The pathway for me lay in spiritual healing, so I devoted myself to studying all of the typical “New Age” methods that were being provided at that time. Keep in mind this was 1994-ish, and so methods such as Reiki, Massage, Reflexology, etc. were all still newly emerging in North America as alternative healing modalities.

In my quest for healing, I studied herbalism, organic gardening and permaculture, crystal healing, Wicca, and candle magick. I became certified in Reiki and engaged in unsupervised shamanic journeys with plant medicines and psychotropic substances. I was on the cutting edge of “New Age” realization and I was searching for meaning, purpose, and GOD. My journey led me to Hawaii, Sandpoint, Idaho, Washington State, and North Carolina. Ultimately I was searching for inner peace and I initially found it as a monk of the Ishaya Order.

In 1999 I took spiritual vows, devoting my life to spiritual realization, and received the name “Devi” which means “The Divine Mother Goddess, The Resplendent One, and the Goddess of True Knowledge”. I spent almost a decade teaching The Ishayas Ascension in North Carolina, Oregon, Iowa, and then back to Hawaii on the Island of Kauai.

I had gone from Detroit Stripper to Ishaya Monk. The next step along my path lay in becoming a Tibetan Buddhist Tantrika!

In 2007 I was introduced to the Tibetan 5 Element Sexual Tantras and began a 5-year intensive training in Tibetan tantric shamanistic healing methods. I studied and lived with my mentor from 2008-2012. We both practiced and studied under the guidance of our Lama (spiritual teacher) Lama Tashi Dundrup of the Shangpa and Karma Kagyu Lineage.

Unlike many practitioners of Tantra in the West, I did not learn about Tantra from reading a book or going to a weekend workshop. My first and primary training in Tantra was under the auspices of this 1,200-year-old tradition of Tantric Buddhism, which included lineage-based teachings for harnessing sexual energy and using it for healing and spiritual realization.

This style of Tantric practice was (and still is) my spiritual path and in 2008 I took refuge in the Shangpa Kagyu Tradition and received the spiritual name “Palden Lhamo” which means – Glorious Goddess.

Since the time of my first introduction to Tibetan 5 Element Tantra, I have become an internationally recognized Tantric Healing Expert, ACS Certified Sexologist, and Certified Tantric Healer. In 2015 I completed a 53-hour Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Advocacy Counselor training and I am currently completing a 1-year training in Traditional Tibetan Medicine with the Tibetan Medicine Education Center.

I have accomplished (111,111 mantra recitations with full visualization) the Vajrayana Tantric practices of; Green Tara, White Chenrezig, White Mahakala, and have accomplishment in Ngundro, Tummo, and Black Mahakala practices amongst others.

I am the author of several printed and ebooks, including “Shake Your Soul Song! A Woman’s Guide to Self Empowerment Through The Art of Self Pleasure”, “Tantra Is Medicine!”, and “3 Tantric Secrets for Extraordinary Sex”.

I am the host of the hit Podcast “Sex is Medicine with Devi Ward”, which broadcasts EVERY Thursday on CTR Radio, iTunes and Spotify.

I have been featured as a Tantra Expert, Sex Coach, and Sexual Healing Expert in countless articles and over 30 different radio and television networks worldwide including Playboy Radio, Men’s Health Magazine, CBS, NBC, Rogers TV and the movie Sexology with Gabrielle Anwar and Catherine Oxenberg. I have been a featured Tantra Expert and Keynote presenter at several live events such as; Sex Down South in 2015, The Detroit Women’s Conference in 2014, The California Women’s Conference in 2014, The Vancouver Taboo Show, and The Art of Sacred Sexuality Retreat in Atlanta Georgia to name a few.

Most recently I was awarded the 2021 AASECT Live Web Series Award and was recently featured in VH1 “Couples Retreat” (Episode 5,May 24^th, 2021), Ebony Magazine  and in an article on Well + Good. 

On a personal note, I married the man of my dreams (LITERALLY) in November 2016 and after almost 5 years of marriage, we continue to enjoy a passionate, healthy, functional, and stable relationship. After growing up in a home of domestic violence and surviving a lifetime of trauma, the ability to be in a healthy, balanced relationship with an intimate partner is an even greater testament to the healing power of these practices!