A near-death experience at birth caused Ashley Gardener minor, but permanent brain damage which resulted in a heightened sensitivity.

Meanwhile Kathia Roberts dealt with her own traumatic experiences – the tragic death of her mother and the loss of her child in the second trimester of pregnancy.

Both instances led to a spiritual awakening that will be shared in a sacred earth circle at Spirit House during Earth Hour tomorrow.

The event is part of Greenrock’s month-long appreciation of the planet.

“Earth Hour is a global initiative where everyone puts off their lights for that hour but it's really symbolic – to make people more mindful that this is our home, this is where we live, we need to take better care of it, we need to see it as sacred,” Kathia said.

It’s with that in mind she approached Eugene Dean, the chairman of Greenrock, with the idea of hosting “a sacred ceremony” to raise awareness.

“In cultures that are ceremonial and tribal of origin, this is what one used to do. You would have an opening circle before any big event. So this is sort of like the opening circle, starting this initiative of Earth Hour which is going throughout April,” said Kathia, an holistic doctor, medical herbalist, shamanic healer and spiritual teacher who leads sacred circles and pilgrimages around the world through her business, Soar.

Greenrock is hoping to inspire everyone to connect with nature now and throughout April.

At Spirit House, people are invited to join a “nature-inspired, sound healing and shamanic circle, connecting with the seasons, honouring Mother Nature and offering prayers for peace and oneness”.

Ashley will “use her expertise in sacred geometries to activate and harmonise nature's elements, aligning with Earth Hour's mission to deepen our connection with the earth”; Kathia will speak about African spirituality and sacred healing tools in shamanism and guide participants through sound meditation using crystal balls, an ocean drum and other instruments.

“This is really looking at nature – how can nature inform us and help us to evolve and grow and give us spiritual guidance by just being in nature, connecting with these sacred sounds of nature,” she said.

“What the sacred circle is doing is bringing us together and connecting us with each other and with nature and with being more mindful in all that we do.

“Because if we come from that sacred mindfulness place we will think twice before we use single-use plastics because we have set an intent to honour nature; we’re not going to be littering and misusing it.”

In South Africa, it fascinated her to see how people of colour would worship in a circle.

“It’s so beautiful and it’s connecting with nature. So I was intrigued by it and then my whole own shamanic journey started,” Kathia said.

She took her “very scientific background” and applied it to her herbal medicine studies.

“We studied herbal medicine also experientially, how shamans would use herbal medicine and journey to the plant which is more of a shamanic approach.

“And then, just through my own life experiences – after I had a second trimester stillbirth and my mum had a very tragic death – I turned for a deeper, more spiritual journey.”

Having already started the “goddess training and sacred facilitation” that was necessary for facilitator circles, Kathia began studying.

She spent ten years travelling – in North America with Algonquian elders from the Lakota and Mi’kmaq tribes and with the sangomas in Africa, “learning about African spirituality”.

The knowledge is put to use in her circles “to facilitate healing, to facilitate connection and facilitate change”.

“I've seen the change in my life and I’ve extended it into my medicine practice, because I've noticed I can only help a patient so much with herbs and supplements and lifestyle, but until they find that deeper spiritual meaning and do the deeper work, they are not going to get the healing on a physical level that they are looking for.”

One benefit of being in a circle is that there is no hierarchy, she said. Everyone is equal and everyone contributes to the group.

“It's part of the medicine. Everyone has some wisdom or some insight to share.

“It's not just the teacher that's up there on a pedestal giving a presentation. It's really a collective learning and connective energetic exchange. And I just love this model of unity and unison.”

Ashley, a master geo love healer and a blue dragon medical qigong practitioner, runs The Ancestral Activator. “Geo Love is short for sacred geometry and unconditional love,” she explained.

“It's a form or modality of energy healing, using sacred geometry which many call the language of God so you can see it in the shells and in the flowers just different shapes.

“It can be as simple as a spiral or triangle and it can get very complicated like the symbols that you see on the pyramid walls.”

It’s her belief that people are able to tackle life better when they are connected.

“I guess the whole reason I got into energy healing is because I am a highly sensitive person.

“I have cerebral palsy, which makes me a little bit more sensitive – it affects the sensory aspects and the motor aspects of the brain.

“So I just had this different perspective on life. I never fit in, I was a black sheep.

“Dr Kathia and I have talked about not fitting in and being called to something greater. We both did [what society expects] – going to school, getting degrees and doing what we're told – before coming to the point of having a spiritual awakening.”

Her awakening took place in 2016 when Juice ‘n’ Beans, the vegetarian café she was part owner of, closed down.

“It was a huge transformation for me – into motherhood, into finding myself and deepening my spiritual awareness.

“I really delved into understanding the ancient practices of spirituality and understanding the roots of spirituality, where it comes from.

“I just went on this quest and through acknowledging my own disability, because I ignored it for so long.

“I found qigong and then healing, which deepened my understanding of how really connected we are with one another and our earth, our planet, and how we are all energy.”

Ashley understands that it’s something that everyone won’t get but gave the example of how we sometimes run into people we haven’t seen in a while, shortly after thinking about them.

“That is energy you're picking up because we all have these beautiful sensitivities that, I guess, could be called gifts. Picking up on things and you don't know why.”

There was a time that things weren’t so clear for her. The diagnosis from doctors was that her cerebral palsy was “a mild case” and as a child, Ashley was fortunate to be able to ignore it and stay active. But it’s cerebral palsy – you're born with it and you know there's no cure for it.

“There is a line of paralysis that is deep within the centre of my body and I'm constantly dealing with muscle imbalances and negotiating movements based off that paralysis,” she said.

“It's very subtle so after repetitive movement – not in the correct way because obviously, I'm compensating for the disability – I threw out my back three times and I couldn't move or I had to sleep on the floor. And this is probably around the time where the business was taking a lot of my energy, and I just couldn't keep up the façade any more.”

It’s a story that she feels is likely familiar to many others: injury caused by a lack of self-care.

“The qigong that I do, it saved my life, basically. It's a great grounding practice. But really [my injury] sent me down a road to that spiritual evolution and understanding why I'm dealing with certain things in my life. And I’ve just taken that invitation and I’m running with it. And here I am, as an energy healer.”

• Earth Hour celebrations will take place tomorrow at Spirit House from 7pm to 10pm. Admission is free to members of Greenrock. A donation of $25 will be accepted from non-members. For more information on Kathia Roberts visit www.drkathia.com; www.seasonalhealth.com and @frequency_alchemist on Instagram. For more information on Ashley Gardener visit www.ancestralactivator.com or @ancestralactivator on Instagram. For information on Greenrock visit greenrock.org/index.php