Meet Our Guides!
Jackie Justice
With a heart dedicated to helping others find balance and healing, Jackie brings a unique blend of professional expertise and personal wisdom to her practice as a yoga teacher, holistic health coach, and Reiki practitioner. Her journey into wellness began through her own path of recovery and self-discovery.
Drawing from extensive training in therapeutic yoga modalities, Jackie understands that true healing happens when we address the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. Her approach is compassionate and individualized, recognizing that each person’s healing journey is unique. She creates safe, supportive spaces where clients can explore movement, breathwork, and energy healing as pathways to transformation.
As a mother of three sons and grandmother to five grandchildren, Jackie brings a nurturing, grounded perspective to her work. Her life experience has taught her the importance of finding balance while juggling multiple roles and responsibilities.
Beyond her wellness practice, Jackie has built successful careers as both a salon owner and Realtor, experiences that have honed her skills in building trust, listening deeply, and helping people create positive changes in their lives.
Whether you’re seeking recovery support, trauma healing, stress relief, or simply a deeper connection to yourself, Jackie meets you exactly where you are with warmth, wisdom, and unwavering support for your journey toward wholeness.
Shontael Starry
Shontael Starry has always been a truth seeker. Truth from philosophy and religion; Truth from the humanities and sciences; Truth through relationships. This curiosity led her down many roads of study and professional pursuits resulting in the “success” she had dreamed of. Yet at her most successful she found herself deeply burnt out and suffering physically. Working too many hours a week, not prioritizing her true needs; she needed balance. Little did she know a pursuit of balance would be the beginning of an incredible journey of healing and wisdom from the least likely of sources – her very own body! By creating awareness, quiet and space to do the things that felt good in her body, she and her body developed a sacred partnership. Her body gifted her a wholistic healing practice through somatic movement, Embodied MovementTM. This journey has become a calling to share with others! Come. Relax. Listen. Move. Deepen the sacred relationship with YOUR body and see what healing and wisdom await you!
Neelam Soni
Neelam is a holistic healer, clinical hypnotherapist, and spiritual teacher with a background in Reiki, Past Life Regression, Akashic Records, Vedic Astrology, and Tarot. With years of experience guiding people through emotional and spiritual healing, Neelam offers a heart-centered, intuitive approach that blends ancient wisdom with practical tools. She works with clients and students worldwide through her platforms NeelamSoni.com and SacredZodiac.com, offering private sessions, courses, and healing experiences.
Her mission is to help others reconnect with their inner power and live with clarity and purpose. In this first quarter with DNA Awakening School, Neelam will be offering **Reiki Healing Certification Class: Level 1 & 2 (Usui Reiki)** on August 10th and **Tarot Card Reading Course: Learn to Read the Cards Like a Pro**, a two-part Tarot class on September 21st and 28th. Mark your calendars!
Steve Franks
THIS IS NOT MAGIC Explore Yourself & the World - through Contemplation & Discussion”
We see ourselves as individual coherent humans. But, we are made up of trillions of living cells. And we, along with trillions of other things, are parts of a planet, which is part of a solar system, which is part of a galaxy.
And so forth.
This is not magic.
Each session is a combination of individual contemplation, followed by an open group
discussion.
1. Contemplate silently. Contemplate however you want. Meditate, write, sketch, read, listen (with headphones or earbuds) - it’s all good.
2. During discussion, everyone, one by one, will be offered the opportunity to share any thoughts they wish about how they see
themselves and the world, concluding with open discussion.
Your host is Steve Franks. Steve has no special qualifications to lead these sessions, but for years he has personally explored what he is in relation to the universe. His perspective and understanding aren’t gospel - in fact they change often, so he wants to hear yours. THIS IS NOT MAGIC will be held 2nd Saturday of each month at 10:00am beginning July 12th at DNA Awakening School inside of the Art & Awakening Center.
Darren Lapsley
Darren is a United States Marine Corps combat veteran, visual artist, and wellness leader dedicated to helping others harness the power of creativity for healing and growth. With 20 years of military service and extensive experience in leadership, Darren understands the challenges of navigating trauma, stress, and personal transformation.
