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Atherton Drenth
6 Sep 2022

How Dreams Come True
On August 8, 2022, I celebrated twenty-three years of helping people on their healing journey. What a journey it has been. The first day I opened my practice was an emotional one. Two security guards had just escorted me off the company premises, where I was a manager. It was disconcerting but deep down I was relieved. The company was getting ready to restructure and I wanted to leave. I had found a way for them to let me go but keep my staff. It was a win/win for everyone. Leaving would give me the opportunity follow my dream.
By the time I arrived home to an empty house the harsh reality of what had just happened that morning, finally landed. I sat down at the kitchen table and burst into tears. I looked out the window thinking what in God’s name have I just done. I remember saying out loud, “Ok, God here we go. I’ve got three months to make this work, or I am done!
And you know what happened next?
The phone rang. It was my very first paying client. To say I was thrilled would be the understatement of the year.
Over the years there have been a lot of changes in my life, my practice, and my business. We launched two children off into the world, my husband retired, and we became grandparents. Being in private practice gave me the opportunity to grow in ways I never thought possible. I also had to adjust to a new business paradigm that brought its own set of challenges. Something that I certainly didn’t expect despite twenty years of business experience.
Not only was I learning how to assist clients on their own healing journeys I was also learning how to run a private practice and be a self-employed business owner. I had become an entrepreneur overnight. I never saw that one coming. I was also having to adjust to the reality that friends and family members found my new career less than amusing. I found myself being criticized, ridiculed, and shunned. I lost a lot of friends in the beginning. I even had to leave my church. Yet, through all of that I became a witness to so many amazing miracles in the treatment room with clients. Every day I walked into the treatment room filled with a mixture of joy, happiness, fear and anxiety. It was a crazy time, and I was loving every minute of it.
I learned some valuable lessons as a result. I learned to stop asking people who had no business experience for their opinions. I had to learn how to not react to well-meaning friends and family members whose personal opinions about energy work was completely outside of their realm of reality. People will react in fear to what they don’t know. I didn’t need to respond to that. What I was doing was completely new to a lot of people even though the healing arts have been around for centuries. A very wise teacher told me that when you are a pioneer you must learn to stand your post. The Universe will take care of the rest. And she was right. I knew that in my heart of hearts I was doing the right thing. I just needed to keep the faith. This was my dream, not theirs. I stopped expecting the world to cheer me on. I was on this journey for a reason. I had found my joy, my purpose, and a way to use my intuition in a way that could help others on their own healing journey.
The beauty and magic of being a practitioner and being able to help so many clients more than made up for what I was having to weather personally.
Initially I ran my practice from my home in a tiny little bedroom. I started with one client a week. Before I knew it my practice grew to seeing 80 people a week in few short years. I got so busy we needed to move my practice to a new location.

We purchased the Paradigm Centre for Wellness six years later. How we managed to buy the centre is a story unto itself. I will tell you about it sometime.
Overjoyed with enthusiasm we grossly underestimated how much time and effort would be needed to convert a very tired century old home into a business for my practice and four other colleagues who would be joining us.
We realized too late that there was no way the two of us could get everything done in six weeks. My husband decided that the only way anything could get done was to basically live at the Centre for the next month using every spare minute to get everything up to snuff. He did this while he continued to work his full-time job. To say we were stressed would be an understatement.
Miracles materialized out of nowhere much to our relief. Within days of buying the Centre a beautiful thing happened. Every single day someone from the community dropped by to help us with the renovations. I had girlfriends show up from Vancouver, Windsor, and Hamilton. Family members came with children in tow to see what they could do to help. Children scaped floors and pulled weeds while their parents painted. The four practitioners who were joining us pitched in as well. We had a blast! We opened six weeks later, on time, with everything in fairly good working order on September 6, 2006.


The Centre quickly developed a reputation in the community. It became a gathering place. Friends would come together and visit while waiting for their appointments with the various practitioners. Everyone who arrived for an appointment was offered tea while they waited. There would be spontaneous tea parties in the waiting room. Sometimes clients brought cookies and cake. It was magical. It was special.
Our mission statement was: “The Paradigm Centre for Wellness is a healing partnership that works harmoniously from a place of ethics, professionalism, and integrity. Our approach is client-directed and holistic. We provide high quality, effective, efficient health care to clients and our community. We operate with mutual respect and professional ethics.”
As a result, our reputation within the community grew. We gained acceptance from the medical community for the integrative healing modalities that were being offered at the Centre. We all started to receive referrals from the community and outside agencies as well.
The Centre continued to grow and get busier. The waiting room was getting crowded. We needed to expand the Centre. The front porch was torn down and additional 200 square feet was added to accommodate a larger waiting room and reception area. We were able to expand our services with addition of two more practitioners.

