A Glimpse Into Our Lives
This page is not intended to tell you how to live, what you should or shouldn’t be doing, to shame anyone for any lifestyle choices, or to set rules or expectations for others. Believe me—we’ve run the entire gamut, from waking up daily to candy and weed, to daily meditation and organic cooking. Because of that, we hold space for everyone, no matter where they are on their path.
Our road has been long and winding to arrive where we are, and we’re sure the twists and turns ahead will continue indefinitely—and we’re okay with that. Our lifestyle didn’t emerge overnight; it evolved slowly through curiosity, awareness, frustration, health challenges, education, and deep self-inquiry. It grew out of a sincere desire to learn, to grow, and to step outside the modern world’s conditioning script—where everything is rushed, packaged, optimized, and sold back to us.
Like many people before us, we reached moments where life simply didn’t feel right anymore—physically, emotionally, spiritually. We began asking better questions and realized it was time to think for ourselves, to live with greater awareness and a more responsive relationship to how life unfolds. Most importantly, and best of all, we allow ourselves the grace to make mistakes, to refine, and to keep learning from experience.
This is our journey and our path. While it’s uniquely ours, we believe what we’ve learned along the way can genuinely support others, and we’re grateful to share it with you. Below is a simple outline of how we live and work, and how we may be of service if you feel called to explore further.
So, What Does Food Look Like in Our Daily Life?
Whenever possible, we choose organic foods and produce from local farmers and ranchers. Every Saturday—or as needed—in Hot Springs or Little Rock, all year long (with fewer selections in winter, of course), you’ll find an extensive array of meats and produce from across the state. It’s deeply satisfying to talk directly with ranchers about their livestock, processing, and farming practices. Most local ranchers raise their animals on pasture, without antibiotics or chemical pesticides. While many of these farms aren’t officially certified as organic, grass-fed, grass-finished, or pasture-raised due to the expense of certification, their transparency and deep commitment to providing healthy, clean, naturally raised foods matters far more to us than any stamp of approval. Vendors at these markets have even become friends, and we look forward to visiting them each week. In the future, we hope to visit their farms and ranches and be able to share some educational videos showing how they operate.
We avoid nearly all processed foods. You’ll find very little boxed or packaged food in our home. When we do buy something packaged—for practical reasons or convenience—the ingredient list is almost always very short: usually just one or two ingredients, nothing artificial, nothing unrecognizable. For example, the raw coconut we use to make coconut milk simply reads: Organic shredded coconut. Reading labels has become second nature for us; we rarely purchase or consume anything without checking first. Once you start paying attention, it’s hard not to notice how much unnecessary sugar, seed oils, preservatives, fillers, and unpronounceable chemicals have become normal in packaged foods.
If we could offer just one piece of advice about food, it would be this: always read the labels.
We’re also very mindful when it comes to enjoying fruit. We eat it whole, usually paired with protein, and we don’t drink fruit juice, even organic. When fruit is consumed as nature intended—whole, with fiber—the body processes it very differently than when it’s ingested as concentrated sugar. Through experience, we’ve seen how excess sugar can contribute to metabolic issues, inflammation, autoimmune conditions, and more. In general, we find that food is best enjoyed as close as possible to how it exists and evolved naturally. This simple approach is almost always the healthiest choice for anything you put in your body.
Water is another quiet but important part of our lives. We drink exclusively from our local thermal hot springs. Many public hot springs exist around the city, and every week or two we bring our glass containers (never plastic) to fill up. It takes time, but we find it grounding and well worth the effort—to drink water as close to its natural source as possible. Occasionally, we do pick up a case or two of bottled water in glass, just to have on hand if we can’t get out for some reason.
We keep snacks simple and occasional, although Ian is known to snack a bit here and there. Nuts, avocados, or homemade options are our usual favorites. Every couple of weeks, or on special occasions, we might make almond flour cookies, homemade chocolate, or frozen banana non-dairy ice cream. We aim to keep snacking intentional, not an automatic go-to, but when we do partake, we do so without guilt or excess.
We’ve also become very mindful of packaging itself. We avoid plastic whenever reasonably possible, choosing glass or even paper bags for all our purchased items. Olive oil, for example, is always in glass, and water is never consumed from plastic. Occasionally, life happens—a storm, travel, or limited availability—and we have to make a temporary compromise. Those moments are rare exceptions, and we don’t punish ourselves for them; we simply move on. They’re also opportunities to learn, reflect, and think about how we might do better next time if possible.
How We Bring Meals to Life
We cook nearly everything at home using cast iron or stainless steel, never with non-stick coated cookware. If we’re traveling or out for the day, we’ll often pack lunch to bring with us. It’s pretty amusing to watch an airport agent open our thermos, expecting to find more than the allowed ounces of liquid, only to be greeted by the aroma of Joy’s deconstructed egg roll.
Approaching meals this way saves money when we’re out and about, and it’s far healthier for us as well. In all fairness though—and only occasionally—we can’t resist and find ourselves at our local sushi restaurant. We can’t be perfect, after all.
Joy loves experimenting in the kitchen, and many of those experiments have turned into favorite meals—nourishing, satisfying, and often impressive enough that guests joke about moving in. Her artichoke-stuffed pork chops are an absolute favorite.
