About Enlightened Apparently
We're Big "Why" People Ourselves
What Is Enlightened, Apparently?
Enlightened, Apparently offers a cheeky, fun take on the spiritual wellness world with a focus on embodied spirituality, holistic wellness, personal growth, and quirky FUN. We’re a little dark and a little weird (because life is a little dark and a little weird). This women-owned, Minnesota-based brand's offerings include curated retreat experiences and trainings, goofy but practical online classes, unique local events and workshops, the month-by-month book "Soul Healing & Spirit Dancing", fun personality quizzes, podcasts, a blog, and a rotating line of adorable merchandise! We are focused on grounded spirituality beyond the “good vibes only” culture (we embrace the “good vibes…maybe” culture instead!) Like we always say: humaning is hard, so let's make it fun! Learn about our Lil Ole Mission and Big Crazy Vision via the link below.
Where Is Enlightened, Apparently Located?
Enlightened, Apparently is located in Minnesota and offers in-person experiences in the Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Greater Metro area. We offer spirituality/wellness retreats in Minnesota and other states. We also offer free and paid online wellness classes including online yin yoga classes. If you're in the Minnesota area, come out to an Event and meet us IRL!
What Services Does Enlightened, Apparently Offer?
We offer spirituality/wellness retreats with unique quirky themes focused on transformative healing experiences and FUN; trainings for wellness and healing practitioners; online classes focused on wellness and energetic hygiene; an award-winning book with 12 monthly practices available at all online retailers; free personality quizzes; a blog; podcast; and cheeky fun merchandise. See FAQs about our offerings in the "Offerings" section below or click the button to check out all our services on our Home page.
Is Enlightened, Apparently Religious?
No, we are not affiliated or associated with any religion. We welcome all paths and faiths as well as those who are atheist, agnostic, pan-gnostic, pagan, spiritually curious or all or none of the above. The way we see it, there are many fingers pointing at the same moon. And fingers are important and helpful. We take an extremely open-minded and curious stance on spirituality, we love continuously learning, and there are no stupid questions.
Do You Have To Be Enlightened To Work With Enlightened, Apparently?
Nope. And honestly, we're still working out what it means to be "enlightened" while still having to live inside a skinsuit. We have some ideas and we love talking about it, so if you're curious, you're in the right place.
Who Is Enlightened, Apparently For?
Anyone who is spiritually curious, looking for a more grounded approach to spirituality, or just looking for some quirky fun healing experiences with a couple of folks who don't take themselves too seriously. We love supporting those on a path of healing (who isn't?) and those seeking deeper meaning in life.
What Makes Enlightened, Apparently Different From Other Wellness/Spirituality/Personal Development Businesses?
We're cheeky, dark and just a little bit weird (possibly bonkers). While we are WILDLY open-minded we still enjoy maintaining a tether to the Earth, bringing our spirituality into the body, and embracing both the light and the dark. We're here for the humaning.
Why The Dead Sunflower For a Logo?
We like that whole light and dark vibe. You can read all about our cheeky lil sunflower mascot via the link below.
What Do You Mean By "Dark"?
We don't mean that we're into the devil or demons (other than working on our "inner demons"), and we aren't playing with Ouija boards or trying to conjure dark entities (but you do you). So you can breathe easy. When we refer to "the dark" we are referring to the denser aspects of life as a human being - how it sometimes feels challenging to be a spirit of light shoved inside a dense physical body; the natural experience of difficult, heavy, or dark emotions; talking about the literal and metaphorical experience of death and dying; the energy of the Divine Feminine and the idea that all of life begins in the dark (the womb, the soil, the creative void); as well as having a dark or irreverent sense of humor as one way to navigate the absurd complexity of being human. Read more in our blog post, "Will It Feel Like This Forever? (On Embracing the Dark)."
Offerings
What Wellness/Spiritual Events Are Located Near Me?
That depends on where you live. In the Minnesota area? Then definitely check out our Events Calendar for local workshops, book readings, tabling events, and retreats where you can come out and meet us IRL. If you're anywhere else, be sure to check out our Online Classes as well as our Retreats and Trainings, which we are hoping to expand into new locations soon!
How Do I Book A Session Near Me With Enlightened, Apparently?
We currently do not offer 1-on-1 sessions (although if you personally know Angela you can probably figure out where to find her and just ask her real nicely). We do offer group retreats, trainings (coming soon), and online classes. You can find these in the Events Calendar and the Online Classes library.
Do You Offer Wellness/Spiritual Coaching?
