In 2007, at the age of 30, Lisa who previously led a very active lifestyle was taken very ill and wasn’t able to recover.
Over the following seven years, she was diagnosed with some medical conditions. Many experts tried to help and explain what was happening to Lisa.
She was labelled as chronically ill, but in reality, her body was barely functioning, and her life changed beyond comprehension. Lisa was no longer able to work in her high salary city job. She was thrust into a world of hospitals, doctors and therapy.
In 2013, just four days before uprooting her entire life to Sri Lanka, she was finally diagnosed with a genetic condition called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and Lisa’s heart broke.
‘Incurable, genetic and untreatable’ is what the doctor first said, ‘life in a tropical developing country would be too dangerous’ he followed with, and his parting words to Lisa were ‘I don’t think you realise quite how poorly you are’. And of course, she hadn’t realised, and was not willing to accept that!
Lisa started the beautiful Dottie’s’ Cafe in Colombo, a few years ago. An old-fashioned Tea Room, a haven for delicious cakes, with vintage crockery, lace tablecloths, soft cushions and a lovely atmosphere.
We at FemAsia, are proud to explore Lisa Keerthichandra’s life journey in her own words.
How has ‘Dottie’s’ transformed with you?
Dottie’s was our first real adventure here in Sri Lanka, and our creation and managing of it taught us more in one and a half years than we could ever have imagined. The biggest lessons we learned centred on the fact that, despite all the careful, meticulous planning we put in, a project will have its own energy and its own process! Dottie’s always had its own flow and its own energy, the good people of Colombo took to its unique charm and generously welcomed its progress. It progressed gracefully as a swan takes to water, and it unfolded with those people, harmonising with the energies of those surrounding it.
You had to cease operations when your health condition urgently required your attention. Was Letting go difficult?
My final lesson from Dottie’s was in learning to let go of something which wasn’t right for me – something I’ve never been that good at! Letting go of something so successful and so loved is quite honestly the most difficult thing to face, but in doing so, I saw the greatest transformation in myself: that of self-love.
Could you let us know about the awareness you have developed about health and happiness?
Happiness is primarily a vibration: when we are happy, and in happy surroundings, we feel a light energy vibration which is very different from that, say, of heavier sad energy vibration. We sense the tightness of energy when we walk into an awkward situation or the peaceful pause of energy in safe and familiar places. If you think about energy as vibrations or frequencies, then it’s easier to understand those which create balance or harmony in your body, and those which create discomfort and ‘dis-ease’. Everything in life has its own vibration, its own rhythm; and as we navigate life, we take in those vibrations to either play along with our own tunes, or – all too often – against our rhythms.
When we get chronically ill, very often our energy vibrations descend into lower, dark, heavier energies and we start to spiral into patterns, traits and even thoughts that we had never associated with ourselves before. It becomes a vicious circle, our bodies are sick, so we are therefore vibrating at a lower level, and the vibrational energy affects our mindset, we start to attract that which we vibrate at the same levels with, and we believe the thoughts we are now creating to be our truth. As it is a vicious circle, it’s hard to tell where anything started, or what created what!
Meditation, gratitude journaling, chanting, mantras, affirmations, crystals and classical music (or in my case Michael Jackson!) are all proven ways we can start to surround ourselves with strong positive higher vibrational energies. As we surround ourselves with these positive energies more and more, our body can find its balance point. And it is in this balance point that our body can heal itself a little bit more because our body absolutely knows how best to heal us!
What challenges have you faced regarding cultural relocation from England to Sri Lanka?
Oh absolutely there was a culture shock, and after almost five years living here, there’s still always things which shock me! I think the hardest challenge I faced was understanding and being part of a culture which treats women very differently, and also a culture which treats ‘English’ women very differently. I felt a strong loss of freedom and a voice which belonged to me that was no longer heard. Things which were natural for me to do back home were unsafe for me to do here, and I’ve faced situations which have shattered my core sense of safety.
But yes, there was a very clear point when I moved away from that shock and started to fully embrace this beautiful and incredible country that I now call my home. When I was able to stop comparing my new home against my old home, I was able to realign myself with my ‘truths’. As my husband wisely tells me, ‘the grass is never greener, it’s just different’. And as I connected more with my feminine energy, I realised just how strongly the feminine energies could be felt on this beautiful little island, especially on a Poya night when the moon is at its strongest. It made me realise that I hadn’t lost my freedom or my female voice (in fact far from it, in a country whose female presences are starting to shine so brightly!) it’s just that my freedom and my voice is very different here. Our truth is our perception, and we can choose which side to see things from.
P.S. The biggest culture shock: no decent chocolate!
Can you give us some practical insights into how to deal with chronic illness – and more broadly, any ongoing challenges a person faces in their life?
The first and most powerful message I was given as I started my recovery journey, and one that still echoes with me in all aspects of life, is ‘it’s not what you do, but how you do it’.All over the place at times, seemingly directionless at other times, but done with love and stubborn determination!
Practically the most healing mindset I’ve learnt on the journey is to eliminate as many toxins and chemicals from your daily environment as possible, to help your body find its balance. Switching up your household cleaners and toiletries to chemical-free alternatives is a great start, and thanks to many new startups in Sri Lanka, these can now be found more easily. Also switching out processed sugar in the household, and swapping it for good raw honey and authentic kithul jaggery will do wonders in reducing pain and inflammation. Moringa powder, king coconut water, aloe vera, turmeric, ginger, spirulina & cacao all play a very big part in my kitchen and my garden and will help immensely with fine-tuning your body.
I’m a huge fan of Ayurveda treatment and Acupuncture, and despite the bad press the former seems to have in its own country, I highly advocate having a good Ayurveda doctor on the side.
Meditation and mindfulness practice, as well as Yin Yoga, have enabled me to bring together the parts of my healing journey into an integrated lifestyle practice, and without it, I doubt I may ever have been able to get there. Because aside from all the practical solutions, our bodies are flooded with blocked emotional energies and vibrations that we have been taking in all our lives.
Energy has to flow, and it has to be able to flow in and through our bodies and return back to the earth. We can clear out all the chemical toxins from our bodies, fill our digestive system with the most natural and healing foods, take amazing treatments, listen to positive music and surround ourselves with happy energies, but if we don’t face all the blocked energies inside us as well, then we are leaving half the system still out of balance!
It was really a knowing, a wholehearted and somewhat stubborn intuitive knowing, somewhere inside me, that I had (and we all have) the ability to heal ourselves, because we are more than just the sum of our physical bodies. That’s what grounded me in curing myself, and the knowledge that came forward to me on that journey is what showcased my true purpose to help others find ‘their cure’.
Says Lisa.
We at FemAsia wish her all the very best to continue her journey of inspiration.
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