Most weeks, we batch cook one or two days, which gives us more time during the workweek and keeps meals simple—set up, reheat, and serve. Ian plays his part as the reheat master and is usually on clean-up and dish duty. It’s a fair arrangement that works well for us, keeping nourishing food available even when days get busy. Peeling garlic, of course, has become a shared ritual.
We don’t see these strategies as much of a compromise. Once our taste buds adjusted to cooking naturally and away from processed alternatives, going back simply wasn’t an option. We don’t see this as a diet—it’s just our lifestyle, our new normal.
We won’t go into too much detail here, as supplements are highly individualized, but following certain criteria and Joy’s guidance, we both take a small array to support our health. This is something Joy can discuss with clients on a one-on-one basis.
Finding Awareness in Daily Life
We felt the call to inner shadow work long before we made most of the changes we now employ in our lives. Some of this even predates our first meeting — back then, we were both in separate marriages, just beginning to wake up and taking the first steps into our new lives.
Shadow work is about facing your internal dialogue, noticing your triggers, and understanding what makes you tick and react. In the early days, we talked at length about our pasts, our struggles, and the ways we had felt like victims. But that only went so far — uncovering real truth required additional steps. For us, meditation became the key. It allowed us to slow down enough to notice what wasn’t working, what wanted to evolve, and what was ready to change. It didn’t remove our emotions or humanity — it gave us space to observe them, understand them, and respond consciously. The difference between reacting and responding transformed how we relate to stress, frustration, and even each other.
We meditate most days, without judgment if a day is missed. Over time, the practice has deepened our awareness, softened reactivity, and strengthened our connection to ourselves and something greater. Everything else we live grew out of that foundation.
This is one area we would strongly recommend for anyone interested in evolving into themselves. If you find yourself frustrated, confused, living in fear, stuck in victimhood, or quietly struggling to understand what your emotions and moods are trying to tell you, we invite you to find your own unique practice.
Just to mention — and closely connected to this work — Ian’s psychic awareness opened up through meditation. Living constantly in our heads creates a nonstop internal dialogue, a chatter of negative thoughts that blurs reality and what life is truly about. Once this clears, you can naturally begin to sense energy and presence that was there all along. Looking back, it’s hard to relate to the people we were. Yes, we still experience frustration or strong emotions, but now they act as signposts, guiding us day to day instead of controlling us.
Steps Toward Balance
We felt the call to inner shadow work long before we made most of the changes we now employ in our lives. Some of this even predates our first meeting — back then, we were both in separate marriages, just beginning to wake up and taking the first steps into our new lives.
Shadow work is about facing your internal dialogue, noticing your triggers, and understanding what makes you tick and react. In the early days, we talked at length about our pasts, our struggles, and the ways we had felt like victims. But that only went so far — uncovering real truth required additional steps. For us, meditation became the key. It allowed us to slow down enough to notice what wasn’t working, what wanted to evolve, and what was ready to change. It didn’t remove our emotions or humanity — it gave us space to observe them, understand them, and respond consciously. The difference between reacting and responding transformed how we relate to stress, frustration, and even each other.
We meditate most days, without judgment if a day is missed. Over time, the practice has deepened our awareness, softened reactivity, and strengthened our connection to ourselves and something greater. Everything else we live grew out of that foundation.
This is one area we would strongly recommend for anyone interested in evolving into themselves. If you find yourself frustrated, confused, living in fear, stuck in victimhood, or quietly struggling to understand what your emotions and moods are trying to tell you, we invite you to find your own unique practice.
Just to mention — and closely connected to this work — Ian’s psychic awareness opened up through meditation. Living constantly in our heads creates a nonstop internal dialogue, a chatter of negative thoughts that blurs reality and what life is truly about. Once this clears, you can naturally begin to sense energy and presence that was there all along. Looking back, it’s hard to relate to the people we were. Yes, we still experience frustration or strong emotions, but now they act as signposts, guiding us day to day instead of controlling us.
A Few Final Thoughts
We feel deep empathy for where people are today — their struggles, their hopes, their dreams. We see the overwhelm in the world clearly: the confusion, the mixed messages, the constant pressure to consume, optimize, and keep up. We look at all of this with understanding, not judgment.
That hasn’t always come easily. Like most people, we’ve had to work with our own tendencies to judge. With presence and awareness, when we notice ourselves slipping into judgment, we pause and choose instead to hold space. It’s a continual process of learning and readjusting — not striving for perfection, and never claiming to have it all figured out.
All in all, life for us now is quieter, more focused, and more intentional than it ever was. We continue to deepen our clarity, further our education, and explore ways to collaborate in offering a unique blend of supportive, healing modalities to those who find us and feel ready to explore a new way of living. Growth happens when someone is ready — and readiness can’t be forced. If you’ve found your way here, we’re inclined to trust that something in you is already listening, already seeking a new truth and a new normal.
The world is shifting, and awareness is accelerating all around us. More people are asking deeper questions. More are sensing that the old ways no longer fit. We want to be part of that shift — not as authorities, but as companions willing to share what we’ve learned, what has helped us, and what continues to evolve.
Our offerings are still emerging day by day, through consultations, educational content, videos, and future programs and retreats. We invite you to check back with us occasionally or as you feel moved to.
If any of this resonates with you, we’d truly love to hear from you. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us.
Ian & Joy
❤️