What this site is about

Reinventing ourselves is an integral part of life and we all do it to some degree or another whether we recognise it or not. Physical development, ageing and important events in our lives such as marriage, birth of a child, divorce, relocation, diagnosis of a life threatening disease and death of loved ones, do not occur without change. But in some cases they do not result in real ‘growth’.

What I’m interested in, are personal transformations on emotional and spiritual levels, people who grow into the kind of person they want to be, those who can envision a change and work at it even if it means taking risks. Ghandi once said ‘be the change you want to be in the world.’

The elements of the mythical hero’s journey intrigues me. My own personal physical, emotional and spiritual path during a seven-year period between the ages of 47-52 is revealed in my memoir Neferiti Street published in 2008. Although I didn’t know it at the time of writing, it follows the typical pattern of the hero’s journey, something I’ll blog about on this site from time to time.

Dreams and symbols, both relevant in personal transformation, also fascinate me. The other day looking around my study for writing inspiration, I realised that I have a strange collection of objects hanging from my walls and propped up on bookshelves. They all have something in common; they are symbols of transformation: pyramids, scarabs, fairies, witches, masks and dragonflies. More on their significance later.

I’m convinced by 'the acorn theory of the soul' proposed by James Hillman, the archetypal psychologist, in the Soul's Code. He believes, like the many great philosophers, poets, artists and alchemists over the centuries, and present day indigenous peoples, that we all have a particular destiny and calling. Just as the acorn has within it the pattern of the adult oak tree, so we all have a unique energy and purpose contained within our soul and that this is revealed in childhood and throughout our lifetime. 'Sooner or later something seems to call us onto a particular path . . . this is what I must do, this is what I've got to have. This is who I am.'

Along the same lines, Anais Nin said ‘There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’
So, I’ll also be talking about taking risks and going outside our comfort zones among a host of other related topics, and highlighting some of the individuals who have made their lives more meaningful by taking off the masks they’ve worn all their lives, by changing their identities, reinventing themselves and undergoing complete transformations.