Praise
“What beautiful, clear energy I feel today and the taste of appreciation lingers tenderly in all the cells of my body and soul. This gentle and mighty work of transformation that you guide with such wisdom and love is indeed turning so many lives into gold. I sit back in wonder as images of these four splendid days move through me - still feeling the connection to this beautiful group of women - to their life forces so generously shared - so exquisitely expressed. I admire your ability to let in and love all the forces of light, all the ecstasy and at the same time all the earthiness, all that is in and of the body. And your presence contains all of that energy so that it stays in balance for everyone in the group.” (JG)
“Marlene is the truly exceptional teacher we hope to meet and if we are lucky enough to, we experience a kind of learning that is unique and transformative. Marlene is an educator of great vision and scholarship. Drawing on a wealth of well-integrated knowledge she creates courses that are refreshingly original in content, presentation and process. She has a presence and poise, a strength and serenity that encourages and supports deep thinking and active participation. As both a life-long student and former teacher educator, I can say without hesitation that I have never seen a teacher facilitate group process with more grace and effectiveness. Marlene is truly accepting and prizing of people in all their individual differences and listens in a way that each student knows she has been heard and understood. At the same time she challenges, presents new insights, and stays on course. She is utterly masterful at guiding a process of learning which empowers everyone. I have taken 4 courses from Marlene in the last 4 years and I will continue to enrol in further classes knowing that what she presents will always be new and outstanding.” (GJ)
“Your incredible depth of knowledge is absolutely amazing and your genuine, calm, approach to facilitating is a joy to experience. I loved and appreciated your gentleness and wisdom in the group. You carry something very special and we all felt it and were blessed by it. I look forward to having a chance to be in your presence again and to having more wonderful learning experiences. Thank you, Marlene.” (AM)
“I have had the good fortune to take a series of workshops and classes with Marlene, which have proved to be some of the most inspiring and invigorating learning experiences of my academic career. Her preparation for class and content presentation is carefully thought out and clearly presented, yet her delivery of information is so personable and compelling that it is difficult to easily delineate the high degree of care and planning she has put into presenting and covering course material so competently. Her teaching style is infused with deep affection and understanding of the material she is presenting, and yet in class exchanges she seems to readily draw embellishing information from a very creative and inquisitive mind versus adhering exclusively to an outline of material to be covered. Marlene's ability to create a learning environment that is inviting, safe, rich with acceptance of diverse ideas and opinions, and encouraging to exploration of new experiences and awareness is truly a treasure. I have been repeatedly impressed at her skill and ability to unify class groups that may enter class with very diverse personal and learning experience as well as some degree of trepidation only to have the course conclude with the class expressing a deep appreciation of her work and the inspiration she has instilled to further follow the material presented in class. Exposure to Marlene's teaching seems to provide a kind of temporary mentorship to explore deeper possibilities of the human experience and of soulful thought about the inherent wonder contained in each individual life. Evidence of the effectiveness of her teaching can be seen in the number of class participants that return again and again to enthusiastically study with her. In my life, to date, she has been one of the most memorable and inspiring teachers I have known. Marlene is a precious gem and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her.” (ML)