Thursday 3 June 2010

The Mileage of a Love Note or Poem

All Text (C) Aisha Ali 1997-2010 www.livingfromtheheart.co.uk
Aisha Ali exercises her moral right to be named and acknowledged as author of extracts and quotations.No extract may be reproduced in any context.


Sean Haldane, a nominee for the post of professor of poetry at Oxford, talks about his dual life as a poet and neuroscientist

“I now think poetry has more capacity to change people than psychotherapy”

Listen to presences inside poems. Let them take you where they will.

Poetry communicates human emotion; it is the voice of the heart. It is the language of joy.



Living from the Heart has been running for many years; Aisha Ali its founder has an integrative approach  drawing from Humanistic, Developmental, Transpersonal, Gestalt, psychodynamic and behavioural and cognitive Psychotherapy. It uses energy-based transformational psychotherapy combining breath work, energy work, yoga, Body Work, Art therapy, Drama therapy and Meditation. The programme focuses on relationships with self and others working with couples and individuals and covers a number of themes around relationship pro. Aisha has a deep grounding and understanding in all aspects of Psychotherapy, meditation and the spiritual path, and has a profound appreciation of how different spiritual practices and traditions fit together as a whole.



The Day before my return from running Living from the Heart in Italy, I saw a little girl wearing a retro T shirt in bright colours with Love is..... printed on it, it struck a chord taking me back to the Love is... comic strip created by New Zealand artist Kim Grove in the late 1960s, it began as a series of love notes that Kim drew for her beloved Roberto Casali. It became very popular in the 70’s and 80’s when sending greeting cards and leaving notes and poems was common place. The comic strip follows the various stages of romance, the first blushes of attraction, dating, establishing a relationship, power struggles, moving towards stability, commitment and co creation stages.

The innocence and simplicity of the image moved me, having just spent the week running ‘Awakening the Heart’ Retreat in Italy.

It summed up the week, encouraging people to do just the same, understanding the beautiful simplicity of Love, which can be turned into a struggle by our unresolved wounds and undeveloped identities.

The immersion in the creative process was a powerful way of exploring feelings, especially when it comes to the overwhelming emotions associated with loss, separation and trauma. The process helps people to find a new language to talk about love and relationships.

Communicating and stating intentions clearly in relationships, whilst not getting drawn into recreating trauma and conflicts is a tricky business.

This kind of language is in alignment with authenticity and truth, it is a language which is your own, and it takes you closer, not further away from, yourself.


The use of the creative process allows individuals to find an authentic language which brings people closer to themselves creating a place in which to state intentions clearly in relationships avoiding the recurrence of trauma and conflicts.



By trusting the wisdom of your heart and mind you can become stronger, more authentic and more loving. You will attract all that is right for you and the right relationships.



Learning through Joy is an option we do not always recognise, the power of Love is in its simplicity.

Living from the Heart Retreat

Le Marche ITALY

9th - 16th September 2010

Retreat for couples and individuals



Awakening The Heart is a gentle week long retreat designed to offer you a nurturing space to reflect, rest and renew offering an opportunity to obtain distance from daily life. It has been designed for individuals and couples who are ready and committed to reaching their full potential.

Love is... Universal



Italian: L'amore è...Spanish: Amor Es...French: L'amour c'est...Portuguese: Amar é...Serbian: Ljubav je...Dutch: Liefde is...Afrikaans: Liefde is...German: Liebe ist …Icelandic: Ást er...Croatian: Ljubav je...
Russian: Любовь это... (Ljubov' eto)'Turkish: Aşk ...dır.Persian: ...عشق یعنیFinnish: Rakkautta on...
Danish: Lykken er..



(C) Aisha Ali and Living from the Heart