ABOUT SAMUEL

BIO

For a decade I have been integrating mindfulness practice with work that moves people through fear into the embodiment of their potential. I am a Licensed Psychotherapist (LMFT #121802) and a relationship and career coach with training in integral psychology, Hakomi, Somatic Experiencing, IFS, PACT, and EFT. I have been practicing meditation for over twenty years—most recently in the Tibetan Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions. I live with my ultimate spiritual mentors, my wife and daughter, in Santa Rosa, California.

MY PATH

In 2009 I was stressed out and struggling as the Director of Engineering for a German Solar Start-up. My thinking and creativity was suffering and my ability to lead my department was compromised. I felt depressed and stuck.

In addition, I could feel that my relationship with my partner was disintegrating. I was becoming distant, and underneath I was afraid that my partner was going to leave me. I was suffering from a serious lack of self-confidence.

Despite eight years of intensive daily meditation practice, in the midst of the fury of love and work I would feel my presence collapse and I would fall into stress, overwhelm, and insecurity. I needed new tools to meet the challenges I was facing.

I started to look for perspectives and practices that could help me bring my spiritual practice off the cushion and into my life. I found three teachings that helped me immensely in this process:

First, I began to study with David Deida, one of the world’s foremost teachers of relational yoga. He is an amazing teacher for people who are looking to master the challenges of work and relationship. Much of my subsequent journey has been influenced by the profound transformation and opening I experienced under David's guidance. This work has pushed me and humbled me. Over the years I had the good fortune to assist a number of David's workshops and learned a great deal from him.

Second, I began my training in Hakomi. This is a therapeutic modality that helps to heal and transform fear, belief systems, and trauma that impacts our day-to-day life. This training allowed me to contact, feel, and deconstruct many of the habits and relational patterns that were at the root of my lack of confidence. The experience kindled a passion in me for counseling work and sparked my career transition from engineering into coaching and psychotherapy.

Finally, I encountered the teachings of Thomas Hübl, a master in the confluence of spiritual development and psychological healing. His work has evolved my understanding of how we wake up and grow, and deepened my competency and precision as a therapist and coach. I am currently a member of his assistant team and support his teaching work in North America.

The combination of work with David Deida, Hakomi, and Thomas Hübl has allowed me to bring more of the presence I had practiced for years on the meditation cushion to meet the challenges of work and love relationships. It has also motivated me to follow my calling: to help people heal, grow, and contribute to their communities.