Who is Rachel Chase? What is “creative empowerment?” First, I’m proud to let you know that Rachel is my daughter—now a grown-up, married woman who has become an intuitive artist, generous healer, and compassionate force in the world.
In this post, with her permission, I’m proud to share some of her life with you. That includes her beautiful offerings of “creative empowerment.” In a nutshell, she earned a BFA, an MA in mental health counseling, and has attained numerous certifications—see details below. Her path to this creative life, however, has not been strewn with roses.
Our family’s troubled past
First a little background. Many of you know Rachel was born while I was a leader in The Way International, a group I now view as a fundamentalist cult. I gave it 17 years of my life (1970 – 1987) from age 18 to 35.
During that time I married another Way leader and had our baby, Rachel. As her mom, I can’t help but say she was the cutest baby ever! See?
In 1987 before our little family escaped Way headquarters in New Knoxville, Ohio, (Rachel was 12 years old by then) we had moved around the country many times to promote the teachings of the cult leader, Victor Paul Wierwille. Nearly every year he sent us to a new place—I got very good at packing! Although we believed we were serving God, in reality most of the time we were serving the ego of Wierwille.
That gypsy life-style, as well as serious marital problems that Rachel’s father and I suffered, took a toll on Rachel’s childhood. Those detrimental impacts and others that showed up later, are the major regrets I have about my long years of misinformed commitment to that cult.
In my memoir about my life in The Way, Undertow, readers see some of those dark and confusing family times, only specs of dust compared with all that happened. After leaving The Way, Rachel’s father and I finally divorced in 1991.
Thankfully, Rachel has turned thousands of lemons into nourishing lemonade, inspiring me and many others today. Some may say these are the words of a gushy mother whose love for her daughter skews her opinions, so I invite you to consider her yourself.
Rachel Chase & Creative Empowerment
From her website.
“Rachel Chase is a sacred activist, using her diverse experience and passion for the healing arts to be a force of radical love in the world. She has received her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of South Florida and her master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Rollins college with special training in trauma-informed therapies, expressive arts therapy, and mindfulness for health and wellbeing.
She has also received extensive training, certifications, and mentoring in the fields of yoga, meditation, art, dance, energy medicine, vibrational therapies, mental health counseling, mindfulness facilitation, and community co-creation. She has taught art for over 20 years, dance for 30 years, yoga and meditation for 15 years, with 10 years experience as a coach/mentor, and two years as a clinical mental health counselor in-training.”
Finding Rachel Chase, BFA, MA
To read Rachel’s personal story in her own BRAVE words, check into her creative empowerment offerings, and read important testimonials, visit her website here.
Thank you for reading about this most precious gift of my life.
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
PLEASE wear a face mask when you’re among other people.
The life you save just might be your own.
Holly Manus
Thank you for sharing this Charlene. You raised quite a wonderful person!!!
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What a wonderful tribute to a successful mother. Both of you have accomplished so much.
Thanks for sharing this part of your life. And blessings for you both for rising to great heights even with very negative experiences.