Have you ever entered a room and immediately felt a sense of calm and safety? In this episode, I sit down with sensory interior designer Stephanie Jackson to explore how trauma-informed design can transform our living spaces into sanctuaries that support our nervous systems and cater to neurodivergent needs.
We delve into the principles of biophilic design, discussing how integrating natural elements like plants and natural light can foster healing and connection. Stephanie shares insights on creating environments that not only look beautiful but also promote well-being and inclusivity.
Whether you’re looking to redesign your home or simply want to understand how your environment affects your mental health, this conversation offers valuable perspectives on creating spaces that nurture and heal..
Topics Covered about NeuroDivergent Interior Design
➡️ Why designing for your nervous system is more than a luxury—it’s a necessity.
➡️ The difference between biophilic trends and truly supportive space design.
➡️ How plants and lighting help regulate neurodivergent bodies.
➡️ The role of personalization in creating healing environments for yourself and others.
Resources Mentioned
🌱 Stephanie’s Work
🌱 The Shift Network
🌱 Personalized mentorship with me and the Plants
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Ep.109 Designing Your Practical Sanctuary with Stephanie Jackson
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Hello, hello, hello, everyone.
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Welcome back to another episode of Reconnect with Plant Wisdom.
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It’s me, Tigrilla Gardenia.
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I am so excited about this.
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So, this, this whole conversation that, uh, that, uh, we’re about to, to, to listen to together, to experience together was something that I have been looking for from the perspective of what Stephanie Jackson does with her Practical Sanctuary is, I cannot emphasize enough, so important.
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The idea of creating a sacred space and, like, really thinking about your interior design as a way to support your relationship with other kin, to support your nervous system, to support the way that your mind works.
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For all of us that are multi-passionate and, you know, quirky as we were calling it i- in this conversation, dur- neurodivergent, all of those things, having a space that truly reflects who you are and that encourages your way of being is so important.
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So please listen to this conversation, reach out to us.
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Let’s have a conversation about it because I think that that developing both work as well as personal spaces and designing them as sanctuaries is the next level in our evolution that is just so im- no more cookie cutter, man.
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Ding for the cookie cutter.
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We need spaces that truly help us be the maximum, most authentic selves we could possibly be.
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So with that, I am so excited to share with you Episode 109.
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109, I still can’t believe that.
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109, Designing Your Practical Sanctuary With Stephanie Jackson.
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Welcome to Reconnect with Plant Wisdom.
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I’m your host, Tigrilla Gardenia, nature inspired mentor, certified life coach, and founder of the Naturally Conscious Community.
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For over a decade, I’ve been known as a world ambassador for plant advocacy, working closely with plants to share their practical wisdom to help you consciously embody the elements of life that nourish your evolution.
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In this podcast, I delve into ancient and modern knowledge from biology to spirituality about the wondrous ways of plants.
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Together, we’ll explore how ecosystem thinking helps you overcome limiting beliefs, understand the true nature of relationships, and live an authentic, impactful life.
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Hello, Stephanie.
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I have been waiting
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You have to, I have to say, I have in my mind a little list of, like, types of roles and people that I wanna talk to.
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And when we’ve had our conversation, I was so excited because this is an actual passion area for me.
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But before I’m gonna jump into exactly what that means, can you please tell everybody, who is Stephanie Jackson?
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I am the owner and founder of Practical Sanctuary Sensory Interior Design.
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As far as I know, my company is the only company in the world that is doing what I’m doing right now, which is creating spaces that tune to the nervous systems of the people that live and work there.
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What I mean by that is I create spaces for highly sensitive people, for neurodivergent families, for healthcare, for trauma care, and I pay attention to all of the sensory aspects of the space in terms of how those aspects are affecting the people who live there from all sensory and emotional and relational perspectives.
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That means I am paying attention to acoustics, how much acoustic chaos there is, and how the people who live in that space deal with noise, how they can track or not track conversations, how they can focus.
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Lighting.
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People who are highly sensitive to different types of lighting, I will do things to mitigate or change the lighting so people can be comfortable.
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Relationships.
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How we set boundaries in our homes.
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When you’re dealing with neurodivergent families, sometimes you have parents with a really different tolerance level for noise, chaos, movement than the children, and you have to set physical boundaries which allow for those behavioral boundaries to work for everyone.
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So, it’s a multi-dimensional puzzle with every family, with every space, which I love doing, and my mission is to get these concepts into the design phase of every building that is renovated or developed in the future, particularly with healthcare, government, business, education because our spaces are draining
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many of us, and they don’t have to.
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They can support us.
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So, that’s my mission in a nutshell.
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I’m really looking forward to this conversation.
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So I’m gonna, I’m gonna tell you now ’cause I love everything, every single piece that you mentioned, especially because
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So, my original foray, when I first started working with plants and I started to have my plant reawakening, I looked around and I said, “Okay, what direction do I wanna take?”
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Because at the time, you know, this was-
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gosh, like, 13, 14 years ago, there wasn’t a lot of discussion.
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There was biomimicry, which was kind of my first entry point.
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Like, I walked through the whole idea of design inspired by nature, the idea of looking at how different, uh, organisms, different beings, how different plants or animals or even human body parts work in certain areas and then what does that look like?
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And I always migrated towards the idea of social innovation, right?
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The way
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How is it that these design elements affect our social interactions or we can design social interactions by there?
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And that naturally took me into the direction of biophilic design which attempts to do, I- my words, not yours, what I’m about to say there, my interpretation of the way being somebody who worked in biophilic design and who still works with biophilic design, is a somewhat s- not stale, neutral way of doing what you do in the sense that I think biophilic design is a gr- first step, but I feel like what you’re doing and what I loved about the conversation you
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and I had when, you know, as we were prepping for this, was that I think you take it into the realm that is so important today which is personalizing it beyond just the checklist that a biophilic design can do.
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I- if you could help just to make sure everybody, all of us are on the same page, do you know anything about biophilic design and, like, can you share a little bit with people kind of, like, the differences the way you see them?
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‘Cause I have my own opinions about how you see the difference between what you do and, like, tradition- what’s become now traditional, which is still cutting edge and still awesome that it happens, but what you see as traditional biophilic design?
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Yes.
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I think it’s that neutrality that you pointed out, that it’s, like, yes, you can choose to do biophilic design or not, and it’s, it’s a preference, it’s nice, it has some benefits, but it’s almost
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It’s like a boutique kind of thing.
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Right.
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It’s like, okay, it’s for people with money.
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I, I, uh, I’ve been a member of Longwood Gardens for years, and there’s this wonderful wall that’s, like, all the plants are growing out of the wall, and you see it all over the place, and it’s, it’s almost like a design trend, like any other- Right.
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trend.
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It’s, it’s sort of morally neutral.
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Yeah.
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For me, this is not neutral.
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It is a
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It’s a mission to bring our environments in tune with our nature.
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And so biophilic design is a necessary element of that, not a aesthetic choice.
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Now there are many people who simply don’t have the interest or the cognitive capacity to care for plants in their environment, but I don’t think the existence of plants in our environment and integrated with our building is ultimately going to be optional.
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Right.
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I think we treat it as though it is optional, so I integrate as much biophilia into my designs as I possibly can.
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And it needs to be an integrative process.
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I need to have landscape designers, sustainable ability designers, healthcare workers that, uh, scientists that understand, you know, ecosystems.
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They have to be part of the process.
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Right.
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So yeah.
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That’s, that’s where I see.
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That’s where I come down with that one.
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Yeah.
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And I, and I think that that’s a great thing.
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I mean, and, and for those, for those that are listening that might not un- not, not really understand.
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So biophilic design in essence is kind of like, how do I turn whatever I’m designing to have as much natural input as possible?
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So the idea of lighting that mimics the cycles of nature that might have, uh, a dappled or a sort of like, um, instead of straight light like we would have with a lamp, whenever you have li- light coming through trees or anything, it’s gonna have different shading to it, it’s gonna have movement to it.
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Um, it’s having, uh, more rounded edges because in nature we have more rounded edges.
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We don’t really have a lot of sharp edges.
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There’s all kinds.
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There’s an entire checklist that exists now, you know, water elements and how do you have things that you can
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entire checklist that exists now, you know, water elements and how do you have things that you can
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that mimic even temperature of nature.
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All these types of elements that make you feel kind of like you’re outside, which is great.
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Mm-hmm.
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mean, like you were saying, it is great.
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But I do agree with you that I think that it’s- it is for some people, especially in the business world, kind of like the end goal, when in reality, I think, like you said, it should be the beginning.
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Like, I start with a biophilic environment, with an environment that I’ve created that allows elements as if I’m in nature.
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Then I look at who are the people that are going to be using that.
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And I- I add a layer on top of that which is given what those people, who those people are, and what those people will be doing, what is it that I need to add to the environment to create a relationship between the environment and the be- the health of that, of that person?