We currently do not offer 1-on-1 coaching but we do offer group retreats and trainings focused on transformative healing experiences, tools that support energetic hygiene, and community with folks on a similar path. Our co-founder Angela offered 1-on-1 wellness and spirituality coaching via her business Moondance Wellness Coaching from 2018-2024 so she integrates a lot of these same tools into her current groupwork and finds it to be effective and FUN for a lot of folks.
Do You Offer Wellness Retreats in Minnesota?
Yes, we do offer retreats in Minnesota (both Day Retreats and longer Weekend Retreats) and we hope to have other locations coming soon! Come join us for a transformative healing experience and a whole lot of quirky FUN.
Do You Offer Workshops in Minnesota?
Yes, we offer occasional book readings and workshops in the Greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area that follow the seasonal practices in the award-winning book, Soul Healing & Spirit Dancing, written by our co-founder Angela! We also offer occasional workshops focused on celebrating seasonal transitions and alternative holidays. (Also be sure to check out our Retreats via the link above where we offer extended workshops in the form of Day Retreats, as well as longer weekend retreats in the Minnesota area).
Do You Offer Online Wellness Classes?
Yes, we have a library of online classes focused on wellness practices and energetic hygiene. We will be continuously adding new classes, so be sure to check out what's new and get on our newsletter list to stay in the know. For starters, get yourself a free Unicorn Yin Yoga in the Cloud Forest class via the link below!
Do You Offer Free Wellness Videos?
Our Online Classes library has both free and paid classes. We will be continuously adding new classes, so be sure to check out what's new and get on the newsletter list to stay in the know. For now, check out a FREE Unicorn Yin Yoga class (yep, you heard that right) via the link below.
Do You Offer Free Personality Quizzes?
Yep we do! If you love a good personality quiz as much as we do, check out our Qool Quizzes tab via the link below. We hope to add more quizzes over time so be sure to get on the newsletter list to stay in the know.
Do You Have Merchandise For Sale?
Yes we do! Check out our Merch page via the link below for fun cheeky stuff that is also useful. Tote bags, mugs, t-shirts, buttons (and more coming soon). Let everyone know that you, TOO, are cheeky, dark, and a little weird.
Do You Have An Enlightenment/Wellness Podcast?
Yes and no. We love our vintage Moondance Wellness Coaching podcast created by our co-founder Angela back in 2019-2024. It's got big perspectives soulfully bite-sized, inspired by her spiritual and emotional awakening spurred by her intense journey with Crohn's disease. It's a little different vibe than Enlightened, Apparently (see: less bonkers) but has its diehard followers. You can check it out via the link below. We do plan to create a whole new Enlightened, Apparently podcast real soon! Get on our newsletter list to stay in the know.
Where Can I Buy The Book?
Everywhere books are sold online (Amazon, Bookshop, Target, etc). Search Soul Healing & Spirit Dancing by Angela Kittock. We are also in the process of getting this award-winning book into some local bookstores and metaphysical shops (Minnesota area), so be sure to ask your local shop if they carry it! Learn more about the book via the link below.
General Questions
Is Enlightened, Apparently a Therapy Practice?
No. We focus on a broader definition of healing that includes the body and soul and are not licensed therapists. Therapy can be a great compliment to what we offer here, as can working with any other healing practitioners. Angela offered Spiritual Life Coaching and Shamanic Energy Healing from 2018-2024 via her business Moondance Wellness Coaching and has taught a variety of healing practices for nearly two decades. Learn more about Our Team via the link below.
Do You Help With Burnout And Chronic Stress?
We try to! In our overly masculine-energy/yang-based culture so many of us struggle with burnout and chronic stress. We have been there, too! So it's near and dear to us and we have lots of tools and methods we love to share to infuse a bit more balance and yin-energy into our lives. Our Online Classes are a great place to start (may we suggest Unicorn Yin Yoga), plus you'll always learn stress-relieving tools and practices at our In-person Workshops (see our Events Calendar). And definitely check out our Retreats for deeper dives into all of this via an immersive transformational experience of healing.
How Is Trauma Related To Healing?
