MY QUEST & MY WORK

“….You are approachable and engaging and real. Connectable. And everything and everybody wants to be connected."   PDX’s critique on M.L. lauri — *“….You are approachable and engaging and real. Connectable. And everything and everybody wants to be connected."*
*PDX’s critique on M.L. lauri*

"I have known M.L. since we were children. I have watched her devote her life to understanding and caring for the physical, spiritual and emotional well being of others. She is a very caring individual."

- Kae D. Faubion, MS Early Childhood Education

A QUEST FOR UNDERSTANDING

At the beginning of my quest I started asking “Why do people go out of their way to hurt others?”. Being a child of 11 whose mother had just unexpectedly died, my eyes had been opened widely and quickly to the real world. So I began to watch and to try to understand. This quest led me to the field of psychology. I found psychology interesting but lacking in the depth I needed to truly understand my own and others’ behavior or our human condition. What was this that produced so much unhappiness in us? Was it simply insecurities or was there something more to the suffering that I saw in all I encountered and myself. This led me to let go of my conventional American life and to continue on my quest by venturing out into the world.

In 1988, since I had already traveled in Europe, the Caribbean, Canada, North Africa, Mexico and throughout the US, I decided to travel to Asia. It wasn’t until I went to Asia that I began to find in-depth philosophies that directly dealt with and explained the suffering of our human experience. By the time I left for Asia I had already been contemplating writing a book to help others. It was my studies in Asia, mainly in Nepal and India, that led me to understand that I had much more to learn and discover before I could write such a book. So I spent 8 years in Asia, working, studying, watching, writing, discussing, watching more, meditating on what I was experiencing and watching even more.

I returned to the US in 1996 and opened a self development center, EXPANSION, a year later. After a period of time I realized I needed to expand myself more before I could write the book I was contemplating, What the Hell is Going On? The Question, Our Secrets, Some Answers. So in 2004 I closed my private practice and set out questing again. As I am coming to the end of this current cycle of self expansion I have now published my- book, am renewing my private practice and have begun to go out in the world to attempt to help people reduce their suffering through understanding the concepts presented in my book.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Conventionally, I have more than 40 years of experience working in the field of psychology. This has been supported by my BSN in nursing and an MSN in mental health nursing with a clinical specialist minor, in other words a psychotherapist degree with nursing support. The credentials PMHRN-BC stands for psychiatric mental health RN board certified, a national certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. I began working as a psychotherapist in 1982 and accumulated experience in inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization and crisis programs. I have experience working with adults, adolescents and children.

It was my search for a deeper understanding than I was getting from western psychology that led me to travel to and then live in Asia for 8 years. This more unconventional experience has served to deepen my understanding of human psychology through increasing my understanding of our human condition. While in Asia I ran a clinic at a Buddhist monastery and international teaching center in Kathmandu, Nepal. I then ran a home for the destitute and dying in Bodhgaya, India. Along with working I was studying eastern philosophy and alternative medicines and therapies. Using what I learned about alternative medicines and therapies I have taught about the body’s subtle energy system in India, Nepal and the USA. I returned to live in the USA in 1996 starting a private practice, EXPANSION, in 1997. I closed my private practice in 2004 to began to work on expanding myself more in order to be able to move into the next level of my work with others, a renewed and revamped EXPANSION. I completed a second Masters degree, in Divinity, in May 2012. Now I am continuing my work with others through my private practice, EXPANSION, in the form of my first book, What the Hell is Going On? The Question, Our Secrets, Some Answers, and workshops that will explain and convey the details of the concepts put forth in the book. The goal is to help others reduce their suffering and find a more stable happiness.