I wanted to share a song that has meaning for me, since I heard it on television as a younger person, being carried away to other lands, remembering those journeys as I hear it now.

It captures the seasons, and captures my own journey recently, to settle into another place for my practice, my former place of five years having had to be reclaimed as a home, a peaceful older building in which I enjoyed helping others.

Please enjoy hearing the unique sound of this artist and the lyrics, which come straight from J.R.R. Tolkien's book, The Hobbit.

I welcome you to my new practice home, which brings up a few feelings, not unlike those I experience when I hear this song.

--

From the original soundtrack of The Hobbit (1977) animated movie by Rankin/Bass.
Music by Maury Laws. Vocals by Glenn Yarbrough.

I have come to this point in my practice after nine years, to reveal more of my knowledge and offer it as part of my vocation.  Esoterica means that which deals with what is hidden, implied to be of interest or understood by only a smaller portion of people as opposed to the many or general whole.  If I am to live my life by example, being myself, however I may be showing up, then the esoterica I know and understand and actively learn, in relation to what may be more common knowledge, will at some point be revealed in my practice, if it has a bearing on it and I want to share it.  It does, and I do.

I have created a menu for this purpose on the site, and I would like to share a little bit more about this perspective of esoterica here, understanding this may not speak to everyone.

A shift in perspective of reality where mystery and symbols hold power and the key to providing answers and knowledge which can alter reality.

I have defined magick this way, incidentally with a "k" to distinguish it from stage magic.  I include all that may be found as helpful and esoteric for my practice under this definition or heading of magick.  These esoteric understandings either lead to this shift in perspective or come as a result of it.

Reality becomes altered.

You become changed as a result of such knowledge.

You approach closer to what I call truth.

Whether through healing, to arrive at a better place of integration and wholeness, or through curiosity, to discover more about life and the universe, our drive to know truth takes many forms, and I feel this drive above all others, or within them, is the esoteric meaning of life.

All I do and care to pass on and know comes from this drive, this place.  Not all want to know as this or want to know so much of what may be considered hidden and difficult knowledge.

The ego does not survive such knowledge, nor should it by definition.  At least, there is less and less of this sense of "I" in this understanding.  How could one shift a perspective of reality if one clings to ordinary notions, filtered through one's regular sense of self?

Meditation helps shift our perspective.  A belief in any meaning behind coincidence does as well. 

These are just two such examples of shifting our perspective.

Healing comes from a return to wholeness, a clinical definition of which implies less and less of this sense of self one clings to and more of an identity of fluid perspective of simply experiencing in the moment.

Because this destination and the hidden reality, drive of life arrive at the same place, I am opening a doorway to this knowledge, however much tentatively and obscured it is.

We are there, are already going there, having already arrived.

I will meet you there--however much you are wanting to go.

May the mystery honor such intention.

Peace, and be.  May you know.

I think wherever we are in life, we are on the right path, because it is ours.  However, I do feel like more guidance can be given, more help can come our way.  With this post and its accompanying link and resource, I am happy and perhaps more than a little excited to share this guiding help with you.

(Please feel free to skip four paragraphs down to get right to the information on the resource.)

I have recently embraced the idea, understanding, concept, and reality of magick, whatever that may or may not mean to you.

Along with the intricacies of the term itself comes its connection with the sacred feminine.  I think of it as a way to actively be with and work with the all-embracing nature of the sacred feminine.  There is a reverence and an active agency, both at play, when working with magick, to my understanding.

Along with this comes the idea of divination, again, a surrendering to the mystery of the sacred feminine, but also an element of understanding or suggestion of wisdom for active implementation of the knowledge gained.

Here is where the resource comes in which I am truly happy about.  I have developed an online approximation of a divination tool.  It pulls from a story archetype which I have been using to inform my practice since its beginning.  The archetype can be arguably found in the stories of all cultures of all time periods, and you may call it a way of living which honors the sacred feminine and ourselves.

Time and again I have seen how my own life follows this mapped out way of living, this pattern that author Kim Hudson identified in her own life and in the stories of cultures across time.

