Rev. Dr. Philip R. Belzunce’s life journey of service began at De La Salle College in Manila, where he obtained his Masters in Psychology and served as a Religion Coordinator. He was ordained a Redemptorist priest on May 1, 1972 in his native country of the Philippines, where he served as the Director of the Better World Movement.
Subsequently, in the last 46 years, his spiritual life journey has taken many turns, wherein he embarked on facing the systemic crisis of his church, his country, his health, his spirit, and his life purpose.
In 1976 during the dictatorship regime, he took refuge from the Philippines in the United States of America. He found himself guided to arrive at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, where he obtained his training in various Gestalt Therapy Programs and completed a doctorate in Psychology at Kent State University in 1980. With his marriage to Dr. Lalei Gutierrez, he morphed his priesthood into service as a holistic psychologist, healer, facilitator, naturopath, diversity consultant and as faculty member at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, the Diversity Management Program at Cleveland State University, and the Ohio Institute of Energetic Studies and Bodywork. Other licenses and certifications obtained were Marriage and Family Therapist, Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, Board Certified Coach, Board Certified Polarity Practitioner, Master Herbalist, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified Iridologist, and Commission on Certification by American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP). He also has black belts in martial arts and is a certified Universal Tao instructor.
His practice as a holistic psychologist, expanded to include marriage and family therapy, life/relations coaching, organizational diversity consulting, group/team building facilitations, body process and energy, and Tai Chi, chi kung, meditative practice, and working with diverse peoples in diverse human systems and institutions.
From 1984 to 1995 he served as Director of the Inpatient Psychiatric Department at St. Joseph Hospital/Community Health Partner. He has facilitated and gave workshops, lectures in Asia, Israel, Europe, and North America. He appeared on TV and radio and spoke about various topics such as intimacy, diversity, stress, humor therapy, marriage and family and men/women issues. As a keynote speaker he spoke about and consulted with many organizations, non-profits, corporations, schools, churches, agencies, institutes and hospitals on various topics such as diversity, inter-racial relations, leadership development, team building, stress management, culture and gender roles, as well as executive, relational and life coaching.
As a priest, he officiates weddings, baptisms, memorials, and blessings of the sick.
He is the spiritual director and co-founder of the Sacred Connections Ministry, which facilitates and supports people to connect with their sacredness within themselves and with others in an interactive process with their family and community. Sacred Connections Ministry helps connect and deepen our experience of embodying the Christ in our relations spiritually, socially, relationally, mindfully, emotionally, energetically, and physically. Sacred Connections Ministry recognizes the interdependence of all life and supports all loving participations in appreciating our differences and our diversity and assists in co-creating inclusive healing of all our relations on our earth... for a loving, kind, transformational, and an enlightened world of peace and gratitude.
He is a consummate student of the deeper purpose of life and relational journey committed to the transformational process of experiential learning and knowledge in our human conscious evolution of systemic-contextual-body-mind-spirit interconnectedness.
Dr. Philip Belzunce is an author of Heart Shadows, What Really Matters is the Heart, Once Upon a Doggie; co-author, co-creator and co-producer with his wife, Dr. Lalei Gutierrez of Eight Pathways of Healing Love: Your Journey of Transformation and of the DVD’s – Eight Pathways of Healing Love – Movement Meditation and the Dynamic Embodied Presence – Chi Kung Movement Meditation; Pairs Polarity in Significant Relationships – Meditations, Exercises, and Stretches, Pairs Polarity in Significant Relationships – Becoming Aware of Our Interpersonal Elements. He is a contributing author in Overcomers Inc. – True Stories of Hope, Courage, and Inspiration, and the Handbook of Diversity Management: Beyond Awareness to Competency Based Learning. He is currently involved in collaborative writing on various topics.
