Inner Child Healing ... & Babushka Dolls.

“Every time I’ve hit rock bottom I’ve met a disowned or abandoned aspect of my inner child and we’ve walked out of the darkness together.”

If you think inner-child healing is just for hippies or lost souls, try having Christmas day with your family and then get back to me.

Yup … you know what I’m talking about … you just finished house renovations and got that promotion at work, life is going along OK … and then BAM it’s Christmas day, all the family have gathered and suddenly you’re feeling (and behaving) like a 7 year old. Uh oh!

Any other day of the year you might have it ‘together’ enough to suppress any weird feelings or emotions bubbling up… but for some reason your adult siblings are being extra annoying, which would be tolerable if your mum or step dad wasn’t doing “that thing they ALWAYS do! “ So here you are AGAIN, quietly crying into the gravy or worse, throwing a full blown tantrum. Oopsie! …Bloody hell - you thought for sure THIS year would be different. Right?

Christmas day/ family gatherings (and for that matter any transitional time or big life event) are perfect occasions to highlight the inner-child parts of ourselves that still need healing … I want to take a moment to acknowledge that for some, these occasions can take months (even years) to “recover” from. I’d also like to add that there’s a whole heap of grace in what rises to the surface, especially if you’re a brave heart who is willing to take the inner-child journey.

Thing is we ALL have an inner child inside us. Actually we have more than one … We’re kinda’ like babushka dolls (you know those wooden dolls that decrease in size and fit inside each other?) Ideally we want all our dolls comfortably resting inside one another … What we don’t want is the smaller dolls running the show while the larger dolls are broken open and spread all over the floor … but hey it happens (and when it does it offers us yet another opportunity for healing.) Yay for messy life!

Speaking of which… Every time I’ve hit rock bottom I’ve met a disowned or abandoned aspect of my inner-child and we’ve walked out of the darkness together. And … Every time I’ve created something from my soul it’s because I’ve re-claimed an aspect of my inner-child. In my humble opinion, breaking OPEN (‘dem Babushka dolls) is a necessary part of the journey if we’re to meet all of ourselves and become whole human beings.

In my personal opinion, the inner-child journey is well worth exploring, sure it can be confronting but it’s also fun! I mean aside from becoming more self-aware, more grounded and more whole … The more we reclaim and reconnect with our abandoned and disowned parts, the more joy, creativity and spontaneity we’re able to access. Yup the irony is as we become more responsible for parenting our own inner-child/ren, the more child-like and free we become. Life in general, becomes more simple and fun! Yay for simplicity & fun!

I’ve sat with lots of clients as they’ve re-connected with their inner-child. Every time is an honour! I’ll always remember a particular client - a ‘country bloke’ in his mid 50’s who had grown up in a traditional, farming family. This client had finally reached a point where he REAL-eyes-ed that despite living his entire life by his Dad’s philosophy of “suck it up, she’ll be right mate” things didn’t always FEEL “right.” As he took the inner-child journey he got to go back and reclaim all the aspects of himself that he’d “sucked up” despite his intuition telling him to do otherwise. He uncovered layers upon layers of anger and then fear before he finally broke down and cried like a baby … (He’d exposed his deeply hidden babushka doll) … He stayed with this part of himself for a while before suddenly, as if touched by grace … he began to laugh hysterically … this hard working farmer, had just done the toughest work of his life and in doing so, got to lighten up (for REAL) for the first time since he was a little boy.

I have lots of stories like that one (same, same but different) as well as a whole heap of my own experiences with inner child exploration. …In fact, I designed an inner-child journal because I REAL-eyes how powerful the journey has been for me over the years and I want to be able to share it with more people. I use the journal myself any time I feel a bit stuck with a layer and want to access some deeper awareness … each time I come out feeling more grounded and whole and a helluva’ lot lighter! … I also usually feel more loving and compassionate so that’s a bonus!

I’d love to hear from anyone who feels drawn to inner-child exploration as a part of their journey towards wholeness. I have some brave hearts trialing a draft copy of my journal at the moment, I also offer 1:1 Inner Child Theta Healings and am feeling the pull to offer an online inner-child exploration group.

I invite you (& your inner child) to reach out and connect via email if you’d like to share the next step in your journey.

BIG LOVE brave hearts!

xo Em

Birthing the New Earth ... TOGETHER!

