Meet Dominique

All my life, I have wondered about the meaning of life as some obscure concept, and in the summer of 2008, it became clear to me. Instead of asking, “What is the meaning of life?” I asked myself, “What makes life meaningful?” And then it was simple. Love makes life meaningful.

That Autumn, I stepped into the Individually Designed Major office at Stanford University and declared that I wanted to study love.

“Study love?!” The department administrator laughed in complete discouragement. I was ridiculed and turned away. Why, after all, would someone want to study love?

That day, as I stepped out of that office with a knot in my throat, I also stepped into the greatest gift of my life: in that moment, a commitment was born inside me. I vowed to dedicate my life to the study of love. Years later, that commitment took form as my own life’s practice and offering to you: Self-Marriage Ceremonies.

I am a Self-Marriage Minister and Counselor. I am here for you.

My purpose in life is to help hold a space within and for all to drop into our true nature of being, to love ourselves more fully, and to experience the true intimacy of the divine in order to create a world where we live, serve, and embody love.

I have dedicated my life to the pursuit and study of love as a force for global, social, and personal change. I hold a B.A. from Stanford University in Cultural & Social Anthropology, with a focus in Love, Ritual, and Religion.

In 2010, I journeyed on a 6-month solo-pilgrimage across India to connect more deeply with my own self-love. Immersed in Indian culture, I learned how to truly listen, how to slow down and be grateful for the simple fact of being alive. I realized the power of commitment to a force greater than, yet within myself, whether named God, love, truth, or justice. I witnessed the way love affects the human heart across the span of a culture, generation, and a single life.

Every day, I work to deepen my practice of self-love as a way to live by example, be the change I wish to see in the world, and practice what I preach. As a result, the practices I share in my Self-Marriage sessions are ones I have tested and benefited from myself. My own commitment to Self-Marriage has helped me heal tremendously from the obstacles, traumas, and heartbreaks in my own life. And though I have been practicing self-love for many years, I officially first took my vows of Self-Marriage on my birthday in 2011, in a private ceremony on a farm in Sebastopol, CA.

If anything were possible, I would choose to spend my days in service, helping people authentically and practically love themselves and the real challenges of their lives in an embodied way as the foundation for creating a better world. It is my deepest yearning to offer my wise and motherly nature to help reduce the suffering of collective existence, one heart at a time.

I currently live a humble, beautiful, and love-filled life in Northern California. It would be my deepest joy to meet and work with you.

Click here for Dominique’s official bio

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Testimonials

Dominique is a clear and open vessel of spirit and wisdom who grounds her deep connection to the formless with an equal intimate knowing and attunement with the Earth and the physical and emotional realms.

Her ceremonial Self-Marriage sessions and those sessions leading up to and supporting Self-Marriage are created with utmost integrity and reflect a strong commitment to the sacred teachings she draws upon. Her intuitive crafting of the sessions I have received have guided me to a deeper love for myself and a stronger claiming of my gifts and goals as a well balanced and empowered man. I carry the gifts received with me throughout my days between sessions and find the cumulative effect palpable and evolutionarily enlivening. She seems to know me well beyond the months we have been working together and it is with deep gratitude that I write this testimonial!

Jeffrey Whitebear Domagalski

Teacher, Singer/Songwriter & Ceremonialist

www.whitebearmusic.com

 

 

 

Dominique guided me through a self-marriage during my first time at Burning Man, and the ceremony is still the most memorable part of my experience. During the ceremony, she held space in a way that helped me achieve insights and set intentions that are incredibly important to me even eight months down the line and that I never would have had without her guidance. I had no idea what vows I needed to make to myself before the ceremony. I only knew that I wasn’t loving myself as much as I could be. Dominique guided me through some powerful meditations and exercises that helped me discover exactly what I needed to promise to myself, and when the time came to make my vows, the words flowed out of me. I personally have a hard time accepting or participating in “spiritual” ceremonies, and Dominique did an amazing job providing a down-to-earth, practical, and valuable experience. She provided me with an incredible service, and she facilitated it beautifully.

-Nick Wenner

 

 

 

One August day, in a large tipi in the vast desert of Burning Man, 40 women sat packed close together. With such a crowd, and in the dry heat, I might’ve been uncomfortable– except that, within the space of an hour, all of us felt like one beautiful, ephemeral community, and the closeness wasn’t uncomfortable, but welcome. Dominique brought us into that space, turning us from strangers into witnesses to each others’ deepest struggles. The most powerful part of our self-marriage experience was watching each woman, one at a time, face a mirror and tell herself the vow of love she’d always wanted to hear. The honest emotion carried me out of that tent feeling alive and strong and in touch with myself: knowing that there are so many women out there, some like me, some totally different, but all so human and vulnerable and yet brave and beautiful at the core. I was touched and honored to be witness to that process. It was a form of sharing. It proved there’s a community of people out there who want to grow and shine with love from their own selves. And it helped me see a way to nurture that self-loving instinct within me.

Dominique made that sharing possible. She knows how to guide group energy, how to encourage people without pushing them beyond their boundaries. And to the ceremony she brought her whimsical creativity, the self-awareness and quiet sense of humor that kept us all comfortable in the unfamiliar territory of Self-Marriage. When I left the tipi, I wasn’t reborn, I wasn’t a new person: but I was a person sure that I’m on the right path. I had new ideas for how to be tender and compassionate to myself. And I don’t feel alone. If you want to embrace the journey towards self-love and peaceful acceptance– or even just check in with yourself along the way– Dominique can give you the space, the focus, and the wedding bouquet.

Emily Bookstein

Traveler and Fellow in Public Service