‘Instead of searching for what you do not have,
find out what it is that you have never lost’
~Nisargadatta
Candy van Rood
My name is Candida Helena van Rood (aka Candy Spender), born on 9 June 1951.
I am a practitioner, teacher, and lifelong student of various spiritual and creative disciplines, including Meditation, Yoga, Reiki, as well as creating/designing/making, painting and drawing.
As a visual artist, I gained recognition in the 1990s for my jewellery-making and design, with my work featured in George’s, Melbourne; Brown’s, London; as well as over 30 fashion boutiques within Australia.
In 2016, my family and I embraced a ‘sea and tree change’, relocating from inner-city Melbourne to a coastal town 75 km south-east of the city.
This move deepened my connection to nature, profoundly influencing my creative and spiritual practices. It also inspired my involvement in environmental advocacy, particularly through my work with Save Westernport (Warn’Marring, Indigenous name), a local organisation I co-founded in 2017, dedicated to conserving an Internationally recognised Ramsar wetland and UNICEF designated Biosphere site from being inappropriately developed.
These experiences have enriched my life, fostering a deeper appreciation for both artistic expression, personal transformation and environmental stewardship.
Earth Heart.love ~ Mission Statement
By bringing self-awareness and self-love to our lives, we can expand compassion, connection, evolution and Consciousness.
We can heal the wounds of our whole species with all its generational trauma and dysfunction; and take our place as a fully loving, functional and contributing participant of all living systems on our planet.
With over fifty years of experience, I am a very experienced practitioner of Astrology and Tarot, integrating these disciplines into my creative and teaching practice to support personal transformation. My approach draws on decades of daily meditation, postgraduate art studies, and training in modalities such as Reiki II, Family & Systemic Constellations, movement meditation (5rhythms), and certified meditation instruction (Rigpa).
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A deep bow of gratitude to my teachers, and the modalities and philosophies which are the foundation of my spiritual awareness.
Osho; B.K.S. Iyengar; Maharshi Ramana, Gabrielle Roth; Gurdijeff, Sufism; A.H. Almaas, The Diamond Approach; and Tibetan Buddhism