The One Decision That Changed the Course of My Life

Twenty-five years ago, we moved from Brasil to Australia.

I didn’t have a clear plan. I didn’t know what my next chapter would look like.
Of course, life was about settling the kids in school and finding friends.
But I knew — deep in my bones — that this was the place where I could start again.

Two weeks after settling into our new home — 5 beds, 5 chairs, 1 table, and a mountain of suitcases because our container was still stuck on the dock in Brazil — I found myself flipping through the local phone book.

I wasn’t just looking for a course or a school. Without realising it, I was searching for something much bigger: a way back to myself.

My finger landed on Nature Care College in Sydney, a school for complementary therapies.
The very next day, I sat in the director’s office and told him (in true Dutch fashion) that I wanted an internationally recognised diploma, preferably done in under two years. He paused, thought for a moment, and said, “Start with Aromatherapy.”

For him, Spiritual Healing was still a step too far for me at the time.
For me, it was the first step onto a path that would transform my life.

The first subject on my timetable? Swedish Massage. Four hours a week.
That meant being touched — and touching others — something far outside my comfort zone as a psychologist. I told myself I’d try it for a month. That was the last time I ever put a limit on my journey.

From that moment on, I never looked back. I went on to study countless modalities — and eventually, yes, even Spiritual Healing.

In Sydney, in 1999, I had my very first (massage) client on the table. I never doubted for a second: I had found my passion.

Today, I weave together everything I’ve learned and experienced over the past 25 years: psychology, massage, aromatherapy, HeartMath heart coherence, Healing Arts, Reiki, the deep energetic patterns of Spiritual Healing, Australian Bush Flower Essences — and, most importantly, the openness and trust of the hundreds of people who have crossed my path.

All because, back then, in the midst of motherhood and managing a home in a foreign country, I listened to that quiet nudge telling me it was time to do something for myself… and I took the first step.
Step by step, however scary, however unfamiliar, I kept moving forward.

You are welcome. Always.