Author of The First and Last Belief
Author of The First and Last Belief
Monica spent much of her early adult life seeking to make sense of herself, other people and the ‘awakening experiences’ that she sometimes had. She studied Psychology, Astrology, Acupuncture and Psychotherapy along with reading books written by spiritual teachers and practising meditation, yoga and qi gong. There always seemed to come a time that she couldn’t go any further – the particular subject, practice or method was helpful up to a point, but it never quite answered her longing for a deeper truth along with freedom from her own issues and inadequacy.
She discovered the teachings of non-duality and attended meetings led by Tony Parsons and Roger Linden. It seemed clear that there was some sort of sense of separation, of ‘being a Me’ that was factored into all experience and gave rise to a perception of things being not quite right. But what that sense of separation actually was remained elusive.
Then one evening in 2009 she was in an ordinary yoga class when the sense of being a separate self suddenly disappeared and never came back. It was rather surprising, but also very simple. It was like the return of a sort of naturalness that had actually always been the way that it was; this had just been overlooked when there seemed to be an actual Me there having the experience.
Life appeared to continue in much the same way that it had before. Monica continued to practice as a trauma therapist and counsellor. She was fortunate to have Roger Linden as her clinical supervisor for several years and learned more about his approach to wellbeing – an approach which directly addresses the unnecessary struggle and effort that so many people seem to experience.
Monica’s interests were much more straightforward now that she wasn’t so preoccupied with wondering about who or what she was: what actually helped her clients to feel a bit better – and how did these apparently biological human systems actually work? She found herself drawn to learning more about the emerging insights of neuroscience in relation to therapy and to working with habits of behaviour, belief and reactivity that show up presently in the body.
Along the way she stumbled across a new book by Bruce Ecker, Robin Ticic and Laurel Hulley about Memory Reconsolidation Theory and its application to therapy. It also appeared to offer a practical, neuroscience-based description of the sudden end of the false sense of separation that happened in the yoga class. And ten years later she found herself writing a book that explored this theory further: The First and Last Belief.
Monica has undergone training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic Trauma Therapy, Somatic Experiencing, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) and various approaches to working with ‘parts’. She is interested in practical understanding and techniques that can help people who appear to be struggling with life. This exploration continues, whilst at the same time it is plainly obvious that what we really are is fundamentally okay – actually better than okay – and essentially unharmed by any of the difficulties or discomforts that arise.
Monica continues to practice as a somatic psychotherapist in Totnes, Devon, UK.