Hello, and thanks in advance for reading!

I’ve been contemplating my first entry for quite sometime, believing it “should include everything I want to say” and that it “needs to be perfect”. That voice in my head can be quite loud at times…the part of me that doesn’t feel worthy of sharing my message. Is it good enough? Will I be understood and accepted? Regardless of whether I’m a trained professional who spends much time “doing my own work”, I’m human and have wounds, fears, and doubts just like everyone else. But I also have a dream and a deep sense of purpose in this life, and much trust and faith in the process. ALL of these things can exist together - it’s all part of the human experience!

I’ve always been driven - to understand, to heal, to make a difference. To connect, to belong, to advocate - both for myself and others - to RISE UP. But for much of my life, I chased the voice of reason via the cognitive mind - how? why? what? when? I was actively striving to analyze and make sense of it all - not just in the now, but to know all the steps ahead. But that hasn’t worked, and when I reflect more deeply, I see that life has never played out the way I planned. Relying on my mind to figure it all out never got me very far as the rational mind’s nature is to respond based on past history and naturally fears/resists the unknown. Instead, successfully navigating life is a non-linear process of reflection, BE-ING with, and letting go. I find truth in my heart’s voice, and then utilize my mind to carry out these truths - not the other way around, but our culture conditions us to consult the mind for all of the answers.

I’ve heard that the most healing and connecting words we can hear are “ME TOO” and I wholeheartedly agree. I am not “better than”, or fully healed - just perhaps a bit further along on my journey. We are all on this path of being human - and although that is beautiful and sacred, it’s also heartbreaking and challenging. We are all fallible and vulnerable - but the huge pressure we put on ourselves to hide or deny that causes unnecessary pain - an expectation that we can never live up to - which leads to resistance (and what you resist persists), inaction/stagnation…and ultimately self judgment/sabotage. None of which are helpful or have ever brought me closer to the fruition of my joy and purpose.

What does? Trust, courage, Divine connection, raw vulnerability - which includes looking at the “shadow” side, investing in a relationship with myself and others - coming back to my true nature/essence. My soul’s true expression is Love, Joy, and Freedom. In this deep space of awareness, I sense the unfolding, the emergence of something greater that I can imagine with my limited, critical mind. This requires trust, and a REMEMBERING, which we often have to come back to again and again. This deep part of me is increasingly finding the courage to share my voice, and what I know for sure is this…WE MUST COME BACK TO OUR BODIES TO HEAL, and EMBODIMENT PRACTICES are the most direct way to transformation. It is my honor and privilege to share with you what I know about this process.

So for now this is me…forever in awe of the beauty and richness of this world. The bittersweet contrasts, the inherent and necessary paradoxes - the fragility and tragedy…AND the LOVE that PREVAILS, which is why we’re here - to the be lighthouses that (in our own unique way) help guide us back home to the truth - that we are love and the LIGHT resides in all of us. There is no separation - it is through joining (connection) that we remember our eternal essence. We remember that LOVE is the reason for it all.

I am here to walk with you on your journey - to see you as inherently worthy and with the knowing that we all can heal.

Onward from the HEART 💓

Shannon