Press Kit

What was the inspiration for Heart of Humanity?

The universality of human suffering has always been the inspiration that has led me to write and teach. Inspiration may be an odd choice of word to use here (in place of motivation), but the reason why I say inspiration is because, through suffering, I also see the beauty within the heart of humanity—our resiliency, our kindness, our laughter, our forgiveness, and our ability to heal and know peace even after experiencing deep trauma, heartache, or suffering. I love people, and if this book can even just help one person to suffer a bit less and know peace a bit more, then it has been worth all the time and energy I put into writing it.

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What exactly is Dunisha?

Dunisha is a path of peace and healing that encompasses its own philosophy, psychology, ethics, and spirituality on how to heal karmic harms, cultivate inner peace, and experience self-actualization. Collectively, it's the lifestyle I personally live by and the methodology I use in my psychospiritual approach to help clients heal and nurture inner peace. I've included the chapter introduction of Dunisha from Heart of Humanity in my blog, which you can click here to read.

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Are you working on another book?

Heart of Humanity is broken down into various sections, such as Living Joy and Living Courage. I eventually would like to turn each into its own book but, for now, I'm in need of a sabbatical from writing (it's quite the process to write and publish a book!). I have plans to write Dunisha inspired fables / fairy tales in the future as well.

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"Reverend" Alaric; are you a pastor or minister?

I was an interfaith pastor for a number of years. "Interfaith" meaning my congregation had people of various faiths present, and those of none. I did not preach religion, but rather gave sermons on how to develop inner peace, cultivate harmony in the world, and nurture the seeds of happiness present within each of us. I have been an ordained minister since 2010 and have officiated many weddings along with a handful of other rites of passage: baby blessings, funerals, and beginning anew ceremonies (i.e. divorce). Today I view myself as a modern monk, living a contemplative life and one of service to humanity. I have a couple chapters in Heart of Humanity that explains this in greater detail.

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What is Alaric's "Abbey"?

Although most of my work is done remote, I do have a physical brick and mortar business where I meet with local clients. This is my "abbey", my sanctuary, that I practice peace at when home, and train others in the art of mindfulness, meditation, and living peace. Although an abbey is traditionally a building that houses a community of monks, I like to view Alaric's Abbey as both a physical and digital space that nurtures a community of students and modern monastics (people who devote their lives to peace).

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Why social work; why now?

Social work is an extremely multifaceted field to learn and work in. For me specifically, I wanted to expand my education on better understanding how mezzo and macro factors impact human mental health and well-being. During the last fifteen years my work has been oriented around helping people heal on a micro level (one on one or family units), but I've come to see how both community and society plays a key role in supporting or harming individual happiness and wellness. After I receive my masters in social work, I can then go on to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, allowing me to work as a psychotherapist in private practice, diagnose, and even train future social workers. All of that sounds very appealing to me in that it blends well and builds on top of with what I'm already doing quite nicely! Albeit, accomplishing this takes a lot of time, work, and money—which I'm committed to because it further expands my knowledge and understanding on how to better serve and support others.