Rev. Raymont Anderson, PhD
 
“If you ask me what I came to do in this world,
I, an artist, will answer you:
I am here to live out loud.” ~Émile Zola"

Raymont Anderson has frequently been referred to as a Renaissance man and Visionary New Thought Leader.

One look at his resume, the course of his life, and the reason becomes clear.

 

His life journey has been anything but ordinary and he has quite the library of life stories to tell.  

You can follow some of his current adventures via this site www.raymontanderson.com as well as other Social Media platforms:

Facebook  (as well as this Facebook page)

Instagram (as well as this Instagram page)

Twitter 

TikTok

And on his YouTube Channel

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As a lifelong learner with a passion for self-development, personal transformation, transmutation, and transfiguration, he lives his bliss as a teacher, minister, author, visual artist, ASL Performing Artist, mentor, father, grandfather, and more, by giving people applicable tools and practices that enable them to live a more fulfilled life; recognizing, realizing, and materializing their Full Divine Potential!.

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His mission is: To live, move, and be an *A.C.T.I.V.E. member of society who serves to Educate, Elucidate, Emancipate, Awaken, and Empower people and communities.

*[Authentic, Compassionate, Transparent, Inspired, Vibrant, Empowered]

 

As an Ordained Centers for Spiritual Living Minister, he currently serves as the founding minister and the Spiritual Director of The Center for Spiritually Integrated Arts: A Centers for Spiritual Living Teaching Center. 

The Center for Spiritually Integrated Arts on Facebook

The Center for Spiritually Integrated Arts on YouTube

The Center for Spiritually Integrated Arts on Instagram

 

Prior, he served as the Spiritual Director of The Center for Spiritual Living Greater Baltimore.

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Within The Centers for Spiritual Living Organization, he has most recently served on the Sacred Activism Taskforce, CSL Marketing Taskforce, Strategic Planning, Charleston Convention Planning Committee, and several years ago he served on the Spiritually Motivated Social Engagement Committee (SMSE) as an appointed Commissioner, and for a brief time as the committee chair. The SMSE's function is to support CSL's Spiritual Leader. During Rev. Ray's tenure, the Spiritual Leader was Dr. Edward Viljoen (pronounced full-YOON). The committee supports the Leader in formulating and expressing official CSL statements addressing world events. The SMSE also creates webinars and training on how to approach social and global issues based on CSL's teachings and values.

 

Rev. Dr. Ray has been one of the members of the Cultural Integrity & Evolution Committee where he worked alongside several amazing individuals (Spiritual Mavericks), as we synergized with each committee and council represented within CSL to generate the themes to be used globally for 2020, 2021, and 2022. He also served briefly on the Diversity and Inclusion Commission. He has also been working with several people within New Thought as a whole, on creating resources for members of the Deaf, the BIPOC, and the LGBTQIA2+ community. 

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Through the CSL Professional Development department, he teaches several American Sign Language courses which began in March 2021. Courses currently offered throughout the year are ASL and SOM, ASL 1, ASL Skill Building, ASL 2, ASL Music, and Affirmations. He served as the series host for the 2022 CSL Summer Movie Series 11-Weeks/11-Movies to explore Metaphysically. And he closed out the series as a facilitator. His featured film was Doctor Strange.

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Ultimately he seeks to establish synergistic collaborations within the organization (Centers for Spiritual Living), within New Thought, and within various other Faith traditions, community organizations, and beyond so that everyone is seen, recognized, listened to, heard, valued, and given space to be themselves… so that everyone, however, the Divine expresses ItSelf as you: African American, Latine, Caucasian, Asian Pacific Islander, Deaf, hearing, Straight or LGBTQ2IA+, Differently Abled, Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc., understand their own Divinity.

 

He worked briefly on the steering committee for the CSL World Ministry of Prayer, in June 2020 during the Re-Imagine Summit, Rev. Dr. Ray had the distinct honor and pleasure of being on a global panel with several esteemed colleagues in the CSL movement.

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The Global CSL Panel - Facilitated by Rev. Mark Gilbert and Featuring:  

Rev. Beth Linguri – Europe  

Rev. Dr. Rebekah Pina – Latin America  

Rev. Raymont Anderson – USA  

Rev. John Scott – Jamaica

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He has provided the monthly Prayer for the Science of Mind Magazine for Jan 2017/ May 2020/ May 2021/ February 2024

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He was interviewed for an article in the Science of Mind magazine in August 2020. 

