APPROACH

Self awareness is the cornerstone of the work at Essential Selves.

The guiding philosophy behind Essential Selves is that everyone has a wise inner guide, an essential self, sometimes buried underneath the many layers of beliefs and thoughts and conditioning that we collect over a lifetime through our experiences and relationships.

This wise, inner self has all the answers that we need to guide us, but we have to learn to recognize, trust and listen to this guidance.

Our approach involves awareness of the body, mind and emotions and the connections between them. We are not, as the writer and peace activist,Joanna Macey puts it ” merely brains on a stick”.

You will learn ways to stay in contact with yourself when things get heated, when you get triggered and your buttons get pushed. You will learn to cultivate a “witness self” that can watch what is happening and learn to be guided by the wise inner “felt sense” and intuition rather than being overwhelmed and controlled by turbulent emotions.

Often, people discover that some of the things they do that they find most annoying are actually valiant attempts to meet their deepest needs. Once they have a clearer understanding of what they are trying to accomplish, they are in a better position to figure out more effective and healthier strategies for getting there.

By understanding the core beliefs that drive each of us, how these developed and how they are impacting us, we can start to make decisions that are more in line with who we are, who we choose to be and how we want to live. We can also start to recognize what we have control over and what we don’t and where we can most effectively use our energy.

You are encouraged to participate in either short workshops or counselling sessions or a combination of both, and you will be given many resources to work with at home at your own pace.

In this way, you can design a program for your needs that fits your pace, style and your budget.