Jaimie Cahlil – Background

I was born in Oxford (UK), and spent my childhood in a village near Thame, at the edge of the Buckinghamshire border, close to Oxfordshire. Childhood was, for me a time of powerful dreams, subtle experiences & intuitions, philosophical ideas, and creative self-expression through art and writing. My awareness of being here among others, and the poignancy of our shared presence, profoundly moving. On submission of my drawings at age 16, I gained a place in Oxford University’s Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. The city of Oxford itself became my home. After graduating at 20, in the following years, as I worked in both education and in psychological health environments, my paintings became increasingly intuitive and symbolic. In the late 1980′s I moved to my present home & workplace on the edge between Oxford city and Headington.

There’s no greater teacher than life itself. Learning to engage, I listened to the truth within myself, and to others – who came to me with their troubles. After many years had passed, I felt ready for the demanding process of professional training, initially in counselling and then psychotherapy. During 8 years of training, I noticed my paintings were becoming increasingly therapeutic in both feel and effect. My work as artist and my work as psychotherapist have been evolving in a parallel, one nourishing the other. I’m now long established in the Headington end of Oxford city, where I run my counselling and psychotherapy practice. This is also where I continue to paint, exhibit and sell my paintings. (www.cahlil-art.co.uk/)

Mandala of Creative Essence’ @ Jaimie Cahlil

My professional work as a counsellor & psychotherapist benefits from previous experience gained in my working life. In summary, the first of these was in special needs education, where I gave one-to-one support within primary and secondary education. Next, I moved on to work in day care centres for the elderly with histories of psychiatric and emotional issues. And then I chose to work in mental health (adult acute psychiatric care), continuing there for some years – alongside my diploma trainings (totalling 8 years), the first in integrative counselling, the second in transpersonal psychotherapy – at CCPE. (Recently I added a Certificate in Psychosexual Health – a course with a transpersonal flavour.)

My personal meditation practice originally helped me develop an inner stillness within, enabling me to paint increasingly intuitively. Over the years, I have noticed how mindfulness practice, and the subtle awareness such an attitude develops, infuses my work as therapist. This makes the process of therapy immensely more effective – and a rewarding ‘investment’. I find that acceptance of our own humanly imperfect self helps us feel genuinely ‘at home’ and at ease within. Then we can enjoy true quality of life.

PLEASE NOTE: copyright of all paintings reproduced here belongs to me. I am happy for you to copy these images (strictly in their whole form only) – for your personal use only. However, MY WRITTEN PERMISSION IS REQUIRED before you may reproduce any one of these images to share with others – and this is on condition that you include a written message with each reproduced image, clearly crediting the work to me: © Jaimie Cahlil