NEW: The Audacity Toolkit ...Yours, FREE!

 

You don’t need permission to be who you are.
But sometimes, you need a reminder.
A nudge.
A tool in your pocket for the days when your voice feels small or the world feels too loud.

That’s why I created The Audacity Toolkit: 
5 Practices to Reclaim Who You Really Are.

It’s a simple, printable PDF — but don’t let that simplicity fool you. These five practices have carried me through some of the hardest transitions of my life. And I’m offering them to you, free, when you sign up for my email series: 

 

📬 Field Notes — Reflections for the Audacious

This isn’t just a newsletter.
Field Notes is where I share stories, soul-level reflections, and healing truths for anyone who’s done shrinking — and is ready to come home to themselves.

I write for the truth-tellers, the quiet rebels, the ones who are starting to choose peace over performance. 

 

🎁 What You’ll Get When You Sign Up:

• The Audacity Toolkit (PDF) — A grounding guide with 5 practices to help you reclaim your voice, your wholeness, and your next step forward.

• Field Notes in your inbox — Thoughtful, heart-forward reflections that remind you: you’re not alone in this work. 

   

⤵️ Ready to begin?

👉 Click here to sign up and get your free copy now.

Because reclaiming who you are doesn’t require fixing yourself.
It just requires coming home.

 

 

 

Rachel Dickson's TexBrevard Talk Now Available to View!

"I Was Told My Haircut Didn’t Meet ‘Christ-like’ Standards. This Is How I Found My True Self." Rachel Dickson

In her TEDx talk, Rachel Dickson shares her journey of self-discovery growing up in a conservative Christian environment. Constrained by rigid gender norms, she loved doing "boy things" like fishing and playing outside, but was often questioned about her gender. Her struggles continued into college, where a short haircut led to reprimands for not meeting "Christ-like" appearance standards, prompting a deep internal conflict between faith and authenticity.

Through her personal journey, Rachel found healing in unconditional love when she met her first girlfriend, helping her break free from the conditional love of her religious upbringing. She realized that true happiness comes from embracing one's authentic self, without needing external approval.

Rachel ends with a powerful message: "Dare to be YOU." She encourages others to reclaim their true selves, live authentically, and challenge societal expectations.

If this resonates with you please share with others who you feel it might impact as well.

 

#DareToBeYou

#AuthenticityMatters

#ReligiousTrauma

#BeyondTheRules

#EmpowermentThroughTruth

#ReclaimYourPower

#HealingThroughStory

#FaithAndFreedom

#ShameFreeLiving

#YouAreEnough

  

 

Join Me for Our First Ever Resonance Circle! Sunday, September 7th from 2p-4p in Brevard, NC

 

Step into Mirror of the Soul: A Full Corn Moon Experience—a two-hour gathering designed to awaken inner wisdom, attune your energy, and connect with kindred spirits under the Full Corn Moon.

Presented and hosted by Rachel Dickson, this immersive experience includes:

• Colored Mirror Bottle work with Jaci Dayley

• Crystal Bowl sound bath played by Elise Burrows

• A guided meditation to align your body, heart, and spirit led by Rachel Dickson

📍 Elk Haven Wellness Center, Brevard, NC (Community Room)
🕑 Sunday, Sept 7 | 2–4 pm
🎟️ Tickets: $25

Click here to reserve your spot! 

Seating is limited to 20 so please reserve quickly. 
We expect this event to sell out. 

(After reserving your spot you will receive a confirmation email with details like: what to expect, address to the venue in Brevard, contact info in case of questions and what to bring.)

 

Come with an open heart and leave aligned, inspired, and in harmony with your deeper guidance.

On the day of the Full Corn Moon (September 7th) from 2:00pm-4:00pm, we gather in sacred circle to honor the season of harvest...not just in the fields, but within ourselves. This luminous full moon invites us to reflect, release, and receive the guidance of our deeper knowing.

