I am a practitioner of Zen Buddhism and shamanism, a wrestler with my Christian heritage, a musician, writer and creative artist in multiple media. I have a well-developed sense of creativity and imagination that is my primary source of spiritual guidance and inspiration, and also enables me to connect to other realms. Balancing that is a grounding in physical reality and the practicalities of this world.
I am recently (2024) retired after a career as a technology project manager. I've been married blissfully to the amazing multidimensionally creative and loving Victoria Scarlett since 1985 and am happiest being in my home.
Here is more of my story:
My journey toward healing work has led me through many sacred realms. I spent the first few decades of my life exploring the Christian tradition, which included study of Biblical languages, time in Israel, and a stint in seminary. This led me to deep investigations of many other spiritual traditions (particularly Jewish, Buddhist, and Sufi Muslim).
For twenty years, I put my focus on a profound encounter with contemplative practices, especially through the vehicle of sacred chant, which I shared and taught in all sorts of contexts--from traditional religious services to exuberant interfaith gatherings to deep meditative retreats. This work took place in collaboration with the Center for Sacred Art, of which I have been Associate Director since 2000.
Along the way I was led to the incredible blessing of shamanic practice, an ancient spiritual tradition that (at least for me) consists of the use of drumming-induced trance states to connect to higher sources of wisdom. It is certainly a tricky business, but with the help of community I seem to be finding a grounded way to do this practice that is actually helpful to me and others.
I have flirted with Buddhist practice for many years, and in 2024 I finally discovered a community sane and grounded enough to provide the necessary container for me to sit consistently. So I do.
My creative journey is an ongoing extravaganza of discovery and experimentation in a lot of different modalities. The ones that matter most to me (in terms of my modest public sharing) are finding their way to this website.
