Grow in Community
The Invitation
Hi, I’m Emma Arbogast. I write about healing, personal growth, spirituality, neurodivergence, and self-liberation on Joy Ninja, Sparkly Dark, and Joy Is My Path.
I have spent my life pursuing healing, happiness, and practical freedom. I grew up in rural poverty in a dysfunctional family, and by the time I went to college I was severely depressed. I spent many years going to workshops, reading self-help books and looking for answers.
I was eventually able to heal my childhood CPTSD, shame, depression, and attachment trauma. I started my own business and created financial independence so I could reclaim my time and autonomy. When I realized at 42 that I am ADHD & autistic, I learned to accommodate my needs, recover from burnout, and reject the project of “trying to become normal”. Today, I live a life of freedom and joy based in self-love.
None of it was easy, but all of it was possible. I don’t have magic solutions for the difficulties of your life: growth is hard work. I believe we all have our own path to walk, and that structural hurdles are real. But the human potential for self-healing and growth is also real, even if it’s sometimes been overhyped and oversold. Anything can be co-opted, but that doesn't mean there isn’t a real path of transformation available to us.
I want to help others find their own liberation. I’ve been walking this path for two decades and I’m good at helping people see themselves more clearly, understand the healing process, and get past where they’re stuck. (I’m available for coaching during Office Hours and on the forum.) But I also want to give people access to the single most impactful resource for long-term transformation: friendships and groups based in mutual growth.
Growth is hard, but community makes it easier. Feeling safe, seen, and valued by others allows your body to relax enough to take emotional risks and heal on deeper levels. Having people to talk to keeps you grounded. Others can notice your patterns and your gifts, and reflect back what you’re not seeing about yourself. And besides all the practical benefits, it’s just more fun!
SLS is a safe, calm, focused space where we can each work on ourselves and our lives, share our process, and have a supportive community to turn to for reflection, advice, resources, and creative collaboration.
What is self-liberation?
Self-liberation is psycho-spiritual freedom. It is the reclaiming of your mind and spirit for your own purposes.
Pursuing self-liberation means:
- Healing anything from your past that keep you limited.
- Deconditioning all the beliefs and expectations that you never consented to having in your brain.
- Undoing any patterns that keep you stuck, small, imprisoned, trapped, or misaligned.
- Reclaiming your natural joy, power, and freedom.
In practical terms, this could mean anything from:
- Healing childhood wounding, trauma, attachment, codependence, etc.
- Completing a grieving process that has you stuck in the past.
- Quitting your soul-sucking job and starting your own business doing something you love.
- Deconstructing your parents’ faith and exploring spirituality on your own.
Self-liberation is an individual journey, but SLS is a place where we can support each other on that journey.
What is parallel play?
Parallel play is where we are each working on our own thing, but in each others’ vicinity. Technically in parallel play there is no direct interaction, but I’m using it more metaphorically to include any activity where we are each engaging in self-directed activity while maintaining some degree of interconnectedness.
Examples:
- A crafty hangout, where we can chat, but we’re all working on our own projects.
- Body doubling and co-working—a form of natural accountability where someone else’s presence helps you stay focused on your task.
- Progress logs (see Features below), where we are each working toward our own goals, but sharing our progress with each other.
Parallel play is a common way that autistic people like to engage. It maximises autonomy in both the choice of activity and socializing, which is generally optional and not emotionally intense.
The structure of SLS supports a range of interactions to suit different needs, preferences, and neurotypes.
Who is a good fit for SLS?
You lead with curiosity
You value being open and nonjudgmental, and you enjoy learning for its own sake.You want to live without masks
You want to be your weird wild self, and support other people to be who they are too.You value connection
You genuinely want to understand other people and easily empathize with people who are different than you.You seek presence & aliveness
You want to experience inner freedom and have worked to heal old wounds and reclaim your innate wholeness, power, and joy.You want to grow for its own sake
Whether you call it personal growth, self-development, self-awareness, awakening, inner work, self-healing, or your spiritual path, you are on a journey of expansion.You are emotionally mature
You’ve done enough work on yourself that you are generally emotionally regulated, don’t take things personally, and can let things go.What is the vibe?