When I work with anyone, this universal story, this timeless way to go about being truly happy and fulfilled in life, guides me in the background, for all I do, because it resonates in a way a universal piece of wisdom should.  It seems to continue to speak to those who encounter it and take the time to investigate it.

Without further explanation, please enjoy reading about and comparing your own life to this archetypal story, this guiding pattern which I feel helps us on the way to a fulfilling life.

The Virgin's Promise: A Path for Life

(Click on the words to divine the path.)

I have been counseling in one form or another since 2009, and if you count up the total of number of years, excluding time off from doing it, that counts for eight years as of this month, in December 2019.  I thought it was worth acknowledging here, and to myself, and, plus, I like the number eight and its associations. In looking at what are some of the highlights of this time of practice, what I feel I do well at and am good at in helping others, you might consider this a relevant extended biography for what I offer should you decide to reach out for help and guidance.

I began by leading groups for adults with severe and persistent mental illnesses, and I did this for about three of the eight years. What I soon learned and was told in doing these groups, in speaking in front of others, which I never thought I would do past requirements for class assignments, these individuals who have been through a lot in their lives and did not really have room for anyone not to be genuine or real, the honesty and genuineness I showed them, and the natural consideration I had in speaking to a group of people, let alone one person, to whom I had never spoken before, who had been diagnosed with mental illness, this seemed to be a genuine beginning in being myself and also being able to help others. Staff where I started said that the people who attended the groups appreciated this quality of genuineness, and they also said that these individuals, many of whom would most likely never be able to be off medications in their lifetimes, could spot a phony, if you will, and did not tolerate someone not being real with them.

So, I am glad whatever natural consideration and honesty that I value came forth for them, because I learned so much working with these individuals, perhaps some of the most real and genuine people you could ever meet, and it changed my view and any trepidation I might have had when it came to the topic of mental health and approaching those who might be truly struggling with it.

During my master's degree program, in helping individuals without pay during my practicum and internship, together lasting about a year, I learned the value of the genuineness I continued to bring, now having formally learned about its value in counseling, and I was able to bring a more focused and intentional appreciation of and approach to the methods and methodology Carl Jung used when helping others, how in helping those he and his supervising physician did at the time when Carl Jung's own career first began, helping those diagnosed with schizophrenia, this seemed to uncover many of the understandings of the deeper workings of our minds which Jung discovered, of our psyches within us, of the unconscious, principles that help guide and provide helping material for me in my practice to this day.

Leading up to the present day now, where I have been seeing individuals in private practice, I will say that what I have learned includes the following, although I certainly cannot say this names everything, which certainly would create a longer list than would be considered appropriate in the blog post here.

Boundaries, which I cover with anyone I am working with, includes how to address them, how to work with them, especially when it comes to respecting others. I learned approaches to this back when first starting out helping those diagnosed with severe and persistent mental illnesses. Without self-advocating for your own boundaries, it becomes hard for any of the work which follows to gain foothold and make a difference.

Feminine principles, and by that I mean those which the culture does not honor or even dishonors, which include taking time out for yourself, being able to be a human being, fully, by being in touch with and expressing feelings and emotions, because as Jung showed in his understandings of the unconscious, those thoughts and feelings which we resist, persist, and then they come out when we least expect them, full of force and built up strength, and in the worse case scenarios, they come out with little or no control on our part, us being unable to stop them or express them in any way we would like then. Another principle one may call feminine includes any understanding or knowledge gained through not thinking about what is of concern, not working hard to come up with an answer. This may simply be called being intuitive, having inspiration, or intervention by divine grace even, or simply another way of knowing which we all have experienced, requiring again the act of letting go or surrendering to not knowing first.

What you are seeing here as well, my words, certainly can be said to be a part of my practice, the way I am able to share most often what I would like to share, to channel the best of what I offer in the spirit of my words: a quality of peace-full-ness, an ability of attentiveness, a trueness in consideration, and a genuineness in being.

Words matter a lot to me, and likewise, I am informed by my beliefs, which are more extensively explored in the blog posts under the category of "Spiritual," which can be found on the right side of the page or at the bottom if viewing the mobile version of this page.

I enjoy doing what I am doing when I am helping others, and I am glad to share, as I am doing now, in this helping process with you.