Trauma exists on a spectrum from big-T trauma to little-t trauma, but most everyone has experienced some form of trauma in their lives. In its simplest definition, trauma is anything that overwhelms our system and our ability to process it. We often think of trauma in terms of the most horrific events like war and abuse, but trauma can also result from more "mundane" experiences like a car accident, or a "death by a thousand tiny paper cuts" over time kind of trauma like consistently feeling unseen or unmet in our emotional needs as a child. A lot of the traumas that happen in childhood get trapped in the body because we most likely didn't have the emotional capacity or tools to make sense of it. This is where a lot of "Inner Child Healing" comes into play. As adults, we are now the ones that have the ability to process and heal the traumas we experienced as children. From a Shamanic perspective, trauma would be seen as a form of "Soul Loss" and require interventions at the energetic/spiritual level. But we can also practice our own forms of "Soul Retrieval" through a number of other personal growth based methods. At Enlightened, Apparently we believe in a root-cause approach to healing and trauma is often at the root of all kinds of other symptoms be it physical/mental/emotional. Healing these more outward symptoms often means going deeper inward to heal the original wound. A very simple starting place to begin exploring your inner world is the book "Soul Healing & Spirit Dancing" by our co-founder Angela Kittock.
What Is Enlightenment?
That's a great question and one we plan to continue exploring with you here at Enlightened, Apparently! In its simplest definition "enlighten" means "to cause to be in light." But we don't just have a big-ole epiphany/lightbulb moment one time and then suddenly and permanently become enlightened masters. The Spiritual Awakening journey is truly that - a journey. And like most grand journeys, it helps to have a few friends to share the journey with and a few helpful guides along the way when we feel lost, confused, or fully over this thing called humaning. The masters say that enlightenment is the end of suffering, and while this might be true (the idea that life may be difficult but we do not have to suffer), it is not the end of painful or challenging circumstances. That only ceases when we cease being human. So we see the enlightenment journey as one of balance - not only a seeking of the light to transcend the experience of suffering, but also am embodied experience of being HERE, being human, and living and feeling fully while we are here. Explore further in our blog post, "Enlightened...Apparently?."
What Is Embodied Spirituality?
We see embodied spirituality as a path that encompasses both the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine. The divine masculine gets a lot of attention as the path of light and transcendence. But this idea can also lead to a lot of "spiritual bypassing" meaning we use the light to ignore the dark, or use the mind to ignore the body, or use the idea of "transcending it all" to neglect our personal growth and healing work. As in, you can be the leader of a spiritual cult and still be a shitty person. We don't want to be shitty people so we put a lot of value on also integrating the path of the Divine Feminine, the path of inner work, the work that takes us farther IN to the dark, not just further up and away. We take the light of the spirit and bring it back DOWN to Earth, back INTO the body, and we do our very bestest at this crazy thing called humaning. Check out our blog post about this called, "Enlightened...Apparently? (What is Embodied Spirituality)."
What Is Energetic Hygiene?
Energetic hygiene is the spiritual equivalent of brushing your teeth. Can you imagine if you never brushed your teeth? We all take for granted how important physical hygiene is to our overall health. Energetic hygiene is just as important, though perhaps more abstract. But don't be fooled thinking it's not important just because you can't "see" what's happening. Do your hands really look any less germy before and after you wash them? Not really, but we do it anyway for our overall health. There are energetic hygiene deep-dive practices that are the spiritual equivalent of going to the dentist for your twice-yearly deep cleaning - these might be something like a Shamanic Energy Clearing Session to scour the energetic slate clean. And then there are all sorts of smaller daily habits that you can implement yourself that may involve different kinds of breathing practices, centering practices, practicing energetic boundaries, divination or intuition-strengthening practices, chakra or meridian balancing practices, dancing, singing, laughing, crying, shaking, brushing, showering, meditating, being in nature, etc - the list goes on. We LOVE to teach and share these practices to keep your energy clean and sparkling. Learn 12 energetic hygiene practices with the book, "Soul Healing & Spirit Dancing" by our co-founder Angela Kittock.
What Is The Divine Feminine?
The Divine Feminine can be viewed in a few ways. On an energetic level, our feminine/yin/right-brained energy is the complement to our masculine/yang/left-brained energy. Regardless of gender, we ALL have both masculine and feminine energy. But we currently exist in a very masculine/yang go-go-go, do-do-do achievement-oriented culture (especially here in the US where we are located). It's not that our masculine energy is bad, it's that it's currently WAY out of whack. And it's not that our feminine energy is better, it's that currently, it is the healing balm we need to slowly eke our way back towards some sense of balance both individually and collectively. We need both logic AND intuition, we need both action AND stillness, we need to know how to speak our truth AND how to listen, we need to know how to create AND how to receive. We are currently living as only half of our potential and I think we all can feel this deep sense of imbalance and lack of wholeness. On a spiritual level, the divine feminine can be seen as the missing half to the masculine story we've been told for a couple thousand years, the one about the father in the sky that forgets about the mother in the earth. The one that says that the light is the goal, while forgetting that all of life begins in the dark. The one that says we are human beings having a spiritual experience, when perhaps we are spiritual beings having a human experience and we are meant to be HERE, experiencing this lifetime, in this body, on this Earth. Afraid of the dark? Read our blog post, "Will It Feel Like This Forever? (On Embracing the Dark)."
