To mentor is to serve as a trusted guide or teacher. My role in mentoring you is to support you to dissolve limiting patterns so that your deeper essence might emerge. My intention is to provide both safety and encouragement for you to find your way through the threshold that stands between you and your unique and authentic unfolding. As you move through this often threatening doorway, the old peels away and you begin to root within that which is vast, ever-changing and intimately connected to the web of life.
The process is organic to what is called for in the moment. At times we work with what you are shedding: through somatic practices and other tools utilized, we unwind core wounding patterns. At others, the focus is on what is emerging: through learning to self-track and follow your own moment-to-moment inner guidance; or feeling what is being evoked by the more-than-human world; or experiencing the stillness of pure being. Always the movement is to support living in a more unimpeded way, free from the particular conditioning that thwarts your natural blooming and self emergence
Mentoring is structured around individual need. It can occur in person as well as over the phone and varies from weekly meetings to less frequent. Early in our work together, I encourage you to attend one of a variety of "immersion" experiences. This can occur through an Unfoldings retreat or through an individualized program that is structured for you and/or a small group. Either way, the experience of a deeper, more extended container is essential as it offers a wider context and provides the foundation for much of our journey.
I believe less and less in the ability of one-time plunge experiences to support a more sustainable shift in being. At the same time, weekly or monthly contact without a longer retreat often lacks the enhanced depth and framework provided by such an immersion. The combination of the two, I have found, is a powerful blend.
During our work together I will utilize a variety of tools - including use of your astrological chart, depth psychotherapy, somatic experiencing trauma work, awareness practices and nature based exploration, in addition to other modalities. The following are glimpses into the various pieces:
Tools for the journey
The Astrological Chart is used as the touchstone for ongoing work because it is an exceptional resource for understanding the potentials and promises you are born with. It is an archetypal map of your greater destiny, illuminating many facets of your inner landscape. The chart can clarify underlying issues, deepen your understanding of innate patterns, point to latent gifts and capacities and validate that which seeks expression. While not depending on the chart for answers, it is used as a collaborative tool between us.
Somatic Experiencing (SE) trauma work implicitly and explicitly informs a great deal of our work together, both individually and in group settings. SE supports your ability to "track" your experience, allowing you to fall back into the main current when you are struggling in an eddy (otherwise known as stagnation or "being stuck"). Being caught in an eddy can mean many things, from feeling slightly numb to being anxious or resistant in response to what is calling you forward. As you move beyond your own comfort zone into that which is more vibrant and authentic, you are likely to get caught in an eddy from time to time. SE is an embodied way to help you move more fluidly through those edges to a more sustained and intimate self guidance and surrender.
Awareness and Nature Based Practices including listening meditation, allurement walks and engaging with the more-than-human world, among others, are designed to support you a consciousness shift beyond the single pointed agenda of the ego. These practices are essential in discovering and living into the dynamic quality of your deepest nature.
Authentic movement, dreamwork, deep imagery, expressive arts, council and ceremony are all ways to engage with the deeper undercurrent that draws us. They, each in their own way, are designed to lift the veil so that we might be evoked and moved from within.
