Marion Chamberlain

How I Became A Spiritual Coach in an Uncommon Wisdom Kinda Way

I’ve been a spiritual seeker and self-improvement junkie for as long as I can recall. I’m the girl who as a feisty teenager declared that she was giving up the Catholic religion and had her grandmother threaten to disown her mother. I truly felt spiritually unfulfilled and sure was pounding my head against the wall looking for answers.

I read book after book on different religious philosophies, New Age approaches, Buddhism, self help thinking and Religious Science and found that nothing, like in ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, spoke to me. However, I’ve always felt like I was put on this wonderful planet to make a positive difference. But how and doing what? So, through times of feeling disconnected from my life and very, very frustrated, I just kept on reading and reading more books tha I can recount. I knew traditional world religions weren’t my cup of tea. And between us – if I had one more New Age guru tell me that love + forgiveness + compassion is the key to enlightenment – well, the wave of nausea would have led to some unpleasant end result (you get my drift, huh?).

Then I came across eye-opening teachings and archeological findings on a time many, many moons ago when God was revered as a woman. I totally delved into studying all I could about divine feminine spirituality, Goddess religion, earth-based spiritual traditions (aka paganism – I just hate that term though) and, yes, even witchcraft.

Let me say that I’m not a spiritual coach in a traditional kind of way. I’m far off from claiming to be enlightened.

For me, those claiming to be enlightened are individuals cooped off from society without having to deal with daily life challenges. And believe me, I still deal with crap and show up in ways that some traditional religion followers might call totally unspiritual. However, I have a really, really strong sense that I am here to serve on this planet and want to have an impact on this world honoring Mother Nature and her gifts. So, for me, showing up authentically as a woman – emotions, quirks, faults and all; honoring Mother Nature in my lifestyle approach; and integrating spiritual traditions based upon my notion of a female god are the spiritual foundation of my life.

And that’s why I don’t call myself a life coach because I work with modern women to help them start paying attention to the area of life most often neglected – spirituality. We bust through the myths of traditional societal expectations and spiritual traditions to create freedom, independence and connection in your life. My mission is to help you find fulfillment and impact the planet in ways you dream of.

So, if you’re wondering what makes me qualified to call myself a coach, here are my professional creds:

• Received my coach training certification from the renowned CoachU
• Hold a MBA degree in management/marketing from Rutgers University
• Have extensive business experience in sustainability planning, corporate strategy, and marketing.

And on to some fun facts:

1. I’m literally food-obsessed. I wake up in the middle of the night having come up recipes. (Only whole foods though…)
2. My friends used to call me an energizer bunny on the dance floor. I could dance for hours and hours. Now I sneak in daily dance moves as my exercise…
3. I was born in Germany to a German mother and American father. I spent the majority of my youth and teenage years living in Germany with my mother. (And, yes, I’m bilingual – I get that question all the time…)
4. I have a 14-year old cat named Rusty. He’s fierce and feisty and motivated me to take on some of his personality traits…
5. I’m a driven eco-activist in our house. Watch out for when you leave light switches on; don’t compost or recycle; or leave the water running. (Okay, let’s just say that I use Rusty personality traits – see #4.)
6. I LOVE red wine and chocolate. I oftentimes enjoy both at the same time.
7. I’m like a kid in the candy shop at the farmers market. I can’t make up my mind and tend to go overboard with wanting to buy everything.
8. I love feminine, jewel-colored clothing. And my closet is organized by colors.
9. I’m known for wearing really unique fashion jewelry (often gifted to me by my hubby).
10. My Goddess muse for my altar is a combo of Aphrodite and Artemis. Her image is right next to my altar book displaying the words: Bold and Audacious Priestess, Spiritual Badass, Wise and Fierce, Rooted in Mother Nature.