A Spiritual Journey
I have been studying comparative faith practices since the early 1980’s, and firmly believe that there are many spiritual pathways, and each is worthy. I no longer seek to teach a particular ideology to others, as I believe each of us are on a unique journey. Instead I celebrate the individuality of the soul, and do not judge how a person may or may not express their own faith. For this reason in my work, as well as traditional style services, readings, music and poetry may also come from many different traditions, belief systems or simply be a creative celebration of humanity. For those who are interested I was born as a child of the 60’s, growing up on a council estate, with my two brothers, I went to school in Leicester during the 1970's and early 80’s, these schools were multicultural, so it was natural to celebrate many different religious festivals throughout the year . I made my confession to Christianity as a teen, and was an enthusiastic and charismatic resident for four years training within an Evangelical Baptist Community. I went on to become a House Church leader, before joining the local pastoral team in the Church of England (Southwell Diocese), preparing me for two decades of Independent Ministry. My inter-faith continued professional development began with research into mysticism, Spiritualism, Wicca and Asian Tradition with reference to spiritual healing, alongside a practical exploration of firstly Christian Meditation and then Buddhist technique, spending time with the Triratna Buddhist Community in Nottingham, and more then more recently exploring the philosophy of modern humanistic Quakerism. My personal studies have taken me to Sir Gordon Roberts College of Nursing and Midwifery with a specialism in Mental Health, Derby University where I spent three years reading Fine Art, then more recently Dartmoor College of Counselling, where I gained a HDip in Integrative Counselling, Clinical Supervision, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with a particular interest in The Work of Byron Katie. I have recently become a facilitator for the MOH, working in the field of Positive Psychology. For the last twenty-one years I have been a community pastor, working firstly in the Midlands, and for the last eight years in The English Riviera South Devon. Ordained Ministry.
|