Sattva Institute Co-founder
Lancaster, Texas
(972)218-5422 or
(888)860-8595 toll free
sattva@sunan.com

Probably the question most frequently asked of me is how I got into the work that I am doing. The question has always caused me trouble because I am aware that almost everyone likes easy, quick answers. But there is no simple answer to something that has taken a lifetime of searching and questioning--of what or for what I did not know.

Talk about your basic wandering around in the wilderness! I did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up but I knew it was important (if only to me) because it was an inner driving that would not let me go. I took what I thought were many wrong turns and dead ends on my quest. It would not be until much later in life that I would come to understand that I needed every one of those mis-turns in order to contribute more fully to and to understand more completely those persons who would come to me later on.

It took an "accident" on one of those mis-turns that almost totaled me before I would stumble onto the thing that filled my soul and my heart with such a sense of wonder and fulfillment it still takes my breath away. My life had become a one-woman disaster zone. Everything I thought mattered in this world was crashing down around me, professionally, financially and personally. Even the IRS was after me.

It was one of those moments when the soul is so filled with desolation and hopelessness that suicide seemed the most hopeful thing I could do. Fortunately, my stubbornness kicked in. Instead I thought to myself, There has to be something more to life!

With that simple thought a voice from nowhere asked me, "Are you asking?"

It startled me because I thought myself alone in my house. So I quickly checked all the rooms but found no one. The voice came again and once more asked me, "Are you asking?"

Well great, I thought to myself. I'm losing everything else and now my mind, too!

But I could feel that presence still there, waiting. I sort of felt like Bill Cosby in his skit with God, so I asked, "Is that you, God?"

This voice laughed and said, "Oh no, I'm not God." Then I got a little scared because with my Christian upbringing, that just left one other possibility. I was afraid he was going to make me an offer I couldn't refuse! I finally screwed up my courage and asked him if he was Satan. He really laughed then and said absolutely not.

"Who are you then?" I cried. And with that he said, "I am a friend who has been with you all of your life, and all of that time I have been waiting for you to ask for help. Are you asking?"

As he asked me this question again, he began to fill the room and me with the most incredibly loving and gentle energy. I started to feel the emptiness in my heart being replaced with so much love and peace and a sense of security that I no longer cared who he was. He could have said the tooth fairy and I would have believed him!

The voice later identified himself as a soul called Yaqui. All that afternoon and into the night he and I talked. He shared many things with me about himself, God and surprisingly me. Things I thought no one knew that I had kept secret in my heart: my hopes, dreams and yearnings. He knew them all and he told me they were all possible because they were all seeds. These seeds only needed my nurturing and love to come to fruition with a little help from my friends. But first I must learn to ask for help and then I must also learn that I am worthy enough to receive that help.

Shot right between the eyes! He had just revealed my scariest vulnerability as if it were nothing and expected me just to overlook this little weakness. Hadn't he been listening? Didn't he know I tried all my life to overcome that vulnerability?

Yes, he knew that. (Great, now he is reading my thoughts.) But when I was ready he would introduce me to another soul who would be able to help me accept me exactly as I am and would show me how to help others do the same.

The "trick" was to "feel" God's love and acceptance and to gain wisdom in being imperfect.

Needless to say, that entire experience was life-altering. At the time I didn't know whether to believe it or not. But the sense of well-being and serenity that I still was carrying had no logical reason for being there. It began for me another search, but this time, finally, with a direction. I did not want to lose that feeling, but instead to grow it more and more and to learn how to help others do the same.

True to his word, when I was ready, Yaqui introduced me to Dr. Sunan, who has proved to be quite a character. For all his intellectual and teutonic nature, it turns out he's a teddy bear with a heart of gold who is genuinely interested in the health, happiness and well being of every soul. He has taught me much and continues to do so about human nature, our ability to love and our driving need to be reconnected to our Creator.

Sunan is one avenue to attaining our human needs through a supportive, loving process that is painless. The key to joy, peace, fulfillment and a sense of belonging lies in our hearts, in our garden. For hope is in the garden!

Dr. Sunan taught (and is continuing to teach) me techniques and therapies we call the Sunan Method. Yaqui taught me how to apply this method softly and lovingly.

My personal approach as a therapist is to always remember that judgment lives in the absence of wisdom and respect--that we tend to judge people and things because we do not understand them. The secret to inner and outer harmony is respect. Respect is truly expressed in the absence of understanding. In other words, if I understand you I'm basically only agreeing with you. But if I can accept you without understanding you, then you have my respect.

This is also true of self-respect. My job as a Sunan therapist is not to change you, but instead to help you reveal that which is your personal truth--whether or not I would agree with it. Therefore I accept you as you are and as you want to become. If I cannot do this because of my own limitations, I will refer you to another Sunan therapist who can.

Sunan therapists are not in competition with one another because there is no technique or ability difference between us. In other words, a therapist is either a clear channel or not. There is no room for ambiguity here. But there are differences in our personalities.

In choosing which therapist would best fit with you, it becomes a matter of trust. The Sunan therapist is only going to walk with you into your soul and all that it contains. You definitely want to feel safe with your therapist. I have had the honor of training all of the Sunan therapists and therefore know them all well. It takes tremendous courage, trust and love to be a Sunan therapist and I can sincerely endorse all of them to anyone.