“Hey! Think About It” – Your Inner Garden

“Hey! Think About It” – Your Inner Garden

by | Mar 13, 2026 | Inner Garden

Greetings, Friends – I’m celebrating the phenomenal role that our Inner Gardens offer our overall well-being! After spending time navigating a family member’s journey across multiple health departments without any meaningful focus on the gut as the source for healing inflammation, I’m inspired to speak up. 

First, I’ll share an excerpt from The Inner Garden and then highlight some factoids I’m learning about gut health from reading gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz’s Plant Powered Plus.

“…the common, highly-processed diet of the US population…(is) starving our gut microbiome which is ultimately starving our bodies of the essential nutrients and minerals we need to sustain proper maintenance and repair of our bodies. The body’s ability to heal itself is severely undermined when its gut microbiome is not properly fed. This, combined with a medical framework of disease-treatment instead of wellness-promotion, creates a negative feedback cycle within the body as it is not given the proper fuel to heal itself and then given chemically-synthesized medicine to try to eliminate the physical issues(s) that has/have arisen. If plant medicine (non-chemically-derived) were used, the body would be more able to access the phytonutrients offered which would enable the gut microbiome to operate more effectively, further enabling the body to repair, maintain, and heal itself.” [taken from p41 of The Inner Garden]

Cue the Jerry McGuire scene… here our gut microbiomes take the role of Tom Cruise and exclaim with exasperation to our Cuba Gooding Jr. selves, “Help Me, Help You!”

In Plant Powered Plus, Dr. Will Bulsiewicz (Dr. B) provides a list of over 130 medical conditions that have been scientifically associated with inflammation and gut dysbiosis within the body [view the list here alongside references]. Some of these might seem surprising… dementia? breast cancer? endometriosis? depression? However, this long list of medical conditions only reinforces what Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine already hold to be true: the digestive tract is at the root of all disease – the gut is the cornerstone of health.

The Inner Garden book encourages us to equate gut health with immune system health and Dr. B reinforces the same thing… celebrating that the lining of our gut is an immune organ that provides 70% of our immune system function! Pathogens/toxins that get by our gut microbiome (1st line of defense) AND find a way through our gut wall (2nd line of defense) set off an immune response, resulting in inflammation somewhere in the body. While there are certainly health issues that have their own unique pathways of expression, the foundational role that gut health plays in our well-being requires more attention.

 

The more I learn about the phenomenal operations that our Inner Gardens carry out to maintain, repair, and heal our bodies, the more I am absolutely astounded at the intelligence and orchestration of it all. Our digestive tract performs so many jobs and it seems that we, as individuals, need to reclaim our ability to be good managers… offering our bodies the support they need to do what they inherently know how to do instead of under-resourcing them, adding larger workloads…ultimately asking them to keep working harder with less pay. The grind of our external world mirrors the grind that we are our creating for our inner world. Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff reminds us that, “You can’t create anything on the outside until you’ve created it on the inside first.” 

Another fascinating factoid that Dr. B shares is that the intestinal epithelium – the single cell layer that lines the small and large intestine – sheds and replaces itself once every 3 to 5 days… the fastest rate of cellular turnover in the body! The implications of this invite us to marvel at how quickly we could potentially influence our overall well-being if we focused our attention on fueling our Inner Gardens with what they need to thrive.

While there are universal suggestions that could benefit everyone [eat organically-grown, whole foods], the Inner Garden book and framework remind us that each and every one of us has a unique constitution and, thus, has specific requirements to keep our Inner Gardens in balance. The free Inner Garden quiz is a quick way to start investigating what your constitution is and the Inner Garden Profile offers an affordable way to identify your constitution and how to best care for it on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels.

 

Plant Medicine - Mother Earth's Antidotes

The Inner Garden book defines ‘plant medicine’ as plants that are specifically selected for the essences they have, the phytonutrients they provide, and the ability to combine with other plants in a way that enables them to support the body in desired ways. Sometimes ‘plant medicine’ is conflated with psychoactive plant journeys and I want to be clear that the realm of plant medicine is MUCH larger.

And yes, the daily food you choose to eat can also be considered ‘medicine’, however, ‘plant medicine’ is distinguished as the intentional use of plants to address a physical, emotional, and/or spiritual imbalance.

 

I have been crafting plant medicines, primarily in the form of tinctures, for the past 8 years and my efforts have been guided by my angelic team. The focus for most of my tinctures has been on remedies that help the gut microbiome heal and recover from pharmaceutical and environmental toxins. I have personally tested and benefitted from all of my tinctures that address a personal need…unfortunately, this has been most of my tinctures. Many of us are exposed to the same environmental toxins just by inhabiting the same Earth and those in developed countries get hit even harder where Big Ag & Big Pharma have prevailed.

The pharmaceutical and environmental inflictions to our bodies can be hard to track, yet they are compounding the negative impacts the gut microbiome is managing. Our population health indicators reflect this.

I am very eager to have my tinctures clinically tested so that their safety and efficacy can be scientifically demonstrated, communicated, and thus be accessible to more people. I have made just a few of my tinctures publicly available – one of which supports individuals’ gut microbiomes in healing from mRNA vaccines & boosters. For those who have had Covid, I’ve also shared a gut rebalancing protocol in my last blog post, Post-Covid Gut Microbiome Considerations.

What both humbles and inspires me is that Mother Earth continues to provide solutions to our most pernicious issues (many of which we have brought upon ourselves)… and that even when treated disrespectfully, she continues to offer us pathways for thriving.

May you be curious about your own phenomenal Inner Garden and how best to care for it!

Best,

Megan

P.S. This post brought to you by Aretha Franklin’s, “Think“… some lyrics excerpted here, sung by the gut microbiome to the rational mind… perhaps the heart will be engaged as well.

“You better think

Think about about what you’re tryin’ to do to me…

I ain’t no psychiatrist, I ain’t no doctor with degrees

But it don’t take too much IQ

to see what you’re doing to me…

You need me

And I need you (don’t ya know?)

