Experience

Recent Presentations (2022):

 

Columbia University: The Awakened Campus Summit

In April 2022 the Spirituality Mind Body Institute (SMBI) at Teachers College, Columbia University hosted the Awakened Campus Summit: Spirituality and Mental Health for College Students. This landmark online gathering addressed the current mental health crisis in young adults and the resulting opportunity to foster wellness through campus-based support for student spiritual development.

My online presentation on the Sacred Spiral is presented at left.

Columbia University: Spirituality in Education Conference

In November 2022 hundreds of educators, philanthropists and nonprofit representatives gathered at Teachers College at Columbia University for a conference on spirituality in education organized by the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education, The Collaborative was created to spearhead a global movement based on the idea that children are innately spiritual and benefit from exploring spirituality at school.

I participated in this event with both an online presentation as well as an in-person workshop, as described below:

  • The Chakra Journey and Making Decisions - In this online presentation I explained and demonstrated how to use the chakras for important decision making. The Chakra Journey enables a person to slow down and tap into a more spiritual place that honors Mother Nature and incorporates gratitude towards the universe, ancestry, and divination elements. Using the Chakra Journey to inform one's choices can be a valuable practice to learn at any point in one's life, especially for students who are at the cusp of so many life choices and potential changes as they contemplate their paths in the future. My online presentation can be viewed by clicking the image on the left.

  • In Person Workshop: Celebrating Community and Authenticity in the Classroom with the Sacred Spiral - In this presentation I spoke about how the Sacred Spiral represents an inward journey of self-discovery. It also symbolizes how each unique individual can come together with others to create a one-ness, a beautiful wholeness to form a caring, loving community.

Mountain Sprouts Pre-School, Telluride, Colorado:

In this fun, interactive workshop we created a sacred space for the children to build a beautiful spiral with Apache tear stones. Each child listened closely to a beautiful verse/song and then shared their feelings described their experience. The spiral was built and magic was created.

Scientific and Medical Network

The Scientific and Medical Network “SMN” is a creative international forum for lifelong transformative learning. SMN is part of a worldwide contemporary movement for assimilating spiritual understanding, bringing together scientists, doctors, psychologists, engineers, philosophers, complementary practitioners and other professionals, in a spirit of open and critical enquiry, to explore frontier issues at the interfaces between science, consciousness, wellbeing and spirituality.

I presented the following three talks online at the ‘wine bar,” an informal discussion on various topics in the fields of science, consciousness, wellbeing and spirituality:

  • Rudolf Steiner - Emergency Pedagogy for Ukrainian Crisis - I provided a history of emergency pedagogy for children in crisis/war situations and the importance of using this knowledge in today’s Ukrainian crisis. HERE is a link to a slideshow that I presented in connection with this session.

  • Shamanic Chakra Andean Archetypes and Using the Chakras - I discussed the history of the Andean (Inca) shamans using the chakras as a tool for living abundantly. Click HERE to view a slideshow of this presentation.

  • Entheogen (Plant Medicine) and Their Future in expanding consciousness and helping with PTSD and other ailments.  I presented history and research on the use of entheogen for expanding consciousness,  We followed up with a discussion on the implications of this for our world.

Earlier Experience (2019-2021):

Common River, Aleto Wondo, Ethiopia:

Common River is a US-based non-governmental organization located in the heart of Ethiopia’s Sidama coffee growing region. Their mission is to empower the community to become balanced, productive and self-sustaining for others to witness and replicate, while honoring the region’s cultural heritage and environmental biodiversity. While visiting Aleto Wando, I worked with Common River on the following projects:

  • Founded the “Love Project” working with orphaned children using art, puppetry, role-playing and love to inspire and affirm. At left is a brief film clip of one of my sessions with the kids.

 

  • Led a Women’s Empowerment Program and conducted sessions on the importance of friendship, hygiene and education with women. A wonderful video of the women singing and dancing can be viewed by clicking on the image on the left.

 

Cross Border House, Sichow, Poland:

The Cross Border House, located in Sichow Poland, offers sanctuary for Ukrainians living in exile. This wonderful organization offers a full range of services including residential facilities, meals, access to medical care, educational resources, programs for children, opportunities for employment and much more… Cross Border House fosters a unique sense of community amongst these Ukrainian residents. In 2021 my daughter Carly and I had the incredible of experience of traveling to Poland and spending time at the Cross Border House where we were able to spend time working and playing with the children living there. We brought musical instruments, puppets, animal masks and costumes and organized performances with the Ukrainian children. Click on the image on the left to watch the our play, “Happy Town”.

International Association for Near-Death Studies:

The International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) is a North Carolina-based non-profit organization originally founded in 1981 to study and provide information on the phenomena of the near death experience (NDE). Today it has grown into an international organization with approximately 1,200 members worldwide. In one of its publications the organization has formulated its vision as one of building "global understanding of near-death and near-death-like experiences through research, education, and support”.

At an IANDS conference in 2021 I led a panel discussion with top leaders in NDE studies discussing using NDE wisdom to help our young.

Charm/Camp Druzy:

Charm is an organization located in Arizona which offers workshops and resources for youth and families aimed towards nurturing resiliency and healthy coping skills, particularly for those who have experienced trauma and loss. Camp Druzy is an overnight summer camp for children who are grieving the death or separation of a close family member. I had the privilege of spending time at Camp Druzy, where I led campers in meditation and visualization activities; I also served as a counselor to a family attending the camp.

Mending Kids International:

Mending Kids International provides free life-saving surgical care to sick children worldwide by deploying volunteer medical teams and supporting communities to become medically self-sustaining. Since 2005 the organization has mended thousands of children in 70 countries, including the United States. At Mending Kids in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I volunteered at a life-saving surgeries mission where I worked (played) with children pre and post surgery, using art, puppetry and music activities to provide comfort.

Upcoming Events:

  • 2023:  Science and Medicine Network: Sacred Rituals for Young Children: In this online presentation, I will discuss the history and importance of using ritual in the family setting.  Examples will be given.