Beginning
My grandmother, a folk healer, was a big influence in my growing up years. I used to watch, with great curiosity, long queues of people outside her door. It was only at the age of nine that I discovered what they came for. I had a bad accident in the kitchen with a pot of hot oil and burnt myself badly. Over the next month, she nursed me patiently through my physical pain and mental trauma. Both of which, as I healed, turned slowly to fascination as I watched her make herbal medicines using the humble coconut, neem plant, banana plant and many other nature’s wonders to heal my wounds and help me back on my feet.
My mother, on the other hand, was like the unofficial social worker in the community. Sheltering abused mothers and their kids, offering money to pay for children’s exam fees, serving daily meals to two old men who lived poor and alone just a few doors away from us. Supporting community was so much a part of life, I never thought there was another way to live.
Little did I know then, how much both of them had seeded my passion to help people.
Kindling
Back to my grandma, it was when I had the accident that I learnt more about the power of healing beyond science. After my recovery, grandma began including me in her world by taking me on her herb-gathering trips to Singapore’s rainforests in Seletar, Jalan Kayu and Yio Chu Kang (this was in the 70s, mind you.). Her wisdom kindled something deep in my consciousness. A silent participant, when she discussed treatment with other like-minded folks in my mixed immigrant community who worked with Chinese medicine, Indonesian Jamu and Indian Ayurveda, I would hear miraculous stories of healing and gratitude. My exposure to different spiritual traditions and realms grew as I myself explored the indigenous ways of the Chinese, Indian, Malay and Angmoh communities (“white man” families of the British armed forces who stayed behind after independence).
Awakening
Life changed drastically for me again in my early 20s. I lost both my parents to illness and, in the process, lost family comfort, security, and stability as well. I had to grow up fast and learn the hard way to navigate life. Yet, I was fortuitously led to begin my career in the social services in Singapore, obviously inspired by my mum’s work.
By age 30, I found myself in a soul-destroying marriage and decided to end it, shaken to the core with the realisation that I had once again lost the security and stability of the family I so craved. Fortunately, my spiritual teacher, who had entered my life so serendipitously, led me on a deep and radical mind-body-spirit healing journey that helped me to step onto a holistic path to regain my joy and true purpose.
For over 20 years, I studied with her and teachers from various spiritual and shamanic traditions from India, Russia, South Africa, Scandinavia, UK, USA, and South America to build my life in alignment with the Light and sharpen my spiritual gifts to heal others. Indeed, the teachers appeared when the student was ready!
Growth
Through this time, I took refuge and found solace in my profession. Little did I realise that it was preparing me for the next stage of my life. For the next 15 years, I worked hard to empower vulnerable communities and improve their lives. This included enhancing public health, formal education and community development in Asia and Africa. I experienced tremendous success in my career and was given leadership opportunities to work at regional and global levels to address development challenges in a variety of countries. With some of the best leadership training (at the LKY School of Public Policy, Harvard Business School and Kennedy School of Government), my work catapulted to a much higher level than I ever envisioned. And with that, I gained a greater level of confidence, vision, and wisdom.
Calling
In 2017, I connected deeper with my spiritual guides and decided I was ready to pursue my calling. I would support individuals who wanted to reclaim their joy and holistic wellness and achieve their highest potential. I set up Heartsong Healing Asia in 2018 and began supporting individuals to discover, heal, grow, step into wholeness, and serve community using a combination of mind-body-spirit and coaching tools. My Signature 5-Step Heartsong Healing & Transformation Journey was born out of this process.
In hindsight, I feel like my whole life has prepared me for this work: the wisdom of my lineage, my unique gift of strong intuition and connection with my spiritual guides who direct me in miraculous ways to help others; my personal life experiences that have given me deep insights and my professional training and 25-year career in empowering communities that ground me in facing the challenges of life with personal power, faith and positive intention.
My work gives me immense meaning and tremendous joy. Most of all, I delight in guiding a person to transform their life, achieve their highest potential and dance to what I endearingly call, their own unique heart’s song. A journey that they can take, time and again, whenever they find their music dim.