However, something I did know for certain was that I loved stories and I wanted to explore that passion. So it was that it felt very natural for me to study literature at university, which I loved. I went to Bath Spa for my BA and Oxford Brookes for my MA and these years were so important for me. Through the study of literature, I indulged and honed my gift of finding patterns, connections, recurring themes, symbolism and metaphor and developed the ability to look at things from different perspectives. I think that the best stories are those in which you can lose yourself and, in so doing, find yourself – that is, find something that resonates with you on a deep level. I enjoy writing too and have self-published a novel of my own and have another manuscript in the works.

Over the last few years in particular, I’ve used this readerly way of looking at things in relation to my self-development, understanding myself and my story better and, related to that, learning from various spiritual and wisdom traditions to gain greater clarity regarding how I see myself and my connection with Life/the Divine/the Universe. As in my study of literature, I have been seeking deeper layers of meaning, patterns, context and the symbols and little details that point to the bigger picture, the interplay between the microcosm and the macrocosm.  I would say that I’ve long been a deep thinker and long believed that life is about more than what we perceive with the five physical senses alone. I’ve always had a trust in Life, for a long time through the perspective of Christianity, in alignment with my upbringing, though my perspective has shifted over the years. I love to find connections between different religions, spiritual traditions and science, seeing them as different lenses through which the same reality is being viewed. In 2018 my spiritual ‘journey’ (for want of a better word) gained momentum. It felt like an awakening which began with an exploration of mindfulness and meditation and though my spiritual path has, in recent years, taken me in various fascinating directions, I’m always brought back home to the simplicity of what is here and now in my present experience and the sense of being the ‘awareness’ or ‘presence’ that both transcends form and embodies itself into form. What a beautiful dance of Life we embody!

Whilst the holistic nature of my coaching takes into account physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects, I’m not here to advocate any particular belief system or offer unsolicited teachings about how I see things. I welcome people of any religion/spiritual tradition or none as clients, providing they feel as though they resonate with me enough for me to be a suitable coach for them. What I wish to offer is a space in which clients can explore who they are in a deeper way than they have done before so that they can be present with who they are, see themselves with greater clarity, heal, transform and grow.

I hope that for the clients I work with, I can help them to see themselves as the main character of their life, to help them ‘read’ their lives to gain clarity and greater understanding of themselves, and to realise that, as well as character and reader, they are also the author of their lives. If you’re living small, you have the power to live big. If you’re suffering, you have the power to heal. Realising we have this kind of power can be overwhelming as it requires us to take responsibility for our lives and our choices. This is something I’m still working on. Sometimes I sense old fears knocking on the door again. However, my development of self-awareness and self-compassion has helped enormously in empowering me to manage difficult situations.

I mentioned ‘living small’, which of course means different things to different people but I’ve felt for some time now that I’ve been living small. Not that my work was never in alignment for me, it tapped into my nurturing nature, but I kept going with what was familiar (childcare work and housekeeping) whilst my soul was urging me to expand into what was new and unfamiliar. It’s interesting though. I can see how caring for children and cleaning homes relates to what I’m doing now with my coaching business. As with nannying, I’m holding a space that is safe, supportive and caring and concerned with development and growth. As with cleaning, my intention is to help move out old energy that no longer serves and is keeping people stuck and stagnant in their lives. See, I told you I like to find patterns and connections!

I don’t know what first made me think of being a coach but I mulled over the idea for some time and decided to have life coaching sessions myself as a way of seeing if it might be something I would like to do. Whilst I did indeed get the clarification I’d hoped for from my experience as a client, I didn’t anticipate the transformative nature of the coaching process for me in ways I had not expected. I was able to gain confidence and a greater understanding of myself, to see how certain neglected aspects of myself could be enhanced so that I could gain more balance in life.

Having coaching sessions also enabled me to identify my values and formulate my life vision, sense of purpose and mission. Through my life coaching journey as a client,  I discovered that my big vision – my North Star – is of a world that lives in full alignment with its true nature. I see that nature as relating both to the universal oneness or ‘beingness’ of Life of which we’re all a part and to the beautifully unique expression of that Life that forms each and every being. Distortions, illusions and false beliefs can mask both of these aspects of our true nature and a journey of self-discovery can be seen as the shedding of various layers of what you are not. If you’re committed to this profound inner work, in whatever form that work takes, I honour your devotion and see the impulse from which it springs as truly divine.

I began this bio by talking about my early self-consciousness and I end by talking about my ever-growing self-awareness which is something completely different, based on authenticity rather than a false idea of who I am. I don’t have the same degree of fear of being seen that I had as a child, though a little of it may occasionally crop up from time to time. However, it’s my self-awareness which gives me the courage to transcend that fear. I’m constantly learning on this life journey and hoping to gain more wisdom, healing and growth – a process often cyclical in nature with life lessons being revisited for deeper learning and expansion. I have discovered great insights with help from others but those insights have been my own. Similarly, I’m not here to provide you with the answers but to support you on your journey as you seek the truth within you.