Christopher Reid Counsellor and Healing Practitioner

23/07/2025

Enjoying enough from the sun today for Yoga outside. Finishing relaxation and looking up to this beautiful blue. Make the support your energy on most beautiful day 💫🙏

15/07/2025

Light shines into Shadow

10/11/2024

Like the flow of the river, the song of the birds, the presence of the trees, and the warmth of the sun—I vow to live this day with as much love as possible

27/11/2023

‘After the Storm’ by Mumford and Sons
Beautiful expression of experiencing the fruits of ones labour from committing to deep shadow work and healing …

But there will come a time
You'll see, with no more tears
And love will not break your heart
But dismiss your fears
Get over your hill and see
What you find there
With grace in your heart
And flowers in your hair

23/11/2023

As i prepare for my upcoming short course here are some thoughts on being kind to self ....

Which do you experience most–Hard on yourself–Or kind to yourself?

For most of us, I think it is fair to say that we tend to find it easier to be kind to others as opposed to being kind to self. The good in us naturally wants to help and be kind to others. Alongside this, some of our negative thoughts, beliefs, and coping patterns have us playing the part of the peace-maker and pushing our needs and feelings aside. So why do we do this?

Trauma or high levels of stress emotionally, physically, and mentally experienced in our formative years affects our brain development and the ways we think and feel about ourselves. Deep in our subconscious, we can feel unworthy of love, that we are not good enough–all this promotes a sense of being hard on ourselves rather than kind.

What might the negative thought patterns and beliefs that you suffer with? What impacts do they have on your self-worth/acceptance/love? How do they affect your day-to-day experience? How long have they been there? What was the origin of such patterns and beliefs?

These patterns cause us to disconnect from our true self. Are there times when you feel like you are masking? Or felt afraid and uncomfortable about being your authentic self? We all have had some form of survival cooping patterns to help keep us safe, working hard to get us through life with minimal rejection, hurt, and fear. So how can we let go of being hard on ourselves and move towards loving-kindness?

Bring it back to your body. Connect with the physical part of you that is feeling tight, heavy, numb, anxious, afraid, sad. Use your breath as your anchor to connect and ground into your body. Take a pause, make space inside, and choose a moment of self-awareness–this allows us to listen gently and start to become compassionately conscious of where/how/why we are being hard on ourselves. In saying all that, as we all know, this can be easier said than done. So where do we tend to get stuck?

The art of softening. The art of allowing ourselves to ‘be’ with what is present. To show up for ourselves ‘as we are’ not as we ‘should be’. In the face of the strength of our old negative patterns, this takes love and a good dose of courage. Softening into the vulnerable place to both deeply listen and deeply feel. Yes, doing the cognitive work to lovingly interrupt and challenge old negative thoughts and beliefs is a very important part. But the important thing is the work doesn’t stop there. To fully feel all that needs attention inside is so important if we are to find true relief, peace, and healing from di-ease.

The language of the body is feelings. Yes, of course our conscious mind and intellect are part of this–but at the core, the language of our body is feelings, energy, and consciousness. Your body won’t feel fully heard, received, cared for, and loved unless you are willing to feel through the layers of where we are hard on yourself, in through the layers of your dis-ease.

To find release from dis-ease, greater peace, and a renewed hope for healing–‘soften and surrender’, with love, into what your body is saying and showing you. Attune your ability to feel and listen deeply to your body and inner knowing. Illuminate your inner world and be supported to open to dis-ease as your guide towards emotional, physical, and spiritual healing. To be supported with this in a group, to be held and guided, is often what we need to experience a greater shift. A collective intention creates an amplified energy and a deeper opportunity for insights and healing as we witness others on their journey with all that this can inspire, stimulate, and open within ourselves.

21/11/2023

Consumption vs Connection

Consumption gives us relief, distraction, temporary fulfilment and satisfaction.

Connection allows us to fill up our cup, nourishes us deeply, attends to our deeper needs, opens us to heart joy and love, gives us an opportunity to open to Spirit/God/Divine to know and feel all that we are a part of. Connection allows healing and the settling of dis-ease.

Our society, culture, conditioning, and the greater systems we live within can make it hard to find the deeper connection with self, each other, nature, and life that we truly need.

Disconnection Perpetuates Consumption.

Pause, breathe, feel, and connect … ask, do I feel grounded, present, health, happy, fulfilled, a sense of true belonging and purpose? Do I know and feel love from the inside out and all around me? If any of this is in lack, make space in your life to deepen your awareness of insight into where, how, and why you disconnect from body and self.

Start by listening to your body. From there, go deeper with in, soften, slow down, let go, surrender, listen, and feel yourself deeply. What needs space inside of you? What needs acknowledging, support, light, love? What needs to move and change? What dis-ease or discomfort might need your loving attention?

Where in yourself or life might you be settled for the relief, distraction, temporary fulfilment and satisfaction of consumption–yet feeling stuck and unfulfilled without deeper connection within yourself and life?

The time is now. Be gentle with yourself around patterns of disconnect and consumption. Attune your ability to feel and listen deeply to your body and inner knowing. Illuminate your inner world and open to dis-ease as your guide towards connection, healing, and wholeness. If you feel a need calling inside and you would like support with this, come and join the circle 2nd of December.

Listen to Your Body A Renewed Hope for Healing Event Registration Shadow-Work Short Course / Dec 2nd & Dec 16th – 2:30pm-5:30pm each day / @ One Spirit, Addington, Christchurch  book your place now Listen to Your Body – A Renewed Hope for Healing When we are heavy in body–heart–mind we can ...