put your wisdom to work

PEOPLE ARE FINDING THEIR HIGHER PURPOSE BY SHARING THEIR SPIRITUAL GIFTS, INTERESTS, AND SKILLS.

- LAURIE SUE BROCKWAY

Donna Henes, also known as The Urban Shaman and Mama Donna, has been a ceremonialist and spiritual teacher for 47 years. She is famous for conducting public rituals in New York City. Her offerings include everything from solstice celebrations, pet blessings, memorials, and holiday celebrations, which she provides on top of a busy teaching, counseling, and private ceremony schedule. Spiritual work is second nature to her, and she finds that her skills get better with age. “Aging is the best thing that ever happened to my career,” she says. “People trust someone who is older and knows their stuff.” She calls it “saging.”

As the author of the self-help classic, The Queen of Myself: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife, she has long been helping people step into their true power. “It’s important to claim everything you’ve learned and somehow find the confidence to live it, to honor your own wisdom and your own experience,” she says. These days, she finds herself counseling many younger women who are grappling with low self-worth.