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Just like any animal in nature or we’ll
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And even every plant in nature will personalize their space so that it’s most adaptive to what it is that they need, right?
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You’re not gonna have a beaver that just because you’re outdoors, you’re gonna have in the tundra.
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Right?
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A beaver is going to want water, but a beaver is also gonna create their own den, they’re gonna be able to move that- those in certain positions to best shape how big or how small the beavers are.
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Like, you’re always going to have the plants and the animals adapting their environment to what’s best for them.
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We’ve always done this with, like, decoration, but I think what you do is really important because it says to a space, whether it’s your home or your business, I’m an individual person.
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I have characteristics that are natural from my work, like if I work on Wall Street, I know it’s high stress, it’s very fast-paced, it has all these types of things.
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If instead I’m talking about my personal study at home, I might want an environment that’s very conducive to, you know, my nervous system being able to take in less amount of input, to be able to, you know, study, or to be able to do calculations or strategy depending on how I wanna use it.
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And I like the idea of being able to create an environment that supports, you know, whatever it is that I need that space, whatever I’m gonna be using that space for.
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And that’s where I think biophilic design or any of the- the design elements don’t really go that far.
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And- and I really like that that’s the direction that it takes you.
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How did you end up kind of deciding to go in this direction?
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It- it- it picked me.
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As always.
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I had no intention of doing this.
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And when I look back, I- I see how I’m- I’m a pretty s-
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I wouldn’t say s-
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I don’t like the word stubborn, but- I’m stubborn.
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I’ve got 3 pairs of horn in my as- in my astrology.
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Oh,
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I am so freaking stubborn, it’s ridiculous.
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Like, heads down, horns out, I am just gonna go with it.
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I consider myself to be open.
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Um, I’m open to taking things in.
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I- and I am open to other people’s perspectives, but I also have an internal compass which is very decided, like a- and it surprises people because I am so open.
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I mean, I’m 0 interested in knowing what people are about and I’m interested in helping and supporting them.
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And so people think I’m very easygoing and then they hit something that’s important to me and they find out that I am not the malleable person they assumed I was because of the openness.
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So I started out as a fine artist with the absolute commitment that is like I will- I will live out of dumpsters.
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I will-
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do what I have to do to ha- to be a- to- to make art for the rest of my life.
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And that was a very, very conscious firm decision at a very early age which I followed through on.
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At times when my peers who were with me in the beginning are like, “Oh, this is too hard.
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I’m gonna go to medical school.
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I’m gonna go to law school.
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I’m gonna get an MBA.
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Like, I’m out.”
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Right.
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I’m just like, “Dudes.”
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No, this was- this was for life.
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So and I did that for 20 years.
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I founded a couple of alternative art spaces, I did the sojourn in Mexico to paint full-time thing, I did the move to New York and found a movement thing, I- I did art blogs when I, you know, I wasn’t getting the- the traction I wanted so I was like, “Okay, I’ll make it.
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I will create the thing.”
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And the art world took me down.
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The art world and the economy.
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I- I’m Gen X, I graduated into multiple recessions.
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I’ve seen booms and busts a lot, but the 2008 bust took me out because I, uh, had my- my daughter right as
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I was pregnant as the economy was collapsing.
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Her father was in the financial industry.
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The- the jobs and money just evaporated overnight, just, you know, he had a contract, just poof, gone.
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So by the time she was 9 months old, I was living off my credit card in New York.
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And, you know, that
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It- was like, “No, the art world is not taking care of me,” and really never had.
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It- it was
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I had gotten behind the scenes enough that I could see.
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how basically bankrupt it was of any values that I wanted to espouse.
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Uh, it- it- it’s essentially a money-laundering scheme for their, people who got their money through means that artists are in the street protesting about.
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Right?
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Right.
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So, uh, I, I couldn’t get where I was want- needing to go with the art as I had always assumed I would, and in the meantime, I had gotten completely caught up in healing, like helping people heal.
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That was how I was keeping my lights on, was a licensed massage therapist.
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And I used the massage therapy as like, “Okay, it’s pay the bills.”
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You- you always get a client on the table, get your rent paid, and then you’re good.
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You paint, you blog.
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But I had a family to support at this point, and there were no jobs, and my, um, now ex was not helping.
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So I had to get serious about learning business skills.
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So that’s what I did.
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I made my massage business into a real business, and I started learning marketing and branding and all of those things.
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And a very short time into it, one of my clients said, “Stephanie, you know, I just love that painting in your studio, and I just love your- how your space is set up.
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Would you do that in my house?”
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And I was like, “No, I’m sorry.
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I don’t make art anymore.”
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She said, “I’ll write you a check for a deposit,” and I said, “I could do that.
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Yes.”
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Yes.
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Sure.
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And it was transformative because I really loved this client, first of all, and I- I knew her very well, and she had a vision that she knew what she wanted but she did not know how to do it.
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And I went into her space.
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She wanted a- a mural on her staircase risers that looked like, uh, um, water.
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And I was like, “I could do that, sure.”
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Uh, but she- she had the vision.
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She picked the colors.
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Her space was a, you know, it had certain ceiling heights, certain window height, it- certain
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I mean, it’s in Philadelphia, so the light is a certain way, and I’m hyperaware of all of those things because I’ve been studying light and color for decades, and I’ve lived in a lot of different environments, and I’m like, “Okay, this is gonna work.
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This is not gonna work.
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This is gonna work.
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This is not gonna work.”
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And the process of being in her space with her and talking with her and playing music and telling stories and going through the process of creating this mural that worked with the space, I’m like, “This is what I was born to do.”
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So many more elements than just creating this object that you stick on the wall and try to sell to someone.
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So I- I’m like, “Okay, well, now I know business skills, so I’ll funnel my business skills into creating a business that does this.”
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And soon on the heels of that, I realized that I had another superpower, which is I love quirky people.
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I’ve had- I’ve always befriended the- the oddest person in the room at any point.
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I love that now that the world, you know, has this kind of, uh, uh, love affair with the word neurodivergent- Uh-huh.
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and I’m like, “Dude, w- w- we’ve been calling these the mad genius, the quirky-” Exactly.
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Uh-huh.
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“
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the weird.”
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Like, we call ourselves- Uh-huh.
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inside of my Naturally Conscious community, we call ourselves weird and woo.
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Mm-hmm.
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You know?
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But like, I just got a- a message from my friend.
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I have a friend of mine that goes running every morning, and he’s- I’ve known him since high school, and he leaves me these like 20-minute messages-
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while he’s running every morning.
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And it’s because it’s his way of like- like just moving through everything in his brain, everything that he’s thinking- Mm-hmm.
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which is, sure, quirky.
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Let’s call it quirky.
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Mm-hmm.
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those mad geniuses that are like, “Of course, the neurodivergent people, we’ve known all of them our whole lives.”
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Right.
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Yes.
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I mean, uh, way before f- I knew the word neurodivergent- Uh-huh.
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these were my friends.
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You know, I have a friend that I’ve known since we were 7 years old that does that.
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that, you know?
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I will
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I’ll get the text message.
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It’s this long about some random thing.
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I’m like, “Yay.”
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exactly.
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And, uh, and I think that the other piece, and I’m interrupting your story, but only because it feels- Absolutely.
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like it’s appropriate.
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What I love is that
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I think because of that, because we’ve always known these people, because we’ve always been these people- Mm-hmm.
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we also know the things that they need, right?
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Yes.
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Things like, like- Yes.
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these are people that are, that are highly amazing and like, like you said, the, the, the 20-minute voice message or the- Yeah.
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super long text, and then they disappear for 3 days into a cave in their houses.
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And it’s because, like, their minds are so huge and moving all over these things, and then it collapses in and of itself.
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Mm-hmm.
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Mm-hmm.
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then the house needs to be both entertainment space for everything that they do- Mm-hmm.
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like, they’re usually musicians or creatives of some sort.
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Mm-hmm.
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And then it also has to have the safe, protective, I-am-recharging type of s-
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You know, the whole highly sensitive thing- Yes.
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that a lot of people- Yes.
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I think still don’t recognize is such an important- Oh,
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set of characteristics.
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Mm-hmm.
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Access to nature, nature inside the house- Mm-hmm.
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recharge, recharge my battery.
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Okay, I’m, I’m done.
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Now I can be, you know- Yes.
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outgoing again.
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Well, you, you just described the, the s-
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next part of this process was realizing that I know what these people need.
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Mm-hmm.
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And that really everyone needs these things.
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It’s just it’s way more obvious with neurodivergent people.
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Absolutely.
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You know?
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Neuro
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I mean, it
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And it’s, it’s so polarized with neurodivergent people.
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They have superpowers and then they have outsized needs that if they don’t get met, it’s, it’s, it’s collapse.
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It’s catastrophic.
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Mm-hmm.
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So it’s urgent with the neurodivergent population, and becoming more so because as we all can find one another through the internet- Mm-hmm.
