People Wanted: A Journey Toward Wholeness and Creative Integrity
Reclaiming creativity, dissolving binaries, and inviting brave souls to gain clarity, tell their story, build community, and shape a meaningful life through it.
In a world increasingly divided along binaries (feminine vs. masculine, soft vs. strong, introvert vs. extrovert), I’ve come to believe that true growth comes from integration.
Not assimilation. Not erasure.
But the radical act of honoring both forces as essential, complementary, and worthy.
We all grew up with narratives shaped predominantly by the masculine lens. We were taught to admire the lone hero, the bold innovator, the relentless achiever.
Even in the creative world, we were invited to master structure, economy, and discipline before being told softness or emotional depth could also be craft. And yet, a whole other body of wisdom—rooted in presence, care, and nuance—has always been there, often relegated to the margins, often dismissed as “lesser.”
Inviting men into a creative space led through a feminine lens isn’t about reversing the hierarchy. It’s about dissolving it. It’s an invitation to wholeness. Because wholeness doesn’t come from rejecting one force in favor of another, it comes from allowing both to exist, to inform each other, and to dance together. And we need that dance now more than ever.
We live in a moment where polarities are often politicized, where gender and creativity are too easily slotted into buckets of “this is for me” or “that’s not for me.” But creativity doesn’t work that way. It never did.
The feminine perspective (often centered around care, intuition, empathy, and deep inner knowing) is not only relevant to all of us; it’s essential to restoring what modern life has pulled us away from.
The Power of Integration: Characters Worth Rooting For
Embracing our contradictions isn’t just a philosophical stance: it’s a storytelling asset.
If you’ve ever explored the Character Diamond framework, you know that compelling characters are multifaceted, built from their oppositions (strength and softness, chaos and clarity, fear and courage), as well as our flaws, core values, and direction.
The same applies to real people, and to brands. When we integrate our contradictions instead of hiding them, we create something that feels more raw, authentic, and human. Something magnetic. And in doing so, we not only become more whole: we invite others to do the same.
In the piece that follows, I share how I came to this realization not by reading theory, but by designing the Clarity Journey at Nest & North.
It began as a journey for women in transition, mainly mothers like myself.
Yet I knew all along that part of where it leads is healing the wounded masculine and integrating the duality we carry within.
So, in bringing it into the world, I encountered my own plot twist: men not only wanted to be part of it—they needed to be. They saw it was women-led, deeply feminine in tone and rhythm—and still, they wanted in.
What followed challenged my assumptions, expanded my understanding, and reaffirmed a simple truth: the journey of integration belongs to all of us.
Keep reading to discover how this realization reshaped the Clarity Journey—and, in many ways, reshaped me too.
Beyond Gender
I've been intentional (selective, even) about who joins this journey. I’ve spoken personally with everyone to ensure they understand what it asks of them.
Because it does ask something.
It asks for open-mindedness to explore new mental landscapes, archetypal prompts, stream-of-consciousness exercises, and other forms of self-expression that aren’t always easy.
It asks for courage to look inward.
And it asks for curiosity, not just about your own unfolding, but about who’s walking alongside you.
We may be creating something tangible (a memoir, a personal brand, a website, or a creative project) but what we’re really walking toward is clarity, authentic connections, and creative integrity.
As Ursula K. Le Guin said, “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
Origin Story (the Birth of a Journey)
When I first envisioned this journey, I designed it for women, mainly mothers—because that’s the place I was coming from, and those were the people I thought would relate to my own transformation.
Deeply inspired by Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey, just as much as by Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, I wanted to create a space where women could reclaim parts of their creative identity that are too often sidelined by productivity culture.
But as I deepened the work, I saw it more clearly: that same culture affects people, deeply, regardless of gender.
Along the way, another truth emerged: not every woman felt ready for the journey. And some men were naturally drawn to it, even though the original invitation said “women in transition.”
So, some time ago, I changed it to “people on a journey.”
Plot Twist: Men Wanted In
Last week, I spoke with a few men who felt unmistakably aligned. They, too, are seeking to reclaim creativity. They, too, feel drawn to the qualities often labeled feminine: empathy, softness, birthing, nurturing, compassion, and having a safe space to tell their stories.
Speaking with them felt like finding myself at the first threshold of my own creativity journey, the moment before the story arc’s plot twist. I had clearly set out to make it a very feminine-energy-safe space by making it women only.
