About The Umaverse

Nothing is denied you. Your life, exactly as it is, is your spiritual path. Everything that has happened until this point has been essential. All you need is within you and is brought ever closer by your attention to this truth. The Mystery of life, of who you are, is the greatest gift of being human. You will never solve it. That is not the point. You are here for awareness. For awakening. Commit yourself to that and you will see that it is already happening. That you are being offered all the love you need in every single minute. Forgetting is part of the human path. Remembering again is the sweetest gift.

The Umaverse is here to remind you and to help in your journey of awakening. Sessions with Uma reconnect you to your source and plant you firmly in remembrance of who you are. Photographic art centers you back into awareness every time you look at it.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been curious about God and anything that might be considered “spiritual.” I was brought up rather loosely Unitarian/Universalist by parents who encouraged me to be a free and independent thinker. As a child I was drawn to hatha yoga, the I Ching, Tarot cards, astrology. I asked my parents if they believed in God and wondered at their different and tentative answers. I pondered whether I had a soul and what a soul even might be. During the summer before 9th grade I read Siddhartha by Herman Hesse and I was moved by something I recognized as important and very real but was still too young to fully understand.

In 11th grade, fates somehow conspired to provide a semester-long course in comparative religions at my high school. When we learned about Taoism, Hinduism and Buddhism, I had visceral shocks of recognition. I realized…

I’ve been a healer and reader of runes, tarot and other divination methods for over 30 years. My best teacher has been dedicated experience and self-study, however, my experience also includes the study and extensive practice of hatha yoga, Patanjali’s 8 limbs of yoga and devotional chanting. I was a yoga teacher and yoga studio manager for 6 years.

I studied eastern religions for a few years at SUNY Stony Brook, taking Sanskrit as my foreign language requirement and also discovering that academic study of religions was not going to provide the direct experience that I was looking for. During this time, I was also introduced to my first spiritual teacher, Dr. Robert Sohn and his center, The Institute for Self Development and Wholistic Health Center, in Manhasset, NY. It was here that I first was exposed to esoteric teachings that pointed toward the inherent truth at the source of all religions. I also learned about G.I. Gurdjieff, P.D. Ouspensky, and the idea of being asleep, and the Fourth Way of awakening in life.

I practiced a form of Tibetan Buddhism in community and with a teacher, Pema Khandro (formerly Kali Ma), for 5 years. (Important Note: I ultimately felt that this teacher and community were quite dysfunctional, and although personally I was greatly served by my time there, I do not recommend her or her school to anyone.) I spent another 5 years devoted to the mystical teachings and healing practices taught by Vanessa Stone and to the service-as-practice work of the Amala Foundation.

Currently, in addition to living all that I was given by these powerful teachers and practices, I practice and study A Course In Miracles. Nothing in my life has come before my commitment to awakening. I have no children and no partner. I live with my cat, Magical Kitty. I love my life and I am blessed to have been given everything I could ever need or want. My only desire, truly, is to make a simple living through giving the offerings of this website to whoever needs them. 

Apprenticeships, Ongoing Study and Trainings

Healing Apprenticeship – Vaness Stone, Austin, Texas – 2012-2014

Retreats and Continuous Deep Study with Vanessa Stone – 2010-2015

Yoga Teacher Training and Teaching – Yoga Studio, Mill Valley and Larkspur Landing, California – 2003-2005

Yoga Teacher Training – Anusara Yoga/John Friend – 2003-2006

Extensive practice and study of Meditation, Hatha Yoga and the 8 Limbs of Yoga – San Francisco Bay Area, multiple teachers – 1998-2010

Esoteric Philosophy Courses and Hatha Yoga Practice – Institute For Self Development, Manhasset, New York – 1982-1985