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and this is genetic, people who maybe didn’t find anyone to partner with and did not have children all, through all, all of history are now finding 0 each other on the internet, having kids, and their kids are even more far along on the spectrum- Yeah.
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than they are.
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And it’s seen as this, like, epidemic, this crisis.
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What’s causing this?
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I mean, for me, it’s like, it’s, it’s, it’s fairly obvious that it’s hugely genetic.
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I mean, I’m sure there are some environmental factors, but I don’t consider neurodivergence to be a disability.
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Agreed.
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I consider it to be a difference, and it’s a difference that’s always been there, but because we’re, we’re getting better diagnostic skills and we are just more attuned, uh, you know, there were so many neurodivergent people that were just abused and ignored- Told they were crazy.
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and ignored that we’re, we’re now grappling with this.
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We’re
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You know, schools- Yeah.
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parenting, and I’m like, “I, I know what’s needed.”
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And moreover, I have executive function, which, as I know from founding 2 different al- art spaces, many, many, if not most highly quirky people do not have.
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So I felt like I had all of these skills that I had been developing for all of these years, which I thought were about, you know, becoming an artist, you know, building a business, et cetera, and I’m like, “There’s a huge gap in systems that’s e- that’s shaped, like, all the skills I’ve been developing for all of these years.”
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And I didn’t want to be a business owner.
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I mean, I just wanted to be alone and create things.
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Uh, but the economics gave me very little other option.
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And, and then I found the mission.
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So it’s the creativity, it’s the economics, it’s the mission, and the need.
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So here I am.
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I mean- Yea- Yeah.
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I absolutely love this because I feel like another element that’s happening is as more and more people feel
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Are, are, are coming
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Are evolving out of their conditioning, in other words, as we’re, as we’re embracing much more of who we truly are, like you said, we’ve, we’ve had always the quirky people.
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A- all of us have our quirks and our parts, but many of us have been kind of forced into a rigid system that- Yeah.
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um, that promoted form over function.
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In other words, the idea that you had to, like
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You know, pro-
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This
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There was this process of this is how you do things.
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This is how you work.
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This is how you do
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You know?
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The
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You have to wake up early, and you have to go and do this, and you have to do that, and your homes need to have this cookie-cutter shape in order
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And your businesses have to have these cookie-cutter shapes.
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Like, I remember when I was working at Microsoft.
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So Microsoft, at the time that I was working there, had a, a philosophy which was like everybody should have an office.And I thought it was brilliant, ’cause I had come from a different company that everybody had cubicles and the cubicle for an extremely creative person sucks big time, because you’re normally highly sensitive which means noise, distractions, environments.
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The idea that I can’t close my door at any point, that I can’t personalize my space enough- Yeah.
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that I can’t block other people out of it.
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Like, I remember Intel at the time had a completely different philosophy which was everybody had a cubicle, where Microsoft was everybody had an office.
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And I remember every time I would have to go to Intel for something for, you know, some work-related thing, I was walking around there going, “I would not survive here.”
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Because without that office, without the ability for me to close the door and sometimes even just sleep on the floor with my pillow and my blanket because I needed that half an hour nap- Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah.
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or, you know, all of my toys that were in there that made me, made that space mine and me and my ability to, like, not freak out in a good way, like, I was working on a problem and being able to, like, use my whiteboards and just move around and use my body and all these different aspects because I was behind a closed door.
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Yeah.
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And I feel like that was really conducive at the time for a lot of creativity to come out, and I think that that’s the interesting thing about what’s happening today is that as more and more of us sort of unshackle ourselves from these, um
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Of course, we have to have common traits in order to interact but in our own spaces, whatever those spaces might be, unshackle ourselves from many of these kind of constraints and these conditionings that have been placed on us.
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I do think people, the work that you’re doing, like you said, is mission because now I have to make a space really work for me, especially if I could do it at the early stages.
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Like, the friends of mine that I’ve had that have had the privilege of being able to design their own homes, like from beginning to end- Mm-hmm,
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been amazing to see what they do- Yes.
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because the spaces already physically speaking, and then we’ll get more into kind of, like, what you do in order to create a space for, for a person that is highly sensitive for example, but I loved every time I go into their houses seeing what they’ve created.
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Like, I had one of my f- one of my friends created, um, he had a secret door that was hidden behind a hologram.
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He had like a- Oh.
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holographic image and it led to his theater which he had created because he needed
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And so there’s this really bright space with this gorgeous, like, holographic image on the wall that when you stood in a certain way you realized was a door, and then when you come through the door you have this super cave-like dark space that was his theater with like really comfortable sort of La-Z-Boy Super Chairs and a full screen theater, and it was like for him the contrast of, you know, this is the environment of openness and sharing and, uh, you know, entertaining
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and all these types of things, and this is the space that I go to retreat.
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And this is a person who, you know, has really done amazing things in, you know, he was somebody really high up in Microsoft, he’s done some really amazing, incredible, creative, uh, innovations.
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And now I understand, like, looking at his house I was like, “Oh, I get it.”
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Like, of course, the only way for you to create all of this is to have that other piece.
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And then he was telling me about what he was doing to that, because when I went there to his house he was telling me what he was gonna be doing to the landscaping and he was basically turning it into a, a woodland area with a massive redwood in front of it, with, in front of the house and he was turning it into this woodland because again, highly sensitive people need that connection to nature.
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Yes.
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that connection to nature is a reset, it’s like a, “Oh, other beings-” Mm-hmm.
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that I can understand me that don’t stress me out, that like, you know regulate me and help me kinda find clarity.”
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Mm-hmm.
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And so he needed all of these different kinds
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And his family in general, like his, his, uh, the whole family needed all these different spaces that allowed for these different environments and these different- Yes.
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ways of processing information.
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Exactly, yes.
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H- he, he is doing with his own house what I do for other people.
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I love it.
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I love it.
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Yes.
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00:30:23,065 –> 00:30:23,840
So tell me more.
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Tell me, like, some of the things that you’ve done, and, like, what are some of the experiences and that people have come to you saying, “Hey, I need help with this,” and that you’ve been able to craft in their space?
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Yes.
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00:30:35,040 –> 00:31:01,264
Well, one of the first, uh, people that hired me was a massage client of mine who had had a catastrophic stroke, uh, due to eclampsia during childbirth, and I, I got a, I got a frantic call from her friend who, um, that her, her friend had almost died giving birth and was
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00:31:02,819 –> 00:31:08,656
The, the, the child was okay, but her friend was paralyzed on half of her body.
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And modern healthcare tends to give up on stroke victims quite early on.
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There’s a myth that says that people can only get certain amount of function back within a certain window, 3 to 6 months, and if you don’t get any more function back, we’re just, you know, we’re gonna warehouse you.
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So, I started massaging her regularly, and we got to be friends, I mean, and it was, it was a, it was a really distressing situation, but, but there was enough money in the household and, and family and relatives that she had a lot of help.
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So, ultimately, after a few years, her family moved into a house in the suburbs with, uh
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And they had physical therapists coming in regularly that they, they had to
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They hire and they had a live-in physical therapist and a live-in caregiver, and the daughter was growing up and, and my friend was, you know, trying to learn to walk again.
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There was, there was considerable, like, issues with her memory, and then, and then she could only use her right half of her body.
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The left half was just, just not moving around.
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And I was with her long enough that when I would go to see her, like, she’s in New Jersey, which is called the Garden State, but she’s trapped in her house, and her family had
339
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They were used to taking care of her, so they were kind of treating her a little bit like a piece of furniture.
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Right.
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00:32:44,139 –> 00:33:04,779
Like, I, I, walked into the bedroom and, I mean, sh- she’s capable of using her right hand, but the bedroom is set up so that on her side of the bed, it’s her left hand that is accessing the, the bedside table with her phone, her iPad, the light.
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She’s gotta get someone else to, to hand her the phone, the iPad, and turn on the light when she’s got a perfectly good right hand here, but she can’t get to it.
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So, I, I said, “Look, I’m starting this new business.”
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“Uh, let’s go.”
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00:33:21,879 –> 00:33:22,099
Yeah, yeah.
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And I ended up designing her physical therapy treatment room, and, you know, I did this huge mural.
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Like, I was still, like, doing the art thing, so I did this huge mural that was a lotus and it was her favorite colors, and I, you know, just designed a flow path so that she could use the capacity that she had to the greatest extent, and it went from, you know
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00:33:46,559 –> 00:33:49,040
Essentially, like, physical therapy spaces are
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They’re triggering to the nervous system, to say the bul- Uh, th- they look very much like torture chambers.
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Yup.
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00:33:55,639 –> 00:34:00,496
That’s not good for your healing pathways in your nervous system.
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So instead, her, her, um, physical therapy room, you walk in and it was like, it was like a, a lotus, like a sun rising, and it was like a, a, a garden and a playroom that she could do all the things in.