In this two-hour indoor guided experience, you will:
✨ Set your intention and place your energy into the circle through the Color Mirror Bottles, creating a living mandala of collective resonance.
✨ Be immersed in the healing vibrations of a crystal bowl sound bath attuned to solfeggio frequencies, opening your body and spirit to higher alignment.
✨ Journey inward through a guided meditation, creating space for insight, healing, and messages from your inner wisdom or guides.
✨ Witness the group pattern’s meaning as interpreted through the language of color, symbolism, and intuitive resonance.

This gathering is a mirror — for the soul, for the collective, and for the wisdom waiting to rise in you.

📍 Elk Haven Wellness Center, Brevard, NC (Community Room)
🕑 Sunday, Sept 7 | 2–4 pm
🎟️ Tickets: $25

Click here to reserve your spot!

(After reserving your spot you will receive a confirmation email with details like: what to expect, address to the venue in Brevard, contact info in case of questions and what to bring.)

Ever wondered what your energy has to say?

Join us under the Full Corn Moon for a guided meditation, color mirror bottle exploration, and crystal bowl sound bath. Leave inspired, aligned, and connected.

Two hours. One $25 ticket. Infinite possibilities.

 

Step into the Resonance Circle under the Full Corn Moon.
A two-hour experience of sound, meditation, and intention, aligned with the moon’s peak energy. Pick your color mirror bottle, tune into crystal bowls, and discover the messages waiting for your soul. Connect, align, and feel the energy of a like-minded community.

📍 Elk Haven Wellness Center, Brevard, NC (Community Room)
🕑 Sunday, Sept 7 | 2–4 pm
🎟️ Tickets: $25 

 

Photo Credit: Image by Susana Cipriano from Pixabay

 

05/11/25: What’s holding you back?

..to doing that thing you feel compelled to do?  Yes, yes I know this photo is a pretty impressive example of facing your fears or expanding upon your comfort zone or simply just doing activities that bring you joy!

This was exactly where I stood yesterday morning...at the bottom of this majestic waterfall called Big Bradley near Saluda, NC.  I had just rappelled down this remarkable precipice moments before I snapped the photo of this Green River Adventure Guest who opted to experience the Big Bradley Waterfall Rappel Trek on this morning. (Worthy of note is that I’m a co-guide...which means...it takes a bit of a village of highly trained folk to run trips such as these. The trip leader guide is at the top...doing what I deem the more intensely complicated thing of managing emotions, encouraging and coaching and then also controlling a secondary safety belay as each of us descend this one hundred and fifty foot natural wonder!

After seeing this photo yesterday it struck me.  Big Bradley waterfall is representative of so many different challenges or levels of “doing the thing” in our lives.  She’s like a monument to things that maybe we choose to face or maybe choose not to face.  For example, have you been wanting to have your hair cut a certain way?  Do it!  Have you been wanting to learn to play an instrument? Do it!  Have you been compelled to find ways to meet new people?  Do it!  Have you been wanting to challenge yourself with an epic outdoor adventure? Do it!

I think that Big Bradley represents the most significant parts of ourselves. She’s breathtakingly epic!  Hard to miss that. Yet...she’s just being her best self.  Which calls to me to be my best self.  Don’t shrink in order not to overshadow others. Don’t make yourself small.  Instead...be YOU! Be all of you in every way possible. And in you choosing to be your biggest, most powerful version of yourself...encourages me to choose to be my biggest, most powerful version of myself.  And the end result is...now...humaning has becoming about simply shining your light.  Just by living from your truest self.  Standing tall in your very essence!  Not in any kind of egotistical or competitive way...but my simply living your truest self...from your heart.

Choose to do the thing you’re compelled to do. Listen to your inner voice!

Go, be, YOU!



Photo Credit: Me for Green River Adventures, Saluda, NC 

05/04/25 Wow. I’m blown away!

 

It’s official...TedxBrevard 2025 is a wrap!

May 3rd, 2025 was an extraordinary day at the Porter Center on the Brevard College campus.  From the live music performances, vendor tents and food trucks on the lawn outside starting at noon to the live speaker event from the Tedx stage which began at 3p it was a chocked full of all the good stuff!

