My Journey

I’ve been seeking deeper truths about what it means to be a human being my entire life, and a student of the esoteric, mystical, and spiritual arts for decades.

Body ◊

I started out interested in what science could explain about the universe and the human experience. I received a BA and MA in biochemistry and worked as a biochemist at UC Berkeley for several years. I realized relatively soon in that career that as profoundly effective as science is at explaining the material world, science had only some of the answers and very few about human consciousness.

Soul ◊

I sought elsewhere for deeper truths and was led by friends to the Berkeley Psychic Institute (BPI) where I studied, taught, and directed for much of a decade. There I learned the paradigm-shifting reality that we are not just material beings, but both spirit and body, and that there were aspects to our being that we could not normally see by the physical eyes, but that could be seen and communicated with through the inner eye. I had a multitude of extraordinary spiritual experiences at BPI that utterly transformed my understanding of reality. By the end of my time there, though, I began to suspect that larger forces were also at play, but wasn’t sure what those might be or how to begin to learn about them. So, I began my search again.

Cosmos ◊

I was intrigued for many years by astrology, but despite having a few very interesting readings, it never gripped me as something to study. That all changed a few years after leaving BPI, when I had another life-changing experience in a coffee shop. I was deep in one of the most profound personal crises of my life, when an astrologer that I had a session with many months earlier came up to me, correctly announced my birthday without my saying anything, then proceeded to describe exactly what I was going through and its exact timing: when it began, when it would peak and wane, and when it would complete. Stunned, I sat there for several minutes just to gather myself. I knew my next step. I needed to learn astrology. I got up, walked straight to a neighborhood bookstore, bought several books about astrology, and went directly home to learn how to cast birth charts.

Since that day, decades ago, I have been an astrologer, focusing on spiritual and archetypal astrology, synthesizing all that I’ve learned from my scientific and spiritual studies. Wanting to know more about how all of these things weave together, I completed a PhD under Richard Tarnas, author of Psyche and Cosmos, where I focused my dissertation on the spiritual nature of the Platonic and Hermetic foundations of astrology and an in-depth historical analysis of historical movements correlated with the outer planetary cycles. In 2010, I co-founded Archai: The Journal of Archetypal Astrology.

Body ◊ Soul ◊ Cosmos - Putting it All Together

BPI gave me certainty about the embodied soul. Astrology and CIIS gave me certainty about an ensouled cosmos, active in human existence. I now became aware that I needed to return to body. Our bodies could not possibly be inert material containers for spirit. My experience was overwhelming that our bodies are just as magical and divine as the soul and the cosmos. I needed to understand that better.

Since 2010, I have returned to understand how spirit and body connect, primarily through studying the Feldenkrais® Method and the related work of Ruthy Alon. I am certified to teach her Bones for Life® program, part of her Movement Intelligence Programs.* Through the subtle movements of these disciplines, the active engagement of my spiritual imagination techniques, and the deep understanding of how we are being directed and gently led by cosmic forces, I have come to a deeper understanding of the divine nature of our bodies.

I am led now to help others understand the profound truth and amazing strength that comes from understanding and exploring our tripartite existence.

* Bones for Life® is a registered service mark of Ruthy Alon, PhD. Movement Intelligence Programs are the intellectual property of Ruthy Alon, PhD.

My Traditions

I’ve studied and experienced numerous traditions over decades:  

• Scientific understanding of the material universe through research and lifelong curiosity

• Spiritual, imagination, and intuition core practices mastered at the Berkeley Psychic Institute

• Astrological understanding of the cosmos, human history, and the human psyche through decades of detailed research, study, and practice

• Archetypal understanding of the soul, the cosmos, the astrological archetypes and how astrology works, based on the work of Richard Tarnas, Jung, Stanislav Grof, and others

• Western esoteric and mystical spiritual traditions in PhD and post-doctoral studies at CIIS, including Neoplatonism, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Cabala, Theosophy, and Neopaganism

• Deep embodiment practices learned from Feldenkrais® and related frameworks

Education and Preparation

Vassar College
BA Biochemistry

University of California Berkeley
MA Biochemistry
Research Associate

California Institute of Integral Studies
PhD Philosophy and Religion
Focus on Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness
Adjunct Professor

Berkeley Psychic Institute
Advanced teacher and director training
Teacher and Director

Foundation for Movement Intelligence / Feldenkrais® Method
Movement Dialogues, Brenda Sorkin
Bones for Life® Certified Teacher

* Bones for Life® is a registered service mark of Ruthy Alon, PhD. Movement Intelligence Programs are the intellectual property of Ruthy Alon, PhD.