A Foot in Both Worlds

I have worked in banking for fourteen unexpected years.  A humanitarian at heart, I’ve spent most of that time trying to reconcile the ‘me I knew’ with ‘what I do’.  A brief exit from the industry showed me the value in making this connection. 

I left to pursue my childhood dream to build retreat centres for self-discovery, wellness, creative and personal development.  Like a child set free to play, I searched for locations while indulging in the creative endeavours I always dreamed to explore. 

But the dream didn’t quite unfold to my plan.  Rather the opposite, as one synchronistic meeting after another pointed me back to the world I was certain I had left behind.  An insightful call from mum challenged me to look a little closer at what was unfolding, “Alison, I believe in your dreams, but you and I know it doesn’t work this way.  If you remain open to what presents itself to you, you may discover that your dreams fall neatly into your lap.” Reluctantly, I accepted her advice and the interviews that would reveal deep wisdom in her words. 

When asked what made me leave, I explained, “We are taught in school to do the best we can, to get the best grades we can, to get the best job we can, to make as much as we can, so our kids get the best chance they can to do it all again. Until one inevitable morning, when we wake a little lost, a little empty, unable to recognise the ‘who’ we really knew we were once inside.  In that moment for me, when I didn’t recognise the person I knew myself to be inside, I discovered I had somehow in all my achieving, achieved mastery of mediocrity.  I hadn’t necessarily achieved the mastery of me. When that morning came, I left the city with a promise to be the best I can be for me.”

A confused but intrigued interviewer then asked why I would ever return.  My answer surprised even me, “I enjoyed every ounce of rekindling my creativity and passion for life, but I learned that to be the best I can be for me, I need the whole of me.  One trade-off took on the form of another as part of me was lost in pursuit of a different happiness.  I still strained to fully recognise the person staring back at me in the mirror.  If, by chance, the real dream cleverly integrates all facets of my life, one side not precluding the other from existing, then I welcome the opportunity to return to create that wholeness.”

On the day I accepted the job, I was approached to buy a small holistic centre in Richmond-Upon-Thames.  Today, I am a managing director in banking while also developing my first centre, a seedling of my vision to come.  Never did I imagine that the path to my dreams lay in the integration of all of my gifts and experience. 

Alison Pothier, Insideout Retreats

Download Article

A Treat for the Senses!
At Inside Out Retreats

An amazing sound healing extravaganza in the glorious setting of Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park, launched Inside Out Retreats recently. The capacity audience filed in to a racing African heartbeat of drums. A didgeridoo hooted, barked and laughed as our chatter turned to silence. Once settled and introductions were over it was suggested we close our eyes - let the music wash over us, through us and experience it as fully as possible. It was an unusual experience to listen to sounds which were not created as music. Individual notes rose from crystal singing bowls, lingered and died away. Strange, eerie, yet fascinating combinations of sound came from stunning copper and bronze gongs. Other instruments used were Tibetan singing bowls, handheld singing bowls (which made their way into the audience too) and a Conch shell.

Sarah Warwick sang for us. She has a stunning voice with a clarity not unlike the crystal bowls. She has been a successful singer with three international albums and has also trained with Chris James in sound healing. She is now one of the therapists working at Inside Out Retreats.

As Alison Pothier, the founder, explained, sound is a vibration, and when surrounded by these vibrations it can help restore balance and harmony to our bodies and minds. Judging by the applause I think she made her point.

Inside Out Retreats is hidden away down a charming old English alley in Richmond. Once you step across the threshold you’ll find gorgeous products to buy and some well chosen books and CD’s. Their rest and relaxation lounge will shortly be open where you can stop and escape the frenzy for a while.

Download Article

Get into the E-motional Groove

Ever heard ‘Amazing Grace’ sung in native American Indian? Ever sung along to the aforementioned ditty waving your hands in the air and reaching out to the heavens? If not, I urge you to try one of Rhonda Ann Clarke’s meditation nights down at the hotbed of holistic happenings, InsideOut Retreats in Richmond, Surrey.

