"I hope that people of all faiths as well as those who do not believe in a religion will find inspiration and understanding here [in Prayers for Healing] that in some way contributes to their own inner peace." — His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Maggie Oman Shannon has gifted us with a magnificent collage of practical grace. She has gathered together treasures from the family of the earth, precious jewels of prayer, contemplations and deep reflection. Any one of these offerings, if practiced, has the potential to bring us genuine peace and nourishment. To have so many wonderful stories and traditions at our disposal [in The Way We Pray] is a rich meal, indeed. Maggie's work is an astonishing act of love." — Wayne Muller, author of Sabbath and How, Then, Shall We Live?

"Maggie is an Ivy Sea collaboration-network member because of the integrity, caring and expertise she brings to her work. In addition to her belief that we can infuse our work — indeed all of our endeavors — with love, passion and a deep sense of purpose, Maggie offers a wonderful blend of creative, spirit-based and practical tools to help her clients find their own ways to do that." — Jamie Walters, Founder, Ivy Sea and Author, Big Vision, Small Business

Like her colleagues at Ivy Sea, Network Collaborator and former Ivy Sea Writer-in-Residence Maggie Oman Shannon is passionate about promoting mindful communication — something she has been interested in since the age of 15, when she first started writing short stories inspired by current events.

In her collaborations with Ivy Sea, Maggie has lent her significant expertise in research, writing and editorial review on numerous projects, including acting as editor for the hardcover first edition of Big Vision, Small Business (hardcover, Oct. 2001).

Maggie’s career has always involved communicating; she is the former editor of two inflight magazines, Braniff Destination and USAir Magazine, as well as The Saturday Evening Post. Her other professional experience includes being the editor for The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (the largest children’s museum in the world), and Director of Marketing for the Institute of Noetic Sciences, an international research and membership organization.

Maggie also contributes her rich experience and multiple talents from her other professional offerings. A spiritual director and inner-life coach, she is the founder and principal of The New Story, a business offering coaching and educational services to people seeking deeper meaning in their lives. She is the author of Prayers for Healing (Conari Press, 1997); The Way We Pray: Prayer Practices from Around the World (Conari Press, 2001); One God, Shared Hope: Twenty Threads Shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2004); and co-author of A String and a Prayer: How to Make and Use Prayer Beads (Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002). Her articles have appeared in Intuition, New Age, Utne Reader and other publications.

Maggie lives in the city she loves (San Francisco) with those she loves (her husband, their daughter, and the family's two cats). In addition to taking advantage of the many natural and cultural delights of the Bay Area, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends, seeing movies and making beads in her leisure time.

She is a graduate of Smith College, with a B.A. degree in English Literature and Language, and graduated from the three-year program of the Spiritual Directors Institute at Mercy Center in Burlingame, California.

E-mail Maggie directly, or visit Maggie's website for more information.

What do you find most challenging about your career?
Finding enough time to pursue all the adjunct avenues associated with it (such as reading current publications and web research) on a daily basis.

Most rewarding?
When someone reflects back to me that something I’ve written or said—or that our work together—has had a positive impact on his or her life.

Clients engage Maggie’s services when they want to:
I’ll let my clients answer that question; looking back at the testimonials that people have written after they’ve been coached by me, these are some of the benefits they’ve mentioned: a happier life, an encouraging environment, ways to get unstuck, quick progress, a multi-dimensional approach, clarity, manifestation of goals, and a new vision for their lives.

If you could pursue any other profession, what would you do?
My current livelihood is the result of having gone down a number of professional paths, all of which converged to bring me to this place. I’m very happy here.

What’s the one item you have on your person most of the time?
My wedding ring. I never take it off.

If you were a non-human object/being, what would you be?
A lighthouse.

What’s one of your favorite quotations?
Two lines by the 13th century Sufi poet Rumi: "Let the beauty we love be what we do.There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground." I love this so much that I have a ring engraved with these words.

What type of person do you get along with the best?
People who are intelligent, kind, have a sense of humor, are interested in the people and world around them, and who are open to exploring the spiritual dimensions of life.

Name one of your pet peeves.
I love San Francisco, but parking in certain parts of the city can definitely be challenging! I also dislike it when people make "jokes" at someone else’s expense.

What’s the one question you’d like definitely answered?
That’s an interesting question to ask, because I think so much of the richness of life lies in continually asking powerful questions. But I suppose the one I’d like definitively answered is, "How can we all work together to create lasting peace, and futures of health, hope and wholeness, for every man, woman and child on the planet?"

Of what are you most proud?
Being blessed with the opportunity to attempt to contribute something of value to the world through my books — having created something that will outlast me.

Of what are you most afraid?
Fear itself! Fear and its many manifestations can keep us from creating New Stories for ourselves and our world; and I believe it is our call to—as a little sign near my desk expresses it—"Be a Warrior, not a Worrier." Though that sentiment obviously oversimplifies the complexity of fear, I think the imagery is useful: Fear is an enemy, when it corrodes our sense of possibility.

What was one of your favorite games as a child?
One of my favorite games as a child was to write stories and illustrate them. Since Jung said that we can find keys to our right livelihood through our activities as children, this memory inspires me to find more time for my artwork.

What’s your favorite comfort-food meal?
Pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.

What book or books are you currently reading?
I’ve always got several books going at once, and they’re usually a pretty eclectic bunch. Right now, I’m reading Even Mystics Have Bills to Pay by Jim Rosemergy; Soul Guide: Following Jesus as Spiritual Director by Dr. Bruce Demarest; and The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans. Two books I just ordered today are The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist; and Living Your Joy by Suzanne Falter-Barns—who knows what will call tomorrow?