Alderroot Healing & Renewal
Now Booking: What is mine to do? A 3 week virtual class
Mentoring
I support you in navigating career and life transition
with ease, purpose, and groundedness
Design your way into work-life that feels more meaningful and aligned
You may sense that career change is on the horizon or that your work just doesn't fit you like it once did. You may feel stuck in routines that feel familiar but uninspiring. You may be overwhelmed, or just unsure about how to make a meaningful shift in your career. You want to make change that is aligned and enlivened, full of spirit and earth-wisdom.
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I can help you get clear about how to move forward, and how to listen to your heart's knowing. I'll support you as you learn to envision and enact a work-life that you really love, a life that supports and enlivens you, work that feels grounded in the earth, and in your gifts and wholeness.
You need this and the world needs this. As fractal change-makers how we live and lead is how we influence the culture, and how we affect change. When we can live and lead from our sense of calm, courage, and creativity as interconnected earth beings, we bring this energy into the world.
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I can support you in discerning your most purposeful work, deepening your sense of alignment between the work you do and who you are now--and what you care about most. I'll teach you how to design the meaningful change you need.
I’ll support you in learning to cultivate new mindsets, practices, and ways of being that support wholeness and wisdom in your leadership and change-making work. You will feel seen, supported, and nourished in this process.
Together we'll move you forward on a path that feels right to you, as the next phase of your life takes shape. I'll guide you in creating earth-based and Self-led patterns and practices that engage and support both your inner life and your life-path and next steps.
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I support leaders and change-makers when:
1) You are navigating transition in your work or career. You feel the need for a shift in the way you've been working. You know change is needed and you're wondering, what's next for me? You feel overwhelmed by uncertainty and you need guidance in reconnecting to your heart's knowing. You want your life to align with your values and purpose, with your unique gifts. And you want support to discern what the right next steps are, and to re-imagine and design new possibilities for your life. I can help you envision and enact a way forward. I can support you in designing a work-life that brings your unique medicine to the world.
2) You feel drained, disheartened, and dulled from working within dominant institutions and structures. You feel pulled to heal, rest, and discover new inspiration and possibility in your life and work. You're ready for a change and your body and spirit are clear about that.
I can support your journey in moving through burnout and re-discovering a path that feeds your wholeness and joy​
I'm Dr. Heather Burns, an intuitive mentor and expert facilitator. I hold space for you as you explore new work-life possibilities through emergent life-design. I guide you in connecting to your deepest knowing, and to the wisdom of the living earth so you can move through transition with more ease and groundedness.
![Heather Burns[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/89079f_31a4a4e7e0524fb1aedca609229ea8fb~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_401,h_600,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Heather%20Burns%5B1%5D.jpg)
"This mentoring work helped to clarify my core needs and enliven my key values; I'm now designing my path forward with a greater sense of cohesion. Heather is a gifted facilitator and intuitive mentor—I throughly enjoyed engaging in this process with her."
Shevawn A.
I've been through two major career shifts in my life and I understand what it feels like to be on the precipice of change, or in the middle of transition. I understand how disorienting it can be to know you need a change, but to not know exactly what. I know how it feels to not know how to move toward work that feels more aligned and purposeful.
Early in my own career, I knew I was in the wrong work-space, even though I was moderately happy and good at my job. My heart yearned for something different and more, and to use my gifts in new ways. I eventually figured out how to move into new work that felt meaningful and aligned, but it took a lot of time and agonizing.
Later in my career, I experienced burnout and spent deliberate time unpacking and healing from the patterns that got me there. I moved through a space of uncertainty and transition and again moved into new work that felt more aligned with who I had become.
I'd love to save you some of the angst that I experienced in my own career transitions. I'd love for my experience to support you as you navigate your own transition.
In my long career in higher education I've guided many people in their journeys toward new career paths. As a professor I created a course focused on life-design rooted in the ideas from the Stanford Life Design Lab and the books, Designing your Life and Designing your Work Life.
I also created and worked with an Emergent Ecological Design process, rooted in the science of permaculture and deep ecology, that supports transformative life design.
My experience and tools can support you to move through career change with more ease and groundedness. I'll walk with you through the uncertainty and help you design your way into work that is more purposeful, more aligned with who you are and the medicine you are here to offer.
My approach to Mentoring
My approach to mentoring is relational, welcoming, gentle, curious, and compassionate. I lean into my intuition to understand you energetically and holistically. I listen closely and ask questions. I hold space for your emotions and create a container for you to process, observe, imagine, and explore who are you and what ways of being might best serve you now.
