Mary Louise McCullough
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My Mission
All change is experienced as loss. And we are living in a time of massive change. Stress, loneliness and anxiety can play outsized roles in our daily lives, in spite of our best efforts. Traumas old and new can claim a hold on us too strong to toss off.
As a powerful speaker who has been a spiritual advisor and speaker for 30 years at the intersection of science, religion and the spiritual wisdom of the mystics, Mary Louise breaks through resistance to change and helps professional women discover the reservoirs of peace and healing just beneath the surface of their lives. She has lived this story herself and wants to help you live your story with passion and joy.
Meet Mary Louise
Mary Louise is a Spiritual Director and Coach, Jungian Dreamwork Facilitator, Workshop Leader and former pastor who works with individuals and groups as they discover wholeness and inner strength. Through speaking, teaching and mentoring she exposes the ways traditions, workplaces and families often teach us to value perfectionism while neglecting the truth of our embodiment and capacity for connection and joy. She facilitates deep listening, creativity and visioning to connect self and Divine, and has studied ancient and living mystics. Mary Louise holds MFA, M.Div. and D.Min. degrees and certificates in Conflict Management, Family Systems Theory, Spiritual Direction and Jungian Dreamwork. She is a Mentor in the Haden Institute Spiritual Direction Training program and loves enjoying nature, music and art with her husband, grandchildren, family and friends.
Mary Louise's Talks
Burnout as a Wake-Up Call: Access the Healing Power of the Inner Life
It may sound strange but exhaustion can be a portal to the sacred within us. It helps us admit that our overachieving egos do not have all the answers, that the life within knows what we need. In this tender but humorous and experiential journey, Mary Louise shares how and what she has learned and teaches 3 practices that will change your life.
The Inner Compass: Navigating Life Through the Wisdom of Dreams
Through 3 practical exercises you’ll see how decoding dream symbols and engaging with your inner world helps you access the deep wisdom that resides within. Whether you're seeking emotional insight, creative inspiration, or spiritual direction, your dreams are not just stories—they are maps and sources of direction and affirmation.
Spiritual Direction
Carl Jung said, "“Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you." That's often where we start in spiritual direction sessions. I hold space for the questions and thoughts that come forward when we listen for the quiet voice beneath the noise and false messages of culture and family history.
When I became a journalist at 21, I always looked for the "why." I learned to play many roles as I searched for the "right" job, confident on the outside while scared inside. I produced a radio show for long haul truckers while working at a Chicago PR firm and later left a lucrative corporate job writing speeches for a CEO - to raise my son. Divorce led me back to a newspaper job in my hometown but this time, I began to understand the deeper spiritual dimensions of my life. We lived for a while in an ecumenical retreat center in Richmond VA where I discovered Christian and Buddhist mystics, Thomas Merton, centering prayer and Spiritual Direction. I trained as a Spiritual Director and followed a call to go to seminary in California. Twenty years as a pastor followed, and then I left church ministry to work again one to one with clients on Zoom and in person.
I teach Spiritual Direction and Jungian Dream Work for the Haden Institute. My private practice of spiritual direction and coaching involves sitting with individuals eager for deeper self and divine awareness, listening for the Divine.
