Hi, it’s Cindy! In this special bonus episode of the Mountain Practice Journeys podcast I’ll be sharing with you information about Forestmind, my new membership mastermind for private practice introverts and highly sensitive therapists.

Forestmind is a comfy, cozy space to support your private pay therapy practice and connect with kindred spirits who inspire you in designing, creating, and growing a practice that works with your nature as an introverted, sensitive person.

We focus on a high quality of life and a low number of clients, allowing you to be more present and balanced in both work and in life. By taking good care of yourself, you become better and more effective as a therapist and have an even greater impact on the world.

Forestmind lives within a private membership site settled in a quiet and secluded online sanctuary, free from the distraction of social media, so that you can focus on what matters.

Forestmind is designed as a yearly membership, specifically with highly sensitive persons and introverts in mind, to foster a close-knit and supportive community.

Forestmind has an intentionally small number of memberships available for a cozy, enriching experience built around your specific needs.

The yearly membership features a private online community, individual coaching sessions, live online group mastermind sessions, sanctuary sessions, a new year intention retreat, seasonal guest experts, a yearly business tarot reading, relevant monthly themes with trainings and resources, business planning with the moon phases, a seasonal book club, a resource library, and more.

Forestmind is a place where we blend the practical, the natural, and the magickal.

Let’s start with the practical - Forestmind is an online membership mastermind designed for introverts and highly sensitive persons with private pay therapy practices. Solopreneurs in other closely-aligned helping professions are also welcomed.

When you join this lovely community, your membership fee covers your year-long engagement in a small, welcoming sanctuary of individuals who get you. The intentionally small number of members means that you will be able to form genuine connections, while designing a business that works for your personality traits and desired lifestyle.

Now on to the natural - Forestmind is an online sanctuary that is thoughtfully curated for the introvert and highly sensitive person. You will have space to develop your intuition and listen to the sage wisdom that nature has to offer. There are natural rhythms to everything, including your business and your life.

Too often we get caught in the trap of constantly achieving so that we can finally arrive. This leads us to burnout, overwhelm, and disappointment. By embracing a nature-based view of the world, you can be less stressed and more aligned in both your business and your life.

And what about the magickal? Forestmind is a magickal place designed to break you out of the mold that society has placed upon you, releasing you to discover your true self and your natural essence. As introverts and highly sensitive persons, this can be exceptionally rewarding.

By incorporating magickal and metaphysical aspects into your business planning - such as meditation, intention setting, the moon phases, astrology, the enneagram, tarot - you can create an authentic life that is in alignment with your soul’s purpose and your highest good.

I created Forestmind…
-to have genuine conversations with you
-to support you in designing a business that truly works with your life
-to help you to trust your intuition
-to support you in rejecting the hustle culture and grind mentality
-to create a quiet space for you to discover your true essence
-to guide you in discovering the beautiful traits of introversion and high sensitivity, and help you to learn about and appreciate their unique gifts

In Forestmind you WILL NOT feel like a number. It is NOT my mission to “scale” to the point of seeing how many people I can fit into a group. It’s not a good feeling when you are paying for support and you are treated like you are a number. YOU matter to me, and YOU are enough just as you are.

In Forestmind you can actually receive one-on-one coaching! As an introvert and highly sensitive person I really value deep, one-on-one conversations. And this is what I look for when I’m seeking support with my life or my business - and it’s honestly becoming increasingly hard to find because the majority of those who provide support are following the current marketing advice to “scale” their businesses, and that means doing away with one-on-one coaching to maximize time and profits. I’m not saying that it’s not a good business idea. It’s a great one. And there are other ways that I scale in my business too, but it will never be at the expense of people and genuine connection.

Forestmind is for you…
-if you want to live authentically and share your true gifts and talents
-if you want to create a life and business that you don’t need an escape from
-if you want to create more ease in your everyday life

Forestmind is about BEING, not DOING.

