Nude Reflections with Shannon

It was a deep knowing in my cells.

There was some parts of me that were afraid, that were afraid of really dropping my guard, my identity, the clothes, being seen, going through my own inner work process with a group of women. And I'm used to being on the other side of that. I'm used to guiding people through it and not being vulnerable in that, but in supporting other people. And so that was something I had to get past to allow the beautiful healing work that you do in this group to work within me.

Thank you for tuning in your consciousness to the Naked Human podcast. I want to acknowledge your presence and what it took for you to be here today listening. My intention for you is that you receive what you came here for and. Find what you didn't know you needed. This podcast is about what it means to be a human being and what it really means to be naked and how our relationship with Mother Nature has the power to heal us.

My name is Carrie Cott and I'm a nude nature photographer, licensed physician of Chinese medicine plant guide and wild woman embodiment mentor. I help women heal from sexual trauma, awaken their authentic voice and distinguish between fear and intuition so they can be led by their deep feminine heart. I bring to life in this podcast my own internal wisdom. I will only share what I've learned and experienced on a personal level.

As you listen, I encourage you to take from this what you need and just trash the rest. So happy listening. Welcome. Welcome to this very intimate episode where we travel into the hearts and yonis of the incredibly brave and courageous women who have said yes to the transformational journey within themselves and of the wild woman Nude in Nature experiences. In today's conversation, we are connecting with Shannon Moorhead.

She is the co founder and lead facilitator at Great Spirit Farm, a plant medicine church in Brooksville, Florida, usa. She is also an integration coach, birth doula, author and artist and the plant right now that she is most connected to is Rose. She just finished a dieta which is a diet with her and Rose and Rose is teaching her so much about love and what is currently nourishing Shannon right now in her life is going slowly.

So thank you Shannon for being here, for saying yes within your body and your heart and being vulnerable and sharing this part of you with all of us. And I just want to acknowledge that up front because it takes something to be vulnerable and to be seen in this way. So let's just dive right in, drop in and open breathing into this space. What welcoming you Shannon. How are you? Thank you thank you for having me. It's an honor to be here. I am deliciously present and happy. Thank you.

Just feeling that in my body. Deliciously happy.

So, Shannon, you attended one of these incredible journeys, actually, at Great Spirit Farm and your property in 2023 last year. And just dropping in, what called you to or what had you say? Yes, to join, to be a part of this experience? That's a really wonderful question. For me, it was a deep knowing in my cells.

There was some parts of me that were afraid, that were afraid of really dropping my guard, my identity, the clothes, being seen, going through my own inner work process with a group of women. And I'm used to being on the other side of that. I'm used to guiding people through it and not being vulnerable in that, but in supporting other people. And so that was something I had to get past to. To allow the beautiful healing work that you do in this group to. To work within me.

And I knew in my body that I needed to do that. I can't describe was a deep body. Yes. Yes, go do it. Yes. Get over yourself. Get over your identity. Get over all these concerns. You know, I thought there might be church members there. Oh, my God, they're gonna see me naked. Like, just all the thoughts that came up, every one of them was quickly shut down by my body, probably my yoni and saying, go, do it, do it. Get past yourself. So, yeah, I don't know. However you describe it, when you.

When you know in your being that there's. That it's just a full f. Yes. Mm. Yeah. Trusting the wisdom which, you know, witnessing and knowing you, I think that you do so. So beautifully and. And also getting sometimes right, like, as you described, things coming up in that space, you know, having these questions and concerns and. And trepidations, showing up and listening to your. Your body's wisdom.

That calling and also highlighting and you're sharing that when something is really calling us, it doesn't shut down. Like, it's still there. Like, even if it's more muted or if it gets louder. Like, one of the pieces of wisdom that I trust in is that if something keeps revealing itself to me, it keeps calling me. There's something there. Like, that is a part of trusting that. That it's. That it's really, truly calling, because our inner guidance doesn't stop calling us to where we need to be.

