“You are becoming the song of your Heart, how beautiful it is… how beautiful it is… as the flower blossoms forth…” Song by Snatum Kaur and Peter Kater. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6lrI_vf-1A
The song of my Heart calls to witness, encourage, facilitate and celebrate this blossoming within others, that they may come to experience the deep peace of their true nature as they journey through life. This is expressed through offering Spiritual Accompaniment and Holistic Counselling one-to-one and with couples; co-creating inspiring rituals for Life’s Rites of Passage along with sacred gatherings and workshops. I am a former OneSpirit Tutor and actively practice as an Accredited Supervisor to ministers and ministers in training… a great joy!
Deep listening is at the core of my practice, and I may use a variety of tools including meditation, conscious breathing practices, energy balancing techniques, body prayers, chanting, singing, Ancestral Healing, the Metamorphic Technique, EFT and Indian Head Massage. I have been making offerings of this nature for over 25 years.
An early childhood in Ecuador and Columbia spoke deeply to an innate sense of the Sacred within me, as I witnessed the undisguised joy and vibrancy of the ceremonies and fiestas. I loved how Indigenous and Christian practices interwove and how everyone was welcome. This inclusivity is at the Heart of my path, creating sacred space and ceremony that is radiant, supportive, playful and relevant… reflecting the Heart language and values of those I am serving.
Much in life inspires: sea swims, swimming in the wild with dolphins and whales, walking, cycling and engaging with Nature and the cycles of the Moon and the seasons – such rich medicine for me – along with singing, chanting, poetry, yoga, dancing, daily spiritual practice – which grows as I grow – meditation, energy balancing, pancakes with maple syrup and the incredible generosity, benevolence and kindness within others.
The ultimate inspiration is witnessing the infinite thread of Light, of pure consciousness which unites us all. I love how the quantum science of our day is now acknowledging the True Truth of our interconnectedness. By so doing, the Truth within the ancient Wisdom teachings is more widely realised – a recognition with powerful unifying potential throughout humanity, especially during these deeply challenging and divisive times.
Direct experience has shown me how powerful and beneficial our own healing is – not only as a gift to ourselves but also to the communities around us, to all of humanity and to this beautiful Earth. Below is an extract from ‘Happiness Now!’, a book by Robert Holden. It powerfully affirms my own experience that when we choose to be happy (by committing to healing our unhappiness) we cultivate a growing capacity to bring forth more of our innate Light into the world, for the benefit of all, equally and without exception:
“It is because the world is so full of suffering, that your happiness is a gift. It is because the world is so unfriendly, that your smile is a gift. It is because the world is so full of war, that your peace of mind is a gift. It is because the world is in such despair, that your hope and optimism is a gift. It is because the world is so afraid, that your love is a gift”
As I see it, I am here to fully incarnate, bringing forth that which is within me and to enjoy being that which I am! The journey is with it’s deep challenges and invitations. The gifts of embarking on such a journey – and staying with it – have brought ever growing clarity, vibrant joy, inspiration, real beauty and greater depths of compassion, forgiveness, peace and stillness. And for this, I am truly grateful.
And so my Heart song calls to hold sacred space for others willing to lighten the load that they are carrying through this life, so that they may shine forth the pure light and song of their own consciousness into their lives, into their relationships and into this world.
In so doing, we have the opportunity to bring real Presence and potency to the African ‘Spirit of Ubuntu’ blessing which reminds us that: “I am here to be seen” (in my fullest expression) and that “I see you” (in your fullest expression). Thus honouring that we can’t be human on our own… that to be human is to be in healthy relationship with others, that we may be able to participate in the “delicate network of interdependence” (Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu). And for this “delicate network” to truly function coherently, we need to be all that we are and those around us need to be all that they are. In other words, ‘I am’ because ‘We are’.
Being the Active Presence of Love in this world is at the Heart of what it is to be human. And now is the time to be that which we truly are, standing in love with courage and conviction. In Marianne Williamson’s words: “we are living in a time of two simultaneous realities: one mode of civilisation is crumbling before our eyes, while another world is struggling to be born. Our task is to be both death doulas to one and birth doulas to the other… agents of healing, repairers of the world, standing in the breach between a world now laden with malfunction and a world that reflects our highest hopes for what life can be.”
