Beyond The Horizon
By Dean Dampney, Holistic Counsellor and Psychotherapist Metavision Institute Alum
3rd November 2022
From the sand dune out front, I stood angling my body towards the distant telstra tower to the west, ever mindful that my phone call with Dee could drop below the one bar of reception and into oblivion beyond the horizon at any moment. I liked the warmth and clarity in her voice. I tried to impress her with my perception of personal bounty from which I was positioned so sweetly and so naively. As I understood it, I was on the verge of embarking on the next two years of my life towards apparently becoming a Professional Holistic Counsellor and Psychotherapist - whatever that meant. I’d simply followed the breadcrumbs of my lucid dream-like existence unto that calling, and had no intention of doing anything else. Just like the Fairy Tale, I should have known that within the allure of houses made of lollies, there may be an oven within which things for Hansel and Greta and indeed myself, the adventurous seekers of truth in the unknown that we represent, might get a little heated.
I was In Process, before I even knew what to be In Process meant. And fast forward three years from that pivotal phone conversation, I find myself collaborating and co-creating meaning and purpose, In Process, with people I’ve previously never met, from that same dune system. We sit together in three legged rusty bucket seats so kindly left by surfers too tired of looking out through smeared sunglasses to stand and watch the ocean any longer. These sessions are metres from where the conversation about unfolding our consciousness began with Dee. From Metavision on the Southern Highlands, channelled by The Divine Dee, that initial ‘interview’ to verify my alignment with the course, has turned into so much more than I could possibly dream - consciously!
I’m the rule breaker guy. I operate receptively as opposed to strategically, and tend to find myself going beyond the constructs of societal norms. Simply for the notion that they usually don’t feel right. A minimalist office with aluminium framed accreditations, and too small a window, never was going to be my way. Whilst studying I joked to my friends that I’d run Therapy Sessions from beanbags on the roof rack platform on top of The Crystal Voyager (also known as a Toyota Hiace long wheel base van). There’d be a little ladder that I’d present, as I hooked it over the guiding edge above, motioning us to move together with an engaged and piercing request by yours truly to be joined in ascension. From up there, we can see so much more, I’d say, dangling the bait for more than what we’d both bargained for.
I never got that rooftop platform, but have had plenty of hugs across the slightly awkward physical divide of the centre console between the drivers and passenger seats. It serves as a safety barrier at first for those that I’m joined by for the first time, before becoming something that sticks into our ribs, as we present as two new lovers intertwined in deep connection, marking the end of what usually feels like a profound experience. The Comfy Corner at home thankfully has curbed the impediments of van life therapizing. The invitation
like always, being one to meet me with no expectations, and an openness to explore what’s beyond view.
In those formative years of my studies I procrastinated a little with respect to getting my Therapy Hours up, both as client and student therapist. But I was encouraged by my assignments of philosophical downloading, having been received and graded positively enough, for me to start to believe that my heart was aligned to my professional trajectory. Before I knew it I was standing over a former Metavision Student and local community wise woman, as she reenacted her fathers death in such a present state that we both bore witness to complexities and insights of the experience that illuminated the nuances of her stuck trauma like never before. We both emerged triumphant in that small yet significant battle of The Divine versus The Ego.
On another occasion, one of the guys I hadn’t spoken to much wore a hat pulled low over his brow with the words Got Wisdom stitched into its front in big letters. He had a sleeve tattoo that spoke to me of a different world to mine. He also happened to beckon from The Ulladulla Region where we both live to this day. Picking him as a skater based on his appearance I suggested we go and roll around the local skatepark sometime, which he agreed to before admitting he didn’t actually skate. Perhaps we should just catch up and do way more than move little wheels on concrete and talk shit, I thought to myself. There was something about him that screamed I don’t do this small talk bullshit.
We decided we’d resurrect Di Black, the wise woman open enough to be both my client and my therapist, from the floorboards of our existential therapy session years before, to conjoin Chad and myself in the thinking and the doing that we are both significantly more inclined towards beyond the edge coping of the halfpipes. The coming together is from our mind, body and souls, for everything that we live and breathe for. And that is personal and collective growth. The forum we’ve found ourselves in, is from behind our Zoom screens, as we bang on about ‘relationship with self and other’ in our podcast called Conversations For Men and Women.
We’re about a thousand downloads in after episode twenty two, towards the end of the year twenty twenty two, which all tend to agree, is very symbolic of union where one meets one. In our case adding up to three. So Di, Chad, and myself sometimes choose a topic the day before, along the lines of why the fuck are relationships so hard, and then jump into an unfolding free flow of whatever comes. Chad’s the person, who indeed epitomises Got Wisdom, is The Whip who cuts, Di is the Divine Feminine Elder, and I try and tie things together with a twine of Buddhist Philosophical channelling that may or may not make sense. It’s difficult to speak with your head in an oven.
Di continues to get older and closer to death according to both her and The Universal Law that everything changes and isn’t permanent. She serves as my mother, friend and guide, who I’m pretty sure has an eternity to go before I’m placing daisy chains before her headstone. Her sage advice serves all that come into contact with her. Chad’s manifested giving up plumbing for good, whilst building a house, experiencing cyclic yet upwardly spiralling beginnings and endings in relationships. All the whilst working a full time workload as one of the best Holistic Psychotherapists I can possibly imagine anyone working with.
Meanwhile from the breadcrumbs to sand dunes, through the unfolding of my journey as a student, came the not so unexpected heightened and challenging enough experiences that go with the territory. Through divorse, recoupling, uncoupling, plant medicine journeys, uncoupling whilst on plant medicine journeys, awkward car cuddles, wrangling my beautiful three boys, and the quest for upholding a quest for unconditional love throughout, I’ve arrived exactly where I’m at. In the here and now. Significantly wiser and more content for the journey.
Meanwhile I’m continuing to see a relatively small number of clients on a weekly basis, all of whom leave me deeply satiated on all levels, and pinching myself that my so-called ‘work’ yields some of the most profound connected and therefore meaningful experiences of my life. Every session is such an adventure. So often defined by vulnerability and openness and always connected so deeply from the heart. Even though the ride is usually an emotional one, the allowing and freedom to be, inevitably illuminates and reveals beauty in the shadows.
Where this will take us: me, let alone Di and Chad, our fellow students, The Metavision Alumni, and our sacred guides that have brought us this far, along with our clients, friends and families - who knows? But as we continue on this path to getting to know ourselves, our minds, our souls journey, with more and more insight, and giving up the fight to so-called protective yet obstructive forces from ego, the sense is that we can live in hope. That regardless of whether the place at which we arrive presents a southerly front marching with dark clouds and white horses across the sea towards us, or double rainbows and unicorns, that with insight and wisdom we can look towards the horizon with purpose, gratitude, and love, knowing we’re exactly where we need to be.
Mixed metaphors, mythical journeys, and philosophical ramblings aside, I offer my deepest gratitude to Christina, Dee and all the incredible supporters and guides of The Metavision Institute for collaborating with me, for believing in me, and for all of us, to be able rise and shine. The challenges to teachings have been worth more than any material currency I can reference - and looking towards the horizon, I rest peacefully in the assurance that the light is shining brightly in the right direction.
