Origins                                                                                        

I was raised as a Roman Catholic, but with a love of all mythological stories that began in elementary school when I picked up D'Aulaire's Greek Myths and read it over and over (at least 10 times--and then got my children hooked on it, too).

My dad and I used to have long talks about the social uses of religion, which kept my mind open to the beauty of different paths to God. I had a strong sense of Spirit's presence, even as a child; I could feel Jesus' presence in the sanctuary and loved the music and symbolism of the Catholic tradition. By the time I went to college, though, I had tired of the hypocrisy within that church and drifted off to a spiritual kind of humanism, with a strong affinity for the universal concept of a divine energy, like the Force in the Star Wars movies.

In the mundane dimension of life, I spent seven years in the Air Force, where I instructed new intelligence officers, and four years working at a university before coming to Houston and being a mom of two children and a household manager. I am now a freelance indexer and editor of books and technical documentation.

Along the way, I noticed that I really enjoyed talking with people about their passion in life, whether they were able to pursue it at the time or not. We often discussed how to fit in what they really wanted to be or do into their busy day jobs or how to replace those other jobs with what they really wanted to do. There are many cultural and individual barriers raised up to keep people in the land of quiet desperation, I noticed, and yet, when we talked for awhile, they could often find ways of inserting their passions into their lives, either as vocation or avocation. I always felt so completely jazzed watching folks get excited about finding an outlet for their creativity, and pledged to make sure that my children, for two, would be encouraged the same way. In addition, I am very proud to have supported my first husband through to his passion, which turns out to be solving difficult intellectual problems, specifically in geology. He is now a very successful research geologist.

But, what about me? I did get very good at taking care of everyone else, but that meant I wasn't living a very good example of following one's passion (although I do enjoy my day job of indexing and editing books as a freelancer, mind you). But in 1995, I started a six-year relationship with the church community idea, in the form of the Unitarian Universalist Church. Very friendly group who gave me the opportunity to go back to my mythological interest and give talks on my favorite spiritual messages from all sorts of ancient texts as well as daily life. I made it my mission to make sure that each talk would touch both mind and heart, and give the audience something of inner value to take home with them. These talks were well-received, and some are forming the basis for my books series, Translating God into a New Age.

In 1998, I was re-introduced to that New Age, first with the Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, and then with the Conversations With God books by Neale Donald Walsch. I then started a program of inner healing and spiritual exploration with other sources, including the Kryon materials, insights from The Group (channeled by Steve Rother), past-life regression training, and soul retrieval/unification work. All of these experiences took me through and then beyond the books to real changes in the way I approach life and my relationships with others. I found that it doesn't work to be just an armchair New Ager; one really does have to walk the talk, and stay grounded while accessing one's higher self as well.

My own creativity now seems focused on reinterpreting the biblical stories, expanding and professionalizing my follow-your-passion passion, and writing lyrical poetry.  Very satisfying journey thus far.