About Me

Hello There!

My name is Maya Mackey Dean, and I’m a reader, writer, and educator and lifelong student of human growth and transformation.   I hold a Bachelors in Psychology at Pacific Union College and a Masters degree in Community Psychology at Michigan State University. Outside of my formal education, what I value most comes from my lived experiences. I lean on insights through motherhood, faith, relationships, personal struggle, healing. As I result I’m learning how to build a meaning life one small decision at a time. 

My writing is deeply influenced by principles found within Community Psychology– a field that recognizes that people do not grow, struggle, health, or thrive in isolation. Our environments, relationships, communities, habits, spiritual lives, and daily systems all shape our well-being. Because of this, many of my posts explore not only personal growth, but also the environments, rhythms, practicies that help individuals and families flourish.  

Aside from pouring over books and research, I love spending quiet time with God, performing music with my husband, having thoughtful conversations with my loved ones, and trekking outdoors with my children. Those activities bring me the greatest joy! Read down below if you want to know more about me and get a feel for what you may experience here…

Why did you start this blog?

I started this blog as a way to collect the ideas I’ve learned through researching topics related to personal development, parenting, and spiritual growth. I really enjoy the process of reading and sharing what I learn, especially if it’s grounded in research. Bringing this all together in a blog is one way to be able to do this freely. 

Who can benefit from reading this blog?

Parents wanting to learn how to parent better. Spiritual-seekers- desiring deeper spiritual growth. Life-long students -committed to personal development. Loved ones-struggling with mental health challenges 

Basically, anyone who loves to learn, grow, and get busy with living a fulfilling life by acting on what you learn. If that’s you, you are in the right place!

What can you expect here?

In general you can expect to learn some things on a variety of topics. You could also expect to laugh or cry a little as I share my personal stories. I don’t claim to be an expert at anything except for owning my stories and testing out the ideas I’ve learned. I encourage you experiment and do the same. Here are some topics I love to talk about:

Spiritual Growth. Cultivating a prayer life, nurturing quiet time with God, transforming your mind through the power of Scripture, clarifying personal meaning and purpose, and strategies on cultivating gratitude.

Parenting. We’ll discuss core research findings in the parenting literature and insights from parenting experts as well as my personal stories. I’ll cover a considerable amount of time on parenting with emotional intelligence

Personal development. Self-care, mental health, suicide prevention, habit formation, addictions, personality theory, positive psychology insights, and health/fitness.

Clearly, I’m interested in so much! But ultimately, I desire is to write pieces that: 1) Draw on stories from my personal experiences, 2) Are grounded in research, 3) Draw on wisdom from the Bible, 4) Are immediately actionable. 

Anything else?

Well besides other random facts like I’m a health nut, a nature-lover, and a music nerd. I occasionally, give presentations on some of these topics I mentioned above. You can check out details on the presentations I’ve done in the past by going here.

If any of these topics resonate with you,  feel free to subscribe to my email list. You’ll  get regular updates to new posts.  Blessings.