About Mary Beth Leisen, PhD and the Yellow Arrow Collective
How the Yellow Arrow Collective Was Born
I’m Mary Beth Leisen, PhD, founder of the Yellow Arrow Collective. I’d been working an unfulfilling job and was aching to move somewhere I could hike and be outdoors. In 2018, I walked the Camino de Santiago, a 870km pilgrimage across the entire country of Spain. We were guided by ubiquitous yellow arrows that kept pilgrims on the path and encouraged us all to move courageously ever onward, as a community.
The Camino changed my life, and it is the spirit of the Yellow Arrow Collective: people coming together to support and encourage each other in taking courageous steps to transform our lives, in small and big ways.
My personal healing journey and calling to serve others have both been lifelong. I’ve struggled with being adopted, interpersonal traumas, divorce, grief, and depression – and with a very active chorus of inner critics, judges, and mind hijackers inside my head. I’ve also been incredibly blessed with family, friends, therapists, teachers, coaches, and mentors who have been there for me and with me along the way. The path of healing and growth is not always easy, but it is deeply rewarding. I’m proud to be a lifelong work-in-progress, and I hope you are, too.
I firmly believe that to thrive, we need to attend to our well-being holistically: mind, body, and soul (however you define your most innate, wise, connected self). We need to be in right relationship within ourselves (living our values, intention, and purpose), with others (respect,integrity, harmony), and with the world (in communion with nature and energy). In this epidemic of loneliness, I believe we are all hungering to have more meaning, to truly connect and belong, and to remember and embody our wholeness – our innate goodness that has never been broken or in need of fixing but that expresses who we truly are in our healthiest, most healed state. Ceremony, nature, and my beloved communities help me continue to foster this kind of growth.
Journey of Healing and Growth
Career and Lifelong Learning
I’m Mary Beth Leisen, PhD, founder of the Yellow Arrow Collective. I’d been working an unfulfilling job and was aching to move somewhere I could hike and be outdoors. In 2018, I walked the Camino de San.ago, a 870km pilgrimage across the entire country of Spain. We were guided by ubiquitous yellow arrows that kept pilgrims on the path and encouraged us all to move courageously ever onward, as a community.
The Camino changed my life, and it is the spirit of the Yellow Arrow Collective: people coming together to support and encourage each other in taking courageous steps to transform our lives, in small and big ways.
Today, I am a proud resident of Boulder, Colorado, where I can walk and hike outside yearround. The work of the Yellow Arrow Collective is my purpose and passion. It’s a privilege and an honor to make a connetion with nature and nurturing the soul into my work.
I’m a lifelong learner – here are some highlights:
- Clinical Psychology PhD and MA (University of Hawai`i at Manoa;
- BA in psychology (Northwestern University)
- Certifications: International Coach Federation Certified (ACC) and Co-Active Training Institute (CPCC)
- Coach Training: Professional Coach Training (CTI); Wayfinder Coach Training (Martha Beck, Ph.D.); Nature-Based Coach Training Program (Sagefire Institute).
- Certification: Professional Level Mindfulness Teacher Certification (International Mindfulness Teachers Association)
- Training: Two-year mentorship and mindfulness teacher training (Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, and the Greater Good Science Center of UC Berkeley); Heart of Warriorship and Way of Shambhala training and teaching assistant role (Shambhala International)
Self-Compassion: Mindful Self-Compassion intensive training with Kristin Neff & Chris Germer (Center for Mindful Self-Compassion)
Indigenous Worldview and Medicine: Healing the Light Body Certification Program (The Four Winds); 10+ years intensive study and mentorship with Jose Luis Herrera, including annual trips to Peru for in depth training and ceremony (Rainbow Jaguar Institute); individual study with North American indigenous healers
Trauma Support: NeuroAffective Relational Model of Trauma Training Certificate (NARM);Trauma-Informed Mindfulness Training (MMTCP)
Positive Neuroplasticity: The Science of Changing Your Brain for the Better (Rick Hanson)
Yoga: Forrest Yoga Foundation Teacher Training (Ana Forrest)
Wisdom Studies: Three decades of mindfulness, meditation, and personal study of world religions and philosophies.
Facilitation: Creative Problem Solving Institute’s facilitation training program.
Improv Comedy: The Second City’s yearlong improv program and Main Stage performance.
Mary Beth in Boulder – and the World
Last but not least, I’d rather be on a hiking trail, traveling, or eating a delicious meal than doing anything else – especially if it’s with my amazing husband, Mark. I’ve visited over 50 countries and also love to cook, read, bike, photograph, write, knit, play, connect with nature, and be in ceremony. Growth, curiosity, and openness are the keys to a meaningful and fulfilling life, and in the spirit of my Second City training, I’m committed to living a “Yes, and” life with as much energy, laughter, and joy as possible.