ISM Facilitator Bios

ISM Facilitators

Our certified InterSpiritual Mentors are here to help you develop your spiritual path and contemplative practice. You may engage with a mentor individually or along with a practice partner. Here are the steps for engaging with a mentor.

1. Become a current member of our online community.
2. Review the brief bios of our mentors below to discern the right person for you.
3. Request a free intro consultation by sending an introductory email to the mentor of your choice.  (Email contacts are listed below.)  Include some information about your spiritual and meditation experience.
4. Discuss an appropriate donation to the mentor for their time and guidance.   A percentage will be shared the mentor with the Spiritual Paths Foundation to help support our work.  Although there is no required fee for InterSpiritual Mentoring, $85/per session is not unusual.  Your donation will depend on your financial circumstances.
5. Set up mentoring time and mode of communication with your mentor.
6. Enjoy the mentoring process.

 Juliet Rohde-Brown, Ph.D. Email: drjrohdebrown@gmail.com

Juliet Rohde-Brown, Ph.D. is the Chair for the Depth Psychology: Integrative Therapy and Healing Practices specialization program at Pacifica Graduate Institute where she has also served, in the past, as Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical program. Prior to this, she held similar core faculty positions for the doctoral program in clinical psychology at Antioch University, Santa Barbara. She has a very small private psychotherapy practice and has been enjoying a separate non-therapy practice as a certified Interspiritual Mentor under the umbrella of the Spiritual Paths Foundation. Her book is entitled Imagine Forgiveness and she has contributed guided visualization CDs and downloads which are available on amazon.com and other venues. She has volunteered with inmates at Corcoran Prison, focusing on facilitating imagery, compassion and somatically based experience, education about trauma, and role-play while her co-facilitator emphasized training in restorative justice practices. She is a past president of Imagery International, an organization that works toward augmenting public perceptions about the value of the imagination in meaning-making and health and which offers continuing education to nurses, psychotherapists, body workers, and those working in inter-spiritual and energy medicine venues. She is also a founding board member of the Sacred Earth Foundation, which invites indigenous elders to share their wisdom with spiritual seekers. She has been engaging in mindfulness meditation practice since the 1990’s and occasionally co-facilitates retreats and workshops that focus on such topics as, but not limited to, forgiveness, imagery, healing, and meditation. She deeply appreciates her participation with the Spiritual Paths Foundation and having the distinction of being among the first cohort certified to function as mentors. In her free time, she enjoys contemplative photography, being in the natural environment, nurturing her relationships, and engaging in all of the art forms, such as writing and singing sacred songs. She shares meditative songs in gatherings for the Interfaith Solidarity and Compassion project which is sponsored by the One Dharma Sangha organization. She lives and works in Carpinteria, CA. Alejandra Warden Email: essentialoneness@gmail.com

Alejandra Warden is an Author, Educator, Lecturer, Spiritual Director, Interspiritual Mentor, and Founder of Essential Oneness: Feminine Wisdom Project . Her teachings are based on a training of more than 25 years with world-wide renowned specialists in the areas of personal development, interpretation of dreams and spiritual experiences, meditation, education, spiritual ecology, inter-spirituality, the mystical path, comparative religion —in particular: Christian, Sufi and the Great Mother traditions—, as well as a series of deep spiritual experiences that began in her youth.

She specializes on the Feminine: her spirituality, her connection with the soul and the Earth, her communication through the world of dreams and spiritual experiences, and on the impact of the Feminine on human consciousness, on our awareness of the oneness and interconnection of all life, and on the future of the world. Alex’s two books, El Llamado de mi Corazón: una autobiografía espiritual (The Call of my Heart) and Una Mujer Nueva: el amor, el poder y la sabiduría de nuestra esencia femenina ( Woman, Remember —the love, power and wisdom of our Feminine essence—) are devoted to this topic.

Alejandra has been traveling to various Latin American countries teaching evolution of consciousness, spiritual ecology, Sufi principles and spiritual practices, dream interpretation and the Divine Feminine since 2007. Previously, she founded and directed two Montessori inspired schools in Argentina, one of them the first of its kind in the country, and trained teachers on various educational philosophies and teaching techniques.

Since becoming a mentor for the Spiritual Path Institute Alejandra has been devoted to helping the work and teachings of the Spiritual Path Institute flourish around the world. She has been offering the InterSpiritual Meditation (ISM) and the Mandala courses and retreats for Spanish speakers —both online and in person in Argentina—, co-facilitating online courses for English speakers, and mentoring and counseling individuals; she also translated the ISM and Mandala workbooks into Spanish. In 2020 she became a mentor-trainer for the Facilitator’s Training Program and the Mentor’s Training Program, for both English and Spanish speakers.

