Rev. Dr. Tillotson, often called "The Virtual Community Virtuoso," is known for her unique approach to creating and guiding others to build thriving virtual communities that foster connection and purpose. She is passionate about learning, consciousness, spiritual growth, and building online communities that enhance people’s lives.
Christina is an award-winning online spiritual educator and leader with dual Doctorates in Divinity. Before anyone understood the possibilities of the Internet, she was the sole woman in a small nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that led the world's first Internet migration from the Department of Defense to education. Inspired by its potential, she pioneered the first online meditation courses in a rudimentary chat room on dial-up.
For over 20 years, she has been an ordained Minister for Centers for Living. Her purpose in life is to reveal the exquisite presence of universal spirit within all to create a transformed world.
She has a strong education background with a master’s degree in special education, four California lifetime teaching credentials, a master’s degree in consciousness studies, an honorary doctorate in divinity from the Holmes Institute School of Consciousness Studies, and a doctorate in divinity from the Emerson Institute.
Before she became a minister, Christina pioneered online education for what is now the Centers for Spiritual Living beginning in 1998. She is one of the first in the world to teach meditation online beginning back in the days of chat rooms and dial-up… before any video conferencing was available. She refused to take “no” for an answer when she was told that one could not teach universal spiritual principles online. With the assistance of her team, she taught universal spiritual principles through Science of Mind classes certificated by what is now Centers for Spiritual Living to students in 17 countries and 37 states. Through her pioneering work in creating online certificated classes offered by Centers for Spiritual Living, she has sent more than 200 licensed spiritual practitioners in 11 countries into the world.
For over 16 years, she served as the first and only Dean of Distance Education at the Holmes Institute, a position that was created for her because of her expertise in online education. The Holmes Institute offered an accredited online master’s degree in consciousness studies. She was awarded the Ernest Holmes Award, the highest award possible in the Centers for Spiritual Living, for taking the Holmes Institute from audio recordings, VHS, and paper to digitally delivered programs that developed an extensive virtual community while maintaining its accreditation. As a professor in that accredited master’s degree program, Christina created and facilitated an extremely well-received class, “Facilitating Virtual Spiritual Community.” Through her pioneering work in creating online certificated classes offered by Centers for Spiritual Living, she has sent more than 200 licensed spiritual practitioners in 11 countries into the world. With the assistance of her team, she taught universal spiritual principles through Science of Mind classes certificated by Centers for Spiritual Living to students in 17 countries and 37 states.
For seven years, she served as an official facilitator for Dr. John Gray’s Mars-Venus Institute, leading and marketing Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. After becoming widowed, she assisted the Mars-Venus Institute in refining Mars and Venus Starting Over to make sure it served those who are widowed as well as those who are divorced in the best possible manner. She then led many of those workshops.
She continues to serve as a Staff Minister at Seaside Center for Spiritual Living in Encinitas, and to create and teach a variety of courses in personal growth, spirituality, and consciousness. Since 1993, she has been an accredited instructor of “T’ai Chi Chih, Joy Thru Movement™,” a moving mindfulness meditation with instructors and students all over the world. She finds that teaching and practicing this way of circulating the cosmic energy keeps her centered, mindful, and deeply connected to the flow of universal energy. She honors this energy flowing through all her endeavors.
She has been published in Science of Mind Magazine and Divine CEO Magazine. She is now writing her first book, CONNECTING SOULS: FROM LOSS TO PURPOSE AND COMMUNITY IN THE DIGITAL AGE. It is a story of grief and growth, tracing the path from soul-deep loss to spiritual purpose set within the rising tide of the Internet and AI and grounded in the healing power of community. As loneliness reaches epidemic levels and public service is increasingly devalued, this book is a timely tribute to her brilliant soulmate husband, who worked himself to death at 54 to help keep the peace, and to all devoted civil servants who quietly serve the common good. The night he unexpectedly died, she found herself teetering on the edge of despair, but instead of ending her life, she answered a deeper call to ministry. That moment became the turning point, leading to decades of work in online spiritual education. The book includes meditations, tools, and real-life examples that emerged from this journey, offering readers practical guidance to move through grief, overcome isolation, and find purpose and community.
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August 31st, 2025
Sunday Service at CSL Greater Pittsburgh
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Rev. Dr. Christina Tillotson