I just said it’s not about me (and it isn’t), but you probably want to know who I am and where I’m coming from, considering I’m sharing all this.

I can help orient you on a few different levels.

I currently live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where I work as a therapist in private practice.  I’m an able-bodied white male my early 50’s, who was born and bred in a small mountain town in North Carolina.  I know the correct grammatical usage of words like “y’all” and “fixin’ to”.  I’m married with two amazingly strong and inspiring teenage children.

While being raised in a positive and stable family environment, I also grew up with persistent anxiety, inferiority, and shame.  After a massive family rupture in my mid-20s, I found myself in the ER at 2:00am one night having my first panic attack. 

I found my first helpful therapist who introduced me to true Inner Work through Carl Jung and depth psychology.  I eventually became a therapist myself 15 years later and discovered many other effective avenues for working with our emotional states, healing our body/minds, and repairing and strengthening relationships.  Through years of inner work, outer work, therapy, and exploration, I have begun to feel comfortable in my own skin.

I’ve completed a master’s degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, and a Master’s in Counseling from Eastern Mennonite University.  I am compelled to explore and understand the big questions.  How does emotion work fit with the spiritual journey?  Does quantum phenomena have any relevance to daily life?  What methods are truly effective for creating positive social change?  Detail questions, however, are challenging; like where did I leave my keys?  And what time was the dentist expecting me again?

Christianity is my home religion, as I’ve been raised within it, left it, converted back to it, studied it, questioned it, and found my place in it.  Along the way, I’ve been Methodist, Mennonite, Non-denominational, Agnostic, and even Baptist.  I currently find myself aligned with Christian peace traditions, Buddhists, Pagans, and certain Hindu traditions of non-duality. 

I fundamentally believe that we are each here to fulfill our destiny – to learn the lessons in our curriculum, to discover both our bigness and our smallness, to love one another more fully, and in some way, appreciate the journey together.