Now Booking: Transformative Tools for Uncertainty Class Nov 13
Alderroot Healing & Renewal
Apprenticeship with Uncertainty
Learn to meet the swirl of uncertainty with inner kindness, deep calm, and steady earth support.
(because life isn't getting less uncertain)
A yearlong, low-intensity, affordable coaching container.
Gently meet and transform your inner worriers, critics, or controllers. Expand your capacity for Self-trust, calm, & joyful connection.
Spots are limited for this 1-1 coaching program. Be the first to have access to this program by getting on the waitlist.
Doors are open until Dec 31 or until filled.
If you’ve been struggling with uncertainty, you’re not alone
When we bump up against uncertainty, as we all do every single day, this triggers parts of us who get very uncomfortable and anxious, or parts who want certainty and control. These parts want to protect us from feeling uneasy or getting hurt, of course.
Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of life--and it does feel like the uncertainties are getting bigger and scarier these days....just a quick look at the news can send our hearts racing and our bodies clenching. And besides all the global uncertainties, we have plenty of uncertainties in our own day to day lives--like not knowing if we'll be the next to be laid off, or wondering how our business will survive in this economy, or unsure of what's going to happen next in our messy marriage or friendship, or feeling worried about our kids.
And we don't necessarily have the skills to face all these uncertainties, day after day.
Our brains and bodies have evolved to prefer certainty---studies have shown we even prefer certain pain to uncertainty. Yikes!
So of course we have developed parts who will do anything to help us avoid feeling so uneasy or anxious. Anything that will help us feel more certain and in-control. These parts of us have been deeply conditioned to try to cushion us from uncertainty. It makes sense, right?
When we encounter uncertainty we often feel uncomfortable. We start thinking about all the things that could go wrong and we worry about what will happen. Our bellies and shoulders clench up, our breathing gets short, and our heads begin to ache. Our thoughts go around in circles and we feel like we want to crawl out of our skin.
And, we can usually notice one of these 3 internal patterns: (see if you recognize yourself)
1) Because we feel stressed and uncomfortable, parts show up to help us avoid these difficult feelings. We might disappear into our phones or burrow under the covers with a bag of chips to binge watch that new show. These parts want to protect us by procrastinating on decisions or tasks, and numbing out so that our overthinking, worrying, or really anxious parts don't take over.
2) We have parts who show up to try to control what's going on. These parts try to protect us from feeling uncomfortable and anxious by projecting certainty into the future--scheduling up our time and keeping us busy and distracted with important tasks, staying hyper-focused on our to-do list, signing up for another class or program, or obsessively cleaning and organizing. These parts believe that if we just get organized, the future will be better and more certain.
3) We notice a judgy or shaming part who wants to protect us by criticizing. This parts says things like, "you should be able to handle this! Why are you getting so worked up?" or, "If you were better at planning then this wouldn't be happening." or "If you would just meditate more, you could get a handle on these feelings." This part thinks uncertainty is something we can master or get better at.
But, ultimately we can't effectively avoid, out-control, or overcome uncertainty (it's part of life).
But we can learn to turn toward these parts of us who react to uncertainty with more clear understanding, more kindness, and more calm presence. We can learn to turn to these protective internal parts and patterns with curiosity, open arms, and calm assurance. I can show you how.
Why we struggle with uncertainty
Maybe you recognize yourself in one or more of the patterns above.
You try to calm yourself and rest (because you know you should) but often just end up numbing out on your phone for too long, and then feel disconnected and even more anxious.
You've tried making more lists, completing more tasks, filling up your calendar into the foreseeable future, working harder at controlling what you eat or how you organize your work day or how clean your house is—to try to get a handle on those anxious and uncertain feelings about the future, to try to feel more in control.
But somehow, no matter how much you try to get it all together and feel balanced, something will come along to make you feel unsettled and overwhelmed again.
Or you want to overcome those uncomfortable feelings so you go to a yoga class or a sound bath, or even get up early to meditate. And while these practices help, you’re still noticing anxiousness about your life and the future. You still often feel the uncomfortable niggling of uncertainty.
You try hard to create stability and security in your life, and sometimes it feels like the harder you try, the more stress you feel.
