Dr Susan Cooper
UK Register of Spiritual Caregivers
Spiritual Companion
Spiritual Caregiver
Spiritual Wellbeing
I welcome everyone who wishes to engage with and deepen their spiritual connection and who look to spirit for guidance in their everyday affairs. I believe spirit illuminates the life of us all, whether we have religious beliefs or none.
I offer compassionate listening and a quiet safe space to connect with spirit and the wonder and mystery of nature. Earthly issues are viewed through the lens of spirit and your spiritual journey. There is thorough and rigorous research demonstrating the physical and mental health benefits of spirituality and religion.
You will have the chance to pause, reflect and restore, gaining insight and inspiration from spirit. We may share silence together. Spiritual seeds may unfold and be felt in the days and weeks following the session.
The inner life of art and education, of artists and teachers, is inspired and informed by the power of spirit, as we share our gifts as service to the community.
“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder” – John O’Donohue
Your Spiritual Journey
We may talk about your spiritual development, exploring that you are on a lifelong journey developing heart and mind, compassion and consciousness.
Silence and Meditation
We may take some quiet time together; meditation can be healing, reassuring and supportive.
Spiritual Connection
We may explore together the ways in which you can best develop and deepen your connection with the wonder and energy of life.
Listening
With compassion, discretion and respect, I will reassure and support you through careful listening, seeking fully to understand your personal story and circumstances.
“…one of the problems was that I didn’t seem to get below the surface of the decision. I knew there was something more to it than this, but I couldn’t discern what it was.
It was helpful to share that with the added dimension of the ‘sacred hour’, the silence, the peaceful contemplation. The effect went on long after, because we didn’t try to sort it out, but just acknowledged what it was and left it there. As the weeks went by, I didn’t feel the need to sort it out, just to keep listening and holding the ambivalence as we had done. In the end, I felt able to read the situation that I was in with discernment and in touch with my gut feelings in a way that is quite rare for me. There was something about doing this together, without pressure to rationalise or conclude, that really helped. Now I’ve made the decision, I don’t feel tossed around by fate, but grounded and at peace with it.” – JS, from London
I have been a professional ballet and contemporary dancer, choreographer, teacher, writer and scholar for over five decades. At the same time, I have had a rich spiritual life running parallel to my working life in theatre and education. These two interlace and have guided me in all aspects of my journey. I relish the chance to share spiritual companionship and caregiving.
My longstanding experience working in dance, theatre and education have made me especially aware of the unique challenges faced by folk in these professions and by creatives in all fields. I live in busy, crowded inner London, and understand how finding the time and space to be in nature may be difficult. Yet, Gaia grows in the cracks between the pavements, thrusting through barren walls, and thriving in the most unlikely places.
Unpromising situations affect us all and our energies can be caught up in solving our everyday issues. Connection with spirit can sometimes appear to be lost, and the peace and sanctuary found within are forgotten. A Spiritual Companioning session can help to guide you back to your inner source of spiritual nourishment and complement other professional caring and therapeutic agencies.
I am a member of The Spiritual Companions Trust and the UK Register of Spiritual Caregivers, and offer individual person-centred Spiritual Companion support.
I offer sessions by Zoom or Skype, and suggest a free 30 minute conversation to see if Spiritual Companioning is right for you.
Please email me for more details, prices and special offers info@susiedeva.co.uk
I trained at the Royal Ballet School and danced professionally for many years, including with Rambert (Ballet Rambert as it then was) and Scottish Ballet. I have choreographed extensively and worked in dance education and training internationally, notably for the Royal Academy of Dance and as Choreography tutor at the Royal Ballet School, White Lodge.
I have been involved in the development of vocational dance degrees in the UK, establishing the BA (Hons) Professional Dance and Musical Theatre degree at Urdang and acting as External Examiner for several leading dance institutions.
Awarded a PhD in 2006 from London Contemporary Dance School (University of Kent) on the choreography of Norman Morrice for Ballet Rambert, my publications include Staging Dance (1998) published by A&C Black/Routledge and, most recently, Classicist’s Eye, Innovator’s Urge: the ballets of Liam Scarlett, for the Oxford Handbook of Contemporary Ballet (2021) eds. Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel and Jill Nunes Jensen.
None of this would have been possible without the grace and blessing of guides and teachers in both the worldly and spiritual realms.
Dr Susan Cooper ARAD (Dip PDTC)
Email: info@susiedeva.co.uk
Location: London SW11
© Dr Susan Cooper 2023