This week I had the pleasure of getting to know a very nice young lady from the suburbs of Barcelona. Her name was Mari and she was busy in her life with helping others to heal.
In fact she was a Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) coach and Bach flower practitioner.
“My God”. I thought out loud when she told me this at her therapy space. “I’ve never met a Bach flower practitioner. What a delight.” I told her, unable to hide my enthusiasm.
“Ah yes.” She said as if she knew what that growing excitement felt like. “It’s a very powerful remedy.” She said.
“Can you tell me why?” I asked her.
“The remedies have a strong ability to positively affect your emotions. There’s 38 different remedies, made from the oils of various flowers and each one works with a different emotional field.” She added.
“Do you use it with the NLP coaching or is it a very different therapy?” I continued.
“In fact, yes it can complement the NLP. In the end, they’re both tools that work on the unconscious mind to help uncover your mental blocks and emotional pains. By working through these, we can help find harmony between the mind and soul.” She said with a very certain tone.
I felt very inspired by Mari and the positive way that she asserted herself. “What brought you to this field of work in the first place?” I asked.
“My main profession was teaching children and some years later I become a mediator in business. I noticed something very curious in all the different situations that I found myself in. I saw the same emotional pains surfacing in children and adults and they were often repetitive and habitual. Some of these patterns came from mimicking parental guides and others came from etiquette or social conditioning. Most of them are very limiting. So I decided to take my curiosity further and study and put to practice these two tools.” Mari kindly shared with me.
“How does NLP benefit people?” I asked, excusing Mari of my innocence.
“The objective of NLP is to break thought mental patterns that are limiting. We use it to enhance performance, help people control their emotional state and focus on their desired outcome. What I do is very similar to teaching in the end. I accompany someone through a process.” Mari said.
“So how do you uncover what’s in the unconscious mind?” I asked, curious about my own.
“We need to get to the deeper layers of the mind that we don’t understand with the rational mind. Sometimes we use meditations or visualizations to find the emotions and fears that are triggered inside us. We use these tools to understand what’s happening inside of us, so we can change our internal worlds and have a better relationship with what’s outside of us.” Mari taught me.
“That must be exceptionally groundbreaking to uncover these unconscious layers that affect our lives.” I repeated back to her.
“Yes. We only have one life. We can’t buy time, it’s a very valuable thing. We have to live the life we want to have and that requires us to listen to our hearts. It’s an attitude. If we can change our bodies then we can change our minds and achieve joy and happiness.” She went on.
“You sound as though you love your job. Do you?” I presumed.
“I love it so much. When you see a person release their pains, something magic happens. They become more pure, like a baby. I have no words for the feeling. I feel very full.” She said as her eyes looked pure.
“Have the NLP tools helped you in your own life?” I asked.
“Yes, in many aspects. But especially with my family and my partner.” She vouched. “I’ve been with my partner for 24 years, we met in school. I’m very open minded about the relationship. We both live with respect and open communication. That’s the first key to a happy relationship. But we have to respect ourselves too. We’re very mindful that we are in it for the growth of the soul. If the relationships doesn’t work then it will rip apart, just like a badly fitting pair of jeans would.” She continued.
With that note of wisdom, I asked her what kept her going with such positivity in the rest of her life.
“I love to dance, especially to Latin American music. That brings out my sensual feminine side. But I also love to box. That’s my masculine energy coming through.” She laughed. “I also love poetry. I love to connect to it on a personal level but I also use it as a tool in my work to uncover things in the unconscious mind.” She added.
That was a breath of fresh air I thought, as I thank her at her beautiful healing space.
If you too would like to connect to Mari about her work with NLP or the Bach flowers, please find her here: http://www.kimanayo.es
With love
Anneka and Teresa