We recently connected with Morgan Lynn and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Morgan, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
When I think about generosity I think about the theme of “gift bestowing hands” – something that we would talk about a lot and reference often when I was training in farming and gardening at Green Gulch Farm, part of the San Francisco Zen Center. We would offer incense at the farm before we started our work day and we would often take a moment to just look at our two hands, sometimes we would put all our hands out into a circle and look at them together – with dirt under the fingernails and calluses from garden tools. The gift bestowing hands, to me brings attention to the miracle of being alive in a human body with the ability to have agency over our own actions in a lifetime. To hold a purpose of trying to do some good or act as a steward in daily activity is a prayer in itself – it’s an expression of gratitude for the miracle of being on earth in human form. Acts of generosity, or using this physical and mental form in a dedicated way to me is the highest form of purpose. In Buddhism also, particularly in Zen – we often set the intention that any action, whether it is eating a meal or weeding the garden or washing the dishes or chopping wood, we do for the benefit of all beings.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am the doula behind Cottage Inside, a birth and postpartum doula practice here in Los Angeles. I’m also a private cook, recipe developer, and I have a background in biodynamic/French intensive farming and gardening. I work with women and families on optimizing outcomes in pre-conception, pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum time. My programs offer a form for self-care during this time for mom and baby through the lens of Ayurveda and Functional Nutrition, and together we curate birth plans and prepare the body and mind for labor. I write seasonal Ayurvedic recipes for fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and the family table, and am currently working on my first cookbook! This year is all about collaborations in my practice, I’m partnering with some of my favorite holistic practitioners – nutritionists, doctors, nurses, yoga teachers – to offer some group and in person workshops around the Los Angeles area. I’m so excited to be partnering and hosting some really incredible gatherings in the coming months.
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?
I think in creativity or in creating something new, it’s really tempting to be pulled in the same direction as what we find inspiring, but I think being comfortable with branching out alone is crucial to creating something that is newly impactful in the world. The blending of our own unique life experiences is how we present something authentic but also original in our work. So for me, I have a varied background in international development, agriculture, buddhism, women’s studies, food, etc – and that all came together into this very particular practice that resonates well with an audience, but a lot of times I’ve had these thoughts of “what exactly is it that I’m doing?” and I’ve consistently re-defined the practice year after year.
Perfectionism is I think both a virtue and a flaw and I have it. It can lead to not taking consistent action because you think the work could be better or it’s not the right time, but the attention to detail does lend itself to good work. It’s something I have to keep in check but also can be a bit of a superpower.
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?
Personally and professionally, my mentor and close friend Emila Heller. It’s a great, great gift in life to have a companion who can truly see us, and can skillfully challenge us to work out our own tangle – and to be in a position to be open to it. I’m a very strong, fiery personality and it would have taken an equally strong personality to get my attention but she did, many years ago when we were planting lettuce together in the kitchen garden and have been walking together through life ever since in gratitude and kindness.
Ann Gilligan and her brilliant positioning techniques (Gilligan’s Guide) changed my doula practice completely. I hold gratitude for her brilliance, dedication and expertise in optimal fetal positioning always. Gilligan’s Guide is a tool that gives women a much, much higher chance at success in labor by helping the baby to efficiently navigate through the pelvic structure during labor and all care providers should be trained in offering this to patients during labor. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for Ann and her decades of experience as a labor and delivery nurse – I recommend any and all pregnant women reading this to follow Gilligan’s Guide and consider a 34 week virtual session with Ann to prepare for birth if you’re not working with a birth doula or care provider trained in Gilligan’s Guide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cottageinside.com
- Instagram: @cottageinside
Image Credits
Shelby Moore
