Breathwork, sandplay and counseling sessions are usually 2-3 hours long. Longer experiences and meditations may be up to 8 hours with a couple of hours for integration the following day, which is considered all one session.  Training sessions vary depending upon the level of training. Phone sessions are an hour long and available by appointment to those I have already worked with in person.

We start with exploring whatever issues you are bringing to the session. During longer sessions, in groups and retreats, we will develop the ways of the work and explore specific themes. These themes are designed to create a new learning environment for you to experience different aspects of consciousness. We meditate, dance, watch films, discuss books or study specific themes of consciousness and do experiential processes as an entry point to your exploration.

We share intentions in a way that ritualizes our experience, deepening awareness and building commitment. It is not necessary to know your intention before you arrive for the session; Often, it becomes clear as you experience our initial discussion or in response to the theme of the group.

Usually, the session starts with a quiet period when you are encouraged to focus within. You may close your eyes or not, lie down, sit up, dance or move around inside or go out into nature if you wish. You may enjoy talking and sharing a lot, or you may find you are called to go deeply within, to be intimate with yourself.

I use a diverse range of music throughout the session – to calm the mind, to awaken energy through movement and play, to evoke  a diverse range of emotional releases and support your feelings, whatever they may be. I may play music and sounds that awaken the heart through beauty, longing and feelings of wonder. Some music is consistent with profound introspection. Other playlists are designed to disturb you, evoke specific feelings like anger or grief or teach you how to change your emotions. Sometimes there is just the silence.

Techniques may include an intuitive inquiry to deepen your body and emotional awareness, breath work, sound healing, dream exploration, tantra and sacred sexuality exploration, various states of trance and meditation, role play, psychodrama, gestalt and voice dialogue, sandplay, dance, bioenergetic exercises, shamanic drumming, deep relaxation, stillness, prayer and exploring the enchantment of nature. I give you permission to go wherever you need to go within your psyche, whether you need to untangle confusion and connect with the source of your imbalance, or you may need to expand your consciousness and let your life force flow freely, with joy and laughter. There may be times where we explore the inner fractals of consciousness, like the lifeforms that are so important but we cannot see, like viruses or phytoplankton, or we may wander through the nebulas and watch new stars being born.  Play and experiences of wholeness, beauty and joy are just as much a part of the work as the challenging stuff.

We may spend some time talking, but most of the work will occur through your experience rather than counseling. There may be times when you feel deeply, expressing whatever it is that has been stuck, be it pleasure and/or pain. You may open to lost memories, altered states of perception, experience new energy and expand your sense of Self. You may have spiritual or mystical experiences, feel as if you are being reborn or experience feeling without any story. Time may seem to flow more slowly or hours can seem like a moment. The past may seem to be more real than the present or you may have insights into possible futures.

Often old emotional distress is first felt as a physical sensation, so the body may feel things before you can emotionally express them. Depending upon the modality being used, you could have experiences of tightness, tingling in the extremities and contraction of the body, vibrations or muscle tremors, or the need to shake the limbs and move. Some people feel cold or excessively hot, an indication of energy moving through the feminine or masculine channels. There can be sensitivity to lights, smells, touch and sounds. Some people may at times feel a little nauseous when there is fear present or they are really sick of something in their lives. Sometimes people may re-experience old injuries and emotional pains as if they are happening again in real time or experience new feelings about current circumstances, bringing a sense of insight and surprise.

Where appropriate, you may dialogue with people in your current life or the past, as if they are present with you now, which they are – inside your mind and heart. You can reclaim lost or disowned parts of yourself through dialogues with people, pets, places and objects, using them as symbols or as aspects of yourself. You may have transpersonal conversations with God or goddesses, archetypes or animal spirits, with beings from other worlds or any other creature that may or may not exist in anyone else’s reality.

Nature is a big part of our healing process and so time being in quiet communion with the desiens of the forest is available in Portland and specific locations. The scents and sounds of Nature are very soothing. As we shift consciousness through silence, mediation and deep communion, Nature’s unseen beings may become clear. It is this profound sense of belonging that can cause our heart rate to normalize, our blood pressure to harmonize and our minds to become quiet enough to be able to really listen to our hearts and what Nature wants us to do.

