Longing to leverage your despair about the world as a powerful force for GOOD?
Welcome! I´m Maya.
Post-grief optimist.
Creative adaptation strategist.
Trauma-healing activist.
I help people use their awareness and creativity to adapt and thrive in this time of deep change. Together, we turn anger, grief, and fear about the future into grounded gratitude, joyful action, and a deep sense of belonging.
TRUTH: Joy is what will get us through the hard times.
So, we leverage it as ritual, resilience, resistance, and renewal.
We choose to grow our glee and rally solidarity via creative actions that are community-focused and contagious.
If you're tired of swimming in the swirl of 2025 emotions, and looking for a way to do something that feels meaningful, safe, and (dare I say it?) fun, you're in the right place.
Let's be clear: collapse is already happening.
Social. Ecological. Political. Economic.
We are beginning the most tumultuous time of our transition.
Feeling heartbroken by all of it? You´re not alone.
The crumbling of our systems is taking a very real toll,
even on those lucky enough to be physically safe and financially secure.
We are experiencing a unique form of trauma that is:
🔶collective (nearly everyone but the billionaires will be impacted negatively)
🔶ongoing (nearly constant updates coming in hot)
🔶high-stakes (nearly everything, from our way of life to this beautiful planet, is at risk)
The silver-ish lining offered by this colliding of crises?
Even with the losses we face, we can move toward
a deeper connection with Nature,
a more conscious and collaborative way of living,
and a stronger sense of community and belonging.
It´s time to move past the ongoing OMG of this moment.
We need an elevated, engaged, and energizing level of creative adaptation.
But...how?
We do it by using creative disruption to accelerate adaptation.
It has transformed the lives of clients in 18 countries.
You see, rather than weekly counseling, therapy, or coaching sessions over a period of months, we dive into a process of evocative prompted storytelling. You engage in daily deep imagining of the future you long for.
We craft the most effervescent and effective blend of your gifts and experience, and you apply it creatively to the wounds where you are in ways that uplift you and others.
This is NOT about denying or ignoring grief.
Healing continues, and it fuels the creative adaptability that is so essential during this current crisis-every-hour news cycle.
We recognize our despair, tap into the energy of longing, find solace and inspiration, and then funnel it forward.
Despite the heaviness you may feel when we begin,
you will emerge with greater
clarity, creativity, and commitment...and a big-sigh sense of relief.
You will have:
🔶awe-inspiring adaptation practices that support you
🔶a strong concept and strategy for your action
🔶tangible progress and grin-worthy momentum
Oh, and it all happens in about a month.
Despair is an appropriate reaction to what we are witnessing.
And we get to CHOOSE how we dance with it.
You can start blooming faster than a marigold grown from seed. 🌱
Collapse Into Joy offers personalized, ongoing 1:1 attention every day for two weeks, plus regular accountability check-ins for the following three weeks.
This builds serious momentum from Day One, with mind-shifting insights that are continuous and compounding.
Being heard deeply and encouraged consistently releases your emotions as well as your flow of ideas, and that sparks energy and creativity. And everything shifts.
Whether your response to all that is happening is stressing your personal relationships, interfering with your work, or making your life difficult in general, we can find a way forward that brings you greater balance and connection to what matters most.
¨I lost the job I had loved for twenty years. I spent months at home, watching terrible news.
I hit rock bottom, fearing for the world and myself.
Maya worked her magic in loving ways. It felt like plotting with my best friend.
In that first month, I put up a flyer and held my first group meeting.
We did our first local joyburst.
It was reported in our local newspaper. A week later, I was offered a paid position based on my idea and leadership! I am beyond thrilled to continue this exciting work.
I feel transformed by this experience with Maya.¨
Maria - event facilitator for a community organization in the U.S.
¨What I appreciated most was the supported way of seeing things as they are without flinching. Maya helped me to face my fears and see a way to live with connection and love.
My partner and I had different ideas about the future and how to plan for it. We started arguing about everything from grocery bills to career moves. We were exhausted and grieving.
Through thoughtful conversation using Maya´s prompts, we found common ground we didn´t realize we shared. That opened up new options that appeal to both of us, and led to a deeper level of commitment to each other - with no couples therapy required!
The two of us are absolutely on the same page now, and excited to face our future together.¨
Fatima - graphic design company owner in Canada
I am good at grappling with grief.
I have been wracked by grief,
walloped by grief,
and yes, I have wallowed in grief.
Each time, I walked back into the world
more wide-eyed and full of wonder.
And I help others find their way there, too.
How did I learn so much about grief?
VOLUME....and a very early start.
Finding your own footing is essential if you hope to help others navigate the tricky times ahead.
Whether you are caring for loved ones, guiding clients, or leading a team, your own creative adaptability has a profound impact on the resilience of those you serve.
¨Maya guided me almost daily during our time together. Our voice chats were like having a personal coach in my pocket!
I feel so much lighter despite everything that's going on, because I can see that I am having an impact.
Instead of fearing the future, I am actively creating it.
I have new rituals and tools for building resilience that energize me daily. I bring this bright energy to those I serve (who are facing cuts right and left) and it truly is contagious.
I did not expect such big changes in such a short time."
Noreen - owner of a community-building consultancy in the U.S.
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¨After COP29, I spent days in bed, unable to function. For the first time, I realized that there may be no way to stop the collapses that are already happening.
Maya helped me reach a level of acceptance that could work for me - more savvy wisdom than doom and gloom.
And after two weeks of conversation, I felt like a new person! I can recognize my triggers and reflect on my reactions without spiraling into despair.
Grief and anger? Still there when I read the news. But I embrace each day with a real and upbeat sense of what is possible, focusing on building resilience in myself and those I lead. Weaving my new joyful adaptation habits into my mission feels aligned and inspiring."
Laura - executive director of a climate-focused organization in the U.K.
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"I was ready to close up my non-profit at the end of 2024.
I felt guilt and shame for giving up right when we need to do so much more.
Maya helped me see that I was overwhelmed and fearful rather than hopeless.
We worked on ways to build resilience for myself and my organization, inserting joy into our work in fun ways. I am already seeing results!
I am so thankful for this new joy, and for feeling re-inspired to do this work."
Reyna - founder of a social justice non-profit organization in the U.S.
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"I was basically the class clown in our small company, but everyone knew I took my work seriously. So when I explained that we needed to dramatically ramp up our efforts like 10x or not bother, they thought I was joking. But I brought the graphics. They could see the truth.
At the end of the day, the CEO told me that we couldn't move forward with my mindset. He said that positivity was the priority.
I went home and cried. I knew I had changed the course of my life in that one meeting.
I reached out to Maya, and honestly, it was the best thing I have done for myself in years.
She has given me tools to see the future in a realistic way that still gets me excited about what I can do.
I cannot overstate what a life-changing experience this has been.¨
Sara - freelance climate risk consultant in the U.S.
Curious about how I started doing this work?
Like a lot of other projects, it started during the pandemic, when things were rocky and foggy for so many of us.