Maggy's background

There is an ancient curse: ‘May you live in interesting times…’
 

I’ve lived in very interesting times—including widowhood and divorce, an encounter with an eight-foot barracuda off the Australian Barrier Reef and emigrating to the USA for a whole 11 months—but I have also, always been incredibly blessed. The posh photos on this site, for example, came from a free makeover and photo-shoot that I won in a competition…

I’ve been a journalist for much of my life—in radio, TV, newspapers and magazines. My youthful ambition to produce a network television show by the time I was 30 was achieved with 11 hours to spare. It is believed to be a coincidence that the programme, Pebble Mill at One, was de-commissioned almost immediately.

In 1988, my book China by Rail (Century) led to my making two ITV travel documentaries on China. The first one was a success; the second one was due to come out just before the rebellion of Tiananmen Square…

Up to then, I was an 'armchair Christian' going to church at Christmas and Easter and quietly ignoring most of the rest of my faith when it did not suit me. Then, my husband Henry died. Henry was an atheist and a local vicar told me that he could not go to heaven if he were not a Christian.

I responded by throwing Christianity (and the armchair) out of the window. Then I ‘ran away’ to Australia spending four days totally alone at Ayers Rock and discovered to my surprise in later years that I had done a "vision quest" which is a terribly trendy thing to do (and actually quite helpful if you're in a mess).

I came home, bought a beagle puppy and threw myself into studying alternative medicine. Both of these kept me sane and taught me a lot (though this would probably not have been the opinion of friends and family at the time). I trained as a healer with the National Federation of Spiritual Healers and in Reiki and ended up teaching and running workshops as well as writing on relationships for women’s magazines such as Bella, Woman and Living.

Eventually, I discovered Judaeo-Christian mysticism in the form of the Toledano Tradition of Kabbalah which made the all-important link between my ‘New Age’ discoveries and the religion I had left behind. I fell on it like a ravening wolf and irritated my teacher intensely for years until I calmed down a bit and ‘got real’.

I always resisted the idea of teaching workshops on ‘the Jesus bit’ of Kabbalah and on ‘women’s spirituality’ … but they both crept up behind me and tried to throttle me until I gave in. Basically, I realised that I needed to carve my own path—as do we all.

I’ve led workshops in the USA, Israel, Russia, Europe and the UK—and I’m happily married to a handsome, supportive and funny astrologer by the name of Peter Dickinson who also studies Kabbalah and is quite capable of sitting on me when I am being frantic, pretentious, fussy or bossy.

I'm the Consultant Editor of Tree of Life magazine, an holistic free magazine published throughout the Midlands in England and I conduct spiritual funerals for those who want a service to reflect their individual belief.

In 2007 I was ordained as a priest in the Apostolic Church of the Risen Christ, a branch of the Liberal Catholic church which acknowledges and respects all faiths and bases much of its teaching on Kabbalah.