My Transition
Story
A leap of faith
There is a moment for each of us when we are called to leap. Mine, was quite literally this, with my feet tied, looking out to the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, I stood at the edge of the mountain. One deep breath and I jumped. I jumped because I had decided that fear shouldn’t limit who we are. I didn’t know what was next, but I knew that my years in advertising, convincing people to buy more was not it. I was 29 and suffering from burnout, anxiety and depression. I had lost my sense of self to the churn of the corporate machine, demanding more by making us feel lack of or less than. I was no longer going to be held by feelings of scarcity. Now was time for my heart to guide, not my head.
A new perspective
For six years, I worked with multinationals in advertising, winning awards for “8 years of consistent growth” with McDonald’s. We were asked to look at the market opportunity, and what could we capitalise. Look for the problem and we can solve. As things started to shift in my personal life, I was no longer ‘loving it’. My time working on big business for McDonald’s, Sunsilk, Natwest needed to end. Whilst I had learnt the ropes of TV, print, experiential, social… it was the pro bono work for NGOs & UK Gov that motivated me. I had a deep appreciation for the power that creativity had to move people and drive behaviour change. Developing campaigns lobbying for human rights, ex-offenders working rights, and gender equality, we had legislation overturned, saw people's lives changed. This is what I wanted to dedicate my time to- creating a world that I could believe in.
Purposeful action
My jump in Nepal was the start of the next 8 years of travel, in search of answers. I directed a documentary, ‘The Talk’, exploring the impact of unplanned pregnancies in rural communities of Guatemala. Campaigned for the Uluru statement’s fight for Constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Nations People in Australia. Built an online community engagement tool for the climate doco ‘What’s your 2040?”. We were helping people, but the problems ran deep. I recognised the power business has to create systemic change - Mars now employing more people than a small country! I began purpose consulting, connecting business with social and environmental justice. From ABinBev to BCorp we helped businesses lead with purpose, going beyond communications, developing internal policy to serve something bigger than themselves. We proved that purpose and profit were not separate choices, starting a venture studio with Reckitt Benckiser, going from purpose gap to 1 million dollar revenue in one year.
Ways of being
Businesses may be shifting towards more purposeful futures, however without deeper regenerative work, they risk repeating patterns that uphold inequality, imposing the same colonial bias the current system has created. By only addressing the symptom, the surfaced problems, we stay trapped in the same isolated systems and fail to see what is truly possible, the real potential. To step into this, though, isn't just to create new structures that allow for complexity and emergence; it's to learn to live in them. To live as part of the whole, creating value together. This is Regeneration, not an outcome for an ESG report, it's a verb, a way of being, a way of life.
An awakening
This is how I found regeneration; it became something deeper. Something spiritual. As I started to seek more 'natural ways' of living, I started to become aware of my own true nature. I started to attune to something beyond me. To begin with I would feel people's emotions from afar, sadness, anxiety, isolation, anger, at first I couldn't work out what was mine and what wasn't , were they my tears or not? I learnt to talk to them, understanding who they belonged to and how to help them pass for the both of us. I started to see visions, the past, the future, other lives; again unsure if I just had an active imagination until people started confirming what I saw as true. Either because they were real memories that happened or another reader had shared the same thing. My world was shifting, I was living in the entanglement and starting to understand what the notion of oneness really meant.
From here I sought guidance from energy workers, psychics, astrologers, healers. I sat in circle with shamans, from the Huni Kuin in the Amazon, to the Arhuaco Mamos in Colombia, to Mayan elders in Mexico and Guatemala. I trained with Aeon Karris, to create energetic sovereignty and with Dalia Burgoin from the Telepathy Tapes to learn Mindsight to see with your consciousness. With each step along the path, the understanding that a paradigm shift is upon us becomes clearer. The hope for a regenerative future, for a new way of being.
The Shift
So now I sit, living from my van, developing a relationship with the land, looking out to the Portuguese waters, being inspired by the lessons from nature. Dancing with trees, building community, experimenting with tech (my brief moment as a hacker!). I have birthed The Collective Paradigm, a community for incubating regenerative ventures. I work with founders and businesses to help them embody regenerative ways of being, from decentralised systems, community ownership, localised economies, seasonal rituals. And I offer guidance for those seeking the path forward to connect to their essence.
I welcome you to join us in the paradigm shift, as we unfold into nature.
OLD PARADIGM EXPERIENCE
Unilever
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NHS
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RB
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ABInBev
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Natwest
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Guinness
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CBA
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McDonald's
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Karma Nirvana
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Home Office
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L'oreal
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Red Cross
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BCorp
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PRS for Music
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LFC
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Unilever • NHS • RB • ABInBev • Natwest • Guinness • CBA • McDonald's • Karma Nirvana • Home Office • L'oreal • Red Cross • BCorp • PRS for Music • LFC •
NEW PARADIGM EXPERIENCE