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In June 2021 he coauthored an article with Rev. Andriette Earl

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In September 2021 he wrote the Daily Guides for the Magazine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Feedback offered for the September Daily Guides

 

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In February 2022 he wrote the article, "Radical Self Love: Love In Me, As me, Is Me"

 

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In January 2024 he wrote the article, "There Is Work To Be Done"

 

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In February 2023 he wrote the Daily Guides for the Magazine

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Feedback offered for the February Daily Guides

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He continues to be a highly sought-after guest minister, public speaker, keynote speaker, and more nationally and internationally, both in person and virtually. He has been a guest speaker for the New Thought Group in the UK via Zoom multiple times. He was one of several keynote speakers during one of CSL's VISTA conferences. He was asked to be the keynote for the 2021 Holmes Institute ministerial graduates in Orlando Florida but was unable to do so due to scheduling conflicts.

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In July 2018, he was invited to be a guest keynote speaker and workshop facilitator for the 37th Anniversary service at the Temple of Light Centre for Spiritual Living.

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He believes it is time for New Thought to be a well-known teaching and not the "best-kept secret" that many refer to it as and for the rugged individualism of New Thought to give way to compassionate and active interdependence and global engagement.

 

In addition to his work as a minister and teacher of spiritual materials, he also teaches workshops and classes on various subject matters related to Empowered Living and Authentic Living, Loving One's Self, New Thought Spirituality and LGBTQI, Communication, Holistic health and wellness, American Sign Language, and Acting.

 

As an author, he recently completed the second draft of his third book which is a handbook based on living the life of a “spiritual warrior,” he has also recently wrapped up the first full draft of his 3rd book, and book 4 is 3/4 complete!

 

His first two books are available on Amazon:

Moving Mountains: The Journey of Transformation

Visual Music: Interpreting Songs in American Sign Language

 

Barnes and Noble:

Moving Mountains: The Journey of Transformation

Visual Music: Interpreting Songs in American Sign Language

 

and directly from the publisher:

Moving Mountains: The Journey of Transformation

Visual Music: Interpreting Songs in American Sign Language 

 

As a blog writer, he has written for Examiner.com as the DC New Thought Examiner and for the Good Men Project, and for Whosoever.

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In 2011, Rev. Dr. Anderson hosted a 13-week radio program on Voice America -7th Wave Network which was called “Living a Sacred Life.”

 

During those 13 weeks, he had the distinct pleasure of interviewing such luminaries as Howard Falco (Teacher and author of “I Am: The Power of Discovering Who You Really Are”), Salvatore Sapienza (Teacher and author of “Gay is a Gift,” “Seventy Times Seven,” and “Mychal's Prayer: Praying with Father Mychal Judge”), Dr. Sheri A. Rosenthal (Toltec Master, teacher, and author of “Banish Mind Spam! Four Steps For Deprogramming Self-Limiting And Self-Sabotaging Beliefs” and “The Complete Idiot's Guide to Toltec Wisdom” with forward by Don Miguel Ruiz), Laura Sheppard (Teacher and life coach), and Colette Baron-Reid (Intuitive, teacher, author of several books including “Weight Loss for People Who Feel Too Much: A 4-Step, 8-Week Plan to Finally Lose the Weight, Manage Emotional Eating, and Find Your Fabulous Self,” “The Map: Finding the Magic and Meaning in the Story of Your Life,” and “Remembering the Future: The Path to Recovering Intuition,” and creator of several Oracle decks such as “The Enchanted Map Oracle Cards” and “The Wisdom of Avalon Oracle Cards”) 

You can subscribe to his personal YouTube channel for more content as presented by him, including videos of some of his guest minister talks at various centers and churches: 

Raymont Anderson YouTube Channel  

You can also subscribe to the Center for Spiritually Integrated Arts where his Sunday messages and other content will also be posted.

And did you know that you can follow him on InsightTimer where he has Guidend Meditations?

 

 

 

 

As of June 2011, he resigned from his full-time job as a High School Teacher in Maryland, as a professor at Bowie State University, and as a full-time interpreter, in order to begin his right and divine livelihood on the full-time path of Minister, Spiritual Leader, Sacred Activist, and more.

