Coming Home: My Journey from Scientist to Healer

By Jodie from The Healing Bower

For the past 25 years, I’ve lived and worked as a marine scientist. But it was never a straightforward path. Until recently, I never held a permanent role—only short-term contracts that led me across disciplines: from lab and field research to consulting, and in and out of government policy.

At sea on a Welsh fishing vessel - my postdoctoral research on sustainable fishing

I had a few stop/starts in my 20s and after half finished degree in Naturopathy (I loved the herbs and massage but wanted more research) I enrolled in a Bachelor of Science and later a PhD in marine molecular ecology. Science became my identity. What I found comforting was that - all there is to know could be learned in books or through research. It was a world ruled by certainty in materialism—where only what could be seen, measured, or proven was considered real. I spent years immersed in lab and fieldwork; some exciting (tagging sharks, aerial dugong surveys, days at sea on Welsh fishing vessels) some mundane (running PCRs, dissecting and analysing crab gonads or quality checking data for hours on end). I found the exciting and mundane equally fulfilling in so many ways.

I felt proud of all that I had achieved, especially given how far I’d come against the odds (and low expectations... I'll leave my troubled youth out of this post). My ego clung tightly to my career as evidence of my worthiness. So, when I returned home from an intense three-year postdoctoral fellowship in the UK, I expected doors to fly open. I thought I’d have my pick of jobs.

Instead, I fell face-first into unemployment.

There was nothing. Not one offer. Not even an interview.

I deconstructed my CV in desperation, stripping away the expertise I had worked so hard for, just to apply for anything that might pay the mortgage. With each skill I removed, I also lost a chunk of my confidence. After more than 160 applications and six months of failed attempts to land a job, I was shattered.

One day, after the last rejection letter I thought I could take, I fell to my knees and screamed. It sounds a little dramatic, but in that moment, I felt like I had died. Something within me was permanently changed. I became a ghost, floating above a life that no longer made sense. I was numb, disconnected, utterly lost and dissociated from the positive self I barely remembered.

Light in a dark place

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light" JK Rowling, Harry Potter

AI image by Midjourney

Then a friend invited me over and offered me a Theta Healing session. I remember thinking, what the hell is a Theta healing, and then, Why not? It can’t hurt.

She asked me what I most needed. I said, “I feel completely disconnected from my life, as if I’m watching a horrible movie and I can’t change the channel.”

She took my hands, and after a series of questions, we sat in meditation for a moment. Something inperceivable shifted. I was no longer in the room.

I found myself at Sister Rock; a place I hadn’t thought of in years. In waking life, it was a bunch of boulders covered in graffiti, a Victorian road trip stop I’d made many years ago. But in the vision, it was pristine, glowing, alive. A powerful energy pulsed through the land. An old Aboriginal woman walked out of the bush. She tried to speak, but I couldn’t hear her. Her face flashed with impatience, and she jumped straight into my body. Suddenly, I saw the world through her eyes.

The rocks, the dirt, the trees - everything was conscious. Every grain of earth held memory. And in that moment, I felt how I was part of it all. And it was part of me.

The shock of the deep connection rippled through me. Tears rolled down my real-life face. I touched my heart instinctively. In my vision, the woman rolled out of my body laughing. She gave me a wry smile that conveyed a mix of sadness and humour as if to say Silly white girl, you have so much to learn. She then turned and disappeared into the bush.

I cried for three days. If I'm truthful I still tear up writing this (even though it was about 9 years ago now).

I cried, not because I was sad. But because I had received the most beautiful gift I’ve ever known: a connection to my life and an open heart. I’d felt a love so vast, so ancient, that it repaired what was broken inside me. It was the moment I began to understand that there was more to life than our tangible world, and I also learned what it meant to make choices from my heart.

It changed everything.

My Healing Path Unfolded

I went back to my Naturopathic roots - learning to sit and sketch in nature and appreciating herbs as teachers. Here I'm at Mavis Kitchen Gardens, Uki teaching a plant connection workshop.

From that moment, I began to explore healing; not as a career, but as a necessity. Slowly, I pieced myself back together. And now, looking back, I see how my scientific training had actually prepared me, not just for rigorous inquiry, but for deep commitment to the path of remembering.

Since 2016, I have immersed myself in healing. Some modalities helped a little, others resulted in massive shifts of consciousness and healing. And each time, I reclaimed a part of myself I didn’t know I had lost.

Modalities I’ve explored and trained in include:

• Healing sessions received: Theta Healing, Akashic Records, Reiki, Lomi Lomi massage, journalling, shadow work, Rōmī Rōmī (a maori bodywork healing), Time line therapy, Quantum healing, QHHT, plant journey, Bowen therapy, Acupuncture, Naturopathic assistance through tough times, Inner child retrieval and healing (Teal Swan's completion process) - and probably others I've forgotten.

• Courses undertaken: Reiki (Levels I, II, and Master/Teacher), Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (Level 1 and 2), Akashic Records (two formal certifications), Mediumship, Energy Healing, Tarot, Lomi Lomi Massage (including Lava Shells, Trauma-Informed Massage, and Rites of Passage), Permaculture, Creative writing, and beginners courses in sketching, watercolours and pottery.

• Circles: I have attended many psychic development and tarot circles and created my own including: The Woo Woo Lounge (co-hosted with a dear friend) and Tarot Circles as I've found healing in community is boundless and the generous, authentic and beautiful people I've met through these circles continue to enrich my life.

• Books: too many to mention. You can find some in this blog post: Books I recommend to people I love.

Over the years I continue to learn and heal and learn again. I am not becoming someone new, I am on a journey to remembering who I am. I think the most important thing to remember is that each healing journey is a profoundly unique experience, and there doesn't have to be an end point to the mysteries and wonder that are our lives. Mine life now feels like a continual gentle unfurling, like the lotus - with the occational heart wrenching, gut punch moments of clarity which I've learned to trust, will always lead to more profound healing.

Greenspace Creative became The Healing Bower in 2024 - the name and logo is inspired by the Satin Bower Bird, who collects shiny blue treasures in the avenue of twigs (the bower) as an offering.

Creating a soul aligned business

Today, I feel more at home in my skin than I ever have. I’m owning my shadows, embracing my gifts, and letting go of what no longer serves. My first business Greenspace Creative held a nature and creative focus, and didn't seem to be the right name for my rapidly expanding and diverse offerings. I revisited my purpose and created The Healing Bower.

The Healing Bower didn’t begin as a business plan. It unfolded organically, one heartfelt step at a time. Over the past three years, I’ve allowed it to grow with me. I follow what lights me up. I trust where I’m guided. I create offerings not from strategy, but from soul.

Now, at 52, I’m stepping fully into my wisdom years, ready to support others on their journey of healing and self-discovery. Teaching and passing on what I have learnt is my passion.

Want to learn with me?

Want a grounded beginning in energy healing? Check out my Reiki Courses.

Curious to develop your intuition through Tarot, I have a courses and circles to support your journey.

Simply want a session or a reading with me? Please explore my offerings on the website.

Thank you for reading my story. I would love to hear yours.

With love,

Jodie