What Is Yin Yoga?
We call it the practice of "quiet power." Yin Yoga is different from other styles of yoga in that it is done almost entirely on the ground and you won't break a sweat. This practice won't push you to develop physical strength and agility - it will help you to develop mental and emotional strength and badassery. We think it's the perfect antidote to our overly busy, fast-paced, go-go-go culture that leads us straight into burnout. Yin Yoga helps us to unwind tension in our body's fascia and promote healthy joints as we age; it helps us develop the superpower of mindfulness (the ability to stay with an uncomfortable feeling instead of running away); and it keeps our energetic system running smoothly because of its unique acupressure-like qualities (hello energetic hygiene). Here at Enlightened, Apparently we put a cheeky (some say bonkers) spin on the practice by hiring a Unicorn named Patricia to teach our classes. Not sure what that means? Check out Unicorn Yin Yoga and you'll see.
What Is Shamamic Healing?
Shamanic healing is a broad term that refers to a variety of spiritual, soul-based, and energetic healing practices. Depending on the culture and lineage, these practices can vary, but the common denominator is that the shaman is an individual who works with the spiritual world to help bring about healing. These practices may involve Soul Retrieval (bringing back pieces of the soul that have splintered off due to traumatic experiences), Shamanic Journeying (entering an altered state of consciousness to gain information useful to healing from past or present lives or spiritual guides), Power Animal Retrieval (connecting with animal helpers and allies), or "simply" scouring the energetic slate clean as a way to help release old patterns of physical and emotional pain. This can involve the use of rattles and drums (sound waves to induce healing), as well as the burning of various herbs or incense (to clear the energy field). Check out our Retreats & Trainings to experience Shamanic Healing firsthand.
What Is Breathwork?
Breathwork is a broad term that refers to breathing practices used for healing purposes. Some breathwork is used to turn on the Parasympathetic Nervous System - our "rest & digest" system that helps to calm us and create the correct conditions for digestion, intuition, connection, and healing. We teach calming breathwork practices as part of all our Yin Yoga classes and teach a variety of calming breathwork practices in many of our Workshops. Other breathwork practices intentionally stimulate the Sympathetic Nervous System (our "fight or flight" response) in a way that helps to bring about deep emotional and physical release. We use a stimulating breathwork practice as part of our Shamanic Healing practices and group sessions. Who knew something as simple as your breath could be such a powerful tool for healing?! Your breath is always with you and it's always free (bonus), so come learn how to use it.
What Is Meditation?
It's been said that if prayer is speaking to the Divine, meditation is *listening.* But we all know that in order to listen, we have to be quiet. How many of us are comfortable with silence? We like to think of meditation as simply learning to be quiet enough to hear our inner wisdom. We are often taught in spiritual traditions to pray to the divine, to ask for help when we need it, to set laser focused intentions. But are we taught how to receive the answers? Meditation is just a fancy name for the doorway to the answers we seek. There are lots of ways to meditate, and endless ways to over-complicate the process. At Enlightened, Apparently we want to keep it simple and accessible and *personalized* to YOU. Because there are as many ways to meditate as there are personality types (in fact, that's a great idea for a workshop - how to meditate for your personality type). Keep your eye out for future Workshops like that, and in the meantime, check out Unicorn Yin Yoga where you'll learn the practice of Mindfulness Meditation from a Unicorn named Patricia.
Philosophical Questions
When Will Life Stop Feeling Chaotic?
That's a great question and when you figure it out, let us know! In the meantime, we can try breaking it down into two parts. First, when will life stop *being* chaotic? I think the answer to that one is possibly never. Read our blog post "Will It Feel Like This Forever? (On Embracing the Dark)" for more of our thoughts on that. Second, when will life stop *feeling* chaotic? I think this is when we learn the art of surrender. Surrendering to the idea that life may not turn out the way we expect it to, but there may be a purpose or deeper reason for any personal or collective cycles of chaos we are experiencing. That whole "enlightenment" thing promises the end of suffering, but not the end of chaos. Like we say a lot around here, humaning is hard (so let's make it fun). And like we say in the blog post, we might just feel better when we embrace the idea that life contains 31 flavors of chaos.
I've Seen The Light, Now How Can I Feel That Way All The Time?
