About
Hello.
Thank you for being here. It’s a gift getting to know you.
I’m an intuitive writer, business oracle, and guide living West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on a lovely little island on the edge of the Salish Sea.
West Vancouver is the traditional, unneeded land of the səl̓ilwətaɁɬ təməxʷ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓
This is where I raise my daughter, co-create with my husband … the place I call home after living in six countries, on four continents — including Myanmar — where I wrote a best-selling guidebook for expats moving there.
But what really matters to me is honoring our unique, sensitively wild, self-expression so we feel free to be who we truly are.
This takes listening to our authentic voice and knowing that even (especially!) if it’s a divergent, different voice, it matters … in fact, it can help change the world.
Autism Ignites My Passion for Self-Expression & Wild Sensitivity
After receiving my “late” diagnosis of autism, I finally understood why I’ve always been passionate about people being true to who they are and why I struggled for many years to accept and honor myself … why I struggled to feel I belonged.
Many of us autistics feel we’re so different from others, that we sense we’re edge-walkers — living on the fringes, not quite fitting in with “normal” society, our community, or even our families because of our neurodivergence (neurological differences). And, of course, not only autistic people feel this way — if you feel set apart from society at all for being different in any way, then you probably relate. The truth is, many people relate.
But once I discovered I’m autistic, my liberation began.
I realized I do belong and that I’m not separate from the rest of the world, even though my neurology is different.
You belong, too.
All of us do.
I believe that each of us are — intrinsically — made of love; a love that holds the divinity of stars, the nobility of the sun, and the drumming of the earth.
This allows us to stand with a fiercely tender heart and shine light on the darker moments we all experience, while having the courage to fully experience them, knowing they’re opportunities for growth and renewal; in fact, there is beauty, gratitude, and humility available in all moments in life … if only we choose to see it.
My Core Philosophy
I write and offer all my services from this place — knowing we are all interconnected and interwoven — whether sharing my story, advocating for autistic rights, providing intuitive copy and business oracles for soulful entrepreneurs, guiding writing workshops & teaching courses, or offering personal spiritual journeys.
Words are medicine.
Touch is medicine.
Our full, loving presence is medicine.
When we feel safe enough to listen to our inner voice and express our true selves, we experience liberation; this liberation can ignite the desire to be of service and to share our voices with others so they, too, know they belong.
What a glorious web of interconnection and interdependence! We all need one another — humans, plants, animals, the earth, the oceans.
When I remember our innate interconnection, I feel a hum that weaves us all together in ecstatic union … drums holding us in dance, our bare feet on the ground. The wind in our hair.
This is my path — to harmonize communion in a grounded way … feeling Source guiding us as we attune to our personal song, our specific chords and keys … bringing us closer to our innate wholeness and inter-relatedness with all living things.
…For we are music.
Here, we are present to our electric light — the starry-dirt that we’re made of.
There is a taste of bliss that comes from this.
A volcanic eruption of love.
An orgasmic recognition of truth and joy when we feel safe and free enough to be who we really are … and know — deep in our very marrow — that we are eternally connected to ALL … and everything we do has an impact on the whole.
It is my purpose to help you to feel safe enough to remember that you are profoundly supported and intertwined with the earth, with God/dess, with your ancestors, with all living things … so that you share your sacred self-expression with the world.
The world needs you. Exactly as you are.
Especially — especially — if you experience life differently than the ‘norm.’ Your unique gifts are needed.
It is such a blessing to share words with you … words that I hope remind you of who you are, why you’re here, and that — most importantly — that you belong.
I know that was a little serious, so please know that I also like to play as much as I love intensity. (Ha!)
So here are a few more little details…
Random jeweled nuggets
- I laugh until I snort; then I snort more
- I wrinkle my nose … a lot
- For you astrology lovers: Aquarius sun, Scorpio rising, Taurus moon, Venus in Capricorn: Watch out!