In many shamanic societies, if you came to a medicine person complaining of being disheartened, dispirited, or depressed, they would ask one of four questions: "When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories? When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?” Gabrielle Roth

I thought of Gabrielle Roth’s quote this morning and asked myself these questions … I looked back on my socials (which is where I often share story) and realised dancing, singing, story & silence all stopped for me (again) around the time of the second flood in our northern rivers community.

It’s interesting because our family wasn’t directly affected by the floods but I somehow managed to “soak up” the collective energy and feel like I’ve been trying to get my head above water ever since.  

I guess I felt the metaphysical shift coming long before the physical shift reached our community … I’d witnessed the changes during my years in Cambodia and felt them deep in my soul, at a consciousness level. 

During my last visit to Cambodia I remember asking a Khmer friend one day how he was. His reply “In my village, not serious, but a flood.”  When I explored things further an international corporation had recently built a highway straight past his village to allow visitors from their country to drive past (in their air conditioned, privately owned busses to stay in their privately owned luxury hotel and dine on their imported food, served by their imported staff.)

The highway of course diverted the natural waterway and when the rains came all the water washed into the village destroying huts and food crops.  My friend had smiled warmly and labelled it “not serious” because no loved ones were injured. People in developing countries are used to “natural disasters” and challenges … My friend cut back on study time, worked extra shifts to help support the family who had lost income from destroyed crops and in his spare time helped the village rebuild.  No drama in his world, just a “natural” part of life. 

On my last visit, another Khmer friend of mine had made a recent career change.  He was doing maintenance at a school for $4 a day to support his family and extended family.  Just like his father, he’d been a fisherman all his life but was no longer fishing because there weren’t enough fish to keep all the local fisherman trading.  … The big international boats were catching most of the fish now days … there may have still been enough for the locals with their small boats but now that the surrounding forests had been sold to international companies the climate was changing, the mangroves were drying up and there was no where for the baby fish to grow up safely.  My friend supposed that change was inevitable, smiled and focused on what he’d always focused on – doing what he could to support his family.

I have hundreds of stories like these, each one is etched into my soul, sometimes when I have space to reflect, I feel so deeply that I reach the broken pieces of my heart and my eyes fill with tears.  There’s so much love held tightly in protection there – I know it wants to be fully felt and expressed but that would mean having to touch more of the injustice… And that just makes me feel fucking angry!   So I counteract this by clenching my jaw and grinding my teeth, I’m fully aware I’m suppressing ancient, global love AND ancient, global anger at the same time.   And I wonder what would be possible if I allowed myself to finally feel it all  … to hold the paradox gently and powerfully. 

Injustice has always been something I’ve felt strongly about. Since I was a little kid I felt the disparity in the world and wondered why we all couldn’t just love each other and share.  It seemed to me, as simple as it was confusing…   Why did I have the luxury of sitting at the breakfast bar in my kitchen, dressed in my ironed school uniform while my dad served me soldier toast spread with lavish amounts of butter, peanut butter and jam?  I guess it would have been no biggy if there wasn’t a famine in Ethiopia at the time and our box television wasn’t flashing images of naked, starving kids with flies drinking from the corners of their eyes.  It was a lot for a six year old kid to figure out, so I did what I could and said no to the extra scoop of milo my dad offered… every day from that moment forward!  Self sacrifice seemed like the best deal the six year old me could offer my starving friends on the TV.      

A few years ago when I was experiencing the gap widening between government/corporates and humans living in Cambodia,  my bestie was experiencing it between government/corporates and humans living with disabilities.  We were both “bridge makers” of sorts at the time, both driven by deep connection and a desire to rebalance injustice one human at a time.  We shared a longing to set the wrongs right and we believed this was possible by creating space for marginalized humans to be fully seen and heard.    Interestingly enough after years of service in our own and shared arenas, we both found our hands tied by corporate red tape.  The additional rules and requirements of corporate ego left no time for 1:1 connection and our failed efforts to rebalance injustice left us feeling disgruntled and pissed off with the world!  …As the universe would have it we were both stripped bare naked, with little left besides our own trauma and our own ancient longing to be fully seen and heard.  

We needed space and a lot of it … from our hearts n’ souls … (and even from each other at times)  and in the meantime big corporate could go and suck a proverbial and everyone would just have to learn to take care of themselves!