His own journey through art therapy inspired him to develop the VITAL Arts Experience, a non-clinical, community-based program that blends creative expression, motivational practices, and self-mastery tools. Darren’s workshops focus on empowering participants to reconnect with their inner voice, reflect on their experiences, and rise into their full potential. He brings a compassionate, strengths-based approach to every session, fostering safe spaces for reflection and artistic exploration. Darren has collaborated with recovery centers, wellness communities, and veteran support organizations to deliver engaging, accessible creative programming that helps people heal, grow, and thrive.
Darren will be offering VITAL Arts Experience Workshop: “From Silence to Shape” on July 20th with more to come in the fall. Darren joins us from Indianapolis.
Ruth Fearnow
Ruth is a therapist, author and speaker. Her first book, Therapeutic Mindfulness: A Healing Skill, Not a Coping Skill, has embedded the factors necessary for healing into a learnable skill.
Ruth’s private journey began as a young woman when she found herself studying kung fu and qi gong in Dengfeng City, China, the home of the famous Shaolin Temple. It was there she began a serious meditation practice. While this skill takes years to develop, this was her first big step to understanding mindfulness practices.
Ruth’s evolution into a trauma therapist has enabled her to synthesize age-old wisdom with trauma-informed insight and create the process of therapeutic mindfulness which she practices personally, and teaches to her clientele, many of whom use it on their own. Therapeutic mindfulness has now been adopted for professional use by colleagues in the mental health field.
Ruth is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Certified EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) practitioner working out of her private practice in Fort Wayne. When not working or spreading the word of Therapeutic Mindfulness, Ruth enjoys singing, community theater and time with her wonderful family.
Ruth will be guiding Therapeutic Mindfulness: A Healing Skill, Not a Coping Skill on August 14th and September 11th at 6PM at DNA Awakening school in the Art & Awakening Center at 1615 S Calhoun Street.
Omowalé-Kétu Oladuwa
My name is Omowalé-Kétu Oladuwa. Who am I? I began asking this of my Self at 21 when I found my Self in deep shit! For 14 years prior to that, the question was: How did I appear to others? How did I fit? That personality portal conveyed the dilemma: Would I be executed for a murder I did not commit or find an Authentic identity I could live with ? I had no answer, no guru, no guide. I had my mother’s luv & grace which had instilled in me the wisdom to find my own way thru this crucible. I looked inward to feel & intuit. This perspective always had been present but overlooked & misunderstood. Thru the next four years, that perspective grew to an innerstanding of body as temple, breath as spirit’s most accessible material presence, & life as the river flowing to the ocean in which I swam. An identity I could live with emerged.
That was 60-years ago. I know a lot more today about Self. 60-years of pain & joy have revealed how little I really know, & that not knowing has become the wealth I found on this road to reclamation.
Peace, Luv, Respect, Gratitude, & Joy are the diamonds I’ve picked up along the way.
Life is & we are in it. Discovery requires exploration. No one can lead you to you—only you have that ability & responsibility. But Guides are on the road. I am called by the Ancestors to guide. Everyone will not hear my voice. Those that are meant to will. I have no answers for you—you have them—I can support you in your quest & direction, & give you feedback on the journey as you travel.
Life is a river flowing to the ocean we all swim in. Inner change begins with vulnerable conversation. Let’s engage in RealTalk not as an intellectual exercise but, rather a pragmatic call to Self discovery, discovering what it means to be hueman.
What guidance can you expect? To be given space to breathe. To not be judged or second-guessed. To be listened to & heard. To be questioned. To sit in silence. To discover the infinite black behind your eyes. To experience joy & pain. To experience collective embrace. To be affirmed. To be…..
Ketu will be guiding “Identity Counts” August 3rd and September 7th at 3PM this summer at DNA Awakening School inside of the Art & Awakening Center.
Ellie Hadsall
Ellie believes we are born to experience, learn, grow, and serve. As souls on a human journey, we support each other along the way. These transformational times call for mutual empowerment.
