On Sam Dickson
When I first started practicing yoga, breath work and meditation; re-sensitising myself and getting interested in the subtle aspects of life I felt pretty alone. Little did I know how many beautiful relationships I was to forge within this community. Many are still best friends and we continue to support each other deeply. Other relationships were more temporary, spanning just a few steps along the way, but are somehow no less treasured or significant. Perhaps this is due to the high degree of honesty and courage this work requires at every step. It’s gracefully humbling and empowering at the same time.— Sam Dickson
Sam and I have mutual friends and have met at the odd party over the years. It was so interesting to see that he had retrained and I reached out for a chat to see if he might be interested in working with On Balance. We could have spoken for hours, he is a qualified teacher taking his spiritual education seriously. I personally am looking forward to what we are going to learn from Sam over the course of our GUIDED workshop.
Sam
on finding life balance… Finding life balance is an ongoing process of unfoldment. Much of the work for me is in cultivating an inner wisdom that shines through fear and doubt so that life is experienced as happening “for us rather than to us”; a continual attempt to manifest our true potential.
Enjoy it while you’ve got it, don’t beat yourself up when you haven’t. The world is constantly changing and so are we. Sometimes we may be pushing too hard in one area of life and other times not hard enough, we only find out by becoming aware and taking responsibility for ourselves.
on the importance of community… When I first started practicing yoga, breath work and meditation; re-sensitising myself and getting interested in the subtle aspects of life I felt pretty alone. Little did I know how many beautiful relationships I was to forge within this community. Many are still best friends and we continue to support each other deeply. Other relationships were more temporary, spanning just a few steps along the way, but are somehow no less treasured or significant. Perhaps this is due to the high degree of honesty and courage this work requires at every step. It’s gracefully humbling and empowering at the same time.
on self-discovery and creativity… What balance is and how it looks is unique to each of us. Our journeys of self-discovery towards greater authenticity and balance are also unique and deeply personal. Any map in the arena of self-discovery pails into insignificance compared to the actual terrain. Facing and embracing this uncertainty, the unknown, has given me the amazing opportunity to tap into and express far more of my individual creativity and potential.
Natali —Please describe how self-discovery has manifested in your life so far, does it play a part?
Sam —Self-discovery has been always been a part of my life, sometimes acting like a shining beacon and at other times a dim and distant force of attraction. As a teenager and for most of my young adulthood I pursued what I thought my life should look like, striving to succeed in ways that I believed, and was told would lead to happiness and self-respect.
I had a first glimpse of the importance of finding life balance as a teenager experiencing some fall-out from the party scene and then in my late twenties hitting rock bottom, depressed, burnt out and questioning everything. I realise now that at the heart of my searching was a desire to experience what lay within and beyond the apparent reality of me and my life.
I had got by up to this point making myself into someone I wasn’t in my core and subjugating my need to get to know and express myself more authentically with a need to fit in to perceived expectations. Becoming a father further stoked my passion for self-discovery and knowledge. I wanted to be a role-model and inspiration to my kids in my creativity and way of being. Self-discovery is now somewhat of a way of life.
Natali —Can you touch upon your upbringing focussing on any parts of your growth that felt significant in creating who you are today?
Sam —Being born to a sensitive mother, a nurse turned psychotherapist and an inquisitive father I may have been pre-disposed to being open and interested in the mysteries of life and what makes us tick.
I had a traumatic birth and my upbringing wasn’t without its developmental challenges. I discovered yoga and martial arts in my twenties not long before I experienced a cascade of physical health issues starting with a knee reconstruction, having my right kidney removed, a series of parasitic stomach issues and ending up losing the sight in my left eye. It was after this that I walked into my first mindfulness class.
Since then I have practiced and studied many forms of mediation and ancient bodies of wisdom. Learning Vedic meditation and living an Ayurvedic lifestyle was a significant stage of growth. After several years I slowly began to see how the practice was holding me back as well as some of its limitations, not least it’s inherent cultural and patriarchal biases. Letting go of this practice, working on my grounding and deepening my connection to and trust of my own inner wisdom was perhaps the most self-empowering of steps in my journey of integration date.
Natali —And becoming a father, has that been what you imagined it to be?
Sam —They say our children are our greatest teachers! My experience of becoming a father totally bears this out. It’s been a massive learning curve even though I’ve always loved and had a natural affiliation with kids. I find their enthusiasm, spontaneity and honesty super refreshing to be around.
