What if burnout isn’t a personal failing or even something you can recover from through enough “self-care” and “work-life balance”?

What if, instead, it’s the inevitable outcome of looking at the world through the lens of resource, rather than relationship? Of trying to be a machine rather than being supported in being human?

And what if “purpose” isn’t something you can find or or do; but rather a way of being where aliveness expresses itself through you in all you do?

 
 

Welcome, friend. 

I’m Kate - an old soul and highly sensitive empath. A mystic and seer, after a fashion. A canary-in-the-mine who has often felt like I was built for a different world.

I’ve tried being ‘numb and normal’ but find there’s a fire in me which just won’t let me settle… and sure doesn’t mind burning it all to the ground!

But I had little to no guidance on how to steward this fire - leaving me in continual cycles of burnout. And in spite of tools like yoga, meditation, self-awareness, and shamanic and energetic healing; I just couldn’t seem to balance being myself and relating to others and life in a way which left me feeling the connection, freedom, expressiveness, and nourishment I desired.

In fact, I felt like no matter what I tried, no matter how much ‘progress’ I seemed to be making, I would still end up with the opposite of what I wanted.

So I began looking deeper into the relationship between burnout, disconnect, and this fierce spark of aliveness inside me and realized burnout and disconnect are modern ailments.

See, I now have a suspicion our long ago ancestors didn’t experience burnout the way we do and rarely struggled with purpose anxiety

- not because life was easier or humans were better at getting out of their own way -

but because they recognized that being between birth and death does not equate to being human or even being alive.

Being human and being alive are not, in fact, inevitable.

 

So they had cultural practices and wisdom processes in place which helped them nourish, sustain, and steward aliveness- through all the seasons of their lives.

These practices helped them stay in relational harmony with: 

  • themselves (their aliveness and humanity); 

  • each other (community);

  • a conscious, animate natural world (the elements, plants, creatures, seasons, etc);

  • and the Otherworld (Spirit, ancestors, and mythical or otherworldly beings, etc). 

But as industry and technocracy have slowly (and ongoingly) gained dominance throughout the world, we’re losing these practices and, along with them, the relational worldview that we are not on the Earth but belong to it, that we are not above nature but of it.

And, like trees whose roots have been severed; we find ourselves less stable, less nourished, and slowly dying.

The worst part? We’re expected to go along with this as normal. To numb out or shut away the parts of us which howl warnings and know, instinctively and intuitively, that there has to be something more than this.

 
 

But now you’ve found your way here.

Probably because something has happened and you can’t seem to ignore that howl within you anymore. 

You’re hungry for more than numbly going through the motions.

You’re exhausted from living a life that feels like it’s slowly killing you, even if it’s one you’ve worked hard to build and you love. 

You may be fantasizing about burning it all down and running far away to the forest where you can commune with the trees, become moss or mushroom, and befriend bears and wolves. (Even though you don’t *really* want to escape.)

Your body is telling you clearly that it’s done with trying to keep up and it’s forcing you in some way to listen.

Your relationships feel heavy with duty, expectation, and ingrained patterns; rather than dynamic with growth, love, and vitality.

You’re looking for some missing piece that your bones know, even if your mind has forgotten.

I get it.

 

And I’ll suggest that though these times, and our individual lives, seem to be asking more of us than our current states of burnout allow for; though we may feel empty, wrung out, too full, and exhausted… this is the perfect moment to begin.

See, I’m increasingly convinced that for those of us who feel the call to live beautifully and meaningfully, in service to a world that hasn’t yet come to be; we have use our burnout as a jumping-off point to journey into our shadows and the shadows of modern culture in order to embody our heart-values; find a deeper, wilder sense of belonging to the world; and reclaim the sacred spark of our aliveness.

Only then can we change the trajectory of culture and align ourselves with a worldview which doesn’t inevitably lead to burnout and purpose anxiety.

A worldview where instead of feeling trapped between burning it all down or dying, we see a third option: being fully alive and human in the lives we have, through all their seasons.

 

If this is resonating with you, wonderful.

I’m glad you’re here. 

It will take all of us.

 

What are some possible next steps?

If you’re someone who wants to find out more about me and my background: head here. (this page is currently being reworked behind the scenes, but this has some helpful info)

If you’re someone who wants to know more about my approach, the logistics, and methodology, etc… stay tuned. I’m working on getting some stuff together for you. For the time being, you can check out ‘About Energetic Medicine’.

If you’re someone who feels ready to jump in and wants to know what your options are, head here. (this process of helping you discern which of my offers might be right for you is also being fleshed out and brought up-to-date, but this should give you some ideas. You can also always email me with questions).