My story

I was around seven years old when I remember first telling myself something like, 

"You have to stay with yourself, Dawn. 

You can't let this stuff around you convince you to be someone different 

or play along with things you don't agree with." 

I honestly don't know exactly where that conviction came from, but what I do know is it was that conviction that held me afloat through years of immense pain and pressure to self-abandon. It was a thin, but strong string that tethered me through almost a decade of depression and intermittent suicidal ideation as a kid. As an adult, that string was there when I made big decisions that my environment did not understand. It was there, I was there, WITH myself. 

It's not that I did it all perfectly or had it all figured out, but I did have that strong string, holding me to me. 

Over time, my inner questions found outer equipping. A master's degree in religion. A master's degree in counseling. A master's degree in Middle Eastern cultures and religions. Three years living in Israel and Palestine. Three weeks in Baghdad working with a relief and reconciliation organization, traveling in armored vehicles escorted by armed bodyguards. Having three kids which required me to edit and streamline my own inner systems. Now, working on my PhD in transformative studies. 

Through it all, I was asking this burning, magnetic question, 

"How do we get self-separate? How do we get so far from ourselves that we dehumanize others? That we foment war? That we foment us vs them and me vs you and me vs me thinking?" 

This relentless question led me over and over again back to its antidote: 

"How do we develop and keep self-closeness? What does it mean to be self-close?" 

Over time, I found words for this concept. I created language and idea structures. I increasingly embodied self-closeness myself. 

It wasn't all twinkly lights and pats on the back though. Much of this understanding came through painful letting go, my own trauma healing (👋, hello two-ish years of crying) and being willing to challenge prevailing narratives in ways that were uncomfortable. 

It helped me move clutter off the shelves on my interior world. It brought me more serendipitous freedom. More self-clarity, self-cadence, and self-integrity. It brought me more self-habitation. More self-WITHness.

Inhabiting more of the visionary you've always been is possible. 

Before you choose to commit to any of these offerings, I want you to have an embodied sense that this is for you right now. This helps it all bloom better and nourishes the very transformation you're desiring for yourself and others. 🌻

If you feel comfortable to do so, 

1. Allow your nervous system to calm. Take a deep breath.

2. Remind yourself of your agency and personal power.

3. If you are feeling a stressful sense of urgency or lack, release that. 

You are in charge of your life. You are powerful, beautiful, and wise. 

Let your inner knowing guide you. You know the way.

Then, when you feel settled and self-connected, choose the offering that suits your season best. 

May we all be freer. May we all flourish.