Our paths first crossed in 1996 when we journeyed separately to the hills of Pennsylvania to attend a workshop called The Body Sacred that explored the interface of sexuality, spirituality, relationship, and healing. By the close of that weekend we had decided to take our new connection further, such was our shared conviction that life had brought us together for a reason.

For the past 20+ years, we’ve been helping others to know themselves more deeply—to heal/whole—as we’ve undertaken that same task ourselves. Lorie is a licensed acupuncturist and the author of Five Spirits: Alchemical Acupuncture for Psychological and Spiritual Healing (2006) and Kigo: Exploring the Spiritual Essence of Acupuncture Points Through the Changing Seasons (2020). She is also certified in Focusing, a psychotherapeutic process of self-exploration, and has pursued mentorship in Jungian depth psychology for over two decades. Benjamin is a professional counseling astrologer, licensed massage therapist, and passionate builder of healing community. 

OUR HEALING CIRCLE

In 2006, we began offering our Alchemical Healing Mentorship to alternative healthcare practitioners. Today, this community has grown to include acupuncturists, doctors, nurses, psychotherapists, midwives, bodyworkers, artists, and cultural change makers as well as others who are interested in discovering how deep caring for the soul can transform our personal lives and the world as well.

THE ALCHEMY OF INNER WORK

With the 2020 publication of our book The Alchemy of Inner Work: A Guide for Turning Illness and Suffering Into True Health and Well-Being, we recognized the need to launch this virtual healing circle as a means to expand our community further, bringing practitioners and those they serve together in one space to explore and deepen our knowledge and application of a medicine
we have come to call Alchemical Healing. 

WHAT IS ALCHEMICAL HEALING?

Alchemical Healing holds that our bodies are a source of great wisdom. Modern-day alchemy is the art of transforming metaphorical “lead”—suffering, illness, hardship, personal impasse, internal chaos—into “gold”—the bright spirit of possibility that defines a meaningful human life. Our focus is on working with the more subtle levels of what it means to be human and on how our capacity for insight, understanding, and action at this level changes the outer expression of who we become and the impact we can make through our lives.

In doing this work with others, we’ve discovered that this level of healing requires certain conditions and is reliant on a fundamental shift in attitude from what is collectively accepted as the norm in our modern Western culture.

Cherish the "Lead." Alchemical Healing begins with learning to recognize and cherish, and really cherish, the places in us—the abject, the broken, the wounded, the self-critical—that we would ordinarily run from, defend against, or distract ourselves from relating to. This act alone takes enormous courage and is profoundly humbling. We do this for ourselves, and we do it for one another.

Find the Truth from Within. While we benefit from the insight and hard-won wisdom of others, ultimately we find our Truth from within. Learning to recognize that Truth, to trust it, to live from the ground of that Truth, requires seeing and feeling it; knowing it from the deepest place of our being. In that process we benefit from having the truth of who we are mirrored back to us by others.

Heal Through Relationship. Healing happens in relationship, and it happens in the body, in the present moment.

Embrace the Sacredness of Matter. Learning to listen to the body amidst the noise and distractions of life is key. Similarly, Nature itself is a source of vital information for our healing. We recognize that the Divine resides in the Earth as well as in our bodies, minds, and souls.

Explore in a Judgment-Free Space. This work requires a container, a cauldron, a place to feel held. The integrity of this vessel requires vigilant tending and a willingness to be vulnerable, to take risks, and to speak our truth. The work done here reverberates into each of our local communities.

Dare to Imagine a New Possibility. Finally, the goal of the work is transformational, not restorative. We are not looking to return to our old selves again or back to a way of being that we nostalgically hold as better. We are daring to imagine a new possibility for our lives and for the world, one that prioritizes the interbeing of human life with the life of all beings on our planet. We are engaged in a grand experiment to discover an entirely new way of understanding what it means to be alive at this time. We need to discover new narratives that rest on individual responsibility and self-empowerment. Each of us has a role to play in this transformation. Our lives matter. It’s up to us to be the change.

We know from what we have witnessed in our Alchemical Healing Mentorship that the power of healing increases exponentially when people gather together to share their experiences and support each other’s commitment to growth and change.  If you are someone who believes (or wants to "try on" believing!) that personal inner work can and does lead to tangible outer change, then join us! Whether you’re a practitioner or someone on your own healing journey, here you'll find a vital community sharing connections, providing support, offering tools, and teaching skills to help each of us, and the planet, heal and thrive.

What people are saying ...  

You two have changed me. The work you have built so beautifully and carefully has changed me. The group cauldron has changed me. I have changed me. 
Thank you so dearly.  
Kate, Oregon

You’ve created a sustainable energy that has lasting power for the people it touches, and I for one am very happy I had the faith to let your special alchemical recipe generate in me.
 Marc, Oregon

I credit ALL of this change to the work that we are doing and learning and I am so grateful for it. ALL OF IT. Not a percentage or segment but all of it. If it wasn't for Lorie, Benjamin and all of you I'm quite sure I'd be in the same place I've felt stuck in for the past six years. I wouldn't have been able to find the courage to hope for new possibilities for myself. I wouldn't have been open to the synchronicities and opportunities the universe has placed before me.
Katrina, Canada

I am so grateful to you both for all the work you do and how emotionally and spiritually generous you both are. It is contagious. The thoughtful work and dedication it takes to create an environment that induces a room full of people to keep moving toward the big self is not lost on me.

 Micki, New York

My work with you has sparked my magic! Your teaching not only deepened my understanding of the spirit of Chinese medicine, it also taught me to see spirit through the symbols of astrology! I now have embodiment practices to more intentionally invite the divine into my healing work and this has lead to soul healing for me and for my patients. Thank you!  

 Michael, New York

1. Free Access to our 'Alchemy of Inner Work' Course. This self-paced course offers step-by-step integration and application of the principles, tools, and skills that we present in our book, The Alchemy of Inner Work: A Guide for Turning Illness and Suffering into True Health and Well-Being, to support healing in your personal life and/or professional practice.
2. Kindred Spirit Networking and Exchange. You'll make new friends and get peer support as you engage with your personal healing journey through targeted Alchemical Healing Topics.
3. Practitioner Directory and Insights. Access to the collective wisdom and the clinical services of our Alchemical Healing Professionals via a Directory and their ongoing contributions to the Inner Healing Circle.
4. Educational Courses. Exciting live-stream and online courses that will challenge you to think about healing in new ways. Available for CEU credit to acupuncturists through NCCAOM (we’re working on approval by other accrediting organizations).
5. Guest Speakers. Periodic free presentations with experts in their field who are contributing to the advancement of ‘new possibilities’ in the realm of health and health care.
6. Inner Healing Circle Book Club. Recommended reads and listens where we curate books, podcasts, and other media resources to support you on your healing journey.
7. Live Q&A Meetups. Live monthly open Q & A group conversations with Lorie and Benjamin to explore all things related to Alchemical Healing, where we all benefit from the experience and insight of the community Heartmind.  
8. Video Library Access.  Access to our video library that you can use for personal inner work and professional clinical development.
9. Member Spotlights. Periodic interviews with our members to inspire one another and highlight the transformational healing work we are doing to create a better world.
10. Event Updates/Special Offers. Early notification and special offers for online webinars; in-person events, and workshops.

If there's something you'd like to see on this platform that we are not already offering, let us know! This community is dynamic and is growing in real time. We welcome your input, even if we can’t promise immediate fulfillment of every request.