If anything I have shared here speaks to your Heart… is music to your Soul… I am happy. And if it is that we meet through any of my offerings or by some other path, may our encounter be beautiful.
Shianna
Spiritual Accompaniment and Supervision Testimonials
Dr Rev Neil Deuchar: Shianna is everything one needs in spiritual accompaniment/counselling and supervision: a deep listener in a carefully created space, always responsive, empathically sensitive and emotionally supportive yet gently boundaried, intellectually able and therapeutically skilled and connected to wisdom beyond this world.
Able to intuit when to offer advice or readings that shine light on what’s coming up in sessions, Shianna as a supervisor, provides containment and guidance, offering helpful reflections and interpretations and ensuring steady growth for both practitioner and client as the process of their enquiry unfolds. I couldn’t recommend Shianna too highly.
LS, Sussex: Thank you for helping me to open up to my pain, for staying with that pain until it dissolved. Thank you for helping me get on track again and for showing me practical tools that really help me to enjoy being human again.
Jane: Shianna is a gifted supervisor. Thoughtful, experienced and wise, she holds a safe, supportive and sacred space which makes it possible to explore even the more difficult corners of my relationship with Spirit and my role as a spiritual facilitator. I deeply appreciate her non-judgmental approach, the breadth of her spiritual knowledge and the sincerity and richness of her own life of spirit.
I am deeply grateful for the untangling that has taken place as a direct consequence of her ability to witness, to gently challenge, and to open up my awareness. Thanks to my time with Shianna, my practice has deepened and I have moved through core personal material. This has strengthened me in my ministry and enabled me to serve with greater ease.
Supervision has become a vital part of my self care and a treasured space for self-reflection and connection with Spirit. Thank you Shianna for all that you bring and offer. It is a true blessing to be under the umbrella of your love and care.
Yvonne: Shianna’s guidance, unique insights and compassionate support have helped me see opportunities for positive change, sometimes at difficult points in my life. Tools and strategies I have learnt and taken from our time together continue to be available to me and allow me to feel more capable and safe when navigating new and ongoing challenges day to day.
JH, Eastbourne: I have been a client of Shianna for many years. In that time, my life has changed dramatically, not least because I am now a parent. The growth and development that has taken place is immense. I continue to work with Shianna on a regular basis to support my ongoing unfoldment.
The sanctity of our time together focusses my mind as she meets me wherever I am and helps stretch my comfort zone – wherein the learning takes place. And for this I am deeply grateful.
Feedback from Ceremonies and Sacred gatherings
Baby Blessings: Thank you so so much, it is absolutely beautiful and so perfect! You have really captured my vision and I am so grateful. I love your ideas and the order in which you have woven everything. I am incredibly happy that you are leading the ceremony 🙂 I really value the time and insight you have offered. This whole ritual feels very appropriate and timely for my family.
Weddings: Marvellous, marvellous, marvellous. We spent yesterday evening reading and re-reading the ceremony (more laughter and tears) and we love it. Knowing that the ceremony is complete makes everything more exciting and on occasions we are quite child like…
Funerals: Thank you so much for all your help, support and kindness, without which, the recent few weeks would have been almost impossible to negotiate. Our meeting with you helped tremendously, with your kindness, compassion, understanding and cooperation. Without your help and support Shianna, I really can’t imagine how things might have been. Wednesday, although a very sad day, was a day filled with love, warmth and gratitude for a very special person, and you were instrumental in making it that way. You are indeed an inspirational person and we are deeply indebted to you for all that you have done for us.
Sacred Circle gatherings: Thank you for a truly inspirational evening. We spoke about the evening the next day and were surprised how it had affected us each in different ways and the different meanings we both interpreted from it’s teaching. The part we both were united on was how much we enjoyed the song you wrote – it’s simplicity being it’s power and summing up so much about our spiritual lives. We enjoyed it so much in fact that we would like it to be sung at our wedding if you are ok with this (and if we can afford the royalties!)
Seasonal Woodland Yurt gatherings: Thank you for such a wonderful day full of blessings and enchantment with all our spirits joined together in gratitude and love.