The first part of this page contains a few interesting stories from my youth, followed by my background in the counseling/healing arts.

Dreams and Youth

My interest and appreciation for dream-work may have been stimulated by my own childhood dreams. My dreams were quite vivid, as though I had lived through the experiences once before and was remembering/re-visiting an event. I suppose I could also say that my interest in the power of intention can be traced back to this time as well (from about age six or seven). I had been having a recurring nightmare, one night, just prior to going to bed I opened my window and with a lot of intention "invited" my heroes to come in during the night to protect me from the scary monster. I never had the nightmare again!

Celestial Sounds

When I was a child, around age nine, lasting for at least a year, I used to hear quiet music. It seemed to enter my right ear and follow me around the house. I would check with my family if they had a radio playing, or if they could hear the music too, but apparently I was the only one.

Remembrances

I had an interest in many cultures, different from my own. In my early teens I felt a kinship with many ideas, lands, and peoples: Native people, Ancient Greek, and Egyptian worlds, and much of Africa and Polynesia too. Certain dances, images, colors, costumes, furnishings seemed familiar. I often felt at home with foreign images, art, and architecture. -- In 7th grade we studied Ancient Egypt in school with films, discussion, slides, hand-outs. I asked the teacher why we were repeating this class again? I was told it is the first time they were presenting this material, that it was not scheduled any earlier than the current viewing. I was convinced we had already seen the film and discussed Ancient Egypt, so much if it looked familiar.

Body and Breath

My mother reminds me that she took me to my first yoga class when I was age 11 and that I took to it like a duck to water. I remember the ideas presented by that teacher made sense to me, I felt comfortable and excited to discuss the power of the mind and body. I enjoyed the focused  imagery and the pleasant feelings of a stretched and warmed body.

Dreaming the Teacher Awake

In the mid 1980's, when I was about age 25 or 26, I began to have dreams of a Native American-Metis teacher with specific teachings. I even "saw" a particular ring he wore. The dreams were coming with regular frequency. One day after months of the dreams, I mentioned them to a friend. He said it sounded like the person who had put together this book, he showed me a teaching manual with drawings and the very ideas from my dreams. As it turned out, not only did I meet him, this man stayed with me upon his first visit to teach a week-long workshop north of Toronto. I began to apprentice with him and that relationship carried on for more than 5-years. The magic, healing rituals, and power of those years still impress themselves upon me!

Odd things in the sky

This photo is of me  in the Glastonbury England was taken in the mid-80's. I wish I could enlarge the photo to make clear the interesting object (literally a UFO) behind me! This scan of an old photo does not enlarge well. Anyway, there may be the myths and stories about the Grail, King Arthur etc. in this part of England, yet, when looking at the photo after it was taken I noticed what seems to be a UFO?! Look to the left side of the photo, hovering above the road behind me, not on the ground. It is sticking out a little from behind the tree; I'm up high on a mountain. It is a curious image, I have no idea what it is, but it did not make sense given the terrain there.

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''Terra, I am delighted I was able to sit-in on your women's group as I watched how you compassionately meet people in their darkest corner in the underworld and shine a light for them , illuminating a pathway out of suffering. It was a pleasure to witness this gift of yours.'' - Joan, Oakland, CA

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When I was 17, I was in a course, during the session the instructor said she would need to end early because she had a terrible headache, and that she'd had it for days. Before I could even stop myself, I heard my own voice say, "I can help take the pain away." I spend some time with her after class, doing some energy/hands-on on healing. It was as if I "heard" healing directions coming in to me through my right ear (the way I used to hear the music) a voice told me what to do and say. -- The next time I saw the instructor she asked what I had done! She told me not only did the headache go away, she said she felt light and uplifted for days afterward, even giddy!

Energy Hands

One more story

In the early 1980's I was doing energy healing and reflexology with clients, a part of me thought I needed to take a certification course in reflexology too. Well, something curious had happened. An inner voice told me to do things a little differently than taught by the instructor; I did not listen and broke my arm in a fall soon after. Curiously, this ensured that I *had* to do things my own way after all. Trust in myself has always led me down a better path.

Soon after my cast was removed I began to work with a client who had developed epilepsy resulting from a car accident. Initially he came to see me for weekly healing sessions, and then every two-weeks. He told me that after our sessions he discovered a lot more time between seizures.

One day while he was laying on my healing table, I was aware of even more light and energy wrapping around my arms. I strongly felt a presence behind me that was amplifying the healing energy in the room.

I kept this to myself while working. Somehow, this client who had described becoming psychic after his head injury, suddenly said out loud to me that he saw the light wrapped around my hands and arms and the presence of a healing guide behind me too. He described her in precisely the same way I experienced her internally. Quite the confirmation!

My healing path began as a teen, intuitively, instinctively and with occasional memories or images emerging from some distant place or time. In time I would "discover" my hand reaching out to touch (rest gently) on a person who I would learn had been in pain. I was unaware that I had even done so at first.

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Background

I have been an educator, healer, and counselor in Canada and the U.S. since 1983, working with groups, individuals, and couples. My commitment to integral healing and compassionate insight is at the core of my work as a midwife for the soul. My work blends the  skill I bring to it, my intuition, as well as the many special things I've learned from clients and student over the years too.

I have taught yoga, breathwork, meditation, stres-reduction, and movement awareness to groups and individuals. I've coached athletes and dancers with therapies such as massage, yoga, somatic therapy, herbs/nutrients, and hypnosis to help improve their skill.

I have worked as a crisis counselor for the Rape Crisis Center in Marin County, CA, and taught teens and college aged women empowerment strategies and self-defense techniques, along with stress relief and meditation.

I have gravitated to many cultures and spiritual healing systems since my youth. I experienced an incredible few years while involved with inter-tribal Native and Toltec teachings.

I'm told I have a knack for active listening, deep non-biased listening; for hearing what is said, and what is not said, or overtly spoken. I "catch" things others have missed. I have a love and skill with dreams, symbols, and working with energies too.

For decades I have worked with body-mind and soul, drawing from observation, skills, and intuition. My work blends clinical hypnotherapy (healing trance) transpersonal therapy, Jungian and Reichian methods, dream-work, nutrients and lifestyle health, ritual, astrological reflection, archetypal insight, and the wisdom found in story and myth.

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"Dear Terra, I understands why a person would travel 800 miles to work with you. There is power and elegance to your work that it is so real and tangible, real life stuff that is grounded, and workable, that makes a lasting difference. Things have clicked into place for me now. Thank you." -Nan, Marin County

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Toronto Canada

Age 11 or 12

Native inter-tribal prayer gathering

1985, California

Glastonbury England

This photo of my aura was taken from a Kirlian Photography camera. Kirlian photography refers to a form of photogram made with a high voltage. It is named after Semyon Kirlian, who in 1939 accidentally discovered that if an object on a photographic plate is connected to a source of high voltage, small corona discharge (created by the strong electric field at the edges of the object) create an image on the photographic plate. This is believed to be the aura.