The Dreamer
The Woman behind the Dream

The Path Less Traveled
Meet Shelby, a trailblazer who has always marched to the beat of her own drum, Raised in the confines of Mormonism, she defied the traditional expectations imposed upon her, daring to chart her unique course. Deciding that motherhood wasn’t her path, she embarked on a transformative journey of self-discovery. Departing from her high-demand religion opened the door to new horizons, prompting her to explore Eastern healing methodologies, delve into shadow work & plant medicine for self-awareness, and embrace the view of food as medicine. Above all, she began reclaiming her connection with nature as her true home. She also began re-examining ideas such as play, rest, the divine feminine, connecting to her body, and any other topics that were once taboo to her.
Although she initially pursued psychology studies, Shelby is an avid learner and found her true education in self-study. She realized that the answers to her healing lay within herself – in her unconscious wounds, her programming, and her mindset. This profound revelation led her to the essence of healing, transcending the boundaries of nutrition, herbalism, and physical practices. What she yearned for most was love: from herself as well as from community – a safe haven inside and out which would nurture her growth, healing, and well-being.
A Quest for Belonging
As Shelby embarked on her quest for belonging, she discovered the transformative power of plant medicine retreats and the loving connections formed in shared circles. Fueled by her passion for empowering women who, like her, had left harmful religious backgrounds, she started her first women’s circle.
From there she continued studying modalities to help herself as well as others, including somatic movement, laughter yoga, sound healing, aromatherapy, breathwork, etc.
Her journey took her to a non-profit nature center, where she honed her event coordination, marketing skills, and networking talents. With unwavering dedication, she introduced workshops that celebrated dance, laughter, and the sacred connection to our bodies. Holding rejuvenating Wheel of the Year celebrations and empowering moon circles, she fostered an environment where women could embrace their femininity outside the confines of the patriarchal world.


The Dream of a Haven
Her dreams didn’t stop with circles. She wanted to do more for all those she knew were suffering, all those like her. She envisioned a retreat center, that was part nature center, part summer camp, and part education center. A place that transcended religious & cultural boundaries, catering not to the well-off but to those in need of healing and empowerment. She yearned to create a transformative haven, a rejuvenating Neverland for adults where the inner child within us could be nurtured and loved. Heartwood Haven Nature Retreat & Empowerment Center was born from this dream.
At Heartwood Haven, individuals would be invited to rediscover themselves, learn, and grow while surrounded by the healing embrace of nature. It is a place where people find rejuvenation, leaving as empowered, healthier beings equipped to make a positive impact on the world. With her unwavering dedication to fostering personal transformation, Shelby imagined a haven where one could embrace their true essence and experience the healing magic of nature, community, and self-discovery. Her dream is not to fix, but to empower individuals so they know what they need to be well. The magic (ie love) comes from within, and Heartwood Haven is where they remember this.
Shelby’s Professional Positions
Religious Trauma Advocate
Shelby knows Religious Trauma first hand, having embarked on her own path of healing when she was 27 that continues today. This lets her understand and connect with others who’ve suffered at the hands of organized religion and who have underlying religious trauma they are unaware of. Religious Trauma is real, but most aren’t even aware of the strength it has over their lives – influencing how they see themselves, others, and the world around them.
Holistic Health Practitioner
A believer that we know best what we need, Shelby offers holistic health & wellness guidance. She doesn’t claim to know “best” or promise to “fix” anyone. Instead she believes in a holistic approach to wellness, and focuses on empowering the individual to seek their own path towards wellness and fulfillment. Her approaches include looking to nature, self-love & self-awareness development, somatic processing, seeing food as medicine, and play as healing.
Somatic Movement facilitator
Shelby has been on a mission to reconnect to her body in a loving and enjoyable way. She has studied various forms of intuitive, gentle, healing movement styles from Qigong to Ecstatic dance. Now she teachers her own forms of Conscious & Intuitive dance and movement routines incorporating breathwork, the elements, gratitude, affirmations, self-love visualizations, and archetypes for truly freeing and empowering movement.
Loving Space Holder
From her days as an English Teacher, Shelby found herself holding loving space for her students with many commenting that their lessons felt like therapy. Taking what came naturally to her, she studied holding space including women’s circles, and ceremonies. She offers 1-on-1 Space Holding to struggling individuals who need a friendly face, not someone to tell them what to do. She helps them unlock their own wisdom for intuitive healing and self-growth.
Shelby’s Story: The Why behind the what
A Lost Girl
When Shelby was three, her father walked out. Disliked for her similarities with her mother, her relationship with her father suffered to the point of estrangement at the age of eleven. He has made no attempts to remedy the situation. Paired with the obvious fact that she was different from the other good girls, being loud, silly, opinionated, and independent, Shelby never quite fit in. She bumped from house to house, from friend to friend, never feeling like she belonged. Consequently, as a child, Shelby dreamed of a place where she was loved for who she was. In dreams she flew, she played, she explored. In dreams, she went to Neverland. Outside of her dreams, she disappeared into her writing, creating havens in her mind where she could be silly, free, and completely herself.


