About Deanna

Why do about pages always feel so hard to write? Slightly more than five decades on this planet and all of the experiences and roles that go with that are impossible to capture fully in a few paragraphs, aren't they? Cheers to trying to give you an idea of who I am through these words! 

As of 2018, you'll find me walking around the Jamaican countryside with an umbrella to give me refuge from the Caribbean sun and rain and sometimes using it to remind the mongrel dogs that we need to coexist in peace and harmony.

I spent more than three decades of my life over-giving without boundaries and forgetting to take care of myself while doing it, so I burned out and left a successful twenty-year career in public education to meet myself and create a life I didn't want to escape from. Jamaica has been one of my greatest teachers.

I love a cup of strong, black coffee in the morning while I read a library book, write in my journal, and draw in my sketchbook. Slow mornings are a beloved ritual that I protect rather fiercely and even after eight years of having them, the novelty hasn't worn off. 

When I was a child growing up in a lot of dysfunction and darkness, I wished so badly that magic was real and I privately cried big, juicy tears when I realized that the Easter Bunny was never going to bring me a real bunny. When I was in high school, I got that bunny, and I went on to have a few more after that one. Now I like to dream up magical worlds in my sketchbook and journal, and I'm currently dreaming up a magical island for the children's book characters I created, Jack N' Birdie, who were inspired by the birth of my grandson, Jack, in 2024.  

I think a lot, I draw a lot, and I do both to stay in conversation and presence with life. In recent years, I've begun to more boldly share my creative work because I want desperately for human created art and books to stay alive in this modern world where so much is outsourced to technology and robots and I want to contribute how I can. 

I love the smell of libraries and books. I eat dessert just about every day, and I finally care more about feeling good in my body than getting fat. Sometimes I am super chatty, and sometimes I go days without talking to anyone but my husband and dogs because I deeply love being alone and staring into space. I used to want to be an astronaut, and when I unexpectedly became a special education teacher, I figured it was a little bit like being in outer space every day anyway. 

I continue to hold out hope and root for humanity, and I feel called to do what I can to relieve suffering in myself and others. Everything that I offer from my services to my writing, to my art, is grounded in love and intended as an offering to cultivate peace, calm, and relieve suffering. 

Oh, and I do have plenty of fancy papers that show my education, training, and skills that all helped me to arrive at the creation of Calm Spirit with Deanna: 

• Massage License #9248 (in the state of Louisiana)
• Certified Usui Reiki Practitioner at the Master Teacher Level
• 120-hour yoga and meditation training at Hridaya Yoga, Mazunte, Mexico
• Master's Degree in Special Education from Chapman University 
• Current and active Mild/Moderate Education Specialist teaching credential in the state of California
• Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies, Cal State Hayward (now known as Cal State East Bay)
• Certified Spiritual Life Coach