Short Bio of Speaker

Personal background

Born in Geelong, Victoria in 1953. At an early age I set my sights on becoming a veterinarian. After leaving school at Matriculation level, I had an opportunity to work as a surgical assistant in a veterinary practice where I met my first husband Ian who at the clinic where he arrived as a locum vet, and I then transferred to his practice in Bacchus Marsh and worked as his surgical assistant about six months later. I was a part time model, both photographic and catwalk and was schooled in Geelong and at The Bambi Smith College in Melbourne.

My working relationship developed into a romantic one, but then a crisis occurred when my partner was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1974. Therein changed the course of my life. 1974 –78 were intense years as we battled Ian’s illness. I instigated healing approaches and supported Ian who eventually was diagnosed with end stage cancer. I supported him through to a successful and unexpected recovery in 1978. Based on the methods used during his recovery, we co founded and conducted support groups, then the Gawler Foundation in Victoria (Australia) in the early eighties. Seeing the need for retreats for people affected by cancer, I visioned and inspired the creation of the Yarra Valley Living Centre, so that people affected by cancer could have a place of healing and recovery – a retreat. Over the years, it has been a privilege to work with more than 12,000 people affected by cancer. Breast cancer is a special interest that prompted me to write Women of Silence – a book about emotion and breast cancer.

Qualifications

I qualified at distinction level in 1986 as a natural therapist and herbalist having trained for 6 years with Australia's matriarch of herbal medicine, Dorothy Hall, plus anatomy and physiology and a qualification in basic sciences. I have been successfully helping and supporting people with cancer and their families, for more than 30 years. My work encompasses all aspects of care for body, mind, emotion and spirit. My life has been spent absorbing wisdom from world-recognised healers and meditation masters. I have also studied with the doyenne of body psychotherapy in the USA, Ilana Rubenfeld, recognised as one of the original pioneers of mind-body-emotion approaches to illness and wellness.

Personal success My passion and spirit for life remains engaged despite enormous adversities. I have four great children - now all 20 years plus, and two grandchildren. I love living in the real world and walking the mystical path with practical feet, and I teach from a vast life experience combined with qualifications, in that order. Horses are my passion as is my daily practice of tai chi essential and laughter is my indispensable gift. Being a successful human being is of utmost importance.

A 9-year long dark night of the soul saw me going through separation and divorce and severe post surgical nerve damage sustained during a routine procedure. As a result I went from optimum health to overnight health disaster and had sixteen further surgical procedures, had most of my colon removed and found a solution with a successful world first bionic procedure in Europe that allowed me to give up being a “bag lady”! When people say I have courage, I smile politely and say actually, I am gut-less! Wearing the shoes of a patient has taught me a lot and I am truly a bionic woman!

Many people philosophise about mind-body-emotion and spirit – but I seem to have been given a gift in discovering first hand what really works and what creates lasting change. When everything in your world is turned upside down – and the familiar is stripped away - What is it that sustains us as human beings? That - is my area of interest and I believe that core energies can be reawakened and learned to the best of each individual’s ability.

Topics

TOPIC  1

The Key – How to discover your innate potential

Target Audience: People who would like to get the optimum advantage from their life, those looking for realistic and sustained positive change, those who are seeking something more from life. Illness or wellness or corporate – this presentation can be tailored to all types of clientele.

Level of Sophistication: General/Basic/Intermediate/Advanced

Duration of Talk (Excluding Breaks) Can be from a one or two hour talk or an all day presentation. Audience numbers: 20 – 200+

List of connected topics:

- The Power of Em’n En – balancing emotion and energy
- Reality Healing through Emotional Intelligence
- The Martial Art of Mindfulness and Healing
- Samurai Wisdom for the Modern World.
- Innate Wisdom and Workplace Wellness

Synopsis of Presentation: As a speaker, I introduce my unique Grace Energy Method (GEM). The focus is on empowering individuals by providing simple yet profound tools that allow change to be embraced creating a paradigm shift of mind, body, emotion and spirit. The process is gentle, fun and non-confrontational using a myriad of knowledge and wisdom from cross cultural traditional healers, martial arts as well as neuroscience and PNI (psycho-neuro-immunology). Through integrated learning an audience can take away one thing that WILL empower them to change by showing them how to change their software (brain) and connect with their hardrive (body) by means of simple, do-able and practical short exercises that enable awareness. I use some theory, power point presentations and then show people how to apply the theory. GEM helps with developing awareness, intuition, presence, focus, mindfulness and expression. The presentation is interactive with high degrees of learning and change possible. Sometimes I will use music, movement, dance and sound - depending on the audience and their needs. I will sometimes use a brief of my own story of survival as a demonstration of the possibilities.

Who Should Attend: Anyone interested in living well and finding direction. Those who want to live true to their potential.

Can be tailored for everyone - Management, General Public, Specific Genders etc

How you will benefit: Perhaps the biggest benefit from finding and living true to your innate potential is that stress response changes, because people learn how change their mind through awareness; especially they will take away simple exercises to practice at home. Usually I suggest that people focus on one  - just ONE THING in their life that they would like to change. That ONE THING holds the key to unlocking the power of their innate potential.

Classification: Business/Marketing/Direct, Personal/Health, Personal/Career/

TOPIC  2

Emotional Alchemy - Creating Advantage from Adversity

Target Audience: Women in the workplace, women dealing with health issues, women needing to re connect with their passion and joie de vivre.

Level of Sophistication: General/Basic/Intermediate/Advanced

Duration of Talk (Excluding Breaks): one hour – one-day seminar/workshop

List of connected topics:
- The healing power of your life story
- The Power of Em’n En – balancing emotion and energy
- The Wellness Mindset for Professional Women
- Holistic Wellness for Women in Business
- Work - Life Balance.
- The Anatomy of Stress and Success

Synopsis of Presentation: Most of our life crises are invited and sudden and we find very often that we have been no template or specific skills to help us not only to cope; but also to survive and thrive. Dealing with adversity especially with a series of events, can take a heavy toll on every aspect of our lives as well as impact the lives of those around us at work and home. Learning to change one’s response to stress can make a positive impact on how a situation is managed and resolved. Learning some strategies from emotional alchemy can help transform otherwise devastating life events into pearls of wisdom, putting a woman back in the driving seat of her life. By sharing methods of developing healthy boundaries and exploring new definitions of health and wellness – women will experience an inner makeover.

Who Should Attend: FOR WOMEN
Management, General Public, women who deal with stress in the workplace, those who struggle to find work-life balance, middle management women who are looking for skills to help employees.

How you will benefit:
The attendee will take home life skills par excellence, learn about empowerment and creative change and be inspired to re frame their issues thus creating a paradigm shift i.e. adversity is transform to advantage.

Classification: Personal/Health, Personal/Career