And if you’re being honest, you’re secretly wondering if this is just how it is now.
None of these strategies are wrong and you’re doing the best you can. But these strategies are not bringing you lasting results because they don’t change your foundational relationship with uncertainty.
Transforming your relationship with uncertainty
Instead, imagine seeing the latest news, looking at your bank statement, or getting an e-mail about yet another major re-organization at work and being able to pause, notice, and feel calmness in your body.
Imagine being able to notice the parts of you who are showing up, the nervousness, worry or overwhlelm, and turning to them with a warm embrace and open curiosity.
You’re no longer looking up from your phone an hour later, burying yourself in your to-do list, or searching for the "right" practice to make you feel like you're okay.
Imagine noticing the feelings that come with uncertainty but not feeling like you need to run away. Instead, you know how to gently turn towards these feelings with welcoming and compassionate dialogue. You know how to tap into a deep lake of calm within you, relaxing into the knowing that you are held by Life.
You know how to easily access the part of you who is calm, clear, compassionate, and connected to all life---your wise Self who is always with you.
From this wise self, you know how to meet other parts--the ones who worry, or distract, or who get over busy or overwhelmed--with calm assurance, compassionate encouragement, and clear direction, like a wise internal elder who gently guides.
Imagine having specific earth allies you can go to daily for support. Imagine the sweetness of returning to these loyal and loving friends, again and again over time.
And in even just small moments, you know how to stop to listen to birdsong, or to feel the air on your skin, to notice the pull of gravity on your earthbody. You can drop into liminal space, where you feel in your body and heart that you are part of this wise magical living earth.
You might not notice it at first, but one day you realize you feel steadier. You haven't felt anxious or freaked out all day. When you first feel that uncomfortable twinge of uncertainty, you know how to turn to earth-allies and your wise Self for guidance, and it feels so good to have a different path. You're showing up for yourself and others in your life with more daily calm and and steadiness.
It’s not about making uncertainty go away (you can’t). It’s about learning how to meet uncertainty in new ways—with compassion, calm, and firmly rooted in earth-connection and trust in Life.
With support and regular practice, you are shifting how you approach uncertainty. And one day, you realize you’re not scared and anxious all the time. When a new uncertainty crops up, you know how to meet it with a spacious heart, inner kindness, and earth's steadiness.
This transformation is what waits for you in the Apprenticeship with Uncertainty: a yearlong 1-1 coaching container for changing your relationship with uncertainty–for good.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. My yearlong low-intensity eco-spiritual coaching package gives you individualized support so that you can learn to meet uncertainty with new awareness.
Slowly but steadily. With spaciousness and support.
Here’s what happens when you say yes to this coaching package:
Step 1: I’ll contact you to set up our first one hour virtual meeting together to get to know the uncertainties that you struggle with most, and your needs and intentions for the coming year. We’ll schedule this at a time that works for you.
Step 2: You’ll receive one hour long virtual coaching session each month of 2027 --also scheduled at times that work for you. I'll invite you to try out personalized eco-spiritual practices between sessions. You'll also get access to helpful recorded guided visualizations so that you can practice tuning into your wise Self and meeting other parts of you with compassion. And you'll have the option to join monthly gatherings with other apprentices, to share experiences and to learn with and from each other.
Step 3: Throughout the year, you’ll be supported, accountable, and will gently transform your relationship with uncertainty from anxiety, control, or critique to inner kindness, deep calm, and steady trust in earth's support.
"Heather is an incredible coach; she is there for you every step of the way and truly supportive during the process. I would highly recommend working with her!"
Savannah
Why apprenticeship?
Because it takes learning, practice, and guidance to change our relationship to uncertainty. It requires sustained focus and clear intention. As you learn more skills and change your relationship with uncertainty, you have more ability to be in this world in ways that are so needed right now–with calm, compassion, and steadiness.
I created this Apprenticeship with Uncertainty because I know what it’s like to struggle with uncertainty. I have laughingly referred to my own apprenticeship with uncertainty over many years as I’ve faced leaving my longtime career, burnout, starting a new business, losing a loved one, and climate chaos. I have continued, over the years, to deepen my own apprenticeship with uncertainty, spiraling into greater trust in this learning process with each season that passes.
