In this exclusive MysticMag interview, Dr. Jonathan Ellerby, PhD, shares his profound insights into the world of integrative therapy, spiritual growth, and holistic healing. With a rich background in comparative religion, indigenous mentorship, and energy work, Jonathan discusses his journey and the principles that guide his transformative approach to helping others live authentically and in alignment with their soul’s purpose.
Can you share a few details about yourself and your professional background?
My professional background is an important aspect of my credibility, and I think more seekers need to check the background of their teachers. But, it is my personal journey and lifelong study that makes my experience meaningful.
I have a doctoral degree in Comparative Religion, I was ordained as an Interfaith Minister, trained and worked as a chaplain and energy healer, was mentored for 5 years as a leadership coach and team development consultant, and studied under two different Indigenous mentors for a total of over 30 years.
What is Integrative Therapy and how does it work?
Integrative therapy is talk-based, and integrative because of the diverse perspectives I use, and the diverse aspects of life we can address. Mixing psychology, with intuitive guidance, spiritual wisdom, and solid holistic health practices, we can face any life change or challenge a client may be facing with attention to meaning and transformation.
Our core goal is to shift to a soul-based identity and a deeper understanding of how to live authentically and in wholeness within the natural “design” of life.
What ideas and principles do you base your coaching on?
My work is based on a synthesis of mysticism, which is the realized Oneness of all things, Ancestral Healing & Guidance, which involves Spirit Guidance and Energy work, and the value of a holistic approach to psychology, driven by the understanding that life is best lived as a soul.
In any relationship where there is safety to feel, compassionate attention, mirrored observations, and heightened intuition, healing naturally happens. Transformation, however, usually requires a plan, energy from outside sources, and the courage and support to change. With these elements in place, there is little you cannot uncover, learn from, or move beyond, towards freedom and peace.
What other services do you offer?
I offer guided imagery for regression, spiritual connection, deep release, and healing. In person, I offer ceremonies and earth-based practices.
As an author, what books have you written and what are they about?
My first book was, “Working With Indigenous Elders” and is for institutional professionals working alongside Native Healers and Cultural Workers. Return to the Sacred and Spiritual Experience are excellent books for people interested in spiritual growth – both for beginners and for people deeply studied and experienced. Inspiration Deficit Disorder is a great book for people going through major life changes or wanting to make a change, and The Promise of Paradise is an easy read that is a fun and practical guide to healthy, holistic living, with great stories from my time living in Mexico.
Is there anything else that you would like to share that we haven’t covered?
Whether I am teaching, writing, or working with people personally, one of the most important things I try to share with people is the reality of spiritual intelligence and the importance of spiritual experiences to grow and develop that intelligence.
Spiritual Intelligence reflects your capacity to experience energy, intuition, connection, and surrender or non-attachment. Each of these qualities can help you to advance whatever is important to you – healing, success, relationships, or inner peace. These four qualities are enough to guide, shape, and restore wholeness to your life.
Accessing our spiritual intelligence can be done little by little through practices, attitudes, and habits. However, cultivating spiritual experiences – experiences of non-ordinary states of direct connection to the spiritual world – is the most powerful and efficient way to evolve and inform those practices.
In my book, The Seven Gateways of Spiritual Experience, I offer a detailed exploration of the seven most common and important spiritual experiences. Whether it is a brief synchronicity, a profound vision, a lucid dream, or a blissful moment of divine union, spiritual experiences break us out of our daily constraints of belief and behavior and invite us to a deeper experience of life and love. You can cultivate these experiences, and look for them every day. It just takes an open heart and mind and a little help knowing what to look for.
To learn more about Dr. Ellerby’s work, you can visit www.jonathanellerby.com
