JOAN ISABEL EVANS

Initially, my biography was a testament to a well-educated mind filled with facts of academic and professional achievements. However, it says little about the ‘me’ who wrote this book and who offers insights from a journey into inner worlds. I delved into the depths of the underworld and travelled beyond the boundaries of time, facing life through periods of fear, despair and immense heartbreak. My identity was shaped too by larger-than-life figures who guided me into the world of the ‘gods’ where myths were made and where deep love was experienced.

My tribal ancestors came out of the Jewish Diaspora suffering alienation, excommunication and for some, death. With that came fear which, buried in the tribal unconscious, impacted on generations to come. My generation stepped into the rich soils of Africa, promising a life of opportunity. My African childhood was idyllic, although cotton-wooled against a dark background, where indigenous tribes were treated as less than human. So, a life filled with colour, sunshine and music – a heritage through my maternal line – had a dark underbelly. This contrast has never left me and has influenced the direction of my life.

The pattern of never being ‘at home’ followed a return with my father into a different and contrasting racial awareness. Once again alienated from my own tribal roots, a deeper search ensued which led me to exploring inner worlds where, although assimilated, I found myself once again alienated and an outsider.

From Maid to Motherhood followed with the guardianship of extraordinary individuals without whom my life would have been the poorer. Heartbreak and grief through loss is part of our story and the need for healing as well as the sense of not belonging, of not having a home, has driven me, through awareness and transcendence into the embrace of the Self I Am and to trust the unseen and the unknown.

I find myself now in the hands of the Crone whose wisdom oversees and guides my transition into the greater story of an inner beauty and truth despite the turmoil of the outer world in transition. We, the family humanus, are the creators of that future and my deeper story has forged a path which I am proud to be a part of.

Professionally, I co-founded the Institute of Psychosynthesis, London in 1973, and have been largely responsible for the design of its academic and training programmes. These have led to the professional qualification of psychotherapists and coaches recognised at British and European levels. I have actively participated in the professionalisation, accreditation and validation of the newest of sciences – psychology at a clinical as well as at higher education levels. Through the institute I have initiated a publishing programme producing substantial work around new and innovative Psychosynthesis theory.