I will guide you into deeper understanding of your heart's wisdom, and into a more aligned and seasonal relationship with the living earth. I will support you in leaning into the joy and spaciousness that arrives when we are living in more connected and authentic ways. I use an Emergent Ecological Design framework that can lead you naturally into practices and patterns of healing and renewal. Together we will deeply Observe your life and ask lots of questions, Envision possibilities about the kind of life you want, start to Shape change by uncovering new ideas and practices, and begin to Pattern new ways of being and belonging to move forward in your journey. You'll Enact change and will try new things.
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I help you design career change so that your work is more aligned and purposeful.
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When you work with me you will:
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Learn how to observe your values, strengths, desires, and needs as the foundation for discerning what's next
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Get clear about what you want and how your life-work can feel more meaningful and aligned
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Learn how to harness imagination and vision to move toward new possibilities
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Create a vision for your life and work that feels right for who you are now, the impact you want to make, and the dreams that you have
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Learn how to deepen your qualities of Self-leadership (courage, calm, clarity, confidence, compassion, connection, creativity, curiosity) to support transition
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Learn to access the earth's wisdom and willing partnership as a tool for discerning and moving forward into what’s next
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Learn how to create daily and seasonal patterns of alignment to support a work-life that brings you meaning and joy
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Learn how to do less and take aligned action with discernment and Self-leadership
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Create a plan for transition and try out new directions. Be able to discern if these fit or need adjustments
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"This was a wonderful process. I am grateful for Heather's generosity in sharing knowledge, time, and wisdom. This experience has not only shaped and informed my professional path but also contributed significantly to my personal growth. This is a continued process of self-compassion and exploring possibilities. I am grateful to have the tools to continue on this journey."
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Nabin D.
Mentoring may be a good fit for you if:
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You sense dissatisfaction--you need a change in your work or career and aren't quite sure what to do next
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You feel consistently overwhelmed and underinspired, you know you need a change and want more for your work-life but aren't sure how to get there
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You feel under-resourced or undervalued in your work and you are longing for more meaningful work that fills you up
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You want to design a work-life that feels purposeful, meaningful and joyful
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You want to align your work with your core values and gifts
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You are ready to grow as a leader and change-maker personally and spiritually
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You feel burned out or depleted and need support finding your way beyond burnout
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You are finishing a degree or other milestone and need support as you navigate what's next for your life
"Heather is a wonderful mentor with a calm and soothing presence. She asks lots of thoughtful questions and has been incredibly supportive and patient through the twists and turns while she journeyed with me! I also really appreciated her thorough follow-up notes and suggested resources. I had a lovely experience working with her and would recommend her to others!"
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Nichole C.
Packages:​
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Mentoring sessions take place virtually at a time we both agree on and are 1 hour in length. Sessions are typically scheduled every other week so that we might have spacious time for designing and implementing change over time.
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What's next for me? Discern and design starter package (scroll down to learn more)
I'll guide you through an emergent ecological design process with and intuitive support and care as you learn to discern and design what's next for you in your life or career. Learn to design a purposeful work-life that highlights your unique medicine and brings you into full alignment as you step into new possibilities. Move through career transition into full alignment and clarity. (approximately 16-24 weeks)
8 sessions: $1240 (or 310/month)
12 sessions: $1860 or $310/month
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Includes:
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8 virtual 1-1 sessions with Heather (60 mins each-- usually every other week)
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Reflection prompts and invitations
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Notes with key elements of our sessions
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Emergent Ecological Design Workbook
Enliven: An Eco-Spiritual Wisdom package (scroll down to learn more)
I'll guide you in deepening your ability to lead and live from a place of wisdom and earth-connection. Move from uncertainty and anxiety into more wisdom and groundedness. Move from disconnection and dissatisfaction into connection and presence by taking steps to re-connect to your ecological and spiritual Self. Learn to tend your inner life and your work with more compassionate presence and discernment, to be able to lead with more wholeness and wisdom. This is a robust and beautiful container to support your intentions for transformative eco-spiritual growth over time.
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10 sessions over 5-6 months (approx 2 sessions per month), $1,550 or 310/month
20 sessions over 12 months (approx 2 sessions per month with flexibility for vacations and life happenings), $3100 or 260/month.
Includes:
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10 or 20 virtual 1-1 sessions with Heather (60 mins each-- usually every other week)
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Reflection prompts and invitations
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Notes with key elements of our sessions
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Resources and readings for further exploration
Payment options:
I can bill you each month, you can pay in full, or you can choose your own payment plan on PayPal.
What's next for me? Discern and Design starter package
A guided mentoring process to discern and design your aligned next steps as you navigate change and transition
Do you have a sense that you need change in your work, or that something new is lurking just out of reach? Maybe you’re feeling like your job or work no longer fits you the way it once did, or maybe you’re needing a new challenge or inspiration. Maybe you feel suck, or are experiencing symptoms of burnout. Maybe you’re at a transition point already and big life changes have found you.
Figuring out what comes next can be overwhelming in our busy lives. And all the uncertainty that comes with change can be scary.
