ONTOS - Key Persons

Dr. Michael DeMaria's life turned inside out and upside down after the first decade of his professional life when he underwent a life transforming "lament in the wild" (vision fast) without food or water, guided by a native teacher. He went there suffering compassion fatigue and burnout from having worked for many years with severe cases of child abuse as a child protection team psychologist. The experience provided a profound healing, a course correction and gave him a vision for his life. Ever since his mission has been to help guide others to what he calls, "The ocean of peace that lies within." He does this through his work as a musician, artist, poet, filmmaker and teacher. His healing music is heard over a million times a week across the world, garnering him four Grammy® nominations, 8 ZMR awards, 6 #1 albums, a Native American Music Award and appearing on the Grammy® Winning album, All About Bullies Big and Small. He is also a Sounds True recording artist with his music being featured on projects with Eckhart Tolle, Mark Nepo and Noah Levine. He is the author of 4 books, 3 of which were bestsellers, and is the creator and author of the Peace Within Process for Integrative Wellness. His newest book of poetry When All is Lost: Finding Heart in The Dark was released in 2020 and Souling: Birthing and Tending a Soulful Life is due out in 2022.