True North: Establish Love as the Number One Condition

As a writer, I love metaphors. “North Star” is one I’ve adopted to represent my highest ideal, that which remains a focal point no matter what changes around me. My North Star is compassion. For me, compassion involves taking action in two ways: meeting a difficult situation with an attitude of curiosity versus judgment, and alleviating distress in whatever way possible. In the years of providing services, I’ve noticed the importance of holding compassion as my number one standard of care and remaining free of any competing distractions that take my sites from it.

 

Chart the Course: From Standard Medicine to Complimentary Care

Initially I took a very conventional route, beginning formal training in the health care field in 1990 as Department Head of an Extended Care and Long Term Care facility. I counseled many patients who had exhausted the medical field’s knowledge and skill base. Those years were instrumental in broadening my definition of health. One could be physically terminal, for instance, but mentally and spiritually vibrant. In fact, when mental and spiritual strengths were nourished, often the physical condition improved beyond expectation. I worked as Department Head full-time while finishing my degree in counseling. Wanting to span the spectrum of human experience, I moved on to work with teenagers. I co-owned a family therapy practice serving severely abused children who had been forcibly removed and then reintroduced into their biological families. My traditional therapy training fell short as I witnessed destructive patterns that talk-therapy did little to break. The idea of involving the body in healing emotional and physical patterns seemed key, but nothing in my formal training had prepared me for such application. Next, I accepted a job as Residential Advisor at a boarding school for teens who had previously graduated from alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs. I worked closely with addictive behaviors and lived on campus with the students for five years. Adding to my knowledge base was the intimate involvement in my clients’ day-to-day habits of eating, sleeping, study and play. My integrated therapy approach emerged as I began incorporating more holistic strategies, applied in the dormitory environment in which I lived with my clients.

 

Arrival: Inner Constellation

Understanding that I no longer wanted to work within confines of traditional talk-therapy, I became certified in hypnotism and set up private practice. Through my work with the subconscious mind, I witnessed alongside my clients an entire repository of healing within the individual that I always knew was accessible. I added to my training and became certified in Emotional Freedom Techniques, a form of meridian tapping, by the EFT founder, Gary Craig. In 2017 I was ordained as a layperson in the Thich Nhat Hanh, mindfulness tradition and utilized my contemplative practice to create Mindful Meridian Tapping (MMT). I became certified in HeartMath biofeedback technology as a way to measure the gains of MMT and further introduce contemplative wellness skills. If you wish to learn more about my work, please visit my blog or download the Inner Constellation Compendium. I value the opportunity to connect with you.