Path to Teaching

My father instilled the importance of and fostered my gift of intuition, while my mother taught me my first lessons on the power of prayer and unconditional love. These elements established a foundation for my gifts of teaching to flourish and sowed the seeds of my passion for understanding the spiritual.

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As a young girl, I developed an appreciation for religions, mythology, and ancient stories for they captivated my heart and inspired my imagination. I yearned to learn more about the similarities and the differences therein. The tenets that seemed woven in each of the traditions fascinated me especially since many transcended time and space. Later, while in college, I began to study individual mystics across the ages; with their experiences so similar in description, they reflected those very woven elements I had pondered. My curiosity continues to deepen.

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As a teenager, I began practicing yoga and meditation during a time and in a place where such acts were considered quite unconventional. However, I did not let the perceptions or unapproving comments of others deter me—the benefits of these practices helped me navigate my emotionally challenging high school years and beyond.

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While in college, toward the end of my first semester at the University of Michigan, I received a call to ministry. I initially denied such an undertaking; but eventually, I shifted my undergrad focus from pre-med/engineering to studying world religions and social justice as I prepared for a graduate program in ministry.

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My spiritual path led me to seminary in Chicago. While completing my coursework, I unearthed that my true calling was not to focus solely on one religion but to follow the divine thread weaving all traditions together. If I remained at seminary, I knew I would be denying my true path. At that moment, I understood that I had to leave. And all I felt was lost. Why had I been lead to work so hard toward attending seminary if I was only going to depart? I knew no immediate alternative.

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I withdrew from my third quarter classes, took the summer to reassess, and followed an intuitive calling to teach math and science in the inner city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My time spent teaching would prove to be incredibly rewarding and meaningful. Two years later, I moved to Seattle and taught at a small tutoring agency. I trained in remedial reading and math interventions for elementary learners and designed writing methods to teach and advance these important skills for all ages. I continued teaching math and science, which included math through calculus along with physics and chemistry.  

 

I had fallen in love with teaching, and I adored cultivating the abilities and gifts in my students as they increased self-confidence and achieved academic and personal success. My experiences allowed me to hone my teaching gifts and realize my ability to call forth the best in individuals. Empowering others to see that they are shining stars just the way they are and that they could have personal success despite their previous experiences or what others said of their abilities. If academics were not easy for them, I championed embracing perseverance as a life skill not taught in school, and conquering obstacles to achieve their dreams. Most importantly, our dreams are not the expectations others force on us!

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Thinking I had been diverted off course from my spiritual calling forever, traumatic life events in 2006 returned me to my deep desire for teaching spiritual tools. Eventually, along my path of learning, discovering, and growing, Awaken The Mindfulness was born in the winter of 2015!