Richard Southworth lives in Mechanicsville, Virginia with his wife Winnie and his son Mark. His oldest daughter, Teresa Parr, lives a few blocks away with her husband Julian and their three children, Nathan, Daniel, and Rachel. His youngest daughter, Michelle Evans, also lives nearby. Richard received a Bachelor's degree in General Studies with concentrations in Religious Studies, Psychology, and the Administration of Justice and Public Safety from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He also has a Master of Art's degree in Formative Spirituality from the Institute of Formative Spirituality at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has considerable teaching experience including college courses, church seminars, retreats, Marriage Encounter weekends, and presentations at training academies and professional conferences. His experience includes being a Trooper, Sergeant, and Special Agent with the Virginia State Police, Administrator of a non-denominational retreat center, Investigator with the Virginia Office of the Public Defender, Criminal Investigator with the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, and Investigator and Special Investigations Manager for a national health insurance company. This broad based education and experience finds its way into his writing and teaching. It leads him to focus on those foundational spiritual truths that cut across both religious and secular traditions. It provides a crucial balance between spirituality and the real world of people, events, and things. He is currently retired and writing and teaching about the spiritual life.