About
I bring a unique approach to coaching and change. I have practiced meditation in the Theravada tradition for over 25 years under the guidance of Vipassana teacher S.N. Goenka. In addition to everything I learned from my first teacher, Viola Fodor, I am deeply influenced by the wisdom of Jungian and transpersonal psychology, Adyashanti, Michael Singer, Richard Rohr, and the teachings of nonduality.
In my professional life, I am a certified Integral Coach (NVW) and Integrative Enneagram practitioner (iEQ9). I hold graduate degrees in both Philosophy (MA) and Adult Education & Counselling Psychology (MEd). I currently design and deliver management training globally at Shopify and I have over 15 years of experience training leaders in the nonprofit and public sectors. I’m incredibly grateful to have worked with elders including David Suzuki, Jane Goodall, Parker Palmer, and Joanna Macy – their leadership continues to inspire me.
On a personal note, much of my adult life has been spent in silence. I love the experience of retreat and the opportunity to set aside the distractions that dominate modern life. I’m a proud aunt, I sometimes eat popcorn for dinner, and I probably have at least five books on the go at any given time. I share custody of two four-legged boys – Henry and Lennie Briscoe – they love popcorn too and know me as Auntie Aryne.
How I came to this work
My life has been blessed in many ways. Despite my good fortune, I was plagued by the problem of suffering from a young age. I didn’t understand why people hurt other living things or why there was so much pain in the world.
I was determined to figure it out and do my part to help. I had a strong analytical mind but no matter how much I learned, I couldn’t find answers to the most important questions.
Somewhere along the way, I turned all the energy I had been using to fix the world inward, and set out to fix myself. I set untenable expectations. I created endless rules about what I should and shouldn’t do. Timetables, structures, new habits. The food I could eat. The music I should listen to.
Every day was an internal battle to hold things together. The price? Mental exhaustion, an eating disorder, and a growing sense of despair. By the time I finished my first year of graduate school, my stores of willpower were empty and I was literally stopped in my tracks.
It was then that I met my teacher, Viola.
With her help, I stopped battling my problems and began to connect with something deeper. Through a process of spiritual exploration, inner silence, and deep questioning, my awareness started to shift and I began viewing the problems that had plagued me for so long much differently.
With new sources of strength and insight, my view of the world and my role in it were transformed. I realized the inner darkness that had consumed me wasn’t something to be fixed. It was a wake-up call to something much more profound. I gained a new sense of inner freedom and resilience that has made me grateful for all the pain that had come before.