The Beginning
I began photographing Intimate Portraits of Nature in 2007, six months after I received The Reconnection™. While on a yoga intensive at Yasodhara Ashram, I experienced a profound healing of past childhood trauma and began to see all things in a different light. Surrounded by the peace and tranquility of the Kootenay’s, I began to notice the subtle energies of the flora.
As I became captivated by the feminine vibrations of Nature, I began to realize that Nature is constantly communicating with us, calling us to awaken and realize our highest potential. Through her beauty and purity, she is reminding us of who we truly are - creators of our own existence.
Shortly after my return from the Ashram, my father passed away suddenly. Surrounded by the healing beauty of flowers, thus began my journey into the intimate world of what I call, Spiritual Nature Photography.
The Process
Before going out to photograph, I call upon the Universe for guidance and clarity in capturing the messages Nature intends for us. With an intention of helping to heal and awaken humanity, each image is meditated upon and the essence of the image is captured in a single word, then hidden within the folds of the image. Each intuitively captured image emanates a unique vibration and meaning, which provides inspiration for an accompanying message of love & healing.
The Vision
My deep connection with Nature has allowed me to see my own inner beauty and creative freedom. We are constantly being supported by the magnificent power of the trees, flowers, creatures and waters of our world. However, surrounded by miles of concrete, man-made structures, technological advances and financial stresses, we often forget to return to our roots. This is where we become lost, afraid and begin to take on the illusion that we are alone in our world.
Through nature, we can be reminded of the bigger picture. We can remember that we are all connected and that we are lacking in nothing. Everything is provided for us… here… now. It is my intention that these Intimate Portraits of Nature will inspire you to revere the beauty and healing powers of Nature, and to realize your own inner wisdom, divinity and ability to create your own existence.
My deepest wish is for these images to awaken those in their presence to their essential nature, to bring the healing and soothing powers of Nature into our lives again and to remind us that we are one with Nature and She is one with us.
"Yea, I am one with all I see,
With wind and wave, with pine and palm;
Their very elements in me
Are fused to make me what I am.
Through me their common life-stream flows,
And when I yield this human breath,
In leaf and blossom, bud and rose,
Live on I will….
There is no Death."
- Robert Service
The Healer
I guess you could say that healing chose me. After working as a successful graphic designer for over 10 years, I suddenly found myself in a career that felt empty and meaningless.
At the age of 29, in the depths of an all too familiar depression, I was hit with a stark realization that I was a survivor of childhood sexual abuse! In an instant, my world and everything I thought was important was turned upside down, sideways and inside out. I didn’t know who I was, what I wanted or where I’d come from. It was the hardest, most traumatizing moment of my life. It was also the greatest gift I had ever been blessed with. In that moment of awareness and understanding, I was reborn… I awoke. It was that day that I decided I was heading down the wrong path and it was then that my life took a u-turn.
As a mother with two young children, I chose to return to school and attain a social work diploma. I loved it! I loved listening to others stories, to feel their courage, their strength and their amazing resiliency to overcome huge obstacles. I loved to look into the darkness and find the glimmer of light awaiting discovery. To find the blessing, the gift, that is present in EVERY challenging moment.
Over the past four years, I have counseled youth in care, worked as a school counselor with young children and their families, and worked as a manager/counselor of an emergency women’s shelter. I have my Master level in Usui Reiki and am a Level 3 Reconnective Healing Practitioner. I am continually learning, growing and challenging myself to expand beyond limitations.
Through this journey of self discovery, I have been guided and reaffirmed at every step. I have found my Self, my spirituality, my passion and my purpose. I have met wonderful, supportive people and been reminded time and time again that this world is a miraculous place that will carry us along our perfect path, if we will just allow.
I know, from personal and professional experience, that the greatest healing comes from within. It doesn’t come from someone else, a teacher, a counselor, a friend, but from seeing ourselves and being true to ourselves. I believe that each of us has the potential to heal ourselves, if we are first able to see ourselves as worthy of love, joy and peace.
