Description
Lorene Stanwick had a near death experience (NDE) at the age of five when her older sister strangled her – but she did not remember it until decades later. Deeply committed to her spiritual practice, she had a period of profound spiritually transformative experiences (STEs) in recent years – including recovery of the memory of her NDE. As she learned more about the ‘gifts’ of NDEs, she began to understand that what once made her a ‘victim’ had indeed become a gift, helping her to understand many experiences from throughout her life and giving her the strength, faith and clarity to continue on the path she has been guided to walk. On Wednesday, January 14 at 7:00 pm Central Time, Lorene will join us live via Zoom from her home in Kitchener, Ontario, to share her story of a childhood NDE and its profound aftermath.
Lorene Stanwick’s life, learning, and work weave together art, education, mental health, personal growth and advocacy. After a fearful childhood that included ongoing sibling abuse, followed by years of struggling with addiction, mental health and suicidal ideation, she was finally able to connect her struggles with that abuse, and she received the clear message that she was to be a voice in raising awareness, including being ‘guided’ to write a play about it. Her play, Broken Branches, had a 2-week run in Toronto in 2019.
With an academic background in Drama, Education, and a Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology, she has been a college disabilities counsellor, a drama teacher, a performer both onstage and in mental health education, and has worked with groups of artists to create original plays based on their lived experience of mental health and addiction.
As mentioned above, Lorene is a survivor of sibling abuse. Her awakening to the impact of that experience inspired her not only to write and produce her play, but also to launch SiblingAbuse.ca, a forum for learning, sharing stories, and building community. She is currently working with the research team that will soon be sharing the results of Canada’s first national study on sibling conflict, aggression and abuse.