Engage at your own pace
There is no instant chat, except on Zoom calls. This encourages thoughtful posts that you can respond to on your own time. There is no urgency; engage at a pace that works for you.This isn’t social media
No spam, ads, or trolls. This is an oasis of thoughtful people who want to co-create a healthy place to engage authentically and genuinely support each other.Contribute your talents & wisdom
You can create a group, lead single or recurring events, and suggest anything that would add to the space. Think of SLS as a private playground where you can collaborate and experiment.Invest in your connections
The slower and intentional structure encourages long-term investment in the community.Be as social as you want to be
Members can organize social activities like game nights, book clubs, crafty hangout sessions, co-working, business strategy sessions...whatever you are into, SLS is a place to find like-minded friends to do it with.Thoughtful moderation
The goal is to balance freedom of expression, safety, and good vibes. Check out the Community Guidelines to see if they resonate with you.Community Features
Member Forum
A space for in-depth conversation. Share your thoughts and get help optimizing any part of your life.
Zoom Lounge
An always-on Zoom hangout space where you can meet with other members or attend events.
Office Hours
Talk with Emma about personal growth, healing, spirituality, or anything else you need help with.
Event Calendar
Any member can create and host an event. Attend or lead classes, game sessions, coworking, and more.
Progress Logs
Access natural accountability through sharing your goals, obstacles, and celebrations.
Mastermind Pods
Form small groups around specific topics or goals for more focused growth.Forum Categories
Answers to your questions...
It means the community is just getting started. I have built the structure, but this is a niche offering that is likely to grow slowly at first. So basically it means there will only be a few of us at the beginning.
SLS is built using Discourse. (not Discord). Discourse is a very user-friendly and flexible forum and community platform. Discourse has apps for both iOS and Android, although it is probably easiest to use on a desktop computer.
Early Access is priced between $10-30/mo (sliding scale) with $20/mo being the standard price. Once we have a sizable number of people, I may raise the price for new members, but early members can retain this rate for life (even if they take breaks).
I don’t know exactly, but I want it to be big enough that it is dynamic and active, but also to keep it small enough that people know each other. Life can be unpredictable and some members may not be able to engage as much as they’d like or had originally planned. So the goal is to grow the group until there is an active core group, even considering the natural ebb and flow of participation. Then it will periodically be closed to maintain that number.
I have training in Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Hakomi (a mindfulness-based therapy method), Presence-Based Coaching, trauma healing, adult attachment styles, and group dynamics.
But honestly, most of my skill in helping others comes from having worked extensively to heal my own CPTSD and trauma-based patterns. I know how to find a path out of the inner wilderness because I’ve done it over and over and over again.
I healed my shame, self-hatred, existential guilt, depression, attachment trauma, and autistic burnout, and I know you can too. Happiness rests on a set of skills that anyone can learn and practice.
What is welcome: diverse folks, including those who identify as queer, trans, genderqueer, non-binary, polyamorous, kinky, etc.
What is not welcome: sexism, racism, bigotry, hate speech, dehumanization, slurs, or people who genuinely support Trump or who think what he is doing is fine. No conspiracy theories or anti-vax content.
What is boundaried: Political discussions are limited to the World Events & Politics category, and need to remain civil and growth-oriented.
View the Community Guidelines.
No. The feedback I hear often is that people are full-up on courses and books that they haven’t finished. Instead, any of us can host classes, workshops, or discussion groups in the Lounge.
There are no specific requirements to join SLS. What matters most for a good mutual fit is that you are self-regulated enough to show up in community with equanimity and emotional maturity. SLS is not a therapy environment or a support group. If you are in crisis, severely dysregulated, or tend to get triggered frequently when interacting with other people, SLS is probably not the right container for you right now.
Yes! SLS is not exclusively for neurominorities, but there will likely be more of us as we tend to clump together. Additionally, everyone in SLS is expected to respect differences in communication style and needs for autonony and agency.
+ lock in early pricing
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Not sure?
If you’re intrigued but not certain if joining is the right next step for you, here are a few ways to learn more:- Use this WhatsApp group or contact me if you have any questions I can answer.
- Read Sparkly Dark This is my Substack where I transparently share my process of growth as I live it. I generally post about 1–2x/month.
- Browse Joy Ninja for my longer-form content teaching healing, growth, and emotional skills.
- Visit my Instagram for insights on growth and healing.