Welcome to the Lunar New Year!

Dear Ones,

Welcome to the East Asian lunar new year, a year of the Fire Horse!

Thank you for your support over the past year. I hope that you found our time together beneficial in some way, even if it was just a small shift in mood for your day, or a helpful moment in a process of self-transformation. For those of you who simply reached out to me, thank you for your reach out.

In spiritual direction, like in any practice, it's often the repetition itself that is helpful — having the experience of being able to shift perspective or reconnect with joy often enough that it starts to feel like an option that is always available.

If you can share with me what worked for you and what didn’t, that will help me serve you and others better in the future. I welcome, and am grateful for, your feedback. Here is a form you may use: Feedback and Reflection Form

My personal theme for the year is “root to rise.” I imagine the thunderous pounding of hoofs on the ground, the mutual push of being and ground of being, that makes possible a gallop across lush grassy steppe that is simultaneously wide open playground and sources of nourishment for horses. I imagine pushing into the ground, and being pushed back, so that at some moment I begin to soar, like Pegasus.

A year ago, I began offering spiritual direction at no cost as part of a spiritual direction certificate program with Cherry Hill Seminary. As I took panned time off for personal nourishment, and unplanned time off for healing from health issues, I will be continuing to offer spiritual direction on a no cost basis through August 2026. 

If you are interested in continuing with spiritual direction with me, you can make appointments with me here: Cat’s Availability for Spiritual Direction

If you would like to experience spiritual direction with the next cohort of students in the Spiritual Direction Certificate Program at Cherry Hill, you can find a list of them here: List of Spiritual Directors in Training At Cherry Hill Seminary

From September through December, I plan to return to Tōshōji Monastery in Japan. What 2027 will bring, I do not know. One possibility is that I will set up a small non-profit to make spiritual direction affordable for those who seek it and sustainable to those who provide it. In the short term, the non-profit will likely be a way for people to support me in offering spiritual direction on a gift or, using Buddhist language, dana basis. Eventually, I hope that the non-profit can be scaled to support more people, spiritual seekers and providers alike. Meanwhile, I have created a Go Fund Me fundraiser for those of you who wish to support my current efforts financially: Go Fund Me

It has been an honor and a joy to accompany you in the past year. I hope you can give yourself all the love you need in this threshold moment.

With love,

Cat