Forestmind is about finding a way of not only existing, but thriving, in this life the way we were meant to without having to DO or BE anything that doesn’t fit with our true nature.

Forestmind is a place to unlearn the messages you were taught by a world that was not made for you.

Forestmind is about recognizing, appreciating, and reclaiming who YOU are.

There is power in quiet.
There is strength in ease.
There is vitality in tranquility.
There is success in slowness.
There is wisdom in nature.

You can have a beautiful power in your quietness.
Even when your world is filled with ease, you can be strong.
You can exude an energetic vitality amidst your tranquil nature.
You can be abundantly successful as a result of your slow but steady pace.
You can become wise to the natural rhythms of life.

The name Forestmind was carefully selected because of its deep meaning. Forestmind is based on nature. There’s a natural rhythm to everything. The more connected we are to nature, the more connected we are to ourselves and others.

Because society as a whole has become more disconnected from nature, people are now feeling more disconnected, isolated, and alone than ever before. It’s not for lack of actually being isolated and alone, as we are surrounded by people and the busyness of life at all times. Something else is missing that causes that isolated feeling. The thing that is missing is a connection with nature.

A real forest is so awesome (and I mean awesome in the truest sense of the word - the awe-inspiring way). A forest is wise, intuitive, and trusts that there is value in all seasons of life.

Forests are quiet, just like us. But it doesn’t mean they can’t be magnificent. It is silently there giving life, supporting life, and digging deep, deep roots.

You can be like the forest. You can be both quiet and powerful. As an introverted therapist and business owner, I get it. It’s okay to be someone who, quietly, with very deep roots, also raises your branches up to the canopy.

Trying to grow a forest too fast doesn’t allow for deep roots. Forestmind gives you the support and space that you need to create deep roots and cultivate rich, nourishing soil.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the slow food movement, right? It’s all about shifting the focus from fast food to creating the time and space to prepare locally-sourced foods. And the underlying base of the movement is all about honoring regional traditions, partaking in the pleasure of eating really good food, and appreciating the slower pace of life.

I’m sure you’ve probably noticed a plethora of support being offered to grow your private practice that is more fast food in nature. “Fill your practice in 30 days.” “Make $10K next month with this simple formula.”

We’re not gonna do any of that in Forestmind. I’m not promising you a full practice and $10K months. Not that you can’t have that - you totally can. But that’s not my tactic to get you to join.

If you’re anything like me - which I imagine you are if you’re tuning in - I always wondered why I felt “less than” or that something was wrong with me because I didn’t connect with these messages, or I couldn’t keep up, or I became extremely exhausted just thinking about them - which led me to believe that maybe I’m not cut out for entrepreneurship or being a business owner. I’m just not the hustle and grind type.

I’ve since discovered that I have many gifts and talents to bring to the space of entrepreneurship. And I believe the world needs more introverted and highly sensitive persons sharing their voices in this space.

There are not many places for people like us to get the support that we need as solo business owners. Many programs and groups are founded on the sole premise of growing exponentially, and tout messages about hustling, grinding, getting to $10K months next week!, outsourcing everything!, up leveling!, scaling!, expanding!, never stop growing! - I don’t know about you, but I want to stop growing my business at some point. I get tired, and I’m sure you do too.

I want a sustainable business with an enviable work/life balance, that doesn’t grow beyond me. I like to keep things simple. That’s why I’m creating the exact space that I needed with Forestmind. I needed to hear what is in Forestmind. I still need to hear what is in Forestmind. We teach what we need to learn.

Joining Forestmind is an experience and a journey. It’s not a solution, or an answer, or a final stop. It’s not something that you add to your to-do list or that you mark off of your practice building checklist.

Imagine Forestmind like the slow food movement, but for your practice - maybe like the Slow Practice Movement. It’s yummy, enriching, and sustainable.