 

As mentioned, he is most readily available to serve as it matches his purpose for being.  Some of the ways he has and is serving his divine livelihood are:

** Currently serves on the Board of Trustees at The Center for Spiritually Integrated Arts.

** Spiritual Direction, Mentoring, and Spiritual Counseling as an Ordained CSL minister.

** Serving as guest minister at various Centers for Spiritual Living, Unity Churches, etc.

**An Ordained Independent New Thought Minister and Ordained Interfaith-Interspiritual Minister.

** Keynote and Motivational speaking for schools and organizations.

** Workshop and Seminar Facilitator.
** A Certified Holistic Life Coach.
** Reiki Shinpiden (Master) Practitioner and Teacher (Western Reiki, Gendai Reiki Ryoho, Usui Reiki Method of Natural Healing.
** Visual Artist (drawing, painting, and digital photography).
** Teacher of Martial Arts.
** Practicing Mage, Shaman, Mystic, and an interesting bit of info, he is actually a Jedi Master and Jedi Priest and at one time served with "The Jedi of the Noble Order."
** Previously served on the Board of Directors of A World Alliance of Interfaith Clergy.

 

Some background history:

Rev. Dr. Ray has always been an active and visually creative individual. His love of drawing and painting began while in elementary school. His artistic passion led him to attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, once he graduated high school, where he received an Associate’s degree in Visual Arts, advertising design, and Graphic Illustration. While developing his visual arts passion, he also worked diligently on his passion for the martial arts. After seeing Bruce Lee in "Return of the Dragon" and "Game of Death" he was inspired and determined to learn. This was further emblazoned into his mind when he began watching the TV series "Kung Fu" starring David Carradine. The philosophical lessons taught through the show appealed to Ray in a way he was not able to fully understand until many years later. His passion for martial arts eventually led him to become a martial arts teacher and on September 24, 2002, he received the title Si-Gung (master) through the American Gung- Fu Association. In addition to Kung Fu, Ray has studied Ninjutsu and Aikido. 

He began teaching martial arts to friends and other neighborhood kids while he was in high school and it was this love for teaching that inspired him to become a teacher of art in the Public Schools. To accomplish this, he attended Carlow College, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Art Education K-12. It was also while attending Carlow College that he began to pursue yet another of his long-held passions, studying American Sign Language. He is quite thankful to have had the privilege of learning from several highly skilled and qualified hearing and deaf teachers over the years. 

It was due to the encouragement of his first ASL teacher, Karen McGann, that Ray founded the performance company S.T.A.R.S. That company was very successful during its time, however, once he moved to Richmond, VA. the company members all went their separate ways. 

While working as a Pittsburgh Public school art teacher, Ray attended the Community College of Allegheny County where he obtained an Associate’s degree in Interpreting under the tutelage of his mentor Brian Cerney. It was also due to his mentor's encouragement that Ray became a certified teacher of ASL through the American Sign Language Teachers Association. 

After several years of teaching in the public school system, it was time to grow -and GO- yet again. This next chapter led Ray to relocate to Richmond, VA. While living in Richmond, he attended Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) where he received his MFA in Theater Pedagogy. During his time as a graduate student at VCU, he was bitten by the acting bug!  While he had performed with S.T.A.R.S. before large audiences, this was a different level and type of performing that inspired him in a new and exciting way. Rev. Dr. Ray is eternally grateful to Noreen Barnes McLain for casting him a role in "Night Sky" and to Gary Hopper for casting him in a major role in "The Day the Bronx Died." It was also during his time in Richmond that Ray founded S.T.A.R.S., a second time. This time, the company survived his 2003 departure and continued for a few years but it also came to an end in the summer of 2008. 

Once he graduated from VCU, he was offered a job to work for The Wild Zappers (an all Deaf, all-male dance company) and the National Deaf Dance Theatre (a mixed company of male and female as well as of hearing and Deaf performers). Ray took the job as their interpreter and guest performing artist. During that time he traveled, learned, studied, and improved his craft as a performer and skills as an interpreter. In 2005, Ray was blessed to be one of a select few interpreters to attend the Theatre Development Fund -“Interpreting for the Theatre Institute” program at Julliard in New York. 

