I have studied and read the Bible (Christianity), The Four Noble Truths (Buddha), teachings by Joseph Smith (Mormon Religion), Confucius (Confucianism), Madame Blavatsky (Theosophy), Lao-Tzu (Taoism), Paramahansa Yagananda, amongst many others. I am very interested in the metaphysical and esoteric aspects of spirituality and find value in all of them.

I believe that we all have the ability and power to create our own lives in the way that we desire and that we are ultimately responsible for everything that we create. I believe in a loving universe that supports us and that all challenges we have are for the evolution of our soul. I believe that we are spiritual beings here in a physical body here to learn, grow and evolve in consciousness, ultimately moving into a state of love.

What “spirit” means to me
To me “spirit” is the active spiritual essence and life force that underlies and “interlies” all of nature, which includes the whole of humanity extending out to the entirety of the Universe. Spirit is the essence which permeates all of that which is inanimate and animates it. Without spirit there would be no consciousness, no evolution and no life as we know it. Spirit brings the essence of love into all that is seen and unseen and exists to awaken our consciousness within to the love which is All That Is.

What “spiritual” means to me
To me “spiritual” is “of spirit” which means that everything and anything, seen or unseen, known or unknown, even outside the understanding of our mind is spiritual. Spiritual is not something we do, it is something we are. As human beings, we are spiritual beings at our core living a spiritual life, and any action, feeling or thought that is aligned with our purpose and mission leads us towards experience our spiritual nature. Our spiritual nature is pure love, joy and inspiration.

Further information on what I believe
I fully believe that we all have an underlying spiritual essence. I am theistic meaning that I believe in the essence or existence of God and a “God” that is an infinite presence existing throughout all space and all time. This God is both a personal (involved in my life) and impersonal (involved in Universal Laws) God and is the pure essence of Love. This God is the “Grand Organizing Designer” of the Universe we live in. I often use “Creator” in place of “God.”

In addition, I am animistic, monotheistic, polytheistic, pantheistic and monopantheistic. In other words, I believe that spirit pervades all living things, that God could be thought of as one or as many and that “everything” is God. I believe there is nowhere that God is not, just as I believe that there is nowhere that love is not. To me this is the essence of creation.

I do not believe in the existence of a Devil or Satan or any personification of evil. I believe that anything that happens in our lives that seems like it is “of the Devil” is simply a way for the Universe to offer us an opportunity to awaken and to grow by challenging our values and belief systems.

I believe that God or the Creator is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient and that God is the perfect synthesis of what we perceive of as “good” and “bad.” If we only perceive of and sense an experience of only one or the other, then we are only seeing it through a lopsided perception and not experiencing God and love.

To me, God exists in the exact center between any two extreme ends of any complementary opposites. In every experience in life, whether you perceive of it as “good” or “bad,” the moment you can see the perfection of both sides, you can know God and experience the love that is ever present. In every moment in life, recognizing, knowing and experiencing God’s presence in my heart.

Why I chose this path
Although since 1996 I was interested in spirituality, the main reason I pursued the path to become a minister in 2001 was so that I could be a wedding officiant and perform ceremonies for couples who wanted to get married. I guess you could say it was a “calling” because when I saw ceremonies, I desired to be the one performing them.

Then, after beginning this work, I found that many couples do not actively practice any certain religion, or they come from separate belief systems or religious backgrounds. So as to not have religion be an issue in a ceremony, I wanted to offer a way to work seamlessly with any variety of beliefs so that it is “your” ceremony vs. “mine.” 

Therefore I am open to doing a ceremony that is non-denominational where we do not call upon “God” to be present if that is not your way. I am also open to doing a ceremony where we do a simple blessing vs. a religious prayer and do not call upon a diety but simply offer gratitude for all that has brought you together and ask for blessings on your path. Interestingly, I am also fully comfortable performing a Christian based ceremony, selecting passages from the Bible as a guiding force in your life.

Closing Words
When I was first ordained as a minister I was 37 years old and many people found it odd that I would desire such a profession, especially since it was largely dominated by older men and on top of it there were very few women doing ceremonies that I knew of. The image of a wedding minister was “an older male” and I just didn’t fit that picture. Many of those who knew me didn’t think that I would be able to find people who would want me to marry them and I got a lot of laughs and sarcastic “good lucks.”

However, I was not discouraged since I felt so strongly that the right couples would find me. What difference did it make what the officiant looked like and what gender they were? I had a passion to make a ceremony perfect for the couple and through my words and energy create a space in time that was intimate, memorable, graceful, touching, warm and meaningful.

So, here I am almost over seven years later and I feel I am doing what I envisioned. I am blessed to have married close to 400 couples since I started and feel each ceremony is special and unique to the love that is shared. I know I am not for everyone, but if you find a resonance with what I say and what I’ve shared, I hope you will contact me. I would be honored to be a part of your special day.

Who I believe I am from a spiritual perspective

SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE
Who am I?

I am a conscious and awakened spiritual being having a human experience here on earth.
I am a limitless being and am capable of doing anything that I so desire.
I am here on earth destined for a specific and unique purpose of my choosing which I believe
is to be inspired by life.
I am a human being that has everything I need within me to fulfill my purpose.
I am a spiritual being here on a mission to awaken to love and see it everywhere and in all things.