Since the pandemic began I have been diligently studying what is called “A Course in Miracles”. ACIM is a reconstruction of the Christian experience or my Christian experience. You could tackle this course without being Christian or even religious or any religion. It is an experience in truth, a greater truth. A “good news” truth. ACIM is a healing, energizing, life changing way of thinking.
In my life I have been blessed to have women come along side me in my most growing times, women who “saved my life” just by being there and listening. That presence can be such a gift. That is what I want to give to others. In my Mom’s last years; she re-experienced her faith, I was able to walk with her in that renewing of her relationship with her Father. I wish I could have had better tools to work with and that is why I became a spiritual director.Spiritual Direction came at least five years ago, I came across the term when my husband and I were doing the Ignatian Spiritual exercises. Sometime later a woman came to minister to my Mom in Hospice Care, we had an opportunity to talk and she told me she was a spiritual director. As happens spiritual direction began to come up in several instances in my life, leading me to begin looking into programs that offered spiritual direction instruction.
I am now dual certified in spiritual direction by Christos Center in Lino Lakes, MN and also by New Way Ministries in Colorado. It is my passion to companion people as they seek to make their walk with God and life make sense.
I grew up on a farm in upstate New York. It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I began a lifelong love of nature. I have always been interested in education and why people do what they do. I have a degree in nursing and a masters degree in nurse anesthesia. I have practiced as a nurse anesthetist for more than twenty five years. My masters thesis was on personality traits using the Meyers Briggs Personality ItTrait Identifier. I have also done work with Emotional Intelligence and Strengths Finder.
I have been interested in personal and spiritual growth all my life. I have found in my life my experiences with God to be the most profound. I have faced challenges and triumphs in my life. I was a yoga instruction in my twenties and thirties. I became a rededicated Christian in 1979, and attended Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, MN. I have adopted regular contemplative practices. In 2018 my husband and I completed a 500 mile pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago in Spain. My search for an authentic expression of Christ deepens and continues. As stated above I have been studying the Course in Miracles and have been through the Workbook twice now. A Course in Miracles has given me a broader perspective on God and on who we are. I have a desire to find the oneness with God and with one another.
I have found the unique value of the group experience and been involved with groups most of my life. I have led and continue to participate in groups. An example of groups I have led or facilitated are Alanon, Courage to Change and Healing our Wounds at the Refuge at Woodland Hills Church, core leader for Community Bible Study, Life Groups in my home, etc. There is something spiritually formational about the group experience. I continue to be part of a group of women who meet once a week; we have been meeting for years.
I have had many and varied experiences in my lifetime. All of which I bring to what I believe is a calling to spiritual direction. I have a passion to see people birthed into their Truest Selves. I believe Soul Care and Spiritual Companionship is answer to the loneliness and alienation many experience and could be the norm in our Christian communities. Learning to listen to ourselves and to one another in companionship and in community can go a long way to restoring the soul of society and the world. I believe it is part of where God is calling the Christian body of Christ today.
Used with permission
Twin Cities Spiritual Direction 