Without each other

There ain’t nothin’ either can do”

Post-Covid Gut Microbiome Considerations

Post-Covid Gut Microbiome Considerations

by | Jan 22, 2026 | Inner Garden

Greetings, Friends –

I have recently had a loved one experience an array of physical symptoms that resulted in hospitalization and catalyzed my investigations into peer-reviewed scientific research publications so to illuminate possible root causes. What sprang forth was the discovery of multiple research efforts that have demonstrated the wide array of possible physiological implications that can arise after having Covid. This blog post serves as a Public Service Announcement to consider Covid as a possible factor when investigating new or more acute physiological symptoms weeks to months post-Covid. Long-Covid is now being defined by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine as “an infection-associated chronic condition occurring after SARS-CoV-2 infection that is present for at least 3 months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that can present as singular or multiple symptoms and/or diagnosable conditions.” (1) The featured image of this blog (above) and the figure to the right provide examples of the many systems that can be impacted. I am including a list of papers at the bottom of this post for further information.

As you may know, I am very focused on the importance of caring for our gut microbiomes (Inner Gardens) as a central driver for our overall well-being and so was eager to understand how the Covid virus interacted with our gut. Thus, I’m sharing the crux of what I’ve learned in hopes that this understanding can support you on your own health journey.

While every individual has a unique health profile, we all rely on the proper functioning of a protein that lines the surface of many cells (thus, organs) throughout our bodies called Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2). ACE2 helps our body in maintaining internal balance, particularly helping our body modulate inflammation throughout the body. There are many ACE2 receptors within our  gastrointestinal tract (gut) which help regulate inflammation and nutrient absorption.

 

Figure from Davis, H.E. et al. Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 133–146 (2023). Click HERE to see the full ‘Featured Image’ of this blog which is from J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Jul;40(9):2024-2027.

The Covid virus’s spike protein has a shape that precisely connects to the ACE2 enzyme – much like a lock and key scenario. Thus, a problematic consequence of this spike protein connection to ACE2 receptors is the reduction or down regulation of available ACE2 receptors on our cells’ surface. With fewer ACE2 enzymes available, Angiotensin II (a hormone that serves as a blood vessel constrictor) builds up in the local tissue environment. This imbalance of Angiotensin II directly contributes to inflammation and possible damage in the infected organs/systems. The distribution of ACE2 throughout our body explains why Covid can affect multiple organs and systems…not to mention that any impacts to the gut (the primary driver behind many of our digestive, neurological, hormonal, and circulatory processes) can impact communication to all of our body’s systems. See ACE2 figure below.

Figure from Rastogi, Amit. (2020). Covid 19 and its Cardiovascular Effects. Annals of Cardiac Anaesthesia. 23. 10.4103/aca.aca_237_20.

As you may also know, I work with my angelic team on a daily basis through channeling and focused writing to support myself in taking my next best steps… from the mundane to the bigger life decisions. After I had Covid a few years ago, my guides shared a post-Covid protocol with me to support my gut microbiome in rebalancing… and now I better understand the importance of having followed through on this guidance. Sharing the protocol below for you to run by your own body & heart to see if it is in your best interest to follow it (and to check with your primary care provider if you are on other medications to ensure that these supplements would not interfere). You can also download this print-friendly version of the protocol and research links.

May science continue to catch up with what the collective is experiencing and may each of you continue to strengthen your heart and body-listening skills so that you can make the best choices for your well-being regardless!

À votre santé,

Megan

This post brought to you by the Beach Boys song, “I Know There’s An Answer“.

 

Post-Covid Related Research

  1. Chu L, Bishof K, Dumes AA, Wesley Ely E, Joseph PV, Troxel AB; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Examining the Working Definition for Long COVID. The 2024 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Long COVID Definition: What Clinicians Need to Know. J Gen Intern Med. 2025 Jul;40(9):2024-2027. doi: 10.1007/s11606-025-09415-8. Epub 2025 Mar 10. PMID: 40063321; PMCID: PMC12325811.
  2. Davis, H.E., McCorkell, L., Vogel, J.M. et al. Long COVID: major findings, mechanisms and recommendations. Nat Rev Microbiol 21, 133–146 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-022-00846-2
  3. dos Santos Pinto et al. Persistent Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Long COVID: clinical and laboratory insights from a 2-Year Cohort. Dec 1, 2025. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7375668/v1
  4. Gubatan, M. Gastrointestinal Issues Post-Covid and Their Management. Presentation. May 29, 2025 YouTube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyvfI0rIfyg
  5. Lesgards, J.-F.; Cerdan, D.; Perronne, C. Do Long COVID and COVID Vaccine Side Effects Share Pathophysiological Picture and Biochemical Pathways? Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 7879. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26167879
  6. Xu, E., Xie, Y. & Al-Aly, Z. Long-term gastrointestinal outcomes of COVID-19. Nat Commun 14, 983 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36223-7
  7. Xu, E., Xie, Y. & Al-Aly, Z. Long-term neurologic outcomes of COVID-19. Nat Med 28, 2406–2415 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-02001-z
  8. Xie, Y., Xu, E., Bowe, B. et al. Long-term cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19. Nat Med28, 583–590 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01689-3

Both Sides Now

Both Sides Now

by | Nov 6, 2025 | Inner Garden

Greetings, Friends –

I have recently been on a couple of podcasts (linked below) and have had a hard time encapsulating The Inner Garden’s content into meaningful bite-sized pieces… an invitation for me to continue working on this. A first step has been providing chapter overviews (see chapter image).

