjoy the potent elemental energies of the local wilderness.