Lindsay Fauntleroy’s journey with The Spirit Seed is a testament to her passion for holistic healing and community empowerment.
In her interview with MysticMag, she shares how she was inspired to bridge the gap between clinical training and practitioner development, creating a space where flower essences meet Afro-indigenous wisdom and modern therapeutic practices. Through her work, Lindsay introduces a “Neo-Ancient” approach, blending ancestral teachings with contemporary challenges to foster deeper mind-body-soul alignment.
Her transformative initiatives, like the Practitioner Certification Training and her book In Our Element, invite individuals to reconnect with nature and themselves, paving the way for profound personal and collective healing.
What inspired you to establish The Spirit Seed, and how has it evolved since its inception?
I was inspired to start The Spirit SEED after recognizing a gap in holistic healing between the training of the modality and the development of the practitioner. The Spirit SEED was an invitation to expand the clinical side of working with flower essences. While we can learn about the medicine itself, holding space for clients and cultivating boundaries, care, and safety are equally important aspects of the training.
I was also motivated to reintroduce flower essences within the context of African and indigenous healing. This was a perspective I felt was missing in the field. The Spirit SEED aims to combine clinical practice and supervision with Afro-indigenous perspectives, creating a comprehensive approach that I believe is both thorough and impactful.
Can you explain the concept of “Neo-Ancient” understanding in your flower essence remedies and workshops?
I describe “Neo-Ancient” as a way of adapting our indigenous and ancestral wisdom to the times we live in today. Often, ancestral practices are romanticized, but being Neo-Ancient means honoring that wisdom while acknowledging that it’s 2024 or 2025, and the world we live in now is very different. For example, I live in the New York City area, so bringing ancient medicine into this urban environment raises the question: what does that look like?
When I refer to our Vibe Tribe as Neo-Ancient, I’m speaking to the part of us that honors our roots while also adapting to the unique challenges we face as a modern global society. Whether these challenges stem from technology, isolation, war, or other collective issues, they require new ways of thinking and adapting. We can certainly draw on our ancestral wisdom to support this process. That, to me, is what it means to be Neo-Ancient.
How do your Elementals Flower Essence Remedies assist individuals in achieving mind, heart, and soul alignment?
I approach this work as both a flower essence practitioner and an acupuncturist. In acupuncture, there’s an understanding that the mind is reflected in the body, and the body is reflected in the mind, all of which are held in the heart. With the Elementals, it was a beautiful synergy of integrating acupuncture’s five-element theory with flower essence work. In essence, it’s about finding ways people can offer themselves emotional acupuncture at home.
The Elementals are based on the five-element framework, which explores the specific thought patterns and emotions tied to each element. These elements also have corresponding connections to the body. This creates a holistic system where individuals can examine their physical symptoms, recognize their emotional connections, and use flower essences to address the emotional aspect of their physical symptoms—and vice versa.
Sometimes, people may start with flower essences and then seek acupuncture, yoga, or other practices to support the somatic aspects of their emotional state. The goal is for these methods to work in tandem, rather than in isolation as often seen in Western medicine, where different doctors treat different issues separately.
Could you share insights into your Practitioner Certification Training and its impact on participants?
The Practitioner Certification Training is in-depth, robust, and transformative. It’s a 175-credit program, equating to around 500 hours of soul-centered training. The first component focuses on coursework, where we teach students how to see through “ancient eyes”—to view the human energy field through an archetypal and energetic lens. Participants also learn about flower essence remedies.
The second half of the program builds on this foundation and focuses on honing clinical practice through an apprenticeship model. What I’ve consistently heard from students and fellow practitioners who’ve graduated from the program is that while they’re working with flower essences, the essences are simultaneously working with them. This creates a soul-level transformation, leading to shifts in their thinking, being, and the way they hold space for others.
This medicine has a magical quality, and for some, the training is used in a professional capacity, while for others, it serves to help them become healers within their homes and communities. We value all of these roles equally, as each one plays an important part in the healing process.
We encourage students to join throughout the year and suggest they begin with the classes that feel most resonant—those that spark excitement or curiosity. Once students have completed all of the core courses, we invite them into the certification process. We don’t allow people to sign up for the entire certification at once because we want to leave space for the transformation that may occur within them as they move through this deeply immersive process.
What role does community play in The Spirit Seed’s mission to restore connection and purpose?
My favorite thing about The Spirit SEED is the community. We are fortunate to attract kind, brilliant, and creative students and practitioners who bring their own knowledge and wisdom into the program. One of the things we do really well is create a strong sense of community, even though it’s an online program. We utilize our digital platforms and core sessions to foster cross-communication and dialogue between students. There’s a lot of sharing, teaching, and integration of new information, with students often being asked to teach back and share from the very first class.
We believe that knowledge is co-created, and our community plays a significant role in that. When students go through the certification, they do so within their home communities, which allows us to see how these concepts are being lived out all over the world. It’s been beautiful to witness. We have students from all corners of the globe, and it truly feels like a family. There have been times when I met students in person for the first time, and it felt like I had already known them, because of the deep sense of community and love we share in this work.
How does your book, “In Our Element,” integrate the wisdom of nature into wellness practices?
The book actually grew out of my time teaching at The Spirit SEED, where students expressed a desire for a manual that captured everything we were learning and exploring together in class. In the book, you’ll find flower essences as well as an exploration of the five elements, all of which are rooted in nature. The goal is for readers to pick up the book, reflect on what’s happening emotionally in their lives, find a flower essence that resonates with them, explore related yoga practices, and engage in journaling exercises.
Then, they can go outside and observe how what’s happening within them is reflected in the natural world around them. It’s a way of honoring the Afro-Indigenous perspective that we are part of nature—we are an expression of the natural world. Reclaiming this connection is, I believe, a crucial aspect of what the world needs right now. The awareness that we are human, yet deeply connected to the stars, the earth, the animal kingdom, and the natural world as a whole. Recognizing this interconnectedness and learning from these other beings is particularly important in today’s world.
Find out more at: www.thespiritseed.org
