About Tuning In

To me, the spiritual is the mystical Something that is woven through all facets of life. It is both beyond and within us, both ordinary and extraordinary. Spirit (our own and the one which all of life is connected to) is source and center.

Spirituality, then, is anything we do to tap into that source of aliveness and oneness. It is both inward and outward. This looks different for everyone.

Some examples of inward spirituality are meditation, prayer, tarot, religious ritual, breathwork, connecting with Earth, reflective journaling, somatic practices, yoga, mindful walking, and artmaking. Outward spirituality, which flows out of the inward, can include deep connection, generosity, pursuit of justice, mutual care, authenticity, courage, and kindness.

Not everyone labels all of these things as "spiritual", but I do. Any time I feel connected to mystery and aliveness, any time I feel profoundly whole, I call that spiritual.

What this means is that I don't expect you to be a particular kind of spiritual, to be either devout or woo-woo. Our work is simply to seek wholeness in the ways that are true to you.

We will co-create our work! We can talk, art-make, meditate, dance, walk outdoors, do tarot readings, practice visualization or somatics, engage ancestors, etc. In collaboration with you, I will design sessions based on your interests, needs, and unique soul.

Here are just a few examples of what our sessions could be like:

• Walk a prayer labyrinth in town: Begin with breath, words of intention and invitation, walk the labyrinth, journal or talk to reflect on the experience, and end with a closing practice or poem.

• Discuss big questions: Contained by grounding exercises to start and end, we spend the hour reflecting on the big questions that weigh on or intrigue you. I offer not answers but perspectives, resources, emotional support, and guidance.

• Grief ritual: We light a candle and invite or acknowledge who or what has been lost, build an altar of items that hold comfort or memory, write a letter or create art about or for who/what has ended, offer and release it, explore avenues of integration through visualization or tarot, speak words of thanks, and blow out the candle.

The first session will be an exploratory meeting during which I will ask questions to learn about you, your goals, what practices you are and are not interested in, and how we can work together. This is also a time for you to ask me questions and feel out whether we are a fit; there is no pressure to continue after this exploratory meeting.

In this first session, we will determine how we want use the next three to five sessions; I will check in every few sessions so that we can shift or narrow how we spend our time as you and your goals evolve.

I will hold the space and offer guidance while you grow in your ability to discern what you need in each moment. As part of your support team, I understand myself as the coach to you, the team captain, and as the doula to you, the one doing the actual birthing of newness. Let's collaborate.

A core difference is simply that the spirit is different than the mind. That may go without saying, but I have noticed in myself and in others a habit of forgetting that the spirit is its own part of the self, just like the mind and the body, and it has its own needs.

As whole people, our various parts are connected and we may find overlap as we tend to these parts. Just as the mind and body are intertwined, causing the healing work of a physician and a therapist to overlap, the spirit is in the mix as well and its care will overlap with care for mental and physical health.

As I see it, a spiritual healer and guide is to a therapist as a birth doula and midwife is to an OB doctor. There is an intimacy, community focus, and flatter power dynamic in ancestral healing modalities that is unique and distinct from Western, medicalized ones. Each has strengths and gaps, and the mutually enriching presence of both is helpful.

We will approach wholeness through conversation, like in the therapy setting, but we will also draw from many other practices and resources as we build your spiritual toolbox. While I engage mental and physical components of wellness as resources and entry-points for spiritual wellbeing, these are not the focus of this particular work.

Spiritual care does not replace therapy, nor is it in competition with it. These are simply different threads in your web of care. I do not offer clinical, diagnostic, or acute care; therapists do not provide mystical support embedded within communities. We both are here to support your journey and flourishing, just from different angles. May your web of care be thickly woven with many who long for you to know wholeness, joy, and peace.