What is The Connected Way &
What does it mean to live The Connected Way?

I believe connection is what matters in life - it is the way we are meant to be living day to day, and the purpose of life. This belief has come from years of personal experience, witnessing clients, learning about other people’s experiences and from studying many spiritual traditions and teachings. We are connected beings meant to be having a connected experience. 

But right now, WE’RE STRUGGLING.


We are living in very challenging times: global warming, extreme division and hatred, genocide, war,  loss of trust in government and information, broken systems, mental health and addiction epidemics, loneliness, hopelessness, fear and so much more.

I believe the root of all this suffering and conflict is Disconnection on four levels: 

  • Disconnection from Ourselves - living from a skewed sense of ourself as only human driven to achieve - the “human doing” rather than living from our connected “human being.”

  • Disconnection from Source / Spirituality - believing we are separate, alone, and solely responsible and to blame for everything we experience rather than finding acceptance, love, guidance and aligned purpose in spiritual connection. 

  • Disconnection from the Land and All that Is - seeing the Earth and other species as resources for our use rather than a beautifully interconnected system we are just one part of.

  • Disconnection from Others - living independently and in competition and comparison with others rather than experiencing deep connection, true belonging and community strength.

We’re living in an Age of Rampant Disconnection and it is destroying us.

I believe the healing and restorative path forward as a collective and as individuals is CONNECTION on these four levels.

Connection to Ourselves

We are spiritual beings having a human experience. These days, we live in a society dominated by the human-centric mindset and many of us have forgotten our purpose. Our disconnected human-centric self (which I call the Ego Self) strives for achievement, individualism, wealth and power. Instead, we need to remember that we are spiritual beings and we need to reorient to our Soul Self, who is meant to be our center. From there, we live from a place of connection because Connection is the currency of the Soul. I believe this is the starting point of connection. (I talk about how the disconnection of Self plays out and how to balance the Ego Self and Soul Self lower on this page)

Spiritual Connection

I believe that remembering our connection to something greater than ourselves is an essential foundation to healing ourselves individually and as a society. We are not alone in this life - we are inherently connected to, loved by, accepted by, seen by and guided by a spiritual source of love and interconnection far greater than anything we can ever understand. There is no “right way” to connect spiritually - each person has their own relationship with and experiences of Source / Spirit / Universe / Divine / God, etc. You can read more about what I believe personally and about spirituality here.

Connection to the Land & All that Is

We are meant to live much more in connection with Nature, with the Land, and with all living beings. This is essential to our own experience as interconnected beings, but it is also essential to the interconnected system we are part of. In personal and collective practice, we are meant to care for and tend to the Earth and all living beings as inherently connected and valuable.

Connection to Other People

I believe many of us are experiencing Depth Deprivation because we do not have the deep relationships, intimacy and connection we’re meant to. In order to connect on these levels, we must prioritize connection and allow ourselves to be vulnerable so that we can be seen and loved in our wholeness, even the parts we see as messy and broken, because showing up fully is when true connection and belonging is experienced. In addition, as connected beings all with equal and inherent worth, wholeness, value and lovability, we are meant to take care of one another and have a healthy dependence on one another.

So how do we shift back towards Connection? 

On the Collective Level, The Connected Way™ is a movement - a societal (and political) shift away from individualism and towards collectivism - taking care of the whole of the system and all of its parts: living in reciprocity with all living beings, including the Earth herself. And as people and communities, choosing the Collective over Individual Gain. 

Being part of the Collective movement towards Connection requires that we individually choose connection over individualism and disconnection, which is the basis of living The Connected Way™.

How do you live The Connected Way? 

There is no “right way” to live The Connected Way. It is a practice unique to each individual of reorienting and moving towards connection. It does not require that you completely disregard everything that you have achieved, known, and been before. Instead it requires: 

  • Noticing how disconnection and connection show up in and around you. 

  • Getting to know and living from your Connected Soul Self: untangling from the disconnected values, beliefs and ways of being (“ways of doing”) that lead to suffering for you personally and within the interconnected collective. 

  • Opening yourself up to deep, authentic connection with others.

  • Being open to spiritual connection and experiences and finding your own relationship with spirituality.

