TENDING to the SOUL
If you are at a turning point or crossroads in your life–exploring existential questions, faith, mysticism, or what might come next–I offer 1:1 care and companioning for the soul. I also offer guidance for those who have had a near death experience (NDE), as I have, and are dealing with integrating the aftereffects. My personal spiritual experiences, my Interfaith Chaplaincy and Spiritual Direction studies through The Chaplaincy Institute, esoteric studies with Nine Gates Mystery School, working as a Chaplain Resident at Marin Health and Clinical Pastoral Education, all provide the foundation for the care and companioning I offer you and your loved ones. CELEBRATING FAMILY and COMMUNITY
Secular or Faith-based: Ceremonies and rituals bring people together in community, celebrate life and offer space for reflection and renewal. They also help support us through trying times. I am happy to collaborate with you to create a unique, intimate and memorable wedding ceremony, memorial service, grief ritual, rite of passage, blessing for a newborn, new home, or to celebrate the turning of the seasons. Examples:
Wedding #1 - Setting Sacred Space: Together with the bride and groom we created an intimate circle of guest seating, holding the ceremony in the center. Guests filed into their seats following the spiral layout. A section of the outer ring of chairs remained empty to honor the loved ones who could not attend. Giving the invocation as I walked the circle, I explained how perfectly a circle symbolized the cycles of life ...no beginning, no end… and how everyone's energy spiraling in helped to create the sacred container for the ceremony. Wedding #2 - Private Interfaith Ceremony in Nature: The Bride, Groom and I walked a short distance into the redwoods to find a circle of trees within which to hold their private ceremony. Asking the trees permission, and honoring the space they held for us, we then faced toward Mecca, as the bride was Muslim. We opened the ceremony with a blessing and poetry by Rumi. The couple exchanged gemstones along with their vows and then closed with a poem written by the groom for his beloved. Very sweet. Wedding #3 - Backyard family and friends gathering: My nephew and his beloved wanted a brief (10 minute) secular ceremony with just a touch of Spirit. “No mass,” my nephew had said, laughing. I designed the ceremony with them and prior to the blessed day, asked both for words to describe the other. Each used the very same words, which, unbeknownst to all of us, I wove into my service and they wove into their vows. Lots of happy tears all the way around, along with words of gratitude from the bride’s children, ex-husband and minister of her first wedding. Labyrinth Walks are a wonderful meditative tool for balancing and integrating left and right brain activities. I also create and lead public labyrinth meditations and ceremonies for celebrating seasonal changes and rites of passage. "I very much appreciate Lisa's openness, balance and wisdom when using the labyrinth, guiding people to trust in themselves during the turns on life's journey." - Jo Ann Mast, Labyrinth Facilitator and Master Teacher
BEAUTY AS MEDICINE
Photography as a Spiritual/Healing Practice
It is my belief that nature heals, that beauty heals, and that becoming one with the beauty in nature we open our hearts and transcend to a Divine consciousness. If this offering resonates with you as a spiritual practice, I invite you to join me for a walk once a month. Between our times together, we’ll practice with prompts for seeing, listening and writing from your own Divine Sight. Contact: lisajwinston@Ljwdivinesight.com
Rev. Lisa’s Interfaith Experience and Education
Aghor Yoga Tradition
Tibetan & Zen Buddhism
Taoism
Earth-Based, Goddess / Indigenous Wisdom
Being with Dying & Death
Celtic Druidism
Kabbalah
Sufism
Mystical Christianity
Professional Affiliations/Memberships:
Spiritual Directors International
International Association for Near Death Studies
Interfaith Chaplain in Good Standing (ChI)
