A perspective shift can change everything.
Why I do this work
This work emerged from a period of profound change.
During the COVID years, my life shifted dramatically. The breakdown of my marriage, the loss of my parents, and navigating grief and upheaval overseas while raising young children marked the most demanding season of my life. Like many people facing loss and uncertainty, I found myself searching for answers.
I turned to therapy, philosophy, psychology and spiritual study, trying to understand not only what had happened, but how to live through it. What emerged was a growing awareness of how much our experience is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves, the beliefs we inherit, and the patterns we rarely stop to question.
As I learned to examine those patterns more closely, my relationship with myself began to change: I became less interested in fixing myself and more interested in understanding myself. It led me to a deeper appreciation of self-inquiry as a way of relating to life with greater awareness, compassion and intention.
Know Thyself was created to share the questions, reflections and practices that helped me navigate that journey.
I don’t have the answers; I believe that better questions lead us closer to them.
This work doesn't aim to change who you are but to help you see yourself more clearly.
When we see ourselves clearly, change often follows naturally.
About me
This work is the culmination of a life spent in search of meaning.
After studying Literature and Sociology in Scotland, I moved to Tokyo, where I spent the next twenty years building a life, raising children and working across a wide range of creative and community-based projects.
Over those two decades, I worked as a television news anchor, established a Montessori kindergarten, co-founded a DEI-focused nonprofit, and co-created a shared-living community. Although these experiences looked very different on the surface, they were all rooted in the same obsession with communication and connection.
Living between such different cultures challenged assumptions I didn't know I had and continually reminded me that many of the things we take for granted are neither universal nor inevitable. It heightened my thirst to understand what shapes us, what allows us to change, what gives life meaning, and how we can live more fulfilled, conscious, and compassionate lives.
Today, my work brings together the threads that have run through my life: writing, philosophy, psychology, creativity, education and a deep interest in what it means to be human.
I hold an MSc in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh, an MA in Sociology from the University of Sheffield, and a BA in English Literature from the University of Strathclyde.
Outside of work, you'll usually find me reading in a hammock, walking in the woods, writing poetry, or dancing in the kitchen with my children.
Find out if we’re a match
“I absolutely loved the Know Thyself program. Rachel’s calm, reassuring presence created such a peaceful and nurturing space that I immediately felt safe to open up and explore whatever came up in my writing. I was completely enveloped in her warmth and gentle guidance. It was a very special experience for me and one I’d strongly recommend.”
— C, KnowThyself (in person)