Welcome

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable.”

― Brene Brown, The Gifs of Imperfection (2010)

Notice the Journey (NTJ) is my pilgrimage to find “home.” As a child, home was a terrifying place, a haunted house full of the hungry ghosts of my ancestors who manifest in parental violence and unstable, insecure attachment. 

You can read about my journey (click here) and on my blog. All the pictures on the website are ones I took; to see more images from my contemplative photography practice, miksang, click here.

NTJ is my personal testament to the ability to transform suffering into redemptive empathy.

“The whole purpose of spiritual direction is to penetrate beneath the surface of our life, to get behind the facade of conventional gestures and attitudes which we present to the world, and to bring out our inner spiritual freedom and inmost truth…”. —Thomas Merton

Spiritual direction is a specialized and supportive relationship between a spiritual director and directee (one who seeks spiritual direction) with the sankalpa (sacred intention) of growing safe and nurturing connections within the Self and in our relationships with others, Spirit, and the planet. Modern and ever evolving, it is an ancient practice found within many of the Wisdom Traditions.

Notice the Journey Trauma-Informed Spiritual Direction (NTJ TISD) is a method of spiritual direction developed by me. It seeks to establish, cultivate, and/or restore the strained or severed connections to our Self, each other, Spirit, and the planet through trauma-informed spiritual practices.

NTJ TISD draws deeply from the world’s Wisdom Traditions and its spiritual practices are shaped by trauma studies, neurobiology, experienced-based positive neuroplasticity, somatic internal family systems, restorative yoga, compassion-based and Acceptance & Commitment studies.

While “direction” and “director” do not mean “orchestrating,” NTJ TISD does often involve psychoeducation about neurobiology and other elements of trauma studies. The goal of the “information” is to facilitate the directee in wise and skillful means of “being with themselves better.” 

“Trauma is a fact of life. It does not, however, have to be a life sentence.”  

—Peter Levine 

You might have to noticed that I use a lot of “links" on my website. I do so, of course, intentionally. While I have done a lot of training, the point is not to impress. A common consequence of trauma is a loss of agency (feeling in control of oneself). If any of the links provide a key to unlocking a path of restoration for you, I would find that a pure delight.

In addition to the links throughout the website, there is also a books section, People & Places page, and an articles library.