I have been graced with walking the path of shamanism since I can remember. Growing up in Michigan I had deep, ecstatic connections with the moon, the Aurora Borealis and the Great Lake. At eight, I had a near-death experience and an ecstatic awakening to the interconnectedness of all life. After eight years of studying Philosophy and receiving a Master of Arts from the University of California, in Santa Barbara, I felt fragmented from too much logical analysis. I sought refuge in the Santa Cruz Mountains and for 3-1/2 years lived alone in a cabin, off the grid. This was a time of profound shamanic initiation for me. I was changed and restored through daily writing, silence, chopping wood and reconnecting with the power of the sacred feminine.

My yearning for direct revelation with the compassionate spirits culminated in 1995 when I met Michael Harner and Sandra Ingerman. My work with them and the helping spirits empowered me to fully answer my call to shamanism and shifted the paradigm in my life and work. As I say in one of my poems — "it feels like/an abiding presence/steady/unfailing/like Kuan Yin/pouring her/never-emptying jar/of healing waters/over me."

It is a great privilege to teach the Foundation workshops that nurtured my own path. I have a shamanic practice in Mt. Shasta, CA and in Europe, where I also teach shamanism for the School of Women and Earth. I teach women's studies courses at the College of the Siskiyous and lead the Mt. Shasta Women's Writing Program.

My apprenticeship with the helping spirits has been full of challenges, miracles, and great joy. I feel blessed to do this work and to be able to give something alive and vital back to the world.