I often joke with people that as a youngster I was a “free-range” child, meaning I was allowed a tremendous amount of independence starting from when I was preschool age. This included being allowed to wander alone in miles of forest adjacent to my home. By the time I was 6 or 7 years old, I was firmly connected to the Earth and lived wholly in her heartbeat. I had personal relationships with the animals that lived there, as well as with the trees, grasses, and ponds. Going beyond the usual five senses, I could feel the vibration of rocks when I held them, heard snowflakes sing, and felt enveloped in a gentle energy that wrapped itself around and beyond me. In a very real way, I was a feral child-even more so than being “free-range”.

Living the feral life as a child is a gift I appreciate every day; but the dynamics in my home and community that granted my wildness did not support the care children need. Both my home and my community were dangerous places where I was often the focus of abuse, with a rather continuous overlay of neglect. Before I was out of high school, I was living an existence at the edge of society, extremely afraid and alone, feeling broken and desperate.

My healing took many paths, many forms, and many years. It was grounded in my connection to the Earth, and my conscious decision about who I believed myself to be and what I felt was leading me. 

Ultimately, it came down to four important choices that I made: 

• “To believe in myself as the sacred and precious individual that I am.”
• “To live in courageous love and compassion for myself and others.”
• “To embrace and bring forward my personal gifts for the greater good of the community.”
• “To empower others with their own healing.” 

Whether you are dwelling in the depths of brokenness, or attempting to free yourself from a family legacy or society’s toxic messages, living life as a sacred journey requires us to immerse ourselves in these four choices. We must commit to them again and again.

In 2017, while having a conversation with a mountain during a backpacking trip, I heard a call to bring my office-based therapy practice outside. Listening closely, I came to understand again how deep connection to our Earth is essential for our wholeness and healing. Further, that our own healing is necessary for a restoration of the human/Earth bond. 

That call has led me to design and guide mindful and profound encounters with nature for personal healing and reciprocal healing of the Earth. My offerings are crafted from personal and professional experiences, then blended with blessings from the Earth. I live each day in partnership with nature, filled with gratitude and wonder, and open to the richness of both the joys and sorrows of this sacred, human, journey. I have a very deep wish for the healing of both humans and the Earth. I am honored if you feel I can be helpful, and I welcome your call.