DIANNE EDLEMAN, PHD

I am a spiritual director and author currently based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I was raised Catholic and, though I am grateful for that religious foundation, I have lived a progressive, “Spiritual but Not Religious” life since my early 20s. In addition to Christianity, my personal theology and spiritual practices have been influenced by Buddhism, New Thought, Spiritualism, the Human Potential Development movement, and the accounts of Near Death Experiencers, as well. I am an Enneagram 5 and an empath.

In my earlier corporate career, I was a Sr. VP, Creative Director for one of the largest international advertising agencies in the world. Following that, I worked as a strategic communications consultant to Fortune 500 corporations such as Cisco and HP and numerous smaller consulting firms. I later specialized in competitive website analysis, content planning and content writing for high-end independent consultants.

In 1990, I took a break from corporate work to study full time with my then spiritual mentor, and two years later incorporated my studies into an interdisciplinary doctoral program through The Union Institute. My focus was on human potential development and organizational and personal change management. I graduated in 1995 and added executive coaching to my consulting work.

When my mother died in 2002, I stepped away from consulting and steeped myself in spiritual contemplation, writing, photography, and art. I wrote my first two books, Fitzpatrick Lane: A Book of Prayers and How to Use Spiritual Mind Treatment (And What to Do When It Doesn’t Seem to Work) during that period. They were inspired by the principles of the Centers for Spiritual Living in California and were both published by DeVorss & Company.

A few years later, I pursued something that had interested me for many years: mental mediumship development, the ancient practice of telepathically communicating with departed loved ones. I trained under Spiritualist minister Drew Vogt in San Francisco. I do not give readings, but having had startling and deeply meaningful experiences under Drew’s tutelage, I chose to research the subject more deeply and wrote my third book on the subject of mental mediumship development.

After living for fifteen years in California, I moved to Oregon and, at the suggestion of my spiritual director there, enrolled in and completed spiritual director/supervisor training at the Urban Spirituality Center in Portland with Fr. James Galluzzo. I also trained and served as a seniors’ support group facilitator for a local non-profit and volunteered briefly for the American Cancer Society.

After five years in Oregon, I relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, where I currently live, and began volunteering for Transitions LifeCare Hospice and for the local Red Cross Disaster Spiritual Care team. Encouraged by a fellow Red Cross team member, I applied for and was accepted into Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). I completed my chaplaincy internship at Duke Raleigh Hospital and my two-year residency at UNC Rex Healthcare.

Over the course of CPE, I provided emotional and spiritual support to over 4,000 patients, family members, and staff. Toward the end of my residency, I began writing my fourth book, Clinical Pastoral Education: Nobody Said It Would Be Like This. As stressful as it was at times, CPE was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.

In addition to my spiritual direction practice and volunteer work, I continue to write about spiritual practices and perspectives that have been helpful or deeply meaningful to me over the years.

Please let me know if I can be of help to you in any way, and thank you for your interest.