For over eleven years the Paradigm Centre was a place that offered not only quality integrative care, but it became a place of “love, trust and safety.” There were times when clients would arrive to just sit in the waiting room, have a cup of tea needing some respite from the chaos in their lives. Husbands would enjoy the easy chairs with coffee and their newspapers while their wives were in sessions. There were days when laughter from the waiting room would fill the house. I loved those days! I marvelled at the fellowship the developed with so many amazing colleagues, who joined us, over the years.
My dream of being in private practice went from having one client to thousands from around the world. I started a blog, The Paradigm Pages. I wrote two books and taught hundreds of people how to tap into their own innate intuitive gifts. I was invited to speak at conferences. I was featured in a documentary and did dozens of radio interviews. I trained and travelled with other experts in their fields of healing arts. Along the way I met so many amazing healers who have become dear friends. What an adventure!


I truly thought we would be at the Centre until I was quite ancient, but the Universe had other plans. In 2020 life at the Centre came to a halt. The pandemic shut us all down. Everyone who worked at the Centre moved their practices home with weeks.
My practice did the unthinkable. It became virtual overnight. The Centre was empty. With everyone gone a decision had to be made. The children, who had both settled in Ottawa said it was time to make a move. I made the call. It was time to go. Everything sold in less than 48 hours, much to everyone’s surprise, including us.
Now as I look back over the years and think to those early days, I realize what a pioneer I have been. I never really thought about at the time. I only knew I was on a mission. I had learned the magic of healing work and wanted to share it with the world. If I had never taken that leap of faith, despite all the naysayers I wouldn’t be here today. I couldn’t sit back and say what an honour it has been to help so many people on their personal journeys of health and wellbeing.
They say that you never really know if you are helping someone. And that is true. Even for me to this day. I never really know if I have helped someone until a client tells me. I am truly surprised when they share their feedback. I continue to find it humbling and deeply honouring at the same time.
Having said that I can honestly say now that had I not followed that dream of being a healing arts practitioner would have led to a lifetime of regret. For this reason, I always tell my students in the healing arts to never be afraid to follow your dream. When the angels say, “follow your joy” they are saying it for a reason.
Have faith in yourself! The Universe is always conspiring to help you. It may not be the life your loved ones want for you, but it will be the life you were born to live.
You are here for a reason. Listen to your heart. You will be glad you did.

If you took are looking for a way to make that leap of faith happen for you check out my course offerings at www.athertondrenth.ca or watch my YouTube videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcN19hOOc2S-iTrmAvFLtLA on how to develop your intuition or learn how to ground yourself more effectively while you are making the shift into your passion.
If you would like to know more about energy work and what it can do for you: https://www.amazon.com/Following-Body-Wisdom-Atherton-Drenth/dp/0981364101
If you would like to know how to develop your own intuitive abilities:
https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Dance-Building-Protecting-Clearing/dp/073874798X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1YBW271PKLCGC&keywords=The+intuitive+dance&qid=1660415365&s=books&sprefix=the+intuitive+dance%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C68&sr=1-1
If you would like to explore the world of Intuitive Journaling:
https://www.amazon.com/Intuitive-Art-Journaling-Spiritual-Exploration/dp/B09YW3KFQN/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3S93F2834SQMR&keywords=The+intuitive+art+of+journaling&qid=1660415490&s=books&sprefix=the+intuitive+art+of+journaling%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C58&sr=1-1

Atherton Drenth is the author of Intuitive Dance. Building, Protecting & Clearing Your Energy (Llewellyn Worldwide), Following Body Wisdom and the Art of Intuitive Journaling. Atherton is a Clairvoyant, Medical Intuitive and Holistic Energy Practitioner facilitating transformational healing for her clients. She has been extensively trained and certified as a Medical Intuitive and Holistic Energy Practitioner. She has been in private practice since 2000. She is also a compassionate teacher committed to helping others develop their full intuitive potential through yearly workshops. She has a private practice in Ottawa, Ontario.