Another thing that came up for me is the desire to highlight The Inner Garden’s perspective on pharmaceutical medicine. First and foremost, the guidance in the book invites and supports individuals in tapping their own heart’s wisdom so that they are led to the very next best step for them. Secondly, due to the demonization of plant medicine over the past centuries, humans are missing out on a phenomenal realm of support…The Inner Garden highlights the importance of reclaiming our ability to utilize plant medicine as our bodies have co-evolved with plants over millennia and are more able to digest, incorporate, and release plant constituents. Third, The Inner Garden highlights a few systemic issues in Chapter 4 (April) that undermine population-level health – one of which is the way pediatric vaccines are administered. The book articulates that most vaccines are delivered through shots into the body which bypasses the engagement of the gut microbiome’s full defense system – therefore, an effort to strengthen the immune system (gut microbiome) is unfortunately undermining it. The Inner Garden shares that an underlying root issue to our present allopathic paradigm is that it focuses on ‘treating disease’ versus ‘promoting well-being’. This and our healthcare system needs to focus on the gut microbiome as the foundation for well-being. 

 

As science continues to reveal the importance of the gut microbiome, the specific options and answers for wellness are likely never going to be universal… holding a “Yes, and” perspective can help acknowledge what works for others while figuring out what works best for yourself. We are blessed with many available resources this day and age and The Inner Garden invites us to remember Mother Earth’s gifts as an integral source of well-being support.

goodreads november giveaway

For the month of November, you can enter to win a complete
Inner Garden package… The Inner Garden book, card deck & your unique Inner Garden profile… at goodreads.com! With these Inner Garden resources, you will be equipped to develop or enhance your heart-centered way of living… improve your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being…tap your intuitive gifts… and more.
The Inner Garden goodies will be delivered in early December… just in time to start the new year with this phenomenal support!

enter giveaway

“She Said Talks” interview with Jan Jorgensen

The two podcasts that I recently participated in were both hosted by lovely women who have created platforms to bring forth more Divine Feminine wisdom at this time. As I have ventured into following my own intuitive gifts, it has brought me into contact with others who are doing the same and I continue to be impressed with the diversity of how each individual expresses their gifts. It excites me to envision what our reality could look like when more individuals are expressing their true essence and heart-centered ways of being.

I continue to carry an awareness of what it feels like to be head-centered. It requires daily (and sometimes moment to moment) intention to choose to respond from my heart instead of react from my subconscious programming. And I’m certainly not always successful at consciously responding… but it is an intention for which I strive. AND to be clear, heart-centered does not mean that your head is not involved or engaged… the goal is that it IS involved (consciously), just not the driver. Anyway, I have a great deal of compassion for the human experience and how challenging it is to create a meaningful life (especially one that minimizes pain & suffering for oneself & others). Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff shares guidance from his worldwide network of Indigenous Elders that the most unselfish thing we can do at this time on Earth is to heal ourselves. What a powerful perspective to open yourself up to… that our external realities reflect the way we tend our own well-being and the quickest way to influence and heal the local and global ills is to focus our attention on cultivating the beauty in our own Inner Gardens.

Wishing you the best,
Megan

P.S. In honor of strengthening our ability to see & simultaneously hold multiple perspectives – to embrace “Yes, and…” – this post is brought to you by Joni Mitchell’s, “Both Sides Now“.

inner garden interview with karen holton

The Galaxy Within the Sound of Silence: Reflections on Channeling

The Galaxy Within the Sound of Silence: Reflections on Channeling

by | Jul 20, 2025 | Inner Garden

Greetings, Friends –

An extended blog post to begin delving into channeling and my understanding of it… with the disclaimer that this is a small slice of a large topic. Even though I have been consciously channeling for the last six years, it remains a mysterious and magical phenomenon to both bear witness to & personally experience. Over these years, I have taken classes, read heaps, listened to podcasts, connected with a mentor and a few friends with whom to share and navigate this experience… such that I have an understandable context for my experience that enables me to thrive within it, but I can easily say that my mind still doesn’t ‘understand’ it. My heart does, though, and – thankfully – it has taken over as the driver. My mind is typically resigned to driving from the backseat…always sharing its opinion on the best route to take and looking for evidence to grab the wheel at any moment. Fortunately, my life continues to provide tangible evidence that all parts of myself are doing better now that my heart is in charge. SO – my intention is to speak up and out about channeling to help bring this topic out of the taboo-ed closet and into everyday discussions… as it offers a powerful pathway to heart-centered living (which I strongly believe we need more of in this world). 

A few things to start:

  1. Some definitions that resonate with me…John Klimo defines channeling as ‘the communication of information (or energy) to or through a human being from a source that exists on some other level or dimension of reality than the physical as we know it – and that is not from the normal mind (or self) of the channel’. Helane Wahbeh, who wrote The Science of Channeling, refines the definition to include that ‘channeling is the process of revealing information and energy not limited by our conventional notions of space and time‘. And my 2 cents.. while there are many entities one could channel, the one that we each are inherently wired to access is that of our Highest Self… our own heart.
  2. Channeling is more of an umbrella term for a wide range of ways in which intuitive insights and info can be experienced or received… in theory, as many ways as there are people on this planet…because (a) most people have an inherent capacity to channel and (b) we all have unique ways of being which means our ways of engaging with / expressing / experiencing our intuitive insights are likely to vary. The most common ways of channeling include some combination of clairaudience (clear seeing), claircognizance (clear knowing, for example ‘gut instincts’), clairsentience (clear feeling), and clairvoyance (clear seeing). Most people can likely relate to having a gut feeling, receiving inspired ideas, or experiencing a synchronicity… and then the mind quickly minimizing & brushing it under the rug. Mind’s message to heart, “Shoosh! Be quiet!”
  3. Again, most people are born with a capacity to channel… similar to how most people are born with a capacity to sing… whether you are born with natural talent, take lessons to improve your skills, and/or can’t carry a tune is another variable altogether. Lubna Kharusi has shared, “that being a channel of Source energy is an integral part of human capacity, but yet through conditioning and mental constructs, we have prevented ourselves from accessing this natural state of connection, limiting ourselves, because of the reinforced beliefs of social-historical constructs of what people interpret and believe to be possible.” Mmhmm.
  4.  There are parameters and guidelines that can be used to support a channeling practice, helping you ‘tune your dial’ to the station / frequency you’re desiring. The guidelines I use involve being grounded and centered, being intentional with whom I am channeling, using discernment (does the info I’m receiving ring true w my heart?), and having clear boundaries.  When working with guides, it is important to treat these relationships with respect – just as you would with physical beings – and to remember that you, the human being, is in charge and can set up your channeling in ways that you feel most comfortable. 

