Hello
Arian Young, a Holistic, Grief and Spiritual counsellor, grief ritualist and facilitator in - grief’s love and praise.
My Story
Grief rituals were born from a need to attend and heal. Shortly after my last parent died in 2016, a misguided DNA test changed everything. Fearing it would be the undoing of me, it had been the making of me.
As your grief counsellor, I am qualified in Soul Centred Counselling and Traditional Chinese Medicine, with over thirty-five years of experience exploring intention, discovery and consequence, while remaining curious about what I am here to do.
An actively engaged Buddhist and, former Buddhist nun from the Gelug School of Tibet's Vajrayana tradition, I will help you explore unprocessed grief that crafts outcomes of clarity, acceptance and transformative insight, using tools from spiritual counselling, mindfulness, meditation and ancestral history to enable vital, conscious gratitude to help you live and love more deeply.
c. 1987. Los Angeles, USA.
I have apprenticed myself to purposely honing the skills of grief and its twin, love - to help you navigate the wild rapids of sorrow, heartbreak and its immense beauty in a troubled, complex and rapidly, changing world.
I bring insight gained from a multitude of life experience concerning cultural, social and personal loss, and its absence in a culture that knows little about the - recognition, value, wisdom and beauty that is the skill of grief and love.
I am a spiritual counsellor, and educator whose practices weave diverse streams in the areas of - the Wisdom Traditions, Contemplation, and Mindfulness with heart. Active Creative Imagination, Emotional and Relational Awareness and its primary intelligence. Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Intuitive Arts have enriched further, my unique vantage points to infuse my life's work with both personal authenticity and professional wisdom.
My partner and I steward land upon the divide of the Yarra Ranges and the Mt Dandenong Ranges (Corhanwarrabul) - the miraculous lands of the traditional Bunurong and Woiwurrung and Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. We grow food to help protect and feed the diverse native wildlife, trees and plants inside a botanical forest that has its own microclimate while cherishing and safeguarding the land for future generations.
As the descendant of wondrous immigrants fleeing famine and war torn persecution, grief found me early amid my new born life. My life emerged from trans-generational trauma, not an uncommon story for many immigrants when planted into an Australian, Anglo-Euro centric culture. A culture which has it's own perplexing fraught history of colonial origin.
Made in China - I am an Asian-Australian born Naarm Melbourne settler whose ancestry proudly descends from Toy San (Taishan) and Sun Wei (Xinhui), Guangdong Province, Southern China.
My ancestral people, with some pagan ways still intact inside modernity - continue to weave their approaches tethered to traditional practices - The Intuitive Healing and Esoteric Arts based in Traditional Chinese Medicine: Acupuncture, Herbalism, Massage, Cupping, Tui-na, Nutrition, Moxibustion, Gua cha, Tai chi. Daoism, Buddhism, the I-Ching (divination) Martial arts (kung-fu), Chi-gong, Fengshui…to name a few.
Practicing such modalities has helped recover some of my cultural identity and my vocation as a professional healer that oversaw the clinical treatment of many hundreds of clients in my over twenty-five year career.
My regular rituals comprise - Breath work that includes, a daily meditation practice embedded in Buddhist enquiry, philosophy and psychology, prayer of gratitude and humility. I cry - often.
I grow food and invest richly in community and family. Gardening, listening deeply and observing nature has been engagingly transformative, helping to repair my once atrophied, muscle memory and instincts as a modern human, now intent on being eternally curious about our relationship to nature. I have an even deeper curiosity about the (un)authorised history of human culture. I am called to beauty-making through diverse art forms - painting, movement/dance, voice, music, writing, poetry, spoken word performance and exploring collaborative, theatre making.
Paying homage to one's ancestors is a regular practice across Asia and the Asian diaspora. It’s not unusual to find an ancestral altar in homes and the workplace, to which I have the honour to practice, where I dwell. I am still called to - do things that scare me - to ask better questions - to age with mischief, audacity and a great story to tell.
“The story tells us that living the life of an artist is not as useful as living our lives as a work of art.” - Martin Prechtel.
Teachers and People of Influence Whose Insight, Wisdom or Knowledge Have Woven Me
Buddhism:
Philosophy, Psychology, Logic, Sanskrit, Pali, Meditation, Buddhist Nun: Gelug School Tibetan Buddhism
Inta McKimm.
Langri Tangpa Centre.
QLD. 1984-1986.
Thubten Zopa Rinpoche.
Australia, India, USA, Hong Kong. 1985-1995.
Zazeb Tulku Rinpoche.
QLD. 1985.
Bikshuni Karma Lekshe Tsomo. India. 1986.
2x 10 Day Silent Retreat. International Dharma Hermitage. Wat Suan Mooch. Thailand. 1986.
H.H. The Dalai Lama.
India, USA. Australia. 1986-1992.
Geshe Tsultrim Gyeltsen & Tenzin Kacho.
CA. USA. 1986.
Vajrapani Institute: Three month retreat. CA. USA. 1987.
Hsi Lai Temple.
CA. USA. 1987.
Bikshuni Sangye Khadro.
India, Singapore. 1988.
Bikshuni Aya Khema.
CA. USA. 1988.
Fo Kuang Shan Monastery: Monastic Education, Chan Buddhism, Tsung Lin Buddhist University, Master Hsing Yun. Kaoshung.
