Integration & Intuition: Honoring Multiple Paths of Identity
Challenging the cultural pressure to conform to singular identities while embracing the richness that comes from integrating multiple passions and expertise.
In this month's exploration, we challenge the cultural pressure to conform to singular identities while embracing the richness that comes from integrating multiple passions and expertise. I invite practitioners to question Western-centric healing paradigms and reclaim the sacred practice of presence as a form of resistance against burnout culture, offering practical opportunities to reconnect with what truly matters.
Mind
A client said to me:
“I can’t decide what I really want for my life.”
I replied:
“Maybe this is you. A person who continually creates her life, likes to experience new things, and does what she wants. That seems beautiful to me.”
She shared a year later:
“That perspective changed my entire life.”
In the last few years, I have come to see that culture is largely telling us to be one thing, do one thing, develop expertise in one thing. But that’s very linear, and it’s very narrow. What if you’re meant to be more than one thing?
What if in being or doing one thing or being an expert in one thing, you’re supposed to have deep experience/interest/expertise in two or three things? That throws the model of ONE out the door because it’s an over simplification of who and what you embody.
TWO or THREE is okay, and you may find it far more rewarding than ONE.
I invite you to challenge the narrative that you need to be just one thing, do just one thing, offer one thing to one audience. ONE is where you start, but on the path to self-mastery, you’ll often find there are TWO or THREE things that make up your wholeness.
Meaning
Evidence-Based.
Peer Reviewed.
Scientifically-Backed.
These terms are used to describe the effectives of everything from nutritional supplements to practices that we employ to manage mental health.
It leads to statements like:
🧠 This process works because it’s based in evidence-based practices that showed how the body responded by X.
🧘🏾 The research is solid because it’s been peer reviewed by X group.
💊 This supplement/drug is effective because it was trialed and proven to X.
Terms like “evidence-based” and “scientifically proven” were created through a western lens. The western view of healing is very narrow. It reinforces the belief that if practice has no evidence or research to support its effectiveness, it doesn’t work.
There are 8 billion people in the world, of which 1 billion fall into what we define as Western culture. What about the other 7 billion people in the world? The “Western wisdom” that requires ”evidence” ignores and disrespects Asian, African, Latin, and Indigenous wisdom. Not all methods of healing can be qualified and quantified. Nor do they need to be.
Matter
Lately, the world seems louder. The pressure to do more with less. To push through exhaustion. To ignore what our bodies and minds are telling us. The quiet erosion of well-being dressed up as “work ethic.”
But here’s the truth:
We are not machines. We are not here to serve systems that do not serve us.
What keeps us steady in times like these is not the grind, but the grounding—the small, real things that tether us back to ourselves.
The warmth of a cup of coffee held with both hands.
The way the wind moves through trees.
A deep breath taken with intention.
A moment of silence before the next step.
These are not indulgences. They are acts of quiet defiance. They are proof that we still remember what matters.
So if your values feel under attack, if you are being asked to sacrifice what makes you whole, hold fast.
Prioritize rest like it is sacred (because it is). Choose presence over productivity. Stand for well-being in a world that too often disregards it.
Not because it’s easy. But because it’s necessary. Because we deserve more than just getting through the day. We deserve to live.
Making Sense
The Making Sense section usually contains video and audio links; they’ll return next month. This month, I wanted to share the launch of our in-person groups for healthcare workers at Rose Ranch in Bellingham, Washington.
Rose Ranch has been a long-time in the making. This fall, we’ll offer two workshops, focused on healthcare workers, and one for women over 40, that explore how to manage stress and burnout.
Navigating Stress and Burnout: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Horses
Weekly Groups: Sundays, August 10-31, 2025: 10AM - 11:30AM ($180-$325: SLIDING SCALE)
1-Day Workshop: Sunday, Sept 14, 2025: 9:30 - 3:30PM ($150 - 4 Spots Left!)
We’d love for you to join us. If you can’t attend, and know of someone that lives in the Vancouver, BC area or near Seattle, Washington, please send them our information. We are being very conscious in how we spread the word about our offerings, refraining from social media where we can, because of our desire to build an intentional space for people to feel safe, seen, and heard.