 

As I shared in my previous post, I include a bit about my journey into discovering my clairaudience gifts in The Inner Garden’s Preface. It was a traumatic entry – one that I would not wish upon anyone – and is certainly not a requirement for discovering one’s intuitive gifts. Early on, I enrolled in a course that enabled me to shift my self-perception of my clairaudient & clairsentient capabilities from one of being a victim to one of being a self-empowered goddess. A long distance trip between these ways of seeing myself… and, thankfully, it has been a one-way journey… where I only venture on shorter forays…places like ‘self-doubt’ and ‘desire to belong’ on occasion.

One of the blessings that my entry provided was that my channeling practice had to go through psychological bootcamp to earn my trust… developing tools for discernment was integral. Discernment provides the litmus test of ‘does my heart resonate with this information and does it support the thriving of myself and others?’. The mind’s definition of thriving is heavily influenced by considerations of ‘will this decision make me look stupid or worse yet be ostracized to the pointless forest?!’ The heart’s definition of thriving has more to do with ‘will this enable me to joyfully express my authentic self and love myself for who I am?’. Simplification of the mind and heart’s definitions of thriving, Yes. 

The tug of war between my heart and mind will likely persist through my days, but thankfully I can readily discern when each is talking. 

My channeling practice has evolved over the last 6 years and I anticipate that it will only continue to do so. First & foremost, I have had the support of a mentor and other real human beings with whom to navigate these intangible realms… so critical. Second, central to my process has been the development of trust and knowing how to discern my heart’s guidance from my ego / mind. It has been a bumpy ride, but each bump has given me an opportunity to refine and improve upon my discernment and practice. While my daily practice has taken on different forms over the years, I have consistently maintained a daily practice – one that primarily consists of getting grounded and centered and beginning my day with gratitude. Most of my channeling occurs while I am mindfully writing, asking my heart for input on all sorts of things and inviting my 12 guides to support me with my day. I do know all of my angelic team members by name and have a sense of their role. I do not hear different voices and it ‘sounds’ just like my own inner voice. However, when my guides are communicating with me, it is much kinder and supportive than what my own inner dialogue has typically been… I am pleased that this has also been shifting thanks to the support of my channeling… as I have developed much more compassion for the parts of myself that would have typically made me cringe.

My understanding of my guides is that they are an extension of me while simultaneously being unique entities with unique skill sets – that ultimately are supporting me in fulfilling my higher purpose / soul purpose for this lifetime. That before I came into this physical form of this particular physical life, some agreements were made about these guides being on my team to support the human form of me in actualizing my Higher Self’s goals for this lifetime. Still with me?! (Andrea Gibson is reminding me at this moment that vulnerability enhances evolution and to keep on sharing). I think of my guides as my personal cheering squad that support me in living in alignment with my heart & Highest Self… with the additional and phenomenal perks of sharing high-vibrational information to support my thriving. My gift of clairaudience enables me to capture this information in ways so that it can be shared… and that those who desire it can benefit from as well.

 

Braving the Wilderness: Relatable Excerpts On Belonging

I recently read Brené Brown’s book, “Braving the Wilderness,” which gave me a great deal of fodder to better understand my own journey of discovering and nurturing my channeling capabilities. In the book, Brené grapples with one of Maya Angelou’s quotes, “You only are free when you realize you belong no place – you belong every place – no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.“ This quote reinforces the value of belonging to yourself, first & foremost. Using my own lens, the price of not being understood by friends and family has been extremely high… and heartbreaking. However, the rewards of being able to better know and love myself, feel better in my own body, create plant medicines, write The Inner Garden, and more… is profoundly rewarding. 

Brené ultimately gifts us this definition on true belonging:

“True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness. True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.“

I know the world will experience more joy, peace, love, compassion, creativity, and expressed inspiration when more people show up each day as who they really are… not what they think they ‘should’ be. Can you imagine? The elevated experience offered to the world when more people are at home in their own person? To pull back the masks of fitting in, to excavate your true, heart-inspired convictions and feelings… and then act on them are truly courageous acts.

This sentiment is reinforced by Jen Hatmaker, also quoted in Brené‘s book:

“I won’t sugarcoat this: Standing on the precipice of the wilderness is bone-chilling. Because belonging is so primal, so necessary, the threat of losing your tribe or going alone feels so terrifying as to keep most of us distanced from the wilderness our whole lives. Human approval is one of our most treasured idols, and the offering we must lay at its hungry feet is keeping others comfortable. I’m convinced that discomfort is the great deterrent of our generation. Protecting the status quo against our internal convictions is obviously a luxury of the privileged, because the underdogs and outliers and marginalized have no choice but to experience the daily wilderness. But choosing the wily outpost over the security of the city gates takes a true act of courage. That first step will take your breath away.
Speaking against power structures that keep some inside and others outside has a cost, and the currency most often drafted from my account is belonging. Consequently, the wilderness sometimes feels very lonely and punishing, which is a powerful disincentive. But I’ve discovered something beautiful; the loneliest steps are the ones between the city walls and the heart of the wilderness, where safety is in the rearview mirror, new territory remains to be seen, and the path out to the unknown seems empty.

