I am a former lawyer, accredited family dispute resolution practitioner, spiritual teacher, coach and mentor. I have had a varied interesting career in the law, have worked as a counselor, manager and as a healer, teacher, and mentor.
Discover a different way to live, without the burden of stress, fear, feeling of disconnection. Join the Simple Steps to Joyful spiritual transformation. It is a way that brings you fun and lightness, hope and optimism, resourcefulness and resilience, improved health and connection. It connects you to spirit, your soul, universal consciousness, your Divine self. This connection is key to opening you to more happiness, joy, lightness, and to permanent solutions to your problems. Join us and enjoy community, laughter, learning, insights and new perspectives. Your relationships will be better. You will be happier. You will find freedom. You will change. Let me be your guide.
I began my career as a lawyer in 1984 and by 1986. I believe I held a desire to be like those court room attorneys and barristers featured on British and American TV. (Sad but true !) Alas life in a regional law firm was not like that. Being the “Family Lawyer” took me deeply into the lives of families who were in stress and distress. I saw the introduction of the first legislation for domestic violence and spend many years helping women navigate that difficult situation. I was part of the team that formed the Many Rivers Violence Protection Unit in Kempsey on the North Coast of NSW in 1998. These services spread throughout Australia to assist aboriginal families to find help and support with family violence. Work was stressful.
Through a series of events with my work as a lawyer and as a result of a deep and inexplicable inner yearning to “help more, to make a difference”, I began a deeper inner search and transformation that has resulted in the person I am today. I found amazing spiritual teachers and guides without whom I would not have changed in the way I have. This was a magical, mystical, at times painful journey full of fascinating experiences. Each step built on the nest and opened me to act and think differently. My relationships were happy, I felt confident, I was optimistic and life was fun.
By 2006 I was finding the stress of work bothering me and while driving home to Port Macquarie from an arbitration hearing in Newcastle one day, I said to the universe, to the Divine creator – Please God, I am so sick of being a lawyer, What do you want me to do now ? “ To my great surprise, following this plea to the universe an idea dropped into my head – clear as a bell – “Start a Laughter Club. “ I soon discovered Laughter Yoga, which I found involved no jokes, no yoga, no comedy, yet created lots of laughter and over time I found it brought great transformation to myself, my family and those who came to laugh with me.
My first laughter club took place at the side of Town Beach in early 2006. On the First day the local newspaper, the Port News came to check us out, and our Laughter Club was front page news. My secret was out and soon where ever I went in Port Macquarie people called me – “that laughing lawyer, “ What could I do but embrace that title and turn it into my business name - The Laughter Lawyer !
Laughter became an essential ingredient in my life and my work. I was constantly amazed and delighted by the change I experienced in myself and those who came to my groups. The ability to laugh in the face of adversity became part of the inner strength for myself and many others. I felt myself transforming to be happier and lighter.
Meanwhile I had entered again into the spiritual path – having started this exploration in 1982 when I visited and studied with the Stayananda Yoga tradition. I learned Pranayama, yoda nidra, meditation and the bliss of kirtan. At that time I attended weekly meditation classes in Manly and later in Taree and had loved the experience and found it a great antidote to stress.
After learning and transforming deeply through the beautiful spiritual instruction of Shakti Durga (former lawyer Kim Fraser), who founded a charity called Shanti Mission. I became an energy healer and taught seminars for Shanti Mission, including starting a community and teaching their courses in Port Macquarie. I then began travelling the world, teaching in the USA, New Zealand and travelling and meeting community in Nepal, India, the UK, France, Canada and South Africa. I am now fortunate and grateful to have close friends in all these countries and more.
During this time of study I gained my spiritual name – Chamundai, which is now my legal first name. Chamundai is a name from the Hindu Vedic tradition (often sees as Chamunda ) and is the name of a goddess form of the Divine who represents qualities of strength, fierce protection, unconditional love. Using the name helps me to awaken those qualities within myself and help others to do the same.
In 2013, I trekked Nepal with 33 close friends and spiritual family. It was a journey of deep healing and at the end we visited south India – a small village near Vellore (3 hours from Chennai (Madras). Well if I thought I had been through some personal transformation – I had seen nothing yet !!
I met Sri Sakthi Narayani Amma, (Amma) (see sripuram.org for more info). Amma is an extraordinary being of love, who is in a male body, a man, and yet the energy that emanated from Amma, was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was fascinated by the spiritual hindu ceremonies, the temples and the deep feeling of peace that flowed there. over many many visits there I received deep healing, spiritual activation, learned sacred sanskrit mantras and became deeply and permanently connected to the divine and the divine within.
My spiritual adventures in India with Sri Sakthi Amma require separate stories to do them justice. I have now spent time with Amma as my spiritual teacher over the past 7 years and I have continued to transform to become more peaceful, resilient, compassionate and with an inner strength I cannot fully describe. I have met people from all over the world and learned sacred healing mantras and vedic spiritual ceremonies which keep me connected and activated so that peaceful compassionate and kind feelings are with me every day. It has been truly life changing.
Through my business, Laughter Lawyers, I have run hundreds of workshops for corporations, schools, hospitals, community groups, insurance companies, law firms and have presented at many conferences including the State Legal Conference, the Community Legal Centres conference ,the LEADR Kongress conference, National Mediation Conference 2014, the Hunter Family Law Conference, Wellness for Law forums and the BASIL (brothers and sisters in law ) conference for lawyers. I have also been featured in the Law Society Journal, Sydney Morning Herald and other press and been on radio programs.
In the past I have run free laughter clubs for the community in both North Sydney and Port Macquarie and trained many people to be able to start and run social laughter clubs. I am now passionate about helping those looking for permanent solutions to problems such as dissatisfaction with life, lack of connection, uncertainty, a feeling they have a bigger job to do and no idea how to find it, or a lack of hope, lack of joy, - or even feeling the need for a good laugh !