So true. So, you know, you created that space. You said yes, and you listened. And once you entered into the. The portal and got naked, what was there for you? There was a lot there. I think. I think the experience was what, like, three, four days long? Yeah. And there was a lot. A lot of moving through different pieces. The. The first piece that was there for me was exactly as I said, and it was perfect. Medicine was, wow, there's.

There's church members here as part of this experience, and I'm shedding my skin and I'm being vulnerable and sharing what I'm going through with everyone, with them. And, you know, what was there like afterwards was, it's nothing. And it was actually empowering for me to be able to do that, not disempowering. And my feeling at the end when I talked to this church member was like, that there was a lot of gratitude that.

That she got to see me, a different side of me, see all of me, literally and figuratively. And so that was one piece of working through that is. Is the. This massive displacement of identity of who we see ourselves, of who we think we are, of who we feel like we have to be in the world, how we feel like we need to present in the world. Just really, like, picking that up, that really, really heavy burden off my shoulders and setting it aside. And the experience was incredible.

Lightness and peace and liberation and just ease. There was a great ease once I moved through that peace. And I can imagine that that's what happens for a lot of people, you know, regardless of whatever position they may hold or ideas they have about themselves. It's like, once we get naked and we remove all of that, then who are we, and who do we get to see in each other? And who do we get to see ourselves in each other? Like, there's just. There was so much peace and liberation in that.

That was a big. A big piece of that. Another thing that really came up for me in the process was I didn't realize that this retreat, that this nude women in nature was going to be a part of a healing process for me. But it ended up a massive punctuation point, probably many exclamation points at the. At the conclusion of a healing or a revelation of sexual trauma, a memory that I had repressed from being a baby, and I'd been working through it in the previous six months.

And this. This release, this exposure, this vulnerability, and this deeper, deepening understanding of who I am without any facade or clothes, was a beautiful reconnection to myself and to my Yoni in a healing capacity and very empowering. Having come out of the revelation of this sexual trauma and working through all the emotions that go with that from disbelief, denial, you know, anger, all of that. To then reclaim and get reacquainted with who my. Who I am in my body, in my.

My yoni and my breasts and all of that. And to re. Empower myself through that vulnerable space of being no one. You know, when we take off our clothes, we remove that identity, or at least attempt to. And coming back to no one allowed me to come back to my full power in my body and how that divine power is expressed through my body without the decades of this baggage that I'd been unknowingly carrying. So for me, it was very divinely timed. And, I mean, I could just keep talking.

But another thing I would love to share is. And I. And I know you're going to laugh when. Because you were there, but when you opened the space the first day and you laid out all of these oracle cards face down and asked us all to pick one, and I was like, I'm going to go last. Let everybody else pick their card. And I had my eye on the card that I knew I was going to pick. I could see it from like 20ft away, and nobody picked it.

And when I picked it up, I turned it over and it was the horse card. And I grew up riding horses. I never really thought of my spirit animal as being horse. I always thought, oh, I'm an owl or I'm a dolphin. Like, you know, these are the things that we would rather be. And that day, the day of the beginning of the retreat, my mom had dropped off a horse to be a companion horse from my horse that I had. So I just, that day acquired another horse. And so that was like.

Said it was so divine, I couldn't believe I was like. I turned it over. I just chuckled. Like, really, of all these cards, I could have picked the horse card. A horse was just dropped off today. And it helped me to really let go of all the. The spirit animals that I thought that I was and accept that I'm horse. I scare people. I'm intimidating to some people. Some people love me. They love horses. I'm strong. I'm powerful. I'm genuine, gentle. I'm a gentle giant. And I don't. I have boundaries.

I have firm boundaries, like, horses don't take a lot of. So it was really a beautiful. A beautiful process. And those are just like the first handful of things that I can think of. I could just keep talking, but, yeah, those are good, good big pieces of what came up for me. I'm just soaking all of that in.

