About Justin
Hi. I'm Justin (he/they). I am a queer bodhisattva-in-training and Earth poet. My spouse Craig and I live along the banks of the 300 millon year old Susquehanna River in Central Pennsylvania with our dogs Yeshe (whose name means "Wisdom") and Benny. Our rescue dogs have been important spiritual companions and teachers for me. Our home is on the path of Canada Geese and White Egret flight to and from the creek to the river. Silver Maple in our backyard is the World Tree and home of a vibrant squirrel and winged community.
I celebrate the spiritual giftedness of the LGBTQIA+ community and work for healing in community weaving together chaplaincy, spiritual guiding, poetry, Reiki and contemplative walks in nature.
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Since I was 16, I have facilitated individual and group experiences for folks age 5 to 105 in the classroom, hospital, on Zoom, and on Forest Bathing walks both in-person and on Zoom.
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Education and Experience
Certifications:
Spiritual Direction Training Certification (2019-2021)
Deepening Year of Spiritual Direction Practice (2022)
Dean for Year II of Spiritual Direction For Spiritual Guides (Currently)
Supervisor for Year II of Spiritual Direction For Spiritual Guides (2021-2022)
Association of Nature and Forest Therapy: Forest Bathing Program
Certified Guide (2022)
Member, Spiritual Directors International
2023 Co-Presenter at Conference: Belonging and Earth Connection, Eco-Grief
2022 New Contemplatives Cohort Member
One Spirit Learning Alliance: Supervisor for Interspiritual Counseling and Companionship (ISCC) Program 2021-2022
Supervisor for Adult Learners in ISCC Program (Current and 2021-2022)
Interspiritual Curriculum Development Team
Foundation for Shamanic Studies Trained
Advanced practice and training in:
Shamanic Journeying, Power Soul Retrieval,
Death, Dying, and Beyond
Professional Chaplain
Experience in Palliative Care, Grief Support, Developing Meaningful Ritual, Group Spiritual Direction
5 Units of CPE including Chaplain Residency at The Ohio State Wexner University Medical Center
Master of Theological Studies - Trinity Lutheran Seminary (2017)
Foci: Ecological Justice, Street Chaplaincy & Social Justice, Celtic & Contemplative Spiritualities
Master of Education Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, Boston University
Master of Spanish, Simmons University
Language Education for Communication & Cultural Connections
Spiritual Community Affiliations:
Mother Earth in all wild, rewilding places & suffering places
Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery
Columbus Karma Thegsum Choling
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My community and philosophy
My work as a spiritual counselor carries the fragrance of the offerings of Cypress who held my grief, my dog Parker who was a spiritual director and bodhisattva to me, Bill Plotkin's definition of soul as each person's niche, Mary Oliver's mystic poetic vision of nature, Robin Wall-Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, John O'Donohue's Anam Cara (Soul Friendship), the support of the ancestors, the Divine Mother Mary's "yes" to Mystery, Avalokitesvara's tears for all the suffering ones and Green Tara's swift compassion.
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I honor the life experience and unique self each person is. I believe that there is an original goodness, original blessing, a Buddha nature that is our deepest essence and point of connection with the human and more than human world. The Wild part of Wild Spirit Paths is an invitation to return to that primordial, natural giftedness as the place from which we begin and repeatedly return in the spiral of our life journey. Spirit invites your understanding of the Divine/God/Higher Power into relationship with you in life, the Path that is yours to travel.