My path into the mystical and mythical began in my early 20s. I was fortunate enough to have attended university and landed a career in a lucrative job upon graduating in the professional services industry. Despite excelling in my work, forming strong professional relationships, and receiving high praise from my managers, I couldn't help but feel that something was missing. It was this unnamed longing that eventually led me to step into a journey as a 'spiritual seeker'. Of course, at the time I did not possess the vocabulary to articulate what I was doing, rather I was organically tugging on some existential thread that had presented itself to me.
I suppose that's how it starts for many of us. It begins with a question: "Is this all there is?". Which then leads to another question: "What am I doing here?". Finally, culminating in the grand question of: "Who am I (truly)?". Soon these questions set off a chain reaction and more questions followed: "What does it mean to live a good life?", and "Why is the world the way it is?", and "What is my place in the world?". Each question revealing that the answers weren't separate paths but interconnected threads of the same tapestry.
Me, walking in nature near my childhood town, Eastbourne, United Kingdom
At one point, I was in full-blown existential crisis territory, and as it happens, the Universe possesses a sense of humour. As I was grappling with these questions, my safe and predictable life was blown apart at the start of 2020. The pandemic hits, the relationship with my long-term partner falls apart, and a bunch of childhood skeletons falls out of my family closet, leading to my parents divorcing. The rug below me had been pulled away and the subconscious beliefs that held my sense of reality together were collectively unravelling. What initially felt like chaos was actually clearing space for something more authentic to emerge.
With a radically open mind, I began to question my pre-held beliefs and gradually piece together a new world view. What if life did not operate the way I thought it did? What if who I was was greater than my individual identity? What if I was more in control of my destiny than I gave myself credit for? What if life was working for me, rather than against me?
Over the coming months and years a deep and profound re-contextualisation of reality occurred. The way I related to events in my life radically shifted. My intuition turned on in ways that I cannot effectively articulate in words, which led me to gradually move from primarily head-centric intelligence to heart and body-based intelligence. My awareness expanded beyond the visible dimension as previously dormant sensitivities awakened, and I could feel more and more coherence in my self as I became a more embodied human being.
My eating habits changed. My information diet shifted radically. People fell out of my life, and new ones came in. The ability to sense energy (both locally and collectively) heightened. I became more sensitive to planetary cycles, leading me to study astrology and align my days to the prevailing energies I was feeling into. And overall, my connection to the unseen realms strengthened and I was drawn to working with crystal energy and archetypes.
Now, reading all this you might suspect that I am currently writing this from a hut in a forest glade dressed as a wizard-hermit. Sorry to disappoint, but I am actually sat in a café in London dressed in regular 'city attire'. I have worked in the corporate sector as a freelancer for a year and re-grounded as a quasi urban-shaman hiding in plain sight, finding integration rather than separation between seemingly opposite worlds. I retain my energetic sensitivity from my spiritual opening, and am striving to ground and balance it as I walk the fine line between the 'spiritual' and the 'ordinary'.
While I may look like another city-dweller from the outside, my life path is not at all ordinary, and a source of eternal anxiety for my parents who cannot comprehend why I do not return to a "secure and stable" career, like I had before. The truth is, I am not able to. My soul will not physically allow me to work a job if my heart is not in it. This is one of the great dangers of spiritual awakening I suppose. You become untethered from the conventional career path and societal norms.
Me, next to my favourite tree ‘Big George II’ when living in Haarlem, The Netherlands
So, now I allow my heart to guide me, pouring my energy into things that light me up. This includes working as a freelance technology consultant, intuitively creating guided meditations, hosting weekly journaling gatherings through my online community, and giving back to my local community through voluntary work. I also provide 1-1 sessions with people who are in need of my urban-shaman services. Could that person be you?
If you would like to work with me, use the button below to schedule a 30-minute intro call where you can ask any questions you may have: