Raina Paris

Dr. Raïna Manuel-Paris Gracia, born in Paris, France, to Yves Manuel and Teresa "Teresita Montez" Gracia Vidal, is of French and Caribbean descent, and lived in England and then moved to the United States in her early twenties. Her love of transformational story telling has taken her from an MFA in Film from Columbia University to a Ph.D. in Mythological studies and Depth Psychology. She is a published writer of non-fiction, including The Mother-to-Be's Dream Book, published by Warner Books, poetry, and several scholarly articles, as well as a documentary filmmaker, The Bridges of My Father, Cannes Film Festival 2009. She recently completed her first novel, a mythical fairy tale, Arabella & the Wise Women. Her understanding of what gives meaning to daily life has led her to her work with dreams, and to include meditation practice in her classrooms. She is a lecturer and scholar who speaks on several subjects, including "Awakening the Magician Within," "What Women Want", "The Goddess,"