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You know, she could watch a movie, she could, like, do
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She could play a game, she could do her physical therapy and, like, a little workout, she could be on her desktop, uh, you know.
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So, it was this, this joyful sanctuary for healing rather than a torture chamber that she’s just gotta work real, real, hard to get a little bit back of what she’s lost.
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And that kind of informed the trajectory of what I, what I do.
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I love that.
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I love that, and I think that that is
359
00:34:44,819 –> 00:34:52,099
Again, it’s so important for us to have that, to, to have those spaces that really modify the way we’re doing things.
360
00:34:52,099 –> 00:35:12,119
I remember I was working on a design once, um, when I was doing more biomimicry projects, and this design, um, it was really a prototype, but it was the ide- the idea of creating a rolling garden in, um, a rolling, uh, grass la- inside of an office space so that, um, people could have
361
00:35:12,119 –> 00:35:14,379
And this was, like, one of the projects that I think
362
00:35:14,379 –> 00:35:18,285
I don’t remember if it was-Um, wow, what are their names right now?
363
00:35:18,285 –> 00:35:19,026
Oh, it’ll come to me.
364
00:35:19,026 –> 00:35:20,165
It just blanked for
365
00:35:20,165 –> 00:35:23,805
I can, I can see the company, but I cannot name it for a second.
366
00:35:23,805 –> 00:35:25,026
It’ll come back to me.
367
00:35:25,026 –> 00:35:25,105
Yeah.
368
00:35:25,105 –> 00:35:31,466
But they actually ch- implemented this, which was kind of this rolling, uh, grass space inside of the building- Mm-hmm.
369
00:35:31,466 –> 00:35:53,445
which turned out to be kind of a hangout break room type so that you were inside of the building, but for your break, you could be sitting on the lawn as if you were outside to kinda stimulate, again, that, you know, if they were in the middle of the city and they didn’t have a park nearby, you could still simulate that whole contact with nature, and the fact that we’re gonna go sit like kinda picnic, like put a blanket off on the lawn, and we’re gonna sit.
370
00:35:53,445 –> 00:35:53,465
Yeah.
371
00:35:53,465 –> 00:35:56,825
And it was this little kind of rolling thing on the inside of the building.
372
00:35:56,825 –> 00:35:57,645
It was brilliant.
373
00:35:57,645 –> 00:35:58,965
How did they do that?
374
00:35:58,965 –> 00:35:59,465
What did they use?
375
00:35:59,465 –> 00:36:00,565
was brilliant.
376
00:36:00,565 –> 00:36:01,085
They had
377
00:36:01,085 –> 00:36:02,565
They created actual grass.
378
00:36:02,565 –> 00:36:13,785
What they did was, um, they, they kind of built this little hill slide piece that then matched up to a sidewalk, then they had a garden, I think, on the other side, like a water garden type piece.
379
00:36:13,785 –> 00:36:21,205
So they had this walkway through the middle of it, so you m- can imagine the floor of a building, and instead there was, like, no chairs or anything like that.
380
00:36:21,205 –> 00:36:27,645
One half of it, or one, one kind of, uh, side of it was this grass area with the windows so that you
381
00:36:27,645 –> 00:36:30,625
therefore the grass could grow and all those aspects of it.
382
00:36:30,625 –> 00:36:30,765
Oh, okay.
383
00:36:30,765 –> 00:36:30,985
Okay, yeah.
384
00:36:30,985 –> 00:36:35,425
And then this walkway in the middle, and then the other side had a water element, if I remember correctly.
385
00:36:35,425 –> 00:36:40,705
So it was like a, like a little, um, uh, whatchamacallit, like a pond type thing.
386
00:36:40,705 –> 00:36:41,325
Okay, yeah.
387
00:36:41,325 –> 00:36:41,345
Uh-huh.
388
00:36:41,345 –> 00:36:42,125
So then you had
389
00:36:42,125 –> 00:36:46,425
So you had the water element, you had different plants, and then you had the grass, and so people could si-
390
00:36:46,425 –> 00:36:48,925
And it wasn’t just flat grass, but because- Oh, okay.
391
00:36:48,925 –> 00:36:51,305
had this sort of small hill- Little bit of texture, okay, yeah.
392
00:36:51,305 –> 00:36:55,904
little texture, people could feel like they could, like, walk up to the top, sit there on the grass- Mm-hmm.
393
00:36:55,904 –> 00:36:58,205
and even have a meeting and, and such.
394
00:36:58,205 –> 00:37:03,885
But, you know, you feel like, yeah, you’re not outdoors, so you don’t have to worry about grabbing your coat, you don’t have to worry about environmental factors- Mm-hmm.
395
00:37:03,885 –> 00:37:04,365
like that.
396
00:37:04,365 –> 00:37:08,145
Like, if it gets cold outside, you’re still within a certain temperature control.
397
00:37:08,145 –> 00:37:11,825
You can bring your computers ’cause you don’t have to worry about rain or anything like that.
398
00:37:11,825 –> 00:37:11,945
Yeah.
399
00:37:11,945 –> 00:37:16,145
But at least it was different than sitting at my desk or sitting in a conference room to have a conversation.
400
00:37:16,145 –> 00:37:16,765
Yes.
401
00:37:16,765 –> 00:37:20,165
Whether you’re having a break or whether you’re having a meeting, and I thought this was brilliant.
402
00:37:20,165 –> 00:37:21,325
And it’s amazing.
403
00:37:21,325 –> 00:37:23,765
Like, why wouldn’t other companies do things like that?
404
00:37:23,765 –> 00:37:35,285
Or another company that I saw, um, back when I was working on biophilic design elements that had, uh, a fountain in the middle of the room because water is one of the sounds that, that
405
00:37:35,285 –> 00:37:38,825
one of the natural sounds that naturally drowns out everything else.
406
00:37:38,825 –> 00:37:39,705
In other words- Mm-hmm.
407
00:37:39,705 –> 00:37:39,725
Uh-huh.
408
00:37:39,725 –> 00:37:45,685
i- it kind of resets you, it focuses you in, and, and it’s the one that gives you the most amount of calm.
409
00:37:45,685 –> 00:37:51,166
Um, like, it’s been studied that water, running water is the most calming of all the sounds.
410
00:37:51,874 –> 00:37:54,065
Kinda like bird sounds as well- Mm-hmm,
411
00:37:54,065 –> 00:37:56,645
but, but, water sounds is the most, um
412
00:37:56,645 –> 00:37:57,205
Yeah, yeah.
413
00:37:57,205 –> 00:38:09,565
And so just having a water element, like a running fountain, in the middle of the, the, the office space with cubicles around it and then the offices alre- and piping that sound into a system- Mm-hmm.
414
00:38:09,565 –> 00:38:13,345
would already naturally create a more harmonious environment.
415
00:38:13,345 –> 00:38:17,345
And I think that that’s the other element of this type of thing, which I was gonna ask you about.
416
00:38:17,345 –> 00:38:19,904
Like you had said, the mural was a lotus.
417
00:38:19,904 –> 00:38:22,945
How much do you bring for yourself or
418
00:38:22,945 –> 00:38:33,325
and/or for your clients do you bring plants into kind of not, not just the, “Let me put plants in the space,” but into the ideation phase?
419
00:38:33,325 –> 00:38:36,125
How much do you work with plants in that way?
420
00:38:36,125 –> 00:38:41,182
That’s naturally in my artistic DNA.
421
00:38:43,165 –> 00:38:49,385
Uh, like, my first painting professor is like, “You like organic forms.”
422
00:38:49,385 –> 00:38:50,703
And I’m like, “Yeah, I just
423
00:38:51,505 –> 00:38:56,165
the shape of a fiddlehead, a swirl, um, a helix is just
424
00:38:56,165 –> 00:38:57,545
it’s how my body moves.”
425
00:38:57,545 –> 00:39:01,505
It’s, it’s what I wanna be doing, and I’m, I’m so in love with plants.
426
00:39:01,505 –> 00:39:02,445
Like, I have
427
00:39:02,445 –> 00:39:02,765
as
428
00:39:02,765 –> 00:39:09,765
I’ve gardened my Philadelphia row home with no yard to the limits of what’s physically possible.
429
00:39:09,765 –> 00:39:11,085
I understand.
430
00:39:11,085 –> 00:39:17,359
Like strain, every s- every ray of sunshine that, that accesses this space, I have got a plant in it.
431
00:39:19,545 –> 00:39:21,265
And I sit and I look at them- Right.
432
00:39:21,265 –> 00:39:21,925
and I just
433
00:39:21,925 –> 00:39:22,365
I, uh
434
00:39:22,365 –> 00:39:30,205
like, on a large scale, on a small scale, and the, the, um, the shapes is just what I do.
435
00:39:30,205 –> 00:39:34,005
So if someone likes my aesthetic, that’s what they’re getting.