But put one foot in front of the other enough times, stay the course long enough to actually tunnel into the wilderness, and you’ll be shocked how many people already live out there—thriving, dancing, creating, celebrating, belonging. It is not a barren wasteland. It is not unprotected territory. It is not void of human flourishing. The wilderness is where all the creatives and prophets and system-buckers and risk-takers have always lived, and it is stunningly vibrant. The walk out there is hard, but the authenticity out there is life.”

I strongly believe that we can quickly turn this very large boat of humanity – that is crashing through stormy seas with a great deal of momentum – into calmer waters… through the collective and courageous individual acts of finding our hearts, living in line with our heart’s truths, and supporting others in doing the same (just hang out with Andrea Gibson’s presence to be led to this place):

I am still finding my own voice, navigating how best to share my experience of bringing forth channeled guidance…to know that everyone has intuitive, ‘magical’ capacities (albeit likely expressed in different ways)…but that you likely have to experience it to believe it possible. Feels like a Catch 22. I hope that by sharing my experience, more individuals will be more open to this possibility… I mean, wouldn’t you like to know what your unique ways (rather, superpowers) of accessing your heart’s guidance are?!  To know how to be and to be your best-feeling person…and then, by default, reinforce this permission to others?! “The price is high. The reward is great.“

I’m probably breaking literary rules about how many quotes one is allowed to use in a certain amount of space, but by writing ‘excerpts’ in the heading I am giving myself permission to do so. I am grateful for the words that others have spoken or written that enable me to better understand my own feelings…and make it easier at this time to share them with you.

The topic of channeling is a vast ocean to cross – my wish is to encourage discussions that offer masks & snorkels… so we can more readily put our faces into the water and explore expanded realms of well-being. 

May we each hear our heart’s whispers within our own sounds of silence… and have the courage to act on them! 

Best, Megan

P.S. This post brought to you by Simon & Garfunkel’s, “The Sound of Silence” and by Rob Rey’s original art entitled, “The Galaxy Within II”.

P.P.S. Celebrating the life and afterlife of Andrea Gibson who left this earthly plane earlier this week…gifting us so many ways to remember how to lovingly show up in this life.

Simple Gifts for Our Complex Times

Simple Gifts for Our Complex Times

by | Jun 24, 2025 | Inner Garden

Greetings, Friends – This blog post is part 3 of 3 of celebrating The Inner Garden book’s birth into the world. “At Last” shares where you can tangibly obtain the book & card deck and “Let’s Work Together” shares highlights from our in-person book conversation at The Bunnell Street Art Center in May… here I share more about the book while also highlighting the process in which it came forth.

The Inner Garden book is a culmination of patchwork-quilted experiences from my own life woven into channeled information from my guides. There is both information that would be considered ‘new’ in that it hasn’t yet been illuminated by the scientific process and there is also information that has been around for thousands of years (Ayurveda & more) that many of us already know in our hearts – but is not reinforced within the collective’s discourse. So, in many ways, The Inner Garden is like hanging out with a wise-beyond-their-years dear friend who supports you in being the person you most enjoy being, reminds you how to hear your inner truths, and encourages you to take the next best steps for yourself that cultivates your overall well-being. A friend that also weaves examples from The Matrix, Harry Potter, David Attenborough, and more to make topics even more accessible and understandable. 

If I were you, I would have so many questions about the way in which this book has come forth! What does it mean to channel? What does it mean that you channeled the book? How do you do it? Is it hard to do? How do you trust the information that comes through? (Details for future blog posts)

I have had very few people ask me about my channeling and I know very few people personally that utilize this gift using clairaudience (enough that I have not felt like a lone wolf). We are all channels, most just don’t realize to use this capacity intentionally. I think of humans as being radio towers… picking up and receiving thoughts and ideas all of the time that match the vibrational frequency of our being.  Every individual has unique ways of best expressing their ‘channel’ AND this can be enhanced by tapping their intuitive gifts.

My present understanding is that our individual ways of accessing our intuitive gifts can vary significantly so it does make it more challenging to compare notes, but this is certainly a conversation I would love to encourage. Mr. Rogers has said, “Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that’s mentionable can be manageable.” I can relate to the discomfort of being curious about something I don’t understand and not knowing how to ask someone about their experience… for fear of hurting their feelings or being insensitive in any way. And I also know that when we are courageous enough to ask questions with love in our hearts, authentically share our experiences, and invite respectful conversation, that it gives others more ‘permission’ to do the same – and typically enhances understanding, compassion, and love for all involved. 

I share a bit about my journey into discovering my clairaudience gifts in The Inner Garden’s Preface, but what I most want to convey again at this time is that we ALL have intuitive gifts that could enable each of us to access expanded consciousness and information… that when used in heart-aligned ways could enhance our individual, family, community, and planetary well-being.

Doing the inner work to cultivate your intuitive gifts takes courage, a daily practice, a willingness to choose your heart’s guidance over what ‘one should do’ in each moment… herculean feats on some days, yet a series of small choices when added up… ‘an infinite succession of presents’ as Howard Zinn says below. These small choices in each of our days offer us a great deal of power to create the lives we most want to live and the world in which we want to create it.

 The Inner Garden book is an invitation to intentionally take these small steps and to reinforce putting your attention where you most want to direct it… it is so loud and distracting in our chaotic political / social / + environments and it truly takes work to quiet your own mind to hear what your heart is encouraging you to do. The Inner Garden offers a hand to hold, words to soothe and guide you as you  develop and/or enhance your own daily practices…and illuminates physical phenomenon that science has yet to capture. It invites you to fall in love with your own phenomenal self while supporting you in your own self-discovery.

While doing the daily work of tending your own well-being might not feel like meaningful ‘action’ that is helping the world at large be a more peaceful place, it is important to remember that this type of action is foundational and revolutionary… supporting an elevated human existence… and as Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff would say, ‘one that supports humanity in continuing to exist on this planet’. Does that begin to convey its importance?!

