Hidden Gems: Meet Samantha Boyd of Wild One Rising

Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Boyd.

Hi Samantha, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Hello! My name is Samantha Boyd, but those who know me well call me Sam or Sami. I’m an Intuitive Artist, Mentor, Reiki Master, Creative Consultant, and teacher of magical and mystical goodness. I am located near the Fayetteville area and have part-time office space there. I am an Army Veteran and ended up just staying in the area after I got out of the military. I am from a little bit all over but lived most of my younger life in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and California. My family traveled around a lot, and more times than not, it wasn’t by choice but out of need.

I didn’t come from a well-off or affluent family, and we struggled a lot. Stability wasn’t normal in my life; neither was positive support. I didn’t quite fit into most places and was often seen as an ‘outcast,’ except by a handful of people. There have been a lot of struggles in my life leading up until now. Lack of stability, different forms of trauma through childhood and my adult life, financial lack, and more. But, I have always done my best not to let these things define me and to do my best to be a better person despite my struggles. I am learning how to pivot and change the narrative for myself. And my situation has been something I have learned to flourish in how to do. It has taken hard work, breaking things down, reworking, rewiring and flipping the script. It has taken shadow work, therapy (which I encourage everyone to do, mental health is extremely important), building a positive support system, lots of stumbling and soul searching, constant pivoting, and acceptance.

Many of those struggles have led me to where I am today. Becoming a parent (I have 4 amazing children) and learning to be a loving partner has helped me along my journey more than I can express. I wanted to give my family what I didn’t have growing up, which is something I know many can relate to. I didn’t want them to lack, to go without. I didn’t want them to worry about where their next meal would come from like I had to do many times. I wanted them to be able to experience life freely and to be able to express themselves openly and safely. I wanted to provide a safe and stable place. I wanted to give them more. So that is what I have done. And in turn, it has also helped me provide a safe space for others. A space where others can learn can, grow, can pivot. Where others can be safe in freely expressing themselves, walk their healing journey, dive deeper into themselves, and live in expansion versus the lack. I now work with others in diving into themselves, with energetic healing and expansion, walking through their shadows and bringing forth that acceptance of self in every aspect possible. The journey to this point wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of trying different things within my ‘career’ life to figure out what I wanted to do and what direction to go. But I knew that whatever I did, I wanted it to be something fulfilling that could somehow give back to others, to provide for others, something I desperately needed along my journey. So Wild One Rising was born.

Wild One Rising is not just my business but also a community. It is a place of creation where you can grow and expand. A place where we delve deep into ourselves. A place of learning. A place where light and dark have equal footing. It is where we can be our truest and wildest essence of ourselves. And friends, we all have that wild one within us. That energy deep within calls us to let go, to allow freedom and exploration, growth and expansion. This is the journey I walk with others on. I guide, assist in healing, break things down, and build them up. Mentoring others and assisting them in their journey has been fulfilling. And I am ever expanding in what I do, just like I feel we all should be. We don’t have to stick to just one thing for the rest of our lives. We need that freedom, that adventurous itch scratched, and that expansion.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has not been smooth. It took me most of my adult life to figure out exactly what I was doing in the world, not just with my life but also with what I wanted to do with my path and career. I have worked in many different types of fields. From retail to service, security, the military, network marketing, and more. Now, I am finally doing something that I truly love to do. But the road to it had a lot of pitfalls.

Navigating through my storms and trying to survive many times held me back from doing many things. I constantly put myself (including my well-being), my wants, and my dreams to the side to care for others. Whether it was my family or friends, I always gave myself the excuse of “when they (this is) are taken care of, then I will” fill in the blank. Some of this was due to my limiting beliefs, and some of it was a lack of ability and opportunity to move forward for myself. Navigating through depression, anxiety, and PTSD kept me small and sometimes unwilling to find ways forward.

My journey until this point, when I first decided I wanted to do anything similar to what I am doing now, started off with me going through an extremely unpleasant separation and divorce. I was navigating how to be a single parent to 3 young children while trying to keep my head above water. I found a partnership and support with my best friend, and we eventually got married and had a child together. Then we were navigating life’s hardships with him getting out of the military, the transitions to civilian life, and other things that life was throwing at us. From financial difficulties, health issues that kept me from returning to the workforce, and more.

The journey here has been an extremely rocky road with many mishaps and failures along the way, and I could probably write a whole book on it all and my journey to this point, but I won’t do that here. Eventually, through work, determination, and a beautiful support system I was able to build around me, I got to where I am now.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At my core, I am a creator. It just takes on many forms through the different services I provide. I am an energy healer that assists others in their healing journey through Reiki, shadow work, and mentoring. We dive deep into the self through sessions like my Wild Within Sessions or my Healing Pool Sessions. Through these, we use energy healing, meditation, visualization, mentoring, and more to work towards healing and expansion for the self. We dive deep into the self, that wild and beautiful paradox of a core within someone, to assist them in taking steps forward in their journey. I also do card and energy readings for others and use Reiki to help assist others with integration.

I do this in one on one containers with my clients and also through my community group. I can do all of my services virtually, so you can do this from the comfort of your own home or any other place you feel safe doing so. I also teach. Whether it is magical applications you can do in your everyday life rituals, holidays, gardening, and more, teaching others about what I know has always been a joy. Being able to share my knowledge and experiences with others helps them grow in different ways as well.

I also create. I am an artist, and I write on occasion. My art is abstract at heart and intuitively led. I use the energies I feel to create different types of paintings and other creations (including essential oil rollers, sprays, candles, etc.) for others. Before the end of the year, I should also have a podcast up and running as another avenue to give back to the community around me with teaching, mentoring, and more.

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting.
Leap and do it, scared. When I started, I held back and didn’t even try out of fear. It is hard getting started up, and there will be times that you get discouraged and wonder if you are doing the right thing or if what you are doing even matters. The thing is this. As long as it matters to you, that is what counts. Whatever your reasoning behind putting yourself out there, creating a business, or making a better life for yourself is, do it anyway, even if it is scary, even if you don’t know where or how to start. There are tons of resources out there, literally at our fingertips, to help us get started. But ultimately, you must be willing to do it for yourself first. And, if you need a cheerleader along the way, I am here for that as well. Cheering people on, assisting with walking through that door, or finding direction, is part of what I do with my mentoring.

Pricing:

• Wild Within Sessions- $150
• Healing Pool Sessions- $111
• Wild Chats (mentoring and more)- $100
• Creative Consulting- $50
• Energy Healing and Readings- varying prices

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wildonerising.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildonerising/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wildonerising
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/IamSamanthaBoyd

Image Credits
Photos taken by either Toni Keniston with Lilith Rising Photography, Sara Courtney McDonald with Blooming Magnolia Photography, or taken by myself or family members