Interview with Anna-Louise Haigh

Another interview for us in the run up to Wood Green.  This interview process has been quite an adventure, every interview I read becomes my current favourite and I've been excited and surprised by all of them.  This interview is with Anna-Louise Haigh and I think her passion for her "work" jumps off the pages.  Many thanks to her for taking the time to answer these questions, and if you need to know more (and you will!) you can find her online at www.anna-louisehaigh.com

1 - To start, could you tell us a little bit about yourself please.

About me – The main thing to know about me is that I am one of the really lucky people who neither has a

j-o-b nor do I w-o-r-k! Since 1988, every day I have the opportunity to do ME! What I DO is who I AM.

So what do I do? My passion is to act as a personal and professional mentor. I do this by recommendation from previous people who I have mentored when they needed help to navigate through change and self-renewal. The aim is to establish inner peace, harmony, happiness and meaning within your life.  

I mainly mentor women above the age of 35 helping them make sense of life events, cope with change and transition, and conquer their gremlins and limiting beliefs. Often my clients are trying to find the way forward after a relationship restructuring and at the same time trying to discover who they truly are beyond the labels of daughter, sister, wife, mother or professional. I believe that lasting empowerment is gained through self-knowledge, personal awareness and self-honouring. Although I offer mentoring across the spectrum of age, gender and need,  is my speciality.

I facilitate gradual lasting transformation through creating individual tools and techniques that will re-awaken what is sleeping within. The aim is to re-connect with what makes your heart sing and celebrate who you were born to be. Ultimately, this approach provides understanding of your soul’s purpose.

My personal journey has been the foundation for this role and perhaps like yours, was anything but sugar-coated.

If you want to know more…please read on….

The Journey is the best Education - Born in Leeds, England, our family moved to Canada when I was just 5 ½. At that time, life was good, very fun-filled and typically middle-class. However, I learned very young how to ‘be invisible’ when parental tempers flared.

From as early as can remember, I have always had an affinity with the power of touch to sooth, calm and heal through hands-on therapies. This natural interest helped develop a deep sense of insight and accurate intuition. At age 11 my parents divorced and a whole new life began.

The following years offered a myriad of challenging experiences and punctuated by rejection, abandonment and abuse which collectively would be difficult to imagine happening to one person. Living on an emotional knife edge this was a continual challenge. My experiences, fuelled by the unresolved issues, frustrations and actions of an unfulfilled solo parent, ultimately lead me to explore what drives human behaviour especially within relationships.

I didn’t realise it at the time however those early years instilled within me the ability to be something of a detective when it comes to identifying the source or causes of dis-harmony and dis-ease. This ignited my quest for understanding and answers created the foundations which have guided my academic education and professional direction.

Years of searching to find my own identity lead me to return to the UK at age 22 ostensibly for a 3 month holiday. Now, 30 years later I am still here!

After several years of full-time employment in the advertising arena, I ‘retired’ from the ‘rat race’ in 1988 at age 27 leaving the security of a weekly wage slip behind. This brave step would not have been possible if it were not for resilience and courage I gained through my upbringing. My time in Canada infused me with the pioneering spirit and this has been the driving force behind everything I have achieved.  

During the last three decades, my search for understanding lead has me on a personal journey which has included many years of professional training and personal work. By working through my life events and taking ownership of my choices, I am able to ‘walk my talk’ with empathy for others who are on their own personal journey. My education, combined with my background, intuitive and empathic nature, enables me to authentically offer the practical down-to earth yet an empowering and inspiring spiritual approach through personal mentoring, writing and teaching. This has allowed me to offer clear, effective, practical guidance as a facilitator enabling others create a pathway for self-renewal.

My journey has progressed from being a multi-disciplinary complementary therapist to Principal of my own school and Principal of a division of one of the schools I originally trained with, founder of an internationally practiced therapy (Daoyin Tao), international lecturer and Course director for UK students learning in China and Mongolia.

In the last several years I have been published and now have two highly acclaimed personal development books in print, The Soul Whisperer and Light-filled, Loving and Wise, (also available on Kindle). I regularly teach personal development courses and retreats. Most recently I have started to share my passion for Face Reading which I have been studying, exploring and enhancing since 1988.

I believe we are all a work in progress…sharing a journey….being the best we can….as we grow into all that we can be.  

2 - Why do think there is such a high demand for spiritual mentors these days?

I have often reflected on this question. I believe that we are all seeking to be connected , acknowledge and appreciated. Nuclear families have become distant and the pace of life has separated us from the close knit communities our grandparents enjoyed. Hence, the rise of social media exists to sooth this in-built need and does so very effectively, to a degree.