 

The Collaborative, Non-Linear Creation Process

I first got the nudge from my guides to write a book in 2020 while I was sitting in the car, waiting to pick up my kiddos from school. I was given a title suggestion and that the book should have 18 chapters… that it would have something to do with reconnecting with Mother Earth’s gifts and how to symbiotically partner with her.

The writing I was able to do was typically in 30-60 minute sessions while I was in between my part-time job and waiting to pick up kids from school… using my google docs on an iPad with a blue-toothed keyboard. It was not written linearly, but in pockets here and there… typically helping to illuminate something I had recently experienced, read, or had curiosity about.

 

In November of 2022, I was encouraged to reach out to an artist… that the book would benefit from having an oracle deck and that the art could introduce each chapter of the book. I thought I was being encouraged to make an 18-card, card deck (Ha!). I had a few pages of chapter 1 written and I included this in my communication to Brianna Lee… she had immediately come to mind when I was envisioning the type of art I wanted to accompany this project.

Bri and I knew one another from Homer, AK, primarily acquaintances from living in a small town – and I had purchased a painting from her in 2011 (that was very meaningful to me). I was concerned she would think I was crazy and was pleasantly surprised when she positively received my email and wanted to learn more.

What transpired was a couple years of sharing chapters as they were written, Bri sharing paintings as they were painted, FaceTime chats to check-in, sporadic updates to the number of paintings & types of artwork needed (the card deck evolved to a 72-card, card deck), and watching this resource come to life before our eyes. Bri mentioned that the process was like putting together a puzzle… lots of pieces that, when connected, showed a larger picture. We did not know the details, but trusted in the unfolding. Sharing this experience with Bri enabled me to more fully trust in the process… not to mention loosen up a bit and do more celebrating.

What I have learned from this collaborative process with Bri is that there is no better way of collaborating than working in ways that celebrate the unique gifts of each individual… and that surrendering to the process of stepping into the unknown is way easier when you have a friend’s hand to hold.

You can learn more about our journey, The Inner Garden, and our book celebration event at these recent posts:

 

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Let's Work Together

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At Last! The Inner Garden is Available

The Inner Garden

The Inner Garden framework builds on the foundations of Ayurveda and the principle that we each have a unique constitution (Inner Garden / gut microbiome), personality, and higher purpose.  This physical, emotional, and spiritual consitution can be brought forward with intention and the support of the Inner Garden resources. As communicated by one of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Potowatami colleagues, “An educated person knows their own gifts and how to give them to the world.” When you courageously learn about your specific needs and ways of being and how to best tend them, you are most able to create the life you most want to live.

 

Read MoreFree Inner Garden Quiz

Jill Bolte Taylor, neuroanatomist, TedEx excerpt

The above excerpt from Jill Bolte Taylor highlights the phenomenal capacity we each have to access expanded consciousness on a daily basis. She is a neuroanatomist who experienced a stroke and lost access to the left-hemisphere of her brain… thus exposing her to what the right side of the brain offers.

P.S. This post brought to you by Yo-Yo Ma & Alison Krauss’s version of, “Simple Gifts“

While creating the space and practices to quiet your mind and listen to your heart’s guidance is by no means ‘SIMPLE’… probably one of the harder things to do… this post refers to ‘simple gifts’ in that we are all born with intuitive gifts, they are inherently within us (they hang out in the right hemisphere of the brain)… ready to be discovered, used, and celebrated. And as Jill Bolte Taylor says in her excerpt, “I believe that the more time we spend choosing to run the deeper inner-peace circuitry of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world, and the more peaceful our planet will be.”

Cheers to cultivating your simple gifts!

Megan

 

Let’s Work Together!

Let’s Work Together!

by | Jun 18, 2025 | Inner Garden

May 24th, 2025 Collaborative Conversation

Bri, Ilarion, and myself held an Inner Garden book release conversation at The Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer, AK where we discussed the importance of healing our inner self and developing heart-listening, particularly at this time on Earth. An overview of the Inner Garden framework was given in addition to discussing how this book came into being. Ilarion began the conversation by reminding us (~12min into talk), “This is a time of chaos and it is intentional…it is happening for a reason. You were placed here for a reason. We are spirit beings in human form. We chose to be here, each and every one of us. You now are here to provide the collective efforts of people to save human beings…not Mother Earth! She’s survived for billions of years… she’s going to survive for billions more…she doesn’t need us (in order) to survive. She does need us to ‘wake up’. Traditionally, the heart used to tell the mind what to do – now the mind tells the heart what to do, so we have the mess that we have in the world (physically, spiritually, politically, socially, +) because of that. Most people have left their hearts – for various reasons, mostly due to traumas…when you find your heart, you will find what you need to do today. The people who are going to negotiate this time the best… are the people of the heart.”

Listen to the conversation

(Above) Inner Garden card pulled by Ilarion for the group [same card had been pulled by Bri earlier that day on behalf of the event] 

The Inner Garden book & card deck offer tangible support to individuals who would like to reclaim their ability to listen to their heart. The more we can support one another with prioritizing this practice, the more we (and all other living organisms) will all benefit.

Where to Purchase the Book

Where to Purchase the Cards

Brianna Lee’s Inner Garden Art

Brianna’s original paintings (26!) that were created for this Inner Garden project were on exhibit in May at The Bunnel Street Arts Center. You can hear her artist’s talk at the previous link and view the few remaining paintings from this exhibit that are still available for purchase from the button below.
Check out her online gallery here.

Original Inner Garden Art

It’s All About Relationship

“You can’t create anything on the outside until you’ve created it on the inside first.” – Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff, excerpt from this ~7min video

Ilarion (Larry) Merculieff was raised in a traditional Unangan (Aleut) way and received his Unangan name ‘Kuuyux’ at age four. The name is given to one person in each lifetime amongst his people. Kuuyux means an arm extending out from the body, a carrier of ancient knowledge into modern times, a messenger. Today, he is living up to the legacy of his name. Merculieff is co-founder and former chairman of the Alaska Indigenous Council on Marine Mammals; former chairman of the Nature Conservancy, Alaska chapter; former co-director of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Alaska chapter; as well as co-founder of the International Bering Sea Forum, the Alaska Forum on the Environment, and the Alaska Oceans Network. Today, Merculieff is a senior advisor to the Wild Foundation, co-founder of the Wisdom Weavers of the World ( www.wisdomweavers.world ) and President of the Global Center for Indigenous Leadership and Lifeways ( www.gcill.world ).

