Looking back now, I can see that life had been preparing me for this work for a very long time.
My path here has been shaped by meditation, Plant Medicine, hospice work, the teachings of some extraordinary guides and my ongoing contemplation of the Gene Keys.
It began in 2017,
with a nervous breakdown that left me rocking with anxiety, unable to soothe my nervous system for weeks on end.
I had already begun exploring meditation and contemplative practice, but after that I devoted myself to it more deeply — completing lengthy mindfulness courses with Adyashanti, and with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, before signing up for a two-year Insight Meditation Teacher Training with Jack and Tara. I found that my deepening practice was helping me navigate one of the most difficult periods of my life with a little more ease and grace, and it had become an absolutely invaluable companion when I began working with Plant Medicine.
It was during one of those early courses with Jack that I first heard him mention Ram Dass. What fascinated me was the way Jack's voice changed whenever he spoke his name, the warmth and clarity that came into it, the lightness, the love. It was obvious how much this highly regarded teacher adored him. It still took me a few months to actually seek out his teachings. But from the moment I heard Ram Dass share the story of his own life — his journey through ego, power, psychedelics, surrender, unconditional love and compassion , I felt a soothing relief, and the quiet, happy feeling of belonging that comes from knowing you are not alone in this adventure of unwinding your conditioning. He has been a beloved teacher ever since.
Ayahuasca had already opened my heart, and I knew as soon as I heard Ram Dass talking about his work with the dying that I was being called to train as a hospice volunteer.
Training alongside eleven other volunteers for a full month was a life-changing experience. Walking beside patients and their families as they navigated the dying process, holding for them a frequency of love, care, and trust, gave me a sense of higher purpose like I had never felt before.
That feeling has never left.
It was during that training that I met someone who would quietly change the direction of my life, though neither of us knew it at the time.
She placed a book in my hands, watched my legs go out from under me as I read the first page, and was generous enough to send me home with her copy for the night.
The next morning, I was still reading.
That book was the Gene Keys.
Plant Medicine and the Amazon
My relationship with Ayahuasca and the wisdom and care of the Shipibo-Conibo people of the Amazonian basin has enriched every aspect of my life and brought me a quality of gratitude and joy I would never have believed I was capable of. This medicine, and these people, continue to be a living thread in everything I carry into my work.
The contemplative traditions
Decades within formal meditation lineages, sitting with teachers including Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Adyashanti, Henry Shukman, and Eckhart Tolle have shaped how I hold space, how I listen, and how I understand the relationship between the body, the mind, and the vastness beneath both. I am completed my training as a Teacher of Presence with Eckhart Tolle in beautiful Lake Louise, British Columbia and I continue to practice within these lineages as a student as much as a guide.
Sometimes we simply need to slow down enough to listen.
Walking this path together
What I offer isn't another system for you to learn or another set of answers to add to everything you've already explored.
The Gene Keys have become a living contemplative practice in my own life, helping me to recognize patterns I couldn't always see, to meet myself with more compassion and to trust more deeply in what my own experience is showing me. If you're drawn to this work, we'll use your Gene Keys as a map, but the real work is in slowing down enough to listen to your body, to your life, and to what is already beginning to reveal itself.
I work with people in a different ways through:
1:1 Sessions • Contemplative journeys • In-person • Community
Each offers a different way into the same practice of contemplation and self-discovery.
I don't see myself as someone who has the answers for you. My role is to walk alongside you, to listen, to ask questions, and to create enough space for you to discover what is true for you.
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"Working with Claire has been an absolute gift. For one thing, I could feel her wholehearted acceptance, I felt seen and heard. Her extensive experience in Spiritual studies, especially Gene Keys, and her ability to blend deep wisdom with genuine, loving presence, knows no limit. She creates a safe space that allows for profound breakthroughs. I am thrilled to be part of her upcoming Sage Venus Sequence, and cannot recommend her services highly enough."
—Jennifer Hall RN
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"Whether you're a seasoned seeker or brand new to the Gene Keys as I was, sometimes the journey asks for fellow travelers—and a guide who has traversed the hills and valleys before. Sometimes all we need is a gentle witness holding space for our self-discovery; other times, a quiet nudge opens a door to a completely different perspective of ourselves. Claire leads with what my Sage Line calls 'Non-Interference'—not boldly claiming authority, but holding the container so beautifully that the work unfolds on its own. If you're considering joining Claire's Venus Sequence circle and want another's perspective, my answer is a wholehearted yes. I didn't want our Activation Sequence group to end, and I'm truly looking forward to this next chapter."
—Rossandra W, CA
Perhaps you've recognized something of your own path in mine.
If you'd like to explore the work I offer, you can find out more about how we might work together.