Early Musings and Influences

Drawing from a diverse background, Andrew’s work is grounded in qualities of presence, compassion, healing, and insight. Whether he is in his counselling office, teaching a qigong or meditation class, officiating at a memorial service, or speaking at End-of-Life conference with his passion to improve caregiving standards in Canada, his depth of experience creates a space that encourages the strength within us all.

Perhaps it was the death of his father at age six that lead him onto his spiritual search at such a young age. He needed to know: what happens when we die? and how do we find an authentic spiritual life? His mother a seeker as well lead him into a Rogerian-based life skills training, and by age 16 he was teaching other teenagers about visualization, communication, relaxation, empathy and authenticity. Leaving books around the house, like Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, Andrew was intrigued by the newly arrived Eastern yoga tradition and philosophies, had a curiousity about the unseen world in Parapsychology and a longing thirst for an inner spiritual life.

At 20, he attended a summer colloquium at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, where he trained in the Contemplative Arts and studied Buddhist Psychology. He also attended the first International conference on Contemplative Practice Traditions and for the first time heard His Holiness The Dalai Lama teaching Buddhism--a life changing event. Upon his return, a powerful voice within him said his life would be dedicated to healing. He adopted the Hippocratic Oath that his life would be committed to understanding the workings of body, mind, and spirit:  To be a healer a thorough mastery of each is required.

Bodywork, Cherokee Healing & Hidden Emotions

After moving to Toronto from his home town of Guelph, he trained as a licensed massage therapist at Kikkawa College in 1982, followed by certificate training in Shiatsu Therapy. At the same time, he met his “root” spiritual teacher, Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, who is the founder and director of the Sunray Meditation Society, an organization committed to development  of world peacemaking skills. Ven. Dhyani is a recognized teacher of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and the 27th generation in the Ywahoo lineage to receive the Tsalagi (Cherokee) teachings of her ancestors.  Her program was vigorous and provided training in meditation, healing, the use of crystals, and the foundation practices and philosophies of both Nyingma and Tsalagi traditions.

Andrew excelled in his training and became a supervisory teacher in the school by age 30. As his private massage therapy practice grew so did a deeper knowledge of healing. He continued studied other modalities from massage, shiatsu, and energetic healing to practicing Eastern diagnosis, the Cherokee Healing ceremony, and various Shamanic approaches to integration and wholeness. But as more clients came for bodywork, more people were unexpectedly connecting to their emotional life, as early imprints and memories from their childhood arose during the sessions. It was then, he realized he had an unusual gift: he was an empath.  This ushered a new direction in his work and a need for psychological training.

Understanding Your Self First

Beginning with five years of intensive personal and then group psychotherapy with the Psychocultural Institute of Toronto, under the guidance of Dr. Jim McNamara, he completed two of a three-year clinical training in a Depth Psychotherapy model that explored Primal, Gestalt, Jungian, Archetypal, and Phenomenological approaches to counselling & psychotherapy. However his own belief systems that grew in the waters of Buddhist study and practice collided with his mentors and led to a mutual parting. Simultaneously, he completed an undergraduate degree in Counselling and Transpersonal Psychology at Norwich University in Vermont,where he was able to integrate his views of healing, meditation and his interests in ecology and the expressive arts.

The strength of his Buddhist meditation practice was growing, now approaching 5,000 hours, which steered him onto another path of integrating psychotherapeutic principles with the essential tenets of Buddhism, meditation and which lead him to into the study of Buddhist Psychology. In his own experience of therapy, something was missing. Like the question James Hillman asked in his book, We’ve had 100 Years of Psychotherapy and The World’s Getting Worse, Andrew wanted to bring more spiritual wisdom and awareness into this work. In the late 90’s, another element--death and dying--entered his work as two long-time clients were dying from AIDS and from cancer.  Another layer of training was needed as his work was touching into the deepest layer of our suffering as a society--death.

Death can be Healing?

