Leverage your despair about the world as a powerful force for GOOD.
Welcome! I´m Maya.
Post-despair optimist.
Adaptation strategist.
Creative disruption activist.
I help people tap into their creativity to disrupt despairalysis.
My unique approach has transformed the lives of clients in 18 countries, turning even can't-get-out-of-bed levels of despair into grounded gratitude, wild inspiration, and community connection.
Whether your response to all that is happening right now shows up as anger, grief, fear, guilt, hopelessness, horror, or withdrawal, there's a simple, science-backed way to feel energized about what's possible - despite the very real crumbling that is taking place.
It works. It's fast. And it lasts.
Not that speed is what matters most.
But knowing how to use this technique right now - and again as needed - is a continuing gift.
If you're tired of swimming in the swirling sea of emotions that is 2025, and want to
move through the messiness in a way that feels manageable and meaningful,
you're in the right place.
Let's be clear: collapse is already happening.
It's not one big implosion, but a slow unraveling of systems.
Ecological. Political. Social. Economic.
We are beginning the most tumultuous time in human history.
The small silver-ish lining offered by this colliding of crises:
Even with the losses and devastation ahead, we can move toward a deeper connection with Nature, a more conscious and collaborative way of living, and a stronger sense of caring and community.
I offer 4 ways to address both the emotional heaviness and the creative challenge presented by our predicament.
(And seeing it as a creative challenge is the first step for all of them.)
Longing to break through the doom and feel reality-based hope and enthusiasm?
Bloom Zoom is a momentum-building immersion in creative adaptation, building resilience, and finding joy and connection.
Just one 90-minute Zoom session, followed by daily support for two weeks.
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Want to start a collapse conversation in your workplace in order to plan more honestly and realistically for the future?
Collapse Forward offers guidance for holding space for critical conversations with your leadership, team, or board to move forward with eyes wide open.
Ready to DO SOMETHING that is effective, legal, safe... and FUN?
Disrupt2Uplift helps you design and implement stealthy and comically subversive acts of resistance. For individuals, groups, and businesses wanting to stir things up in positive and contagious ways.
Worried about your safety, finances, education, or health in the U.S.?
Sometimes the smartest adaptation strategy is to choose to leave the country.
Stay Or Go helps you assess your options, make an informed decision, and design your aligned exit - even if it's just to have a great Plan B in place.
Once you recognize our reality, it´s hard to feel it´s even possible to thrive. Doom is crushing.
But there is a positive path forward.
If you're struggling with your emotions about [gestures wildly] everything, you're not alone.
However, you might feel alone if you don't know anyone else who has this same recognition - or is open to talking about it.
GOOD NEWS: You can learn a set of simple skills that can help you process your emotions and adapt to this (or whatever) version of normal in ways that support and uplift you.
In one 90-minute Bloom Zoom session - followed by two weeks of daily support via text/voice/video message (your choice) - you can:
🔶transform the way you see and face the future
🔶find your balance of informed and inspired
🔶tap into your creativity to spark gratitude, action, and connection
¨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 the first two weeks, I put up a flyer and held our first group meeting.
We did our fun and sneaky joyburst, and it was featured in our local newspaper.
A week later, I was offered a paid position based on my idea and organizing!
I honestly believe that this experience with Maya saved my life.¨
Maria - events director for a community organization in the U.S.
TRUTH: Creativity is what we need most when facing a complex challenge.
But it's the first thing that disappears when we're in despair.
So, we must focus on opening the valves, letting creativity flow, and leveraging it as ritual, resilience, resistance, and renewal.
I'm not a typical coach.
And I'm certainly not a therapist.
My training is in education, creative breakthrough techniques, trauma-informed facilitation, and engaged activism.
That means I can teach you how to:
🔷get through barriers to creative growth and adaptation
🔷navigate the emotions that arise as you reflect
🔷turn your ideas into action that inspires you and others
You can learn this process of enlivening and apply it whenever you´re facing difficulties that shut down your imagination.
And since that's likely to happen frequently in the months and years ahead, learning this is an investment in your well-being, resilience, and creative adaptability.
It´s time to turn the ongoing OMG of this moment into
enlivening creative adaptation practices
that build balance and resilience for ourselves and those around us.
Healing isn´t linear. It´s circular. We loop back as we remember what we miss.
And when we withdraw to protect ourselves, this circle of memories and emotions can turn into a swirl that engulfs us.
We are now experiencing a constant barrage of triggers and losses to mourn as we witness what is happening, hour by hour.
Humans - and traditional therapy offering weekly sessions over months or years - were not designed to address this ongoing onslaught of big-picture threats.
We need a new way to process what is emerging as it happens, so that we don´t get lost in the swirl.
The Bloom Zoom experience creatively disrupts this swirl of despair through momentum, consistency, and action.
Change starts from Day One, with insights that are continuous and compounding.
Being heard and encouraged daily for two weeks releases your emotions as well as your flow of ideas, kindling clarity and creative energy.
Despite the heaviness you may feel when we begin,
you will emerge with:
🔶awe-inspiring adaptation practices that support you
🔶a clear concept and strategy for your creative action
🔶grin-worthy momentum
🔶and a big-sigh sense of relief
"I didn't expect the reality of our crises to hit me so hard. I felt it in a dissonance way for a long time, but the recognition of collapse completely knocked me down. I questioned everything I was doing, how I was living, and certainly how I pictured the future.
It was the storytelling prompts that really opened me up. The process was emotional and illuminating. Working with Maya gave me a way to frame my life going forward, and it has served as a blueprint for making creative choices about everyday things and major moves as well.
I have made changes in my career and where I live. Already, life feels so much richer."
Michael - former media consultant 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 truly in sync 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.
Over time, I learned how to walk 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 awareness and creative adaptability has a profound impact on the well-being and resilience of those you serve.
"As a high school science teacher, I feel it's my responsibility to help my students understand the future they're facing. But I couldn't find a way to address collapse without causing harm, especially to those who are already feeling anxious about climate change. It had to work within the limits of our school guidelines - and not upset parents.
Maya walked me through some options, and I chose a combination that is working well for my students. Now, I give them space every day to question, express how they feel, and build solidarity through safe action. I teamed up with the art teacher on a climate art exhibition, and am the co-advisor (along with the global studies teacher) for a 'joybomb' group. I feel motivated to help these young people process what's happening and get involved in ways that inspire them."
Rhonda - science educator at a private school in the U.S.
"What's with the marigolds?"
When I was a child, my grandmother taught me about the power of marigolds as companion plants in the garden, always planted near the cucumber, tomato, and squash seedlings. I learned that they kept aphids, tomato worms, and squash bugs away.
As she put it, "Marigolds are friends that protect other plants."
What I offer is companioning rather than coaching or counseling, so I use marigolds as a lovely symbol of this relationship.
Like a lot of projects, this began when COVID hit.
The news was filled with death and despair.
We were facing uncertainty about the future.
We longed to get creative and connect with others.
(This is why our current situation feels vaguely familiar...and triggering.)
I spent the pandemic stuck in a studio apartment in Buenos Aires during one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world.
And I longed to DO SOMETHING that was creative, helpful, and community-building.