Ed Bastian, PhD, Founder

Email: ed@spiritualpaths.net

InterSpiritual Meditation courses were created by Dr. Ed Bastian and co-led with a team of certified InterSpiritual Mentors.  He holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies and is the founder and president of Spiritual Paths Foundation. He formulated the 7-step interspiritual meditative process based on his work with over 40 teachers of meditation from the world’s great spiritual and secular traditions.  This process is designed to help meditators of all levels to engage in a holistic, integrated, and systematic InterSpiritual Process to find their path, their practices and their answers to their deepest questions.  He developed this process through his fifty years of research, study, and teaching, especially during the past twenty years, with over fifty esteemed teachers from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, and Native American traditions. He is the award winning co-author of Living Fully Dying Well, author of InterSpiritual Meditation, author of Mandala – Creating an Authentic Spiritual Paths, contributor to Meditations for InterSpiritual Practice, and producer of documentaries on religion for the BBC and PBS. He is the former co-director of the Forum on BioDiversity for the Smithsonian and National Academy of Sciences, teacher of Buddhism and world religions at the Smithsonian, an internet entrepreneur, and translator of Buddhism scriptures from Tibetan into English.  He is also a faculty member of Antioch University in Santa Barbara where he teaches courses on Buddhism, Mindfulness Meditation and religion.  He has led dozens of retreats and programs at such organizations as the Parliament of World’s Religions, the Chaplaincy Institute, One Spirit Interfaith, CIIS, Omega, Esalen, Hollyhock, La Casa de Maria, Garrison Institute, the Aspen Chapel and the Aspen Institute. Click here for some of Ed’s articles and interviews.

David Wali Waugh, RPC (Registered Professional Counselor) Email:davewaugh1@gmail.com

David is a Midlife Awakening Specialist, Sufi Healer and has trained in the art of interspiritual guidance. He is the director of Elements Counselling in Courtenay, BC, Canada and Cofounder of The Natural Gifts Society. He has over twenty years training and experience in wholistic development. His private practice includes one-to-one, couple and small group work for people interested in transformation, psychospiritual development and relationship work. His general orientation is to assist people in accessing their inner resources in order to develop more conscious choice in their lives, and thereby foster the potential for growth in their evolution of consciousness. This often unfolds as one develops an aware ego process that leads to greater individuation, while contributing their gifts to their community and the world. He believes that if we want meaningful change to happen in others, we must first learn to practice living the perspective that Gandhi espoused, “becoming the change that we seek in the world.” www.davewaugh.net

 Rev. Judith Liro, MDiv Email: jliro@swbell.net 

Judith is an Episcopal priest called to recreate the Christian church responsive to the sacred feminine, open to the wisdom of earth’s diverse spiritual traditions and the evolving creativity of the universe. Her work centers in deepening spiritual community that is transformative personally and societally. She co-founded and continues to co-lead and teach in The Servant Leadership School of Austin (Texas). She co-founded and leads St. Hildegard’s Community, a contemplative-active faith community. Since 1992 The Servant Leadership School has offered classes and retreats to support participants in seeking what makes them come alive. For twenty years St. Hildegard’s Community has sung justice: celebrating intimate weekly Eucharists with eclectic songs and dancing, with inclusive liturgical language, creative ritual, and thoughtful sermons. The contemplative life is nourished with silent retreats and accountability for spiritual practices. Each person is encouraged to discover his/her own path and serve from the heart. Both St. Hildegard’s and the SLS provide a generous space for those seeking spiritual authenticity and she has mentored those on an interspiritual path for many years. Judith’s marriage to Joe for more than fifty years, the joy and challenges of being mother and grandmother, and the grief of a stillborn child have been significant for her spiritual life. She did Jungian analysis for many years and dreams are a source of guidance. Centering Prayer, QiGong and yoga are longtime practices that continue.  Judith is nourished by the mystics (especially Hildegard and Julian), poets, Celtic spirituality, the wisdom of Thomas Berry and especially by delighting daily in the Earth Community. She is involved in local efforts to address climate change, immigration and racism. She currently serves on the board of Equity for Women in the Church, an ecumenical Christian organization. She is included in two books by Jann Aldredge-Clanton: She Lives: Sophia Wisdom Works in the World and Changing Church: Stories of Liberating Ministers.

Rev. John Wilde Email: abundancetrek@yahoo.com

Spiritual Practice has been a major focus for as long as I can remember. Although I am a representative of a traditional religious institution, I am very sympathetic to the growing trend of people identifying themselves as spiritual and not religious.  But I do see the need to be grounded in a particular wisdom tradition.  I continue to appreciate the teachings, the rituals and the relationships which have come through my life-long commitment to Christianity. Nevertheless, the teachings of other wisdom traditions are very appealing to me and have been for most of my life.  You can see this very clearly if you visit the website I have worked on since 1999: www.abundancetrek.com.

Rev. Margaret Northall Email: margaretnorthall@sbcglobal.net

Margaret Northall is a Registered Nurse, Interfaith Minister and Chaplain and Spiritual Director. Born in South Africa, I learned early on to live in cultural diversity, spiritual diversity and the importance of community. Fueled by creativity, my life has been mixed with a sense of humor, adventure and deepening interfaith spiritual exploration. As an Interfaith Minister and Chaplain, Spiritual Director and Registered Nurse, I find my roleas a healer, through spiritual practices, ritual and ceremonies. As a mystic I engage in writing sacred poetry, soul art and dance, meditation and hiking as I seek Wisdom from the natural world. I draw from several traditions and I believe every spiritual tradition is valid, as well as those with no tradition or spiritual path. In the name of Interfaith Ministry, I am called to conscientiously help others in their awakening journey, communicating with love, compassion and understanding. Spirituality is best expressed for me in the words of Rumi:

“All religions all this singing is one song The differences are just illusion and vanity…”