This is a question we hear a lot, so you are not alone. We get it, we've been there too. At the top of the shiny mountain, inside a moment of pristine clarity, on the other side of what we hope will be our last insanely hard personal growth cycle (which it never seems to be). We've been through enough and we just wanna hold onto the goddamn light, is that so much to ask?! *Apparently* it is. Here at Enlightened, Apparently we say that waking up takes a moment, but staying awake...takes a lifetime. Welcome to the party! Luckily, the "staying awake" part doesn't have to be solely left up to chance and we don't actually have to work toooo hard to re-experience that feeling we once had. But like many things in life, it is a practice. Just like anything else, we can practice tapping into wonder/magic/awe and we can keep doing the "inner work" of examining our shadows, creating more and more space for the divine to live right inside our very selves instead of pining after an experience of something that lives outside of ourselves. At the same time, a big part of what we're about here is also embracing the fact that life moves in cycles - and it's meant to! Summer and winter, light and dark, up and down, ebb and flow. It's ok to not feel bright and shiny all the time. We need times for healing and times for growth. Sometimes we're the butterfly and sometimes we're the freakin caterpillar soup. For more on this, read our blog post, "Will It Feel Like This Forever? (On Embracing the Dark).
How Can I Create A Better Future?
It's very easy to be seduced by what we call "the allure of the more peaceful future." Speaking from experience here! Anytime I didn't like what was occurring in my life, I would just daydream about how much better everything would be in the future. This works great - until you get to the future, look around, and wonder wtf is this trash?! The most surefire way we create a "better future" is by creating a better present. If we don't like what we're getting out of life, we need to examine what we're putting into life. If we want balance in the future, maybe it's a good time to start practicing some balance in the present (even in itty bitty ways). If we want more fun in the future, we better start having a bit of fun right now. If we want to feel peaceful in the future, we might start prioritizing (or just dabbling in) peaceful practices right now. If we want to feel more whole and fulfilled in the future, it might be time to start looking inward and doing some of that "inner work" and healing we hear so much about. You get it. At the same time, don't beat yourself up - life moves in cycles and sometimes we're just in a weird phase and things will shake out when the stars realign. Life is a co-creation between free will and forces outside of our control. So just have a little fun with the free will part. What is it you want to create? Explore 12 (we think fun) ways to start creating a better future with the book "Soul Healing & Spirit Dancing" by our co-founder Angela Kittock.
What Can I Do To Be A Good Person?
Oftentimes we feel like we should be *doing* something more to help make the world a better place. When the world feels extra chaotic we wonder, what can I DO? Here at Enlightened, Apparently we believe that sometimes doing is being. As in, what kind of person are you being? Are you being curious enough to widen your understanding? As in, really, really widen it, beyond what you already think is true and right? Are you pausing, asking questions, listening, learning, focusing on your responses rather than your reactions, taking care of your nervous system, moving the anger you feel through the vehicle of sadness/grief, developing emotional maturity? All of these things help both yourself AND the collective. It’s like an orchestra. Every single note matters to make it sound beautiful and harmonious or totally dysregulating and cacophonous. People want to DO something, but holding your soul note is also doing something for the collective. It sounds sort of stupid, but we think it's true. Explore our Big, Crazy Vision for more about this.
Why Am I Even On This Planet?
This is the question for a lifetime! It does often feel like, what exactly did I sign up for here?! Can I get a copy of the contract I apparently signed because I'd like to make a couple changes! I think this is the question we will finally answer when we get to the end of it all. Maybe once we get to the other side, we'll finally understand what it was all about. In the meantime, the fun (aggravating) thing is that we get to make this lifetime mean whatever we want it to mean. The neat part is that we have a lot of systems for self-understanding that we can use as mirrors to more clearly and deeply see ourselves. At Enlightened, Apparently, we believe that a big key to making sense of WHAT the fuck we are doing here, is making sense of WHO we are. And we think that part is actually fun. For us, we'd say the path to answering this question is 50% existential crisis and 50% the fun of self-discovery - which ain't too shabby! Read our blog post "A Chaotic Balance (On Being Human)" and we'll see you at the party.
Definitions
en·LIGHT·ened ap·PAR·ent·ly
(adjective | adverb | state of being) A pursuit of feeling in tune completely with yourself and the universe while also understanding life makes things complicated.
hu·man·ing
(verb) The often-messy process of being a spiritual being inside a skinsuit. See also: chaos.
R/EV·o·LU·tion
(noun) The slow process of self improvement that morphs into rapid, fundamental change of society; a bottom-up process of societal change; the revolution that begins with our personal evolution.
