For as long as I can remember, I've always been attracted to and fascinated by spiritual, psychological and philosophical matters. As a young child I contemplated such questions as who am I, why am I here on Earth, who created it all, and what is the Truth and the meaning of life. These were not trifle, fleeting thoughts but something that gnawed at me inside, and I remember quite well how ancient and lonely I felt at the age of 6 or 7 with these musings others didn't understand. Undeniably, I was born to be a spiritual seeker and practitioner, follow the path of self-knowledge, consciousness and higher truth explorer and a lightworker.

One of my earliest memories of my searches for the truth and the Divine is visiting an Orthodox Christian church with my kindergarten group. By that time I was already interested in philosophical questions about life and religious doctrines, though I was not at all convinced by the latter. I had made a decision to get to the root of it all and find out which religion is closer to the truth when I grow up. Later in life the second question stopped being on my agenda, and more importanly, I made some progress on the first question. During that memorable visit, I felt the urge to ask the priest why the Bible says nothing about dinosaurs and other prehistoric life, which clearly and undeniably existed. But I said nothing because I felt this question might embarrass the man of god. :-)

It's not hard to see that from a tender age my inner seeker and researcher was looking for the answers and the truth, and furthermore, my highly sensitive nature was sometimes getting in the way. :-)

My searches and learning continued, and during different stages of my life I got familiar with a number of different philosophical and esoteric concepts, paradigms, models of reality, psychological theories and scientific facts. Quite early in life I got clear on who I was and what the meaning of my life was, my core values and guiding principles, as well as the understanding of the multidimensional and spiritual underpinnings of our Universe. Although I felt I had so much more to learn about the nature of reality and life, these core understanding and convictions have been tremendously helpful in navigating life's twists and turns and challenges of all sorts.

I was devoted to the idea and practice of self-development and personal growth. Our brain needs new information so that we can continue to flourish, so my earliest and prefered investment in myself lay in the intellectual and cognitive sphere. I've always found it easy to learn and excelled at it, being a curious mind and an avid reader.

I got especially fascinated with languages and by graduation from school I was fluent in English and French. I continued my love affair with languages at the university, mastering German and Bulgarian, and graduating with Honours. I picked up Bulgarian as an optional subject just because I loved language, and I ended up visiting summer school in Bulgaria three times during my university years. Today I'm proficient in English, and it is the language that I use in my work alongside my native Russian. I also speak Spanish, French and German.

Learning new exciting things and travelling are my passions. I travelled widely in my twenties and in 2009 started my Master's at one of the best universities in Europe: Central European University in Budapest. This was a fabulous experience and an enormous growing opportunity. In my MA thesis I was examining psychosomatic patterns in late medieval German medical texts*. I defended it 2011 and graduated with Honours one again.

My spiritual, enlightenment and self-discovery endevours have always been important to me. The first major breakthrough came when I was about 18 - I read a book by Louise Hay. It was something I was looking for and it confirmed my intuitive guesses and answered many questions. The teaching of Louise resonated with me so much, that I knew it was the watershed. I was completely sold on the idea that we can change our life with our thoughts and self-love. I began working with affirmations and positive thinking with astonishing passion and dedication. Within a few weeks I got my first results - I healed a problem with digestion and constipation that I was so used to since childhood that I didn't think it could be helped. Miracles started to occur and desires to be fulfilled. And my big dream to travel the world began to come true as well!

It was exactly this practice of positive thinking, visualization and believing in my dreams and my inner work that manifested my first trip. A trip to Bulgaria to visit a summer seminar in 2004. When I learnt about this opportunity, I was so excited about it that it was all I could think of. But I was at university and I had no money, nor could my parents afford that at that time, although all I had to pay for was the flight and personal expenses. But my burning desire was stronger than the obstancles, and unexpectedly a cousin offered to lend my family money in a very generous manner, absolutely uncharacteristic of her.

My second trip to Bulgaria came about in a similar but even more miraculous way. Once again money was the only issue standing between me and my heart's desire and this time a generous mysterious sponsor appeared. I received an envelope with the sum I needed so badly. I'm convinced this was nobody else but my Bulgarian teacher, although he denied it (thank you for this and everything you've done, dear Petar!).

By that time I was actively experimenting and expanding my self-development practice. Among the first methods and tools that have been beneficial and helpful I can mention these:

• law of attraction and manifestation;
• self-healing with visualization and affirmations;
• different types of meditation;
• energy work;
• the Norbekov System (healing and empowerment method based on Sufism) ...

