Just Quiet The Mind And Open Your Heart

It feels mad that five years have passed since I last wrote here. It feels somewhat serendipitous that last post was about ceremonial cacao, a beautiful plant medicine that has many benefits, one being its heart opening properties. The title of this blog comes from a piece of music by Jon Hopkins and Ram Dass, sit around the fire. I’ve been practicing quieting the noise in my mind and tuning into my heart. In 2021, during the height of the pandemic, I began exploring the possibility of becoming a psychotherapist.

COVID brought many challenges, and for me, one of them was no longer being able to work in the same way as a holistic practitioner. With more time on my hands, I found myself sitting with the idea of returning to college and wondering where that path might lead. I have always had an interest how the mind works and wanted to learn more about myself and how to work with others on a deeper level.

I enrolled at the IICP in a certificate in integrative counselling and psychotherapy. This was a great introduction, and it gave me the push to start into their four-year program in 2022. The next four years were some of most challenging, demanding, and confronting whilst also being the most rewarding, liberating, and enjoyable experiences of my life.

I can look back now and see how often I was in my head running on old outdated and unfounded beliefs that were getting in my way. I started to become aware of my thoughts. Awareness is the enemy of habit, and paying attention allowed me to break away from these habits.

Learning to connect with my heart, and the essence of who I am has brought me closer to myself but also has deepened my connections with others, in my relationships both personal and professionally.

I’m excited about this next chapter, and integrating my psychotherapy training into my holistic practice. I’ve realised that this has always been the path for me but I was getting in my own way.

What is your heart telling you?