Meet Deborah Epstein

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Deborah Epstein a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Deborah, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?

My purpose has been a life long reveal. A process that I have been unconsciously and consciously engaging all of my life. I remember being 10 years old and announcing that I wanted to be an artist and a doctor. Those are two archetypes which my soul found her own way to create. through Art and healing. The healing work I do is not what we know as being a doctor, but it helps folks heal from connecting with their deep inner wisdom.
I believe that we are never too far off from our purpose and the more we come into relationship with ourself as soul, we learn that our purpose is expressing even when we think it isn’t. The more conscious we become, the more we create our lives on purpose.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I have been working in the healing arts for almost 30 years. Art was the first step on the path that lead me into my personal healing journey. When I was in art school, I became aware of deep trauma from my childhood that I was holding within my system. Making art was revealing this trauma. Because I recognized I needed help processing what was coming up, I found a practitioner who was trained in Theta Healing and Energy Work. Together, using my art, we discovered and uncovered this trauma and worked to heal it through core belief work.
The dysfunction and pain in my body- that was not being addressed by the core belief work, lead me to discover a modality of body work called Myofascial Release. This work was the missing piece in my healing journey. After receiving my license to touch through Massage School. I began taking classes in MFR and dove head and feet first into this amazing work. This is work I truly love and am passionate about as it is deeply profound and invites the client to participate in their healing. I excelled in this work and became an instructor for John Barnes and eventually was invited to work in his clinic, Therapy on the Rocks, in Sedona, Arizona.
Shortly before my time working at the clinic, I was introduced to the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross Cultural Shamanism, through don Oscar Miro-Quesada of The Heart of The Healer. I embraced this earth honoring medicine way, with its mystery school teachings and heart centered medicine. It is a tradition which is rooted in a peruvian lineage of Curanderos that reaches back a few thousand years.
After a brief stint of almost 3 years working at the clinic, I was feeling the call to return to private practice. My dream was to offer private healing retreats here in Sedona utilizing creative expression, Myofascial Release treatments, ceremony on the land.
Covid happened before I could get dream going. I found myself in a leadership/coaching program which taught me how to create online summits. Instead of working in person, I now had the opportunity to work in an online format. I had just completed my first summit and had a substantial email list as the world shut down. I shifted into offering online classes in art and healing to support women in their healing journey and help them open to expressing themselves creatively.
While I was working in the online structure I was still continuing my practice as an artist and shamanic practitioner. the Cosmic Dreaming Lodge—my sacred ceremonial and healing space, became even more fully realized during the quiet, inward years of the pandemic. During that span of time, I painted a series of nine spirit guide portraits—each one revealed to me in ceremony. These guides now anchor the work of the Lodge, helping clients navigate emotional and physical trauma, reconnect with their creativity, and remember the deeper truth of who they are.
Currently, I continue to offer in-person, one-on-one healing retreats here in Sedona at the Cosmic Dreaming Lodge. Those who come to do their healing work at the lodge experience guided ceremony at the altar, work with the guides, Myofascial Release treatments, and ceremonial and healing work on the red rocks and in the vortexes.
I am now expanding into group retreats and teaching as a Sanctioned Teacher of the Pachakuti Mesa Tradition of Cross-Cultural Shamanism. I’m also developing a new offering to guide people into a deeper relationship with their inner wisdom, imagination, and sacred rhythm—reclaiming the parts of themselves that have been forgotten, hidden, or silenced.
At the heart of everything I do is this truth: healing is an art, and art is healing. Whether through touch, story, ceremony, or brushstroke, I help others reconnect to the essence of who they are—and who they are becoming.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I think my ability to day dream and create art truly supported my relationship with my intuition. I move through the world with a deep trust for what I feel intuitively and choose my path in accordance with it. I do marvel, when I look back through my life at how I was able to find my way. Even though at the time, I may not have always been clear on the path and it seemed to make no sense, following that thread of my intuition. It led me right here, now. I learned a great deal of lessons along the way. To “let go” and “trust” are still lessons that deepen within me even now.
The best advice I can give to someone who is early in their journey is to remember, even though it may not feel like it in this moment, you are always right where you need to be! Let go of the outcome and make friends with the things you feel you are resisting- these are your teachers.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

Interestingly enough, the biggest area of growth for me in the past twelve months was stepping away from my online business and going into the cocoon.

I had sensed and had been getting an intuitive message that it was time to rest and re-invent. I was filled with fear. All of my fear around money and survival came to the surface as I went inward. I discovered my invisible child archetype and began to understand how all the pushing past her boundaries was igniting my nervous system and creating burn out.

During this year in the cocoon, I was also getting the call to return to in-person work. The magic of the universe provided clients and situations that were perfectly aligned and timed for me to flourish in my cocoon. I gave up the hustle of competition in a burgeoning online market and returned to find and work within my inner rhythm and flow.

My time in the cocoon helped to remind me how passionate I am in supporting others in person, hands-on through the modality of Myofascial Release. In addition to all the resting, creating and return to passion, I adopted a writing practice that is expanding into a book which centers around my channeled work with the guides of the Cosmic Dreaming Lodge.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

photos of Deborah by Karianne Mundst Photography, Phoenix Arizona

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