I’ll help you to discover what brings you joy in both your life and your work. I’ll support you in creating a sustainable business that allows you to prioritize your quality of life. I will help you to fiercely guard against burnout.

Forestmind is for those looking to separate themselves from the hustle and create an authentic practice with a focus on ease and intention.

In Forestmind we focus on empowerment over dependency. In Forestmind I’ll support you as you unlearn your dependency on others as it relates to designing your business and your life.

I’m not going to make decisions for you or tell you what to do. I believe in you to make the best decisions in all areas of your life. You don’t give yourself enough credit. You’re incredibly bright, talented, and knowledgeable. You know what is best and you can reclaim your personal power and your agency to create a beautiful business that is tailored just for you - by you.

Forestmind is a guru-free space. Many experts out there may be knowingly, or unknowingly, fostering dependency - convincing you that they have the answers to all your business woes if you will just follow their simple formula.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. I even have a few trainings out there where I share some of the systems that have worked for me. But I hope that I have made myself clear that anything that I offer up is only an option - one of many. Throughout my podcast I offer up my thoughts, suggestions, and opinions that are based on my own personal experience of my private practice journey in hopes that you will find some nuggets that are helpful and can support you on your own journey.

There are many ways to build, maintain, and grow a practice. And I hope that you are taking advantage of the wonderful resources and trainings and groups that are offered by experts in the field. They are truly, immensely valuable.

But if you need a place to buffer out the noise and sort everything out as you are determining what is right for you and your practice, Forestmind is the quiet and supportive sanctuary that you’ve been looking for.

We’re going to share our knowledge with one another and grow together. Masterminds are extremely enlightening and powerful for the solo business owner - believe me, I know from personal experience. The name Forestmind came about, in part, from the expression “you can’t see the forest for the trees.”

Being in a solo practice can be isolating at times and you tend to focus on the day-to-day concerns of running your business. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to see outside of yourself and your practice. Within Forestmind you will be connected with an exceptionally supportive group of solo practice owners.

We are going to question things in Forestmind. We are going to take a close look at everything that doesn’t feel right for us. Everything that has made us feel as though we don’t measure up or that something is wrong with us.

What are the societal messages that we have received, and internalized, that have resulted in our detriment?

What are the messages that are steeped in capitalism and patriarchy that make us feel lazy or somehow not enough when we are burning out? How is that even possible - to be burnt out and exhausted and still feel as though we are not doing enough?

We are going to turn these tides together - one little group chat at a time.

Join me in creating a business and life that you don’t need an escape from. I want to extend a genuine, heartfelt invitation to you to join Forestmind. Creating a sacred space for this community has been on my mind for a while, and I’m beyond excited to see it come to fruition.

In following through with my introverted and highly sensitive nature, I’ll be doing a soft launch of this community. This means that I’ll be letting you know about it over time. I’ll provide you with information on my website. I’ll make a few posts about it on social media. I’ll tell my friends and colleagues about it. I’ll talk about it on my podcast. And I may send out an email or two to the Trailblazers.

However, I’m not going to market in a way that feeds off of the scarcity mindset. I want you to join me because you really want to, and because what I’m offering sounds genuinely interesting and supportive to you.

I may be a bit naive in trying to launch a membership community without using all the scarcity marketing tactics I’ve been advised to use, all of which use fear as a motivator.

There will not be any complicated email sequences bombarding your inbox.

There will not be any countdowns.

I’ll not be removing elements from the membership if you don’t act now.

If what I’m saying has you intrigued and feeling a sense of relief, then you’re probably a really good fit for the community that I’m creating.

In order to qualify for membership in Forestmind you’ll need to identify as an introvert or highly sensitive person (or both) and own a private pay therapy practice (or other closely-aligned solo business in the helping and healing field).

Please visit my website at mountainpracticejourneys.com/forestmind for current membership availability and investment information and to schedule a Forestmind Conversation to chat about whether this mastermind is right for you. I’d love to see you in the Forestmind.