Meet your guide…

Here you are so you want to know about me, what I do, and why I do what I do. When we look back at earlier times in our lives we can see threads connecting who we were and are now. I see two major threads in my life:  Who I am now and How I got here.

WHO I AM NOW: I completed my Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA .  I don’t do counseling or psychotherapy or prescribe medication.  An educational psychologist studies human learning and designs new strategies to teach people how to improve their learning and performance.  I’ve always loved learning about a lot of things. I have an insatiable curiosity that has led me to be open to experience and learn many things. I enjoyed a wonderful and successful career at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, IA for sixteen years as Senior Director of Student Academic Support and Counseling. It was very meaningful for me to work with students and assist them in completing a challenging program. It was an honor knowing they went on as doctors of chiropractic to serve millions of people around the world by providing effective drug-free health care. I recognized I was ready for a transition personally and professionally. I relocated to North Carolina to be near family and the beach. This has also been a period to discover new ways to help people restore health and well-being, and, true to who I am, keep learning more and more.  Since being in North Carolina I’ve become a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. This is a rapidly growing global community of ecotherapy guides. The principle of Nature and Forest Therapy is, “The forest is the therapist, the guide opens the doors.” I take people on walks and guide them into a sensory awareness, connection and relationship with nature.  Click on the image to learn more about Nature and Forest Therapy.

HOW I GOT HERE: When I was a kid I spent as much time as I could outside, playing, riding my bike, exploring, climbing trees and as I got older, gardening. As an adult I still want to be outside every chance I get, to walk, explore, go the the beach, the sound, the mountains, the desert. I still like to climb trees. I enjoy earth-tending by cleaning up garbage everywhere I go. It’s a practice of being in a caring relationship with the Earth. As a Nature and Forest Therapy Guide I invite people to come back to a caring relationship with the Earth. There is an urgent need for us to do this. I’m in my tree house in the woods. I’m watching how the sun is moving through the sky and feeling it’s warmth on my face. I’m looking at the sunlight glistening off of the bog and the trees. I listen to the birds and squirrels and the rustling of the leaves in the breeze. I start to gently sway as I watch the trees sway. It’s wonderfully relaxing. Not long the deer will come wondering through. It’s a very pleasant 70 degrees. I’m loving being here just as that little girl would. Now, the sun is going down, dusk is coming on, I’m watching the transition of blue to gold, purples and pinks.  I’m listening to see if the owls call. It’s wonderful to be up here in my treehouse. Wish you were here to watch the stars come out. We’re two days past the new moon and that tiny sliver of light will be peeking out from the vast blackness of space.