After years of studying and wrestling with uncertainty, I realized that trying to hold on to certainty and stability, and trying to continually fix ourselves is what keeps us stuck. When I finally began to learn how to trust my wise Self and earth-Life, everything changed….and my relationship with uncertainty continues to unfold, evolve, deepen. And yours will too.
My approach to uncertainty
You’ve probably tried multiple ways to stamp out your anxiety, overwhelm, and control tendencies. My approach is different because I’ll teach you how to turn toward your anxious parts with care and compassion, how to meet uncertainty with curiosity and friendliness, and how to turn to the earth for support. You’ll learn how to identify the parts of you that get in the way of calm and trust, and will learn how to meet them where they are with kindness. And you’ll learn how to expand your Self energy and leadership–the central wise part of you that is Calm, Compassionate, Curious, Creative, Courageous, Confident and Connected.
I believe that we can learn to meet uncertainty with more ease and increase our tolerance for change. I believe we can increase our groundedness and trust in the face of the unknown. And I built Apprenticeship with Uncertainty around that philosophy.
Nothing makes me happier than seeing worriers, overthinkers, and control-inclined list-makers like you (and like me) cultivate more inner kindness, deep calm, and steady earth support.
My coaching approach has helped many people achieve transformative change in their lives through transition and uncertainty. I bring 2 main tools into my coaching work:
1) An Internal Family Systems (IFS) approach, helping you get to know and care for the parts in your internal system while expanding your Self leadership; and
2) an Eco-spiritual approach with practices that nourish your spirit and teach you how to deepen your relationship to living beings.
"Heather understands how chaos affects individuals, and knows how to support you to get to the ‘other side’ of your obstacles and challenges in your journey."
Luke
Here’s exactly what you get with this Apprenticeship with Uncertainty coaching package:
Everything you need to meet uncertainty with calm and trust–without trying to figure it out by yourself.
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An introductory 60 minute zoom session where we’ll get to know your needs and your current relationship and struggle with uncertainty (January)
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A 60 minute virtual coaching session each month during 2026 so that you feel supported and guided as you learn to meet uncertainty with calm and trust and don’t have to try to figure it out on your own (February-December). Sessions are usually on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays and we'll find a time that works for both of us.
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Personalized and easy to integrate spiritual and earth-based practices to engage with between sessions– so that you can practice deepening into new ways of being
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Recorded guided visualizations so that you can deepen your practices between sessions
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Optional expertly facilitated monthly gatherings with other apprentices--to share what you're experiencing and to learn from each other and from what others are feeling and experiencing.
In each of our monthly sessions we’ll connect to and call on the season’s specific gifts and energy. I’ll guide you with skills for meeting uncertainty in new ways:
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Winter (January-March): Slowing down we’ll begin by deeply observing and get to know how you usually respond to uncertainty. We’ll get to know the parts of you who meet uncertainty with fear, anxiety, distraction, control or by shutting down– and learn how to meet them with compassion and curiosity. We’ll identify earth allies to support you on this apprenticeship.
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Spring (April-June): As more clarity emerges, I’ll guide your parts in imagining what life could feel like with more trust and calm, and less struggle with uncertainty. I’ll show you how to plant seeds of deep trust in earth anchors and allies, and how to steadily grow new eco-spiritual practices that support you.
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Summer (July-Sept): We’ll continue shaping new responses to uncertainty in your nervous system by expanding your Self energy (your wise, calm, curious, connected, creative part), and you’ll deepen your relationship to earth allies and earth-based practices. We’ll practice trust while holding joy and calm alongside grief, difficulty, and change.
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Fall (Oct-Dec): I’ll support you in letting go of old patterns as your parts anchor into a new relationship with Self. We’ll reflect on how it feels and what changes when you consistently meet uncertainty with calm, compassion, and earth partnership. We'll troubleshoot any lingering difficulties and will lean into Self-leadership for more calm and confidence.
You'll get my loving attention and guidance through the whole year, at a lower-than-usual coaching rate.
