Probably the best move I ever made as a corporate denizen was my mid-career shift from managing corporate design and construction projects to training others to do so. My undergraduate degree was in education, and my first job out of college, before going for my Master of Architecture degree, was as a public school art teacher. So the move to training was essentially a return to my roots as a teacher. The workshops I designed and delivered on professional and personal development were tremendous fun and had a positive effect on the participants and our business.
And yet, even as I heard the accolades that I typically received for this work, I would also listen to a silent voice within me suggesting that this was not truly what I was meant to teach.
I left corporate life at the end of 2012 and took some time to investigate where I would put my energies during what some people refer to as "the third act." During the following year, I completed studies in the Sage-ing Mentorship Program provided then by ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal. This certified me to teach courses and guide others to discover their life's wisdom and their soul's journey, with special focus on one's later years. I also completed an eighteen-month study in ALEPH’s Kol Zimra: Chant Leader’s Professional Development workshop that prepared me to lead others in using the melodic and rhythmic repetition of a sacred phrase from liturgy or Torah as a tool to attaining greater spiritual connection. Both of these transitioned beautifully into ALEPH's three-year Hashpa’ah Training Program for Jewish Spiritual Directors from which I received certification in January 2017. This was a comprehensive study to provide guidance and support on matters of faith and practice for people seeking greater connection to what they understood to be sacred in their lives.
The Hashpa'ah program has a powerful ecumenical component to it, preparing me to be of service to people of all ages and belief systems, as I did during the months I spent as an Intern Chaplain in the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Stanford Health Care. Now I look forward to building on both my corporate work and my spiritual studies to coach individuals and facilitate small groups — of any faith or of no faith, in person or in virtual space — to seek clarity and deep connection both within and beyond their day-to-day lives.
And yet, even as I heard the accolades that I typically received for this work, I would also listen to a silent voice within me suggesting that this was not truly what I was meant to teach.
I left corporate life at the end of 2012 and took some time to investigate where I would put my energies during what some people refer to as "the third act." During the following year, I completed studies in the Sage-ing Mentorship Program provided then by ALEPH Alliance for Jewish Renewal. This certified me to teach courses and guide others to discover their life's wisdom and their soul's journey, with special focus on one's later years. I also completed an eighteen-month study in ALEPH’s Kol Zimra: Chant Leader’s Professional Development workshop that prepared me to lead others in using the melodic and rhythmic repetition of a sacred phrase from liturgy or Torah as a tool to attaining greater spiritual connection. Both of these transitioned beautifully into ALEPH's three-year Hashpa’ah Training Program for Jewish Spiritual Directors from which I received certification in January 2017. This was a comprehensive study to provide guidance and support on matters of faith and practice for people seeking greater connection to what they understood to be sacred in their lives.
The Hashpa'ah program has a powerful ecumenical component to it, preparing me to be of service to people of all ages and belief systems, as I did during the months I spent as an Intern Chaplain in the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Stanford Health Care. Now I look forward to building on both my corporate work and my spiritual studies to coach individuals and facilitate small groups — of any faith or of no faith, in person or in virtual space — to seek clarity and deep connection both within and beyond their day-to-day lives.
Yeshaya Douglas Ballon Spiritual Mentoring |