Read More About Ilarion

Much gratitude for this collaborative project, this conversation, and the opportunity to bring our respective gifts together in support of this conversation continuing… further empowering more individuals to cultivate their Inner Garden!

In celebration of collaboration,
Megan

P.S. This blog post brought to you by Wilbert Harrison’s “Let’s Work Together“

At Last!!! The Inner Garden is Available!

At Last!!! The Inner Garden is Available!

by | Jun 11, 2025 | Inner Garden

Greetings, Friends –

An exciting announcement… The Inner Garden book and card deck are published and available for your use!
While the journey of creating these resources in collaboration with Brianna Lee is a story in and of itself, the phenomenon of bringing forth the very tools and support that I myself need – and doing so in a manner that others can also benefit from – is a big takeaway for me… one that underscores a primary message of this book: One of the most important things we can do with our time here on Earth is to learn about our unique gifts and how to best care for our selves. The attuned care we offer ourselves enables us to share our gifts with the world in ways that supports the thriving of others.

I am challenged to provide concise overviews of what The Inner Garden book and card deck offer… because while there is tangible guidance to support wellness on all levels of your person, these resources ultimately invite you to participate in your own journey and experiments with self love, understanding, compassion, and care. It provides many doors to open for your own self exploration… so, The Inner Garden is an expansive adventure if you choose…’the universe in an atom’, a transformative experience in a book 🙂 And yes, here are some ‘concise’ aims of The Inner Garden book and card deck:

  • to support you in learning about your unique physical, emotional, and spiritual constitution so you can tend your wellness from the roots of your gut microbiome;
  • to support you in exploring practices that enable you to quiet your mind and listen to your heart; and
  • to support you in reclaiming your power, expressing your authentic self, and symbiotically partnering with Mother Earth.

Ilarion (Kuuyux) Merculieff, who has been a source of inspiration and support for me over these years [check out his video, “It’s All About Relationship“] wrote the foreward of the book. He writes:

“The (book) contains wisdom that I rarely see except from Indigenous Elders, who I work with around the world…
The ways of being that this book speaks of, and that we Indigenous peoples know, are difficult for non-Indigenous peoples to understand and to apply because the vibrational field we are all in collectively, now, is vibrating opposite to life and Mother Earth. By taking in what this book lays out as choices, you are reversing the reversal to our Original Instructions. Your consciousness will shift out of the destructive path humanity is now on, and into being in harmony with All That Is.”

What This Book and Card Deck Contain

The Inner Garden has 12 chapters (January-December) in addition to 12 chakra card overviews, each beginning with a vividly-illustrated original painting by Brianna Lee (24 paintings!). The Inner Garden is a full-color, 228 page softcover book [think of it like a reference guide, a detailed map with checkpoints]. The month’s chapters:

  • present and build on the The Inner Garden framework throughout the calendar year, helping to reinforce connection with Mother Earth’s seasons;
  • offer journal prompts, meditations, and practices to support self-awareness, compassion, and love… heart-listening! Some of these exercises utilize The Inner Garden Card Deck;
  • provide an overview of how to navigate different aspects of self-actualization (how to live in alignment with your Higher Self)… be it through eating foods that support your body in being in balance, navigating how to use plant medicines, discovering & using your intuitive gifts, speaking up for heart-aligned issues, and more. Many resources are shared at the end of each chapter to support further learning;
  • contain a month’s blessing (connected with the card deck as well); For a sneak peek at what the book has to offer, Amazon offers an opportunity to view the foreward, my preface, the intro, and a few pages of the first chapter.

The card deck contains 72 vividly-illustrated cards (composed of 6 distinct sets of 12 cards). Each set of 12 cards can be used in conjunction with The Inner Garden guidebook in addition to the entire deck being used as an oracle. Bri’s artwork is used for each card. The deck contains:

  • 12 month cards
  • 12 monthly blessing cards
  • 12 chakra alignment cards
  • 12 highest purpose cards
  • 12 ascension guidepost cards
  • 12 plant medicine card

    How to Obtain The Inner Garden Book 

    The Inner Garden book (both softcover and e-book versions) can be purchased from most major online retailers (such as Barnes & Noble or Amazon), however if you’d like to support this project in the biggest way, please consider:

    • Purchasing directly from Backyard Beauty’s online shop *
    • Purchasing directly from Balboa’s online bookstore *
    • Encouraging your local bookstore and/or library to order/carry it (The Inner Garden book’s info is stored within the Ingram Book Company’s “iPage” to which most independent bookstores, libraries, and online booksellers subscribe).
      * Backyard Beauty’s online shop and Balboa’s online bookstore offer the highest print quality of The Inner Garden

    How to Obtain The Inner Garden Card Deck

    The Inner Garden Card Deck is presently printed by a separate business and distributed by me. My vision is for Hay House to publish and offer the book and card deck together in the near future (Balboa is the self-publishing arm of Hay House and offers an opportunity for Balboa authors to be picked up by Hay House)… for now you can order from:

    I will be sharing a couple more posts in the near future…one that highlights our recent trip to Homer, AK to host an in-person book celebration alongside Brianna and Ilarion during Bri’s May Art Exhibit at the Bunnell Street Art Center… and another that shares more about the journey of creating The Inner Garden resources with Bri. For now, we celebrate these resources being in tangible form and available to support you if you so choose!

