When My Mother Was a Mountain

In the summer of 1996 my life took a detour during a month-long solo camping trip to South Dakota. It was then that some unimaginable things happened. I sensed emanations from the land, saw the ghosts of Indigenous people, and watched birds morph before my eyes. The journey led to a spontaneous transformation from ordinary science teacher into medical intuitive and healer. During my trip I encountered dangerous storms, generous people, and confusing encounters with others. In my journal, I documented my near catastrophes, metaphysical anomalies, and the incredible sadness of the area. While writing the memoir I relived my childhood, growing up in the farmlands of northern New Hampshire, and the harm my emotionally ill mother inflicted on my family.

Relaxing in my tent on the prairie, I mused about the connections between the Laws of Physics and the workings of the Universe. I never lost my childhood curiosity about Nature and on my trip that wonder flourished.

Ultimately I learned to swallow my pride and fears of rejection, and to trust my inner personal compass. It was the journey west that reminded me of my strength to scramble out of vulnerability and once again embrace my independence.

Soon after that, my intuitive and healing gifts began to unexpectedly appear and grow. At one point during a spontaneous meditation I was told a magical piece of land was waiting to be rediscovered. I trusted my intuition would lead me to it and it did. I found it and created my business, "Forest Circles," where I host programs featuring various traditional practices and where I offer my own styles of medical intuitive and energy healing. And, it was then, I found ways to finally forgive my mother.