Massage, the Universe and Me (and also you)

Thought I would share how I ended up as a Massage Therapist. It might not be the most common route but maybe (or maybe not!) there are some interesting lessons in it.

Massage is now my 3rd career. For some years I worked on marketing/project management. Then I made a big change and started running a bagel shop (RIP Unholy Bagels). That was super fun and rewarding but also really tiring and also I found it hard to really make good money from it. I had been thinking for a while that it might be time to close the shop but I didn’t know what to replace it with.

Meanwhile I was working on my internal and spiritual world, through various means including meditation, breathwork, creativity and psychedelics. My first experience of the latter was a somewhat chance encounter with acid. After that, I started to finf that Ayahuasca, a powerful psychedelic, traditional to Central and South America, kept finding its way into my awareness somehow. It took some years but eventually I ended up at an Ayahuasca retreat - where I had some profound experiences and teachings. And one insight I had was that I was going to be a ‘healer’, after which I saw an image of myself as a massage therapist.

Now I had always enjoyed giving and receiving massage, but I had never thought of it as a career. I took this away with me and sat on it for a few months and yet somehow the message I got was so strong that I finally decided it felt right to follow it. And so that is a potted history of how I am here today.

I also want to say that this is NOT an advert or recommendation that you go and find Ayahuasca. It worked for me exactly because it felt entirely natural but I don’t think it’s something that should be taken lightly (if this is something you would like to talk about more than please please email me and I will be happy to share my thoughts). For me Ayahuasca was one part of my healing journey which took in many other modalities too - I think some people consider that it will be some kind of silver bullet and tell them all they need to know, but I don’t believe it can work like that.

I know that might seem entirely random but I guess what I most want to share is that I truly believe that the universe sometimes has a plan for us. Sometimes we just need to slow down and listen - and you know what yes you might do that through a massage, but also time in nature, or even just a long soak in a hot bath are great ways to be in self-contemplation.

So tell me, what might be the universe be trying to tell you right now, if you would only slow down and listen? (Genuinely happy to hear from you if you feel you have anything you would like to share!)