    Cheers to Cultivating Your Inner Garden!!!
    Best, Megan

    P.S. This blog post accompanied by Ms. Etta James’, “At Last” [Spotify or Youtube]

    Gifts from the Inferno

    Gifts from the Inferno

    by | Sep 25, 2023 | Inner Garden

    “It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.
    Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.” – Joseph Campbell

    Greetings, Folks –

    About five years ago, what began as a desire to be a more compassionate and calm mother led me to challenging myself to meditate for 5 minutes a day for 30 days. Within a week of accomplishing this, I began to experience physical sensations in my head and soon thereafter began audibly hearing thoughts that I knew were not my own. I had been listening to Abraham-Hicks recordings for some time before this and Esther Hicks described a similar experience when she began meditating, so I wasn’t completely freaked out.

    What soon became freaky, however, was the information that was being shared with me – primarily, the many ways in which my family could be harmed, how my life would be ending soon, and other deep-seated fears. I tried reaching out to some friends that I could talk to about this and circumstances didn’t enable us to connect at the time. I quickly entered what I perceive as my personal hell – not feeling like I had authority over my own headspace and experiencing extreme fear for myself and family members’ well-being.

    This terrifying experience totaled about a month and half in calendar days and culminated in two emergency room visits and a very long weekend at a mental health facility… both of which require their own story as it reinforced how broken our systems are in understanding and caring for ‘that which transcends the physical’ of the human experience. 

    During my second hospital visit, I was able to connect on the phone with one of the friends I had previously reached out to – and she reminded me about the importance of being grounded and centered when meditating… that there are rules to follow to ensure you are receiving insights that are in your highest good. When you are in a state of fear (or any state for this matter), you attract other thoughts that reinforce the way you are feeling. So when you are in a state of being grounded and centered, you attract thoughts and ideas that reinforce being grounded and centered. Thus, I was empowered to practice being grounded and centered and – successfully remained so – while fully putting it to the test in the 3-day stay at the mental health facility. 

    Within a couple months of having this traumatic entry into discovering my clairaudience, I was able to take a class that introduced me to the realm of intuitive gifts, how to safely use them, and other topics that I had previously not been very receptive to (ie, guides and angels, dark energies, chakras, auric fields, +). With the support of this class, I began to see my clairaudience as a gift and to feel safe using it to bring forth information that actually supported me in thriving and being well.

    In this class I also learned that everyone has intuitive gifts, but that most people are not supported in learning about nor developing their particular gifts. Previous to this experience, I could relate to having a ‘gut’ feeling or even ‘listening to my heart’… and the lovely occurrences of inspired ideas popping into my mind. These things equaled ‘intuition’ in my mind. Now I was learning that the human body has access to more than 5 senses…here’s a brief overview of some of the primary ways intuitive gifts can be experienced:

    • Clairsentience: or ‘clear knowing’, is the ability to understand something byway of smell, touch, taste, sound, or other means of engaging with physical or non-physical objects. This is also the category where ‘gut feelings’ reside – where one’s heart is most able to speak to an individual. 
    • Clairvoyance: the ability to have ‘clear seeing’ which refers to the ability to physically or non-physically visualize information that is not physically visible to most others.
    • Clairaudience: the ability to have ‘clear hearing’ which ultimately means you are able to either audibly or inaudibly hear sounds from energetic sources that are not in the physical form.

    One of the first things I began to do with the insights I was receiving was to begin making improvements to my diet. I received inspiration to pick up books on the Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) frameworks for wellness, to plant specific herbs and flowers in my garden, and to choose specific foods for my diet. What I was learning about from my Ayurveda & TCM readings was corresponding to the food suggestions I was also receiving and I began to be experience improvements in my physical body that I previously had thought were just a part of ‘getting older’… like having stiff joints, knees that cracked when I went up steps, feeling tired after low levels of exertion, +. It wasn’t until I began running up steps again that I noticed a clear and discernible impact of my dietary changes improving my physical well-being. 

    Having a scientific educational and professional background before this occurred has certainly made it challenging to receive this gift of clairaudience with open arms. That, and it is very challenging to describe my experience to others who have not previously had a relatable experience. Well… and that our culture dismisses, medicates, and all but demonizes these ways of experiencing our energetic Universe. So, you know… just a few obstacles.

    Having a scientific background, however, is also helping me think through ways of communicating and demonstrating what I am learning – both to provide tangible and repeatable evidence for credibility in addition to highlighting and celebrating the gifts that Mother Earth provides us (every single day) for our thriving. A great deal of the information I am learning reinforces our need to reconnect with Mother Earth in a symbiotic partnership and not just treat her as a habitat or a source of resources for our consumption. I am also learning to embrace the phenomenal, co-evolved relationship between plants and animals to support one another’s thriving.

    Ultimately, what began as an inferno has brought me to a place where I am celebrating my journey and excited to support others on theirs. I have more compassion for the many ways we each experience our realities and have learned that being curious – instead of judgmental – helps me stay in a place of compassion. There are many paths that water finds its way to the ocean – each of our own experiences can only be enhanced by learning from others’.

    Over the past five years, I have been developing a holistic wellness framework while simultaneously personally experiencing the benefits from it. This framework bridges the Ayurveda holistic wellness framework with what modern medicine is just starting to demonstrate about the importance of the gut microbiome. The projects that I am presently working on all reinforce the revolutionary act of learning more about one’s unique needs, how to meet these needs with our daily diet, and how to enhance our self care so that we can thrive. You can read more about my area of focus here in the Gut Biome Overview. You can also support my work by taking the free gut biome quiz, signing up to work with me, or contributing to my crowdfunding campaign that runs through 9/30/23. I am creating resources that I wish I had had five years ago when I first stumbled into clairaudience…these are just some of the ways I get to share the treasures that are resulting from this journey.

    May we all be curious about and compassionate to ourselves and others on our journeys! There is a great deal of treasure to be discovered.

    Best,
    Megan

    P.S. While the title is not a complete match – the sentiment is… this post reinforced by the music of Alicia Keys