We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chelsea Rose Cotton. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chelsea Rose below.
Hi Chelsea Rose, so happy to have you on the platform and I think our readers are in for a treat because you’ve got such an interesting story and so much insight and wisdom. So, let’s start with a topic that is relevant to everyone, regardless of industry etc. What do you do for self-care and how has it impacted you?
For many of us, we have been taught that we have to DO to be a “good person”, “good citizen”, “good wife/girlfriend” etc. That in our DOING we prove our worth. Then, and only then, do we deserve self-care, time to rest, nourishment on many different levels. We have even been taught that self-care in some ways is selfish, and or only for those who can afford it. It has taken years of un-learning this story to truly allow myself to know that tending to myself is one of the highest priorities. That when I am fully nourished in heart, body, and soul can I truly show up for myself, those I love, and those I serve. Tending to myself looks many different ways, but the important part for me is the deep listening to myself and asking how do I feel? What do I need? To pause throughout the day, and listen. To step outside and put my bare feet in the grass, to go for walks, to see the beauty that is always around me, to eat my food slower and savor it, to tell myself in the morning and before I go to bed how much I love myself and what I’m proud of. It is in these small moments, in the in between moments I give myself, that weave my self care throughout the day. It isn’t explicitly another thing to do, but a consistent offering of love to myself. There is no financial cost to this, everyone can do this, can have this. I believe true self care is a birthright for all, not just those who can go to a yoga class, or get a massage (although that’s wonderful too). My joy for life has grown, my trust in myself has grown, my ability to show up for my clients has grown, my energy and resourcefulness has grown. I move slower, yes, and my business has grown exponentially because of it.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a living embodiment of the radical power of following your longing. I am a student of Life, a radical educator and teacher, a fierce lover of Mother Earth, a founder of a leadership immersion program called Wolves and Waterways, a Feral Visionary Coach, a coach with The C-Suite Collective, and most of all a devotional leader in service.
My journey into this work started at 13, when a Shamanic healer from the Andean Mystic path got lost in my neighborhood and as she was standing on my family’s driveway I knew I wanted to work with her. For the next 17 years I apprenticed with her traveling to Peru and Mexico, and working with wisdom keepers and elders from the Q’ero tribe. These ancient and indigenous ways of knowing felt more in tune and aligned with what I felt was possible in the world. The spirit realms, and other worlds of magic is where I have always felt more at Home and have felt more real than the modern world many of us live in .
This journey has led me to particularly work with women or men who are ready to work more in Feminine ways, to guide them in un-learning the ways that we have been taught we are supposed to be. I work with people who have big dreams, visions, longings for another way of living, leading and working. A way that stems from ancient knowledge, heart centered and soul focused. I work with women who desire to live from their Wild inherent nature, and want to bring that into all areas of their life. Folks who are ready to work with the unseen, their ancestors, spirits, and guides, and nature to support their vision and dreams.
I do this through one on one sessions, 6 month to one year programs, personal retreats, keynote speeches, dream tending courses, and I partner with an organization called The C-Suite Collective where we workin inside of corporations and do culture building from the inside out.
People who work with me have radical shifts in their ability to lead from their intuition, listening to body knowing, and directly work with unseen energies that support Life. They are able to start to incorporate more of their values into how they show up in the world. They become more sustainable with time, energy, and resources because they aren’t using their life force in worry, hiding, or fear. They feel other energies backing them, and build a council of support so they know they aren’t alone. We work with mother nature, and create sustainable and practical devotional practices to build a strong container to connect to source, self, and vision.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe in simple and small shifts to create a larger impact. They build upon one another and cultivate a strong foundation. One of the most important skills I have is my ability to pause, take a breath and listen. Whether that is in a meeting, with a client, with my partner in an argument. Whatever the situation is, especially if it is in crisis, disagreement, hard to hold someone else’s response or your own reaction. Giving yourself a moment to pause and breathe, can be the small gesture that changes everything. Breath brings us back to yourself, resources us, and can be the intervention so we don’t over react, and so that we can hold ourselves and the others we are with in the moment. The pause can re-center us so we can have more spaciousness, grace, compassion, and capacity.
A skill that I think is harder to cultivate, but necessary at this time on the planet, is our ability to be with paradox. To be with multiple truths. To allow someone else’s truth to be in the space, even when it feels in conflict with our own. We live in a world that has taught us either or thinking. That one way is right, which means any other way is wrong. My invitation for you, is to start to let go of that dichotomy. Can you hold multiple truths at once? I believe this is an essential skill.
My last piece of advice, which I think is really the most important, is get outside more. Go be in the forest, at the beach, in the park. Run barefoot. Smell the flowers. Touch a tree. Even if you are in an urban area, find the places where nature is still present and asking for your attention. Our relationship to Mother Earth; coming back into right relationship, respect, and honor of her is one of our greatest gifts we can give. As well as one of the greatest gifts we can receive. She teaches us so much about love, nourishment, abundance, flows and cycles of life. reciprocity, ways of systems, and so much more. She helps us to self-regulate, and co-regulate. There is so much science coming out about the benefits of being in nature, and there is so much more available to us!!
Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
Community has been the most vital, nourishing, loving, gracious resource that I have that has supported my growth, wisdom, and skills. Particularly the women in my life, who have held me at my lowest points, and held me to my highest possibilities. They have been reflectors of the deep well of wisdom that lives in our bodies. They have been the reminders to remember my magic, and to heal my wounds. The women in my life have taught me what courage, bravery, and vulnerability look like when embodied, that it isn’t always easy, but always worth it. They have taught me love, in the most unconditional of ways. My success is directly related to the women and men I have chosen to be my community. I am forever grateful,
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chelsearosecotton.com
- Instagram: @feral_visionary
Image Credits
Deva Groover
