A dear friend once said to me, “I’m not psychic — I just hear God.”
Sometimes they deliver phrases, poems, fragments of wisdom.
Sometimes they point me to words already written — words I needed to find.
Sometimes they bring rituals, invocations — ceremonies of devotion, birth, renewal & peace.
And sometimes, they bring only a feeling — like a tingling, through my legs. A connection to all that is past, present & future. A union with all that is True.
Everyone has the capacity to hear God. And everyone has the right to define God, on her own terms.
Over the past 22 years — the full sweep of my adulthood — I’ve continually redefined my own concept of God … and I’ve found new facets of freedom at every turn, and in every faith.
My life story — like yours — could fill a whole book.
And someday, I might write it.
For now, here are the highlights, the lowlights, and the bright lights of Truth.
: I grew up in Mahopac, NY to a pair of delightfully normal (if somewhat neurotic) parents. Picture: the Costanzas from Seinfeld — except Catholic. We were religious — especially on the high holidays. I was a little dancer, artist and nature lover.
: I earned a BFA in Photography, but decided I didn’t want to spend my waking hours in a darkroom. I earned an MA in Art Therapy, but decided I didn’t want to haggle with insurance providers till the end of my days. I found a few counseling positions I loved — mostly with troubled teens, addicts, and other sensitive souls.
: I married my university sweetheart, and around the same time noticed he kept drinking a lot, even though we weren’t in college anymore.
: And so I found Al-Anon, which taught me, among other things things, that I was not smarter than God after all.
: Then I found yoga, which taught me, among other things, that I could love myself and my body no matter what size I was.
: I met one of my great teachers, Henry Grayson, who introduced me to the healing power of EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique — a transformative energy psychology technique that I still use with myself, and my clients.
: I owned & adored two thriving yoga centers with a fantastic business partner & dear friend for 8 years, while building a quiet local practice as a mind-body counselor & spiritual guide.
: I left my husband, with love … for him, and myself.
: I met the only good-looking, gainfully employed 37-year-old man who had never been married, always wanted a family and had no children (sorry, ladies). We fell in love.
: I rode the tidal wave of that love — and suddenly, everything accelerated.
I officiated my first wedding, instantly realized that I wanted to become a minister, enrolled in Interfaith Seminary (4 weeks after giving birth to my daughter), moved into a new home in Cortland, NY, and began offering custom celebrations & rituals, hosting spiritual gatherings, leading women’s circles, and expanding my work as a counselor & yogi.
There was fear, yes. Doubt, yes. Earthly tension around money & mortgages, of course.
But always the sense that my life was coming into alignment — arriving in harmony with my heart’s purpose. My destiny.
: Today, I’m known as Lisa, or Reverend Lisa, or Mommy … depending on who you are and what you need.
As a yoga instructor, Interfaith minister & spiritual guide, I work with clients here in New York and around the world — thanks to miracle of the ‘net, and it’s streaming-video magic.
Whether you’re seeking a class, a community gathering, or retreat …
Compassionate counseling, to awaken your greatest potential …Or a personalized ceremony, to mark a sacred event in your life …I trust you’ll find what you need, here on this site.
As the great Sufi mystic Rumi once wrote:
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
May your lips touch the ground, in your own way — this day, and every day.
