Wisdom Counselling…
To some degree we have all been asked to adapt to a dysfunctional system; a way of being or doing things that goes against our better judgment, our intuition, our innate values. That request may came from our family, culture, government, religion, relationship or job. What choices do we have when such big systems and such authoritative figures (teachers, priests, doctors, politicians, parents, etc.) require us to bend (or break) to meet their reality? Do we just survive, adapt, and then get used to living in a dysfunctional system? Is it our ‘normal’ now? How does that feel?
What has it done to our inner knowing; the part of us that knew all along that something was ‘off’, the part of us that “doesn’t buy it”, and never did. Do we silence it with rationalization and reason? Do we justify the discrepancy between our values and our choices, between our heart and our head, between our personal truth and someone else’s? How do we manage that inner conflict and it’s accompanying feelings, such as: anxiety, resentment, sadness, guilt, shame, powerlessness, doubt?
There may come a time when we can no longer manage the anxiety; the cost of normalizing the abnormal. To arrive at this point – albeit painful – is good news. I firmly believe that becoming symptomatic in a dysfunctional system is a sign of health, not illness.
What if our own systems (our intuition, our feelings, our nature) are alerting us to the fact that we have been trained away from our senses and inner knowing, and the pain of being out of alignment (not living a life based on our personal values) and being out of integrity (not speaking our personal truth) is no longer an option? Is this our call to greater awareness, greater alignment, greater truth, so that we can serve a greater purpose (and yeah, feel better!)?
My work is to help people reconnect with their Authentic Selves. To help people get out of their heads and disidentify with their ego minds (“dethrone the ego mind as the sole arbiter of reality”). To help people reconnect with their intuitive nature and access the wisdom within. To help people ‘recalibrate their inner compass’ so that they can re-align with their core Self and reconnect with their values, feelings, senses, intuition and purpose.
I’ve always been a student of psychology, busy studying the complexity of my own human condition. I wanted a degree in psychology but was not interested in a traditional MA program from a mainstream university; I wanted an experiential program with a spiritual framework. So in 2006 I earned a BA in Applied Psychology and a 3 year diploma in Transpersonal Psychotherapy and Counselling. I am a member of the CPCA (Canadian Professional Counsellors Association), a competency based (vs. degree based) a much-needed professional association providing membership for therapists specialized in alternative methodologies. This year I will be completing a Therapeutic Breathwork Facilitation certificate and in 2020 I will be taking a 3 year Somatic Experiencing training program.
I grew up on 3 different continents. I’ve immigrated 4 times. English is my third language. I’ve lived in a villa with staff, and lived in warehouse spaces in the DTES. I also grew up with a narcissistic parent, which meant I was not allowed to have a differentiated Self. I chose to leave home at the age of 15 to save my sanity but still ended up battling depression and intermittent suicidal ideation for nearly 25 years. I’ve experienced panic attacks, a full-fledged spiritual awakening (“dark night of the soul”) and numerous ecstatic/spiritual experiences. Despite what people said, I managed to marry introversion and entrepreneurism and became self-employed in 2009, when I, finally, started doing what I love. And despite what I thought might never be possible, I’ve been free of depression since.
Maybe I can help…?