436
00:39:34,005 –> 00:39:38,805
They’re getting organic form, and it manifests in all kinds of ways.
437
00:39:38,805 –> 00:39:41,025
And it’s, it’s also about the hues.
438
00:39:41,025 –> 00:39:50,085
It’s about how light behaves and what kinds of colors work with the natural light.
439
00:39:50,085 –> 00:39:53,025
You talked about the biophilic with the dappling.
440
00:39:53,025 –> 00:39:57,885
I spent a decade literally painting that.
441
00:39:57,885 –> 00:40:06,585
Literally painting shadows and how light moves and how it, it glows and all of that, the affect that it has.
442
00:40:06,585 –> 00:40:11,365
And y- when I talk about the affect, it’s the emotional response- Mm-hmm.
443
00:40:11,365 –> 00:40:12,805
to a vision.
444
00:40:12,805 –> 00:40:14,608
So I’m
445
00:40:15,279 –> 00:40:33,840
Whenever I’m in a space with a person, like that’s my aesthetic sensibility and it’s how I’ve trained and grown, so I’m just naturally gonna observe those elements and I’m going to amplify them to the greatest degree of what, what feels good to my client.
446
00:40:34,500 –> 00:40:46,224
Because again, it’s for them, it is not for me, and so I will often do designs that my client loves and I’m just like, “It’s not what I would choose.”
447
00:40:46,722 –> 00:40:48,039
But that’s great, that’s fine.
448
00:40:48,039 –> 00:40:49,479
We’re all different.
449
00:40:49,479 –> 00:40:49,779
Right.
450
00:40:49,779 –> 00:40:56,619
But I am using all of that training and personal aesthetic preference.
451
00:40:56,619 –> 00:40:57,079
If they want
452
00:40:57,079 –> 00:41:04,752
If they hire me, they’re getting all of that so they’re gonna get as much of that as they can welcome.
453
00:41:05,739 –> 00:41:12,368
Stephanie, let’s just take one quick second so I can share with everyone one of our eco-conscious business partners.
454
00:41:14,754 –> 00:41:20,259
The first time I connected with a plant and actually received a response, I got chills.
455
00:41:20,259 –> 00:41:29,200
It’s such an invigorating sensation when you make a breakthrough like that and realize just how connected we are, and that we are nature.
456
00:41:29,859 –> 00:41:38,782
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457
00:41:39,330 –> 00:41:41,264
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458
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459
00:41:56,039 –> 00:41:59,792
Check out the show notes and click on the link to learn more about The Shift Network.
460
00:42:00,279 –> 00:42:02,559
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461
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462
00:42:07,759 –> 00:42:12,959
Absol- And, and it’s interesting ’cause, um, I think for so many of us, there’s
463
00:42:12,959 –> 00:42:27,459
Those of us that are very close to plants, we recognize, a- and it takes a while, and I’m looking kind of off to the side a little bit because I’m looking at a specific cactus plant that I have that m- moves throughout the course of the day quite a
464
00:42:27,459 –> 00:42:31,859
I mean, I’m sure that for somebody else, they wouldn’t notice it, you know, if you’re- Yeah.
465
00:42:31,859 –> 00:42:32,579
But like- You do.
466
00:42:32,579 –> 00:42:51,279
sit here, I sit here and I spend a lot of time and I’ve realized over time, besides the relationship with the plant and seeing everything that changes and the nuances and how the light touches the plant differently throughout the course of the day, but also how much that changes me.
467
00:42:51,279 –> 00:42:52,574
Like, there’s, um-
468
00:42:53,538 –> 00:43:09,119
a non-verbal conversation happening that I think we translate as things like, “It relaxes me,” or it does this or it does that, where if I was talking about a friend, like a human friend, I would say, “Oh, she and I talk about this, this, and this, and then afterwards I”
469
00:43:09,119 –> 00:43:10,538
It’s the same thing that’s happening.
470
00:43:10,538 –> 00:43:11,119
This plant- Mm-hmm.
471
00:43:11,119 –> 00:43:13,538
and I are having conversations all day.
472
00:43:13,538 –> 00:43:13,559
Yes.
473
00:43:13,559 –> 00:43:16,299
That observation is not one directional.
474
00:43:16,299 –> 00:43:16,579
Right.
475
00:43:16,579 –> 00:43:20,699
And I think that we think it’s one directional because we’ve been taught not to listen.
476
00:43:20,699 –> 00:43:20,999
Mm-hmm.
477
00:43:20,999 –> 00:43:28,059
But the more you spend time, the more you realize that there is a 2way conversation that’s happening.
478
00:43:28,059 –> 00:43:28,199
Mm-hmm.
479
00:43:28,199 –> 00:43:31,839
There is a regulation of both of our bodies that’s happening.
480
00:43:31,839 –> 00:43:31,859
Mm-hmm.
481
00:43:31,859 –> 00:43:46,739
In order for me to enter into this conversation, my body needs to reach certain things that we in a human term would say calm, tranquil, peaceful, uh, open, like all these other things.
482
00:43:46,739 –> 00:43:52,119
But all of that is not because I came here to the conversation with that.
483
00:43:52,119 –> 00:43:55,019
It’s sitting here in my frantic
484
00:43:55,019 –> 00:43:58,399
I’m trying to get 17,000 things done at the same time.
485
00:43:58,399 –> 00:43:58,459
Mm-hmm.
486
00:43:58,459 –> 00:44:03,979
The light just shifted, which then draws my attention to this plant, and so therefore
487
00:44:03,979 –> 00:44:07,279
And then the plant says, “Oh, you wanna have a conversation with me?
488
00:44:07,279 –> 00:44:12,579
We need to first change some stuff, because this isn’t gonna happen with the state that you’re currently in.”
489
00:44:12,579 –> 00:44:34,919
And then in that, those very quick seconds of breath, of observation, my body starts to, like, shift into what we call nervous system regulation, what we think of as a more tranquil state, what we think of as awe and wonder, all these different elements that we’re now studying, but that this is what happens.
490
00:44:34,919 –> 00:44:42,899
And then all of a sudden, there’s a moment where my body just goes and then the real conversation starts.
491
00:44:42,899 –> 00:44:42,939
Yes.
492
00:44:42,939 –> 00:44:43,359
Uh-huh.
493
00:44:43,359 –> 00:44:44,899
And it, it
494
00:44:44,899 –> 00:44:54,739
You know, of course when you’re, when you’re out of it, it might take you a long time to get there, which is why they say that it takes about 20 minutes of immersion in nature for your cortisol levels to drop.
495
00:44:54,739 –> 00:44:55,216
Mm-hmm.
496
00:44:55,879 –> 00:45:00,159
when you’re in it as much as, you know, we are, it happens very, very quickly.
497
00:45:00,159 –> 00:45:08,079
It’s like all the stress that I just had, staring at you for a few minutes, for like a few seconds, all of a sudden all of that- Mm-hmm.
498
00:45:08,079 –> 00:45:15,739
you know, just shifts and regulates and moves and moves into different places, and all of a sudden everything becomes much more possible.
499
00:45:15,739 –> 00:45:32,379
And I do, um, as a person who consciously didn’t understand anything about, like, color theory and shadowing and all that kind of stuff, I’ve realized how much my mind has grown and expanded because I can now see those, those shifts.
500
00:45:32,379 –> 00:45:32,759
Yes.
501
00:45:32,759 –> 00:45:32,779
Uh-huh.
502
00:45:32,779 –> 00:45:36,059
I can see all of, like, how the light slowly
503
00:45:36,059 –> 00:45:37,619
Even as we’re talking right now- Mm-hmm.
504
00:45:37,619 –> 00:45:45,439
can see the light changing in my room, and I can feel how the day is progressing in my body, and I feel all of those connections.
505
00:45:45,439 –> 00:45:53,299
So having somebody who understands that design your space when you are not there yet, you know- Mm-hmm.
506
00:45:53,299 –> 00:45:54,779
I think is like a boost.
507
00:45:54,779 –> 00:45:55,019
Yeah.
508
00:45:55,019 –> 00:45:58,279
like, “Let me just give you a kickstart into the person- Yes.
509
00:45:58,279 –> 00:46:02,800
and the human being that you can really be when all of this comes together for you.”
510
00:46:03,893 –> 00:46:07,774
yes, thank you, ’cause I’ve had clients tell me that exact thing.
511
00:46:08,554 –> 00:46:13,014
That’s, I mean, like, it was a low point when I had to leave the art world.
512
00:46:13,014 –> 00:46:42,352
I felt like I had failed and that I had, like, wasted 20 years of my life, and I spent those 20 years paying attention to those things, like sitting in a room watching the light move, noticing the patterns, the shapes, and figuring out how to really reproduce that in a way that it felt real, that it’s not a depiction, that it’s actually giving you that, that affect.
