I was born in a hurricane . . . and named Tracy Masington.
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, contemplative arts, and Awakening Joy. A master's degree in psychology added an M.A. to my name.
"Reinvention is the elixir of youth. That must be your business model." is what a business consultant once said to me after hearing about all the jobs I've had (many by invention). Apparently, I approach my life as a frame for ever-changing artwork. I once worked as an admin for a talent agent, when typing memos was done on typewriters and asking a female assistant to fetch your coffee and dry cleaning was still a thing. I sold jeans in a mall and ad space for the classifieds section of The Washington Post. I worked as a staff writer (and one-time sock model) for 'Teen magazine, a contributing writer to LA Magazine, and a writer/editor/designer for blogs, books, a gazillion movie 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 forest, and I returned a ceremonialist -- who later a became clinical psychotherapist and contemplative counselor, meditation educator, 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 a bit of my soul. Performing a hundred (mostly wedding) ceremonies taught me that intimacy is sacred 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. I now appreciate that contemplating death amplifies the preciousness of life, and joy. For more lightness of being, I then became a certified teacher in "Awakening Joy," and now mentor other teachers in training.
Traveling abroad with a backpack taught me about the world; Spike Lee was the first to wake me up on race; and a prison pen pal I met through a program run by the San Francisco Zen Center taught me about accidents of birth and that I must never take privilege for granted. Meditation teaches me to pay attention to life that otherwise passes by in blink. Compassion training and Non-Violent Communication have taught me that empathy is key to human connection and bridge-building.
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, contemplative arts, and Awakening Joy. A master's degree in psychology added an M.A. to my name.
"Reinvention is the elixir of youth. That must be your business model." is what a business consultant once said to me after hearing about all the jobs I've had (many by invention). Apparently, I approach my life as a frame for ever-changing artwork. I once worked as an admin for a talent agent, when typing memos was done on typewriters and asking a female assistant to fetch your coffee and dry cleaning was still a thing. I sold jeans in a mall and ad space for the classifieds section of The Washington Post. I worked as a staff writer (and one-time sock model) for 'Teen magazine, a contributing writer to LA Magazine, and a writer/editor/designer for blogs, books, a gazillion movie 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 forest, and I returned a ceremonialist -- who later a became clinical psychotherapist and contemplative counselor, meditation educator, 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 a bit of my soul. Performing a hundred (mostly wedding) ceremonies taught me that intimacy is sacred 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. I now appreciate that contemplating death amplifies the preciousness of life, and joy. For more lightness of being, I then became a certified teacher in "Awakening Joy," and now mentor other teachers in training.
Traveling abroad with a backpack taught me about the world; Spike Lee was the first to wake me up on race; and a prison pen pal I met through a program run by the San Francisco Zen Center taught me about accidents of birth and that I must never take privilege for granted. Meditation teaches me to pay attention to life that otherwise passes by in blink. Compassion training and Non-Violent Communication have taught me that empathy is key to human connection and bridge-building.
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 creativity, possibility, and future-oriented thinking. I work as a non-sectarian contemplative 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 (formerly Every Now & Then ENCOURAGING WORDS), a newsletter on finding ease through mindfulness, compassion & creativity. It supports students of coursework taught at the San Francisco Zen Center and is also offered freely to the general public. Sign up for ILLUMINATIONS! (Click on the NEWSLETTER tab above to read past issues.)
As an artist, I draw, write, paint, take pictures, mix media and play around with AI. I'm untrained and undaunted. I value the 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 my art is 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 to the book 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: [email protected]
As a counselor, I hold a graduate degree in Clinical Psychology and favor Post-Modern counseling approaches which support creativity, possibility, and future-oriented thinking. I work as a non-sectarian contemplative 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 (formerly Every Now & Then ENCOURAGING WORDS), a newsletter on finding ease through mindfulness, compassion & creativity. It supports students of coursework taught at the San Francisco Zen Center and is also offered freely to the general public. Sign up for ILLUMINATIONS! (Click on the NEWSLETTER tab above to read past issues.)
As an artist, I draw, write, paint, take pictures, mix media and play around with AI. I'm untrained and undaunted. I value the 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 my art is 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 to the book 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: [email protected]