How Merry Gerri Found Her Life’s Purpose

 

 

Gerri McMahon was working a gruelling 70-hour week as a Producer in the high- pressure television industry in London when she sought relief for an array of ailments from alternative therapies.

 

“I would stagger into the clinic for a shiatsu or acupuncture or aromatherapy for my sore back, my allergies, my upset digestive system – all the result of my messed-up emotions and unbalanced lifestyle – and would walk out completely revived and renewed. It was miraculous! I was in awe of these healers.”

 

The crunch came when she was producing the popular Trisha show – Britain’s version of Jerry Springer – where vulnerable people were enticed to reveal their shameful secrets and relationship dramas in the name of entertainment. 

 

“I made sure the guests, who often unleashed painful traumas, had a counselling session before they went home. But when the budget for counselling was cut, I couldn’t continue doing this any longer.” 

 

After 10 years in the TV industry spanning her mid-20s to early-30s, Gerri made the break to pursue a career that would truly help people. 

 

“I wanted to learn therapies and was intrigued by shiatsu. I loved this therapy the most and quite liked that clients still kept their clothes on during a treatment!

After an inspiring retreat in picturesque English countryside, eating healthy veggie foods with lovely genuine people, I decided to study for a diploma, even though I was still cynical about ‘woo-woo’ stuff and spirituality. 

 

“The course was life-changing, comprising a fascinating combination of Western anatomy and physiology and Chinese Medicine, as well as knowledge of the 150 acupuncture points and energy meridians that run through the body. It was hard work but amazing.”

 

The wild partying of her youth started to look shallow and futile as she embraced the new values of healing, clean living, loving nature and connecting with people in a heartfelt way.

 

A Childhood of Repressed Pain

 

Little Geraldine had grown up in Dublin, Ireland, the youngest of five siblings and adopted a “Merry Gerri façade” in her childhood role of cheering up her depressed mum. 

 

But behind the fixed smile and constant jokes, was a deep, unexpressed sadness. Her “big wound” was the tragic loss of her kind and gentle dad, who died in a car accident when she was just six.

 

Not allowed to attend his funeral or even talk to her family about her grief, Gerri never got closure and would fantasise that her dad would walk through the door as a surprise on Christmas Day and imagined she saw him in the crowd in the bustling streets of Dublin City. 

 

She did not shed the bottled-up tears for her dad until doing psychotherapy in her 30s, encouraged by her fiancé to heal childhood wounds.

 

“I have a lot of compassion for my Inner Child because she suffered on her own, looking after mum, while the older kids were away at boarding school.”

 

“When I was 12, I had a very powerful dream. St. Anthony, who I had a soft spot for, appeared to me in a radiant golden beam, telling me ‘It’s okay, everything will be alright.’ Kinda like the words to Bob Marley’s song. That was the first mystical vision I ever remember. It gave me hope, no matter what happened. When I later discovered how to tap into my intuition in a deliberate way, I could guide others to their own visions and clarity on their life’s purpose.

 

Gerri’s understanding of silent suffering developed her gift of empathy. She is a sensitive Empath who can tune into other people and nature. 

 

“I would bunk off school and spend time in the woods with trees and animals.  

I forged mum’s signature on absent notes for teachers!”

 

 

Leaving Home

 

After High School, at 18, she “legged it to London”, where she had previously worked two carefree summers. 

 

“I was riding my scooter, listening to Motown and 60s music and soaking up the freedom and excitement of being the new girl in the big city.”

 

“I wanted to be a social worker but had to be a year older to do the course. My business-minded mother advised me to do a secretarial training, so I agreed and fell into temping jobs with a broad range of companies.”

 

In Gerri early 20s she landed her dream job at Channel Four. She was in her element, brushing shoulders with celebrities, musicians, and actors whom she idolised. 

 

Her exhilaration with the dizzy world of television sparked an ambition. She worked alongside the Commissioning Editors, as the voice of youth, channelling the latest scoop on cool music and cultural trends to senior staff.

  

 

The Joy of Youthful Freedom 

 

Working hard and doing a media degree, she also devoted herself to partying with irrepressible passion.   

 

“It was the early 90s, the era of boozy lunches, all-night house parties and exuberant clubbing on weekends and hippy-trippy festivals. I could get free tickets for my friends and me for clubs all over London, and the festivals every summer- including Glastonbury! Life was amazing.” 

 

Gerri remembers the pure joy of her adventurous trip to India. 