Raised on a Kansas farm, I learned kindness, respect for nature, and an appreciation for diverse lives. Life’s challenges have pushed me far beyond my comfort zone. Overcoming depression and confronting my fears has been transformational.
My path has included roles as a nursing tech, house cleaner, entrepreneur, debate moderator, business consultant, ordained Kriya minister, spiritual center founder, and education director at The Ayurvedic Institute. I’ve led Vedic fire ceremonies for twenty years and written eight books to help others—often doing many of these at once. If not, I would be at least 150 years old!
Now, as a transformation mentor and author, I offer healing ceremonies and empowering workshops.
Together we can discover:
· Your inherent worth and unique gifts
· Challenges hold lessons that unlock growth
· Solutions to outer situations come from within
· Tuning up our personal frequency shifts our experience
· We shape reality through our mutual choices
· By empowering each other, we all thrive
Ellie will be guiding her Transformation Workshop Series at DNA Awakening School:
Living From The Level Of Soul Sunday, July 20, 1-3pm;
Cosmic Influences Affecting Global Transformation Sunday, August 17, 1-3pm;
High Vibrational Living Sunday, September 14, 12-3pm; and
Healing with Sound: The Science and Practice of Chanting and Toning October date TBA SOON!
Semaj Rramal Crawford
Semaj is the owner/ operator of MBS Balancing System & Parade Rest Restoration Sanctuary. He is also
a practitioner and creator of Integrative Flow Technique, a touch-based, energy focused and holistic
massage modality which combines over 45 years of several massage disciplines with an energy moving
technique that he studied and mastered in China.
Semaj has also been a certified life coach Trained by Tony Robbins and Chloe Madanes since 2009. He is the
author of the book “The C Word,” which he offers as a map to self-discovery and mind/body interaction.
His life work is helping individuals transition to whatever the next phase is, through coaching, and
helping them to learn openness and shifting perspectives.
To sum it all up, just a nice old guy that loves to love people.
Semaj will be guiding the Allegory of the Cave on July 27th, August 31st and October 5th from 4-5:30PM.
Regina Leffers
Regina holds a doctorate in Philosophy and undergraduate degrees in both Psychology and Philosophy. She deeply values the education she’s received from the daily meditation practice that she has had for more than 45 years. Creativity, Meditation, Sustainability, and Being Kind are what she aspires to and values most in herself. She currently feels love in every cell of her body most of the time. This love is the greatest gift she’s ever received and there is nothing she’d like more than to pass this gift along to others. She is profoundly grateful for life as it is given to her in each moment.
Regina will be guiding “Meditation: Learning to Generate Alpha Brainwaves (Feeling Forgiveness and Gratitude in the Body)” at DNA Awakening School, Books & Gifts. You can find the dates and times of this offering under the “Classes & Workshops” section of this website.
From Regina:
“I have had a practice of meditating daily for the last 46 years. When I first experienced it, I could tell that it would be good for me. I’m a person who has always had a lot of energy, and early on, I had trouble managing it. The meditation calmed me in a way that I hadn’t felt before. I decided to begin my day with it to see if it would help. It did and I stuck with it.
The reason I know that developing a practice of meditation is beneficial in ways that we cannot even imagine is this. When I was 19 years old, my right prefrontal cortex was damaged. I didn’t find out about the brain injury until I was in my 60’s and worked with a neuroscientist for a week. With that kind of injury, they expected me to have no short-term memory and no ability to focus. They set up a program for me that helped my brain to heal the damaged area. I worked with the program each day and got to witness my brain healing itself. What I know is that my brain had developed new neural pathways that enabled me to both focus and move material from short-term into long-term memory quickly. During that week, I also got to see that the two sides of my brain communicated non-stop and that the Gamma brainwave is well-developed and bright in my brain. Both of those are the direct result of meditation.
I also discovered that the injury prevented my brain from producing Alpha brainwaves. Alpha is the most creative brainwave and is the only one in which forgiveness and gratitude occur. You will learn to generate and recognize Alpha brainwaves in this class, and to feel forgiveness and gratitude in the body.”