Misha BearWoman Metzler, A.S.
Misha brings an authentic presence and a powerful, real-life example of how human imperfection is not a barrier to growth and awakening. Her key focuses include deepening her understanding of the nature of the human condition, learning how to live life more fully and humanely, and sharing these understandings with others. Her experiences of living with long-term catastrophic chronic illness, pain, and disability, as well as learning to thrive after surviving multiple forms of severe (developmental) trauma, inform her offerings.
“Having found my way to the Higher Self,” Misha says, “I want to help others do the same.”
“My work is to synthesize multiple ways of understanding, distill key elements, ground them in scientific understandings, and convey them to others in ways that are both helpful and meaningful.”
Misha (she, per[son]) is a pragmatic mystic with an eclectic background in various paths. These include Core Shamanism, American indigenous spiritual traditions, and Buddhism. Within these paths, she has experience as a practitioner, healer, teacher, ceremonial leader, and community leader. She co-created and co-led a non-indigenous sweat lodge community with Mary Rooker (and the help of the spirits). She has been a member, facilitator, and leader of multiple types of support groups, and is known as a perceptive and compassionate listener and an insightful and articulate speaker.
Spirituality has been a major theme underpinning the arc of her life. Intrapsychic explorations and interpersonal communications are enduring interests. Significant influences include Tara Brach, Adyashanti, Howard Cohn, Rick Hanson, Peter Levine, Dan Siegel, Carl Jung, Michael Brown, Fred Wahpepah, Rena and Kay Yount, and the endeavors of transpersonal psychology, Interpersonal Neurobiology, and speculative science fiction.
Misha has trained or studied with The Foundation for Shamanic Studies and various meditation and spiritual teachers. She holds an A.S. degree in General Studies (dual major in Art & Computer Science), completed a certificate program in professional massage therapy and Rick Hanson’s Foundations of Wellbeing (2017). She is currently enrolled in Dr. Dan Siegel’s comprehensive Interpersonal Neurobiology course (January 2022 cohort).
Other training includes Reiki, Non-Violent Communication, and the use of symbolic mandala art for personal transformation. Misha has undertaken both time-limited and life vows and has completed transformational workshops and retreats of various lengths. These began in earnest in October 1983 with Michael Brown’s Wilderness Vision Quest.