Our fiery host waves her arms like a willow in a storm, whipping us up into action and reawakening our creaky limbs with her energising yet meditative exercises, which Rhonda has taken all over the planet, in her global quest to get us moving!

We began by breathing together in a circle, our arms outstretched and our palms together, our right hands were there to give energy, the left ones to receive it. Then  we took a step backwards into our individual cocoons of movement and imagination.

Channelling nature’s life-force by envisioning our feet stretching down through the earth we began to make fluid, evocative contortions throughout our bodies, guided by the energy flowing through our hands, as if each joint was a well-oiled ball-bearing while we were guided to imagine ourselves flooded with rainbow light.

Gentle piano arpeggios, brilliantly composed by Rhonda’s business partner Wolfgang, accompanied our motion, before the music picked up in tempo catapulting us to other dimensions though never allowing us to settle for too long in one rhythm. Our bodies were given no time to get stuck in a rut and soon found their space and freedom. We were languid, smooth and soft, we jerked and writhed, we flopped, we sighed. It was sexy. It was like cage dancing in your own spiritual nightclub.

Our bodies now free from the day’s stresses, it was time for a bit of vocal action. This is where Amazing Grace came in. The song allows the vocal chords to navigate extreme highs and lows, so we lifted ourselves from earth to our Source, the light, the spiritual domain, god, whatever you want to call it.

Then we tried forcing ourselves to laugh – just for a giggle. Then we tried more forced laughter. Then more until it was so forced it became real and the room was full of hyenas. This technique is proven to boost the immune system and release endorphins. Try it next time you’re on a crowded train.

This mediation is a great work-out on all levels. It clears cobwebs in the body, voice and soul. Focusing on freedom of movement, unlike traditional meditation, no time is spent trying to rid the mind of distracting thoughts and you can pirouette your way to nirvana instead.

The word emotion literally means, Energy in Motion (E-Motion), Rhonda explained, in a technique she is introducing to the world, having already tried and tested it in Thailand and Russia.

Emotion, the sidekick to our thoughts, is manifested in the physical self.  When you’re sad, your eyes produce tears, when you’re happy your heart races and your skin glows. Trapped emotions can be exorcised through exercise. Time to get off our butts and start grooving. Sometimes we all need some e-motional rescue.

Quinn and Tonic in the Spiritual Zone

The road to spiritual enlightenment is littered with celestial charlatans who pull the magic rug from under our feet by tapping into our fears and wallets, gaily sprinkling divine drivel and blatantly re-branding the same old morality tales – think positively, be nice, live in the moment, realise that “it was meant to be”. Was meant to be what? Bloody awful??

As you may have gathered I have a problem with all this ‘certainty’ and steadfastly plan to wave the banner of cynicism till I’m carted off to my cloud and tickled for eternity with angel feathers for being an infidel.

Unfortunately, cracks have been appearing in my wry smirk, partly thanks to an audience with ‘spiritual motivator’ Gary Quinn, hosted by InsideOut Retreats in Richmond, Surrey.

Dreading some botoxed Anthony Robbins clone, sporting a pearly-white California grin and plastic sincerity, I approached the evening with extreme caution. Sitting at the back of the class I waited for Mr Quinn, fresh from LA that morning, to take to the stage and tell us how to Live in the Spiritual Zone. The cynic in me was hoping for some buttock-clenchingly ghastly rabble rousing.

But I was sorely disappointed.

There was none of the wild, gesticulating ‘power-talking’ which often accompanies visitors from across the pond, though the polish and professionalism was clearly there. Gary was much more down-to-earth, much calmer, more trustworthy. He had a direct but gentle flow to his delivery and the audience participation was never intimidating. We never had to scream “Yeah!” However, we were briefly cajoled into telling each other how great we were. But I forgave him for that because he genuinely appeared to give a damn. I liked him.

He talked about the importance of trust and acting as if you love yourself. If you live in trust, the vision you are trusting and putting energy into is what the Universe will mirror back to you. The Law of Attraction. To trust in abundance, he said, will help you create it. He encouraged us to pick a word describing what or how we would like to be and helped us create affirmations to make that happen.

