"I thought my spirit was shattered."
[Our very first session was for an anger management group at a Veterans’ Center. Two comments stood out and confirmed how important it was to do this work.] “I thought my spirit was shattered and left in the sands of Afghanistan. I found it again here today. Thank you.” (Shaun)
“I’m 54 years old and have never ever connected with my spirit. Never even thought about it. But here, now, with the connection, I feel like I’ve found my best friend.” – (Rob)
"Whoa, that meditation was totally different!"
“Reiki is cool and I meditate when I can but I’m a super stressed mom so that’s not too often.” [After 15-minute meditation] “Whoa, that meditation was totally different. I’ve never felt so grounded. I felt connected to my spirit and I heard ‘everything is going to be okay.’ I’ve been kind of struggling with my mental health recently. That’s what I needed to hear today.”
"I was skeptical about meditating."
“I’m elderly and live alone. I was pretty darn sure I wasn’t going to make it through all the COVID stuff. It wasn’t the virus but the loneliness that was killing me. I’m grateful your group comes to our senior center. I was skeptical about meditating – I’m a religious lady, you know – but hon', I'm glad I tried your meditation. I do think it's actually helping me cope.”
"Soul Seeds is now the bright spot."
“Some of the young people were a little ‘freaked out’ by your sessions because they felt you ‘could see all the bad things they had done and what bad had been done to them.’ But the kids who participated in your sessions were quick to say ‘Those Soul Seeds people help us see the good and what’s right. Who we are or who we can be.’ Soul Seeds is now the bright spot in the week for many of the kids … staff too!”
"A rainbow coming out of the clouds"
[During the meditation] "I felt like my spirit was giving me a hug. I saw colors too. It looked like a rainbow coming out of the clouds. Maybe that’s me coming out of some dark times. I sure hope so!”
"I could release some of my past."
“I feel like people look at us differently. Judge us because we’ve been incarcerated. We’re not bad people; we made some awful bad choices. For me, I was 20 years old when I went down. Anyways, the point is, you were open to hearing our stories and offering ways for us to cope. The meditation made me very emotional, like I could release some of my past. That’s something I really wanted to do.”
"The kids trust you."
“The fact that your group has been coming consistently for so many months now, the kids trust you. I feel like overall they’ve settled down. Many are stepping up and focusing more. We’ve even seen our attendance numbers at the Center going down as more individuals get jobs and housing placements. I believe in the power of your meditations; we’ve seen a lot of positive change here. Thank you for caring about our kids.”
"The staff couldn't believe how calm they felt."
“The meditation session you led was our best-ever staff meeting! Everyone felt engaged and said they couldn’t believe how calm they felt. They were ‘off the chain’ happy and we discussed how the meditation, especially the grounding exercise, could be beneficial to our clients and their parents.”
"I felt more relaxed and in control."
"This last week I felt like I was better at recognizing when I was sad/anxious/stressed and knew that I could benefit from that intentional meditation [we were taught]. It helped me learn to manage my feelings and decompress. I felt more relaxed and in control of my emotions."
"Maybe there's something else to get me through."
“I’m in my 20s and I’ve been on the streets since I was 11 years old. Back then my shadow was my very best friend because it never left my side … it got me through the toughest times. Being introduced to my spirit [through your meditation], I’m thinkin’ maybe there’s something else to get me through tough times.”
To honor the privacy of the individuals we work with, stock photos are used. All testimonials are actual quotes and reflect their authentic experiences.