A Lost Woman
Shelby was also born into the high-demand religious organization known as Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). It wasn’t until, as an adult, she read overwhelming evidence that contradicted everything she’d been told as a girl that she was able to leave confidently. Yet, it was only once she was “free” that she was able to fully recognize all of the damage the church had inflicted.
Taught to be silent, subservient, helpless, and to follow the crowd, Shelby had no sense of inner authority or identity. She had no idea how magical and unexplainable her own consciousness was, or how empowered she could be. She had no idea just how crippled she’d actually been.
Severed From Self

The mind, body, and spirit were all a creation of some unseen master. There was no concept of trauma (especially of the religious type), childhood wounding, or harmful programming.
The feminine body in particular was a shameful temptation to cover up until it was time to make babies. She existed in her head, severed from feeling, from presence. Her purpose was to have children, not have dreams or ambitions. She was meant to be helpless.
She was taught that love came from outside herself, so long as she was following all the rules (i.e. was perfect). She was taught to follow the crowd, listen to authority, and not ask questions. This left her a people-pleaser with crippling perfectionism, her self-worth linked to her productivity, viewing rest and play as only for children and men. And unless she was going to be a mother, she would never be good enough.
Shelby was severed from her body, her inner layers, and her intuition and wisdom. She was taught to always look outside, never within. She didn’t know herself in any sense of the word and had no idea where to begin.
Severed From earth

Nature was for man’s use, and nothing more. Humans were the pinnacle of advanced life, separated, better. We were apart from this world, not a part of this world.
Those who were “into” nature were viewed as strange. There was no such thing as spirituality in nature. The earth held no life, no spirit. Spending time in nature was not encouraged, nor was connecting with animals.
So long as the Word of Wisdom was followed, diet was not a concern. Eating meat and fake food from boxes & bags was encouraged, while the nutrition of plants was ignored. Coca-Cola was consumed joyfully, while nutritious and healing tea and coffee were forbidden. Pharmaceuticals were taken like candy, while plants consumed around the world for medicinal and spiritual purposes were condemned.
Food was far from medicine, and nature was far from home. Shelby had no idea what to eat, how to heal, or how to feel connected to the earth she came from. She had no idea how to bridge a connection she’d never experienced.
Severed From Tribe

Community is everything in religion. If one challenges authority, questions the way things are, or attempts to go their own way, they become the black sheep.
A black sheep never really belongs. Even while a faithful member, despite following all of the rules, her independent spirit was like a foul odor that everyone could smell. She was treated with contempt, judged, and disliked. And this was her only community.
Shelby was discouraged from associating with anyone outside her religion, even when these people seemed the most genuine and accepted her for who she was. They were to be judged, pitied.
Community meant following the crowd, following the religion. When she left the religion, her evidence and pain were ignored, and she was labeled a deceiver.
Taught that love and community came from obeying, when she disobeyed, she was meant to lose it all. She was left without family, friends, or community. The saddest part was never having known true community, acceptance, and support. She was clueless on what real community was.
A word from Shelby herself!
In her own words, let Shelby tell you what she’s all about and why she is determined to build this haven for all the lost children of the world.
(Video coming soon!)
Shelby’s Work & Study History
2008-2019
Work
- Administration & Office Management (various- legal, property mngmt, finance)
- Writer & Editor
- English Teacher for Adults
Studies
- BA in Educational Studies from WGU
- TESOL Certificate from TEFL International
2020-2021
Work
- English Teacher for Adults
- Writer & Editor
Studies
School of Natural Health Sciences:
- Dip in Herbalism
- Dip in Holistic Nutrition
- Dip in Meridian Psychology
- Dip in Relaxation
- Dip in Pain Management
2022
Work
- English Teacher
- Writer & Editor
- Holistic Health Practitioner
- Circle Facilitator
- Event Coordinator & Admin for Nonprofit Nature Retreat
Studies
- Certified Holistic Health Practitioner
- Certified EFT & TFT Practitioner
- Cert in Life Story Coaching
- Dip in Shinrin Yoku
- Dip in Inner Child Healing
- Dip in Laughter Therapy
- Ecotherapeutic Guide Cert
2023+
Work
- Event Coordinator & Admin for Nonprofit Nature Retreat
- Circle & Ceremony Facilitator
- Conscious Dance Facilitator
- Laughter Yoga Leader
- Somatic Integration Coach
- Holistic Wellness Guide
- Sacred Space Holder
- Writer & Editor
Studies
- Cacao Ceremony Facilitation
- Certified Laughter Yoga Facilitator
- Certified Somatic Integration Coach
- Certified Ecstatic & Somatic Movement Facilitator
- Dip in Divine Feminine
- Dip in Shadow Mastery
- Dip in Music Therapy (in process)
- Dip in Play Therapy (in process)
- Dip in Art Therapy (in process)
- Dip in Psychology & Counseling (in process)
- Cert in Religious Trauma (in process)
- Somatic Breathwork (future)