“The wise always confronts difficulties; they never experience them.” – Tao Te Ching. For me, this spiritual text has been a comfort and a way back to stillness over the years. The Tao has been a crucial text for my spiritual path to the Modern Mystery School.
I discovered the Tao Te Ching when I was a freshman at the College of St. Benedict, a liberal arts Catholic college. I wasn’t raised Catholic, but was curious what it would be like to get to know one of the nuns on campus and understand more about the life of a nun. I stepped out of my comfort zone and I signed up for the “Benedictine Friends” program. Sister Paula and I were paired together. She became my friend and opened me to the concept of spirituality outside of religion. Within and in parallel to the Catholic, Benedictine Tradition, my spiritual path to the Modern Mystery School began.
We would meet for tea at the monastery and bonded over our love of reiki and the Tao Te Ching. Sister Paula was a retired nurse who trained as a reiki practitioner. When we met, we talked about life and the Tao Te Ching. I decided whatever page we opened to in the Tao was the page that we needed to read at the time. Over time, I realized I would often turn to the page featuring #63.
Sister Paula also introduced me to meditation. We went into the meditation chapel and we would sit quietly, side by side. Together, we connected in a way that neither of us was taught how to do. I left our times together in the meditation chapel feeling lighter.
Going Deeper After College
Years later, I had a successful career but still had a feeling that something was missing. I tried to tap back into meditation and reiki, but I wasn’t getting where I needed to be. I knew I wasn’t living anywhere near the level that I wanted to and I didn’t want to waste time. Life felt precious to me and I was committed to healing and making a positive impact.
In 2005, I reached out to an intuitive, reiki-practicing family member. I had a gut feeling that she could help me on my spiritual path, and she led me to the Modern Mystery School. She invited me to receive training with the Empower Thyself class taught through the Modern Mystery School lineage.
I really didn’t know what to expect in the Empower Thyself class, and it was quite a pivotal point in my life. I used every ounce of energy and knowledge that I received in the class. As a direct result, I improved my quality of life. I made new relationships and manifested a new job that offered work-life balance. My family also noticed that I transformed from living in a state of chaos to being stronger. After about a year of seeing the benefits of the Empower Thyself class and initiation, I felt ready to take my path further.
Healers Academy and Mentorship
After Empower Thyself, I attended Healers Academy where I met Gudni Gudnason, the founder of the Mystery School. He is an anchor of light in my life. Every teaching and healing I have received from him has stretched my capacity to hold light, and I continue to expand.
Along the way on my spiritual path, I met others who have been important rays of light in my life. Dave Lanyon, who holds the title of being initiated an Ipssissimus, taught me the art of training the inner warrior. At times Dave gives direct advice, which always links back to embodying what I am going to call the Warrior Goddess within. Ipsissimus Hideto Nakagome is another mentor who leads with humor and compassion, while he has always shown great balance and respect.
Women and the Modern Mystery School
I have received many opportunities to grow from the Modern Mystery School through the reflection of other strong women. Collaborating with them is key; I enjoy working with women to build others up while supporting each other. Often, I hear women say it’s hard to work with other women. I have never found this to be true! So much beauty comes from collaboration with other women.
Women are held in high esteem in the mystery school tradition. For example, women are in CEO roles of the Modern Mystery School in Canada, South America, South Africa, United Kingdom, Europe, and Japan. Plus, the international instructors
from the Modern Mystery School are primarily made up of brilliant women, in addition to a handful of incredible men who teach as international instructors.
Full Circle: Back to the Tao Te Ching #63
All of these experiences with the Modern Mystery School lead me back to the wisdom of chapter 63 of the Tao. Further, the numerology of 63 (six plus three) brings me to the number nine. Nine is my number since birth, and is based on the numerology that is taught in the Universal Hermetic Ray Kabbalah. This number is also the foundation of the tree of life. From this foundation, all battles are won, and it is the foundation of love.