When the second flood reached our community all of this “stuff” rose to the surface … AGAIN!  Injustice, inequality, homelessness …and the gap between wealthy and poor … / or aware and not-so-aware /or personally responsible and not-so-personally-responsible /or however you want to label any of it… widened!   And I KNOW all of these paradoxes lie within ME … so the inner- reconciling began … AGAIN!  …And the walls around the broken pieces in my heart came down … AGAIN! …And the suppression of ancient, global love and ancient, global anger commenced … AGAIN! 

In the meantime …I’ve been supporting a local bush school in my home community because I believe with all my heart that kids need to be free to live and BE outside of the system, surrounded by nature… explorers of themselves and creators of their own world. Witnessing kids grow alongside nature is soul food …And yet I know the government red tape is rolling out to bind these kids and their families back into submission.  …And I also know this is part of the initiation into a broader consciousness.  The serendipitous fact that the Director of the bush school was born in Ethiopia doesn’t escape me! … The fact that the director doesn’t have any childhood memories of starving children doesn’t escape me either!

As my own holistic therapy clients ,who have fled the corporate world, struggle to find themselves amongst the shifts and changes … I’m reminded that we are ALL playing our part in birthing the new earth.  This contraction and expansion, contraction and expansion is happening for a reason.  Each moment of contraction is nothing less than a spiritual test … maybe that’s why some communities are blessed with bigger tests than others? … Maybe it’s a collective longing for expansion. …Who knows?   

It’s kinda’ funny because on deeper reflection … even the people we “think” are trying to bind us in red tape or keep us submissive are perhaps playing a vital role in setting us free - into our own expansion?    …I NOW choose to believe that the reason building bridges between wealthy and poor / justice and injustice / privledged and marginalized brought me to my knees …  Is because I needed to REAL-eyes I’ve been called to build bridges between head, heart & hand… between body & soul … and now more than ever … between metaphysical dimensions. 

If this journey all comes down to personal responsibility … then perhaps the injustice I feel is in ME stifling MY own expansion!  Maybe the anger I’ve been suppressing is between MYSELF and MY ego as I tussle to simultaneously hold onto and let go of everything I “think” I am.  (Ahhhh hello “corporate greed!”)   And the love I’ve been suppressing is perhaps all the SELF LOVE I gave up the day I decided I’d have 1 less scoop of milo for myself because my own good fortune wasn’t fair on others.  (FYI - I just realised I’ve spent years sabotaging my own good fortune by sharing everything until I have nothing left for myself … all because of a belief my innocent, 6 year old self came up with… Oopsie doopsie!) 

My desire for deep connection is still very real… And yet in this moment NOW…   I don’t feel any desire … I feel deeply connected to myself and therefore connected to all-that-is.   Perhaps my desire to be fully seen and heard comes down to KNOWING that what I share in story, I shift through in consciousness … This process allows me space to fully see and hear MYSELF … Maybe a bi-product is that my own shift & sharing creates space for others to shift & share also?  … Like “ahhh yeah this is why I’m earth-side… “    

Speaking of which… No matter what’s happening earth-side at the moment (if you haven’t noticed … shit is getting weirder by the day!’ ) … I REAL-eyes that ( multidimensional universe’s aside) it’s ultimately our shared humanity that connects us to each other & all that is.  It would appear that our humanness & inevitable contractions are ironically the gateway to everything that lies beyond.

So I’m left pondering … How can we better support each other through our inevitable human contractions and allow more space for our spiritual expansion? … As we birth this new earth TOGETHER?  

And… I feel called to offer one final contemplation: 

…"When did you stop dancing? When did you stop singing? When did you stop being enchanted by stories?  When did you stop being comforted by the sweet territory of silence?”  

 

Maybe you’ll find your own answers in the contemplation…  Maybe the contemplation will help support your own contraction and expansion … and our collective birthing process …

I can’t say for sure … but I reckon ‘dem shamanic societies were onto something!  

With love & gratitude for a weird AF journey shared, Em xo

The Great Resignation is Upon Us...

Social Scientists are calling it ”The Great Resignation” …

3 in 5 Aussies are set to resign from their current employment as work/life balance becomes a priority.

Experts are saying that up to 3 in 5 Aussies could be looking to change their jobs in the near future which effectively equates to millions of humans out there seeking change!

The global pandemic has certainly given us hoomans’ a shake up - I personally like to think of it as the global wake up that had to happen! I mean, let’s face it … The old way wasn’t working… and trying to bring the “old way” / office into the house whilst home-schooling definitely wasn’t working!

