MY STORY
A Man Walking His Own Couragepath
"The desert teaches you something that cities cannot. It teaches you that you are small. That you are part of something vast and ancient. That the terrain you're walking has shaped countless travelers before you. And that the journey itself—not the destination—is where transformation happens."
I didn't arrive at life telling counseling as a neat, linear path. My story is fragmented—full of chapters that seemed disconnected, chaos that felt random, shadowlands I didn't want to explore. But that fragmentation? That's precisely what qualifies me to walk with you through yours.
My Chapters: From Fragmentation to Integration
How my own life telling journey became the foundation for my work
The Pastor: Serving From the Outside
20+ years of ministry leadership
I began my journey as a pastor—walking alongside men through their deepest struggles. I witnessed their chaos, their shame, their longing for authentic presence. I thought I understood their pain. But I was serving from the outside, speaking from theory, not from the depths of my own descent. I was helping others tell their stories while my own remained fragmented.
The chapter I didn't know I was living: I was performing wholeness while my own shadowlands remained unexplored.
The Professor: Teaching What I Didn't Yet Know
Seminary professor training future therapists
As a seminary professor, I trained future clinicians in the integration of faith and psychology. I taught from the contemplative traditions, from Scripture, from the latest research. But I was still teaching from theory. I was helping others understand the couragepath while I hadn't yet walked it myself. My chapters felt disconnected—pastor, professor, clinician—three separate identities that hadn't yet become one.
The chapter I didn't know I was living: I was speaking wisdom I hadn't yet lived. My fragmentation was becoming harder to hide.
The Descent: Meeting My Own Chaos
The chapter that changed everything
Then came the chaos. The kind that can't be managed from a pulpit or a classroom. The kind that forces you to descend. I began to encounter my own shadowlands—the parts of myself I'd hidden, the patterns I'd inherited, the wounds I'd never processed, the authentic self buried beneath years of performance. And in that descent, something shifted. I wasn't just studying the couragepath anymore. I was walking it. Living it. Meeting it in the most intimate terrain of my own soul.
The chapter I was finally living: My fragmentation was becoming my teacher. My chaos was becoming an invitation.
The Integration: Becoming Whole
Where fragmented chapters become coherent narrative
As I walked my own couragepath, something remarkable happened. My fragmented chapters—pastor, professor, clinician, wounded man, seeker, guide—began to integrate. They weren't separate anymore. They were all part of one coherent story. The pastor's heart for spiritual care, the professor's commitment to rigorous understanding, the clinician's skill in nervous system work, the wounded man's compassion for others' pain—all of it came together into something whole. I became a life telling counselor not because I had all the answers, but because I had finally learned to read my own story.
The chapter I'm living now: My wholeness comes from honoring all my chapters—not denying the fragmentation, but integrating it into a coherent narrative of becoming.
"This is why I'm a counselor, not a therapist. I'm not here to fix your fragmentation. I'm here to help you see how all your chapters—even the painful ones—are part of a coherent story trying to become whole. I've walked this terrain. I know what it's like to discover that your chaos is a teacher, that your shadowlands hold the keys to wholeness, that integration is possible. And I walk with you knowing that your story, like mine, is sacred."
What My Story Means For Your Journey
I Understand Fragmentation
I've lived with fragmented chapters. I know what it feels like when different parts of your story seem disconnected, when chaos feels random, when you're performing wholeness while your soul aches. I get it.
I've Walked the Terrain
I've descended into my own shadowlands. I've met my chaos as a teacher. I've discovered what my life was trying to tell me. I'm not speaking from theory. I'm speaking from the lived experience of walking the couragepath.
I Know Integration Is Possible
My fragmented chapters have become an integrated whole. Not by denying the fragmentation, but by honoring all of it. By reading my story with compassion. By becoming conscious of what was unconscious. And I know this is possible for you too.
Professional Foundation
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)
California License — Specialized training in family systems, trauma, and relational healing
Master of Divinity
Seminary-trained in Christian theology, contemplative practice, and spiritual care
20+ Years Pastoral & Ministry Leadership
Deep experience walking alongside men through life's most difficult terrain
Seminary Professor
Trained future therapists in faith-psychology integration and contemplative practice
Specialized Clinical Training
Trauma-informed care, nervous system regulation, Internal Family Systems (IFS), somatic therapy, contemplative practice
20+ Years Clinical Experience
Working with individuals, couples, and families across diverse presentations and life challenges
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