In 2014, I began exploring Western esotericism, archetypal astrology, and Jungian thought. Although these traditions approach human experience from different angles, they returned again and again to the same themes: identity, meaning, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

I became fascinated by symbolism and the ways it emerges through image, story, and synchronicity. What drew me in was the possibility that there was more to our experience than we could readily see.

Over time, my curiosity led me toward questions surrounding death and what lies beyond it. I became particularly interested in the Egyptian pantheon and its symbolism of the underworld, the unseen, and the aspects of ourselves we often keep hidden.

This eventually led me to explore mediumship and a question that has fascinated humanity for centuries: Can we truly communicate with those who have passed on?

Then grief entered my life.

The loss of my mother changed the way I understood many things. Grief strips life down to what is real. It showed me how rarely people allow others to see what lies beneath the composure they work so hard to maintain. It also revealed how deeply we need one another, even when we struggle to admit it.

For the first time, I turned the same attention inward that I had spent years directing toward understanding others. The experience humbled me. As I looked more closely, I began to recognize the ways I had adapted myself around the expectations of others.

Over time, some of those adaptations had become so familiar that they felt like part of who I was. It gave me a deeper appreciation for how difficult it can be to face ourselves honestly, and how much easier it becomes when we do not have to do it alone.

Further exploration eventually led me toward contemplative practice and the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism through the Shambhala tradition. Through open-eye meditation, my awareness gradually expanded.

As I spent more time reflecting, I learned to observe my thoughts, emotions, habits, and reactions with greater honesty. I began to see how assumptions shaped my perceptions and how easily I became caught in patterns operating beyond my awareness.

This is how I arrived here.

I’m interested in the stories we mistake for truth and the patterns we repeat without realizing we are repeating them. What interests me is the moment a person stops asking, “Why does this keep happening to me?” and begins to see their own role in the pattern.

Sometimes a single realization changes everything. Not because anything new appeared, but because something that was always there finally came into view.