​

Are you from a particular school or order?

 

No, although there are some with whom I strongly resonate. I’ve found Truth in many, many places – I make it a policy not to discriminate! See About Shanti Mai if you want to know more.

 

Was the name Shanti Mai given to you by your teacher?

​

By one of them, yes. An intensive, but short-term teacher who had studied with Poonjaji (Papaji), an enlightened student of the Indian saint, Ramana Maharshi. “Shanti Mai" means “Mother of Peace" in Sanskrit. From that moment (the late ‘90s) on, I couldn’t NOT be – or at least move towards being – Shanti Mai.

​

Don't most spiritual teachers study with an enlightened master?

​

Many do, but there are always exceptions. Ramana Maharshi, at the age of 16 – following the death of his beloved father – became enlightened by facing his fear of death. No master involved, just his own inner awareness. Eckhardt Tolle also had no master; he became enlightened when, in the depths of a long and bottomless depression, he heard himself think, “I can’t live with myself any longer". 

​

I? And Myself? Not two! And then, like Ramana and others, he became enlightened through his own awareness, without the Grace of a Master. So, if your life isn’t perfect, you’re in good company! And you’ve got great fodder for enlightenment.

Autobiography of a Yogi is a very beautiful and moving book by Yogananda, an enlightened Indian master who came to the United States to teach early in the 20th century. I recommend it highly!

​

You say that emotional healing combines compassion with loving challenge. How can a challenge be loving or compassionate?

​

When a child is afraid to ride a bike, is it compassionate to let them simply quit and not try again? 

No. What’s compassionate is to challenge them to face their fears – with your support.

When a client is stuck, what’s loving and compassionate is for me to show them how to be free. I sit with them through their darkness, through their fear, and hold space with them, space that is their own true Nature - that is unchanging.

​

Emotional Healing can improve your quality of life "despite trying circumstances"? How?

 

A: Do you remember the movie Groundhog Day? Phil - Bill Murray’s character - lived through the same day hundreds, maybe thousands of times. Everything was the same except his response to it, yet the results were radically different.

Phil finally realized that he had a choice to make, and that his choice made a huge difference in the life he experienced. Until we’re willing to stop denying our emotions – and assumptions – like Phil, we are on “automatic pilot". By acknowledging our feelings and beliefs about the world, we gain perspective. We realize that there are other choices we can make.

It’s easier to face fear and other intense feelings with another person. With a loving, calm and objective presence, we can choose to resonate with the part of us that matches their awareness.

Shutting down to fear or anger shuts you down. Everything that reminds you of that fear – or could possibly lead to it - is off-limits! Often a client sitting with me will face their biggest fear, and find, in it’s stead, the deepest peace they’ve ever known. In the Bible, this is called the “Peace Which Passes Understanding". The peace which is sooo unexpected, right in the midst of your darkness. Presence, honesty, and humility will disarm your darkness and leave you only with your deepest Truth: That you are a part of God.

 

How do I prepare for my Intuitive / Emotional Healing session?

 

To prepare for your appointment:

 

1) Quiet time before the session is recommended, if possible - especially if you live a high-stress, mental-focused lifestyle.

2) If your session is on the phone, do whatever you can to make sure you won’t be interrupted.

3) Thinking in advance about your questions is suggested, but don’t plan to take notes during the session. I want you to be engaged with what we’re doing at the moment, not trying to preserve that moment in formaldehyde for some time in the future! All sessions are recorded, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to take notes when you listen to it the 2nd (or third) time.

4) Sometimes a client has a feeling that they should contact me, but they’re not sure why. Sitting quietly with the feeling of not knowing, is a good idea in that case. If sitting quietly is not possible, start to monitor - to observe - what you’re doing, thinking, feeling. That will do for preparation, too, quite nicely!

 

How does your work differ from psychology?

