Mary Daniels - Wild Awakening: 9 Questions That Saved My Life

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Text Mary Daniels, 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or otherwise be copied for public or private use, other than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews, without prior written permission of the publisher.

The information given in this book should not be treated as a substitute for professional medical advice; always consult a medical practitioner. Any use of information in this book is at the readers discretion and risk. Neither the author nor the publisher can be held responsible for any loss, claim or damage arising out of the use, or misuse, of the suggestions made, the failure to take medical advice or for any material on third party websites.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-78180-583-1 in print
ISBN 978-1-78180-606-7 in ePub format
ISBN 978-1-78180-607-4 in Kindle format

Interior images: 1, 57, 183 Carmen Spitznagel/Trevillion Images and Elisabeth Ansley/Trevillion Images

To all you beautiful souls out there going
through your own Wild Awakening
Hang in there, its worth the ride!

Im a strong believer in the idea that people come into our lives for a reason to teach us things that will help us grow. And although it can sometimes be painful while were in the thick of those lessons, afterwards its amazing to see the gifts that this growth has offered us.

With this in mind, Ive attempted to write this book with as much compassion and consideration as possible towards those mentioned in it the people whose paths have crossed mine in such a powerful way. In exploring some of my deeper, more powerful lessons in this book, Ive chosen to share some very raw and personal moments in my life that have involved family members, friends and past partners.

Ive concealed the identity of these people as much as possible, but its my hope that they can see the importance of sharing these lessons, and know that I in no way underestimate the depth of the feelings that may arise as a result. To them I say: I love you deeply and am eternally grateful for the role you have played in my growth and awareness of self. And I hope that others will also enjoy the opportunity for growth that our story offers.

My favourite page of the entire book: my thank yous!

To my son aka living legend No.2 (you know who is No.1 ;-)

You have been my entertainment, my friend, my 360-degree
mirror, my teacher, my clinical trial for complementary medicine,
my financial pain in the arse and at times my reason for living.
I am so proud of you, have often lived in fear of what you would
do next, and love you ;-) Seize life with both hands, son, for you
deserve it; remember that life only gives you what you put in.

To Mandena my guardian angel, spirit guide and dearest friend

For your presence, guidance, lessons and being
among the pages of this book and throughout my life.
Woman, you truly are a Gift from God, Consciousness
itself, no words are needed for this kind of love.

To the courageous men who dared to be in my life

Harry and Kwa my heroes. Thank you for
just being you and being there!

My father I love you, I chose you; rest in peace.

Daddy Slim I love you and missed you all
my life. Thank you for picking me.

To Mr Ex to our adventures, growth, love,
and your belief in this and me.

Cam my surrogate girlfriend, best mate, and
proof that great men and fathers do exist!

G the first man to really teach me about
self-love you are so, so precious.

My adopted boys love you and proud of you all.

Paul for opening up your home and heart: you saved me!

And of course, Mr Italy my perfect mirror, equilibrium
and pain in the arse. Real Love, Mister!

To the powerful women who have inspired me and touched my life

My mum I am so, so proud of you. I know this
journey was hard. For all that you are, I love you!

My foster mum for being there for me whenever
I needed you, and for the love I always felt.

My sisters for inspiring me and loving me
in such different ways; I love you all.

Kim for all that youve given and all that
you deserved. I love you my dear.

My incredible sisters-in-law your support has been a gift.

My sexy soul sisters Anna (forever friends); Angie Pang (where
else, my dear) and Venetia (My Movie love); to Viv, my baby sis and
long-time champion and Michelle (my powerful little right arm) xx

Barbara, Vandana, Gill and Pauline
Beautiful people, magical times!

Carole Catto thank you for being there without
me even having to ask: youre an angel!

And to all the incredible WILD WOMEN in my life!!
You inspire me every single day! xx

A big shout out, hugs, massive snogs and gratitude to:

My big, crazy family: cousins, in-laws, Jack, Pat and Ish,
my Alternatives family and amazing volunteers!

The good people at St. Jamess Church in London, especially
Ashley and Revd. Lucy Winkett (Wise woman). My new Hay House
family, especially Michelle Pilley (The Wise Wild Woman that you
are; thank you so much for following your intuition; Jo for simply
being bloody marvellous! Leanne for the beautiful cover.
Julie Oughton for always making the dates work.
My phenomenal editor Debra Wolter (theres good, and
then theres unbelievable!). The Holdens, Ruth and the rest
of the team: you guys rock!! Future Foundations doing cool
things with young people! My Italian family at Tribewanted
Monestevole, Adrienne, Alison and The Mexican Exchange team!

And finally, to those I do not have enough space to list here: you
know who you are. Thank you for all the amazing life lessons; I am
so grateful to know you, love you and to have learned from you!

I wont lie when I was asked to write this book my initial reaction was: Does the world really need another self-help book, and am I even qualified to write one? Especially as in some ways, my life is still a mess.

Id long thought that Id love to write a book, and hopefully find a way to share my crazy experiences and powerful life lessons. But I struggled to think of a way of approaching it that wouldnt make it yet another self-help book. I was tired of all those newspaper and magazine articles and blogs telling me what to do, how to live my life, how to think and be! 7 steps to this, 9 steps to that, 10 steps to eternal bliss and freedom! I felt like shouting,