A letter from our founder

Dear fellow traveller,

As you read ahead I encourage you to listen with all of your senses. Only you can know where you feel called and it is in the best interest of your health and wellbeing to nurture the still, small voice nestled deep within your heart and soul.

I’m someone who has always valued the unseen world. As a child I wrote little books about how souls were meant to “rise” like the sun, towards the sky. I felt sure that the soul was essential to our health and purpose here. Even dreams seemed like major events to me despite our cultural tendency to diminish dream life. My early spiritual experiences set the tone for a sense of purpose that would take another thirty years to fully realize. At eighteen I witnessed the tragic death of a friend and I spoke words of peace and love over him as he died which only later would made sense to me. In my twenties I had a Shared Death Experience (SDE), waking up one morning with a startling experience of unconditional love for my Dad. Later that day I learned that he had passed away suddenly from a heart attack. These events and others have helped me to accept that matters of the soul are very important. There’s much more to this life than meets the eye.

Over the years I sought wisdom from great teachers to better understand the soul and heal my own heart. I learned from earth-based wisdom traditions in Indigenous culture, contemplative and meditation traditions, and mysticism found throughout the world. My teachers have been rooted in traditions such as of Advaita Vedanta, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Indigenous spiritual healing ceremonies (Shipibo), Celtic Shamanism, and the soul-guiding work of Jungian eco-psychologist Bill Plotkin, PhD. I learned that heartbreak, fear and trauma are injuries to the soul and we need to seek spiritual care in order to release those pains and fully express who we really are. In the process of learning and healing, and at the direction of my teachers, I was called back to my Celtic ancestry to embrace my love for soul care. I now serve as a companion to individuals at end-of-life in hospice care as well as those seeking spiritual support during transformational times.

How Beautiful Spirit came to be
Beautiful Spirit is a way of paying homage to the many incredible people and spirits that befriended me, teaching me the meaning of soul-level friendship. Friendship allows us to welcome new wisdom, receive healing and it can teach us how to genuinely be with ourselves, others and the earth. I believe this unique kind of friendship is deeply missing in our time which is why the Celtic way of Anam Cara (“soul friend”) is the underpinning philosophy behind Beautiful Spirit.

Friendship of the soul is represented in many sacred teachings, religious texts and prophecies. The image of friendship that is conveyed in those sacred teachings and prophecies speaks to a relationship within ourselves between head and heart, a friendship with the soul, and friendship with a great many others - humans, animals, nature, spiritual friends, and the Creator. I believe the Celtic tradition of soul friendship has a particular role to play in realizing a sacred future for us all.

In the words of elder Joanna Macy, we are in a Great Turning. When we become soul friends to each other, we are creating a spiritual culture that transcends tribes and doctrines. We have so much to learn and heal - and the time is now. Beautiful Spirit is the meadow where Anam Caras, soul friends of all kinds can gather to learn from one another in order to strengthen our skills, listen to our souls and create kinship.

May you be well on your journey,
May you find what you seek,
May we eat together, study together and grow together,
May there be peace, peace, peace.

Your friend,

Emily Squirrell