The sense in the air was one of community and connection and creativeness right here in the mountains of Western North Carolina!

There was a buzz...almost an organic heartbeat that linked one audience member to the other and then up and around the stage and out through the musicians that performed and also through each of the speakers.  It was electrifying!!

So now...as the celebration continues...the waiting starts for the publishing of each TedxBrevard talk.  It will take approximately 3-4 weeks for talks to be edited and then put through the review process before being published.

Not to worry...I’ll let you know as SOON as it becomes available when and where you can watch and listen and spread the word about this incredible moment on the TedxBrevard stage!

In the meantime….DARE to be YOU!

Join the movement and grab your very own "dare to be you" t-shirt! Simply click below.
Click here to visit the merch store.

 

 

 

 

Tedx is coming to Brevard, NC May 3rd, 2025!

 

Get ready...because here comes a BIG DEAL!

Imagine a day filled with brilliant speakers, thought-provoking conversations and new connections. By attending this years FIRST ever TEDxBrevard event, you'll experience a unique gathering in this Western North Carolina Mountain community that will unleash new ideas with the potential to inspire and inform.

So now that you are more informed as to what Tedx is...why attend this one?

First of all, this Tedx event was originally scheduled for September 28th of 2024...but just so happened that Hurricane Helene blew through Western North Carolina and for obvious reasons it was postponed.

Secondly...I'm honored to say, I was selected to be one of the speakers at this years TedxBrevard event being held at the Porter Center on the Brevard College campus now on May 3rd!

To purchase tickets for the event simply visit TedxBrevard.com

This is going to be one EPIC experience you'll not want to miss. 

What is a Tedx event?

A TEDx event is a local gathering where live TED-like talks and performances are shared with the community. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis.

And this one just happens to be in none other than, Brevard, North Carolina!

TEDx events are locally organized by passionate volunteers who obtain a license from TED to create an event tailored to their community. These events uphold the same spirit and format of TED, with the goal of sparking connection and conversation within the community. Organizers follow TED's rules and guidelines but have the freedom to shape the event's content and design.

TEDx events are fully independent in their planning and production, which means that TEDx organizers do not receive assistance from TED in areas like speaker selection or ticket sales. Instead, they leverage the TEDx platform to inspire local engagement and ideas worth spreading.

Mark your calendars for this epic event, May 3, 2025!

If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor or to become a Volunteer you can visit tedxbrevard.com for more information.

 

2025 TedxBrevard Speaker Team includes:

Sae Mickelson
Ischa Vingle
Christy Vidrine Bauman
Rachel Dickson
Cody Hale
Brett Loftis
Samantha Coffin
Michael Collins
Parker Hays
Jennifer Peyton

Here we GO! Onward and Upward!!


Tedx is coming to Brevard, NC May 3rd, 2025!

04/16/25 0900: Gratitude!

There’s something about April that’s always brought a joyful shift into my orbit.  Could be somewhat due to the fact that this is a birthday month for me...but I also know full well that it’s because of the arrival of Spring.

The air is warmer, the daylight is longer, the songbirds are back and singing and doing their things, the foliage is turning green again, the ephemerals have poked through the forest floor and there’s just so much newness and this shift is evident all around in nature.

The hurricane and wildfire crises are behind us, and here in Saluda, NC things are really coming to life as preparations are being made all around for the tourist season to kick-off.

Green River Adventures is making progress as we reconfigure ourselves to continue bringing epic outdoor adventure trips to outdoor lovers of all ages (waterfall rappel treks, swimming hole hikes and also inflatable kayak and tube rentals on the Lower Green River). I’m excited to be on staff again this season with GRA and to be a part of the post-Helene re-configuring process.

It feels good to be able to breathe again...to ease into mornings with a hot cup of coffee looking out over the mountains of Western North Carolina.  Opportunity and possibility are just beneath the soil of life here...waiting to pop out and reach for the sun.  The re-configuration of so many things...turns out...it feels good in many ways...to reset into the newness.

So much Gratitude!



Photo Credit: Green River Adventures –Waterfall Trek