A physician of the mind
I call myself a physician of the mind, or a metaphysician- a doctor/healer who helps facilitate healing through means that are beyond the physical- located within the realm of the mind and beyond.
When I was a little girl, I was fascinated with stories about the power of the mind- stories of ESP, telepathy and clairvoyance and so forth. There was no internet those days but I would scour the local library for all books on this topic and I loved watching shows such as Bewitched and I dream of Jeannie.
The year before I entered medical school, while visiting my native India, during a pilgrimage, I experienced what Abraham Maslow referred to as a “peak” experience- where time stands still; all sense of barrier between “me” and “other” simply dissolves.
In that moment, I experienced a sense of wholeness where nothing was lacking and there was no need to ‘do’ anything. I and everything I perceived were perfect just where we were. Nothing to change. Nothing to fix.
My fascination with the power of the mind plus my experience had a profound influence on me. I found myself constantly asking more questions than my professors of medicine could answer.
What is healing? What are the blocks to healing?
What is the role of the mind, emotions and beliefs in healing?
What is the role of Spirit in healing?
I was on a quest to find the true source of healing which I intuitively knew lay in the mind!
My search actually began with my roots as I was born in India in a family of herbalists and homeopaths. I completed my medical school and residency in pediatrics in NYC at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and NY Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. I then went on to study integrative healing arts including homeopathy, Ayurveda, yoga, and mind body medicine. I practiced integrative medicine for children and adults for almost ten years (mostly in Rochester NY as well as NYC). After my peak experience in India, I seemed to draw a series of many different spiritual teachers to me and delved deeply into studying Hinduism, Buddhism, Vedanta and this eventually led me to A Course in Miracles.
I then faced a chronic pain/ illness that forced me to go even deeper with healing – to look at the mind in a very profound way. While I used conventional methods to heal including surgery and medications, I feel that the shift for healing happened first in the mind and then the rest of the pieces fell into place. My experience of healing inspired me to create Coaching for Inner Peace along with an online learning academy called Shanti Academy where I share tools for this deep healing with my clients. My deep desire is to share the tools that helped me heal with others facing similar challenges.