An Inspired Chat with Lauren McElroy of Rural Wisconsin

Lauren McElroy shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Lauren, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
First thing I do when I wake up is roll over and start writing down my dreams. I pay special attention to reoccurring symbols and scenes. Next I start my timer and meditate. After 30 minutes of meditation I write down any insights that came to me. My feet touch the floor first, and then my head. I bring my head to the earth, and pray that my steps be guided and that my work is of benefit to all beings. I do some stretching, and go to the kitchen to drink water, with reverence for all life. It’s then and only then that I start on my tasks for the day.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi there! My name is Lauren McElroy and I am a multidisciplinary textile artist.
I have been a full time artist for ten years now, and have gone through many upgrades and phases. I started by selling handmade knitted goods but quickly shifted my business model to designing and writing knitting patterns. I now create knitting patterns, dye my own fiber and yarns, teach various classes on fiber processing, lead ceremony and song in community settings and teach other creatives how to live their most Intuitive and Creative lives.
This journey of connecting to my intuition started 20 years ago, although I didn’t know it when I picked up my first tarot deck. The Tarot has been my go to dance partner for guiding my work, and now, I am being called to create a deck of my own. Using punch needle embroidery, I am making original art work that will soon be published into a deck of cards with an accompanying book of meditations, poems and prompts that will help those who read it, engage their own intuition and creativity.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I was a very imaginative child, always making up games and stories to play by myself. I was content to be alone, quiet and reflective.
Some time around middle school I got the message that I was supposed to be liked by everyone else. That I was supposed to please everyone else. Even to my own detriment. I started dressing for others, acting for others, becoming who they wanted me to be. It backfired. I was betrayed by someone who I trusted, they said I had promised them one version of me, and when I didn’t give it to them, they took it.
Through my art, I have reclaimed that part of me that loves the silence, loves listening to the voice of my own intuition over anyone else’s opinion of me and what they think I should doing, (which is usually staying small and controllable). My creativity has led me to who I was always meant to be, a playful, imaginative soul, seeing worlds in my head and making them real through my art.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I’m not sure if hiding is the right word for what I was doing with pain. I was letting pain stop me. It was too much, if anything I was hiding FROM pain, unaware that I could transform it into power.
I can think of a few peak experiences where I was able to access that alchemical energy within me, through love, creation, singing, ceremony, connection with the earth… but I didn’t realize I had access to it all the time until I experienced a huge disappointment and was down for some months. There was a day, when I started dancing again. I could feel the energy breaking up and becoming fluid again, becoming malleable, I could move.
It was then that I became conscious that I had the power to turn my pain into power, my losses into lessons. That turning point led me in a round about way to a regular meditation practice, which has become my most valued practice. I meditate twice a day, and I can feel the difference, now my actions come from that place I mentioned before, the self that existed before limitations were placed on it.
It’s become clear to me that everything we do on the outside has to come from the inside first.
Dancing especially has become a surefire way for me to shake off any type of pain. Sometimes the movements are slow and methodical, sometimes I am a frenzy of movement shaking free every part of me I can.
Tarot has also remained a strong anchor, as well as song, nature connection, and of course making art.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
In the relatively short term- The tarot deck project I started in 2022, and I have finally committed to finishing it by the end of 2026. It’s been a long while already, but I know that I will finish it, and that it’ll be the right time when I do. It might not even look like a traditional tarot deck, or be called one when it’s done, honestly it probably won’t, and I’m okay with that.
More long term (I’m talking lifetimes) is the vow. I vow to use my hands, my words, my work, my songs, my spirit to heal the world and be of benefit to all beings.
Somehow I got on this path, maybe I’ve always been on it, even when I didn’t know. I might even forget sometimes, but I trust that I’ll remember when it matters. There are people throughout history, saints, sages, bodhisattvas, seemingly ordinary people who have made it their mission to help other people realize what truly matters, freeing them from suffering and delusion. I’m thinking about Harriet Tubman, crossing that river over and over again to bring people to freedom.
That’s the kind of legacy I want my work, my art, my life to have. Maybe while I’m here in this lifetime I only help one person to learn how to listen to their intuition and calm their breathing, maybe that one person is only me, but I think the work will continue on long after this body is gone. It certainly didn’t start with me, and it won’t end with me either, I’m part of a long lineage of people who worked to see a better world, one where everyone is free.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you laid down your name, role, and possessions—what would remain?
The interconnectedness of a song, changed every time it’s sung and changing everyone who sings it.
A vibration that rings so clearly it becomes you, it wakes you up, and makes you realize, you are everything too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Motherofpurl.net
• Instagram: @motherofpurll1
• Facebook: @motherofpurll
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