513
00:46:43,594 –> 00:46:49,013
And that felt like such a ridiculous waste of time in terms of capitalism.
514
00:46:49,013 –> 00:46:51,614
It’s like, I have no resume.
515
00:46:51,614 –> 00:46:55,393
It’s like- You just draw one.
516
00:46:55,393 –> 00:46:56,134
I, yeah.
517
00:46:56,134 –> 00:46:56,993
call people and be like-
518
00:46:56,993 –> 00:46:58,590
“Here’s my resume.”
519
00:46:59,614 –> 00:47:00,176
Yeah.
520
00:47:01,293 –> 00:47:08,963
Yeah, so to realize that I had been developing skills that people needed- Mm-hmm.
521
00:47:10,233 –> 00:47:35,536
was a revelation, and it, it, it gave me back to myself in certain ways when I was able to take clients by the hand and lead them through this process that I had been spending the last 20, 25 years learning, and I could be, and, and, and to, and to realize that I could point out things that they were already perceiving on some level, or then could recognize when I pointed them out.
522
00:47:36,002 –> 00:47:36,473
Right.
523
00:47:36,473 –> 00:47:40,513
That it wasn’t just me, like, being in La La Land for 20 years.
524
00:47:40,513 –> 00:47:59,833
That I was perceiving something real that could benefit people, and that m- I could take them by the hand and lead them through that process, and then they would experience, um, a, an enlarged, enriched life after I was done.
525
00:47:59,833 –> 00:48:03,713
I mean, I had a client, she, she texts me every weekend.
526
00:48:03,713 –> 00:48:08,673
She’s in Edinburgh, and she’s like, “You know, people need this so much.
527
00:48:08,673 –> 00:48:09,733
You’re gonna help so many people.”
528
00:48:09,733 –> 00:48:11,153
And I’m like, “Really?”
529
00:48:11,153 –> 00:48:13,493
You know, “What we did just, it just seemed fun to me.”
530
00:48:13,493 –> 00:48:17,213
And she’s like, “It changed my life,” and I said, “Really?”
531
00:48:17,213 –> 00:48:18,973
And she said, “Yes!
532
00:48:18,973 –> 00:48:20,446
Ha, yes!”
533
00:48:21,282 –> 00:48:21,968
Yeah.
534
00:48:22,513 –> 00:48:26,233
Yeah, and it’s so subtle, like, l- that’s the thing about it.
535
00:48:26,233 –> 00:48:26,893
It’s so subtle.
536
00:48:26,893 –> 00:48:35,853
I, um, living here in Damanhur, we live in our, what we call nucleos, our shared households, and I remember, you know, I’ve lived in multiple of these.
537
00:48:35,853 –> 00:48:35,993
Mm-hmm.
538
00:48:35,993 –> 00:48:41,743
And each one of them, it’s been interesting to me, because I see it from the perspective of
539
00:48:42,573 –> 00:48:51,393
So premise was that a lot of the houses that we have, we originally bought when, you know, the company, not company, the community didn’t have a lot of money.
540
00:48:51,393 –> 00:48:59,793
Um, we haven’t had a lot, we work a lot in the temple spaces and on, like, things that are happening outdoors, and so kind of the inside has been a little bit neglected.
541
00:48:59,793 –> 00:49:03,653
It’s been more functional than, you know, anything else.
542
00:49:03,653 –> 00:49:14,173
And I remember in one of the houses when I moved there, I started to make these little changes to make the space kind of, like you said, functional, but yet functional with more.
543
00:49:14,173 –> 00:49:14,293
Mm.
544
00:49:14,293 –> 00:49:27,673
And it was amazing to see, especially I was able to change the furniture and the way that we had, uh, set up one of our group spaces, one of, like, our, our kind of, it’s not really a living room.
545
00:49:27,673 –> 00:49:35,053
It’s more like a big family room that we had, and it was amazing to see the quality of our meetings, how they changed- Mm.
546
00:49:35,053 –> 00:49:41,073
when I changed, you know, some basic elements, you know, with, with the knowledge at the time that I had.
547
00:49:41,073 –> 00:50:00,293
I mean, had I done that today, I would add even more to it, but like, for example, just modifying the couches, creating a more uniform look, making them, in a way, comfortable with certain elements, knowing that we would be sitting there for 2, sometimes 3 hours during, you know, our, our weekly family meeting.
548
00:50:00,293 –> 00:50:07,513
Um, the elements all the way around us, and it’s interesting because we have a person in the house that is l- an amazing artist.
549
00:50:07,513 –> 00:50:08,479
She’s really beautiful, but she’s way more about, like, how something looks rather than what it does for you, and she makes beautiful things, which luckily where she, where she focuses most of her work is amazing and perfect ’cause she makes clothing and it’s really beautiful.
550
00:50:08,479 –> 00:50:24,939
but she’s way more about, like, how something looks rather than what it does for you, and she makes beautiful things, which luckily where she, where she focuses most of her work is amazing and perfect, ’cause she makes clothing and it’s really beautiful.
551
00:50:24,939 –> 00:50:34,340
But when she tried to do, like, l- interior designer-sh type elements, she doesn’t have the depth because she does a completely different kind of artwork, right?
552
00:50:34,340 –> 00:50:42,020
And so i- it was in- it was interesting to watch, like, where do we bring that depth in?
553
00:50:42,020 –> 00:50:47,000
Where do we bring that relationship with m- you know, other kin in?
554
00:50:47,000 –> 00:50:48,279
How does that change?
555
00:50:48,279 –> 00:50:54,340
And I- I got to see it firsthand because in one part of the room is s- one part of the house is very stark.
556
00:50:54,340 –> 00:51:03,520
And it’s, it’s become a throughway, even though it’s a beautiful space with lots of natural light, but everything else about it makes it a throughway- Mm-hmm.
557
00:51:03,520 –> 00:51:04,659
that doesn’t get used.
558
00:51:04,659 –> 00:51:14,179
The dining room is very functional and it creates a certain amount, but it can’t hold space because of the way that it’s set up.
559
00:51:14,179 –> 00:51:22,360
And then the, the back room can hold for certain aesthetics like company, like meetings, like com- uh, family meetings, and it’s just fascinating.
560
00:51:22,360 –> 00:51:23,200
It was fascinating- Mm-hmm.
561
00:51:23,200 –> 00:51:29,200
to me now as I’ve moved on, you know, my, I have a master’s degree in plant social innovation and design, so more- Mm-hmm.
562
00:51:29,200 –> 00:51:31,472
that I got into the design side of it, I was like-
563
00:51:32,834 –> 00:51:35,139
“Oh, now I get it.”
564
00:51:35,139 –> 00:51:45,319
Like, I understand why it is, and I watch people who do not recognize that their spaces, it’s not about beauty or not beauty.
565
00:51:45,319 –> 00:51:48,619
That’s one element of it, whatever you define as beauty.
566
00:51:48,619 –> 00:51:56,656
But you do, like, I have another friend of mine who’s, like, his nervous system is out of control and I just keep looking at his face going, “This doesn’t help you.
567
00:51:57,519 –> 00:51:59,359
It’s, it’s beautiful-” Yeah.
568
00:51:59,359 –> 00:52:00,959
but it doesn’t help you.”
569
00:52:00,959 –> 00:52:01,759
Like, you know?
570
00:52:01,759 –> 00:52:01,779
Yeah.
571
00:52:01,779 –> 00:52:02,319
Uh-huh.
572
00:52:02,319 –> 00:52:02,599
Yeah.
573
00:52:02,599 –> 00:52:02,619
So.
574
00:52:02,619 –> 00:52:06,359
It’s, it’s about connecting the, the needs where they need to go.
575
00:52:06,359 –> 00:52:07,159
Yeah.
576
00:52:07,159 –> 00:52:07,179
Yeah.
577
00:52:07,179 –> 00:52:08,899
Yeah, exactly.
578
00:52:08,899 –> 00:52:15,959
It’s just, and, and, you know, again, those elements, like you said, of getting to know the person and designing with that- Yeah.
579
00:52:15,959 –> 00:52:17,359
person in mind.
580
00:52:17,359 –> 00:52:17,999
Like, if you’re- Yeah.
581
00:52:17,999 –> 00:52:20,939
really nervous person, then you need one thing.
582
00:52:20,939 –> 00:52:21,779
And if instead you’re- Mm-hmm.
583
00:52:21,779 –> 00:52:25,538
person that, like, doesn’t have momentum and needs support- Mm-hmm.
584
00:52:25,538 –> 00:52:27,439
then you need a completely different design.
585
00:52:27,439 –> 00:52:27,779
Yes.
586
00:52:27,779 –> 00:52:29,139
And I think we don’t- Yeah.
587
00:52:29,139 –> 00:52:30,768
we don’t think about that when you go to IKEA.
588
00:52:31,559 –> 00:52:32,859
Oh, no.
589
00:52:32,859 –> 00:52:33,239
No.
