Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisha Manson.
Hi Alisha, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I retired from the Air Force in 2019. Suffering from complex post-traumatic stress (C-PTSD), I didn’t know what I needed, but I knew drastic changes were required. I was using alcohol to cope, and my mind and body were reaching the crux of being able to compensate. I started searching for peace, and we moved to Pipe Creek, a rural area outside of San Antonio, Texas. When I went into our small forest for the first time, something shifted within me. I found a few mentors online: Phil Good, The Holistic Psychologist, Led By Source, and Amara Jenelle. Deep diving into my psyche, I unveiled that most of my C-PTSD came from my childhood, and I was simply reliving that in cycles throughout the decades of military service and in my personal life.
I eventually broke the alcohol addiction and started hormone replacement therapy for peri-menopause. I finally started to really get in touch with my actual needs. Breaking down REAL limitations-almost all of them mental. I found out that I have autism as well. But that is actually a strength I had been suppressing. I leaned in instead of pushing back or running (from myself), and remembered what I wanted as a child.
Now, I spend my days working with my herd of 4 horses, being creatively led in finding simple ways to take care of myself, relaxing by our pond with our flock of ducks, and spending as much time in nature as feasibly possible. Out of that, my “brand,” Cultivating the Green Heart, has emerged, in which the simplest motto has formed-coming home to myself. My YouTube Channel and TikTok capture my lived experiences, while my Facebook and Instagram focus on my day-to-day and whatever I feel is necessary to share.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Starting out with an emotionally unsupported childhood was the beginning of self-abandonment and self-sabotage that plagued me for the first three decades of my life. Being a single parent unexpectedly, navigating military obstacles, and developing unhealthy coping mechanisms such as being a workaholic alcoholic only compounded the challenges. When I lost my father suddenly in 2017, it started a cataclysmic change that ultimately led me to where I am today.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In short, I am multifaceted; I embrace myself more fully and offer myself up as a resource. I create hypertufa vessels, feather art, and jewelry; offer wholesale herbs; and make body care products, including body scrubs, soaks, oils, and hair rinses. I also am an intuitive-I offer oracle card revelations, and utilize energy healing modalities such as singing bowls.
As stated before, I share a living journal of my life experiences on my social media under the name Cultivating the Green Heart. I don’t consider myself a specialist, but I share what I learn about myself and my animals to plant mental seeds for others’ growth and to encourage them. I have been an aromatherapist for 11 years and make products that align with that knowledge and are as close to nature as possible. All my self-care products are water-free, making them shelf-stable without preservatives.
I believe what sets me apart is simply the structure of my lived experience. While others may have experienced similar life events, mine have shown me that the best way to fulfill a purpose is by sharing everything-the good and the bad.
What I am most proud of is how far I have come, and knowing that inherently, every person willing to invest in themselves has the same capabilities. What makes me special is that I am myself.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
So many! From a few of my supervisors and a special commander in the military (I won’t name them in case they wouldn’t prefer to be known that way), along with the digitally connected mentors that I still follow on social media today (previously mentioned), they have each unlocked pieces of my path. Of course, none of that would be possible if I wasn’t ready to receive (even crumbs can build a cake).
Another special mention is Jean M. Auel, because she unlocked the hunter-gatherer in me. She is a retired American writer who wrote the Earth’s Children Series, which I first picked up as a middle schooler. That series of books reminded me of my ancestral lineage and how one woman can be a catalyst to those around her.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ctgh.life
- Instagram: Cultivating the Green Heart
- Facebook: Cultivating the Green Heart
- Youtube: Cultivating the Green Heart