And Honestly, I could just keep hearing you share about what's opened up for you have a beautiful way of articulating and sharing at the core, like, those impactful pieces for you and, you know, thank you for sharing about the sexual trauma here in this conversation.

One of the aspects and purposes of this space for me, and why it's created and I didn't know this exactly, like, with words, and why this space was being created, but I discovered along the way, and it made complete sense that this was a space to heal sexual trauma. And, you know, just witnessing, listening to you share about that, the.

The container itself is imprinted with the opportunity to tend to that part of ourselves, that part of ourselves where that trauma is, where that wound is, where that experience has happened, and, you know, bring it into that piece that you shared about, you know, it's just like you're getting naked and coming into a space of nothing as possible, no thing as possible, to then discover who you are and to be with places and parts of you.

And sexual trauma doesn't always have to be physical, and it often is, but, like, being able to bear your body and to allow that, like, rawness to be exposed and to be able to touch that part of you. And by touch, I may mean actually physically, but touching, I use it a lot energetically, because we can touch parts of ourselves through our own awareness and our own presence. And that there was a space for you to. There's a space for you to come home within yourself and for you to be with the.

The parts of you and the pieces of that experience that you needed to be with and in a safe space. Yeah, it was beautiful space. I think safe is the key word. You know, none of that would be possible if you weren't so beautifully empowered in how you create such safety. There's so much awareness you bring to each piece that cultivates that sense of safety that makes all of it possible. Yeah, you know, the. The creation of it is. Is based on, you know, even my own experiences with sexual trauma.

And also, like, what, you know, it's clear to me the pieces that I'm aware of, what I need, what I wanted, what I would have wanted, what I do desire. And so there's a mindfulness of that, bringing it into this space of things that, you know, when we're aware of that, like, what would, you know, what would you have needed and what do you need to be able to be with this part of yourself?

So I definitely do my best as much as I can to create an environment that we can actually be with these parts because they're super tender and vulnerable. And you talked about denial, you know, like being able to move through a space of denial. There's so much in that that's really potent. And when we're in denial, it's just so. It's hard to be with. And also, you know, knowing, you know, what you've.

You've shared with me personally about your sexual trauma, like, it's, you know, it can be so confusing. And there is a part of our. Our brains, our psyche that has locked, you know, locked it away and in an attempt to keep us safe. And so that confusion and that denial can be so tormenting. But to be able to bring that to light and to. To be with it is really healing and to no longer deny it and to be able to accept it and to receive that in.

So that then the next layer of your healing can occur. Absolutely. Always looking for the next layer. Right. Because it doesn't end. Right? Yeah. It's so important. It doesn't necessarily. Like, you had this experience and the whole entire thing was complete. Forever more, though that is entirely possible, I'm imagining on some level. But there's another layer. There's another opening because you've had other layers of healing in regard to this that you've shared with me. And, you know, it's.

It is the whatever layer we're currently working with is the most important, and that's what needs to be tended to. And it just creates more strength and medicine of your horse, you know, you as the horse, and being strong and powerful and being a gentle giant to emerge. Yeah. Thank you for seeing me. And how has that. That experience with the horse card impacted you to this day? Like, what's something that. Yeah, yeah.

You know, I, up until then was really wrestling with interpersonal dynamics with residential volunteers that we had had on the property. And I was trying to soften who I was. I was really examining different conversations that seemed to be misunderstood or not go well and trying to take responsibility where I could.

And maybe excessively so, because I want to be sure that I'm not overlooking a blind spot or projecting, you know, where I need to be, where I could be more accepting of myself and others. And so what that card has done is it really freed me up from that almost obsessive, like, ruminating, was I too hard here? You know, why did I hurt their feelings to just understand that some people aren't going to receive me? Well, some people are afraid of horses.