  • Honoring that we are irrevocably interconnected with the land and all that is, and making decisions accordingly. 

At the most basic level, living The Connected Way is a choice: reorienting and choosing Connection over Disconnection, again and again. 

I believe that Living The Connected Way is our responsibility, our spiritual birthright and the antidote to the suffering of disconnection we have been experiencing.

In an Age of Disconnection and Hopelessness, is there actually hope?

I believe there is, yes. I think we are at a tipping point as a society and a species - at the climax of individualism and we are heading back towards Connection and Community. That transition is a bumpy one because the individualistic Ego mindset is trying to hang on, but I do believe this Age of Disconnection is at (or very close to) its breaking point. 

And, I think that every single person, leader, organization, and community that chooses more connection is helping that larger shift happen - reorienting us towards what we are meant to be - Connected people in a Connected world. 

So for yourself and for the collective, I hope you will join me on this journey of practicing and living The Connected Way. 

Connection is the Path Forward.

I’m here to help and would love to connect with you about your needs. Explore the variety of ways you can increase and enhance connection in your life. 


You can also learn more about me and how I found my way to my Soul Self, living a connection-oriented life and helping others do the same.

A Breakdown of our Disconnection

We’ve lost our Sense of Self (the Soul Self) to the Overactive Ego Self.

From years of my own personal growth, witnessing clients and friends, and learning from other teachers and spiritual traditions and teachings, I have learned that in the most basic terms, we have two selves: a human-centric Disconnected Ego Self, and a spiritual-centric Connected Soul Self. 

The Ego Self helps us to survive. And our Soul Self carries our spiritual connection, greater knowing, and remembrance of our connection to all that is. Both Selves are essential and the ideal scenario is for the Ego Self to be living in service to the Soul Self - helping it to be fully realized and achieve its objectives. But many people are now living out of balance with the Selves with the Disconnected Ego Self having more control and power, and possibly even forgetting the Connected Soul Self altogether.

The best explanation I’ve heard of this comes from Ramakrishna, which I read about in Ram Dass’s book How Can I Help:

“Ramakrishna, the great Indian saint, likened the situation to a coach in which the driver (the ego) sits atop in command of the horses. The owner (the higher Self) sits quietly within. Because the coachman has never seen the owner, he begins to think himself totally in charge.” 

The Ego Self values individualism, productivity, money, power and control. And so that is the road the Ego travels when it thinks it’s in charge. And when that is the case, we end up where we are now - living in a society plagued by Toxic Individualism, Toxic Ideals, Toxic Values, Toxic Behavior, Toxic Beliefs and Toxic Systems. You can see how this all plays out in the chart below:

Independence, wealth and power are the currencies of the Ego…

Connection is the Currency of the Soul.

Looking at that chart and reading Ramakrishna’s thoughts, you may be tempted to demonize the Ego Self, but that is not the point! These things happen because the Ego Self is overactive and there is an imbalance in the system. And so, the path forward is to remember and reconnect to our Soul Selves, and give the Ego Self a more aligned job in service of the Soul Self leading the way and becoming fully realized in our experiences and in the collective. 

Here is how Ramakrishna explained this transformation in the coach, driver, owner metaphor:

“But when the owner makes himself known, quietly but firmly, the coachman, perhaps begrudging but ultimately in his best interests, relinquishes his fantasy and becomes content in the role of… of what? Of servant, it turns out. For then it responds more and more to the call ‘Not my but Thy Will, O Lord.’ The ego finds joy and relief in attuning to the greater Way of All Things, to the larger harmonies of the universe in which it can find its proper place and need no longer be driven by the insatiable need to control. In surrender to its proper station, the ego finds peace.”

And so, we must reassess, recalibrate, and reorient to our Soul Selves over and over again. It relieves our suffering AND it is what we are meant for. That is the path of living The Connected Way.

Intrigued? Let’s Connect!

If you’re interested in getting to know your Soul Self more and rebalancing your system, I offer a few different options for individual support.

I love connecting with people about The Connected Way and am available to speak, lead a church service or spiritual talk, or join you on your podcast.

Neither of those options fit your needs? You can learn more about the different types of services I offer clients and the community I am building.