Meet Lynn Gallagher

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Lynn Gallagher. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Lynn below.

Lynn, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?

In recent months, I have changed my relationship with discipline to devotion. This comes from the sage wisdom of a beloved friend. In devoting myself to acting in accordance with the thoughts, behaviors, and actions of the person I am desiring to become, I get closer to that version of her every day. Making approachable, tangible and consistent habits a part of my daily routine, as compounded overtime, continuously sharpens me. Building confidence and self-trust in the process of maintaining these habits keeps the momentum going. When I inevitably do have moments where I slip up, I remind myself compassionately I am allowed to adjust and try again. It is in the effort not the perfection where real growth happens, as I am a process-oriented person. This level of devotion comes from a deep desire to follow my curiosity to see who I will become along the way of following through with my own word. Self-accountability is what has sustained becoming and staying consistent. This all comes from being meeting myself where I am at, setting attainable goals, checking my progress, holding myself accountable, asking for help, and most importantly, prioritizing play and pleasure along the way. Discipline gets a rep for being rigid and as a recovering perfectionist, I am much more flexible now and value my efforts rather than perfect execution.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am multi-disciplinary healing artist with an emphasis on natural and holisitic, health, wellness, skincare and healing modalities. LGHT Wellness and Savor Beauty Collective were generated as spaces for bringing elevated healing/beauty treatments and community-based healing, respectively, to the larger conversation of holistic wellness and earth-conscious living. For the past decade, I have been evolving and refining along the way as both a creative and business-owner to sharpen my skillset as a practitioner in psycho-spiritual, body-based and metaphysical healing arts and sciences to bring a dynamic and comprehensive approach to utilizing ancient healing fit for the modern context. Most recently, I have been developing mentorship programs, expanding my offerings to incorporate retreats, leading public events, and expanding my online community through Savor Beauty Collective. I anticipate 2025 as being a pivotal one in my professional and personal life as all is unfolding in accordance with my highest good and the good of the collective I am serving.

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?

1) I stay humble in the process of learning. I am willing to be a beginner again and again. I live by the mindset of the “fool”. In the etymology of the word, it points to “being empty”. I prefer to think of the fool as the one who comes to learning as an empty vessel, like a sponge ready to absorb. I can use my discernment but I am always willing to be humble and learn, listen, receive feedback, challenge my own beliefs, be open-minded about someone else’s thoughts, even when I don’t agree, and ask questions without fear of looking foolish. I think this is one of my super powers.
2) Along the same lines as above, one of the most valuable skills or qualities I can say have helped me grow exponentially is having a sense of humor. I do not think we qualify this enough in the dominant culture as being a sign of growth/expansion. Coming from the background I did, having a sense of humor was at times a crux but I see it now as a privilege. I have had to become really comfortable with making mistakes and getting things wrong along the way. Historically, I was afraid to be seen making a mishap. No one wants to feel rejected or dismissed because they do not feel good enough. I have been there before. However, I have learned if I normalize making mistakes and being seen in my vulnerability, I can be seen as someone who values and prioritizes growth, which is a pillar of my life. The growth process is inherently the most vulnerable. So, maintaining my sense of humor helps my mindset stay sharp and flexible, brings me closer to the pleasurable experience of evolving, helps me stay humble in my learning, challenges me, and allows space for my creativity. I am relaxed and not as rigid as a result of this.
3) I prioritize rest and pleasure. Again, in the dominant culture, associations with rest and pleasure are for vacation, not for growth or “productivity”. In my most exponentially expansive times, it is when I am closer to play that I have experienced significant levels of results. I am fervently concerned with setting this precedent for the culture at large. I do not believe in the “if, then” model which I subscribed to for many years but abolished within the last 4. At large, this model says “IF I work harder, then I’ll have more money, more success, more fame, more anything and THEN I’ll be happier, satisfied, more at ease, experience more joy, etc”. I don’t think anything is further from the truth, The cultivation of BEING and FEELING how you want to feel supersedes the result of that “thing” you think will make you feel that way (happy, satisfied, more at ease, etc). In my life, I value personal and collective liberation, which includes me feeling more time for rest and pleasure as an antidote to a capitalist-driven society. I don’t have to wait until I do x, y, or z to access the rest and pleasure. It can be cultivated as a daily practice. This does, however, require a shift in the narrative we have about ourselves and in the dominant culture that prioritizes more DOING rather than BEING.

Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?

I grew up in a single-parent household as an adoptee in a blue-collared neighborhood within a major metropolitan that culturally and historically has a legacy of “being gritty”. We associate that with a certain roughness but now as I have matured, I see this as courage. I am now careful not to glorify the words “sacrifice”, “hard work” or “grit” as my relationship with them has changed as I have become more refined. Yet, from a young age, I learned about sacrifice and hard work from my mother who was an exemplar of the level of courage you have to cultivate to move forward despite life’s challenges. At a fundamental level, I have been conditioned by my environment and ancestrally to stay the course when it comes to my ambitions which has been both beneficial and not beneficial. As I mature, I have learned to better discern to know when and when not to give my energy and effort. Overall, with certainty, the sacrifices and work it took for my mother to become efficient at caring for her family on her own despite many setbacks shaped my courage to continuously pursue what’s in my heart with the resiliency and humility to keep me in stride to see it through. For this reason, I believe challenges happen FOR us not TO us. The most important thing she did for me was show me what’s possible despite the odds.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @lghtwellness @savorbeautycollective

Image Credits

Shakira Hunt
Ritchie Darvell King, Jr.
Amrit Gluck