Janna began life as a mystic, with her first mystical experiences, including a near-death experience, starting as early as age three. But Janna was drawn into a conventional life, working for a major New York law firm in their LA office where she represented the NFL, among other clients. Later, she served as counsel for top talent and movie studios at a boutique entertainment law firm based in Beverly Hills. Janna has been married for 32 years to an attorney, and has two grown sons, one an attorney and one in the field of social work. In both her personal and professional life, Janna has a grounded, practical, and nurturing side of herself which she brings to everything she does as a teacher and mystic.
After practicing law for over eleven years, Janna was drawn back to the mystical realm by a series of powerful mystical experiences, including an out-of-body experience and a series of angelic visitations. Once firmly on the mystical path, she was led through a dark night encounter with Lyme disease and the recovery of suppressed memories of childhood trauma. This challenging dark night ultimately led to her life’s work of teaching about the mystics. The mystics are a global phenomenon of people who have experienced the Divine firsthand and have written about their encounters. Although Janna specializes in the Christian mystics, she has also studied and taught on the Sufi mystics and others. Recently, Janna served as Group Leader for the Shift Network Global Mystics Certification Course with Mirabai Starr and Andrew Harvey, while also teaching in universities, seminaries and churches.
Janna has spoken at academic conferences, published a chapter in Protestant Spiritual Traditions II, and currently serves as Vice President of the Academy for Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies. She has been a featured speaker at the Oxford Interfaith Forum and in Interfaith Trialogues, has served as adjunct faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary, and currently serves as Academic Dean, Professor of Christian Spirituality, and Co-director of the Spirituality and Aging Certificate Course at the New Theological Seminary of the West. She has also guest-lectured at UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount University, and Fuller.
Janna completed her PhD at USC and wrote her dissertation on Julian of Norwich. She also completed a Master of Arts in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, and is a graduate of the Center for Action and Contemplation Living School with Richard Rohr. She is currently writing a book on Julian of Norwich.
Janna began life as a mystic, with her first mystical experiences, including a near-death experience, starting as early as age three. But Janna was drawn into a conventional life, working for a major New York law firm in their LA office where she represented the NFL, among other clients. Later, she served as counsel for top talent and movie studios at a boutique entertainment law firm based in Beverly Hills. Janna has been married for 32 years to an attorney, and has two grown sons, one an attorney and one in the field of social work. In both her personal and professional life, Janna has a grounded, practical, and nurturing side of herself which she brings to everything she does as a teacher and mystic.
After practicing law for over eleven years, Janna was drawn back to the mystical realm by a series of powerful mystical experiences, including an out-of-body experience and a series of angelic visitations. Once firmly on the mystical path, she was led through a dark night encounter with Lyme disease and the recovery of suppressed memories of childhood trauma. This challenging dark night ultimately led to her life’s work of teaching about the mystics. The mystics are a global phenomenon of people who have experienced the Divine firsthand and have written about their encounters. Although Janna specializes in the Christian mystics, she has also studied and taught on the Sufi mystics and others. Recently, Janna served as Group Leader for the Shift Network Global Mystics Certification Course with Mirabai Starr and Andrew Harvey, while also teaching in universities, seminaries and churches.
Janna has spoken at academic conferences, published a chapter in Protestant Spiritual Traditions II, and currently serves as Vice President of the Academy for Judaic, Christian and Islamic Studies. She has been a featured speaker at the Oxford Interfaith Forum and in Interfaith Trialogues, has served as adjunct faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary, and currently serves as Academic Dean, Professor of Christian Spirituality, and Co-director of the Spirituality and Aging Certificate Course at the New Theological Seminary of the West. She has also guest-lectured at UCLA, USC, Loyola Marymount University, and Fuller.
Janna completed her PhD at USC and wrote her dissertation on Julian of Norwich. She also completed a Master of Arts in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, and is a graduate of the Center for Action and Contemplation Living School with Richard Rohr. She is currently writing a book on Julian of Norwich.