The origins of the word beautiful, he claimed, came from “be you at your fullest”. So to be beautiful you have to understand your true nature and purpose. Letting go of your “emotional past” was another vital step. And he advised us to stop moaning and avoid whiners as they suck your energy from you like vampires!

My sentiments exactly.

An audience member quite rightly asked Gary what the difference was between his philosophy and ‘The Secret’, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.

He replied that whereas The Secret was talking about using the law of attraction to increase material wealth, it was lacking on the belief side, or rather the belief in one’s own true destiny. Gary Quinn has reinvented the genre and injected some much-needed soul into it.

In a question and answer session Gary told us about his moving encounter with Archangel Michael, which took place in Notre Dame Cathedral, when he was down on his luck in Paris, a turning point in his journey and his moment of destiny.

Now he travels the world teaching whoever wants to know about Living in the Spiritual World. And he does a fantastic job.

In an industry riddled with false prophets espousing the importance of losing one’s ego to gain spiritual enlightenment, it was a relief to find a motivational speaker who didn’t replicate the hypocrisy of others by having a huge ego as well.

Gary will be returning to our shores in October this year. I’m glad.

Spiritual ‘Lift-off’ for Insideouter

Washing the dishes is a meditation, you just may not be aware of it. The most mundane task can fast-track you to the next dimension. Meanwhile, every thought or intention you have as you beaver away can dictate your future. The law of attraction. Every thing vibrates and we all give off colourful auras. All this I recently discovered in an alleyway in Surrey.

We are about to enter a global spiritual awakening if you believe those who swear that the end of the Mayan calendar – 2012 – will herald major global change whether we like it or not – though the jury is out on whether this spells catastrophe or enlightenment. But the message for now is universal – get ready for change; clean your chakras along with your dishes and tap into what Jung described as the collective unconscious because a spiritual revolution may be just around the corner.

Accepting that change could be on the cards and not wanting to miss the boat, I took the first step towards docking with my higher self by attending a meditation class at InsideOut Retreats in Richmond, located in a charming Dickensian alley just off the Green.

Our guru for the night was Devin Dyason, a practising kinesiologist and healer, who combines his gentle, compassionate approach to his work with a burning desire to ignite the torch which will guide people to their destiny. He pointed out that we all meditate, consciously or not, whether doing the washing up, shuffling a card deck or cleaning our teeth. These daydreams can carry us to our higher selves.

 Five of us sat in a circle and began to synchronise our breathing for the journey ahead. We were gathering for different reasons. Some of us had particular problems or challenges to focus on, others, like me, were simply curious to see where this all led.

Devin explained that we are all vibrating beings, sitting on vibrating matter, surrounded by multitudinous vibrations from everything we come into contact with. A universal energy is at work and we are all part of it and attuned in different ways.

Focusing on deep breathing, right from the solar plexus through to the chest, our daily worries were consigned to the back burner, while we began to simmer and stir our way to something more profound.

He asked us to imagine being surrounded by a colour from head to foot, a warm soothing, and protecting force. Then one-by-one he laid his hands on us, guided by intuition to whatever chakra or part of the body he felt needed some attention. What the others were experiencing I cannot say, but for my part I saw a bright pink glow envelop me (my eyes were tight shut). This glow soon took the shape of a blanket, a blanket pulled up over my feet by a gently smiling old lady in Victorian costume. Don’t ask.. but I felt safe and guarded by this ‘psychic nanny’.

Next our spiritual guide told us to imagine being swept away on a river of pink and violet, and that’s where my memory of his exact words becomes fuzzy. I was far too busy strolling through an emerald forest filled with woodland creatures before reaching an open field where I was met by a blonde woman in lederhosen (looking like an extra from The Sound of Music) who doused me in cool water with a silver ladle. All too soon it was time for Devin to tow us back into port but to a seemingly less harsh reality than when we’d arrived. The experience taught us that we have our own set of keys to a warm sanctuary in the mind’s eye. It’s only a few breaths away.

By the time I got home I was too tired to do the dishes but I slept like a baby.