I’m very grateful for all of the wonderful, heart-centered healers and teachers who’ve supported, challenged, and expanded my experience on this life’s journey. Here are some of my biggest influences, in chronological order:

My grandmother, psychologist Dr. Jesse G. Shaw, who taught me, from the time I could speak, to look beneath the surface level when connecting with others.

My teachers, mentors, and fellow students at the graduate Clinical Psychology program at the University of North Texas. I was especially influenced by my mentor, Dr. Sharon Jenkins, who believed in me WAY before I believed in myself, and who pointed out that I was directly experiencing others’ emotions as if they were my own (wow, life made so much more sense after that!), and by Dr. Michael Mahoney, who modeled the healing power of authenticity so beautifully, and whose stories of exploring healing techniques from all over the world inspired me to do the same.

The wise and kind Holli Blackwell, who attuned me as a Master-level Usui Reiki practitioner, and who told me to “Be careful of anyone who tells you that there are rules.”

My post-graduate clinical supervisors and dear friends Denise Olive and Steve Kilgore, whose caring, patience, wisdom, and humor made working with them a voyage of discovery, development, and delight.

Deep learning can come from the most unexpected places. My work has been profoundly influenced by a complete stranger: a flight attendant whose nametag read, “Jennifer,” who, seeing tears silently sliding down my face as I stared out the window on a flight I took the day after a devastating loss, came, said, “Hello,” and sat in silence with me, holding my hand, for most of the flight. Her simple, kind presence helped me feel seen, known, and loved, and like I mattered to the Universe. My experience with her taught me the crucial importance of being fully present in connection with others and that Silence can be more powerful than all the therapeutic techniques I had learned. Jennifer changed my emotional state, my self-esteem, and the way I work and live. It is always my intention to follow in her footsteps by allowing the Divine love she communicated to be channeled through me, too, to everyone and everything.

Shaman MaryPhyllis Horn, author of Transforming the Soul: Beyond Soul Retrieval and Integration, and Ancestral Lines Clearing, with whom I studied for years, including one-on-one mentorship. She was so deeply and completely dedicated to the healing of herself, others, animals, plants, and the Earth that it was transformative just to be near her. She retrieved lost parts of my soul, healed their wounding, and reintegrated them back into my system, and she trained me to do this for others as well. I didn’t realize that I was missing so much of my aliveness, until she restored it to me. She is present in my heart in every healing session I facilitate.

Dr. Garry A. Flint, author of A Theory and Treatment of Your Personality and Healing Your Mind and Soul and creator of Process Healing, and the whole team at the MAP Coaching Institute, where I learned how, based on Dr. Flint’s work, to harness the power of the Superconscious to heal the mind of past trauma and any disempowering memories, beliefs, and mindsets, gently and safely, in minutes.

My teacher and one-on-one mentor Jean Haner, personal energy clearer for Louise Hay and author of many books on Chinese Medicine, including Your Hidden Symmetry and The Five-Element Solution, who taught me, based on her extensive training with Chinese masters, to hold such a powerful level of heart-based awareness for others that their entire energy system releases what has been holding them back and returns to a state of balance and harmony. The years of this professional training were absolutely life-changing, in the best (and sometimes intense and challenging!) ways. I am deeply thankful.