MY JOURNEY HERE

For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by people and how they live their lives. How past experiences can impact on our choices without us even knowing it. How we choose to react emotionally to a situation based on these experiences and personal histories. I guess that is why I turned to theatre. The idea of getting inside another person's head, to become that other person, to see the world as they see it, as you do when you act, was so appealing to me. As a director, I helped actors to develop these characters based on their own experiences and facilitated their choices through deep discussions on what makes a character tick. 

After a long and beautiful career in theatre, I completed my Masters and then decided I needed a change. I chose counselling and community service or maybe it chose me. I believe very strongly that a strong, nurturing, caring community is extremely important to who we are as human beings. Our survival, quite literally has always depended on it. Somewhere along the way, with all our new technology to make things easier and better for us we have forgotten the importance of human connection. As you might be able to tell, I am a pretty strong advocate for a healthy community and have always spoken out for the injustices that we as a society inflict on our most vulnerable and the inalienable right of every human being to feel love and acceptance and have access to services to help them live a fulfilling life.

So when I started studying counselling and community service, I just soaked it up like a sponge. It had everything I had been looking for all my life, it spoke so clearly to me. I started reading and continue to read everything I can get my hands on from basic modalities of therapy to books on the complex workings of the brain! (see more of my favourites in news and articles).

I feel so deeply honoured when I sit in a session with a fellow human being and feel their trust in me to share their personal stories. Sometimes, it is a story they have never told another person, not even to themselves. The stories can be filled with sadness, regret, anger, frustration, loneliness and fear. But at the centre of it all is the Self; filled with love, trust, compassion and curiosity and a deep desire for presence. I get to watch people make deep connections with their lives (what we like to call Aha moments, in the trade) and the joy that that clarity brings is magical and sacred. It is our life's purpose to make these connections with ourselves and our bodies and to be in happiness as a fully conscious human being.