At the beginning of the experience in a group session, I encourage people to take some time to go be with themselves, either inside or in Nature to go deeply within, to explore the inner landscapes and gain deeper self-knowledge. Later on, most people share their stories and experiences with each other. As people become more experienced in this work, they are able to work with each other so that together we create a rich learning environment. It is through these interactions that we get to see how we create our experiences and become more whole through relationship.

Some people prefer to be out in Nature or simply remain quiet with others in a contemplative state. For some, there is a need to remain in a separate quiet space because they are too sensitized, need more privacy or are distracted by too much chatter.

I suggest as a matter of confidentiality that the names of those attending groups and retreats are not discussed with folks outside the group. People may be very vulnerable afterward, and it is an act of care to respect their boundaries. I ask participants to refrain from sharing about other’s experiences, even to those in the work, unless they have specific permission to do so. You can share as much as or as little as you like about your own sessions but be mindful to whom you are speaking and their ability to hold your experience and the work in a sacred way.

As an added layer of safety, if you meet people later, check in with them and ask if they are in a place to talk with you about the group, as there may be reasons why they cannot do so at that very moment.

As part of the work, people open up to their energy and often experience sexual feelings. It is a natural part of the awakening process. If this happens in a group or retreat, people are encouraged to own their experience internally, to enjoy it by dancing and feeling it but not through acting it out with others. THERE IS TO BE NO SEXUAL CONTACT, EXPLICIT LANGUAGE OR NUDITY IN GROUP SESSIONS. You are welcome to be intimate in the privacy of your own room or wait until the session has finished and then go play or organize a private tantra session.

This limitation encourages you to create your container by reclaiming your energy with healthy boundaries, to be sensitive to the needs of others in the group and to awaken to the power of learning to channel your energy in different ways.

Sexual behavior in group sessions does affect everyone, whether you are aware of it or not and so many people have suffered abuse, incest and lack of respect and clear boundaries in their tender formative years. We are exploring new learning environments, not trying to recreate and re-enact the wounds of the past. Learning to master the flow of your sexual energy opens up a freedom of choice that is restricted by a culture that focuses on instant gratification of needy demands and outward expression over feeling.

It is strongly recommended that you organize yourself so that you can turn your phone and computers off for the duration of any retreat or group session. It is a RETREAT, meaning you do not bring your whole technological existence in with you. As part of this dedication to presence and awareness, cameras, iPods, phones, computers or other electronic devices are not welcome during session and integration times when held in person. Obviously, this does not apply when we do the sessions online.

This limitation will quickly reveal addictive behaviors and the associated fears that are wonderful grist for your process. However, this is more than just that. It is an invitation to let go of reliance on external technologies so that you can remember the powerful ways the heart can communicate, across distance and time, so you always feel connected and not subliminally afraid that you will be unsafe if our frail technological world is subjected to Nature’s wild forces.

I mindfully observe and feel each person’s experience guiding them through the places of energetic, emotional and physical blocks, coaching them to feel and become self-aware of the patterns which bind them. By feeling deep empathic resonance with people, I have a well-developed sense of what people need and can model healthy emotional patterns, assisting them to relax into their authenticity and constellate their own new bio-resonant choices.

By creating a safe, loving space and a field of learning and play, I open doorways to new possibilities, awakening appreciation, wonder and awe for this dance called Life. Sometimes this is done verbally, and often it is an energetic core spiritual experience. Through my own love of Life, part of my role is to inspire people to respect the wonder and beauty of Nature and all beings in this world.

In relationship with people, I play many roles: teacher and friend, guide, mentor, witness and trouble shooter. But I also am an activator of shadow, a mirror to the soul and disturber of the peace. Just being around me can be activating. Sometimes I am very gentle and soft, patient and kind, other times I can be like a laser, stripping away illusions and identities, calling upon whatever will help people to wake up.

When the session nears an end, the music becomes quieter and you will have some time to rest. If there has been a lot of talking, it may be a good time to be quiet. If there has been a lot of movement, the body can relax and be still. As these sessions are sometimes intense or quite long, there is usually some nourishment: a cuppa’ tea, a snack or soup or whatever you need to graze on before leaving. This not only nourishes the body but also feeds the heart and soul and helps you get grounded.

At the end of a breath work or sandplay session, many people find that drawing further expresses their experience, helping them to ground the energy and to create a record so they can reconnect with it again later.