THE STORY OF THE BEGINNING
Originally posted 2012
“Rabbit's clever," said Pooh thoughtfully.
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit's clever."
"And he has a Brain."
"Yes," said Piglet, "Rabbit has a Brain."
There was a long silence.
"I suppose," said Pooh, "that that's why he never understands anything.”
- A.A. Milne
Somewhere along our journey, our brain got in the way. In the way of our happiness, in the way of our relationships with our partners, parents, children and friends, in the way of our ability to fall asleep peacefully (without popping a pill) and in the way of our physical health. Take some time to reflect on how long you spend “in your head”, when you are driving home from work are you aware of what your mind is up to? Is it sewing useful and fruitful seeds or is it behind the shelter sheds kissing the naughty boy and getting into terrible trouble?
Much to my embarrassment, my brain has spent far too long behind the shelter sheds. Clearly it all went pear-shaped somewhere for me as I am now getting my wisdom from Winnie the Pooh…..
I once asked one of the yogis I studied with "how can we take what we are learning at the ashram into our everyday life filled with stress, pressure and bills to pay?” She simply replied "awareness, awareness, awareness". Those three words (well, one word really) sparked a lifelong journey for me.
I wanted to know what she was talking about – how would awareness improve my life? And did I have to wear an orange robe and shave my head to get the gist of this whole thing? And finally, what quantity of lentils and soy milk did I have to consume?
Eventually, through my work as a psychologist, I came across the teachings of the wonderfully inspirational Jon Kabatt-Zinn. He was talking about this thing called mindfulness. A simple technique helping people to become aware of what is really going on – both in their minds and in their lives.
I completed a training course in Mindfulness Based Therapy (thank you Dr Craig Hassed, you are a rockstar) and started practicing some of techniques I learnt there – both in my personal life and during counselling sessions with clients. And then it started to happen. I started to notice what was really going on and my clients started to notice too.
The simplicity and effectiveness of these techniques struck me and I started to wonder why we hadn’t learnt about this stuff sooner. Why weren’t we teaching this to kids at school? And how can I reach a broader audience to further support the awesome work Jon Kabatt-Zinn and his buddies were up to in the medical and academic fields.
And so, I have taken it upon my self to get the word out there. No, I am not a swami, or a monk or an academic. I do not eat lentils all that often, I do wear leather shoes and I do drive a car.
However, I am me. I am a psychologist, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a professional coach and I am incredibly passionate about helping people to live with less pain and more peace. I am committed to helping people rediscover their internal sanctuary where they can be free of the pressures of doing and take more time to enjoy being.