 

“With my new rucksack strapped to my back, I was venturing into the unknown. My friends and I flew into Goa and while they stayed at fancy hotels, I gravitated to the beach parties. One night I was sitting on beach so blissfully happy, I left the planet was flying around the stars, astral travelling!

 

“The second part of my holiday was quite a contrast. I travelled to Rishikesh, made famous by the Beatles, where I meditated in an ashram for weeks. Meditation was ridiculously amazing!

 

“The adventurous trip of seeing the glorious Taj Mahal and magical train journeys through this exotic country ignited my passion for writing and journaling. I didn’t mind travelling alone with my trusty journal and crumpled Lonely Planet, free to have my own thoughts and observations.” 

 

“At the Christmas party, huddles of young travellers were sitting on chai mats sipping spicy tea and smoking. Everyone knew me and loved me. We made instant friends in this new community. At 26, I felt connected with a sense of belonging. I didn’t have to prove myself. I was accepted for who I am, unlike the suffocating small towns of Ireland where everyone worried about what the neighbours’ Catholic judgements!”

 

A Dynamic Television Career

 

When Gerri returned to London, she felt a new depth and self-confidence blossoming. 

 

Gerri rose through the ranks from Production Assistant, Researcher, Celebrity Booker to Producer. After a few intense years she decided to freelance as a sought-after Producer giving her the freedom to work for a variety of TV Channels on innovative shows.

 

Over a dynamic decade between 1990 and 2000 Gerri worked on Two Fat Ladies, Police Camera Action, the National Lottery for the BBC, Naked City, The Word, Eurotrash, A Place in the Sun, the first ever buying property abroad show, and the popular morning talk show, Trisha hosted by Trisha Goddard. 

 

But the stress of working excessive hours to meet the demands of deadlines and exacting expectations and juggling multitudes of tasks lead Gerri to question her work-life balance. 

 

“In this competitive industry, you were only as good as your last contract. You could never relax and rest on your laurels. Booking the right guest or securing the perfect venue felt like ‘life or death’ missions.” 

 

Embracing Another Way of Life

 

So in 2000 at the age of 33, Gerri left the giddy whirl of television for a more serene career.

 

From her beautiful flat in Muswell Hill in genteel north London with a sacred Yew tree, teeming with squirrels and birds, with her qualifications in shiatsu she started treating patients from her home clinic.

 

Gerri also worked at The Life Centre in Notting Hill and a clinic in prestigious Harley Street. She felt drawn to work with clients who had substance misuse issues, and she did this on a voluntary basis initially, then she was employed by the NHS – the UK’s National Health Service.

 

This was a fulfilling time facilitating huge breakthroughs in her clients that proved a combination of modalities was incredibly effective. She created a method called Magenta Healing to treat the mind, body and spirit.

 

Her knowledge of modalities expanded when she and her fiancé did a year-long training with a shaman in Glastonbury.

 

“This was hugely life-changing for both of us. We would drive from London to Glastonbury for the training. I learned to break down my emotional blocks to visualising. Now visions and insights come to me easily. 

 

“It was a very powerful time. I learned about animal totems, regression therapy, cutting ties with the past and sound healing and much more. 

 

“At the start I couldn’t visualise or see things in my mind’s eye. By the end of the training, I was seeing ethereal beings, fairies, angels and my favourite, Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of human inter-connectedness with nature. The visions gave me faith that there is another dimension to life.

 

“My fiancé and I shared a lot of healing together. We had plans to get married on the beach in India but had a change of heart.

 

“We still went to India together for a holiday. We realised our cultural differences wouldn’t have allowed our marriage to work. I lost my best friend. The break-up was really hard but we were blessed to have that time to process our grief and recover. I would swim in the ocean and let the tears flow.”

After the break-up Gerri discovered the pioneering work of Darren Eden and trained in developing intuition, learning the connection between the mind and body and the art of asking questions to help people connect with the causes of their illnesses. 

 

The Healing Power of the Ocean

 

“All I ever wanted to do all my life was live for the sea. I rented a cottage in Dorset and would go there on the weekends. It was so good for my soul.”

 

She was drawn to Hawaii after reading the inspiring book by renowned Hawaiian shaman, Serge Kahili King, a prolific author and master of Huna philosophy.

 

With a burst of courage she took the leap of faith and sold her beloved home in Muswell Hill and flew to Hawaii to live her dream.

 

The mesmerising vision of pristine beaches of soft white sand and crystal blue water and her experiences of swimming with the dolphins surpassed all her wildest expectations. 

