An ex-scientist turned contemplative creative and guide of playful personal growth journeys, living in the Italian countryside.

My highest vocation is to help people come home to themselves and build authentic, flourishing, creative lives.

Very into: off-the-beaten paths, studio ghibli films, writing, the sound of trees, teahouses, my family, mountains!

My Journey

It did not always look like this

I didn't always spend my days doing what I love, in deep connection with my creative core. 

Just a decade ago, I was spending my days in a  cold fluorescent laboratory, working as a lost unhappy scientist. I was fulfilling the script I had worked my entire life for. I had very little savings, zero followers, zero business skills, a baggage of limiting beliefs, and no idea what I could do. I even thought I was an uncreative person! 

Little did I know that a one-way ticket to Japan would change everything...

From Lost Scientist to Aligned Creative

A Shy Kid

Lost, Unhappy Scientist 

Monastery Adventures

Filmmaking

Teaching

Guiding Others Home

Contemplating the meaning of life since I was a babe. I was born as a shy kid into a family of scientists, where I'd receive microscopes for birthday gifts. While I didn't speak in school, I'd come back home and twirl like a whirling dervish to my favorite Tina Turner cassette.

I spent my childhood in the UK, France, California, and Texas.

As my parents were both devoted scientists (my father discovered a cell), science was the only path I knew. I worked hard to make sure I'd follow in their steps. 

Even though I had the “security” of a well defined path, though, something about my fluorescent lit days felt wrong. I had no idea what else to do.

I booked a one way flight to Japan, where I'd live in a 14th century Zen monastery. I lived with 7 old monks like Snow White living with 7 dwarfs. This kicked off a 4 year journey living in monasteries of different traditions around the world.

This was a profound time of shedding. For the next decade, I avidly explored the question: "Who am I?" through other doors like spending long periods of solitude in the wild. I rediscovered my creative spirit. 

On my travels, I felt the call to record the stories of the amazing people I was meeting. I scrapped together my own filmmaking education- which led me to create a new style of minimalist filmmaking. The rejection letters, the self doubt, the inner critic, the judgment from my community, the uncertain messy middles, the sleepless nights from worrying about next month's bills...all were parts of this path that have forged who I am today. 

One film led to the next, and I won an Emmy award for my 10th film.

I started to teach a new kind of filmmaking, one that was heart-driven and didn't depend on heavy elaborate equipment. My first class stayed on my hard drive for a year before I had the courage to publish it.

These classes were well received and made me realize that I'm a teacher in my bones. I began to expand teaching into the creativity, mindfulness, and authentic living sectors. In four years, I had taught over 100,000 students from 147 countries in consistently top-rated classes. 

While I used to teach with other online learning platforms, gradually, I felt ready to host my own program and start my independent creative business.

Unravel, my signature program of self discovery, was born in 2020 on my kitchen table. 

It's been astonishing to see the way this program has transformed people's lives, even years after they go through the journey. I love tending this community. 

About

I'm Dandan