Charis Nick-Torok

Years ago, after reaching dire depths of emptiness on a physical, emotional and spiritual level, I discovered that my way forward was ironically a path that had always been there, but too often ignored. Ultimately, my quest for stillness, my love affair with nature and animals, and my desire to breathe and to serve was in fact, not my nemeses but my salvation. Unfortunately, misaligned priorities, my own and those of others, along with my perception of my life circumstances were holding me back.

It wasn’t until I discovered Palouse that I found the missing piece to accessing my own “North,” was not only the most critical but also the most difficult—the need for self-compassion. Since arriving in this nurturing community, I have learned that the way forward is not linear…for anyone! Nor is the path fixed or subservient to a “right” way of cultivating the jewels of present awareness and loving kindness, although both are critical to our own wellbeing. What is universal is the fact that our individual journey here provides the richness for our way forward, individually, and together. Each week, I learn so much from the insights, wisdom and sharing of everyone in the groups, and I leave the meetings with the profound sense that our unique and shared experience and perspectives could only be acquired from our struggle to get here. Palouse and its community are a gift, and one of the gifts for me is the awareness that my path, though not easy or even desired many times, was ultimately valuable. Without my journey and arrival here, I may not have discovered a way to begin living my life “with” my circumstances, rather than simply surviving through life on any given day.

Most importantly, what I have discovered with the Palouse foundation and my subsequent involvement with energy work, is that the practice builds resilience, but does not guarantee that a ‘hot mess’ of reaction isn’t lurking just around the corner—even if you are a seasoned practitioner! The profound value of the course and the ongoing community engagement is that it serves as a loving embrace if we fall, and a means of getting up with dignity and even a chuckle at times, if the fall wasn’t as graceful as we desired.

As Palouse has always done for me, my hope is that our meeting space will cultivate a safe and loving ‘landing zone’ for our shared humanness, and a means of furthering our exploration and understanding of the course principles through our unique perspectives. None of us are experts at life, but navigating together we can find our own resilience, strength and most importantly, joy. Namaste.

You can contact Charis through the Contact page.