590
00:52:33,239 –> 00:52:40,619
I mean, and it’s, in my work, it’s way more about designing processes than it’s designing end result.
591
00:52:40,619 –> 00:52:41,399
Hmm.
592
00:52:41,399 –> 00:52:43,939
Because it has to be a process.
593
00:52:43,939 –> 00:52:53,799
It’s, it’s, and an integrative one because, to your point, with all the things you were saying, all of those skills are different skills.
594
00:52:53,799 –> 00:53:20,016
Making a piece of art is very, very different from making a space that has a certain effect on people’s nervous systems, and that was one of the things I learned as running an art space, that really understanding how a space is affecting people and how it’s affecting how people perceive your art is something that a lot of artists cannot do.
595
00:53:22,019 –> 00:53:28,079
I mean, I, I had this little gallery and s- I’d bring in some artists and they’d be like, “Oh, I want this wall.”
596
00:53:28,079 –> 00:53:34,199
And they would take this tiny, little, subtle piece and they’d put it on the biggest wall with the longest sight line.
597
00:53:34,199 –> 00:53:38,559
And I’m like, “Y- your piece just disappeared.
598
00:53:38,559 –> 00:53:42,619
It, it might as well be a piece of trash that just flew against that wall.
599
00:53:42,619 –> 00:53:44,059
No one’s gonna see it.”
600
00:53:44,059 –> 00:53:45,499
Right, exactly.
601
00:53:45,499 –> 00:53:47,559
And then I’d have someone with this huge piece.
602
00:53:47,559 –> 00:53:48,679
It’s like, “Oh, this will fit here.”
603
00:53:48,679 –> 00:53:58,399
And they would jam it into a r- a wall with no sight line, and I’m like, “This is gonna give the viewer claustrophobia, th- y- they can’t see your piece.”
604
00:53:58,399 –> 00:53:58,859
Right.
605
00:53:58,859 –> 00:54:03,959
Because they, they could only take in their own little tunnel vent, they could, they’re looking at their piece.
606
00:54:03,959 –> 00:54:05,859
They’re not looking at all of this.
607
00:54:05,859 –> 00:54:12,016
And being able to see all of this is, is a different perceptual skill.
608
00:54:12,546 –> 00:54:12,990
Right.
609
00:54:13,762 –> 00:54:30,299
Do you find that there’s, like, I guess as, as we start to wrap up, is there a one tip you could, like, somebody who wants to start to, you know, they’re, they wanna kind of test things out before they give the phone, or they, before they call you and be like, “Can you come over to my house right now?”
610
00:54:30,299 –> 00:54:30,319
Yeah.
611
00:54:30,319 –> 00:54:33,619
Or, “Can I just do a Zoom call with you and walk you through the whole house?”
612
00:54:33,619 –> 00:54:37,968
Like, is there, like, one place or one tip that you would tell them to start with?
613
00:54:38,913 –> 00:54:41,419
I, okay, I, I have several.
614
00:54:43,339 –> 00:54:47,984
So I’ll try, to, I’ll, I’ll try to, like, condense it down.
615
00:54:49,219 –> 00:54:53,264
Uh, first of all, find one thing.
616
00:54:54,239 –> 00:54:56,959
One object that you just love.
617
00:54:56,959 –> 00:54:57,538
One thing.
618
00:54:57,538 –> 00:54:58,238
I mean, I, I
619
00:54:59,399 –> 00:55:00,734
Find a, find a thing
620
00:55:02,679 –> 00:55:06,142
Um, and just focus on that.
621
00:55:06,919 –> 00:55:12,272
Notice what the elements are that you really like and create some space around it.
622
00:55:12,799 –> 00:55:16,999
Like, we have so much stuff, we have so much clutter.
623
00:55:16,999 –> 00:55:19,120
It’s all competing for our attention.
624
00:55:19,842 –> 00:55:27,379
Physically clear some space and pick an element of this thing.
625
00:55:27,379 –> 00:55:29,219
It’s like, what do I like about this?
626
00:55:29,219 –> 00:55:31,088
How does it make me feel in my body?
627
00:55:32,479 –> 00:55:45,456
You do that with color, you do that with form, and then when you’ve cleared the space around it, then you can start to see how that element is charging the space around it.
628
00:55:46,419 –> 00:55:55,280
And you can start to create, like, a very small sanctuary that has the vibe that you resonate with.
629
00:55:56,419 –> 00:55:58,736
It can be a tabletop.
630
00:55:59,679 –> 00:56:01,979
It can be a corner of a room.
631
00:56:01,979 –> 00:56:05,072
It can be a single wall or part of a wall.
632
00:56:05,879 –> 00:56:07,120
But if you can
633
00:56:10,306 –> 00:56:19,742
clear it, first of all, and then bring one element in and start to perceive, how is this affecting me?
634
00:56:20,258 –> 00:56:24,449
How it’s affecting me in my body, visually, emotionally.
635
00:56:24,449 –> 00:56:26,790
What memories does it bring up?
636
00:56:26,790 –> 00:56:30,989
Um, what are the aesthetic c- things about it that I like?
637
00:56:30,989 –> 00:56:33,409
You know, maybe I like the weight of this cup.
638
00:56:33,409 –> 00:56:37,110
Maybe I like the, um, the form.
639
00:56:37,110 –> 00:56:39,248
Maybe I like the color.
640
00:56:40,889 –> 00:56:45,609
And let that, let yourself have a conversation, like you would have with your cactus.
641
00:56:45,609 –> 00:56:45,949
Right.
642
00:56:45,949 –> 00:57:04,784
Spend some time, and when you can get that s- very small space set up so that you can be in that space and, and have that conversation, and start to real- feel what it’s like when a space is resonating with you enough that it can bring you into yourself.
643
00:57:06,338 –> 00:57:08,528
Then you can just start to expand that outward.
644
00:57:10,329 –> 00:57:11,529
It’s like a crystal.
645
00:57:11,529 –> 00:57:11,809
It’s- I
646
00:57:11,809 –> 00:57:16,592
it’s creating its form, and then you can grow.
647
00:57:17,826 –> 00:57:18,229
like that.
648
00:57:18,229 –> 00:57:19,469
I like that so much.
649
00:57:19,469 –> 00:57:26,509
I, I especially like it because I think what you said that I really enjoyed was, it’s not even just about the object.
650
00:57:26,509 –> 00:57:34,969
It’s about learning what are the elements of that object that end up giving you different sensations.
651
00:57:34,969 –> 00:57:42,429
Like, and, and it’s funny ’cause you chose a tea, you know, the, your, your, your teacup, um, or your mug.
652
00:57:42,429 –> 00:57:47,609
And for me, like, I have different ones for different types of tea ’cause I’m a big tea drinker.
653
00:57:47,609 –> 00:57:53,909
And my different types of tea have different types because there are different feelings, there are different sensations- Yes.
654
00:57:53,909 –> 00:57:54,849
that come with it.
655
00:57:54,849 –> 00:57:55,309
Uh-huh.
656
00:57:55,309 –> 00:58:12,369
And I do agree with you that, I mean, I get that some people’s mind works better in clutter, but there is still a kind of clutter that is conducive rather than, you know, a clutter that enhances your sort of spaciness or difficulty- Mm-hmm.
657
00:58:12,369 –> 00:58:13,329
in, in type of- Mm-hmm.
658
00:58:13,329 –> 00:58:13,709
things.
659
00:58:13,709 –> 00:58:24,909
But what I really loved about what you said is that it’s more about learning what are the elements of that particular object so that you can then, like, as a fractal, reproduce- Yes.
660
00:58:24,909 –> 00:58:27,429
elements of that in other areas.
661
00:58:27,429 –> 00:58:27,669
Mm-hmm.
662
00:58:27,669 –> 00:58:28,529
is it the weight?
663
00:58:28,529 –> 00:58:32,788
Like, do you have things that need to have kind of a feeling of weightlessness?
664
00:58:32,788 –> 00:58:34,409
Because maybe you feel like you’re airy.
665
00:58:34,409 –> 00:58:35,889
Maybe you feel like you’re up in the air- Mm-hmm.
666
00:58:35,889 –> 00:58:40,129
and therefore having things that kind of, in a way, wear y- wear you down.
667
00:58:40,129 –> 00:58:47,828
Or is it instead something that’s fragile and that needs to kind of give you space to be able to explore?
668
00:58:47,828 –> 00:58:51,909
Is it things that need to be a little bit more industrial because maybe you feel more fragile?
669
00:58:51,909 –> 00:58:52,209
Mm-hmm.
670
00:58:52,209 –> 00:59:03,489
Or is it, you know, like, really figuring out which things reflect who you are or which things are the ones that give you comfort and sense of safety because they maybe provide an element that you’re missing.
671
00:59:03,489 –> 00:59:03,828
Yeah.