Taiwan. 1988-1989.
Ivan Dorsey Roshi.
CA. USA. 1991.
Esalen Institute.
Lorin Roche, Camille Maurine.
CA. USA. 2005.
Dr. Graham Williams. 2008.
Eric Harrison. 2008.
Insight Meditation. Wisdom & Creativity in a Turbulent World. Robyn Gibson. 2025.
Living Deeply - Dying Well. Wilderness, Ecology, Permaculture,
Community
The Orphan Wisdom School:
Stephen Jenkinson, Nathalie Roy. Tad Hargrave.
Canada, Wales, Bali. 2016-2022.
Preparing the Way: Dying & Death. Helen Callanan & Gunnel Watkins. 2015.
Natural Grace: Preparations for Dying. Libby Maloney. 2015.
Eastern Palliative Care: Introduction to Palliative Care. 2016.
CERES:
Wilderness Skills: Claire Dunn. 2016.
Complete Urban Farmer. Permaculture. Justin Calverley. 2021.
Mycelium Wisdom.
Sibel Canver. 2023.
Environmental Philosophy:
Freya Mathews. Mentor.
Dance of the Plants. Bunurong Woman & Elder, Sonia Marie. 2024.
Tasmania University: Sustainable Living. 2024.
Active Hope Retreat in Times of Change & Crises: Work of Joanna Macy. Melbourne. 2025.
Naturally Sufficient: Hunter Education. Sustainable Self-sufficiency. Wally Chiang, Peter Griffiths. 2025.
Extra
My mother, Lin-Hai Woon Young. ❤️🦉🪷
Maternal Grandmother, Nooey Hoi Wong.
Latrobe University. 1982-1984.
Fo Kuang Shan Tsung Lin University: English Teacher. Kaoshung. Taiwan. 1987-1988.
TAFE. Certificate IV Small Business Management. 2007.
Trades Hall. Occupational Health & Safety Certificate. 2008.
Victoria University. Certificate IV Training & Assessment. 2015.
TCM & the Intuitive, Esoteric, Healing Arts
Fo Kwan Shan Monastery. Taiwan. 1987-1988.
Land of Medicine Buddha:
TCM, Chi-Gong, Wai Dan Gong, Wu Chi. Dr Chui-Nan Lai, Jennifer Sun. CA. USA. 1991-1992.
Acupressure Institute of America: Michael Reed Gach, Katherine L. Moring. CA. USA. 1992.
Australian Academy of Chinese Medicine. Melbourne. 1993-1995.
Dr Joh Ling. Melbourne. 2007.
Dr Zu Song. Melbourne. 2009.
Thought Field Therapy. Eugene Piccionotti. Melbourne. 2004.
Writing
CAE. Professional Writing & Editing. 2004 -2005
Annette Trevitt
Marg Downey
RMIT: Adv. Dip of Professional Screenwriting Film, TV & Digital Media. 2006-2008.
David Rapsey
Mac Gudgeon
Ellery Ryan
Shaun Topps
Alison Tilson
Jan Sardi
Jenny Kemp. Generative and Free-fall Writing. 2007.
Arnold Zable. 2016.
Elise Valmorbida. 2017.
Moreno Giovannoni. 2017.
Writers Victoria
Emily Bitto. 2025.
Patti Miller. 2025.
Emerald Writers Community. 2025.
Soul Centred Counselling, Psychotherapy, Jungian, Spiritual Health
Inta Mckimm. 1984-1986.
Process Orientated Psychotherapy. 1993.
Kairos Centre: Soul Centred Counselling/Psychotherapy.
Dr. Kaali Cargill, Andrew Cargill. 1994 - 1999.
Moshe Lang. 2002.
Kevin Toohey. Analytical Jungian Psychology, Dreams, Individuation, Symbolic Understanding of Fairy Tales, Myth & Alchemy. 2003 - 2007.
Melbourne Jung Society:
Archetypal Patterns in Fairytales. 2015.
Jungian Core Concepts. 2016.
Shapes And Sounds.
Normalising mental health conversations in Asian communities across Australia toward creative community care with culturally-responsive practices that validate intersectional experiences.
Founder Asami Koike.
2022-2024.
Performance. Theatre.Voice. Movement.Film. Painting.
Body Voice Centre.
Helen Sharp. 2002-2003.
Middendorf Breath Work.
John Howard. 2002.
Voice Breath.
Linda Wise. 2003.
Film
Open Channel. Write Your Documentary. 2002.
Filmmaking Summer School. 2003.
VCA:
Actor at Work. Richard Lawton. 2003.
The Body in Performance, School of Impulse. Stephen Phillips.
2003.
Building Self-Confidence.
Duncan Woodcock. 2003.
Monolog, Duolog, Performance.
Howard Stanley. 2003.
Voice & Text for Performance. Audrey Hager. 2003.
Vocal Yoga. Peruquois.
Melbourne. 2005.
Five Rhythms. Michelle Mahrer.
Melbourne. 2005-2006.
Improv Melbourne. 2011-2012.
Improvisation. Roy Barker. 2024.
The Rabble/WAKE. 2024.
Melbourne.
Kate Davis. Emma Valente
Cass Fumi.
Emerald Arts Society. 2025
Antoinette Blyth (Watercolour)
Iain F. Johnson (Mixed media/Painting)
