My Story

After college, I became a successful career woman in technology and design.

I had a great time planning and attending lavish events, wining and dining with the big wigs, and finding myself immersed in the dirty secrets of sanctioned alcoholism and sexual impropriety that drives toxic corporate cultures.

I was making nearly 6-figures and managing a team at a design agency when I bottomed out one final time. I lost my job and was crushed by the wake of poor decisions I had been making.

The spirit that had a hold of me was quite unkind and unforgiving (much like myself at the time). I found myself in over my head on many occasions, and alcohol was the only immediate solution that was available everywhere I turned. It was insidious. 

However I was highly skilled at what I did, so it didn’t take long to bring through some high-ticket consulting contracts and save enough money to save myself,

I knew things had to change significantly, and I answered the call to heal.

I took off for Bali, Indonesia to pursue my first healing training in yoga, energetics, and shamanism. That choice saved me, and forever changed the course of my life. 

That was over 12 years ago. 

 

 

On the drive back to Austin from my one and only time at Burning Man, I heard a clear voice from the San Juan forest “Colorado is where you belong.”

I had come to feel kinship with the jagged mountains and the Ponderosa pines, and I wanted to establish myself within a community where my work would be received.

This time, I connected with groups that were organized around psychedelics. I put my skillsets into practice, supporting ceremonies and addressing hidden layers of my own healing. I also encountered unhealthy group dynamics just below the surface.

In 2019, I pursed a training externship in Ketamine and Cannabis-Assisted Psychotherapy, which led to a position as a part-time clinical therapist. I learned a lot, including how limited I felt in a clinic.  A year later, I was complete with that role.

Simultaneously, I had a part-time private practice and continued to serve clients in-person during pandemonium times. Given that mushrooms had been decriminalized in Denver, clients began requesting information and guidance for their personal therapeutic use of mushrooms. I obliged these requests and another initiation emerged.

My personal and client work became richer as I actively engaged in the professional community through organizations like The Nowak Society and SPORE.

I also discovered a couple wonderful mentors and teachers who have helped me deepen into my work as a shamanic practitioner, while I  while I shed my identity as a somatic psychotherapist.

In August 2021, I allowed my professional psychotherapy designation to lapse and found freedom in defining my own Wise Ways with the healing and growth through earth-based and intuitive practices. I also extended my knowledge and sharing through mentoring other practitioners.

In 2022, I created a new learning platform, The Luminous Guide. It’s a playground and spiritual temple for those seeking guidance, skills, and kinship inside a practice community that centers personal sovereignty, growth, and creativity.

This opened up more possibilities for an emerging paradigm to support clients from the comfort of their own home, and disrupt the status quo, while I search for my own place to root.