While Gina was in the midst of her research from her integrating sexuality and spirituality survey at Radcliff College, at night she was in deep ritual discovering her Peruvian roots and her own spirituality. She began studying with Oscar Miro Quesada https://heartofthehealer.org/ where she journeyed at her Pachakuti mesa nightly.
For 30 years she studied and lived the ways of many native traditions to include the sacred geometry of the Native American Medicine Wheel and the four directions and elements. Meanwhile, during the day she received more and more sexuality surveys by mail and she was puzzled by trying to fit respondent’s sexual experiences into the linear sex therapy models that existed.
She then had an epiphany while at her Pachakuti mesa: What was missing was a spiritual explanation of sexuality! Before her, on her floor, was her mesa – the sacred template of mind, body, heart and spirit. She then created the 4-D Wheel – the only sexuality model that is holistic, integrative, and includes spirituality. She then with great honor and respect to all native cultures and traditions continued to study shamanic healing and discovered the depths and layers of how she could use her indiginous roots and rituals to access layers of healing for sexual trauma.
Over the years she refined the 4-D Wheel to expand or contract it to help people of all cultures, religions and diverse backgrounds heal their sexual wounds. She trained other therapist, healers and practitioners find their own way to understand the four qadrants of mind, body, heart, and spirit and incorporate it into how they ask their sex therapy clients non-pathologizing or shaming qustions that expanded into the clients spirtuality.
The 4-D Wheel model is now a theoretical model to do a client intake, assessment and also treatment all guided by the wisdom of the client with the practitioner as their guide to healing. This is why people saw her collecting heart-shaped rocks and other stones wherever she traveled, or thanked the earth mother when picking a flower to awaken a group wheel and brought in ancestors and guides for help and always stopped for a good sunset. She lived with spirit and anyone lucky enough to meet her found her to be grounded and magical at the same time.
Once she began traveling the world to run women’s sexual trauma workshops she got a reputation that “15 minutes with Dr. Gina Ogden in the 4-D Wheel was worth 15 years of therapy”. To watch her run a 5 day retreat was like watching a spiritual healing artist heal 25 people in profound lasting ways. Our 4-D Network takes Dr. Ogden’s combination of western sexology and indiginous roots and practices into our global need to discuss trauma, sexuality, and healing with all people in our diverse world of needs.
In this non-pathologizing approach we teach practitioners to learn the 4-D Wheel and integrate it with the other theoretical approaches as a tool with any concern a patient or client comes to see them for. The 4-D Wheel can treat virtually any problem or issue to include but not limited to: anxiety, addictions, trauma, affairs, depression, life crisis, grief, infertility, pain, gender questioning, ancestral, racial and institutional trauma, erectile dysfunction, lack of desire and so much more… She spent many hours at Walden Pond, and in the summer often took her work to her “summer office” on Singing Beach in Massachusetts. When her grandchildren were visiting, the beach trips always included ice cream at Captain Dusty’s.
In January of 2018 she learned she had terminal cancer. She embraced this as a spiritual journey. By choosing palliative care over more aggressive medical interventions, she opted not to fight the inevitable. She took charge of her care by working closely with the traditional medical community, spiritual advisors, shamanic healers and complementary healthcare practitioners to be able to live fully until the end. The last 10 months included a trip to Denver for an AASECT conference; visits from her closest family, colleagues, and friends; and swims in Walden Pond and Plum Cove. Her experience is chronicled in emails she sent to her colleagues and friends and photos taken by her partner.
Gina died peacefully in her home on a warm fall morning with her dear ones at her side. She is survived by her life partner Jo Chaffee; son Philip Saunders and his wife Wendy; daughter, Catherine Saunders and her partner Todd Sabelli; and grandchildren Chris Saunders and Christina Saunders. Gina has asked those who wish, to make contributions to the Dr. Gina Ogden Curatorial Student Scholarship Support Fund at the Kinsey Institute Library and Collections, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
You can make a gift by going to the Kinsey “make a gift” page and searching for “Ogden,” or by filling out their pledge form and indicating the Ogden Scholarship Fund at KinseyInstitute.org In the sunshine and the starlight, I will always be with you.
