About Us
Meet Our Founder
Amanda Stokes
Founder of The Knowing Self
I didn’t create The Knowing Self as a business idea. I created it because it was the work I needed most when I was growing up.
I was born in 1975—an “oops” baby, as my mum would say. My parents divorced when I was barely a year old, and I grew up mostly with my mum, surrounded by the love of my grandparents, who nurtured me in ways I’ll never forget. I was imaginative, observant, and sensitive. I didn’t always have the words, but I had a strong sense of people and a natural curiosity about what made them tick.
At school, I always had friends, and yet, I remember clearly the pressure to secure my place. The fear of being replaced; the silent calculations about who was safe to align with and who might threaten my position. I’ve seen all sides of friendship dynamics—first as the girl trying to belong, and later as the mother of both the “mean girl” and the one who was hurt. It cracked me wide open.
What I came to understand is that most cruelty isn’t born from badness—it’s born from belief. Beliefs about what we deserve; about who’s a threat; about what we need to do to survive in a social world that feels unstable.
That insight changed everything, and it continues to shape the heart of this work.
I became a teacher not because I loved the curriculum, but because I wanted to be the adult I had needed. The one who sees the whole child, not just the grades. The one who believes in you, even when you’re not quite ready to believe in yourself.
Over the years, I worked across classrooms, paediatric wards, corporate leadership programs, and kitchen tables with parents trying to raise kids in a world that doesn't always make it easy. I wrote books, I ran events where sometimes no one showed up. I started again. I kept following what felt real.
And then came the full circle moment: The Knowing Self.
This work brings everything together—emotional intelligence, identity, self-leadership, compassion, truth-telling, and the fierce belief that we can raise a generation who knows who they are, understands why they feel what they feel, and leads with humanity.
I don’t offer surface-level programs. I offer mirrors.
This isn’t just for students, it’s for teachers, parents, and schools ready to look behind behaviour and meet the human beneath it.
We all carry stories.
We all want to be seen.
And we can’t lead others until we truly know ourselves.
Welcome to the work that changes everything.
Hello and welcome,
The Knowing Self is so much more than a program, it’s a movement for change, and a philosophy for living and leading. It was built on truth, on courage, and on the belief that when we begin to truly understand ourselves, everything shifts.
Thank you for finding your way here.
What we do at The Knowing Self goes far beyond traditional wellbeing programs. In a world where young people are navigating more pressure, uncertainty, and noise than ever before, we walk beside them—and the adults who shape their lives, with tools that don’t just help them cope, but empower them to lead, connect, and grow.
We teach what matters most, but is so often left out of the curriculum:
Self-awareness. Emotional literacy. Accountability. The courage to pause.
These aren’t lessons to memorise, they’re life skills that change how we relate to ourselves and to others. They ripple outwards, transforming classrooms, homes, and communities.
At the heart of this work is a simple but powerful belief:
When people understand what’s going on underneath the surface—within themselves and each other—they show up differently.
More grounded. More kind. More real.
Meet the Crew
The Knowing Self is growing. We’re building a team of facilitators who live and breathe this work—leaders, educators, and mentors who are planting seeds of change in their own patches across the country.
Coming soon:
Meet the humans behind The Knowing Self in your area—our growing crew of courageous, compassionate facilitators.
Want to become part of the movement?