Today we’d like to introduce you to Ava Cadell.

Ava, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My Dickensian childhood began with the Hungarian revolution of 1956. I was born Ildiko Eva Csath on June 15th that year in Budapest, only five months before a nationwide revolt erupted against the Soviet-ruled government of the Hungarian People’s Republic. What began as a student demonstration against oppressive foreign leadership, ended in a bloody battle as Soviet troops stormed in to crush the revolt that had reverberated across the entire country. I was one of 200,000 people who fled the violence and chaos, landing on the doorstep of an Austrian orphanage in Salzburg, which was run by strict nuns.

I share my own experiences growing up with guilt and shame about sex, beginning with the nuns at the orphanage who “taught” me that if I kissed a boy, a baby would pop out of my mouth, because I believe that sex is one of the most precious gifts we can give someone, who is worthy. It’s also the second basic instinct after survival and is a beautiful, healthy, loving way for two people to synchronize their energies.

It’s no surprise that I attracted unhealthy relationships after being programed to think of sex as something to be ashamed of and I was so naive that I didn’t even know the difference between love and sex. In fact, I was unable to say the words, “I love you” to a man until I was in my thirties.

The good news is that neuroscience has proven that we can reprogram our brain and grow new brain cells with new behaviors that become patterns, so I practice self-love and nurturing every day.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My road to success began as a very rocky one, first as a Hungarian refugee and then I was taken to England where I experienced an onslaught of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. I lived in a perpetual state of fear because there were no clearly drawn boundaries between myself and others. Healthy social development was robbed from me as a child and teenager. But, I saw myself as a warrior, not just a survivor and I have been fortunate to be able to use the abuses of my past to help others heal from theirs. Becoming a sexual healer was my calling, my destiny; and it had taken many years for me to come to this realization.

Read the full article here.