Before John worked as a psychotherapist, teacher, or guide, he was a musician chasing something he couldn’t quite name. For a decade, John lived inside the pulse of performance, the thrill of the stage, the power of the creative process, and the wildness of the night. But the wilderness that fed him also began to unravel him. Eventually, the spotlight gave way to a quieter life: a therapist’s office, a newborn child, and the unmistakable feeling that his life was asking something more of him.

It was fatherhood that cracked him open. In that soul-stretching threshold, John began the slow work of turning inward—recovering what had been severed, meeting the unknown within, and learning to live from something deeper than the ambition that fueled life up until that point.

John’s path is still shaped by the questions that haunted him back then: What do we do with our suffering? How do we make meaning from it? And is it possible to live a life that’s both grounded and sacred?

His work today is a response to those questions. It’s about not forgetting the deeper truths of yourself. It’s about a descent. Reclaiming what the world taught us to exile and learning to carry it with reverence. His teachings—The Ten Gates, The Little Teachers, The Sacred Refusal—offer a mythic and embodied map for those navigating grief, longing, transition, or spiritual hunger. They are not self-help formulas, but rituals of return and reclamation.

Whether he’s leading a retreat, hosting a men’s circle, speaking from the stage, or simply sitting in the quiet of a room with one person, John’s work is devoted to depth, presence, and transformation. He invites people into the slow, sacred work of integration, where grief becomes a portal, anxiety becomes a teacher, and reverence becomes a way of seeing the world anew.

He lives in Houston with his wife and children.

John holds a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and a Doctorate in Jungian Psychology. He is the co-founder of The Center for Healing Arts and Sciences, President of the Board at the Jung Center of Houston, a faculty member at the Esalen Institute, and the host of The Sacred Speaks, a podcast nearing one million downloads.