After guiding two communities through the dying process, the seeds of helplessness, first planted when his father died in 1965, had sprouted into a new path of service, a new charity, and working in the Hospice community. He co-founding the Gitche M’Qua Centre for Healing & Dying, a charitable education and service organization, born from the lessons revealed during the death of his client, Alido DiIorio. Alido who had received the name Gitche M’Qua or Great Bear from an Indigenous Elder, taught his community that one’s death could not only be transformative, but also healing for everyone.

In 2000, at Open Centre New York’s 5th Annual International Conference on Death & Dying, he meet another powerful mentor, teacher and dear friend, Roshi Joan Halifax, who later married him to his life partner, Angie who was following this path with him. Through her teaching centre, Upaya Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he completed numerous Being with Dying programs that taught her world-class professional Contemplative End-of-Life curriculum to the medical and professional community. Concurrently, he began volunteering at Trinity Hospice as complimentary therapist offering massage, qigong, and meditation to the dying, and later taught the psycho-social-spiritual components for the newly renamed, Hospice Toronto.  Through Gitche M’Qua Centre and together with his new wife Angie, they developed education programs and invited teachers, such as Roshi Joan Halifax, Sharon Salsberg, Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, Okhi Simine Forest, Frank Ostaseski and local teachers such as Mohawk teacher, Diane Longboat to teach at their home/centre.

Mindful Listening at End-of-Life

Their work in End-of-Life through Gitche M’Qua garnered appreciation from the larger community and the Barbara Hall award for their contributions to EOL education. Continuing to train, they completed the prerequisites as Lay Buddhist Chaplains in 2010, considered 40 credits towards a Master’s degree in Divinity. Andrew’s final thesis, Mindful Listening at End-of-Life includes his years of work in the field, an integration of the early neuroscience of mindfulness, empathy and compassion, Buddhist philosophy and practices, Upaya’s CEOLC, and his brand of the work he calls “Mindful Listening,” which also draws from the Insight Dialogue work of Gregory Kramer, Council by Jack Zimmerman and Gigi Coyle and his early communication training with Human Services Community (Guelph 1972-1976).

Another chapter is being written as his organization is renamed Sarana Institute to reflect the deepening of his practice and his work as a chaplain.  Sarana means “refuge and sanctuary” in ancient Pali, the original language of the Buddha and this name invites us to reflect on where we go for “refuge” what is our “source of sanctuary and inner peace” and how do we develop an authentic inner life.

While one of the goals of newly renamed Sarana Institute is to develop and encourage new standards in end-of-life education, especially within the home hospice community, he and his wife are also stewards of 171 acres of land, just south of Owen Sound. There, they learn to live with forests, meadows, wetlands, a small lake, two ponds, a small river and many fresh water springs that become the source of the Big Head River and an array of wildness that endlessly teaches them. This land is also a refuge and sanctuary, which is named Sarana Springs. Thus the original vision of Gitche M’Qua to create a land-based centre for healing has become a reality as possibilities for community living, retreats, and healing are emerging.  Visit Sarana Institute at:  www.saranainstitute.org

Awakening the Adult Within

At present, Andrew continues to offer his gifts as a meditation teacher, qigong trainer, end-of-life educator and Buddhist chaplain. He is currently working on his first book titled, Awakening the Adult Within, which chronicles his counselling approaches and how his Buddhist practice became central to his healing work with clients.

“My greatest joy is teaching the Dharma. It awakens us to a path that guides us to see who we truly are. As our personality and sense of self dissolves into a greater awareness, we become aware of a deeper knowingness of our larger earthly family within a greater universe of untold numbers of beings.

What awakens? For me, the confusion of early imprints and childhood wounds colours the “me” I know and the way I act. Waking up is knowing that I can free myself from these old reactive patterns and that I can finally act as a responsible adult, free to choose. This freedom permeates all aspects of our lives--self, relationships, family, livelihood, environment, and touches the very human heart of loving compassion and the ground of insight wisdom awareness present within us all.” This transformation is possible and necessary, as others are depending us, for even our very survival

Two Hands Together, Andrew