Barbara VanderMeer, MA, MBA, MDiv, PhD
City: Gainesville
State: FL
Languages: English
Personalized Affiliation: Not Yet Selected
Spiritual Spheres: Bahai, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Eco/Nature-based, Hinduism, Humanism, Interfaith, Interspiritual, Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Native/Indigenous, Quaker, Shinto, Sikhism, Spiritual Independent, Sufism, Taoism, Unitarian Universalist, Wicca/Neopaganism, Zoroastrianism
Affinity Groups: LGBTQ+
Category: Spiritual Director, Spiritual Companion, Chaplain
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Website: http://www.milestonematters.com
Focus Area: Addiction, Alcoholism, Asian Cultures, Codependency, Corporate/Workplace, Couples/Families, Divorced/Widowed, Dreamworker, Dying/Sick/Hospice, Ecospirituality/Nature-based, Education, Elderly/Mature, Embodiment, Energy Work, Enneagram, European Cultures, Grief and Loss, Health Care, Incarceration/Justice/Legal, LGBTQIA+, Mental Health/Depression, Middle Eastern Cultures, Mindfulness/Meditation, Native/Indigenous Cultures, Non-Traditional Healing, People with Disabilities, Spiritual Awakening / Mystical Experiences, Women's Issues
Social Media:
Profile: Rev BJ VanderMeer PhD is currently accredited by the American Humanist Association as both celebrant and chaplain. As a spiritual director trained by the United Methodist "Upper Room, she offers in person, remote phone, and remote online web connections such as Zoom. Her eclectic companion approach begins with the client's interests and preferences: meditation, lectio divina and memorization, repeating questions, accountability covenants, intentional active listening, enneagram study, ember days retreats, journaling, Gendlin's focusing practice , interpersonal neurobiology, and pilgrimage. Somatic awareness in the Feldenkrais tradition is emphasized, and she is a certified 'focusing professional' trainied in Gene Gendlin's body based methods: focusing and "Thinking at the Edge". Philosophical sources include the monastic traditions (anchorite and peripatetic) and mystics of Western and Eastern heritage, and a foundation in psychological and educational methodologies. Her long career includes: serving as pastor to United Methodist and Unitarian Universalist congregations in Connecticut and several Southern states. She has been a professor of world religions at University of Alabama and Hartford seminary, and served as a chaplain onsultant to a Dignity Therapy (Harvy Chochinov, MD) research project at University of Florida medical school. She worked for a decade as a tax professional/enrolled agent where she accompanied clients as they encountered what it often a maze of complex statutes and confusing directives—the stuff which calls out the best and the worst in us! According to the IRS, an enrolled agent is "a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. This status is the highest credential the IRS awards. Individuals who obtain this elite status must adhere to ethical standards and ongoing continuing education. " VanderMeer limits her work to consultation regarding tax court or other representation before the IRS, and enjoys the interface between money and meaning. Dr. VanderMeer’s ongoing passion through out has been spiritual companionship ( some folks still use the term‘spiritual director’). BJ has led both secular and religious pilgrimages in China, Tibet, Japan, India, the Middle East, Kenya, Tanzania, Morocco, Quebec, Peru, and Mississippi. She believes, along with Ram Dass, that we are all just walking each other home.
