Mar Harrsen

The question that I have been exploring which led me to this place where I am supporting others, is when I go beyond the 5 senses, who am I? This is a pretty radical way to identify and to live life

How would you describe the work that you do?  
It has been such an evolution of my own development. At this moment, what I am most identifying with is the idea of metaphysical healing beyond the physical. This idea of knowing thyself and exploring the self beyond the senses. I am looking at what it really means to be a spiritual being? 

What led you to this moment?
The question that I have been exploring which led me to this place where I am  supporting others, is when I go beyond the 5 senses, who am I? This is a pretty radical way to identify and to live life. 

What are some of the main tools you use in your work? 
The common component that is really coming through is prayer, as in a communication with the divine. Whether I am using limpias, through herbs or eggs, or sounds to purify the body. Whatever the physical thing is, behind it is prayer.

What are Limpias? 
Limpia means to clean. It is one of the oldest forms of healing for purifying the subtle body. The most traditional one is using a raw egg as a tool for drawing impurities from the body. Then the egg is cracked into a glass of water and read. This was the first limpia that I was taught by my teachers on the north coast of Peru. The egg itself has tremendous symbolism as a representation of life. Aligning that energy of life with energy of that person, and through that process, anything which is not the essence of that being, the egg absorbs. 

How did you end up in Peru? 
I had hit a rock bottom with my physical body and I was completely physically unwell. I couldn't find peace or healing in the model of western or even eastern medicine. I felt like I couldn’t go on like this. I could feel close to death. At that moment I started praying and asking for help. From there one thing after another led me to being in Peru and to being with two women on the north coast. It was through meeting these two beautiful souls that I started having experiences that I am not a body, Mar a physical being, that I am actually something else! They helped me understand that I am eternal. That there was nothing to fear.

What kind of people do you treat? 
I work with a lot of people with physical and mental imbalances - as well as with kids and animals. It is all coming through the same lens of identifying the root cause and identifying the mental states of fear. We can track it back to some experience where there was a big shock, something where things got confused. The common theme is a combination of truth and love - identifying what's really true and then my job always is to love.

How do you practice loving more? 
My teachers in Peru say that a true mother is a woman who loves any child as their own child. So everyday, I ask myself, how much more can I love a stranger? Can I open my heart a little more?

How do you encourage people to develop their own practices? 
When we see things as practices, it is so much more tender, and you often think, “oh I can do this or take that next step.” So I encourage my clients to try practicing something else and to see what happens. When you start seeing how it shifts your physical experience it becomes really exciting.

What are some of your daily rituals and practices? 
Meditation and prayer changed my life and I am totally dedicated to these two practices every day of my life. For me being in nature has always been a physical pathway to spirit, so I like to garden, or practice walking meditation. Every day I got to my altar and light incense, as an offering to spirit and an expression of my devotion to the unseen. I love scent and use this sandalwood incense that I have been burning for years. 

What is on your altar?
I have things that represent the 5 elements. - candle for fire, flowers or stones for earth, holy water from my teachers, and incense for air. Spirit is the 5th and it is an image of the mother. 

What is on your bedside table?
A candle, whatever sacred text I am reading, and a glass of water. Right now I also have a stone I found in Portugal, when I wake up it reminds me that anything is possible. 

Are there other objects in your space that bring you joy? 
I collect ceramics. Manuka honey. I always have Rosewater spray. 

What are 3 things that bring you joy? 
People, animals and nature. We can't see spirit through our eyes, but we can see spirit through each other and understand more by connecting with others, including animals. My dog Alma has taught me so much about play and joy. 

What is one of your favorite books?
Heal Thyself by Edward Bach  

The 3 things I do everyday are… 
Prayer, meditation and gratitude

Photos from Mar Harrsen