Gretchen Pangilinan; MA, Therapeutic Guide - Reiki, Art, Preparing, Integrating, Mindful Living
All of my experiences have brought me to where I am today. They built me, they shape me, they inform my decisions and allow me to comfortably and eagerly enter into a loving, caring and undivided space with individuals and groups I work with. I had no idea as a small girl growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that one day I would be working with people on an energetic level. I wouldn’t even have understood those words. I haven’t always been graced by the knowledge that I could be so close to the spirit world and all the realms. I had a close connection to God, but in my late teens and early adult years, I needed to figure out that connection in a different way for myself. The God I was taught in Catholicism didn’t fit for me anymore. So, I searched and I read, I looked and I wondered. I eventually found my way to Naropa University to study Art Therapy. In that atmosphere, and with the people I met, I was pulled along, I was opened up and from then on the journey has been a continuous path of unfolding. I founded and ran the Art Therapy Department at The Denver Hospice. I got married. I had two children. I created and ran a restaurant with my husband. I became a full time reiki practitioner and art therapist. And during all this time, I kept engaged with that which became true for me, this oneness, this connected-ness we all share, this beauty and love that resides inside each of us. It took me 49 years to truly live this knowing, but here I stand each morning and each night, feeling the light within me and knowing that light transmutes the world outside of me. A quote by shamanic practitioner, Sandra Ingerman explains so fully my belief and understanding of this world, “It is who we become that changes the world, not what we do. Harmony within, creates harmony without.” Just writing that, I take a big belly breath and relax in my body. Yes! That is it for me. So, I invite you to create the inner landscape you want, the one you want to feel every single moment of every single day, so that what is inside of you, transmutes the world around you. Reach out to me to learn more about my offerings, to ask any questions or to set up an appointment!
Education: Pennsylvania State University, BS in Human Development & Family Studies/Naropa University, MA in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Art Therapy, 2000+hours supervised clinical work and completed all LPC & ATR requirements/Certification in Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Advocacy/Certification in Hospice Care/Certification in Reiki - Master Level