Some people are going to sense my power and automatically be afraid that there's nothing I can do or say that will change that. And that's okay. They are not my people. And then there's going to be other people that will see me, see my heart, see my power, and gravitate toward that. And that just like the horse, some people are going to like me, some people aren't, and that's okay. And that it's not always my stuff.

And that it's okay to just be who I am, to continue to try to be conscious in my communication and to be loving and compassionate, but not to like, go overboard ruminating if it seems like someone didn't receive something, well, thinking that it was me and just knowing that that's. That's not always my stuff. And in it really in an empowering way to stand in my power and to love who I am, that I'm a straight shooter. Not everybody can handle that.

I used to be in sales and one of the sales trainers is like, sometimes you got to butter people up before you fry them. I am learning that over time, you know, or like they say, like the praise. The praise sandwich. Like, you gotta put, you know, put the criticism in between two pieces of praise. I'm getting there, but it's. If it's not automatic for me and I'm delivering it with, with softness, with compassion and. And just a straight request, that's okay too. I'm just straight. So I'm not.

I'm not big on really thinking through a lot of the conversations. I just try to come from the heart and roll with it. And I'm trying. What the horse card has taught me is that that's okay. I can still bring consciousness and awareness with. To it without it becoming a stress point and to just accept that I am who I am. You know, we all. We all are how we are. And sometimes it's endearing and sometimes it's not. And loving all of that. Yeah, that's really huge.

Shannon, thank you for sharing that with us. And, you know, being able to greater distinguish what is and isn't yours and coming more into acceptance and compassion within yourself and how you. You show up. And that's such an important continuous layer, right? To discover and to lean into and acknowledging that we have these parts. We have an energetic imprint about us. And you're right. Like, horses can be so intimidating. So intimidating.

And honestly, I'm learning how to soften in the presence of horses. I love horses and they're a big presence for sure. And you also bring in Gentle giant is that horses are also gentle giants. But there's this initial. Whoa. This is a really powerful energy. You have a really powerful energy, Shannon, and presence. And I just want to acknowledge you for accepting more of that within yourself.

And yes, there's an aspect of coming into it and being present and being conscious which does matter, and it's not always going to land for people. And that's okay. And that's exactly what I hear you.

Sharing is just coming into more resolve and acceptance within yourself and it providing a space where you can set down the rumination of thoughts and concerns about how something did or didn't land for someone or how you know your presence or something that you did need to communicate whether it was received well or not. And that's so, so important. Important because they're.

We can get so entangled in that and, and like really wanting to make sure everyone is well taken care of in communication in the process. And sometimes it just doesn't land and there's nothing that we can do about it because it's not ours, you know, and so just, just praising you and acknowledging you in that in your horse medicine. Thank you. Thank you. You're so welcome.

I think that this is a beautiful space for us to close our conversation for now, knowing that there's always room for more. And thank you, Shannon, so much for sharing your beautiful, deeply vulnerable, transparent, raw heart, for being courageous to be seen here together and to share this with each and everyone listening. It's such a gift.

And honestly, if you're listening and you're really resonating with Shannon, as I mentioned in the beginning, she has a sacred church, Great Spirit Farm, if you're called, to connect with her. Just feeling that really strongly here, so just illuminating that a bit more here. If you're drawn to the medicine that she holds in her beingness and to discover more about her and just trusting that this conversation has served a greatest and highest purpose for all of us to return home to ourselves.

And for now, we are complete. Thank you. Thank you for tuning your consciousness to this episode of the Naked Human. However you find yourself, whether it's relieved, enlightened, triggered, or as if the past minutes were a complete waste of your time. Time, it's perfect. Be present to it and allow it to be the medicine you need. I welcome your feedback and heartfelt reflections of how this episode impacted you.

You can share with me online@thenaked human podcast.com and if you're feeling called for a more personalized experience into your nakedness I invite you to join our community of one wild woman in person or online. You can find more specifics at the naked human podcast.com and until next time, bye.