And as a hero or heroine usually does, I was first skeptical of that calling. I challenged it—as I challenged myself to consider what true inclusion might mean.
In speaking to the men who approached me, I shared excerpts of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own as foundational to the journey: a metaphor for the kind of virtual space we’re building here. A space for deep work and uninterrupted self-expression. A space that stewards (not shapes) your creative process. But also, a deeply feminist metaphor at its source.
To my surprise (or maybe not), these men deeply resonated with it.
From Exclusion to Expansion
The experience of feeling unseen, untapped, or underestimated in the creative realm by an overwhelming culture that consistently promotes productivity and metrics is not unique to women. Nor is the desire to connect authentically through resonant content that becomes a lighthouse to those who matter.
Especially in a world where AI bots churn out content, finding those who still care for analogue, authentic creation geared towards genuine connections becomes essential.
So I chose to examine my own bias—realizing I was potentially excluding people who not only believed in and belonged to the space I was creating, but who could contribute to a beautiful integration experience.
I stepped into that invitation.
At the conclusion of the journey, there has always been integration: healing the wounded masculine, an archetypal pattern found in stories from Psyche and Eros to tarot cards like Temperance and The Chariot. Not to mention Yin and Yang.
We’re all people on a journey to honor the aspects of us left behind in a world that overly emphasizes action, direction, and achievement as "king." We could all benefit from finding wholeness in integration, also welcoming a sense of joy in simply being, accomplishment in care, and success in nurture. We’re reclaiming the queen as equally powerful.
A Personal Canon: Integrating Voices
Regardless of your career, it’s safe to say we all grew up professionally in male-dominated spaces. We heard stories from predominantly male heroes—from scientists and explorers to authors, artists, and entrepreneurs.
In most creative writing courses I’ve taken, I learned to draw inspiration from Hemingway and Joyce, occasionally hearing about Woolf. I learned to appreciate Yeats, before discovering—and finding myself in—Dickinson.
I read (and identified myself in) Campbell's Hero of 1000 Faces, before learning about (and deeply resonating with) Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey, and Tatar’s Heroine of 1001 Faces. The first time I read Women Who Run With The Wolves, it felt like a revelation—like someone lit a candle over a part of myself that had always been there, quietly breathing and growing beneath the surface. In that moment, the female wilderness in me spoke, and I finally listened.
I still cherish all my learnings and inspiration from masculine narratives, from Homer’s to Joyce’s Ulysses. And yet, I never quite related to Penelope’s archetype of waiting, weaving, and unweaving (though I recognize the deep wisdom and quiet strength she carries). Later in life, I found a sense of homecoming in modern feminine retellings—like O’Neill’s The Surface Breaks or Miller’s Circe.
As a founder and writer trained among predominantly male authors and entrepreneurs, it felt not just appropriate, but necessary, to open the door for men to experience creativity—perhaps for the first time—from a feminine-rooted perspective.
Keeping that door shut isn’t fair. Opening it is healing.
I use the word "predominantly" intentionally—because I ultimately believe we all carry both feminine and masculine aspects. But it’s time to prioritize the feminine perspective without erasing the value of the masculine. This journey includes both. We’ll draw from Jonas in the belly of the whale and Inanna in the underworld. But we may pause to meditate more deeply on the latter—and her relationship with Ereshkigal, a potent symbol of duality and descent.
It is not about exclusiveness and exclusion. It’s about wholeness and integration.
Welcoming all genders doesn’t mean I will adapt the journey to cater to men. It means it was never about gender. It was about resonance.
This journey is for anyone drawn to that same yearning: for balance, for wholeness, for integration.
The brand Nest & North had always stood for both:
Nest, as in softness, care, refuge, nurture.
North, as in direction, action, ambition, adventure.
Just as the final stages of the Heroine’s Journey call for the healing of the wounded masculine, this journey invites the integration of both energies within us: feminine and masculine, softness and strength, productive and reflective.
We draw from the Major Arcana, blending archetypes across the spectrum—like Temperance, a symbol of balance, harmony, and wholeness.
Because the goal isn’t to pick sides.
The goal is clarity. And wholeness.
And from there, authentic expression.
So here’s what I now know to be true:
This journey is for people who get it.
Whose strength is measured not by how loud they speak, but by depth.
