Charlene Russom was born in 1972 in Sydney and soon afterwards moved with her parents and siblings to a pristine small coastal town on the mid north coast of New South Wales. The natural beauty of land and sea inspired within her, a sense of wonder and curiosity for life.

By the end of secondary-school she was offered an opportunity to move abroad by herself to multi-cultural Geneva, Switzerland. She worked there as a Nanny and this broadened her insight into the nature of humanity as she cared for children within families of various nationalities and circumstances. There were new cultures, languages, religions, family dynamics, behavioural patterns and belief systems to learn from.

When Charlene returned to Australia so much had changed for her internally.  This inspired a 21-year spiritual search to discover the deeper meaning of life.  During that time, she sought the wisdom of various teachers whilst working in corporate roles - media, sport, IT, medical, finance and telecommunications, as well as managing events within the wellness sector.

Clinical hypnotherapy and somatic psychotherapy training became the ground for the maturing process that led her to The Leela School of Awakening.  Under the tutelage of Eli Jaxon-Bear and the teachers and mentors of the school, she uncovered the root cause of her own suffering and finally stopped searching for happiness with the recognition that happiness is 'here now.'

Charlene continues to deepen in what is called ‘True Friend’ – quiet, open and receptive.  She became a Certified Leela Therapist in 2020.  This profound space of True Friend is the ground from which she supports others to rediscover their own happiness and ground of being.  In the words of Eli Jaxon-Bear, “Every story has a happy ending. If you aren’t happy, your story hasn’t ended yet”. If your story doesn’t yet have a happy ending you are invited to inquire here in the safe space of therapy.