When I was around 23 I was introduced to the world of tarot. It was absolutely unexpected and unusual - my boss gave me a deck and a book about the tarot as a gift. Something you don't expect from your boss when she's a serious middle-age man from South Africa.:-) Interesting enough, the deck was Motherpiece - which is quite bold, loud, feministic and emancipated in character. I'm glad my tarot work began with Motherpiece, and these vibrations and energies that were activated in me as I learnt my way around.

From the beginning tarot was a vehicle for understanding the secrets of the Universe, advance my spiritual and esoteric experience, and grow my consciousness. This remains true today, although I'm no stranger to divination and tarot magick.

In my normal life I was teaching English at a language school, a job I found exciting, rewarding, sometimes challenging and exhausting. My teaching experience and expertise grew, as I received two interntional teaching qualifications and continued tutoring and doing English/Russian translating from time to time, as I started to do back in high school.

But sitting in one place was not for me and soon I embarked on another great adventure. After travelling the US for three months and visiting Ecuador I settled down in Colombia.This was totally crazy as I never dreamed of or even planned to visit this country. In fact, before my big trip my dad asked me if I was going to visit such crazy places as Colombia and I answered no with conviction. The notion of the country I had back then was stereotypical and one-sided and could be summarized with two words: dangerous and drugs.

Luckily enough, the Universe is good at teaching and broadening horizons. I soon grew to love this country that became my home, and it holds a special place in my heart. Another great learning and growing experience, some of the things that Colombia has instilled in me is profound appreciation of nature and interest in the flora and fauna.

Thinking back, I see that Colombia was not a random destination but rather a place I was supposed to find myself in. There were signs - I had a Colombian student in my job - Marcela, a lovely lady from Bogota with exotic, "indigenous" appearance and heavy accent. Then I met Cristina from Medellin who worked at the same language school as me. It is not so surprising - at least to me - that a couple years after that I would end up in Colombia myself.

I settled down in Medellin having reconnected in Cristina and spent over five years here. And those were exciting and challenging years. I taught myself Spanish, expanded my professional experience, worked at two universities, travelled around Medellin and the country every change I got, went on my hikes and tours, learnt salsa and other Latino dances, tried my hand at various activities from baking to Chining ink drawing with a Colombian teacher who spent 4 years in China... For some time I kept a Russian-language blog sharing my knowledge of and love for Colombia.

There were some struggles and life twists as well, and I have always found strength through spiritual connection, self-care and holistic healing. Something that was my life-long passion and major interest was evolving into becoming something I wanted to share more openly and widely. Integrating my research and teaching skills, I began writing articles on topics that could make a difference in people's lives**.

All the knowledge and skills I've accumulated, from NLP techniques to Reiki 1 to psychotherapy tools, I could not hold in me anymore. I felt the need to do virtual webinars and workshops, where I could not only share what I know but also connect with people and I got into that, first in Russian, then English. Then an acquaintance wanted my help to help me with her issues - I got my first coaching client. I loved how easy and rewarding it was to help her gain emotional independence from her mother and be more empowered, more herself. I knew that I now had to do more of that, coaching and helping people become the person they were supposed to be.

As a part of this mission I run weekly pro bono workshops online for women, that are all about self-exploration and healing through connecting with like-minded people and singing. This is a safe space for sharing stories and perspectives, supporting oneself and others, looking inside oneself and reconnecting to the Self. All those ladies who are willing to share this part of the journey with me are welcome, more information and registration can be find here.

I am available for one-on-one and group coaching, as well as conducting workshops and teaching classes.

If you'd love me to help you peel off the layers that are preventing you from being the real vibrant you and live the life you want, I can help. Contact me here.



* You can familiarize yourself with my findings and conclusions in my article Emotion and Health: Evidence from Late Medieval Regimina Sanitatis, published in the Annual of Medieval Studies at CEU, vol. 18, 2012 (pp. 79-89). The annual also has the abstract of my thesis (p. 200).

** As a guest writer for the award-winning fastest-growing Russian language soft skills education platform, I authored 30 articles 4brain.ru. They cover topics like psychology and self-help techniques, wellness and personal efficiency, self-improvement, mental health and self-regulation, smart use of technology for a happy and balanced life.