 

“I remember my first swim at my favourite beach. I didn’t have any fins or snorkel but I was soon gifted some by a fellow dolphin fan, calling me ‘the rookie’. I swam straight out into the open ocean without any fear of sharks and was encircled by the dolphins who wanted to play.

 

“I had been living on the rainy side of the island away from the tourists, however I chose to move so that I could be closer to my beloved dolphins. Most days I would swim out alone to play with them. We communicated through telepathy. When the love vibration is present you can communicate telepathically with humans or animals. The dolphins would give me healing, and vice versa, as well as convey messages for humanity about the importance of the breath, about unconditional love and connection. 

 

Gerri lived in Hawaii for a year, attending profound workshops with Shaman Kahili King and his wife. 

 

“I learned how to connect with the Goddess Pele who’s spirit lives in the volcanoes. Hawaii has such a rich culture that honours the gods and goddesses of their natural environment.”

 

She amazes herself at how effortlessly she manifested her dreams and says: “There’s always a lightness to successful manifestations.”

 

Returning to Ireland after a year, she continued to travel back to Hawaii for heavenly three-month stints before a stint in Los Angeles on the west coast of the US to work with spiritual teacher, William Whitecloud, running events. 

 

“But I really didn’t get on with the superficial side of LA! It was a difficult patch so I set off on another adventure.”

 

The Power of Chocolate

 

In 2012, after a bone-rattling 20-hour bus and boat journey, filled with trepidation, Gerri landed on the banks of beautiful Lake Atitlan in the highlands of Guatemala in Central America. 

 

The Chocolate Shaman and his wife conducted cacao ceremonies on the porch of their humble home for groups of curious travellers. Gerri knew something big was about to happen! But the sublime experience of euphoric love was overwhelming.

 

“I had fallen in love many times, but wanted to feel love without fixating on anyone, to have the spiritual experience of BEING love. 

 

“Cacao helps you embody all your theoretical learnings and the amazing meditations open up visions of Heaven on Earth. The ancient Aztecs and Mayans drank pure liquid cacao to gain spiritual insights.”

 

Gerri wanted to offer this life-changing experience to people everywhere and decided to stop putting teachers on pedestals. She found her own inner wisdom and started leading cacao ceremonies firstly in Guatemala and then Costa Rica before settling in the hills of Andalusia in southern Spain.

 

She hosted the Chocolate Shaman and his wife to visit the international alternative community there. 

 

“I manifested a beautiful home by a river, and a dream-come-true foster dog within a week of moving there. I landed with a huge bang! 

 

“I’ve become an empowered Empath now. I feel other people’s emotions but have boundaries. I can also sense other people’s denied feelings, their trapped suppressed pain. I developed deep compassion and patience in working with clients. 

 

“I taught my sensitive clients that Empaths don’t need fixing. We are not broken. We are blessed with a superpower. 

 

“I loved being in the mountains with my cuddly golden retriever dog, Napoléon and interesting community. But I often visited Malaga with family and friends and eventually moved there to live by the sea again.”     

 

Gerri was in Malaga when the global lockdowns were imposed in 2020 and, like many people, her career and business was restricted by the forced isolation.   

 

Returning to the UK, she shared precious healing time with her elderly mum and achieved closure before her death. 

 

A Vision of the Future

 

Now 55, and living in Mexico with a progressive community, Gerri McMahon, worldly wise and spiritually attuned, youthful and playful, has amalgamated her colourful life experiences and academic knowledge to help others on the healing journey of life.

 

“It is possible to live the life you adore. I specialise in working with Empaths, Sensitives and New Earth Creators. We can convert those gifts and talents that cause us pain into our superpowers. These innate gifts will be integral in our new communities.”

 

Through global online workshops and one-to-one coaching, Gerri’s clients uncover their gifts and gain clarity on their Life Purpose to create an ELF business, which is Effortless, Lucrative and Fun and amazing sovereign relationships. 

 

“My work with clients is a kind of alchemy so that all the tough times can be transformed into treasure.”

 

“The big key to manifesting the life you love is to become aware of your unconscious resistance, which can go back generations. We can effortlessly form and strengthen new neural pathways in the brain with my Magenta Method. 

 

“A huge cherry on the cake for clients is the discovery of their next significant step that will take them to the life of their dreams.” 

 

And the next step for Gerri? Publishing her phenomenal book of wisdom from her extraordinary life devoted to learning, growing and creating a better world.  

 

 

To enrol in Gerri’s transformational workshops, visit her website https://souldiscoveryacademy.com