In addition, I feel that the increasing need for personal and spiritual mentors has been borne of a need to discover who we really are and why we are here following in the wake of the changes in our culture, society and economy over last 5 decades. If you look back over the last 50 years, the Western nations have zoomed through tremendous growth and opportunity reflected in what one expects life to offer them. Without the shadow of post-World war restrictions, individuals have enjoyed greater and greater freedom, opportunity, disposable income and material wealth.

The recent recession has sharply brought to light the question, ‘Who are you without your ….status, job, nice car, house, possessions, partner etc.?’ In the fore-running years, one would have defined themselves by what they owned or did for a living….unknowingly trading a deep connection with their inner- self for something with a price tag and a self-life of desirability.

Without the identity offered by being connected to a family unit, community, job status or material symbols, over the recent few years I see people are needing help finding the answer to the most important question … ‘who are you….?’  This inevitably means venturing into the question ‘what is my life all about?’

I feel that the need for mentors has always been constant. Now however, because of prevailing lifestyles those who are seeking guidance and understanding may not have family close-by, a religious connection or even neighbours to talk to. In our modern world, support and guidance is sought from external sources rather than from our close inner circle of family and trusted people.

When I look at the people who buy my books, seek personal mentoring or come on my courses or retreats they fit into a certain demographic. Interestingly most are female, between the ages of 35 and 65, have been through the ‘mill’ of life and are looking for something to help them make sense of their life. In many cases they want to make changes.  Many are seeking something to make them feel whole and complete, in the presumption that there is a gaping hole in them that can only be filled from the outside.

My belief is that we are more whole and compete that we are lead to believe. True wholeness begins with self-knowing and then self-appreciation, from there everything is possible. I would love to see the day when mentors, coaches, helpers and healers were not necessary. Maybe we should focus our wise guidance at the younger generations so they grow into all they were born to be with grace and ease.

3 - You have 3 Awaken Your Wow and Shine groups in the UK do you have plans for anymore?

YES! I started the first Awaken Your WOW and SHINE group in Harrogate in January 2012 and it has become a genuine hub for insight, inspiration, and personal appreciation. I absolutely love running the ‘WOW’ groups, meeting like-minded seekers of personal awakening and sharing topics that ignite a new passion for life and living.

In late spring 2013 I started similar groups in Penrith and Manchester. There are plans to start groups in York and Leeds. I need to keep the distances realistic so tend to stay within 2 hours travel time from my base in Harrogate. Therefore, I am more than happy to mentor and support anyone who wants to run a similar group in their area.

The success of the Awaken Your Wow and Shine group is lead by enthusiasm, experience and a genuine desire to help people appreciate what is right about their life rather than what they need to fix. That way they can build on what is good and nourishing for their soul and attract more of the same in everything they do.

I would love to do a ‘WOW’ roadshow over a number of weeks, visiting towns and cities in the UK to share the secrets how to ‘Awaken Your WOW and Shine!’  That would be fabulous fun and fit my remit of helping others smile and sparkle in reflection of all they are.

4 - Do you have any plans for a new book or has the other side of your career taken precedence?

More books are on the way as they are the threads that weave between my mentoring, teaching and personal journey. They will however be presented as e-books to enable me to produce what I am passionate about within a timely and efficient framework. My ebooks currently in progress include: The Butterfly Oracle Inspiration for Transformation, Nomenetics – exploring the soul resonance of your name and a simple guide to self-care massage for healthy breasts called – How to be your own Breast Friend

My aim when writing The Soul Whisperer and then Light-filled, Loving and Wise was that they would be timeless. They were written for seekers. Individuals who are on a journey and who need guidance and support through understanding both how the soul  communicates its wise on and learning opportunities along with universal truth. Since their publication in 2009 and 2010 respectively, I have had enormous positive feedback.

Through my books, we meet on the pages. Most importantly, through my writing I aim to inform, guide, inspire and empower. Within each chapter are insights into the philosophies and pathways that help readers become more self-aware. They also show how I would potentially work with you if the need arose.

The other sides of my work such as my workshops, retreats and face reading courses all weave together the aspects of personal awareness, growth and soul enlightenment. My books complement my work perfectly.

5 -Which writer/thinker has influenced you the most.

Difficult to limit my choice to just one person, however these people have each played a role - Louise Hay, Denise Linn and Caroline Myss and the present Dalai Lama

6 -What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given.

Everything is about choice - you are the master of your choices.

7- Would you name 6 “Desert Island” books or films (ones you would like if you were stranded on a desert island - for young ones who don’t know about Desert Island discs!)

Films – Pretty Women, Field of Dreams

Books – The Field – Lynn McTAggart

The Life You Were Born to Live by Dan Millman

Resisting the Soul by Nick Williams

The Success Principles by Jack Canfield