As a ritual artist, writer, speaker, and teacher, I have helped people explore the inner life for over twenty five years.
Background
It was while I was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in my 20’s with the Quichua Indians in the Andes of Ecuador that my life path turned towards the ministry, and for 17 years I served as a pastor in Presbyterian and UCC congregations.
It was a vocation that I loved. I loved accompanying people in moments of life transition, I loved speaking and teaching, I loved creating moving rituals in which we as a community could enter into the Great Mystery. Most of all, I loved the people.
But after the death of a close friend in 2001, I committed myself to explore deeper dimensions of my existence, and soon found myself in a vortex of dreams, synchronicities, energy releases, and insights that shattered my worldview, unveiled the unified Reality of all things, and exposed the illusory nature of the ego and the world it has created.
Faced with these discoveries, I struggled to remain in a religious belief system that I realized had been shaped by the very ego consciousness Jesus had transcended and urged others to abandon. In 2010, I left parish ministry to embark on a vocation of writing, speaking, and teaching. To date, I have authored two books—No One in I Land: A Parable of Awakening, and Beyond Jesus: My Spiritual Odyssey.
Spiritual Orientation
My spiritual orientation has been deeply influenced by the wisdom of the Buddha, the Tao te Ching, Torah, depth psychology, shamanism, and A Course in Miracles. Having been raised in the Christian church, it is the stories and teachings of Jesus that are most deeply “in my bones.” I continually seek to understand Jesus’s message through the lens of non-dual consciousness, recognizing that for centuries it has been misunderstood by a consciousness of separation.
In my own spiritual life, I practice meditation, dreamwork, prayer, ritual, communing with nature, active imagination, shamanic journeying, creative expression, energy work, and journaling.
The Simple Things
The morning time is important for me, and I begin each day with journaling (thank you, Julia Cameron!) and meditation. Some of the many things that bring me joy are writing music, making pottery, tending my roof deck flowers, taking walks in the woods, and doing dream work with friends—oh, and coffee! I live with my spouse, Kip, in our Philadelphia home.
Community Engagement
My spirituality is closely intertwined with nonviolent healing action in the world, and I have been actively involved in several peace and justice movements over the years. I have served as:
- a volunteer in the Sanctuary Movement, helping refugees fleeing the wars in Central America
- a rape crisis counselor for the Rape Crisis Center of Marin County, California
- the founding board chair of the Bates County Habitat for Humanity, Bates County, Missouri
- a board member of New Jerusalem Now, an addiction recovery community in Philadelphia
- the founding chair and current board member of the Philadelphia non-profit ArtWell.
In 2004 I served a week in federal prison for engaging in nonviolent civil disobedience in response to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Connecting
I strongly believe that those of us who know we are on the planet to help humanity make a transition to a new consciousness, out of which a new world can arise, need to connect with each other.
So if what I have shared here on this website and in my writing resonates with you, I hope you will sign up for my newsletter so I can be in touch with you. When you do, I will also send you a copy of my ebook—Awakening to Love in a Time of Fear: Five Essential Practices—to support you on your journey.
Education
- BA in International Affairs and German, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa (University of Colorado)
- BA in Music, cum laude (University of Colorado)
- MEd (University of Colorado)
- MDiv (San Francisco Theological Seminary)
- Certification Reiki III
“Patricia is a superb writer who tells a human story with implications for the wellbeing of individuals as well as societies.
Hers is a clear and compassionate voice filled with energy, concern and intelligence.”
~Sheila Weinberg, author of Surprisingly Happy: An Atypical Religious Memoir
Portrait photo by Conrad Louis-Charles.
Labyrinth Photo by Craig F. Walker, The Denver Post. Used by permission.