- I abhor bananas
- Peonies are my favorite flower
- Nature is my home
- I adore archetypes and Jung: I’m an INFP/J; I’m also an HSP
- Want to know my top five strengths on Strength Finders? Connectedness; Empathy; Intellection (no…that wasn’t a typo); Developer; Strategic
- Love is my religion
- I’m an ordained Priestess with the 13 Moon Mystery School lineage
- I’m honored to be a certified Tantra Practitioner, trained by the Red Lotus Tantra Institute
- My love of holy oils, blessings, and touch led me down the path to become a certified Scent Priestess so that I may provide anointings
- I’m a Reiki Master in the Usui lineage
- My daughter’s laughter is absolutely the best thing on earth
- I’m all about passion and sensually — ecstatically — living life on your terms, in the way that best suits you. I’m not much of a rule-follower
- What I’m sure of: We all have a fire inside us. Flame it. It’s a necessity
- I’m proudly autistic
I’ve always been a writer…
As a small child, I wrote out my feelings on bits of paper and diaries.
In middle school, I spent lunch hours sitting criss-crossed against my orange locker, scribbling out stories in my large three-ring binder.
Writing is one of the things that brings me the most joy.
It’s how I process.
It’s largely how I express myself.
…So, reading my stuff is a great way to get to know who I am.
Before I was a professional writer, my work — for over 15 years — was in direct client-focused care and included coaching and advocating for women going through major changes and transitions in the context of reproductive and sexual health. The grounding philosophy was that we all know — inherently — what’s best for ourselves.
My job was to support women in moving towards what they knew was best for them.
I have: managed a non-profit health clinic; designed, written, and implemented training programs; assisted in organizational change structures; consulted for the UN (United Nations) on HIV/AIDS to increase awareness of the pandemic — including the gender disparity of infection risk amongst girls in Ethiopia; collaborated and networked with multiple UN agencies to advocate for employees infected or affected by HIV/AIDS working overseas.
Teachers & Mentors
- My ancestors & family
- Hawk, White Reindeer, Horse, Eagle, Bear, Wolf, Seal, Snake
- Oak, Birch, Cedar, Pine, Moss, Aspen, Lichen
- Wind & Fire; Northern Lights & Lightning
- Peony, Rose, Yarrow, Crocus, Hay, Sweetgrass, Oak Moss, Cinnamon, May Chang
- Forest, Desert, Tundra, Coast (ocean), Valley, Creeks, Basalt stones
- Jim Bodeen — amazing poet, publisher, teacher
- Diana DuBrow — sacred arts mentor in the lineage of holy anointing
- Ariel Spilsbury — founder and mentor in the 13 Moon Mystery School priestess lineage
- Elayne Kalila Doughty — initiator/trainer in the 13 Moon Mystery School lineage
- Asha Frost — indigenous medicine woman (Ojibwe/Aniishinaabe)
- Christiana Aro-Harle — Finnish medicine woman/healer/Shamaness
- Eden Amadora — trainer and mentor in the 13 Moon Mystery School lineage
- Cindee Hudson — trainer and facilitator of the Usui Reiki tradition
- Darla Antoine — indigenous (Okanagan/Sylix) feminist eco writer & ancestral teacher/healer
- Bridgette Doerr — divine feminine psychic, healer, and coach
- Mellissae Lucia — artist and adventurer, oracle, and guide
- Elin Kåven — Sámi singer, songwriter, and yoiker
Identity
I’m an introverted, intuitive, straight, fat, highly sensitive, white cis-woman and mother who happens to be a priestess/medicine woman/healer … whatever word you want to throw in there; while I’m neurotypical “passing,” I’m #actuallyautistic.
My heritage is mostly Nordic (70%). More on that further below, in case you’re interested…
My spirituality is animist. I believe everything is alive with spirit.
The bottom line, though: Love is my religion.
Ability, privilege, and lived experience
I’m autistic and have sensory processing disorder — which basically means I have a divergent brain and nervous system. (For this, I am grateful!)
