ABOUT JALAJA BONHEIM, Ph.D.
Jalaja (pronounced DJA-la-dja) Bonheim, Ph.D. is an author, counselor, workshop leader, public speaker, and one of the most engaging teachers of non-religious spirituality today, with a unique gift for helping people overcome the obstacles that would prevent personal fulfillment, satisfying relationships, and healthy communities. Fresh, clear, and compassionate, her work has touched thousands of lives. She has been leading circles and studying the dynamics of the circle for over twenty years.
Jalaja was raised in Austria and Germany, where she completed her doctorate in English literature and studied various healing and therapeutic modalities. From there, she went to India, where she trained in classical Indian temple dance before coming to the United States in 1982. She is a student of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other world religions, and an avid believer in the importance of cross-cultural and interfaith encounters. She now lives in Ithaca, NY, where she maintains a private counseling practice.
Jalaja Bonheim has been leading circles and developing a community of Circlework™ practitioners since 1982. She teaches around the country at centers such as the Omega Institute, Kripalu, California Institute of Integral Studies, Rowe Conference Center, and others, and lives in Ithaca, NY.
Besides offering circles for the general public, Jalaja trains professionals, such as ministers, teachers, social workers, psychotherapists, and corporate executives, to apply the principles of Circlework™ in their chosen field of work. She is especially interested in using Circlework™ to improve and heal the relationship between people of diverse religious and ethnic groups, and has been working with Jewish and Palestinian Israelis committed to the goal of peaceful co-existence.
Another important focus of Jalaja's work has been the healing and celebration of the feminine spirit. Since its publication in 1997, Aphrodite's Daughters: Women's Sexual Stories and the Journey of the Soul has become an underground classic. Based on the stories of ordinary American women, it proves the immensely important role sexuality plays in shaping our spiritual journey. Witty, wise, entertaining and compassionate, Aphrodite's Daughters has transformed the way American women view their sexuality.
Her articles have been published in Yoga Journal, New Age Journal, Lapis, and other publications. She is the author of four books:
The Hunger for Ecstasy: Fulfilling the Soul’s Need for Passion and Intimacy (Rodale 2001)
She is presently working on a new book called Circlework: A Path to Personal and Planetary Wholeness.
© Copyright 2003 by Jalaja Bonheim. All Rights Reserved.
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