A Qualified Guide

The presence, wisdom and skill I bring to Transformative Life Coaching come from a unique combination of over 40 years of training and experience, including a Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology (University of Toronto), a Masters of Computer Science (DalTech/Dalhousie University), a Certificate in Mediation (York University), three years of business training (Self-Employment Business Program, Your Planning Partners, the Abundance Project), Level 3 Soul Art Guide Certification, five years apprenticeship with a Mi’kmaq Shaman, and a lifetime of mindfulness meditation from growing up in a Tibetan Buddhist community.

In Dream Whisperer Transformative Life Coaching I use my clinical therapy training in combination with dynamic coaching methods to expertly guide clients through emotional impasses, integrating the learning as part of achieving their goal. My clients achieve their goals holistically in a remarkably short period of time.

My work has been documented in high-profile publications such as the front page of The New York Times and in Newsweek, The Guardian, and The Columbia Journalism Review. I have been interviewed on NPR, CBC Radio and CBC TV.

How I came to be a Dream Whisperer

To help you understand how I help people, I’d like to share how I came to doing this work. It began almost 15 years ago. I returned home from a long day of work at a large Toronto software development company. On the outside, things were going well. I had a dynamic first year, and I was even nominated Rookie of the Year. But on the inside… it was a different story.

On November 21, 2001 that inner reality broke through. I put my dinner on to cook and popped in a video, The Horse Whisperer, starring Robert Redford. It had a pretty typical beginning. Then things went tragically wrong. The main character, a girl named Grace, and her horse, Pilgrim, got hit by a semi truck. Grace was rushed to hospital and had to have part of her leg amputated. The next day a group went out searching in the woods for Pilgrim. They eventually found him standing in a stream flowing under a bridge. He was badly injured, bleeding into the stream and deeply traumatized – to the point that they thought he should be put down.

Seeing this, I felt like I was hit by a tidal wave. I stood up, walked over to the TV, clicked it off. I walked into the kitchen, turned off the oven and the stove. Then walked into my bedroom and collapsed on my bed.

I entered an amazing healing journey

I didn’t know what was wrong with me. But the next day I knew I could not go into work. I called my doctor. He said it was depression and took me off work for two weeks so I could “feel more like myself.” By the end of two weeks, I knew I needed way more time! I took an extended leave and dove into a deep and profound healing journey.

That image of Pilgrim was how I felt on the inside. I was brought up Tibetan Buddhist, and my main value is to relieve suffering in this world. I was not a good fit for a large computer corporation! Being a high achiever in an environment with incompatible values led to this profound breakthrough experience.

I did three years of intensive therapy and energy healing and started to feel more whole. I began to explore career options. This led to my deciding to become a therapist and I enrolled in an MEd Counselling Psychology.

The gentle firm power of whispering called me

While doing my MEd I finally watched the whole Horse Whisperer movie. I was very impressed by what the horse whisperer did to save Pilgrim. This man was a shaman. He was powerful, deeply compassionate, and able to read Pilgrim to steady the horse’s spirit. He reached Pilgrim and brought him back into being a vibrant and productive horse.

I was so attracted to the horse whisperer, that I wanted to be like him – I wanted to be able to work that way with people. So I put that intention into my MEd studies and focused each class on how to develop skill to work with people who had been through trauma.

Transition to a new paradigm

After graduating with my degree, I worked as a therapist for a couple of years and I went on to complete three training programs in business. I started to realize I had more to give. I had long-term spiritual experience through my Buddhist practice which gives me powerful presence. I also LOVE business, and frankly I am ambitious. So I started coaching Investment Advisors in the financial industry. We worked on relational issues and business development. Within six months my clients were having remarkable results! Their income increased 25-30% and they were promoted to being Wealth Advisors.

My career: Dream Whispering!

I was no longer doing psychotherapy and I needed to come up with a name for what I was doing. If there’s one thing I learned from working with my clients, it is this: People are afraid to face their true desires in life, and those brave souls who peek their eyes open to glimpse their true desire are usually afraid to take the steps to make their dream a reality. Solid strength and support are needed to face our desire and take practical steps to bring our dream into reality.

I had become an expert in helping people identify their true dreams, overcome the fear of making them real, and take action. It takes courage, compassion and  solid support, and I bring that on full force. After much soul searching I came up with my new title: Dream Whisperer!

So that’s how the night of November 21, 2001 completely changed my life. Today I am not a software developer. Today I am living an amazing career as a Dream Whisperer Transformative Life Coach! And the interesting thing is that all my computer expertise has proven invaluable for creating this Dream Whisperer service. I work with people around the globe via Zoom, and many have experienced the life-changing free programs I give via the internet. As an example, see www.buddhistprojectsunshine.org for information about my global social justice activism work.

And truly… this is only the beginning.