 

Psychology takes an analytical approach to what the client says, experiences, and feels, and matches that to categories, to diagnoses based on previous cases. This is not to say that a psychologist may not have an intuitive understanding, but that is not their training, not the paradigm they’re oriented to work within.

My approach is quite different: My mind comes into the process when needed – it does not “start the show. I refer to it – to choose a specific word, to choose an analogy, or to cite a specific example. This is why clairaudience, clairvoyance and clairsentience can, and do, occur: I have no belief or agenda, nothing of “me" to get in the way. I experience myself as if I am you, the client – without the history or the beliefs involved with being you. I experience your feelings, but with the important addition of compassion - and objectivity.

​

What is your privacy policy?

 

What happens in your session is strictly private. Never will your name be used without your permission – or your issues discussed with any identifying information attached, and the recording of your session is in an online folder that only you and I have access to.

Note: I often don’t remember what happened in a particular session, as I’m not operating in a very linear way while I’m doing them! For Package Sessions, I will re-listen to your GPS (initial) Session before your appointment, and you will, too.

 

How can emotional healing improve my health?

 

Most people have heard plenty about the mind / body connection. Often, when we haven’t gotten the message in any other way, the body will send it loud and clear. In the past several years, my work has gone more strongly in the direction of health and wellness, more deeply into the emotional and psychological components of illness and of health.

It is, of course, important for you to understand that my work does not take the place of your doctor’s advice! Having said that, in my 30s, I myself healed from multiple allergies – which had grown quite severe – through facing deep, buried memories.

I have, with sadness, watched people “go under", health-wise, after labeling themselves with a permanent marker as someone who suffers, someone who is ill. I always try to be aware of projection, of assumptions about my future life; I suggest you do the same.

 

 

Do you do energy healing / Energy work?

​

Not generally. I am a trained Reiki Master, for example, but in my experience, Energy Healing cannot take the place of emotional healing; if the root issues are not acknowledged or dealt with, it’s hard for any externally-sourced healing to be permanent.

 

What does stilling the mind have to do with Intuitive or Spiritual Counseling?

​

A silent mind is the tool I use, a tool readily available to anyone. At our source, in what has been called the vacuum state, Creative Intelligence, The Field, and numerous other terms, we are very literally connected. Two books I love come to mind: The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot and The Intention Experiment by Lynn McTaggart. Read them; you’ll see what I mean, and you’ll understand more about the basis of my work.

 

I begin any session with Silence, helping you to quiet your mind and body. In this silence, we are connected. It’s easier for you to feel the truth.

 

I don’t want you to just trust me; I want you to learn to trust yourself, to find what’s really true for you. I want you to learn (or more accurately, remember) what Truth feels like. Often we don’t know what our truth is and are at odds with ourselves, believing our surface (and often, defensive!) thoughts.

This is why affirmations often don’t create the change we desire – it’s all icing on top of what we really believe, and what we therefore keep acting on.

​

Does Intuitive Spiritual Counseling involve a belief in God?

​

Nope! You don’t have to believe in God by any name or concept whatsoever.

Just be as open as possible.

Notice any fear, and certainly notice any skepticism. Tell me about it – then you won’t need to keep showing your skepticism and acting it out. We can work a lot faster in this way. :~]

​

Can an intuitive reading be done for pets?

​

Absolutely! I can easily feel the feelings of cats, dogs, and other pets. I can sense what they need, what you can do for them (see Emotional Healing).

​

What is Clairaudience? Clairsentience?

 

Literally “clear hearing" and “clear knowing" without the overlay of expectations or attachments of any sort. Most people have heard of clairvoyance - of psychic or inner sight. Seeing visions. That happens occasionally in my work.

More often, though, I will suddenly know the answer, feel it deeply in my body or I will hear a phrase or a specific word and simply repeat it to the client.

I am also an Empath, and feel my client’s emotions as if they were my own. This happens especially when there is a disconnect – if my client has been blocking anger, or grief. This is, of course, quite helpful when the client is confused, unaware of their emotions.