As a result, Ray has taken all that he knows about acting, storytelling, dance, martial arts, performing, motivational speaking, ASL, and life and created his own American Sign Language Theatrical Performance Company B.E.L.I.E.V.E. which came to a close in 2015.
 

One of his interpreting jobs in the DC area created some phenomenal opportunities to work with some amazing actors, production staff, and directors with Open Circle Theatre.  In 2006 he had a major role in Open Circle Theatre's production of EVITA. (Reviews of EVITA) 

As a June 2007 graduate of The American Institute of Holistic Theology (AIHT) with his Doctor of Divinity degree majoring in Christian Theology, Ray decided to once again take on the title of student. He re-enrolled with AIHT  where he began working on his Ph.D. in Metaphysics. He also enrolled in an additional doctoral degree program through The University of Sedona. He successfully obtained the University of Sedona Doctor of Metaphysical Science (Msc.D.) in January 2011 and in March 2011 a Ph.D. in Life Coaching to further support the certification as a Holistic Life Coach he received in 2010, through Spencer Institute. 

He became an ordained Christian Reverend on February 12, 2007, through the United Christian Fellowship/ a Non-denominational Metaphysical Minister (New Thought) on September 29, 2009, through the International Metaphysical Ministry/ an Interfaith minister on December 19, 2010, with the Many Paths Ministry and again in October 2011 as a co-ordained Interfaith Minister with The American Interfaith of Holistic Temple and The Order of Universal Interfaith (OUnI).  He had been an active member of the Community of Holistic Theology up to the dissolution of the AIHT school and seminary.

What’s going on now??
Great question… as mentioned Rev. Dr. Ray is always working on several things simultaneously... projects, art, writing, speaking, etc … Right now he is actively resting and healing post-surgery on April 25th. 

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He is still contemplating where to build his Dream home, spend more quality time with his family including his sons and grandchildren, and sister who is also his administrative assistant, Ms. Tracy Rhymes, as well as when and how to further manifest and demonstrate his passion and interests in ministry, acting, speaking, teaching, etc.

 

Just as an FYI, he is contemplating the creation of several TV shows and films, as well as continuing to work on creating and presenting his artwork, publishing additional books on spirituality and more, traveling, lecturing, and teaching, and continuing to serve, perform, inspire, and empower people to be EXTRA-ordinary, to Excel, and to "Defy gravity!" and play his part in manifesting A World that Works for All! He is considering a U.S. speaking/performing tour and what all that would entail. Stay tuned!

 

In honor of:
Charles and Lois Anderson, Ray's parents.

His father transitioned on Oct 14, 2002, after having lived with the experience of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and died as a result of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and other complications. 

His mother, Lois Anderson, transitioned on Father's Day, June 21, 2020, after having experienced a rather rapid decline due to Dementia. 

Ray does his best to be of service, embodying the deepest lessons and values his parents gifted him with.

 

Lastly:

He is always writing, creating, teaching, mentoring, and serving others while also working on his own spiritual path of authentic, transparent, and empowered living.

This bio is but a tiny glimpse into who he is and what he does. 

Ever want to know more, all you need to do is ask (smile).

 

We encourage you to contact him should you want to schedule him to teach a class, or workshop, and to book him for any speaking engagements or one-on-one coaching, mentoring, or Practitioner sessions.

 

Contact him directly at raymontanderson@raymontanderson.com  / anderson.raymont@gmail.com 

and cc his administrative assistant Ms. Tracy Rhymes via tracyrhymes@raymontanderson.com and tracyrhymes@gmail.com 

 

Thank you for stopping by and supporting the vision!

If you want to make a donation:

https://www.paypal.me/revdrraymontanderson

CashApp $revdrray

Venmo @Raymont-Anderson

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Ray continues to be ever vigilant “walking the walk and talking the talk” by living as authentically and as transparently as possible, to honor those he loves: his father, his mother, his sons, his grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, … the entire OHANA. By being the change that Gandhi spoke of, Ray intends each day to live life fully, using each breath to serve the Universal Whole in love and compassion. 
 

"But if you guide them, ... if you give them hope, that's what this symbol means. The symbol of the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief the potential of every person to be a force for good. That's what you can bring them."

"What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended?  What if a child aspired to something greater?"

~ Jor-EL