About Me
Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 06:01PM My desire is to help people develop a relationship with nature and spirit that guides and feeds the soul and leads to more joy, peace, and deeper wisdom in the world. Through observations, experiences, words, and images, I share with you my exploration of life, spirit, and nature. In this way, the ordinary becomes extraordinary. That is my purpose for creating this site. It is a work in progress – like me.
A Bit More About Me
Born in Jamaica, Queens, New York 50 years ago, I am smack in the middle of a line up of seven children my parents brought forth into the world. From a very early age, I was fond of observing and experiencing the natural world around me, both seen and sensed. Without anyone to mentor or encourage such tendencies, my intuitive sense and impressions of the spirit behind the physical world grew naturally. In fact, it was a long time before I realized that not everyone perceived the world the way I did. I was genuinely surprised at this. On many occasions I would sit on the lawn area in front of our house on warm spring and summer mornings and slip away into meditation. I never called it meditation mind you – I had no idea there was such a thing at that young age. I would just sit there, back against a tree, and let the drone of traffic that flowed by on the expressway across from the house hypnotize me. I could sense so many things at once in such an expanded awareness and I began to understand a deeper nature of things that was beyond words. This deeper nature was invisible, yet it was everywhere at once.
The author at age five in his stylin' outfit! Look out ladies!When I look a what direction my path has taken me, it is amazing that I ended up as a naturalist because as a kid, I rarely left the urban environment. No adult friend or family member to take me fishing or camping or even buy me a field guide to insects or birds. My parents were too busy trying to support feed, clothe, and educate seven kids that there was not much room for such excursions into the wild. My connection to spirit and nature was so strong that it never let go of me despite the wandering path I took growing up.
After finishing my tour of duty in catholic schools, I was free to choose a college and a career path. Free to choose because I paid my own tuition. After a short period of sheer panic over what to do with my life, I chose a career path that resonated with the powerful intuitive energies surging within me. Art school seemed like the perfect pathway.
Fast forward: After attending Parson's School of Design, I worked for twenty years as a graphic designer in NYC before a career change reached out and grabbed me. In 1995 I began offering programs on wilderness survival, tracking, and nature awareness – skills I had learned from ten years of intensives with Tom Brown, Jr. at his Tracker School in NJ. This was the beginning of life path change for me. As I realized how much I loved learning from nature and earth's spirit, a pressing desire to share this with others grew steadily. In March of 2001, after 
a leap of faith that concluded the story of my graphic design career several months earlier, I got a job working and teaching at the Trailside Nature Museum in Cross River, NY, and eventually was promoted to museum curator in just four years. I served there until fall of 2009 when I was assigned to another nature center where I continue doing more or less the same thing.
This brings me to this website and blog, which I feel is another piece of the mysterious and exciting journey of my spirit. I hope you find some value and inspiration here and choose to visit this site regularly. I appreciate your support – thanks for visiting!
Reader Comments (1)
Michael--I have just begun to explore your site--but I am so glad it exists, and that we may once again share our visions of both nature and spirit. Much love...