By JAYSON DIMAANO
Residents who have been dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year, might be able to find some helpful advice in East Toronto author Catherine Allon’s book Be Free Here and Now: The Art of Universal Living.
A local psychotherapist and spiritual counsellor, Allon talked about how the difficulties of the pandemic and her book in an interview with Beach Metro News earlier this month.
“I decided that the more awake and aware people are, the more they are going to self-heal, live a healthy lifestyle, take care of the planet, take care of society and taken care of their loved ones,” she said. “That became my passion.”
Allon became a psychotherapist in 1978, working with Children’s Aid for 11 years and then working with the Ministry of Health for another eight years.
She said she realized in 1998 that being a psychotherapist was not going to be her career for the rest of her life, and instead she became a spiritual counsellor.
Since then, she does counselling from her home in Kingston Road and Main Street area.
As a resident of the Beach for more than 40 years, she said she absolutely loves the area.
“I love the Beaches. It’s such an open area and people are very friendly. I just came back from a walk (with my partner, Blair) in the Glen Stewart Ravine and a couple of young girls said hello to us with a big smile and started talking to us,” said Allon.
“That is just how friendly people are in this area. You know people in the streets, you greet each other and share how they are feeling during this period of COVID-19.”
Be Free Here and Now: The Art of Universal Living was released on March 3, 2020, right before the start of the pandemic in Canada.
She said the book wrote her, she didn’t write it.
“The book came through me, it wanted to be written. I wanted to contribute it to people to give them all the ideas in the book to help them understand themselves and the world. To live more peacefully and to take care of the earth,” said Allon.
She added the release of her book was at the same time as when people began to feel they were not free. She believes that we are all eternal souls that live many lifetimes.
“We came back to the planet at this time to help move it forward and help each other know that we are free, we are sovereign beings and we are one,” said Allon.
“There are so many differences from each other, yet we are all one. We all have feelings, we all suffer. We all feel pain, shame and blame each other. On the other hand, we love each other, we know how to feel good.”
Allon said the differences between people drop once we learn from each other, and share each other’s pain and problems. From that, everyone realizes their similarities.
For more information on Be Free Here and Now: The Art of Universal Living, please go to https://www.balboapress.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/804236-be-free-here-now
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