childhoodwounds

Today I continue my conversation with remarkable women of the Middle East. I would like to remind you that remarkable is not just about the impact these women have had on the region, but also about how far they have come through their own challenges in life. Remarkable truly is about the journey, not the destination and my guest today is a perfect example of that. Aalia Thobani is a Canadian who grew up in Kenya and moved to Dubai to live a life in line with her passion. Her interests in cognitive science and learning and development led her to earn a dual master's in the US, where she worked for a while before returning to Dubai. Her work began with helping children with learning disabilities and providing speech therapy. Aalia has helped thousands of children and has now expanded that help to adults.

Aalia Thobani is an experienced life coach whose career began with helping children with learning difficulties over a decade ago. Since then she has expanded her work to help adults by offering the Stanford Design pioneered Designing Your Life programme which presents a tailor-made workshop package for each client.

Listen as we discuss:

• 05:45 - Save the world and change the world
• 07:00 - Losing Dad and the Sacred Wound
• 10:00 - Grieving 16 years later
• 11:49 - What is a Sacred Wound
• 14:05 - Healing together
• 16:20 - Unlocking potential
• 18:46 - Stigma and empowerment
• 20:30 - Giving up eating or speaking
• 21:30 - Stutter
• 26:00 - The Kings Speech
• 27:20 - Vessel for God's work
• 29:30 - The most important person in the room
• 34:00 - Crunchmums
• 36:00 - Connecting on humanity
• 38:10 - We are all the same
• 39:45 - Communication, connection and coaching
• 40:51 - Early intervention
• 45:00 - Designing Your Life
• 47:00 - Finding alignment, finding happiness
• 48:40 - Choose happy!
• 50:15 - Follow your curiosity

Connect with Aalia Thobani on Instagram @aaliathobani and find out more about her work on her website

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Facebook: @mo.gawdat.official
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Website: mogawdat.com

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The provisional life might be defined as a vague malaise: current relationships, work, and lifestyle feel like placeholders until the ‘real thing’ arrives—someday. If early life circumstances made over-conforming to others’ needs and expectations necessary, persona can be over-developed and shadow denied.

The person may orient to external sources for self-definition, acceptance and direction, because deep roots in shadow’s dark, fertile soil of authentic feeling and experience are lacking. The recovery and discovery of the true self comes from engaging the inner world: dreams, reverie, creative endeavors, service to something greater—and perhaps a wise guide on the road to wholeness.

Jung says, “If the risk is not taken, the meaning of life is somehow violated, and the whole future is condemned to helpless staleness...” Or we can be alive while we’re alive. 

Dream

I find myself in an old abandoned church. I am climbing up a ladder and next to me is a being, half-bird & half-human. I feel attracted to her; I kiss her. In the next scene, I push her away from me.

Now she is a bird. Another person helps me to get the bird out of the church. The bird wants to come back in. I have a guilty conscience because I try to push her away from me. Now the bird person is back in the church. And in the last image, I find myself with her walking around the church and the being tells me "people can't fly because they don't have wings."

References

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki).

Mary Oliver. When Death Comes and other poems.