Kelly Skinner wants to help people.
Earlier this year Skinner listened to pocast with Dr. Christine Osgood.
Osgood is a mother and a marriage and family therapist who created a space in the Minneapolis suburbs for people to work on their journey of personal and spiritual development.
“She provided a beautiful center for people in her area to work on personal and spiritual development and also have space to retreat and relax,” Skinner said. “When I heard about this, it sat with me for a long time.”
Skinner said she liked the idea of creating a modern retreat center and making it accessible right in the middle of where people live and work.
Skinner said a lot of places that offer opportunities for spiritual development require people make a long drive or a substantial time commitment.
She wanted to give people other options.
“The people I know don’t have the time or resources for that, but still have a yearning to connect and learn and nourish their inner self,” Skinner said.
That lead her to create Soul Care.
Skinner said she has talked with numerous people who feel unfulfilled in life, they are burned out, don’t have the relationships they want, they don’t have a sense of purpose or connection with themselves or the world and they feel hopeless.
“I envision creating a place that is right in our backyard that is easy to access and flexible to fit into people’s schedules. A space for people to learn new practices and ideas and work on soul-care and self-care that is not connected with a particular institution or belief system,” Skinner said.
Skinner said she envisions Soul Care as a safe place for people to ask questions, explore and build relationships.
Skinner said she believes there is a powerful connection between the heart, mind and body and that people need to engage their heart by learning how to practice soul care and self-care in everyday life.
“The soul is our essence,” she said. “The deepest part of who we are.”
Skinner said that she believes that when people look at another person they see the person’s soul in how they think, feel, pursue meaning, engage others, tend to their bodies, and nurture their spirit.
“In today’s world where being busy is a badge of honor, we miss out on connecting with our own souls,” Skinner said. “We’re dry inside, numb, and we’ve lost touch with ourselves and the creator that made us. In general, a lot of time we are living in our head, not acknowledging or nurturing our heart, emotion, or soul, and that is affecting the body. And when we don’t care for our souls—our own inner life—we can’t tend to our kids, our spouse, our home, our job, or our community.”
Skinner said she is excited about the opportunities she will be offering the community via Soul Care.
They include in-person learning opportunities with a hands-on component.
The in-person learning opportunities will introduce concepts such as walking the labyrinth, Enneagram, art journaling, gratitude, different ways to pray and vision boarding. The events will let people experience the concepts and practice them. There will also be in-person opportunities to connect with others and themselves. These will include book discussion groups, workshops on topics like relationships or self-awareness, or small group retreats.
“It is important for me to create and offer these learning opportunities in conjunction with partners from the community who bring different perspectives, knowledge, and expertise in spiritual growth that I don’t have,” Skinner said.
Right now, the programs will be held in a variety of locations but in the future, Skinner hopes to have a permanent location for Soul Care.
She said she wants to offer a space where people can come to relax, be still and quiet, and regroup.
“People who do this can do things on their own or request guidance on how to structure their time,” She said. “In the future, I’d also like to offer other services such as massage, reiki, spiritual direction, meditation, and maybe yoga.”
She would also allow groups to be able to host their own workshops or retreats in the space and hopes Soul Care will be a hub where many different types of experiences from different traditions are offered to meet people’s varied needs. She also hopes to offer digital resources for people who can’t participate in-perso, and an online community.
Skinner said creating Soul Care has been exciting for her as it has allowed her to connect her personal and professional experiences with her passion for spiritual development and her desire to connect with people on a deep, personal level.
“Over the past several years I’ve wondered what my purpose might be and what work would be fulfilling and engaging and help me share my gifts and talents while serving others,” Skinner said. “When I got this idea and really started to think about it and work on it, it lights me up inside. I have so enjoyed getting to meet and talk with others who are engaged in spiritual work in different ways. This gives me hope, it excites me, and I can’t wait to see where this leads me and who else I get to meet and work with. To me, this is the way to make a difference in the world right here, right now.”
Skinner said she feels Soul Care is important for the world right now because people long to live a life with purpose, meaning and have a desire to connect with something bigger then themselves. Soul Care is also welcoming to everyone which Skinner thinks is important right now.
“I believe in people’s desire to seek a deeper knowledge of themselves so that they can discover and honor their true nature, their most
authentic self,” she said. “I believe in the values of love, curiosity, generosity, authenticity, hospitality, acceptance, growth, and
community.”
On Oct. 20 Soul Care will hold their first event at the labyrinth at Crystal Lake Park. The event starts at 9 a.m.
Skinner first walked a labyrinth more than 10 years ago at a retreat outside of St. Louis.
“It left a lasting impression on me and has become a meaningful and treasured way for me to pray and connect with the divine,” she said. “Walking the labyrinth is a way to journey inward and then back out, but start and arrive at the same place with different perspective.”
Skinner said the labyrinth is a great metaphor for her work with Sout Care because it is a spiritual practice that has been used by several different faith traditions.
“The labyrinth at Crystal Lake Park is a hidden treasure and I thought this would be a great way to introduce Soul Care to the community and kick-off programming,” she said. “Although future programs will have a cost associated with them, this workshop is being gifted with $0 cost to attend to help launch Soul Care in the community. At the end of the workshop, participants will be invited to contribute to the future of Soul Care in whatever way feels right for them. I have been blown away by the level of interest and excitement about this first event.”
People can visit the Soul Care Facebook Page for more information at https://www.facebook.com/soulcareexperience.