As our “global lifestyles” shrunk down to our immediate family, local area and our homes. … Suddenly we’ve found our search for the meaning of life, literally under a microscope. … Yup, we’ve certainly all had an opportunity to recognise what we’re no longer willing to compromise and reflect on what’s important to us.

As far as I can predict some folk will conform to the restrictions placed upon us, others will stay stuck in resistance… and some of us will fully embrace the opportunity to re-design our lifestyle moving forward …

If you’re a Head, Heart & Hand fan, I’m guessing you fall into the latter category … and you’re more than ready to create deliberate, meaningful change in your life?

It just so happens that supporting brave hearts in times of change, growth n’ leaps of faith is my jam … and helping people to tune in and follow their soul path is a humbling honour.

If any of this resonates … then treating yourself and/or a loved one to a “Life Purpose Discovery” mini-retreat or even a Soul Alignment Session … might be just the space, inspiration and direction you’re looking for!

Much love xo

Messages from Grace ...

… If you’re here I think you maybe already know me (Em Hawkins) … So you’re probs wondering who GRACE is ?

In short - GRACE is who I channel …

My first encounter with GRACE occurred 17 years ago on a wet winter’s day in rural Victoria… Apparently I was experiencing my first “break through,” curled in the foetal position on our farm office floor, crying uncontrollably…

I was 25 years old, a new mum to a healthy baby, a business owner and a “farmer’s wife.” On the outside I had it all, I’d ticked all of societies boxes so the fact that I felt so lost and empty on the inside didn’t seem “reasonable” or “logical.”

I’d been raised by an atheist dad (a “typical Aussie bloke” - a “mans man”) and a Maltese mum who literally had the fear of god in her after being raised by strict catholic parents (she was the baby of 18 children!) … My parents, although strong in their own beliefs, were open minded enough to allow my sister and I to decide for ourselves what we believed in…

Apparently what I’d “decided to believe in” (by default) were the indoctrinations and expectations of society, media and the culture I lived in and what’s more- I had little faith in anything “I couldn’t see” … That was … until that moment, curled on the farm office floor when I first encountered GRACE.

GRACE gave me a very clear message that day… and from that moment on I awakened to a new way of living.

GRACE continued to find me at pivotal moment, like when I held the hand of my ex father in law as he passed away and returned to GRACE.

7 years ago GRACE found me heartbroken again but it was on this occasion that I discovered GRACE could speak to me through writing. I wrote an entire book one afternoon as I asked question after question and GRACE answered. Her words changed my life!

Last year in particular my intuitive ability became so strong that I began getting “flashes” into people’s lives … I learnt that I could “see” … a lot (way more than I wanted too!) … and the “downloads” kinda’ pushed me to the edge. … Of course Grace showed up again …

And now I realise (after decades of study, research and this latest “integration”) that she’s always with me (all of us.)

Thank “eff” I no longer have to wait to be at breaking point to connect with GRACE - she’s pretty much accessible all the time (well TBH not if I’m drinking wine or eating the wrong foods - she’s bloody clever like that!)

Sometimes she’ll bring “through” someone who has passed over because the person wants me to pass a message onto their partner or friend or someone and other times she’ll answer questions for me on behalf of others.

I’ve finally learnt to have boundaries with my energy … Basically Grace now knows not to give me any information unless the person it concerns is ready and willing to take responsibility and if Grace comes to me first I always ask permission of the person before I/ we “scan their field of GRACE.”

GRACE comes through to compliment “down loads” or “flashes” … When I know she has something to say I grab a pen and write … her answers come out through handwriting.

It probs all sounds a bit ‘woo woo’ but to me it now actually feels really normal … (like more “normal” than “normal” life … if that makes sense?)

Probably the most beautiful part is that now days even if I get a “down load” or a “flash” that’s fairly “real” GRACE comes in and sees it all through eyes of GRACE … she’s so gentle, compassionate and wise … I’m more of a “FFS do you want to get real or not - ‘coz if not - I’ve got other stuff to do / if so - I’m totally here for you and your heart n’ soul!” … (I think I got kinda’ protective of my energy after last years onslaught of “downloads” during my “finals exams” in channelling.)

But I also have a LOT of tools and have done decades of study and research and I’ve worked with hundreds of people so I get how human consciousness works …

So when GRACE and I work together it is a special kind of magic. I’d like to write a few more books with her (and actually have them published!) … And in the meantime we’re here for you!

Click here to book and Intuitive Guidance Session (Messages From Grace.)