Spaces for these 1-1 coaching containers will be limited and the doors for this offer will close on Dec 31.
This investment is low risk with high support that will transform your life, teaching you how to meet uncertainty in new ways. The real risk isn’t investing—it’s staying stuck in patterns of anxiety, overwhelm, and controlling–constantly trying to outrun the uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty.
Pricing:
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$149/month (or $1700 for 12 months-save $88). Pay in full or pay monthly.
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Doors to this coaching package are only open until Dec 31.
About me:
I'm Dr. Heather Burns, a dedicated eco-spiritual coach and facilitator. I'm a writer, small business owner, and former academic who loves ambling in the forest and sipping tea in the garden. I am a skilled space-holder, offering a calm and gentle approach to meeting your inner system and regular patterns with compassion and curiosity. I've been on my own apprenticeship with uncertainty for many years, through midlife transition, career change, and all the ups and downs of starting and running a small business. I practice what I coach, so you can expect me to guide you with expertise, but you can also know that I am on this journey with you. I offer a welcoming, gentle, non-judgemental space for you to uncover your innate ability for calm and steadiness. Learn more about me here.
This is for you if...
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You struggle with uncertainty and the chaotic nature of how things are right now
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You often feel anxious, overwhelmed, and are just trying hard to keep it all together
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You have tried pushing away or stamping out the parts of you who worry, avoid, or want to hyper-control
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You've tried hard to find calm and be in control but it hasn't really worked yet
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You are open to and curious about an eco-spiritual approach to life's uncertainties
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You feel a deep connection to nature and would like to feel even more connected
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You are willing to commit time for self-reflection, getting to know your parts, and trying new eco-spiritual practices
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You are willing to commit to the slow and steady process of change over time
"I really loved the coaching process. I think Heather has an incredible way of asking questions that help you think about things in a different way. It really felt like we were in the process together and that Heather was there to help me through it."
But, what about...
What if this approach doesn’t work for me?
This approach works because it’s slow and steady. You’ll get my guidance and support all year long, and even better you’ll learn how to access earth support so that you don’t feel alone or like you have to do this all by yourself. You'll connect with other humans who are also in this apprenticeship process, sharing experiences. And you’ll learn new practices that steadily change your relationship with uncertainty in real ways. The process works, and we can trust it.
I want this, but is it worth the money?
It seems like things are only getting more and more uncertain in our world. Learning tools for transforming your relationship with uncertainty now, rather than waiting, will serve you better in the long term. Why be miserable, overwhelmed, distracted, and anxious for another year?
I’m too busy—will I actually follow through?
This coaching package is designed to be supportive without being super time consuming. We’ll focus on simple but life-changing internal practices that you can do anytime, and that you can integrate into your life easily. You can learn to transform your relationship to uncertainty in your real life, without massive time or major changes. The earth will support you on this journey as well. With clear intention, you'll be able to make steady change.
I’ve tried things like this before, and they didn’t work. How is this different?
Instead of trying to overcome or push away the difficult parts of you, you’ll meet your parts that usually get in the way of transformation (because they’re stuck in old patterns), and you’ll learn how to work with them to gently and compassionately to shift their responses to uncertainty. Over time and with practice, you’ll find that your internal system will be more calm and trusting. You’ll get consistent and personalized support during this process. I’ll gently hold you accountable, while you also learn skills for turning to earth allies to support you on this journey.
An open door
You’ve been thinking that you need support. Maybe for a while. Life is getting more and more uncertain, unpredictable, and you’re not sure where to turn.
Maybe you’ve tried addressing your worries and dread by trying to be in control of it all, or with wellness-based practices, hoping these would help you find calm, but instead, you found yourself continuing to struggle with overwhelm and anxiety caused by uncertainty.
Or maybe you’ve been thinking that things would eventually get better and that you could go back to how things were. But the need for developing inner steadiness hasn’t gone away.
And maybe you sense, as the world as we know it falls apart, that a more spiritual and earth-based approach is what is needed. Maybe you’ve seen some signs or noticed some subtle changes in your life.
So here’s a door, open. If this feels like the right step for you, I'm here to guide you through this Apprenticeship with Uncertainty.