Already a step-father to Ivy, the decision to have my own child was a heart-led decision, made in the moment with some naivety as to what impact it was going to have on my time and freedom. In addition to usual stuff, back then I was running my own business, training as a meditation teacher, enrolled in a diploma as a transpersonal psychotherapist and volunteering at Mind.
I soon realised to my dismay that much would have to give if I was to be father I wanted to be. Amongst other things I scaled back my esoteric and healing interests, gave up the psychotherapy course and began to wind up my business.
My partner and I strove to equally share parental duties. I soon discovered a frequency of love as well as a desire to be present in a way that was unusual amongst my Dad friends and certainly in comparison to the role my father had played in my early life.
Becoming a parent upped my game, in terms of productivity and emotional resilience. Whatever your state, however sleep deprived, worried, frustrated or drained, life goes on and kids always seem to be right in the here and now. Tapestries of emotion continually flowing through them and being expressed whether you or anyone else is ready for them or not.
It gave me no choice but to prioritise what’s really important in life, to use my time and energetic resources wisely. Subordinating my own wants, needs and life purpose, particularly during the first few years was a practice in kindness that I now see had a real, tangible benefit on me and everyone around me.
The well-spring of love that opened up when I first held Zaccy was like nothing I’d experienced before. The vulnerability and helplessness of this beautiful baby evoked primal urges to protect and nurture. Managing the equally intense feelings against / for anything that may threaten his safety or health, that seemed to emerge simultaneously, has perhaps been one of the greatest and most surprising challenges for me.
It’s not all one-sided! Nature rewards us massively for giving parenthood our best shot in the form of neurological gifts like dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin. Remaining playful has become an ongoing practice in balance and a continuing source of joy.
Natali —We met through mutual friends a long time ago and share many friends in common. I remember you as the property developer can you talk about your transition into the work that you do now?
Sam —My years as a property developer served me really well. Not always financially, there were big highs and big lows but in learning the art of teamwork and entrepreneurship in business and how to deal with a lot of stress. I have long been fascinated in how we humans interact with the environment and I retain a passion for creating beautiful spaces.
I began training whilst working full time and was lucky enough to have had savings to cover a period of transition from property development to therapy and teaching.
I feel called to the work I do now and privileged to be in a position to work from love and compassion. It’s always such an honour to play a part in another’s path of self-discovery and to share tools, techniques and knowledge that have had such a transformational effect on me.
Natali —You have so much training under your belt - what training are you looking to take on into the future?
Sam —I am very lucky to be training with one of the best healers I have ever met in accessing the wisdom of the body, healing trauma and strengthening the nervous system. She’s a Cyber-kinesiologist and 5 Element acupuncturist who works with the body, mind and spirit within a multi-dimensional 3D structure.
I feel now more the ever the world is open to and calling for individual’s to put their own mark on modalities and approaches. To boldly bring the uniqueness in their hearts to whatever the art form or creative endeavour.
Natali —Can you talk to your relationship with your physical body?
Sam —Our physical bodies live in the present. Where we are in our minds can be a different story and I find it immensely comforting to remember that the act of bringing my attention to my breath and connecting to my heart can always bring me back to momentary awareness.
I relate to my body as my friend and ally in moving and growing through life’s ups and downs. Nowadays I tend to experience physical sensations and feelings as well as emotions as more of an ongoing dialogue. Through the aches, pains, injuries and illnesses I see my body expressing it’s innate natural wisdom. Giving me a first-hand and unbelievably accurate experience of where I might be out of balance in relating to aspects of the inner collective of myself or the outside world.
When it comes to emotions, I tend to experience these more as guides leading me towards experiences and situations that may be beneficial and avoiding those that may be less so.
The more grounded and embodied I am the easier it is de-code the messages and to listen to the guidance. To access an inner knowing that stretches beyond my logical, thinking mind and to act from that.
Favourite book right now?
Deepening Perspectives on Chinese Medicine by Lonny Jarrett
Favourite podcast?
Titting About by Dawn French & Jennifer Saunders
Favourite song right now?
Unwritten, Natasha Beddingfield*
Favourite Series
The Legend of Korra*
*giving away my parental status here! But seriously The Legend of Korra.. well worth a watch for adults and kids!
Natali —Finally, what can we expect from you in our workshop GUIDED?
Sam —I intend for my GUIDED workshops to be an entry point or a deepening into breath work and meditation. Both as practices and lifestyles that promote creativity, integration and de-stressing of the nervous system, for life. Each will be enlivening, fun, interesting and bonding experiences.