I was born in a hurricane . . .
It's true. I was born in a hurricane -- which might explain my interest in meditation and fascination with becoming the eye of the storm.
Somewhere between my origin story and now, I gathered up professional experience in journalism, PR, marketing, psychology and contemplative arts.
"Reinvention is the elixir of youth. That must be your business model." is what a friend once said to me after hearing about all the jobs I've had. I'm not yet aging backwards, but I do apparently consider my life as a frame for ever-changing artwork. Among the somewhat amusing, I worked as an admin for a talent agent, sold jeans in a mall, and sold ad space for the classifieds section of The Washington Post. I worked as a writer (and one-time sock model) for 'Teen magazine, a writer for LA Magazine, and a writer / editor / designer for blogs, books, a gazillion press kits, websites, newsletters, marketing collateral, medical publications and . . . party invitations. One summer, there was a gig on Capitol Hill. But a big chunk of my work life was devoted to holiday-free years in the Hollywood entertainment industry, which I left after acquiring a few Big Titles from a few Big Movie Studios. To recover from that, I went off to a little island near Vancouver where sand meets the sea alongside dense forrest, and I returned a ceremonialist -- who later a became clinical psychotherapist / contemplative counselor, meditation teacher, and an accidental artist. To name a few incarnations.
On the general arc of learning . . . I studied journalism before it was a business of entertainment, and psychology after the entertainment business stole my soul. Performing a hundred (mostly wedding) ceremonies taught me that intimacy is a sacred place and marriage is not the result of a wedding. Someone later talked me into a two-year course of study on "old age, sickness and dying," and stranger yet, I was grateful. And now for more lightness of being, I'm training in "awakening joy." Traveling abroad with a backpack taught me about the world; Spike Lee was the first to wake me up on race; and a zen-practice-related prison pen pal taught me about accidents of birth and that I must never take my privilege for granted. Meditation now teaches me never to forget what I've learned and to forget everything I think I know -- at the same time.
I love life's liminal space -- between here and there, where I am not an ist or er but something on its way to becoming.
So, that's where I play. In that liminal space. It's where magic lives, ideas are born, art arises, and understanding manifests. If you'd like a co-captain on unleashing possibility, revitalizing creativity, finding joy and endeavoring to thrive, you'll find me in the liminal space. Or you can send me an email.
I'm passionate about catalyzing creativity and change, helping people find their muse, using art and ceremony to transform lives, clean water activism, poets Amanda Gorman, David Whyte, and Pádraig Ó Tuama, Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts, Japanese aesthetics, the wisdom in nature and stillness, awakening joy, and addressing unjust incarceration of human beings & animals.
I'm interested in: just. about. everything.
Somewhere between my origin story and now, I gathered up professional experience in journalism, PR, marketing, psychology and contemplative arts.
"Reinvention is the elixir of youth. That must be your business model." is what a friend once said to me after hearing about all the jobs I've had. I'm not yet aging backwards, but I do apparently consider my life as a frame for ever-changing artwork. Among the somewhat amusing, I worked as an admin for a talent agent, sold jeans in a mall, and sold ad space for the classifieds section of The Washington Post. I worked as a writer (and one-time sock model) for 'Teen magazine, a writer for LA Magazine, and a writer / editor / designer for blogs, books, a gazillion press kits, websites, newsletters, marketing collateral, medical publications and . . . party invitations. One summer, there was a gig on Capitol Hill. But a big chunk of my work life was devoted to holiday-free years in the Hollywood entertainment industry, which I left after acquiring a few Big Titles from a few Big Movie Studios. To recover from that, I went off to a little island near Vancouver where sand meets the sea alongside dense forrest, and I returned a ceremonialist -- who later a became clinical psychotherapist / contemplative counselor, meditation teacher, and an accidental artist. To name a few incarnations.
On the general arc of learning . . . I studied journalism before it was a business of entertainment, and psychology after the entertainment business stole my soul. Performing a hundred (mostly wedding) ceremonies taught me that intimacy is a sacred place and marriage is not the result of a wedding. Someone later talked me into a two-year course of study on "old age, sickness and dying," and stranger yet, I was grateful. And now for more lightness of being, I'm training in "awakening joy." Traveling abroad with a backpack taught me about the world; Spike Lee was the first to wake me up on race; and a zen-practice-related prison pen pal taught me about accidents of birth and that I must never take my privilege for granted. Meditation now teaches me never to forget what I've learned and to forget everything I think I know -- at the same time.
I love life's liminal space -- between here and there, where I am not an ist or er but something on its way to becoming.
So, that's where I play. In that liminal space. It's where magic lives, ideas are born, art arises, and understanding manifests. If you'd like a co-captain on unleashing possibility, revitalizing creativity, finding joy and endeavoring to thrive, you'll find me in the liminal space. Or you can send me an email.
I'm passionate about catalyzing creativity and change, helping people find their muse, using art and ceremony to transform lives, clean water activism, poets Amanda Gorman, David Whyte, and Pádraig Ó Tuama, Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts, Japanese aesthetics, the wisdom in nature and stillness, awakening joy, and addressing unjust incarceration of human beings & animals.
