"I have always believed in hope - hope means that life can be better. Your past does not equal your future. Simply put, you do not have to remain in the box that you were shipped in. You can have a new life - starting today." -Bill Turner
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About Bill
Bill has provided an incredible number of concepts and tools that have helped me to clear out a lot of "old programming" that was blocking me from living my purpose and passion. He has often brought me to new insights and awareness that have helped me rise to a new level of understanding about myself and my life.
Bill's teaching style consists of a rare combination of direct impact, honesty and humor that helps to break up old paradigms. He is an authentic facilitator of new knowledge and understanding.
It helped me to move through and shed some very painful attitudes and beliefs from the past.
S.K.
Raleigh, NC
Bill Turner impressed me on day one with his vast knowledge of spiritual traditions and transpersonal techniques. Ever since then, whenever I think I have been exposed to everything Bill has to offer, I find that he knows of another teacher, another book or another method that is available for me to utilize. One could think of Bill as a walking library of experiential knowledge of spiritual practices. These teachings reaffirm my spiritual practice and help me remain focused on that which I prefer to create.
John R. Wilson, M. Div., M.S.
Raleigh, NC
Bill was born and raised in Harlan, KY. If you are familiar with history, you know that Harlan is famous for its coal mines and the violence used to keep unions from organizing. Bill was raised in an environment similar to a war zone, where you were taught to always remain on guard to defend the survival of yourself or your loved ones. He was taught to believe that you could not trust anyone. However, at the age of five, Bill told his mother that he wished to become a preacher and a doctor in order to heal and lift people. As a young child, he experienced many spiritual encounters and, at night he would often crawl out of his window to seek solace under the trees in the night air. But, as Bill grew, he forgot how to go to the trees for comfort. As a teenager he lost touch with his spirituality and handled the stress and pressure of life as the other teens did.
At a critical juncture in high school, Bill was given the opportunity to leave Harlan and begin a new phase of life by attending a religious college. This highly conservative and structured philosophy gave Bill the identity he needed at this time in his life to find purpose and make sense of the violent and untrustworthy world from which he had emerged.
As a young minister, husband, and father, Bill began working with small churches and was instrumental in their rapid growth. He eventually ended up at a large church with around 800 members and became sought after to speak at universities, workshops, and seminars affiliated with his denomination. However, at the pinnacle of his career Bill reached another crossroads. He was asked to indoctrinate his congregants into an ultra-conservative philosophy that he had begun to question. In the background, Bill had been attending graduate school where he was exposed to a more liberal philosophy that had put cracks in his belief system. As it turns out, Bill left his church and the pulpit. At the same time, his marriage of 17 years ended.
Bill spent his next decade of life seeking and soul-searching. His quest led him to study the works of several religions and philosophers and led him to new friends and spiritual teachers. Bill worked with New Thought churches and in the secular world, all of which provided further life experience. During this time, he spent a number of years working closely with a Native American Shaman and also became best friends and confidant with a minister from New Thought. It was ultimately this relationship that brought Bill back to the Triangle and the founding of Journeys, a place where Bill could use his talents to fulfill his purpose in life to make a difference in the lives of others.
Have you ever reached a point in life where you came to a crossroads? A point in life where you were faced with a decision you knew would radically change your world and affect those around you...a time when following your inner guidance and being authentic to your true self would cause you to make some difficult and sweeping changes in your life. While most people would go right and expect you to turn to the right, you decide to be authentic and take the left hand fork, otherwise known as the road less-traveled.
While Bill has been a minister since 1974, he has explored many different traditions often following the road less-traveled. Ultimately, this path led him to found Journeys: A Spiritual Community in 2005. The Journeys' congregation which meets Sundays in Raleigh, North Carolina was created as an interfaith, non-denomination group which comes together to celebrate the oneness of humanity. As a community, Journeys celebrates what humanity has in common and also honors its differences.