HE HUSTLES

years ago. I was having some difficulties in my life. I felt isolated and misunderstood Sitting in a laundromat one day in Amesbury, MA, and saw a flyer that claimed that shamanic work could help with depression I didn’t think I was depressed, but I had a strong pull to find out what this was and what it was about My mother was a nurse who was a spiritual seeker, and she had just tried a shamanic workshop in Maine

I went, and a new world opened up to me I had a facility for shamanic journeying, and in these altered states of consciousness, I could fly, transform into an animal, and witness and perform miracles. This is what hooked me at first. The next year I enrolled in a shamanic healer certification program with Evie Rysdyk and Allie Knowlton of Spirit Passages in Maine This is where I came to understand that being a healer is a calling that requires long-term dedication to self-development, growth, and service For many years I struggled to heal my own trauma to serve others I went to graduate school and put my spiritual development aside.

In the last 5 years or so, I have become disciplined enough and had enough self-love to become a real healer I needed to process enough of my own trauma so that I didn’t always need to be thinking of myself I needed to outgrow some of the unhealthy coping mechanisms that I had picked up in response to my traumas As I am able to set more of this aside and become more healed, I become more able to help others heal

Winnie (Wang, my partner) has been instrumental in this development during the last few years She is relentless in her pursuit of growth and following God’s guidance. She inspires me to show up in equal measure to how she does. It has inspired me to push myself further than I would have done alone I am blessed in this way

What can your supporters expect from you next?

Winnie and I have recently co-founded a nonprofit called Compassionate Transformation Community. You can expect us to advocate for the mental health needs of youth, their parents, and our communities There has been a huge surge in mental health issues since the COVID lockdown We were inspired to start it after a recent mass shooting in Monterey Park, CA We are holding frequent events through the rest of the year and into the future to raise awareness of mental health struggles and spread the word of how we can overcome them Winnie and I will be leading workshops over the summer and fall The next one will be a relationship retreat on June 17th I co-host two monthly men’s circles with colleagues. Men in our society rarely seek the help they need, especially around emotional support Men tend to turn to the women in our lives for emotional support and processing (when we are not stuffing our emotions through addictions I am dedicated to helping men learn emotional literacy and providing mutual support so that we can support our families and loved ones from a position where we are ourselves supported In July, I will begin teaching a class on shadow work onlineI also take private clients, and Winnie and I do Sacred Union healing sessions together, where we work with the couple to heal the wounds that are preventing them from fully showing up in their relationship.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we are coauthoring a book that will be released in a few months called Unlocking Light It explores the healing journeys of 5 co-authors through the lens of our healing modalities It is the story of how we each unlocked the light within us so that others can find their own light through healing It is organized into chapters on the soul, heart, mind, energy, and body I wrote the chapter on the heart about how I unlocked my light by letting my heart walls be melted through healing some of my core traumas The 5 co-authors will be holding workshops once the book is out

Did I mention that Winnie and I were recently called to start a church? You can find us every Sunday from 4:30-6 PM at 1800 W Garvey Ave in Monterey Park, CA

What message do you hope people take away from your work?

We are naturally meant to work together. It can be difficult to see because of the way our society is organized and the interests that are engaged in keeping us separate However, it is the most natural thing to a human being to be working and living hand in hand with others Human nature is actually to help each other This will make recovering from the current extreme disconnection from each other easier to be healed. It is what we evolved to do.