I’m college-educated. We live in a small, safe neighborhood.
I’ve had the privilege of living overseas in multiple countries: USA, England, Kenya, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Canada.
I grew up without generational wealth in a white, middle-class, Mormon family. We lived on and stewarded 32 acres of ancestral land belonging to the Kalapuya in the Willamette Valley, Oregon. My paternal line migrated to that area in 1896. My paternal grandmother was 4th generation from the Missouri Ozarks.
After my parents divorced, I moved to land traditionally belonging to the Yakama Nation with my mother, stepdad, and brother.
Like so many others, I have experienced personal abuse and trauma in the form of sexual abuse, physical/emotional/mental abuse, and domestic violence. This is especially common for autistic females but in any marginalized community. My story isn’t much different from hundreds of thousands of other men and women. I have invested many years in healing and de-layering these experiences so I can remember my innate wholeness.
Ancestry
Ancestry and ancestral healing are passions of mine.
My family includes a history of weavers, poets, farmers, mill workers, warriors, furniture makers, nurses (healers), musicians, nomads, and mystics.
My heritage is Northern European: approx 70% Nordic (Swedish-35%, Finnish-25%, Norwegian/Icelandic-8%) and 31% English/Scottish/Irish.
Paternal:
I’m a direct descendent of the Widow Walker, a Plymouth Colonizer. She is my 9th great grandmother.
My direct paternal line comes from Ireland. My surname’s original Gaelic name is Caomhanach (from County Carlow.)
My grandmother (paternal) was 4th generation from the Missouri Ozarks.
Maternal:
I’m 2nd generation immigrant of Swedish and Finnish descent. Both sets of my maternal great-grandparents immigrated to the United States. One set from Sweden, the other from Finland (Northern Ostrobothnia). I have ancestors who lived in Sápmi in so-called Sweden and Finland. Sámi culture hasn’t been passed onto me, though I have ancestors who were Sámi.
Ancient Archeogenetic Ancestry:
My ancient ancestry is mostly Swedish & Norwegian Viking along with Nordic Lombard (Longobards). Also Saxon & Celtic. My MtDNA is I2 (probably originating out of Northern Iran) and my father’s Y-DNA is R1b-DF41 (which is primarily Northern British Isles—Ireland and Scotland). Both halpogroups are fairly rare.
From my mtDNA, I share common DNA (99% archeogenetic match) with the Neolithic Scandinavian Battle Axe (Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania), Sintashta people (Eurasian Steppes, 2050 BC), Siberian (southern) Afansievo and Karasuk cultures (2700 BC), the Sarmatians (Trans-Volga forest steppes, Muradym, 1820 BC), Andronovo Culture (Khazakstan) the Saka Scythians (Moldova, 290 BC, Ukraine 600 BC, Khazakstan 700 BC, and Hungary 550 BC), and more recently, Vikings who settled in Iceland. Pretty illuminating what you can find out with genetics.
Acknowledgements, accountability, reparations
Sadly, there is not a place in this world that has gone untouched by the abuse of power over other people.
I recognize:
- Those in my ancestral lineage participated in this abuse, those that fought against it, and those whom it was perpetrated against
- My ancestors migrated across many areas of the United States, profiting off seized land that did not belong to them … as do I, even now
- I grew up on the land of the Kalapuya peoples—and my family has done so since 1896
- My family and I currently occupy the unceded land of the Coast Salish people in Canada
I believe that the following is necessary to even begin healing:
- Reparations toward all indigenous nations
- The re-education of our personal family and national histories
- Truthful story-telling
- Asking our ancestors to acknowledge the roles they played, how they were complicit directly or indirectly in causing pain
- Participating in ancestral healing—being a bridge so we can become better ancestors
Reparations:
Monthly donations go to the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, Inc. and directly to the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe as a way to provide some economic justice and acknowledgement of the harm my direct ancestors inflicted in the region.
https://www.seaconkewampanoag.org/ways-to-help: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/04-3345716