12/03/2026
I’m going to say something that might ruffle a few feathers in the “spiritual” world… because every time I open Facebook lately I’m bombarded with offerings.
Retreats. Workshops. Women’s circles. Sacred this. Sacred that…. so much of it looks exactly the same.
Five years ago I started my women’s circle because I wanted something authentic. I had been to circles before and, if I’m honest, they just didn’t feel like me. The “love and light”, the forced sisterhood, the floaty goddess energy… it all felt a bit contrived. Like you had to become a certain type of woman to belong there.
Five years on, after holding space for hundreds of women in circles, forests, beaches and around fires, I know how important it is to do this work properly and that’s definitely not my world.
So I created a space for normal women like me. Women who want to talk about real things. Women who might explore their spirituality but don’t want gimmicks or spiritual jargon.
We gathered in nature, around fires on the beach under the moon. In the forest as the sun rises. Working with the elements, the seasons and the Celtic festivals. No white floaty costumes required!
Sometimes we laugh. Sometimes things go deep. Sometimes women cry because a piece of poetry they wrote suddenly touches something inside them they didn’t expect. It’s real.
So this is the thing that’s been bothering me lately…
Holding space for people isn’t something you can learn in a five-minute online certificate and then start running workshops the following week.
When women feel safe enough to open up, things surface. Emotions, grief, trauma, life stories. That requires experience. Training. Emotional maturity. The ability to hold what comes up.
I hear so many women say they went to something and left feeling uncomfortable, awkward, or like the facilitator didn’t really know how to hold the room. That really worries me.
Because many women who come to these spaces are already exhausted. Stressed. Wired but tired. Their nervous systems are already dysregulated from juggling life, family, work and everything else.
The last thing they need is to sit in a room where they feel awkward, pressured to act a certain way spiritually, or uncomfortable with practices that don’t feel right.
That’s not healing. That just adds another layer of stress….
Spirituality isn’t a trend. It’s not something to package up with soft voices and hands-on-hearts while repeating new age buzzwords. Real spaces don’t ask you to become someone you’re not.
If you go somewhere and it makes you cringe… If you feel like you have to pretend to fit in… If you’re asked to take part in things that make you want the ground to open up and swallow you…
Trust that feeling. You’re not the problem. The space just isn’t authentic for you.
The work I do has always been about creating something real. A place where women can show up exactly as they are, without pretending to be more spiritual, more healed, or more “goddess-like” than they actually feel.
My circles were created for women who want depth, honesty and real connection. Not a carefully curated, cutesy version of spirituality.
If you’ve ever left a “spiritual” space feeling like that … you’re not alone. I hear it from women all the time.
In fact, many women message me privately to say they’ve had experiences like this but felt too awkward to speak up at the time. If that’s been you, you’re definitely not the only one.
And if you’re looking for something real instead… you’ll know where to find me…
Laura xx 🤍🌿✨