672
00:59:03,828 –> 00:59:08,549
And I think that that’s really also an important aspect to do, to work with when you’re working with houseplants.
673
00:59:08,549 –> 00:59:22,229
I think many people buy houseplants based on what they go to a store and they see and they say, “I like that,” but I think it’s really important, like, for example, many of my houseplants are succulents and they are succulents on purpose.
674
00:59:22,229 –> 00:59:42,029
It’s, like, started off as a thing and then I started to look at the trend and I started to understand that I don’t actually keep my house that warm and yet these are all kinda warm climate plants so that’s why they’re all near windows, but I realized that it was an element of me that was missing because I’m in the mountains and I’m usually a person from the beach.
675
00:59:42,029 –> 00:59:43,569
I come from a tropical environment.
676
00:59:43,569 –> 00:59:54,269
There’s elements of me that, that grow like succulents and therefore I was, I’m replicating this and therefore my relationship with these plants is very different- Mm-hmm.
677
00:59:54,269 –> 01:00:24,288
because it gives me an opportunity, like I do have a few, much more delicate plants that are growing in other parts of my house and those are also different relationships, like a peace lily that’s more shade, that needs more water is in my bedroom and it’s, and, and Chi is the first plant I see every single morning and there’s a relationship that’s there about that delicate side of myself, that more shaded side of myself, that part of me that needs to find that space to, to be more private, to be
678
01:00:24,288 –> 01:00:28,199
more internal and therefore that’s why Chi lives in my bedroom.
679
01:00:28,199 –> 01:00:30,639
Ki has tried to live in different parts of my house, hasn’t worked.
680
01:00:30,639 –> 01:00:33,079
Bedroom is the only one near my bed.
681
01:00:33,079 –> 01:00:33,979
That’s fine.
682
01:00:33,979 –> 01:00:34,419
Yeah, uh-huh.
683
01:00:34,419 –> 01:00:48,439
and it’s really, it’s, it’s interesting, and I think that that, whether you’re talking about your relationship with a plant or whether you’re talking about a different kind of element, I do think it’s really important for us to give ourselves that space to figure out what it is that, helps me with that.
684
01:00:48,439 –> 01:00:48,719
Mm-hmm.
685
01:00:48,719 –> 01:00:53,479
Stephanie, this has been a fantastic c- you know, fantastic conversation.
686
01:00:53,479 –> 01:00:54,448
How do people find you?
687
01:00:55,639 –> 01:00:58,680
Practicalsanctuary.com.
688
01:00:58,680 –> 01:00:59,219
Perfect.
689
01:00:59,219 –> 01:01:01,519
And we will definitely include that in the show notes.
690
01:01:01,519 –> 01:01:01,939
Fantastic.
691
01:01:01,939 –> 01:01:05,999
that everybody can find you, and do you only do things local?
692
01:01:05,999 –> 01:01:07,539
Do you also do things remote?
693
01:01:07,539 –> 01:01:10,059
I, I work with people all over the world.
694
01:01:10,059 –> 01:01:10,399
Beautiful.
695
01:01:10,399 –> 01:01:16,912
I have helped people move from Australia to Germany to, you know, from Des Moines to Scotland.
696
01:01:17,459 –> 01:01:19,419
I can work remotely with anyone.
697
01:01:19,419 –> 01:01:24,299
It’s a little different when we’re working remotely, but it’s, it’s, uh, it’s the same process.
698
01:01:24,299 –> 01:01:25,639
Exactly.
699
01:01:25,639 –> 01:01:26,699
Beautiful.
700
01:01:26,699 –> 01:01:28,784
Any last words for everybody?
701
01:01:29,698 –> 01:01:31,179
Thank you for listening.
702
01:01:31,179 –> 01:01:31,279
Yeah.
703
01:01:32,739 –> 01:01:33,919
I love it.
704
01:01:33,919 –> 01:01:34,039
I love
705
01:01:34,039 –> 01:01:35,799
I’ve talked enough, yes.
706
01:01:35,799 –> 01:01:37,259
It’s been really fun.
707
01:01:37,259 –> 01:01:42,139
I think it’s fantastic also because, again, this is the type of thing that we don’t even realize exists.
708
01:01:42,139 –> 01:01:46,419
I think we think of interior designers as like, “Ooh, I wanna make my house all fancy.”
709
01:01:46,419 –> 01:01:47,239
And it’s like- Yeah.
710
01:01:47,239 –> 01:01:48,679
yes, but not only.
711
01:01:48,679 –> 01:01:49,239
Okay.
712
01:01:49,239 –> 01:01:50,942
That is the one last thing I wanna say.
713
01:01:51,899 –> 01:01:53,968
It does not have to cost a lot of money.
714
01:01:54,999 –> 01:01:55,899
That is the thing.
715
01:01:55,899 –> 01:01:58,079
It, uh, do not have to have a huge budget.
716
01:01:58,079 –> 01:02:04,720
You start, we start with what you have where you are now, and I do not encourage you to buy things.
717
01:02:05,779 –> 01:02:15,504
I encour- I, I really work with people on reusing, replacing, refinishing, um, just moving things around, getting rid of things.
718
01:02:16,002 –> 01:02:21,139
People do eventually end up buying a few things, but that is not the basis of my business.
719
01:02:21,139 –> 01:02:32,179
I do not exist to sell you a pile of things at a markup or to get you to contract someone to build a, uh, uh, a mountain in your living room.
720
01:02:32,179 –> 01:02:33,038
Right, right.
721
01:02:33,038 –> 01:02:33,279
Yeah.
722
01:02:34,319 –> 01:02:38,279
It’s lovely if you have the budget, but if you don’t, it’s okay.
723
01:02:38,279 –> 01:02:38,779
You can start- Right.
724
01:02:38,779 –> 01:02:39,230
where you are.
725
01:02:39,746 –> 01:02:40,279
I love that.
726
01:02:40,279 –> 01:02:42,599
That’s the perfect place to end.
727
01:02:42,599 –> 01:02:48,579
Thank you so much, and to everybody listening, I hope you have really enjoyed this episode.
728
01:02:48,579 –> 01:02:52,919
One day, I will figure out why my video jumps from place to place, because it, it still does this.
729
01:02:52,919 –> 01:02:56,579
I keep, I keep laughing for those who watch the video ’cause wondered about that, yes.
730
01:02:56,579 –> 01:03:02,779
I don’t know why, it’s this thing that my video likes to do, like- Just, you know, just- Let give you the wide view, then let me bring it back close.
731
01:03:02,779 –> 01:03:09,459
But anyways, so, but thank you so much, and for those of you that are listening, please check out Stephanie’s work.
732
01:03:09,459 –> 01:03:12,359
All, everything that you need is included on the show notes.
733
01:03:12,359 –> 01:03:19,538
And again, if you feel like there’s something that you need to express in your space and you’re not having a chance, please reach out to her.
734
01:03:19,538 –> 01:03:33,038
And if there are things in your life in general, your relationship with yourself, with your natural space, with your relationship with other kin that you want to explore, you know that the Naturally Conscious Community is the place where we’re having all of these conversations.
735
01:03:33,038 –> 01:03:45,499
I’d love for you to come and join us there, and if there’s anything that I could do to support you on your own journey to better understand yourself and to help you flow with the life that you really want, please reach out to me.
736
01:03:45,499 –> 01:03:49,199
All the information you need, again, is in the show notes.
737
01:03:49,199 –> 01:03:51,179
So that’s it for this episode.
738
01:03:51,179 –> 01:03:55,390
Remember to resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance.
739
01:03:56,219 –> 01:03:57,279
Bye.
740
01:03:57,279 –> 01:04:00,606
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Reconnect With Plant Wisdom.
741
01:04:01,159 –> 01:04:11,536
To continue these conversations, join us in the Naturally Conscious Community, your premier online ecosystem for plant reawakening and accelerated evolution and co-creation with other kin.
742
01:04:12,130 –> 01:04:21,552
Here, you’ll find expansive discussions, interactive courses, live events, and supportive group programs like the Plant Wisdom Book Club and the Sprouts Writing and Creativity Group.
743
01:04:22,199 –> 01:04:27,399
Connect with like-minded individuals collaborating with plants to integrate these insights into life.
744
01:04:27,399 –> 01:04:32,559
Intro and outro music by Steve Schiulli and Poinsettia from The Singing Life of Plants.
745
01:04:32,559 –> 01:04:36,159
That’s it for me, Tigrilla Gardenia, and my plant collaborators.
746
01:04:36,159 –> 01:04:40,899
Until next time, remember, resist the urge to hold back your emerging green brilliance.
747
01:04:40,899 –> 01:04:41,639
I’m out.
748
01:04:41,639 –> 01:04:42,179
Bye.
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About ReConnect with Plant Wisdom podcast
Ancient and modern knowledge from biology to spirituality about the wondrous ways plants help you lead a Naturally Conscious life.







