My life has been defined by boundless curiosity and an interest in human and animal consciousness. Though grounded in science — I earned a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley — I also embrace the unexplained and spiritual dances that have shown up in my life.

I shared a brief bio on the home page, in the form of a poem. In case your brain prefers something a little more regular, I offer you this.

Roxanne Darling Biography

I have been listening to nature for over six decades, beginning in early childhood when I took refuge in the forest and fashioned friends and clothing out of leaves and vines. I graduated UC Berkeley in marine biology, which gave me opportunities to swim with dolphins and study undersea creatures in the wild. My peak experience was 4.5 months on sabbatical with one of my professors, Dr. Mary Lou Pressick Coulston: underwater tools construction class in Lake Michigan, 3.5 months in the Virgin Islands diving every day on research projects, and then two weeks at Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institute.

After a few years of post-graduate work in science (and relentless sexism), I realized it was time to get out of my head and into my body, first as a ballet dancer then owner of a fitness studio. After moving from California to New Mexico, I created a community health leader training program for several Native American and Alaskan Native communities. Many elders also shared their indigenous wisdom with me. I further honed my health expertise as one of Johnson & Johnson's highest-rated corporate health coaches.  Simultaneously, I was a mindbody and yoga practitioner; I still teach yoga twice a week in my neighborhood.

Having struggled with suicidal depression for much of my life, I was fortunate to spend a month in treatment at a nature-based hospital posing as a retreat center in Tucson. It worked! A year later, I produced an event in Santa Fe, NM for survivors of childhood sexual abuse; CNN covered it and made an hour-long documentary in 1992. They received over 30,000 phone calls within 24 hours of airing it — a record response at that time, long before the official #MeToo.

[While engaged in professional work as a coach, public speaker, and marketing consultant, I also studied shamanism and became initiated as a channel for source energy in the lineage of deeksha, or the Oneness Blessing.]

When the internet arrived, I was spiritually moved by the ability to find and facilitate our human connections with each other. I built my first website c. 1997, then spent the next 20+ years as co-owner of a web technology company. One of my favorite projects was something we did for fun — one of the very first video blogs, now known as YouTube channels. Ours was Beach Walks with Rox and we made 778 episodes with > 2 million downloads. Oh! I should mention I was living in Hawai‘i then.

My mother, herself an artist, was fading with Alzheimer’s, so I moved to Florida to care for her. We spent our days visiting galleries and drawing at home, unexpectedly unearthing my own desire to create. In 2016, I claimed my artist self.

Following her death, I camped for several months in the western U.S. where I had this recurring urge to disrobe and make a photograph. After writing poems to each image, I came to realize nature was speaking through me to examine the tension between reverence and desecration, our unconscious consumerism, and how easily we demean our aging selves. 

At the same time, I was creating abstract photography with my former partner, what I now call Biophilic Art Photography. We had received a large commission at a Maui luxury resort to create abstract photographs sourced from the elements on the property. The results were so successful, the hotel created a lobby gallery just for us.

In addition to my abstract nature photography, I’m in training to be a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide. Maybe we can go forest bathing together in 2026! 🌿