I'm interested in: just. about. everything.
FURTHER IN THE WEEDS . . .
As a counselor, I hold a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology and favor Post-Modern counseling approaches which support creative, future-oriented thinking. I work as non-sectarian pastoral counselor serving those who wish spirituality to lead their course of change. And as a creativity catalyst, I help clients break apart habituated thinking, illuminate untapped potential and catalyze change.
As a meditation facilitator, I'm practiced in teaching meditation as means for creative breakthroughs, personal growth, amplifying joy, and managing chronic pain, illness, anxiety and depression. I publish ILLUMINATIONS, a meditation newsletter on finding ease through mindfulness, compassion & creativity (formerly Every Now & Then ENCOURAGING WORDS). It supports students of workshops taught at the San Francisco Zen Center and is also offered freely to the general public. Sign up for ILLUMINATIONS!
As an artist, I draw, write, paint, take pictures and mix media. I value use of the Arts for personal healing and transformation, so I make use of it. Art-making keeps me sane and cultivates creativity. A little bit of art here.
As a ceremonialist, I spent 15+ years writing and performing custom ceremonies for life milestones and passages, mostly weddings, but also anniversaries, birthdays, retirement, memorials, and underserved life transitions: challenging medical diagnoses, divorce, pet loss, empty-nest transitioning. Fundamentally, I believe how we set in motion the things to come may determine what becomes of those things -- and ultimately, what becomes of our lives. I'm a contributing author of Weddings, Funerals and Rites of Passage: sample ceremonies for Celebrants, Officiants and Ministers.
As a former film industry PR and marketing executive, I worked for Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Entertainment Group and Morgan Creek Productions at Warner Bros. Studios. Among the many publicity campaigns I served were Steven Spielbergs’ Academy Award winner “Schindler’s List” and "Jurassic Park"; Spike Lee’s breakthrough film “Do The Right Thing” and Spike's "Jungle Fever"; and "Mo' Better Blues"; the Kevin Costner classic “Field of Dreams"; Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July"; David Lynch's "Blue Velvet"; "Back to the Future, Parts II & III"; "Parenthood"; "Kindergarten Cop"; "Cape Fear" starring Robert De Niro, "In The Name of the Father" starring Daniel Day Lewis; and "Fried Green Tomatoes." I also worked in television publicity handling PR for King World, Paramount Television, and Samuel Goldwyn Television -- which, collectively, included the top-rated syndicated shows "Oprah," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Jeopardy."
That's my rap. Questions welcome: tracy@illuminationarts.info
As a counselor, I hold a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology and favor Post-Modern counseling approaches which support creative, future-oriented thinking. I work as non-sectarian pastoral counselor serving those who wish spirituality to lead their course of change. And as a creativity catalyst, I help clients break apart habituated thinking, illuminate untapped potential and catalyze change.
As a meditation facilitator, I'm practiced in teaching meditation as means for creative breakthroughs, personal growth, amplifying joy, and managing chronic pain, illness, anxiety and depression. I publish ILLUMINATIONS, a meditation newsletter on finding ease through mindfulness, compassion & creativity (formerly Every Now & Then ENCOURAGING WORDS). It supports students of workshops taught at the San Francisco Zen Center and is also offered freely to the general public. Sign up for ILLUMINATIONS!
As an artist, I draw, write, paint, take pictures and mix media. I value use of the Arts for personal healing and transformation, so I make use of it. Art-making keeps me sane and cultivates creativity. A little bit of art here.
As a ceremonialist, I spent 15+ years writing and performing custom ceremonies for life milestones and passages, mostly weddings, but also anniversaries, birthdays, retirement, memorials, and underserved life transitions: challenging medical diagnoses, divorce, pet loss, empty-nest transitioning. Fundamentally, I believe how we set in motion the things to come may determine what becomes of those things -- and ultimately, what becomes of our lives. I'm a contributing author of Weddings, Funerals and Rites of Passage: sample ceremonies for Celebrants, Officiants and Ministers.
As a former film industry PR and marketing executive, I worked for Universal Pictures, Dino De Laurentiis Entertainment Group and Morgan Creek Productions at Warner Bros. Studios. Among the many publicity campaigns I served were Steven Spielbergs’ Academy Award winner “Schindler’s List” and "Jurassic Park"; Spike Lee’s breakthrough film “Do The Right Thing” and Spike's "Jungle Fever"; and "Mo' Better Blues"; the Kevin Costner classic “Field of Dreams"; Oliver Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July"; David Lynch's "Blue Velvet"; "Back to the Future, Parts II & III"; "Parenthood"; "Kindergarten Cop"; "Cape Fear" starring Robert De Niro, "In The Name of the Father" starring Daniel Day Lewis; and "Fried Green Tomatoes." I also worked in television publicity handling PR for King World, Paramount Television, and Samuel Goldwyn Television -- which, collectively, included the top-rated syndicated shows "Oprah," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Jeopardy."
That's my rap. Questions welcome: tracy@illuminationarts.info