Sometimes we need some guidance to help us find clarity, someone to walk beside us, to ask questions and to provide some reflection and wisdom, to offer a clear design process for finding our way.
I can be that person for you.
Collectively, we are facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty in our world, with real and potentially devastating results. It’s no wonder that so many of us feel uncomfortable, uncertain, and anxious as we consider what’s next?
As the ground you have known falls away, you might spin and scroll—-wondering, what’s next for me? Could it be in this job listing? In that program? Should I do that training, or this one? How can I find my right path, my right alignment in this world?
In these times of great dis-ease, you want your life to be meaningful and aligned. And you want to make the “right” choice—the one that provides what feels like security, and purpose.
You can move toward what’s next for you with clarity, courage, and intention. You can make room for your fear and uncertainty but not let them overwhelm you. You can listen to your heart's knowing and learn to meet uncertainty with more curiosity, kindness, lightness, and possibility. You can cultivate the ability to look honestly and deeply at your life as it is, to envision what it could become, and to begin to shape something new, something that feels more purposeful and right for you now.
As interconnected earth beings, we carry the earth’s knowing in us. The earth offers willing partnership and deep wisdom. You can learn to access this knowing as a tool for discerning what’s next for you. You can learn to tune into and follow your heart's longing.
If you are at a crossroads, feel stuck in your head, and know you want to figure out what’s next I can guide you. I’d be honored to mentor you through this process—to learn how to discern and design your next steps.
What’s Next For Me? Discern & Design Starter Package: $1240 (or $310/month)
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Enliven: Eco-Spiritual Mentoring
A guided mentoring process to develop wisdom through earth connection and spiritual practice
Deepen your ability to show up and lead from a place of wisdom, Self energy*, and earth-connection. Move from anxiety and uncertainty, to wisdom and groundedness. Move from disconnection and dissatisfaction to deep connection and presence by re-connecting to the living earth and your spiritual Self.
This is the time to really get rooted—to be able to take care of yourself and your people with more compassionate presence and wisdom, to lead with wholeness and emergence, to live each day from a more grounded and (inter)connected sense of self, to hold space for transformative possibility, for yourself and others.
This is the time to develop a more steady and rooted approach to your leadership and life, to really focus on learning how to approach uncertainty and and life’s many challenges from a place of centered wisdom.
We are all ecological and spiritual beings. No matter where you are on this journey, you can deepen into who you are as a soulful interconnected human, here at this particular moment to affect change, to be a culture shifter, to be a loving and compassionate presence for those around you, to be a re-connector to earth-life.
In this mentoring process:
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I’ll hold space and offer guidance for your specific leadership goals and needs as you deepen into your own eco-spiritual wisdom
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We’ll connect to the energy of the season to guide your leadership. When we align with the natural energy of the season and the land in the place where we live, our lives and leadership flow more smoothly, and we find less resistance. You’ll learn practices for connecting to the seasons and the senses, and for bringing seasonal and sensual connection into your leadership work in meaningful ways
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We’ll tap into various aspects of Self-energy through guided visualizations, somatic practices. and reflection. You’ll learn how to access more Calm, Courage, Creativity, Compassion, Clarity, Connection, Confidence, and Curiosity. When you learn how to lead and live from more Self-energy, you expand your access to wisdom and groundedness
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I’ll guide you in observing your strengths and gifts as well as your places for growth
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I’ll guide you in creating a vision for leadership that aligns with your heart’s desires, with your authentic self.
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I’ll guide you in shaping your ability to trust yourself, to trust your intuition, and to trust Life—to be able to meet uncertainty and unknowns with more steadiness and rootedness
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I’ll provide structure and gentle accountability for your eco-spiritual wisdom journey, including written notes and resources
This is for you if:
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You want to deepen your understanding of who you are, ecologically and spiritually, and your specific purpose
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You want wise guidance and accountability for your personal growth
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You are ready to explore and expand your practices of earth connection and self-understanding, engaging in practice between sessions
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You see personal growth and development as an ongoing process
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You understand that personal growth affects how you show up professionally
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You are willing to engage in an emergent process that supports your holistic growth, spiritually, emotionally, and professionally
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Enliven Eco-Spiritual Wisdom Package: 10 sessions over 5-6 months (approx 2 sessions per month), $1,550 or 310/month
20 sessions over 12 months (approx 2 sessions per month with flexibility for vacations and life happenings), $3100 or 260/month.
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*Self-energy is a term from Internal Family Systems Therapy which refers to the most wise and connected essential part of ourselves. Self energy is our true loving nature, our interconnected life energy, which is often obscured by other parts of us (like the anxious, fearful, distracted, busy, organized, disconnected parts). When we are in Self energy, we tap into qualities including Calm, Courage, Creativity, Compassion, Clarity, Connection, Confidence, and Curiosity.