Who are brave enough to create with compassion, courage, and care.
That has never been about gender.
As your guide, I’m here to hold space for your creative freedom.
To ensure no one in this circle ever feels unseen or unsafe in becoming who they truly are.
We’re here to witness and champion each other’s most honest, soulful becoming.
So, what exactly is the journey I’m talking about?
The Clarity Journey is a three-month guided experience designed for bold and brave people on the edge of creative or personal reinvention.
Originally born from my own transformation through motherhood, it has since evolved into something more universal: a narrative arc for anyone longing to reclaim their creative direction—to tell a truer story, build their village through it, and shape a meaningful life on their own terms.
Whether that means shaping a personal brand, writing a memoir, launching a creative offering, or simply rediscovering what lights you up—the deeper invitation is to become who you truly are. And to do so in good company.
Over the course of three acts, we’ll dive into six core sessions (held fortnightly from June 25 through September 3) that follow an arc mirroring the classic journey of transformation:
ACT I
It begins with Call to Adventure, where we pause to ask: Where are you now? What’s calling you forward? This is a grounding step, taken within a curated circle of wise ones, not to solve or fix—but to begin.
Before we move forward, we gather tools for the path ahead. In an in-between session, we meet Estefania Barsante, who invites us to reflect on past transitions and surface the inner strengths we’ve already developed—transforming them into conscious tools we can carry with us. It’s a quiet empowerment that sets the tone for what’s to come.
We then enter The Road to Success, a chapter that honors the life you’ve lived so far: the storms you’ve weathered, the choices you’ve made, and the wisdom you’ve gathered. You’ll reflect on what you’re ready to release—and what you're ready to reclaim. This session invites celebration, honesty, and the reweaving of your lived story.
Here, we also begin crafting our visual foundation. In the session Moodboarding Your Essence with Emma Storm, we take everything that’s beginning to rise—your energy, values, voice—and translate it into color, texture, and mood. It becomes your creative blueprint, grounding who you’re becoming in a visual language that resonates deeper than words.
ACT II
That reflection prepares you for Breakthrough, a powerful, often emotional chapter of shedding. Outdated roles, limiting beliefs, and inherited narratives are gently examined here. You re-meet yourself, and you get to choose what still belongs.
After the unraveling of Breakthrough, we cross another threshold. Georgia Wall leads us through Ritual as Portal, a poetic, participatory session where you reclaim clarity through intuitive ritual, altar-making, and symbolic intention. Here, the creative becomes sacred. You begin to bring your inner knowing to life through sensory and spiritual language.
We then arrive at Reclaiming, a return to voice.
This is the chapter where you name what’s truly yours—your essence, desires, direction. You work with frameworks like the Character Diamond, which invites you to embrace contradiction not as a flaw but as the secret to a magnetic, real, and resonant presence. You learn to hold your softness and strength, your shadow and light, and tell a story with dimensionality and truth.
Around this time, we’re joined by filmmaker and storyteller Erin Bagwell. In a fireside-style conversation, she shares her own journey of reclaiming creativity through motherhood. Her voice brings perspective, resonance, and deep permission to trust your unfolding.
ACT III
Then comes Integration, where strategy meets soul. You begin asking: How do I want to share this? Guest speaker Natasha Zolotareva guides us through creating a presence that feels as good as it looks. It’s not about exposure for exposure’s sake—it’s about aligning your voice with your values, and sharing with authenticity, not performativity.
We close with Return with the Gift, the final chapter where you translate your journey into something tangible: a body of work, a personal brand, a decision, a message, or simply a deeper compass guiding what’s next. This is where it all comes together—your story, your voice, your direction.
And just before we wrap, we meet Zvi Band, who reminds us that creation thrives in connection. He offers tools and perspective for nurturing relationships over time, building a network of trust and resonance—not noise.
It’s a full-circle moment that brings you back to the human side of your journey.
Conclusion
This isn’t just a course. It’s a narrative arc. A rite of passage. A reinvention, supported by wisdom, story, and sacred play.
And as I’ve learned—sometimes in surprising ways—it’s a journey that welcomes all who resonate with it, regardless of gender.
Clarity, wholeness, and integration don’t belong to one side of the spectrum.
They belong to those brave enough to walk toward them.
If that’s you, welcome in.
And thank you for trusting me with your creative journey.
With love,
Laís