Practioner Feature MARY TOBIN Meditation facilitator, Massage Therapist A LITTLE STORY ABOUT MY JOURNEY SO FAR
I was raised in an Irish Catholic family with seven brothers and sisters. I was child number five. My parents raised me to have a deep faith in God and the Catholic Church, and they themselves displayed a deep faith in an unseeable deity. I was deeply moved by the parables, and the story of Jesus, and I knew deep within that there was a God. I was to go to church every Sunday, (without question or all hell would break lose), until I was about 17, when it became really uncool to go to church, plus by that time I had lost any interest in The Church and its teachings, although I still had a firm belief in a higher power. At around about 14 years of age, I was visited by an angelic presence. Its visitation, to this day has left me in no doubt that angels and a higher love do exist. I still draw on the memory of that visitation when I need to feel uplifted. In my early twenties I read my first 500 page novel, called 'The Clan of The Cave Bear' by Jean M. Auel. It was about a young girl in prehistoric times, who through a tragic earthquake lost her whole tribe and was left to die, until she was found and raised by 'The Others'. This book changed my life and spoke to some innate knowledge within me that told me of our deep connection to the earth; it gave me a deep respect for herbs and nature. I later studied 'Health and Nutrition' at The Southern School of Natural Therapies, which included a whole semester on herbs and vitamins, I was in my element. I also was aware of a deep respect I had (and still have) for the original keepers of this land - The Aborigines or Koori Nation. I was always fascinated by the deep wisdom they displayed and how they respected and treated Mother Earth. I have always felt that humanity has much to learn from the ancient ones on how to live in harmony and balance with Mother Earth. This has led me to explore Shamanic teachings of The Native American Indians, and Earth Centred Religions of Paganism and Wicca.
In 1991 I was living in Darwin, and noticed an advertisement in the local paper for a 10 week massage course. This again, was to be life altering, as it introduced me to the concept of body-mind. That is, that our mind has a direct affect on our body, and the way we hold our bodies has a direct affect on our mind. Also, all of our life experience is felt within our bodies, if for some reason we are unable to express all of our emotions in relation to an event, then this emotion can become stored and trapped within our bodies. This is why some bodily pain and tension may not be due to a physical stress but an emotional stress. Deep tissue massage using breath work can help with unlocking this. At some point, and I am unsure when, I began to explore meditation. I dabbled. It was not something I did regularly, but it was something that I thoroughly enjoyed, and perhaps I was a little unsure of exploring my inner world. Perhaps, a little afraid of the unknown. In 1998 I completed my Massage Therapist Certificate at The Southern School of Natural Therapies and began practising massage. I worked with massage therapy over a period of 8 years, until one day I felt burnt out and withdrew from the field. Still, I had a passion to help people, but it needed to be embracing my spiritual nature in some form. That's when I was introduced to The Inner Peace Institute for Well-Being. http://www.innerpeace.com.au They were running a teacher training course in Meditation, and I enrolled. It was quite possibly the most inspiring course I have ever undertaken. 18 months of intense soul-searching and meditation. 18 months with 18 other students. We grew together. We were inspired together. We learnt structure and form, and how to facilitate groups of people. We explored spirituality on a global scale. In January 2006 I gave birth to my beautiful daughter. During the pregnancy I read every book I could on the stages of pregnancy and giving birth. I dearly wanted this birthing experience to be beautiful, and as luck or fate would have it, I was introduced to a mid-wife who was trained in the Hypno-Birthing technique. I was able to draw on my meditation experience and incorporate hypno-birthing during a 16 hour labour. I was blessed to have a drug-free natural birth and a beautiful healthy child. My life so far has been one of intense soul-seeking, looking for answers. I am a Reiki channel, I work with crystals, I studied reflexology, and I even did a course entitled 'I could do anything if only I knew what it was'. I studied music, I began singing, I dearly wanted to be a rock chick in a band, I love to sing. Talk about the voice, and that's a whole other subject. Now, I am finally embracing and channelling my spiritual nature via facilitating Meditation Classes at The Centre for Mind Body and Spirit. I am able to draw on the wealth of knowledge that I have accumulated over my wonderful journey through life and share it with others. I am in the right place for me right now. And I continue to grow. That Love IS all there IS, is all we know of Love. (Emily Dickinson - American Poet)
Practitioner feature: Melissa Wallace Meditation facilitator, Crystal Therapist I am currently studying a Diploma of Metaphysics (Crystal Therapy & Reiki) through the International College of Vibrational Therapies. I have over seven years' experience in meditation, having attended many classes, courses and retreats, in Australia, the UK and Europe.A lifetime fascination for spiritual and esoteric traditions introduced me to meditation, but it was the desire to discover my true “Self”, and understand my purpose in this life that lead me to seriously practice the art.Meditation has helped me in so many ways. In everyday life it helps me cope with stressful situations, allows me more patience in dealing with others and certainly helps me sleep better! From a broader perspective, meditation has helped me gain clarity, given me a greater appreciation for my two boys, and instilled me with an inner peace and happiness I've never before experienced.I recommend meditation to anyone who wants insight on who they are, what their purpose in life is, or simply for some well-deserved or much needed time to yourself!Melissa
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