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My work is about awakening as embodied consciousness ‚ and is for those of us who want to consciously enquire and open into the creative, evolving incredible reality of being alive, where the transcendent meets the material.
In other, more ordinary, words, it's about appreciating life's richness, in all the ups and downs, without anything particularly special (or even nice) needing to happen. When I work with you, my intention is to support you to navigate your way through your unique and particular life circumstances to identify and then relax any arguments you might have with the way things are, and come to enjoy a deeper sense of satisfaction with actuality. This often means feeling things that we've habitually tried not to feel, so at times this is very challenging, and not necessarily what we want. It is simple, because all we are doing is meeting what arises, but it is not necessarily easy. This is both spiritual and ordinary. My own acceptance of each moment as it actually is continues to deepen. I am humbled by the force of defensive habits, and the mysterious opening that happens, naturally, when we really meet and welcome what's here, including the habits, even when that seems like the last thing that we could possibly do. I am supported by having had much good guidance in my life, from teachers, friends and family, and in particular by going on retreat with my Awakening teacher-transmitter twice a year, and with my peers several times a year. Offering these spaces for others keeps deepening me too. I have trained in the extraordinary Birth into Being Method www.birthintobeing.com with Elena Tonetti-Vladimirova, to Apprentice level, and also experienced the gentle guidance of Myrna Martin's "womb surround" myrnamartin.net and I am enjoying weaving aspects of these methods into my work. Since everyone's circumstances are different, and no two moments are ever quite the same, the specifics of how I work depend on who I am working with, where and when: one-to-one sessions, weekend workshops, retreats. I offer individual sessions usually of an hour or 90 minutes. I also hold sessions for couples. I run groups: one-off weekend workshops and on-going closed groups. See Devon, Cambridge and London pages for more details. Reflections from Others: After a weekend workshop: "I find what you teach & bring meta-physically illuminating, complex but also like water I've been wanting to drink after a drought." A "Thank you so much for a beautiful weekend... feeling the effects reverberating in my body" P After a Welcome Reality group: "the difference it has made is a gentle but profound increase in my appreciation of being alive and a growing steadiness around my triggering" J After a phone session: "my heart has been feeling so free and light and full of joy since the session I had with you…. the tears are still around and now there’s a soft landing pad for them where there wasn’t before and they are a mixture that feels more like just a gladness for being here…. so much love for life, including for my dad and for the little me present and past….(I just went to pick my son up from school and we put on some folk songs that he likes 'because it sounds like pirate music' and we danced and laughed and whooped….. !) .. is there a bottom to this well of tears i wonder?! I’m hoping not right now as the tears surely do free up so much joy ... having you there to hold the space is what really helps me to allow them." C After a couples session: "By fully inhabiting that place - with no censor - and your gentle yet firm acknowledgement of the present moment - reminding me of the thread of connection - which I remember vehemently rejecting - it was like the lightness came from the darkness. the important distinction for me is that that was not a mental decision - by fully inhabiting the 'no' the 'dark' the 'pain' - with no thought or concern to what anyone thought of me (such a rare experience and one I put down to your exquisite ability to hold a space so lovingly yet safely - and for two and over Skype - bloody incredible!) - something really did shift and I was able to open to D, not because I should - one second I was in no and then it dissolved into yes." J From my teacher: "Joanna has a radiant presence, which is a pleasure to be around. She is thorough and applies herself to what she does with a persistent curiosity. She is responsive to other people and sensitive to their needs and feelings. She can work well in a group, and also shows her own initiative. She is passionate about Awakening and Awakened Life."
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